The suspect gave 300,000 baht to Mr. Yu at the Pattaya City Police Station on January 5, 2024.
PATTAYA – The transgender thief who stole a Chinese tourist’s necklace on Christmas was caught by Pattaya Tourist Police. She agreed to repay the visitor 300,000 baht.
Tourist police officers together with police officers from Pattaya Police Station brought in Wichai Chueprasong, a 29-year-old transgender woman accused of stealing a Chinese tourist, and returned 300,000 baht to the Chinese tourist on January 5.
Mr. Yu, age 36, was grabbed by Wichai at 3:00 a.m. on December 25, 2023. She pretended to talk to him and hugged him near the roadside of Wat Chai Mongkol intersection, Sai 2, Nong Subdistrict, Prue, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province, before taking off a gold necklace weighing 100 grammes and costing approximately 300,000 baht and walking away, without Mr. Yu noticing.
When a Chinese tourist discovered that his necklace had been taken, he went to the police station to connect with the Chinese Embassy to notify the Pattaya Tourist Police to assist in tracking down the offender.
Tourist police officials and Pattaya City Police Station examined the CCTV cameras and investigated the tracks until they discovered that the thief was Mr. Wichai, whose address was listed on his ID card as Nong Hin District, Loei Province. The police gathered evidence and applied to the Pattaya Provincial Court for an arrest warrant dated January 4, 2024.
The suspect fled the scene after stealing a Chinese visitor’s gold necklace, according to CCTV footage.
Then, on January 5, police located and detained Wichai. She admitted to stealing the Chinese’s necklace and offered to compensate for damages based on the worth of the item in the amount of 300,000 baht, with the Chinese visitor agreeing to accept it. As a result, the money was given to Mr. Yu at the Pattaya City Police Station.
The police then charged Wichai with “theft at night by using a vehicle to facilitate the commission of an offence or taking that property away and to avoid arrest.”
FILE - Actor David Soul arrives for the UK premiere of Starsky & Hutch at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square, central London, March 11, 2004. (Yui Mok/PA via AP, File)
LONDON (AP) — Actor-singer David Soul, a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the crime-fighting duo “Starsky & Hutch” and topped the music charts with the ballad “Don’t Give Up on Us,” has died at the age of 80.
His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that “David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family.”
“He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend,” Snell said in a statement. “His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”
Born David Solberg, Soul was a Chicago native whose acting career dated back to the 1960s, when he joined the avant-garde Firehouse Theater in Minnesota. He continued to appear on stage and screen well into the 20th century, but he was best known for his work in the 1970s.
FILE- David Soul is photographed at an event in Los Angeles, Dec. 6, 1983. (AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)
Soul portrayed detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson alongside dark-haired Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in “Starsky & Hutch, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979 and grew so popular it spawned a line of children’s toys.
He also had success as a singer, starting in 1976 with “Don’t Give Up on Us” and following with such hits as “Going in With My Eyes Open” and “Silver Lady.”
Soul first gained national fame in the 1960s appearing on “The Merv Griffin Show” as “The Covered Man,” a singer disguised in a stocking cap who shouted out lyrics such as “That is why I hide my face, because a man has to be free.”
His other TV credits included early appearances on “Star Trek,” “All in the Family” and “”I Dream of Jeannie,” the miniseries “Salem’s Lot” and a short-lived version of the film classic “Casablanca,” in which Soul took on Humphrey Bogart’s role as nightclub owner Rick Blaine.
Soul’s movies included “Magnum Force,” “The Hanoi Hilton” and a cameo with Glaser in the 2004 big-screen remake of “Starsky & Hutch,” starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch.
FILE – David Soul, left, Paul Michael Glaser, and Antonio Fargas, right, stars of the original 1970’s “Starsky and Hutch” television series, arrive at the British premiere of the new movie of the same name based on the TV series, in London, Thursday March 11, 2004. (AP Photo/John D McHugh, File)
By the 1990s, Soul had moved to Britain, where he performed several stage roles. In 2001, he won a libel case against a journalist who called “The Dead Monkey,” a play that Soul was in, the worst production he had ever seen – without having seen it. He also played the titular talk-show host in “Jerry Springer – The Opera” in London’s West End.
