Explore Chile and Its Tragic Past in ‘Pearl Button’ at BACC

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

-

20 May 2016, 10:49

BANGKOK — See the visually enchanting volcanoes, glaciers and mountains of Chile and learn about its dark past through “The Pearl Button” (2015).

From European colonization to the military dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s, the country’s tragic history is told through its rivers, seas and oceans in this Chilean documentary film.

Directed by veteran director Patricio Guzman, who has made movies since the 1960s, the film garnered significant praise for its picturesque landscapes and poetic depictions of Chile’s troubled past: “If water has a memory, it will remember this,” as is said in the film.

The film triumphed at the Berlin International Film Festival last year winning best script before also picking up the Lumieres Award for best documentary in France in February.

The title of the film carries a double meaning: Firstly it refers to a Jemmy Button, who was “bought” with one button in 1830 and subsequently taken from Chile to England. It also references buttons from clothing attached to bodies thrown into the sea during the brutal military dictatorship era.

The screening starts 5pm on Saturday in the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre’s fifth-floor auditorium.

Admission is 60 baht. The 82-minute film will be shown with both English and Thai subtitles.

Soraya Nakasuwan, director of 2007 documentary “Final Score,”selected the film. She will moderate a discussion about the screening in Thai with English interpretation.

The annual Cinema Diverse: Director’s Choice takes place every two months at BACC showing international films selected by Thai directors. The program this year is scheduled to run from May until November. “The Pearl Button” is the first film of the season.

Bangkok Art and Culture Centre is located next to BTS National Stadium.

ATM Cards With Magnetic Stripes Must be Replaced – by 2020

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

-

19 May 2016, 19:04

Photo: Prachachat<br /> — Photo: Prachachat

BANGKOK — The countdown has begun on the last three years of current ATM cards and their magnetic stripes, which will be replaced by chip-embedded cards.

Responding to the Bank of Thailand’s call for higher security, ATM and debit cards issued from every bank in the country include embedded chips as of Monday. Those with magnetic stripes will still function until the end of 2019.

All banks can set their own fees for replacing the cards, the central bank’s deputy governor Tongurai Limpiti said Thursday.

Though most banks have offered to upgrade the card without charge, others are reportedly increasing annual fees. Siam Commercial Bank raised its annual fee from 250 baht to 300 baht.

ATM skimming, in which criminals use devices and CCTV to capture magnetic data and PIN numbers, has become a common crime. Therefore the Bank of Thailand’s policy is aimed to help protect user security, since the chipped cards are believed to be less susceptible.

Spanish Man Arrested For 'ATM Skimming' in Pattaya

While Nation Watches Live, 5-Hour Standoff Ends as Murder Suspect Shoots Himself

By

Khaosod English

-

19 May 2016, 17:13

Wanchai Danaitamonut points a gun to his head during police investigation.

BANGKOK — As the nation watched, a tense standoff with a murder suspect threatening to kill himself ended this evening with a single gunshot.

University lecturer Wanchai Danaitamonut, who was wanted in connection with a double-murder the day before, had been holding a gun and threatening to shoot himself in the head for about five hours Thursday afternoon when suddenly at 6:44pm he went through and made good on his threat.

2 Professors Shot to Death at College

The denouement, which had been televised and streamed over the internet live, came as a surprise because moments before Wanchai appeared more relaxed and had asked police for a cigarette.

At that point he walked away from what had been his getaway car, out of view of cameras, when the gun went off.

An ambulance is now taking him to hospital.

One of the people at the scene when Wanchai shot himself is a student who had been pleading with Wanchai since the beginning of the standoff. The other two are described as an older brother and senior colleague of Wanchai.

The 60-year-old was sought by police who believed he shot two other instructors at Phranakhon Rajabhat University on Wednesday. Today’s standoff occurred at the Suparp Motel on Sutthisan Road in the capital’s Saphan Kwai district.

Local media reported that police were alerted that Wanchai was hiding at the motel with his getaway car, and so surrounded the place and stopped the suspect from leaving the building.

What followed was hours-long standoff, with police and his family trying to talk Wanchai into putting the gun down.

Throughout over three hours of the negotiation, police made no attempt to overpower Wanchai; all of the officers facing Wanchai wore no body armor in a gesture to make the suspect feel relaxed.

