The New Zealand brothers who were accused of assaulting a Phuket traffic police officer in an incident widely shared online are still in custody after they denied all charges on March 18, 2024.
PHUKET – Two New Zealand tourists who were accused of assaulting a Phuket traffic police officer in an incident widely shared online are still in custody after they denied all charges and declined to give any statement while the police requested the court deny their release on bail.
According to Pol. Maj. Gen. Sinlert Sukhum, Phuket Provincial Police Commander, Brothers Hamish Day, 36, and Oscar Mattson Day, 34, were charged with five offenses including robbery, fighting or obstructing officials from performing their duties, causing physical harm to an on-duty officer, attempted bribery and driving a motorcycle without a license.
The police chief alleged that the man who attacked the officer is a mixed martial arts fighter. Both of them have had their visas revoked by the immigration authorities.
Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat and Pol. Maj. Gen. Sinlert Sukhum, Phuket Provincial Police Commander, held a press conference on March 18, 2024.
Police said Police Senior Sergeant Major Somsak Noo-iat, who was assaulted on Saturday, is getting better and has returned home to recover.
Somsak spotted the men speeding on their motorbikes and tried to stop them. They allegedly tried to speed away then tried to offer a bribe to Somsak, who refused to take it. He tried to film the two men on his phone, and they allegedly tackled him and wrestled the gun away from him, causing a bullet to be fired. No one was injured by the bullet, police said.
Bystanders in the viral video could be heard shouting for them to stop. They then told reporters that they wouldn’t dare to intervene since the foreigner was armed.
Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat said such actions were unacceptable and that officials will increase inspection of tourists who may act inappropriately or violate the law.
CHIANG MAI – How many prime ministers are actually in Thailand? Many people satirised and joked about this as Thailand’s top politicians, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and former Prime Minister candidate Pita Limcharoenrat, visited Chiang Mai last week.
Of course, PM Srettha needed to get there immediately after finishing his trip to Germany and France, as Chiang Mai is one of the world’s most polluted cities.
Pita’s colleagues stated that he had planned to visit Chiang Mai for some time, but many people thought he had to go there to maintain the Move Forward Party (MFP) popular, as the MFP currently has seven out of ten MPs in Chiang Mai, where the Pheu Thai Party had dominated.
Thaksin Shinawatra, 75, the most controversial leader, simply wanted to visit his home province after spending at least 15 years abroad as a fugitive. His visit was personal, but he emphasised the PM.25 problem resulting from the current forest fires, as did Prime Minister Srettha and Mr. Pita.
Live and let live
Thaksin continued his public appearances since leaving detention on February 18. He flied to Chiang Mai on March 14, with his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the Pheu Thai Party leader, and her family.
“Please understand and sympathize with the 75-year-old who has left his homeland for a long time. Who doesn’t like my face, just disregard. We can live separate lives,” he said.
Thaksin went to pay respect to the graveyard of his parents at the top of a mountain on the west side of Huai Mae On Reservoir in Nong Hoi Village, On Nuea Subdistrict, San Kamphaeng District. His ex-wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejara was present along with his extended family.
Thaksin Shinawatra and his family pose for a photo after paying respect to the graveyard of his parents at the top of a mountain on the west side of Huai Mae On Reservoir, San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai Province, on March 15, 2024. (Photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
On that day he joined dinner with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and former prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, his brother-in-law, at Somchai residence inside Summit Green Valley Golf Course, Mae Rim District, on Friday, March 15.
Thaksin told reporters on another day that he didn’t give any particular advice to PM Srettha during the dinner together. He just joked to Srettha not to work beyond midnight otherwise he would have to charge overtime payment.
As for his health, which is a controversial issue that people have doubted him not acually illed, Thaksin said that previously, he was suffering from a serious disease, but strong support helped to improve things significantly.
“However, I continue to experience nerve compression in the bones of my neck and back, as well as symptoms from my COVID-19 infection. At that time, the symptoms were severe. I had to stay in the ICU for 9 days, and my insides were impacted. I still have black spots on my lungs and when I am feeling the pain neck and back, I need to use pain relief spray regularly,” Thaksin said.
Thaksin Shinawatra is greeted by people in Chiang Mai Province on March 15, 2024. (Photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
The 1997 crisis comparison
The former prime minister also stated that now the most important issue is PM 2.5 dust, which is a concern whether the environment can be returned to a moist and green environment, bringing the air back to good condition.
He believes the Prime Minister Srettha has plans to revive the economy. Because if the economy is good, everything else will be fine too. It is equivalent to stating, “An army must march on its stomach.” “It will be difficult if your stomach is not full.”