A dog stayed guard over his master's body in front of the room door.
CHONBURI – Officers from Chonburi Province’s Sattahip Police Station and volunteers from the Rescue Foundation Sawangrojanathammasathan witnessed a heartbreaking sight in which a dog stayed guard over his master’s body in front of the room door and barked at them not to let them near his master.
Officials were alerted that someone died in this room in Village No. 9, Sattahip Subdistrict, Sattahip District, Chonburi Province, at 4:30 p.m. on January 5.
Police Lieutenant Santichon Hum-at, deputy inspector at Sattahip Police Station, stated that Mr. Lee is 42 years old and Malaysian. He died at least 5–7 hours earlier.
“Darling,” a French Bulldog breed male, white, about 2-3 years old, gazed over his owner’s body. The officers had to trick him in order to carry the Malaysian man’s body to the Police Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy.
The dog barked at the police officers not to let them near his master.The poor dog was taken away from his owner’s body.
Mr. Likhit Srisayat, 54, and a neighbour told investigators that Mr. Lee had been renting a room and lived with the dog for about a year. Mr. Lee informed him that he had travelled from Bangkok to operate a shop in the Sattahip neighbourhood. Mr. Lee enjoyed drinking alcohol and once stated that he couldn’t sleep for five days in a row. Mr. Lee also stated that he was suffering from depression and went to the drugstore to purchase medication for himself.
He saw that Mr. Lee’s room was quiet this Friday morning. He didn’t think anything of it until the evening, when he didn’t see Mr. Lee leave the room as he usually did. So he opened the door to investigate and discovered that Mr. Lee had died. So he called the police to inspect the situation.
Lieutenant Santichon of the police force said that officials have called Mr. Lee’s family to get more information about what really caused his death, and his friend has offered to help him take care of the dog.
The "Love & Thai" name is seen above David Rasavong's new restaurant in Fresno, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
FRESNO, California (AP) — David Rasavong’s cultural pride is evident all throughout his restaurant.
It’s on the wall of family portraits and where a stunning mural depicts his family’s journey from Laos to California. It’s on the menu filled with Lao and Thai dishes like the crispy coconut rice salad of Nam Khao and the stir-fried rice noodles of Pad See Ew.
And it’s in the fact that Love & Thai in Fresno, California, restaurant is open at all. A baseless accusation grounded in a racist stereotype about Asian food using dog meat brought a six-month barrage of harassment so heated that Rasavong, 41, closed down its previous location over fears for his family’s safety.
David Rasavong serves customers during the lunch hour rush in his restaurant “Love & Thai” in Fresno, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
His earlier restaurant had itself only been open for seven months when a so-called animal welfare crusader in May implied on social media that a pitbull tied up at an unconnected home next door was going to be served on the menu.
A day after the initial commentary, vitriolic statements, voicemails and calls rained down. Rasavong’s body still tenses up when recounting, in particular, a call from an elderly woman.
“She was so disgusted by me and yelling and screaming, and the only thing I can remember hearing her say at the end was ‘Go back to the country you came from you dog-eating mother-effer,’” Rasavong recently told The Associated Press.
Within days, he closed that restaurant because it no longer felt safe between the harassment and people loitering in the parking lot outside of business hours.
The false accusation tapped into a longstanding slur against Asian cuisines and cultures that has persisted in the U.S. for over 150 years, dating back to the xenophobia that grew in the U.S. after Chinese immigrants started arriving in more visible numbers in the 1800s and other Asian communities followed. It’s also one that Asian American communities are fighting against.