Meanwhile the stand-off, which is being broadcast live on television and over Facebook by Thairath newspaper, has gripped the nation’s attention. Even Thursday’s most anticipated event – a parade through downtown by football champions Leicester City FC – has been preempted to cover the unfolding drama.

On Wednesday morning, police said Wanchai walked into the Buddhawichalaya lecture hall at Phranakhon Rajabhat University’s Bang Na campus and shot to death Pichai Chaisongkram and Nattapol Chumworathayee, both 50.

Wanchai had been embroiled in an dispute, police said today, after his colleagues and victims accused him of holding a fake degree.

“It is a personal issue,” Col. Nattanawit Sitthithapirom, the officer in charge of the investigation, said Thursday evening.

In a note being circulated online as Wanchai's suicide note, he described his actions as a mission of vengeance.

"This note was written to tell the story before I, Wanchai Danaitamonut, will end my life in a suicide mission to eradicate the evil and corrupt people," the introduction read.

The angry letter went on to describe what he believed was an attempt by Nattapol to smear his name. It made no mention of Pichai.

However, Nattanawit said the letter was not found in the crime scene when he inspected it, and could not confirm its authenticity.

CultureMin Slams ‘Golden Pagoda’ Costume

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

-

19 May 2016, 16:07

Kanthicha ‘Yui’ Chimsiri presents her ‘Golden Pagoda’ costume for Mrs. Universe 2016 on Tuesday in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Coming on the high heels – or bumper – of beauty pageant Aniporn Chalermburanawong's winning tuk-tuk costume, the would be Mrs. Universe probably expected her iconic Thai costume to also win accolades.

But as Kanthicha "Yui" Chimsiri found out yesterday, the appointed guardians of culture at the Ministry of Culture were not pleased by her dress inspired by the most important Buddhist temple in the nation, which she introduced Tuesday.

“Creativity must has the limit, especially it should not be concerned other's feeling and belief,” Deputy Permanent Secretary Wimonlak Choochart said Wednesday of the dress made to look like the Phra Sri Rattana Chedi in Bangkok’s Wat Phra Kaew.

Wimonlak said costumes should avoid matters of belief, and a dress inspired by a pagoda venerated by many Thai Buddhists was unsuitable. The Department of Religious Affairs also expressed concern Wednesday the costume would damage Thailand’s image, Voice TV reported.

It was a swift reaction after Kanthicha showed off the national costume she intends to wear at Mrs. Universe, which, as it sounds, is a pageant for married women to be held August in China.

In December, Aniporn “Nat” Chalermburanawong won the Best National Costume at Miss Universe 2015 in Las Vegas for a pop-art costume that turned her into a tuk-tuk.

Though no formal admonishment has yet to be made, Wimonlak said there should be more conservative limits on how to apply Thai culture for creativity.

Founded in 2007, Mrs. Universe is a contest for “the most honorable married woman” age 25 to 45, who must also “have family, her own career and … be involved with a significant cause in favour of other people” according to its website.

Each year has a theme devoted to human rights causes such as domestic violence and human trafficking.

Phra Sri Rattana Chedi in Wat Phra Kaew Photo: Hzh / Wikimedia

Yes, Miss Universe Thailand Will Wear a Tuk-Tuk

Aviation Officials: EgyptAir Plane Carrying 66 Has Crashed

By

Associated Press

-

19 May 2016, 14:40

Airport security staff stand near the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris, France, Thursday, May 19, 2016. EgyptAir said a flight from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar early Thursday morning. Photo: Raphael Satter / Associated Press

CAIRO — An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday morning, Egyptian aviation officials said.

EgyptAir Flight 804 was lost from radar at 2:45 a.m. local time when it was flying at 37,000 feet, the airline said. It said the Airbus A320 had vanished 16 kilometers after it entered Egyptian airspace, around 280km off the country's coastline north of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

The aviation officials later said the plane crashed and that a search for debris was now underway. The "possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed," as the plane hasn't landed in any of the nearby airports, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The official said a signal had been picked up from the plane two hours after it disappeared from radar, thought to have been an emergency beacon

Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypt's Mediterranean coast to locate the plane. The plane was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. The pilot had 6,000 flight hours.

EgyptAir later said those on board included 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, one Briton, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Belgian, one Algerian and one Canadian.