He has understood that the government’s work now is more challenging than it was during the 1997 Asian financial crisis (the Tom Yum Kung crisis). Because it’s more complex and challenging. Political parties and government officials must collaborate since the task is more difficult than ever.
Pita Limcharoenrat (white shirt) shared a photo of himself using equipment to extinguish a fire in Mae Wang District in Chiang Mai province on March 16, 2024. (Pita Instagram)
However, Pita disagreed with Thaksin. He stated that the current scenario differs from that of 1997. If we say it’s the same, we’ll make the erroneous correction. Now that the economy has been in decline for ten years, the problem is structural; exports and the production sector remain unchanged.
“I’d want to invite the administration or Mr. Thaksin to explore new economic methods to address these issues. GDP alone does not measure inequality. The most important thing is to establish a road map that outlines what will be done, when, and who will assist. But at the present, if there is nothing other than a digital wallet, that is being talked over,” he said.
Should or should not declare a disaster state
Pita’s latest trip to Chiang Mai is described as “a mission of forest fire extinguishing and solving the problem of PM2.5.” He shared a photo of himself using equipment to extinguish a fire in Mae Wang District with the caption “words are not as good as the eyes see.”
Then he gave an interview, claiming that the government should declare Chiang Mai a disaster state in order to spend the central budget, and allow state agencies to be more effectively mobilized to tackle forest fire, agricultural waste fire, and PM2.5 microdust particles.
However his suggestion has been critised that he did not understand the law of state of calamity declaration and its effects.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Nirat Phongsitthaworn The governor of Chiang Mai watched the operation of a helicopter transporting water from the Mae Ngat Sombun Chon Dam, Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai Province, to put out forest fires on March 16, 2024. (Photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
Nirat Phongsitthaworn The governor of Chiang Mai argued that the laws for declaring a dust-related calamity do not specify how much the authorities can pay for it. As a result, the declaration does not benefit government agencies’ budgets. He proposed a central budget to hire staff for fighting fires and monitoring the forest, including gas, water, food, and other expenses, which the government approved.
The Chiang Mai governor also stated that the main cause of the problem between January and February 2024 was burning in agricultural areas. During the time, the Chiang Mai administration had practically complete control of.
“However, as we enter March, we must focus on managing forest fires. Chiang Mai province has the country’s largest forest acreage, at 90%, or approximately 12 million rai. Currently, the area of burning can be reduced by up to 70%,” he stated.
A sign in the middle of a road in Chiang Mai states that PM2.5 levels on March 18, 2024, are at an unhealthy level. (Photo by Kritsana Choenthongchai, Khaosod)
Avoid severe consequences
Chairman of Chiang Mai Tourism Council Phallop Sae Jiw is another one who urged the government not to declare a state of calamity in Chiang Mai because it would severely affect the tourism industry, thus adding to the problems facing the province.
Prime Minister Srettha stated that the government had approved the central budget for forest fire extinguishment, which was set to be disbursed on March 16; therefore, he saw no reason to declare a disaster area at this time. After listening to thoughts and proposals from all relevant sectors, he was concerned that if the declaration is made, it would have even more severe consequences.
“What will happen after that is that it will affect the number of foreign tourists who have purchased insurance from home. If they are travelling in a disaster zone or emergency area, their insurance will not cover them instantly. Of course, Chiang Mai Province will lose tourists who plan to visit in the short and long term. “We are concerned here,” Srettha stated.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin joined dinner with two former prime ministers, Thaksin Shinawatra and Somchai Wongsawat, at Somchai residence inside Summit Green Valley Golf Course, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province on March 15, 2024. (Photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
Acknowledging that the level of air pollution in Chiang Mai is the worst in the world often, PM Srettha argued the situation is better than the same period last year or a third fewer heat spots now.
He said a holistic approach to tackling forest fires, agricultural fires, and PM2.5 must continue, as must the importation of corn from neighbouring countries to be used as animal feed during the dry season from January 15 to the end of April because the visibility is now very low and it’s affecting the economy, including tourism.
Srettha added that he also discussed the matter with Cambodian PM Hun Manet about the burning of agricultural waste in Cambodia, but it cannot be solved easily.
“We are doing good, but we have to do more,” he told related officials and ministers.
I don’t mind being compared
The PM also responded to Pita’s simultaneous trip to Chiang Mai to follow up on the forest fire crisis, saying, “I look at it positively. I believe it was more of a coincidence. Let us help each other since the people will profit the most. If Mr. Pita experiences anything and the government continues to perform poorly, please let me know. I will listen to whatever he recommend. We shall accomplish whatever is possible.”