Crispy Pork Belly is presented at “Love & Thai” restaurant in Fresno, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
It may be astonishing to some that a claim rooted in a racist stereotype took down a family’s restaurant three years after “Stop Asian Hate” became a rallying cry. But for many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, it’s something they’ve heard before as an insult or under the guise of a “joke,” along with other negative reactions to the actual foods of their cultures. In December, a comedian received some backlash for dressing like a UPS delivery driver and walking into an Asian restaurant with caged puppies for a social media video.
There is hope though that more people will learn to tell truth from trope. Since the pandemic first fueled anti-Asian hostilities, AAPI communities themselves have tried to take control of the narrative that Asian food is “dirty,” “weird” yet “exotic.” Furthermore, the appetite to learn about food from the Asian diaspora has only grown across traditional and new media.
Still, there were moments where Rasavong felt like nobody, even media, was on his side. He said a few reporters approached him assuming the claims were true.
But he soon received tons of community support, and the closure ended up being a new beginning.
A shopping center property manager offered him the chance to take over a suite vacated by another restaurant. Nkundwe P. van Wort-Kasyanju, a graphic designer in the Netherlands, and Los Angeles-based interior designer Danny Gonzales proffered their services for free. Hana Luna Her, a local artist, painted the mural. By the Nov. 3 grand opening of the new space, Love & Thai definitely felt the love. The place was bustling all day, Rasavong said, and the city presented a proclamation.
Rasavong is holding onto the belief that he went through this whole saga for a reason.
“There’s a journey that we’re supposed to go on,” said Rasavong, who declined to say if he’ll pursue legal action. “Don’t get me wrong. People need to realize this business is not easy … But you know, we believe in what we’re doing and so far so good.”
In actuality, consuming dog meat is something that has happened in various parts of the world for centuries, where they weren’t seen as domesticated family pets, said Robert Ku, author of “Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA.” Greeks and Romans referenced it. The French also ate dog meat during World War II.
But when Chinese immigrants came to the U.S., it was linked to them as part of “the myths that the Chinese were these bizarre people who had bizarre diets,” Ku said. “It was one of the attractions of actually going to Chinese restaurants back in the day because it came with ‘danger.’”
As other Asian immigrant groups came, the stereotype spread to include them.
“This is a real just blurring of the Asian identity where it doesn’t matter if you’re Thai or Korean or Vietnamese or Cambodian. You’re all the same,” Ku said.
David Rasavong stands by a mural depicting his family’s journey from Laos to San Francisco and then to Fresno, in his restaurant “Love & Thai” in Fresno, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Along with the false allegation of eating dog meat, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders over the generations have often faced disgust and worse from others when they’ve brought their cultures’ foods from home to public spaces like school or work.
They’re taking steps to fight back, like in 2021, when San Francisco-Bay Area-based writers Diann Leo-Omine. Anthony Shu and Shirley Huey self-published “Lunchbox Moments,” a compilation of over two dozen personal essays and illustrations that raised $6,000 for charity.
The project became “a powerful thing for all of us,” Leo-Omine said.
“We tried to show it’s not always about being in relation to being American or being white or assimilated,” she said. “You can have moments of joy, too…I hope that it opened people’s minds a little bit more — or made them want to try new foods.”
It’s actually been a big year in publishing and food media for Asian cuisine. Publishers Weekly dedicated a feature in August entirely to Chinese and Taiwanese food after observing nine new cookbooks on the subjects were coming out this year. Several of the authors grew up outside of Asia. The titles range from “Vegan Chinese Food,” to “Kung Food” and “A Very Chinese Cookbook” from America’s Test Kitchen. Also, children’s book author Grace Lin released “Chinese Menu,” which relays folklore behind favorite Chinese American dishes. They all share personal anecdotes and readers often seem drawn to “personality-driven” cookbooks, said Carolyn Juris, features editor.
“It’s not just about the recipes. It’s about the stories behind them and I think people respond to that,” Juris said.
Anna Le Nguyen, and Minh Rasavong Oriyavong help out in the kitchen of “Love & Thai” in Fresno, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Like any other culture, Asian cultures encompass many different regional cuisines and nuances. With the growing Asian diaspora, it’s not strange that so many cookbooks can be mined and “publishers are savvy enough to know that there is a market for these books,” Juris added.