Egypt's state-run newspaper Al-Ahram quoted an airport official as saying the pilot did not send a distress call, and that last contact with the plane was made 10 minutes before it disappeared from radar. It did not identify the official.

Airbus is aware of the disappearance, but "we have no official information at this stage of the certitude of an accident," the company's spokesman Jacques Rocca said.

The Paris airport authority and the French civil aviation authority would not immediately comment.

Queries about the missing plane sent out to the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency were not returned early Thursday.

French president Francois Hollande spoke with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the phone and agreed to "closely cooperate to establish as soon as possible the circumstances" in which the EgyptAir flight disappeared, according to a statement issued in Paris.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said no scenario could be ruled out at the moment as for what caused the plane to disappear. France, he told RTL radio, was "ready" to join the search operation if Egyptian authorities requested his country's assistance.

Around 15 relatives of passengers on board the missing flight have arrived at Cairo airport. Airport authorities brought doctors to the scene after several distressed family members collapsed.

Neither France's foreign ministry nor its interior ministry would comment on the disappearance or on whether it could have been an attack.

France remains under a state of emergency after Islamic extremist attacks killed 130 people in a spree of attacks in November claimed by the extremist Islamic State group.

Greece joined the search and rescue operation for the EgyptAir flight with two aircraft: one C-130 and one early warning aircraft, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said. They said one frigate was also heading to the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations.

An EgyptAir plane was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus in March. A man who admitted to the hijacking and is described by Cypriot authorities as "psychologically unstable" is in custody in Cyprus.

The incident renewed security concerns at Egyptian airports after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai last October, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for planting it.

In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard, U.S. investigators filed a final report that concluded its co-pilot switched off the autopilot and pointed the Boeing 767 downward. But Egyptian officials rejected the notion of suicide altogether, insisting some mechanical reason caused the crash.

Story: Maggie Michael / Associated Press

Internet Erupts in Rage After Thai Volleyball Team’s Narrow Loss to Japan

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

-

19 May 2016, 12:11

Thai volleyballer Pleumjit Thinkaow, front row second from left, reacts as referee Luis Gerardo Macias penalizes the team by awarding points to Japan on Wednesday night in Tokyo.

BANGKOK — Thai volleyball fans were left seething with anger after the national women’s team seemed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory last night, a loss many attributed to underhandedness by host Japan.

The focus of the rage roiling through social media was an incident during the final set of the Olympics qualifier, which began with Thai team was trailing at 12-13. Thailand called for a timeout to swap a player, but the signal didn’t reach the referee.

After the players protested, the referee, Mexican national Luis Gerardo Macias, ruled it an unnecessary challenge intended to delay the match and awarded one point to Japan. Visibly demoralized, the Thais went on to lose the set 13-15, leaving the team one set shy of victory.

Head coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai told The Nation the timeout didn’t reach Maclas because his tablet computer provided by the Japanese suddenly malfunctioned. He said the tablets haven’t worked right from the start.

Thai coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai facepalms after he learns his team was penalized Wednesday night in Tokyo.

The match was broadcast live in Thailand, where the response was immediate.

“Just watched Japan – Thailand, women Volleyball Q for Rio. What a disgrace to see that Thailand is not allowed to switch a player at the end of 4 set cause the ‘Technology’ did not work … I call it CHEATING,” wrote user John Wallander on the International Volleyball Federation’s page, which has been flooded with negative comments.

Per tradition, many Facebook users changed their profile pictures to protest the match’s outcome and perceived cheating by the Japanese.

“This is not the first time, but we’d like to ask this to be the last time,” wrote the admin of a Thai volleyball fan page. “Thanks to all the athletes on this journey. You have done your best.”

Apart from the rage online, several hashtags were trending on Twitter by Thursday morning. Unsurprisingly, they were filled with tweets condemning the Japanese staff.

“I thought #japan is one of the most honest country in the world? But from today #VolleyballOlympics2016 match, I think I change my mind,” Prin Puyakul tweeted.

According to a report on The Nation, Thai team manager Pisit Nuttee will file an appeal to the International Volleyball Federation and the match organizers in Japan to protest the signal failure.

Japan holds the rights to the 2020 games.