The Prime Minister also stated that he did not mind being compared to Mr. Thaksin or Mr. Pita, as long as they made Thai people smile.
The homeowner in Buriram claims the Russian man smashed a piece of a wooden altar table and attempted to attack her with it.
BURIRAM – At a party in someone else’s home, a Russian man attacked his Thai wife, and the Thai homeowner in Buriram then claimed that he also attacked her, who tried to stop him. He has now sued the homeowner for 100,000 baht in damages, claiming he was assaulted.
Ms. Sommai Chamnongsuk, 42, a resident of Village 6, Nong Khammar Subdistrict, Ku Mueang District, Buriram Province conducted a media interview, claiming that the matter had been passed for a month with no progress.
The incident took place on February 18, 2024, when she hosted a birthday party for her 10-year-old son at her home. It was a simple event to which she hadn’t invited many people. Her son invited a friend named B, and his mother was from another village.
Ms. Sommai Chamnongsuk, 42, gave a media interview at her house in Village 6, Nong Khammar Subdistrict, Ku Mueang District, Buriram Province on March 17, 2024.
At 11 p.m., Mr. Stanislav, or Star, a Russian national, 43, arrived to pick up his wife and child who were at the birthday party. By this time, her son had already gone to bed. Mr. Star had an argument with his wife and then assaulted her, causing her to bleed profusely. She and her neighbors tried to stop him, whereupon Mr. Star suffered a heart attack.
They helped him by resuscitating him and giving him water until he regained consciousness. Mr. Star’s wife and her child drove away, presumably to see a doctor and have their wounds treated.
When Mr. Star’s condition improved and he no longer saw his wife, he went berserk and ransacked her house. Although she tried to tell him that his wife had already left, he wouldn’t listen to her. He went up the stairs and opened every door in the house. When he couldn’t find her, he turned to her and punched her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. Then he rode her and tried to strangle her.
The incident occurred in Ms. Sommai’s house in Village 6, Nong Khammar Subdistrict, Ku Mueang District, Buriram Province.
At this point, her son ran to his mother’s aid, kicking the Russian man three times. However, he couldn’t do much because he was still a child. Mr. Star grabbed the boy by the arm and threw him so that he almost fell down the stairs. Then he took the leg of a wooden altar table and tried to hit her with it, but she fought back by grabbing whatever she could find as a weapon. Then neighbors who heard the noise ran over to help, causing a commotion. This resulted in Mr. Star falling down the stairs and hitting his head.
After the incident, she filed a complaint with the Ku Mueang police station against Mr. Star for trespassing, assault and damage to property. However, Mr. Star filed a counter complaint with the police, claiming that they had assaulted him and demanding 100,000 baht in damages.
On March 18, the Thai woman who is the Russian’s wife, Miss A, told reporters another story.
The captured shot from the clip shows Ms. A returning to see her injured husband on February 18, 2024.
She stated that when her husband assaulted her, another friend escorted her away. She escaped into the toilet of another nearby house, but she could hear the owner’s voice saying, “Lock it up; I’ll kill him.” He hurt me first.” So she returned to her husband and discovered that he was covered in blood, with another man tying him up.
After both parties filed lawsuits against one another, Ms. A claimed that she went to every police appointment; however, Ms. Sommai only went once and declared that she would not make a deal. Regarding her husband’s request for 100,000 baht, he hoped to reach an agreement and resolve the situation without going to court.
The case’s owner, Police Lieutenant Amnuay Nonghan, Deputy Inspector, Khu Mueang Police Station, stated that if the medical certificates from Khu Mueang Hospital arrive, both sides will be called to testify again in order to summarise the files and send them to the prosecution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits his campaign headquarters after a presidential election in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin basked in a victory early Monday that was never in doubt, as partial election results showed him easily securing a fifth term after facing only token challengers and harshly suppressing opposition voices.
With little margin for protest, Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon Sunday, on the last day of the election, apparently heeding an opposition call to express their displeasure with Putin. Still, the impending landslide underlined that Russian leader would accept nothing less than full control of the country’s political system as he extends his nearly quarter-century rule for six more years.
Putin hailed the early results as an indication of “trust” and “hope” in him — while critics saw them as another reflection of the preordained nature of the election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking on a visit to his campaign headquarters after a presidential election in Moscow, Russia, early Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
“Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead. But I want to make it clear for everyone: When we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future,” Putin said at a meeting with volunteers after polls closed.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The polls have closed in Russia, following the illegal holding of elections on Ukrainian territory, a lack of choice for voters and no independent OSCE monitoring. This is not what free and fair elections look like.”