Back at Love & Thai, Rasavong is busy filling online orders for a waiting third-party delivery driver. He is optimistic about keeping up business now that the initial hoopla around his restaurant renaissance has calmed down. Rasavong also hopes his situation will remind others to think before they speak.
“People say these jokes and they think it’s just fun and just light-hearted,” he said. “There are certain things that you shouldn’t say that really do cross a line.”
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This story has been changed to correct the spelling of Diann Leo-Omine’s last name to Leo-Omine, not Leo-Omineto.
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Terry Tang is a Phoenix-based member of AP’s Race and Ethnicity team.
PATTAYA – It was as big as Thailand’s annual countdown event for the Pattaya countdown event “Mono29 Pattaya Countdown 2024: The Fantastic Beach,” which was held over three days between December 29 and 31 at Pattaya Beach. All three days were packed with masses of Thai and foreign tourists to join in celebrating the end of the year 2023 and welcoming the new year energetically.
It organized by Pattaya City, Chonburi Provincial Administrative Organization, Tourism Authority of Thailand Pattaya Office , Television Station MONO29 ( Mono Twentynine) and E 29 Music& Showbiz Company ( E29 Music & Showbiz Company). This year the venue was changed to Pattaya Beach, which is nearly 3 kilometers long.
On the third day of the event, the importance of strict security was still emphasized. Those attending the event must register through the E29 application for the safety and well-being of the attendees. You will also be able to quickly and conveniently visit the event and have a chance to win big prizes at the event.
One of the most favourite singers on the concert stage was Violette Vauthier, with cute rhythmic songs like Heartbeat and Quarantine, followed by the English version of the soft and deep-style songs “I’d do it again” and “All that I can o.” There were also performances from the good-humoured artist duo with the band Lipta, the duo artists Mon Monique and Waen, Boy Peacemaker, Pete Peera, and so many others.
The exciting activity was drawing the lucky winner who won the big prize at this party. Mr. Sanwarot Phutthacharoenlap, Small Car Marketing Communications Manager at Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Company Limited, picked up Mr. Supakorn Yenpinyo from Bangkok to be the winner, receiving an Isuzu D-Max Space Cab model valued at 720,000 baht.
Along with a spectacular fireworks celebration in the middle of the sea for more than 10 minutes, with Mr. Thawatchai Srithong, Governor of Chonburi Province; Mr. Pramet Ngampichet, Mayor of Pattaya City; Mr. Witthaya Khunpluem, Mayor of the Chonburi Provincial Administrative Organisation; and Mr. Bansit Rakwong, Chief Operating Officer of Mono Next Public Company Limited and Director of the MONO29 television station.
A woman, on a stretcher, who was found trapped under her destroyed house is rescued 72 hours after a strong earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. The woman was conscious and sent to a hospital, according to Osaka Municipal Fire Department. (Osaka Municipal Fire Department via AP)
WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — A woman was pulled carefully from the rubble 72 hours after a series of powerful quakes started rattling Japan’s western coast. Despite rescue efforts, the death toll Friday grew to at least 94 people, and the number of missing was lowered to 222 after it shot up the previous day.
An older man was found alive Wednesday in a collapsed home in Suzu, one of the hardest-hit cities in Ishikawa Prefecture. His daughter called out, “Dad, dad,” as a flock of firefighters got him out on a stretcher, praising him for holding on for so long after Monday’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake.
Ishikawa officials said 55 of those who died were in the city of Wajima and 23 were in Suzu, while the others were reported in five neighboring towns. More than 460 people have been injured, at least 24 seriously.
The aftermath of a fire at a shopping area is seen in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
The Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo found that the sandy coastline in western Japan shifted by up to 250 meters (820 feet) seaward in some places.
The earthquakes set off a large fire in the town of Wajima, as well as tsunamis and landslides in the region. With some routes cut off by the destruction, worries grew about communities in which water, food, blankets and medicine had yet to arrive.