Relates stories:

Thai Volleyballers Chase Leicester Success to Same Magic Monk

Japan's Olympics Minister Says Tokyo's 2020 Bid Was Clean

Guitarist Stabbed to Death in Street After Gig

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

-

19 May 2016, 11:46

Police inspect the scene on Bangkok’s Sathu Pradit Road where Manus Leerungreung was stabbed to death early Thursday morning. <br /> — Police inspect the scene on Bangkok’s Sathu Pradit Road where Manus Leerungreung was stabbed to death early Thursday morning.

BANGKOK — A musician’s body was discovered with more than a dozen stab wounds early this morning, and police suspect he was a victim of jealous rage.

Manus Leerungreung, 23, was found dead next to his motorcycle at 12:30am on Thursday near Soi Sathu Pradit 31, not far from CentralPlaza Rama III mall. He had been stabbed 17 times. Witnesses told police Manus had been stopped by two strangers wearing helmets on another motorcycle. The unidentified passenger riding on the back got off the bike and attacked Manus with a knife.

“Preliminarily, we suspect jealousy is behind the motive,” said police Capt. Sarayuth Santad from Bang Pong Pang police station.

Weerasak Janpha, 24, told reporters that Manus, his friend, was a musician at his pub and restaurant. While playing guitar Wednesday night, two women bought him a beer. They later spoke with him after the show before leaving by taxi.

Weerasak said he did not think Manus knew the women.

Manus’ body was taken for further examination. Police said they are investigating to find his murderers.

EU Dangles Free Trade Talks ‘If’ Thailand Takes Democratic Steps

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

-

19 May 2016, 11:00

Werner Langen, chairman of a delegation of E.U. parliamentarians to Southeast Asia, shakes hands with former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday at Pheu Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — The European Union is likely to resume Free Trade Agreement discussions with Thailand should the kingdom take steps toward democracy, the head of the EU Parliament’s delegation said Wednesday.

Two years after the Europeans shelved the prospect of a trade agreement in response to the coup d’etat, the European delegation said Wednesday that staging a free and fair charter referendum could lay the groundwork for the early technical phase of talks to begin.

“Technical negotiations are possible. If the referendum [is] the right way to democracy,” said Werner Langen, German chairman of the delegation for relations with Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

From technical talks to formal adoption, such a process would likely take years.

Langen, who held a news conference after a two-day visit to Thailand by eight E.U. MPs, himself included, was vague about whether negotiations would resume if the junta-sponsored draft charter is rejected by referendum, or if the process is perceived as not being free and fair.

If the charter is rejected, a member of the delegation said the E.U. would need to analyze the situation further.

Langen said he is personally not optimistic about the democratic outlook of Thailand under the junta.

“I personally very much doubt if the situations are on the right track,” he said.

Asked whether the EU would impose sanctions if the ruling junta failed to return democracy next year as promised, Pier Antonio Panzeri, a member of the subcommittee on human rights said it’s not possible to make remarks about possible sanctions.

“As things stand it is not possible to make remarks about possible sanctions,” Panzeri said. “We don’t know what the outcome of the referendum will be.”

Langon also expressed doubts about the direction of the referendum and whether it would be free and fair. He added that free and fair elections are a prerequisite for the EU to resume normal relations with Thailand.

“It’s quite difficult to see the military regime [hanging on] in a longer term basis,” Langen said, adding however that it’s not the role of the EU to be lecturing Thailand.

“But we don’t want to come here to preach lessons,” he said.

The eight E.U. MPs met with both former premiers Yingluck Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva, and representatives of the Foreign Ministry.

Saab Unveils New Version of Gripen Fighter Jet

By

Associated Press

-

19 May 2016, 10:58

The new E version of the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen multi role fighter being rolled out at SAAB in Linkoping, Sweden, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Photo: Anders Wiklund / TT / Associated Press

STOCKHOLM — Swedish aircraft maker Saab has unveiled the latest version of its Gripen fighter jet.

About 500 people, including Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist and Brazilian air force commander Nivaldo Luiz Rossato, watched the rollout of the new Gripen E on Wednesday in Linkoping, about 170 kilometers southeast of Stockholm.

The E fighter is slightly bigger than previous versions, has a stronger engine and updated radar systems. It has been in development for about 10 years. The first test flight is expected later this year.