Any public criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine has been stifled. Independent media have been crippled. His fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either in jail or in exile.
Beyond the fact that voters had virtually no choice, independent monitoring of the election was extremely limited. According to Russia’s Central Election Commission, Putin had some 87% of the vote with about 90% of precincts counted.
Voters queue at a polling station at noon local time in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo)
In that tightly controlled environment, Navalny’s associates urged those unhappy with Putin or the war in Ukraine to go to the polls at noon on Sunday — and lines outside a number of polling stations both inside Russia and at its embassies around the world appeared to swell at that time.
Among those heeding call was Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, who joined a long line in Berlin as some in the crowd applauded and chanted her name.
She spent more than five hours in the line and told reporters after casting her vote that she wrote her late husband’s name on the ballot.
Asked whether she had a message for Putin, Navalnaya replied: “Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin. There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he’s a killer, he’s a gangster.”
But Putin brushed off the effectiveness of the apparent protest.
“There were calls to come vote at noon. And this was supposed to be a manifestation of opposition. Well, if there were calls to come vote, then … I praise this,” he said at a news conference after polls closed.
Unusually, Putin referenced Navalny by name for the first time in years at the news conference. And he said he was informed of an idea to release the opposition leader from prison, days before his death. Putin said that he agreed to the idea, on condition that Navalny didn’t return to Russia.
Some Russians waiting to vote in Moscow and St. Petersburg told The Associated Press that they were taking part in the protest, but it wasn’t possible to confirm whether all of those in line were doing so.
Voters queue at a polling station at noon local time in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo)
One woman in Moscow, who said her name was Yulia, told the AP that she was voting for the first time.
“Even if my vote doesn’t change anything, my conscience will be clear … for the future that I want to see for our country,” she said. Like others, she didn’t give her full name because of security concerns.
Another Moscow voter, who also identified himself only by his first name, Vadim, said he hoped for change, but added that “unfortunately, it’s unlikely.”
Meanwhile, supporters of Navalny streamed to his grave in Moscow, some bringing ballots with his name written on them.
Meduza, Russia’s biggest independent news outlet, published photos of ballots it received from their readers, with “killer” inscribed on one, “thief” on another and “The Hague awaits you” on yet another. The last refers to an arrest warrant for Putin from the International Criminal Court that accuses him of personal responsibility for abductions of children from Ukraine.
Some people told the AP that they were happy to vote for Putin — unsurprising in a country where independent media have been hobbled, state TV airs a drumbeat of praise for the Russian leader and voicing any other opinion is risky.
Dmitry Sergienko, who cast his ballot in Moscow, said, “I am happy with everything and want everything to continue as it is now.”
Voting took place over three days at polling stations across the vast country, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine and online. As people voted Sunday, Russian authorities said Ukraine launched a massive new wave of attacks on Russia, killing two people — underscoring the challenges facing the Kremlin.
Despite tight controls, several dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations were reported across the voting period.
Several people were arrested, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg, after they tried to start fires or set off explosives at polling stations while others were detained for throwing green antiseptic or ink into ballot boxes.
Stanislav Andreychuk, co-chair of the Golos independent election watchdog, said that pressure on voters from law enforcement had reached unprecedented levels.
Russians, he said in a social media post, were searched when entering polling stations, there were attempts to check filled-out ballots before they were cast, and one report said police demanded a ballot box be opened to remove a ballot.
“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen such absurdities,” Andreychuk wrote on the messaging app Telegram, adding that he started monitoring elections in Russia 20 years ago.
The OVD-Info group that monitors political arrests said that 80 people were arrested in 20 cities across Russia on Sunday.
That left little room for people to express their displeasure, but Ivan Zhdanov, the head of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that the opposition’s call to protest had been successful.
Beyond Russia, huge lines also formed around noon outside diplomatic missions in London, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Belgrade and other cities with large Russian communities, many of whom left home after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Protesters in Berlin displayed a figure of Putin bathing in a bath of blood with the Ukrainian flag on the side, alongside shredded ballots in ballot boxes.
Yulia Navalnaya, centre, widow of Alexey Navalny, stands in a queue with other voters at a polling station near the Russian embassy in Berlin, after noon local time, on Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Russian state television and officials said the lines abroad showed strong turnout.
In Tallinn, where hundreds stood in a line snaking around the Estonian capital’s cobbled streets leading to the Russian Embassy, 23-year-old Tatiana said she came to take part in the protest.
“If we have some option to protest I think it’s important to utilize any opportunity,” she said, only giving her first name.
Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal politician who tried to join the race on an anti-war platform but was barred from running by election officials, voiced hope that many Russians cast their ballots against Putin.
“I believe that the Russian people today have a chance to show their real attitude to what is happening by voting not for Putin, but for some other candidates or in some other way, which is exactly what I did,” he said after voting in Dolgoprudny, a town just outside Moscow.
The Whizdom Craft Samyan project is a 55-storey condominium
BANGKOK – Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited (MQDC) has announced a partnership with Knightsbridge Partners, a real estate agency, to sell 100 units of the Whizdom Craft Samyan condominium project in the heart of Bangkok to foreign buyers. The total value of the units is 1.7 billion baht.
Mr. Assada Kaeokhiao, Chief Customer Experience Officer of MQDC, said the Whizdom Craft Samyan project is a 55-storey condominium, the tallest building in the Samyan area, near the Samyan MRT station. Prices start at 7.99 million baht. The 100 units, worth 1.7 billion baht, will be sold to foreign buyers who see it as an investment opportunity.
Kingston Lai, CEO of Knightsbridge Partners and Mr. Assada Kaeokhiao, Chief Customer Experience Officer of MQDC
Kingston Lai, CEO of Knightsbridge Partners, a specialist in condominium sales in international markets, is confident that the project will be well received by clients interested in buying for both residential and investment purposes, as well as those looking to live in a condominium like second home in Thailand, due to its convenient location in the city center. They are also looking for opportunities to settle down permanently.
“Samyan’s location meets the needs of living, working, traveling, shopping, close to traditional stores, restaurants, street snacks, department stores and hospitals, and also has a starting price that is affordable compared to condominium prices in other countries where the company markets, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and the United Kingdom, allowing us to see the opportunity to sell a large number of units to expatriate customers,” said Mr. Kingston.
Manchester United's Amad Diallo, left, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — There’s still some fight left in Manchester United.
With the season hanging in the balance, Erik ten Hag’s team produced one of the most important wins of his tenure to beat Liverpool 4-3 after extra time in a thrilling FA Cup quarterfinal match on Sunday.
With nearly the last kick of the match, substitute Amad Diallo sent Old Trafford into raptures, ended Liverpool’s bid for a quadruple of trophies and fired United into the semifinals.
“Listen to the noise, you can tell what a big game it is,” said Marcus Rashford, who missed a golden chance to win it at the end of regulation but leveled for 3-3 in extra time. “I had to score that chance at the end … but we got the job done and we have to get something out of this season.”
A thrilling quarterfinal match had seen both teams give away leads in a clash between English soccer’s biggest rivals.
Manchester United’s head coach Erik ten Hag celebrates after Manchester United’s Antony scored his side’s second goal during the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Ten Hag has faced mounting speculation about his position in the face of a troubled campaign and restructuring at the club. The FA Cup represents his last chance of silverware this season, while Champions League qualification is in doubt with United sixth in the Premier League.
Defeat against the club’s fiercest rival would likely have seen pressure on the Dutchman grow. TV cameras focused on new director Dave Brailsford as the clock ticked down with Liverpool leading 2-1 as the game approached 90 minutes.
Brailsford is part of the team overseeing United’s soccer operations following British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s recent investment in the club. He looked stone-faced with United seemingly headed out of the competition and Liverpool’s away fans making the loudest noise.
Emotions changed drastically inside Old Trafford, however, when Antony equalized in the 87th to make the score 2-2. That set up a white-knuckle ride through to the first minute of stoppage time in extra time, with big chances missed and momentum swinging one way and then another until United’s winner.
Ten Hag hopes it can be a turning point for his team.
“Every team needs its moment into a season and we never had that moment,” the United manager said. “This could be that moment where the team believe and (has) energy that we can do amazing things. I think when you can beat Liverpool the way we did, then you can beat any opponent.”
Twelve-time FA Cup winner United was later drawn against second-tier Coventry in the semifinals and defending champion Manchester City will play Chelsea, which beat Leicester 4-2 earlier Sunday.
The game had looked like going to a penalty shootout until Diallo fired low into the bottom corner to beat Caoimhin Kelleher following a late Liverpool corner.
The substitute was so caught up in the moment that he was shown a second yellow card and sent off for taking off his jersey during wild celebrations.
“It’s the best goal of my life, it’s a really important moment,” he said. “I am disappointed to be sent off, but what is important is to win. To beat Liverpool is a big, big moment for me.”
United’s pursuit of a top-four finish was also helped after fourth-place Aston Villa drew 1-1 at West Ham in the Premier League earlier in the day. Tottenham, in fifth, lost 3-0 at Fulham on Saturday.