The United States announced $100,000 in aid Friday, including blankets, water and medical supplies, and promised more help would come. Dodgers major leaguer Shohei Ohtani also announced aid for the Noto area, though he did not disclose the amount.
Thousands of Japanese troops have joined the effort to reach the hardest-hit spots on the Noto Peninsula, the center of the quake, connected by a narrow land strip to the rest of the main island of Honshu.
Experts warned of disease and even death at the evacuation centers that now house about 34,000 people who lost their homes, many of them older.
Rescuers conduct a search operation in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. Monday’s temblor decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings. (Kyodo News via AP)
Masashi Tomari, a 67-year-old oyster farmer who lives in Anamizu city in Ishikawa, said it was tough sleeping on the floor with just one blanket. There was no heating until two stoves finally arrived Thursday — three days after the 7.6 quake struck.
“This is a terrible, cold place,” he said.
Tomari felt at a loss thinking about his home, where broken glass and knocked over items littered the floor. It was pitch dark at night because the area was still out of power.
But Tomari and others were already thinking about rebuilding.
Sachiko Kato, who owns a clothing shop in Anamizu, put up a yellow notice as a warning inside her store where the walls have tipped slanted, and a red one for the shed in the back that was completely flattened.
“So many stores were on this street. Now, they’re all gone. Maybe we can work hard to rebuild,” she said.
As of Friday, running water was not fully restored in Anamizu. Kato had to get water from a nearby river to flush the toilet.
A business building is seen fallen down in Wajima in the Noto peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan, northwest of Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, following Monday’s deadly earthquake. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Dozens of aftershocks have rattled Ishikawa and the neighboring region in the past week. Japan, with its crisscrossing fault lines, is an extremely quake-prone nation. Weather forecasts called for rain and snow over the weekend, and experts warned of more aftershocks.
The region affected by the latest quakes is famous for its craftwork, including lacquerware, knives, ceramics, candles and kimono fabric.
Tsutomu Ishikawa, who oversees a resin company called Aras that makes fashionable plates and cups, said no lives were lost around him, but the atelier was seriously damaged.
He apologized for delayed deliveries and expressed determination to pick up and rebuild, while acknowledging the challenges. “We are feeling a deep helplessness that works we created with so much love are gone.”
Sachiko Takagi, who owns a kimono shop on a street lined with picturesque stores in Wajima, said she was lucky her 80-year-old store — inherited over generations — was still standing. Others were not so lucky.
“These people do not have the energy to start something from scratch,” she said. “I really wonder what will happen to this street.”
NAKHON RATCHASIMA – The GranMonte winery in Khao Yai worried that the government’s decision to lift import duties on foreign wines will lead to a flood of European wines that will crush the Thai wine market. They are calling on the government to take measures to reduce production costs and relax laws that hinder competition.
On January 5, 2024, Ms. Suvisut Lohitnavy, Director of Marketing and Public Relations of GranMonte Vineyard and Winery, a vineyard and wine producer in Khao Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima province, expressed her opinion that the government’s recent measures that have reduced taxes on grape wines are a good thing, but that there are more concerns when looking at the big picture.
Ms. Suvisut Lohitnavy, Director of Marketing and Public Relations of GranMonte Vineyard and Winery
With the new tax rates, import duties on foreign wines will also be abolished. Normally, many foreign wines that have free trade agreements with Thailand do not have to pay import duties, such as Australian, New Zealand and Chilean wines. These wines will only benefit from the reduction in excise duties.
However, wines from European countries such as France, Italy and Portugal, most of which are high-quality wines, were previously subject to high import duties of around 50-60 percent of the price. By waiving import duties, they benefit fully and also receive a double reduction in excise duties.
The GranMonte VineyardThe GranMonte Winery
This has caused great concern among Thai wine producers. They fear that European wines will flood the Thai market and make it difficult for Thai producers to compete. European producers have cutting-edge technology, large production volumes and lower costs than Thai producers.
