27.7 C
Bangkok
Friday, June 26, 2026
Home Blog Page 2602

Thailand Suspends Seahorse Trade

A customs official shows confiscated seahorses at a 2007 press conference in Bangkok. Photo: Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG — Seahorses, traded by the millions annually as an ingredient in traditional medicine in parts of Asia, are getting a reprieve from Thailand, the world’s biggest exporter of the animal.

A marine biologist who works closely with Thailand on seahorse conservation welcomed the government’s decision to suspend seahorse trade because of concern about threats to its wild population.

“It’s a way station to getting serious management in place,” Amanda Vincent of The University of British Columbia said Thursday. Vincent is director of Project Seahorse, a marine conservation group whose partner is the Zoological Society of London.

The Thailand decision was announced at a meeting in South Africa of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. The U.N. meeting, which regulates trade in more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, ends Oct. 5.

Seahorses are mainly used in dried form for traditional medicine in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. They are also popular as curios, and there is a trade in live seahorses for display in home aquariums, including in Europe and North America.

CITES requires some controls on trade in the dozens of types of seahorse, designed to ensure the survival of the species.

But Thailand, responsible for three-quarters of the world’s documented exports of seahorses, could not meet its obligations and stopped issuing export permits at the beginning of the year, according to Vincent.

Thailand’s goal, she said, is to make seahorse exports “sustainable.”

CITES has suspended the seahorse trade with three other big exporters — Vietnam, Senegal and Guinea — after they failed to meet requirements for the trade in the animal, Vincent said.

Story: Christopher Torchia

Advertisement

Train Plows Into New Jersey Station; 100-Plus Hurt

The scene of a train crash in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Thursday. Photo: Cephster / Twitter

HOBOKEN, New Jersey — A commuter train plowed into the bustling Hoboken rail station during the morning rush hour Thursday, killing at least one person and injuring more than 100 others, some critically, in a tangle of broken concrete, twisted metal and dangling cables, authorities said.

Witnesses reported seeing one woman trapped under concrete and many people bleeding after the arriving New Jersey Transit train crashed through a barrier at the end of the track. The train came to a halt in a covered area between the station’s indoor waiting area and the platform, collapsing a section of the metal shed roof.

Nancy Bido, a passenger on the train, told WNBC-TV in New York that the train didn’t slow as it pulled into the station. “It just never stopped. It was going really fast, and the terminal was basically the brake for the train,” she said.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending investigators.

Hoboken, which is NJ Transit’s fifth-busiest station with 15,000 boardings per weekday, is situated just across the Hudson River from New York City. It is the final stop for several train lines and a transfer point for many commuters on their way to New York City. Many passengers get off at Hoboken and take ferries or a PATH commuter train to New York.

Democratic Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, who represents Hoboken, said transit officials told him one person has died and two were critically injured. He didn’t know whether the fatality and critical injuries were on the train or platform.

Jennifer Nelson, a spokeswoman for NJ Transit, said earlier, “We have multiple injuries, multiple critical injuries right now.” Rail service was suspended in and out of Hoboken.

She said she doesn’t know yet how fast the train was going when it crashed through the bumper. TV footage and photos from the scene showed the rail car was mangled.

Ross Bauer, an IT specialist who was heading to his Manhattan job from his home in Hackensack, was sitting in the third or fourth car when the train crashed.

“All of a sudden, there was an abrupt stop and a big jolt that threw people out of their seats. The lights went out, and we heard a loud crashing noise — like an explosion — that turned out to be the roof of the terminal,” he said. “I heard panicked screams, and everyone was stunned.”

Passenger Bhagyesh Shah said the train was crowded, particularly the first two cars, because they make for an easy exit into the Hoboken station. Passengers in the second car broke the emergency windows to get out.

“I saw a woman pinned under concrete,” Shah told WNBC-TV in New York. “A lot of people were bleeding; one guy was crying.”

Brian Klein, whose train arrived at the station after the crash, told the Wall Street Journal that transit police ushered everyone aboard his train into a waiting room, “then quickly started yelling, ‘Just get out! We don’t know if the building is going to hold.'”

The train had left Spring Valley, New York, at 7:23 a.m. and crashed at 8:45 a.m., said NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder.

“It simply did not stop,” WFAN anchor John Minko, who witnessed the crash, told 1010 WINS. “It went right through the barriers and into the reception area.”

NJ Transit provides more than 200 million passenger trips annually on bus, rail and light rail lines. More than 100,000 people use NJ Transit trains to commute from New Jersey into New York City daily.