Ten Hag’s team is still nine points adrift of Villa, but has a game in hand, and perhaps momentum after such a morale-boosting win.
He described the opening 35 minutes of Sunday’s match as the best his team had played all season.
Scott McTominay put United ahead in the 10th minute before goals from Alexis Mac Allister in the 44th and Mohamed Salah in the second minute of first-half stoppage time gave Liverpool the lead at the break.
After Antony leveled, Harvey Elliott hit the post for Liverpool and Rashford fired wide with only the ‘keeper to beat with the final kick in regulation.
In extra time Elliott restored Liverpool’s lead in the 105th and Rashford leveled for United seven minutes later.
Diallo’s winner killed off Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of winning four trophies before he steps down at the end of the season.
“I wanted to give it back to Garnacho but I see the defender and I have to go on my own. It is unbelievable, it is a dream for me to score the last goal for Manchester United. I want to say thanks to the supporters. It is one of the best games of the season so we want to continue like this,” said Ahmad.
Liverpool has already won the League Cup, is second in the league and through to the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
“I think my boys showed incredible character again,” Klopp said. “You cannot compare our season to United’s with the amount of games. It’s fine, we deal with it.”
CHELSEA’S REVENGE
Two goals in second-half stoppage time saw Chelsea book its place at Wembley and avenge its defeat to Leicester in the 2021 FA Cup final.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s team was given a scare against Leicester at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s head coach Mauricio Pochettino celebrates with Chelsea’s Noni Madueke after the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Chelsea and Leicester City at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, March 17, 2024. Chelsea won the match 4-2. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer put Chelsea 2-0 up in the first half, with Raheem Sterling also having a penalty saved by Jakub Stolarczyk. Leicester fought back after the break through a spectacular own-goal by Axel Disasi, who sent a long-range back pass without checking where his ‘keeper was, and an equalizer from Stephy Mavididi.
With the game looking set to go to extra time, Chelsea struck twice through two substitutes.
Carney Chukwuemeka restored the Premier League team’s advantage after an assist from Palmer in the second minute of time added on. Noni Madueke scored a brilliant solo effort six minutes later to ensure the win and a semifinal spot.
Leicester beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final three years ago to win the trophy for the first time.
TOP FOUR
Nicolo Zaniolo’s goal in Sunday’s only Premier League game could be crucial in the battle to qualify for the Champions League.
Having been routed 4-0 by Tottenham last week, Aston Villa, in fourth, trailed to Michail Antonio’s header at West Ham. But Zaniolo’s second-half strike secured a 1-1 draw that moved Villa three points clear of Spurs, having played a game more.
The big screen displays Checking Goal during a VAR review after West Ham’s Konstantinos Mavropanos scores a disallowed goal during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Aston Villa, at the London stadium in London, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Even then, Unai Emery’s team had to rely on VAR to rule out a a stoppage-time goal from Tomas Soucek for handball.
Depending on how English teams perform in Europe this season, the Premier League could be handed an extra Champions League spot, meaning fifth place would gain entry to next season’s competition.
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Manchester United’s Amad Diallo, left, scores his side’s fourth goal, the winning goal, during the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford scores his side’s third goal during the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott celebrates with Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas after scoring his side’s third goal during the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester United’s Antony scores his side’s second goal during the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester United’s Scott McTominay, right, celebrates with Manchester United’s goalkeeper Andre Onana at full time of the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester United’s Scott McTominay scores his side’s opening goal during the FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
PHUKET – Two New Zealanders were arrested on Saturday in Phuket after they assaulted a traffic police officer who tried to stop them for speeding on a motorcycle but refused to stop and later tried to steal his handgun, with a shot accidentally fired, during the struggle but hits no one.
The officer, Police Senior Sergeant Major Somsak Noo-iat suffered from arm and leg injuries.
The two New Zealanders, Oscar Matson Day, 36, and Hamish Day, 34, were charged with assaulting a police officer, conspiring to commit robbery, assembling to fight or obstruct officials while performing their jobs, and driving without a licence.
The speeding occurred in front of a noodle restaurant on Chao Fah Tawan Ork Road, Phuket’s Muang district, after the two Kiwis failed to stop when notified and after Somsak pursued them to a nearby street-side noodle shop, take a video clip of the two, before being assaulted by them. They were arrested when police reinforcement arrived.
The side of the road where the incident occurred.