Wine production in Thailand is limited to a few producers who grow their own grapes. The GranMonte Winery in Khao Yai, for example, grows its own grapes and produces its wine exclusively using local methods. However, the cost of growing grapes increases every year as the prices of fertilizers, pesticides and fuel rise. The government has not taken any measures to mitigate the impact on Thai wine producers.
In addition, there are problems with various laws, in particular the laws on advertising and promotion in the media. In many countries there are not as many restrictions as in Thailand. In some countries, alcohol is even advertised. Japan, for example, which inspired Thailand’s OTOP program, openly promotes local alcoholic beverages.
The 53-year-old Asian elephant, Shaunzi, has been euthanized at the Los Angeles Zoo after she was unable to stand up. The zoo says Shaunzi, one of two female elephants at the zoo, was discovered unable to stand in her exhibit on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Jamie Pham
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 53-year-old Asian elephant has been euthanized at the Los Angeles Zoo after she was unable to stand up, the zoo announced Thursday.
Shaunzi, one of two female elephants at the zoo, was discovered unable to stand Tuesday night after she went down in the yard of her exhibit space.
“Animal care staff and zoo veterinarians responded quickly and worked through the night to help Shaunzi up. Despite the use of all resources and personnel available, the extraordinary efforts were ultimately unsuccessful,” a zoo statement said.
A “heartbreaking” decision was made to sedate and euthanize the animal on Wednesday, the statement said.
Shaunzi the elephant came to the LA Zoo in 2017 after living more than 30 years at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. Shaunzi was euthanized Jan. 3, 2024, after her health took a sudden turn, the LA Zoo reported. She was 53 years old. (Image courtesy of the LA Zoo)
It wasn’t clear why the elephant couldn’t stand up, and a necropsy was planned, zoo spokesman Carl Myers said.
Born in Thailand, Shaunzi spent her youth in a circus, came to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo in 1983 and was sent to the Los Angeles Zoo in 2017.
The median life expectancy of female Asian elephants in human care has been estimated by various zoos, researchers and conservation groups as around 40 to 50 years. Elephants in the wild can live decades longer.
Asian elephants are considered endangered, and only about 40,000 of them remain in the wild. They are threatened by destruction of their habitat and by poachers who kill them for their tusks.
“Shaunzi lived a full life and was an ambassador for her species. She helped Angelenos learn about her wild counterparts and the challenges they face in their native range,” the zoo said. “She will be dearly missed by the Los Angeles Zoo staff, members, and the millions of visitors who come to the zoo each year.”
BANGKOK – Thailand’s aviation industry will see significant changes in 2024 as the industry recovers globally. Seaplane service providers intend to expand their operations, while authorities say several companies have applied for licences and imported 60 aircraft to take advantage of the 320 billion baht industry.
Kasinpoj Rodkho, CEO of Thai Seaplane Company (Avanti Air Charter), a seaplane service provider, revealed that his airline has benefited from international tourists traveling in the Andaman region. Infrastructure development projects at airports on the Andaman coast, including Phuket, Krabi and a second airport in Phang Nga, are expected to attract a significant number of passengers in the future.
Thai Seaplane
“Even though the volume of business travelers is decreasing, tourists continue to travel, and there is a trend to combine travel and work known as workcation. This has prompted various airlines to increase their fleet size due to growing passenger numbers,” he explained.
Thai Seaplane sees an opportunity to meet the travel needs of tourists who want to travel between tourist areas with long travel times or difficult access. Therefore, the seaplane service will begin operations in the third quarter of 2024, offering flights in the Andaman region that take no longer than 1.30 hours. Possible routes include Phuket-Krabi (bypassing the airport), Phuket-Koh Phi Phi, Krabi-Koh Phi Phi, Phuket-Similan Islands and Phuket-Lipe.