A crash at the same station on a different train line injured more than 30 people in 2011. The PATH commuter train crashed into bumpers at the end of the tracks on a Sunday morning.

Story: David Porter. Additional reporting Karen Matthews, Deepti Hajela, Verena Dobnik

Advertisement

Foreign Ministry Says Govt Must Verify Torture Report

BANGKOK — The Foreign Ministry on Thursday defended the military government’s blocking of an Amnesty International discussion of alleged torture under the military government since the coup by casting doubt on its accuracy.

One day after officers shut down a panel discussion of an Amnesty report with a novel method – threatening to arrest foreign speakers for not having work permits – the ministry said in a statement today the government would welcome the information if it could verify it.

“The Royal Thai Government welcomes all information on this matter, as it would help the work of the government in the area of human rights and in ensuring transparency, fairness and justice through our judicial process,” it read. “However, the information contained in the report is yet to be verified, especially for cases in which the alleged victims remain anonymous.”

Read: Security Forces Muzzle Torture Discussion With Arrest Threats

It said the “relevant authorities” were examining the accuracy of the report.

The Amnesty report detailed 74 cases of torture between 2014 and 2015 inflicted on migrants, insurgents, political opponents and more. It alleged in graphic detail abuses including waterboarding, electric shock and more.

Laurent Meillan, acting regional rep for the UN Human Rights Office in Southeast Asia and one of the panelists threatened into not speaking was unconvinced. He said blocking the panel Wednesday at the Four Wings Hotel raised doubts about the ability of international organisations to stage public events on issues that the government views as controversial or sensitive.

“Every year, several public reports are released in Thailand by international organizations, which involve the participation of non-resident international experts,” Meillan said.

“I think what happened was very unfortunate, as the clarification issued by [the ministry] today shows the government made a commitment to tackle the question of torture,” Meillan said.

Amnesty International did not reply to inquires Thursday on how it would go about further disseminating its report.

Meillan said his office acknowledges the state has taken a number of concrete steps, such as banning torture and enforced disappearance, which was constructive and helped the government better respond to the problem.

He said it has also turned up the heat on those who report it.

“Since the [2014] coup, we have however observed a pattern of harassment against human rights defenders reporting torture cases. … “Documenting human rights abuses is not a crime,” he said.

He said governments are obligated “to promptly and carefully investigate these serious human rights allegations instead of prosecuting those who speak out for the victims.”

The Foreign Ministry said that any victim of torture can step forward and seek compensation under a 2001 victim compensation law.

“Moreover, the Ministry of Justice is currently exploring the possibility of setting up the system of remedy with a holistic approach that covers physical and psychological rehabilitation, restitution, satisfaction and guarantee of non-repetition,” the statement read.

Update: An image originally included with this story with the permission of its creator was removed at their request.

Advertisement

Case Closed: Police Say Hmong Not in the Wrong

A photo posted on Reddit Sunday claimed to show the process while a tourist’s watch was stolen by the kids in Chiang Mai. (Photo: Reddit / MedardBoss)

CHIANG MAI — Two young Hmong girls described as “tiny thieves” in headlines the world over were allowed back to the Chiang Mai temple where an unidentified tourist recently said they stole a watch.

Read: Hmong Parents Protest Children’s Conviction by Reddit

Investigating the case after an image went viral last week, police said they found no evidence the two girls, 7 and 10, stole the wristwatch at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. They were freed and will return to the temple this weekend to pose for photos with tourists, police Lt. Col. Anek Chaiwong said Thursday.

“There’s no evidence the girls stole the watch,” the deputy of Phuping police said.

He said officers had reviewed security camera footage, which was complicated by the no one knows when the alleged incident took place.

A photo of a farang woman with two girls dressed in traditional Hmong clothes was posted on Reddit on Sunday with the caption “Girlfriend in the progress of having her watch stolen.”

In the comments, the user, who has since deleted his account, suggested the watch had gone missing and they decided the girls must have stolen it when they later saw the image. He also mentioned being “a bit drunk” at the time.

Nonetheless, tabloid media around the world ran with it without scrutiny as proving their guilt.

Police said they have been unable to identify the tourists.

 

 

Advertisement

Air Rage Incidents On the Rise, Airlines Say

WASHINGTON — Incidents of unruly passengers on planes are increasing, and more effective deterrents are needed to tackle the problem, a global airline trade group said Wednesday.