Brazil has ordered 36 Gripen fighters for delivery between 2019 and 2024. Earlier versions of the plane are in service in the air forces of Sweden, South Africa, Czech Republic, Hungary and Thailand.

From left, SAAB MD Hakan Buskhe, Swedish Minister of Defense, Peter Hultqvist , SAAB Chairman of the Board Marcus Wallenberg, Brazilian Air Force Commander Nivaldo Luiz Rossato and Swedish Chief of the Air Force, Major General Mats Helgesson during a presentation of the new E version of the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter Wednesday in Sweden. Photo: Anders Wiklund / TT / Associated Press

Story: Associated Press

Sevilla Stuns Liverpool With 3-1 Win in Europa League Final

By

Associated Press

-

19 May 2016, 10:39

BASEL, Switzerland — Spain did it again, Sevilla did it again and Liverpool could do little to turn the tide as a Europa League title slipped away on Wednesday.

Sevilla's thrilling second-half comeback in a 3-1 win ensured the club's third straight Europa League title, and a fifth in 11 seasons.

It also ensured Spain will sweep Europe's club competitions for a third straight year, ahead of the Atletico Madrid-Real Madrid final of the Champions League on May 28.

It was fitting that Spain's former King Juan Carlos stood beside the Spanish soccer federation president, Angel Maria Villar, who presented the trophy as UEFA's senior vice president to Sevilla captain and two-goal standout Coke.

"Maybe we are not the ones who should say it," Sevilla coach Unai Emery said when asked to explain Spanish dominance of European club soccer. "Maybe others should analyze what we do."

"I have my own theory," Emery added. "We really compete and we have been able to win against teams that were better than us."

Liverpool certainly was better in the first half at rain-swept St. Jakob Park, tearing at the two-time defending title-holder in a strong end to the first half.

Still, the high-intensity pressing game demanded by Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp yielded one goal — Daniel Sturridge's beautifully curled shot with the outside of his left foot in the 35th minute.

When Sevilla equalized less than 18 seconds after the restart, with Kevin Gameiro's goal from close range, the tempo and flow of the game utterly changed. Coke struck with right-foot shots in the 64th and 70th minutes and Liverpool had little answer.

The ferocious spirit Liverpool showed at Anfield in overhauling Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals and Villarreal in the semifinals was strangely muted.

Defeat leaves Liverpool with no European football next season and potentially a tougher time to recruit players in Klopp's first offseason at a storied club he joined just seven months ago.

It also dealt the charismatic German coach a fifth straight loss in a cup final, including the 2013 Champions League final when he was at Dortmund.

Klopp accepted he and his players reacted poorly after Sevilla's fast start to the second half.

"In this moment we lost faith in our style of play," he said. "We have 44 minutes to strike back, so where is the problem? The reaction was the problem."

Victory lifted Sevilla back into the Champions League group stage with Europe's elite next season.

"Sevilla and its fans love this competition. We want it so much," Emery said. "Now we want to take the step toward the Champions League."

Klopp suggested his side had no luck with potential handball and offside decisions that went against his team.

The third Sevilla goal was furiously disputed by Liverpool after an assistant signaled what at first seemed an apparent offside against Coke, then lowered his flag.

Still, that goal — and Gameiro's earlier — exposed defensive errors by former Sevilla player Alberto Moreno on the left side of Liverpool's defense.

Sevilla caught Liverpool cold after Moreno's poor header gifted possession to Mariano Ferreira. The right-back then broke too easily through a Moreno tackle to pass the ball across the goalmouth for the unmarked Gameiro to score.

Coke soon struck a sweeping shot from the edge of the penalty area, after Vitolo played two return passes and broke through a tackle. Coke then exposed Moreno's lack of attention by firing low into Mignolet's goal.

Liverpool had led when its three forwards linked together for the first time. Brazilians Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho passed across the Sevilla defense to find Sturridge to step forward and strike a sweet shot.

Liverpool fans far outnumbered Sevilla supporters in the 35,000 crowd and fights broke out 30 minutes before kickoff in a poorly divided area behind one goal. Only then did a line of police and stewards stand between the two groups of fans.

Most Liverpool fans had long left the stadium when Sevilla players danced in the rain on the field with the silver trophy that was theirs yet again.

Story: Graham Dunbar / Associated Press

Hot News

LATEST NEWS