Miss Jutharat, who works at a bakery, claimed she heard two gunshots and went outside to find out, where she saw two foreigners fighting with one police officer. Nobody dared to intervene because foreigners had guns. So she and other witnesses called Chalong Police Station to assist the policeman and arrest the foreigners.
“I don’t want anything this violent to happen. She stated that foreigners and Thais are able to live together as long as they respect each other’s rules.
Another witness, Somnuek Chankong, described the incident as frightening. He didn’t dare step in to help because he didn’t have a weapon. He encouraged the police to continue performing their responsibilities so that tourists may travel to Thailand with confidence.
Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, AKA “Big Joke”, late on Sunday instructed immigration police to revoke the visas of the two New Zealanders, and to ban them from reentering Thailand.
Tourists visit the Angkor Wat in Siem Reap province, Cambodia on Feb. 10, 2024. (Photo by Sao Khuth/Xinhua)
SIEM REAP – Cambodia on Saturday launched the Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign in the northwestern province, aiming to draw more visitors to its tourist attraction the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park.
Addressing the launching event with thousands of participants, which was held together with the official opening ceremony of the eighth River Festival, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the campaign was designed to revitalize the tourism industry in Siem Reap province in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
“The Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign, together with the 2024 Cambodia-China people-to-people exchange year and the Cambodia-India tourism year, will give a boost to the tourism sector in Siem Reap province, attracting more foreign tourists to Cambodia,” he said.
Tourists visit the Angkor Wat in Siem Reap province, Cambodia on Feb. 10, 2024. (Photo by Sao Khuth/Xinhua)
According to Hun Manet, the Chinese-invested Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI), which started commercial operation last November, is becoming a potential magnet by facilitating the trip of international tourists to the Angkor park in particular and to Cambodia in general.
The prime minister also encouraged tourism officials, local authorities and tour agents to organize various tourism activities to support the campaign.
Tourism Minister Sok Soken said the campaign would inject new momentum into the local tourism sector, helping attract more international tourists, particularly to the Angkor park.
“The Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign is one of our major measures to revitalize the tourism industry in Siem Reap province,” he said.
Siem Reap is home to the 401-square-km Angkor Archaeological Park, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1992.
Angkor park, the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian country, is home to 91 ancient temples built over a time span from the 9th to the 13th centuries.
The ancient site received nearly 800,000 international visitors in 2023, earning 37.1 million U.S. dollars in revenue from ticket sales, according to the state-owned Angkor Enterprise.
However, the figures were compared to 2.2 million foreign tourists the park received in the pre-pandemic era in 2019, with a gross revenue of 99 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales.
Human rights activist Angkhana Neelapajit stands next to an image of her husband, Somchai Neelapaijit, a human rights lawyer who disappeared 20 years ago, in front of the Department of Special Investigation. Photo: Amnesty International Thailand
Before the panel marking 20 years since the enforced disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on Monday began, I asked Somchai’s wife, Angkhana Neelapajit, whether she is still living in the same Bangkok house in which Somchai resided before he disappeared 20 years ago.
“Yes,” Angkhana, who has since abandoned her old job as a nurse and eventually became Thailand’s prominent human rights activist, including a stint as a national human rights commissioner, told me. She adds that for the family of those who disappeared, they always hold on to the hope that if one day their loved one is freed, the first thing he or she would do is to head straight home.
But it has been 20 years now and when I went up to the panel as one of the four speakers that evening, which included Angkhana, I told the audience that I think for family members of those abducted, as long as no remains are discovered, closure is the hardest thing to do. I dare not ask people like Angkhana whether she had a closure and accepted the fact that perhaps Somchai is most likely never coming home. It just seems inconsiderate.
The enforced disappearance of Somchai, who was a prominent attorney representing suspect Thai-Malay Muslim separatists in the Deep South, occurred on March 12, 2004, when Thaksin Shinawatra was PM. Many government and coup makers come and go during the two decades and now the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai government is back in power again.
One constant is that there was no real breakthrough and impunity prevailed. This led to my hypothesis that such crimes are works of the deep state and not just a particular government and those forced to disappear, or abducted and killed, were regarded as the enemy of the state – or the enemy of the deep state. That is why no government dares or wants to dig deep and reveal the very dark side of its own state.
In the case of Somchai, though some police officers were arrested and put on trial, including a tourist police officer, no one was punished in the end and the public as well as the family never got an answer as to why Somchai must die. The crime, BTW, audaciously took place very near Hua Mak Police Station in Bangkok.