There were 10,854 air rage incidents reported by airlines worldwide last year, up from 9,316 incidents in 2014, according to the International Air Transport Association. That equates to one incident for every 1,205 flights, an increase from one incident per 1,282 flights the previous year.

Incidents have been rising almost consistently since 2007, when the association began tracking the issue. That year airlines reported 339 incidents to the association.

A majority of incidents involved verbal abuse, failure to follow crew instructions and other anti-social behavior. Eleven percent included physical aggression toward passengers or crew or damage to the plane. Alcohol or drugs were a factor in 23 percent of the cases. In the vast majority of incidents involving drugs or alcohol, the substances were consumed before boarding or imbibed secretly on board, the association said.

Training staff in airport bars and duty-free shops to sell alcohol responsibly, including avoiding offers that encourage binge drinking, can cut incidents by half, the association said, citing an initiative by Monarch Airlines at London’s Gatwick Airport.

Airlines already have strong guidelines and crew training on “the responsible provision of alcohol,” the association said.

A woman in England pleaded guilty in June to assaulting an easyJet pilot. Prosecutors said she punched the pilot in the face after he deemed her too intoxicated to fly. In another case, a male passenger allegedly urinated on fellow EasyJet passengers as they were waiting to deplane after landing at Edinburgh.

Six men involved in a drunken brawl during a Jetstar flight from Sydney to Thailand in July were ordered off the plane after it diverted to Indonesia.

An American Airlines pilot tackled one passenger to the floor after he tried to force his way off the plane as it taxied to the gate in Charlotte, North Carolina. “You don’t put your hands on my flight attendant!” the pilot can be heard yelling on a video taken by another passenger. The unruly passenger was arrested and charged with being intoxicated and disruptive.

Charlie Leocha, president of Travelers United, an advocacy group for airline passengers in Washington, said he knows of no changes in the way alcohol is sold in airports or on planes that would account for the increase in the rate of incidents. But he noted that the increases correspond with efforts by airlines to squeeze more passenger seats onto planes by shrinking legroom and seat width.

“We’ve always had alcohol sold at airports, we have always had alcohol served on aircraft,” he said. “The only difference today is that people now have less space and they are required to interact more intimately with other passengers.”

Other recent incidents include a Los Angeles-bound Delta Air Lines flight diverted to Tucson, Arizona, escorted by two Air Force fighter jets, after a passenger refused to return his seat. The following month, the FBI and Hawaii state sheriffs arrested a 35-year-old man who allegedly bit a flight attendant on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Pago Pago in American Samoa to Honolulu.

Airlines also want more countries to ratify a 2014 treaty that closes gaps in laws for dealing with unruly passengers. So far, only six countries — Bahrain, Congo, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Guyana and Jordan — have ratified the pact.

“More are needed in order to have a consistent global approach to this issue,” said Alexandre de Juniac, the association’s director general.

Story: Joan Lowy
Related stories:
Advertisement

Taxi Driver Jailed For Cheating Chinese Tourists

Photo: js100radio / Twitter

BANGKOK — Four tourists taken for a ride by an unlicensed taxi driver who charged them 2,450 baht to travel six kilometers saw swift justice Wednesday.

Surachai Sritabthai was sent to jailed for one month and fined 1,000 baht for cheating four male Chinese tourists who wanted to go from Airport Rail Link Phayathai to their Samsen Road hotel on Tuesday night.

He was arrested Wednesday night at his apartment in Soi Ratchada 10.

Surachai told officers that he altered his license plate numbers from 665 to 666.

He used his brother’s car and admitted to not having a taxi driver license, according to Sukree Jaruphum of the Land Transport Department.

Advertisement

Everything Expats Love (or Not) at 2-Day … Expat Fair!

BANGKOK — We’ve got expats. We’ve got fairs. Expat-Fairs?

Processed meats, cheese and bags with environmentally friendly slogans - something for all of our expat friends.
Processed meats, cheese and bags with
environmentally friendly slogans –
something for all of our expat friends.

That’s right, Bangkok will celebrate its cherished resident aliens with two days of everything they know and love – at least as imagined by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

As everyone knows, all expats love Christy & Jonas. They are like expat royalty. What, never heard of them? Thais adore this Dutch-Swedish luk thung duo. What about funny man Andrew Biggs and 2005 Miss Universe Natalie Glebova? They will be present for Expat Cooking Demo and Expat Interview activities.

Khun puut pasaa Thai dai, mai? Well then pull up a chair for the “Expat Challenge” and wow folks with your toddler-level speaking ability. Because prizes!*

Remember, expat doesn’t only mean farang (and by farang we mean white people), as there will also be Japanese drumming and Indian dancing.