Premium Target Groups
Siam Seaplane Company Limited is another company that expects to receive an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in the first quarter of 2024 and will begin flying routes from Phuket or Krabi to various islands such as Koh Lipe, Koh Yao Noi, Phi Phi Island, and Khao Lak in Phang Nga Province; and routes from Bangkok (Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi) to the Gulf of Thailand such as Rayong, Trat, and Pattaya.
Worakanya Siripidej, CEO of Siam Seaplane, and Kasinpoj Rodkho, CEO of Thai Seaplane, both gave an interview with Prachachat Business.
Siam Seaplane CEO Worakanya Siripidej told Prachachat Business that her company’s goal is to carry 25,000 people each year on three aircraft. Thai premium mass tourists who desire to travel are the airline’s target market, accounting for 30-40% of total clients.
In terms of the foreign tourist market, the target customer group is a developing market group, which includes Southeast Asia, and we will seek to enter markets relevant to each location, such as the Russians in the southern zone.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), around 30% of tourists visiting Thailand are from luxury groups, or approximately 7 million individuals out of a total of 25 million foreign tourists. She is confident that there is still opportunity for growth in the Thai aviation industry.
Siam Seaplane
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) is speeding up the approval process to allow airlines to acquire additional aircraft quickly and relax the relevant regulations. This is to enable airlines to meet the growing demand in the Thai aviation industry, which is constantly expanding despite the current lack of supply in the industry.
Eight additional airlines have recently received operating licenses (AOL). The airlines also plan to import another 60 aircraft by 2024. The Thai aviation industry is expected to return to pre-COVID-19 (2019) levels and it is predicted that Thailand will be the 9th largest passenger market in the world within the next decade.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Thursday, December 5, he has invited Airport Organisation of Thailand director and minister of Transport and the ministry’s permanent secretary to discuss improving the quality of airports in order to better attract tourists. He added Thailand has the potential to be better.
Microsoft's new Copilot key is seen on a Dell computer, next to the alt key, in this undated photo provided by AxiCom. (AxiCom on behalf of Dell Technologies via AP)
Computer keyboards are making room for an artificial intelligence chatbot button as Microsoft unveils its first major keyboard redesign in three decades.
Starting this month, some new personal computers that run Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system will have a special “Copilot key” that launches the software giant’s AI chatbot.
Getting third-party computer manufacturers to add an AI button to laptops is the latest move by Microsoft to capitalize on its close partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and make itself a gateway for applications of generative AI technology.
Although most people now connect to the internet — and many AI applications — by phone rather than computer, it’s a symbolic kickoff to what’s expected to be a competitive year as tech companies race to outdo each other in AI applications even as they haven’t yet resolved all the ethical and legal ramifications. The New York Times last month sued both OpenAI and Microsoft alleging that tools like ChatGPT and Copilot — formerly known as Bing Chat — are infringing on copyrighted news articles.
FILE – The Microsoft logo is shown at the Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, on March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra, File)
The keyboard redesign will be Microsoft’s biggest change to PC keyboards since it introduced a special Windows key in the 1990s. Microsoft’s four-squared logo design has evolved, but the key has been a fixture on Windows-oriented keyboards for about three decades.
The newest AI button will be marked by the ribbon-like Copilot logo and be located near the space bar. On some computers it will replace the right “CTRL” key, while on others it will replace a menu key.
Microsoft is not the only company with customized keys. Apple pioneered the concept in the 1980s with its “Command” key marked by a looped square design (it also sported an Apple logo for a time). Google has a search button on its Chromebooks and was first to experiment with an AI-specific key to launch its voice assistant on its now-discontinued Pixelbook.
But Microsoft has a much stronger hold on the broader PC market through its licensing agreements with third-party manufacturers like Lenovo, Dell and HP. About 82% of all desktop computers, laptops and workstations run Windows, compared to 9% for Apple’s in-house operating system and just over 6% for Google’s, according to market research firm IDC.
Microsoft hasn’t yet said which computer-makers are installing the Copilot button beyond Microsoft’s own in-house line of premium Surface devices. It said some of the companies are expected to unveil their new models at next week’s CES gadget show in Las Vegas.