In two other prominent cases, anti-monarchist Surachai Danwattanusorn, who fled to Laos after the May 2014 coup and actively calling for the abolishment of the monarchy, disappeared in December 2018. Although the bodies of his two close aides were found at the end of December that year floating up on the Thai side of the Mekong river, covered with clothes, binded, and with their stomachs cut up and stuffed with concrete poles – a dehumanizing way to kill and probably a warning to others. In another case, ethnic Karen activist Billy Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, a land rights leader, was last seen on April 17, 2014, in Phetchaburi province.
Supporting, or affording legal representation to alleged Thai-Malay separatists, is akin to being an enemy of the state. Being anti-monarchist, or republican, is being an enemy of the state. Fighting for land rights in protected forests is akin to being an enemy of the state. This is also probably why Thailand, despite being a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, would not accept the ICC’s jurisdiction over the kingdom.
Angkhana, who became a prominent human rights activist in her own right and arguably the most prominent spouse of a victim of enforced disappearance in Thailand, laments at the panel on Monday evening that despite the parliament finally passing the Anti-Torture and Anti-Enforced-Disappearance Act was finally passed in 2022, Angkhana said little has been done to prevent enforced disappearances from occurring in the future.
Meanwhile, people like Phil Robertson, the Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, said during the introduction of the panel on Monday, (which by the way, was organized not by the FCCT but by organizations including Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch and Forum-Asia) that now that Thaksin is back, he “owes it to the Neepapaijit family, and to the Thai people to come clean and fully reveal all that he knows about the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelapaijit.
“No more excuses, Khun Thaksin,” Robertson said. “And since Thaksin continues to have a significant say in what the ruling Pheu Thai Party and government actually do, he should also push the current Thai PM Srettha Thavisin and his government to reopen the case and prioritize it.”
I told Angkhana at the panel that she needs to go and see PM Srettha and cajole him to do more on the problem of enforced disappearance and ensure justice not just for Somchai but 76 others (as tallied by the UN and local NGOs) and she replied:
“I’m really exhausted. Twenty years, hundreds of petitions. Sometimes I feel like a beggar, asking for mercy.”
Perhaps we should ask the deep state if it has an iota of mercy at all.
File photo taken May 1998 shows Emperor Akihito (2nd from R) and Empress Michiko (3rd from R) at a banquet with Queen Elizabeth (far R) in Buckingham Palace in London. (Kyodo)
LONDON – Japan’s imperial couple “felt a sense of unease” about their links to the British royal family ahead of their state visit in 1998, newly released documents at the National Archives in London showed Saturday.
The files opened to public view show that, despite their past visits, then Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko felt they lacked the more intimate connections enjoyed by other members of the imperial family with Britain and its royal family.
Akihito acceded to the throne in January 1989 and abdicated in April 2019.
Sadaaki Numata, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in London at the time, spoke to David Wright, then one of the most senior civil servants at the Foreign Office, to air the imperial couple’s concerns and sought to strengthen connections, according to the telegram Wright sent to the British ambassador in Japan in 1994.
Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko walk to boarding a plane to leave for Vietnam on Tuesday at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi / Associated Press
Wright wrote to then Ambassador John Boyd and then Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd’s private secretary, John Sawers, with a view to raising the matter at the ministerial level.
Wright wrote, “He (Numata) identified one problem about the Emperor and Empress. They felt a sense of unease about their links with the British Crown.”
“They lacked the firm foundation of the long-standing personal links” of other imperial members such as Akihito’s aunt Princess Chichibu, and younger brother Prince Hitachi and his wife Princess Hanako, Wright said in the telegram.
“In a sense, and to make matters worse, their lack of close personal ties was highlighted by the experience of the next generation,” Wright wrote.
Wright’s telegram refers to Akihito’s son, Emperor Naruhito, who studied at Oxford University between 1983 and 1985, as did his wife, Empress Masako.
In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito poses for a photograph with Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Akihito’s younger son, Crown Prince Fumihito, and his cousin-in-law, Princess Hisako, had built ties with the British royal family while they attended Cambridge University and Oxford, respectively.
“The successful British ties of the younger generation served to enhance TIHS’s (Their Imperial Highnesses’) sense of unease about the lack of a close relationship with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh,” Wright wrote.
Although Akihito attended Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 when he was crown prince and stayed at Windsor Castle with his wife in 1976, other members of the imperial family had lived in Britain and built more durable ties with the British royal family.
Numata told Wright he felt the royal couple’s ties to the British royal household were weaker than in the 1980s when their two princes studied in Britain.
Despite a Japanese state visit to Britain being considered for several years, it was only in 1998 that it actually took place as it was considered controversial by some in Britain due to the history of the two countries fighting in World War II and former prisoners of war demanding apology and compensation.