According to the event’s website, there will be authentic “Maxican Music” and a funky/fresh “Hispop Show.” What fun!

The event is free, but nonetheless officials encourage our foreign guests to register their names, emails and phone numbers on the official Expat Fair website “to receive special gifts.*”

Expat Fair runs 11am to 9pm on Saturday and noon to 9pm on Sunday at “Fragrant Park,” just down from BTS Thong Lo exit No. 2. *Prizes and special gifts not guaranteed.

Advertisement

Indonesia Extradites Alleged People Smuggler to Australia

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, along with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi speak in March at the 2016 Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: DFTA / Timothy Tobing

CANBERRA, Australia  — An Iranian national extradited from Indonesia was to appear in a Sydney court on Thursday charged with people smuggling offenses, the government said.

Mohammad Naghi Karimi Azar on Wednesday became the eighth alleged people smuggler to be extradited from Indonesia to Australia since 2008, a government statement said.

Azar faces 43 charges of people smuggling in the Sydney Central Local Court, an offence that carries a minimum five-year sentence and a maximum of 20 years.

There has not been a successful people-smuggling venture from Indonesia to Australia in more than two years.

Australian border protection ships turn back boats carrying asylum seekers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa who pay people smugglers to bring them to Australia.

But the government estimates there are 14,000 asylum seekers in Indonesia who want to come to Australia by boat.

Australia refuses to resettle any refugees who come by boat. Australia pays the Pacific island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea to keep such attempted arrivals in camps.

Advertisement

Bangkok Man Livestreams Sleeping Woman Then Rapes Her: Police

SAMUT PRAKAN — A standoff lasting seven hours at a hotel in southeast metro Bangkok ended Wednesday night with a man arrested on suspicion of livestreaming a woman as she slept and then raping her.

Thanapol Nilpat opened fire on police as they tried to capture him at a hotel in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district, leading to the long confrontation. No officers were injured.

He eventually surrendered to police, who said he later confessed to the assault two weeks ago in Bangkok’s Suan Luang neighborhood. Thanapol, they said, saw a sleeping woman through an open door of an apartment. He entered the room and began streaming video of her over Bigo Live, a Singapore-based social media service that has many users in Thailand.

Thanapol said the woman woke up and at that point he sexually assaulted her before escaping. A security camera near the apartment caught him leaving the scene.

The 29-year-old man was charged with rape, attempted murder of police officers and gun possession, according to Col. Thongchai Wilaiprom of Prawet police.

Advertisement

University of Phayao Opens Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic

For two years, the University of Phayao has partnered with Guangzhou University and Guangxi University on a program in Traditional Chinese Medicine, according to Dr. Udom Chantraraksri, the college’s associate dean for Academic Traditional Chinese Medicine.

release.tcm.3Now the course has become so popular that the university is launching a Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic at its University Hospital, that covers three branches of health treatment: Western Medicine, Traditional Thai Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine together. This way our students will have the opportunity to learn and share experiences in three branches of science and integrate the knowledge easily.

“In the future, if Traditional Chinese Medicine develops plans with Western and Traditional Thai Medicine in the subjects of Thai herb and health care, we will gradually develop into a model for other areas to provide public access to more alternative ways of medicine. Especially in University of Phayao Hospital, we have many people who come for Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine, people recognize, is for taking care of yourself while those with acute diseases need to get Western Medicine treatment, which is faster than Traditional Chinese Medicine.”

release.tcm.4Dr. Udom summarized that the course of Traditional Chinese Medicine in University of Phayao has followed with national development strategies plan issue No. 11 (2011-2016). Aimed to reducing risk factor in health treatment such as promoting complete physical and mental health in Thais, developing knowledge and skill in health caring for themselves, family and community, participating in public policies for good health and developing health services system for good quality, promoting an alternative medicine, developing health data system of country and managing Public Health Personnel in appropriate production and distribution. So it is very important  to produce doctors of Traditional  Chinese Medicine to meet the needs of society.

The University of Phayao opened in 1999 and also offers extension courses across the country at nine education centers, including Bangkok.

This is a paid advertorial. Khaosod English is not responsible for its content or claims.

Advertisement

Hot News

LATEST NEWS

Bangkok
broken clouds
27.7 ° C
30.5 °
27.7 °
82 %
2.1kmh
65 %
Thu
28 °
Fri
36 °
Sat
36 °
Sun
37 °
Mon
37 °