Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has sent military advisers, including a Marine Corps general versed in urban warfare, to Israel to aid in its war planning and is speeding multiple sophisticated air defense systems to the Middle East days ahead of an anticipated ground assault into Gaza.
One of the officers leading the assistance is Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn, who previously helped lead special operations forces against the Islamic State and served in Fallujah, Iraq, during some of the most heated urban combat there, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss Glynn’s role and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Glynn will also be advising on how to mitigate civilian casualties in urban warfare, the official said.
Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Israel is preparing a large-scale ground operation in an environment in which Hamas militants have had years to prepare tunnel networks and set traps throughout northern Gaza’s dense urban blocks. Glynn and the other military officers who are advising Israel “have experience that is appropriate to the sorts of operations that Israel is conducting,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday. The advisers will not be engaged in the fighting, the unidentified U.S. official said.
The military team is one of many fast-moving pieces the Pentagon is getting in place to try and prevent the already intense conflict between Israel and Hamas from becoming a wider war. It also is trying to protect U.S. personnel, who in the last few days have come under repeated attacks that the Pentagon has said were likely endorsed by Iran.
Kirby said Iran was “in some cases actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good, or for that of Iran. We know that Iran’s goal is to maintain some level of deniability here. But we’re not going to allow them to do that.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, left, and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, right, take questions from reporters, Monday Oct. 23, 2023, during a briefing at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The White House said President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to update him on “U.S. support for Israel and ongoing efforts at regional deterrence, to include new U.S. military deployments.”
On Monday, the U.S. military garrison at an-Tanf, Syria, came under attack again, this time by two drones. The drones were shot down and no injuries were reported. It was the latest episode of more than a half-dozen times in the last week that U.S. military locations in the Middle East had come under rocket or drone attack since a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital.
Last Thursday the destroyer USS Carney shot down four land-attack cruise missiles launched from Yemen that the Pentagon has said were potentially headed toward Israel.
In response, over the weekend the Pentagon announced it was sending multiple Patriot missile defense system battalions and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to the Middle East, as well as repositioning the Eisenhower strike group to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The ship had previously been en route to the Eastern Mediterranean.
The shift means that the Navy will have a carrier strike group off the shore of Israel — the Ford carrier strike group — and another, the Eisenhower, potentially maneuvered to defend U.S. forces and Israel from the Red Sea or the Gulf of Oman.
“We’re going to continue to do what we need to do to protect and safeguard our forces and take all necessary measures,” Ryder said. “No one wants to see a wider regional conflict. But we will not hesitate to protect our forces.”
The U.S. has also advised Israeli officials to consider a delay in any ground assault, saying it would give more time to allow the U.S. to work with its regional partners to release more hostages, according to a U.S. official familiar with Biden administration thinking on the matter. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the private discussions, said it was unclear how much the argument will “move the needle” on Israeli thinking.
The official noted that with the help of Qatar mediating with Hamas, the U.S. was able to win the release of two captives, Judith and Natalie Raanan. The process that led to their release — just two of more than 200 people in Israel who were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attacks — started soon after the Hamas operation. The official noted arranging for the release of the Raanans took longer to come together than many people realized.
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment wait for treatment in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Yasser Qudih)
Asked during a brief exchange with reporters at the White House on Monday if the U.S. would be supportive of a ceasefire-for-hostage deal, Biden replied, “We should have those hostages released and then we can talk.”
During his phone call with Netanyahu, Biden also “reaffirmed his commitment to ongoing efforts to secure the release of all the remaining hostages taken by Hamas — including Americans — and to provide for safe passage for U.S. citizens and other civilians in Gaza,” the White House said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that Hamas had released two more hostages. They were identified by Israeli media as Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper of the Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz.
Following Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s official visit to China, the problem with the submarine purchase contract, which has been coming from the Prayut Chan-o-cha government since 2017, is likely to be resolved.
Defense Minister Sutin Klangsaeng said on Oct. 23 that purchasing frigates rather than submarines from China is possible. The administration has carefully analysed every dimension, including the legal dimension.
“I think this way will be the best solution. If you continue to buy a submarine I thought that I would encounter more questions than this,” he said.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Defence Minister Sutin Klangsaeng
Sutin said on Friday that Thailand will ask China to offer frigates or patrol boats to Thailand if they fail to come up with submarines with German engines as agreed in the purchasing contract. This is because the government could otherwise be held legally liable if the Chinese submarine engines were not tried and tested.
He added that such Chinese-made frigatesmust be able to launch air, sea, and underwater attacks. If they’re patrol boats, they should be long-range OPV boats. Thailand, he added, has conveyed its message to China, and the next round of talk will be in early November.
Sutin stated that the army understands this solution because the government thoroughly addressed this issue before making a decision. I did not use my ministerial authority to make arbitrary judgements, and it was not the government’ decision, but we met and discussed everything.
The reporter asked whether Thailand would be at a disadvantage by having to pay an extra billion baht on a frigate. Suthin stated that it would not be at a disadvantage. It must consider the worth of each object. If everything has a standard price that is known over the world, it is acceptable.
Type 054A Jiangkai II class Guided Missile Frigate
“In this regard, we do not see China breaking its contract—only more nonconformity. Thailand has the dimension of being a friendly country and strategic collaboration that must be regarded simultaneously when it comes to government-to-government relations. It is more than just business.”
The Minister of Defence stated that following government-level negotiations, the ministry will deal further in detail. Additionally, he is prepared to brief a parliamentary committee on the particulars of this matter on October 26, after the opposition suspected that changing to buying a frigate may put Thailand at a disadvantage.
PM Srettha said at the same time that he expected good news and development; thus, he asked the Minister of Defence to work first after negotiating and confirming that the meetings in China were in a good atmosphere.
Myanmar police hand over five telecom and internet fraud suspects to Chinese police at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug. 26, 2023. (Chinese embassy in Myanmar/Xinhua via AP)
BANGKOK (AP) — Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager in central China, took various gigs in and outside China to support his family after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, a job offer to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant led him into a cyber scam compound in Myanmar, where he was instead ordered to lure Chinese into giving up their savings for fake investment schemes via social media platforms.
Zhang is one of tens of thousands of people, mostly but not all Chinese, who have become ensnared in cyber scam networks run by powerful Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia. Regional and Chinese authorities have netted thousands of people in a crackdown, but experts say they are failing to root out the local elites and criminal networks that are bound to keep running the schemes.
When scam operations are shut down in one place they often just resurface elsewhere. The problem is an embarrassment for Beijing and is discouraging ordinary Chinese from traveling to Southeast Asia out of fear they might be duped or kidnapped and caught up in a cyber scam operation.
In recent years, media reports have uncovered instances of young people being lured to places in Cambodia or Myanmar for high-paying jobs, only to be forced to work as scammers. Rescue organizations say people are regularly beaten or face physical punishments such as being forced to run laps if they don’t perform well.
In August, China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar agreed to set up a joint police operations center to tackle cyber scams in the region. On Oct. 10, China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that its “Summer Operation” had successfully brought back 2,317 scam suspects from northern Myanmar to China.
China calls such people suspects, though experts say most of them are victims who were forced to work for the criminals. They question how they will be treated once back in China.
The schemes based in countries like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are run by Chinese bosses hand-in-hand with local elites. Many are based in places where China has financed big construction projects through leader Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative.
Myanmar’s border regions long have been a magnet for criminals — historically including drug producers and traffickers — because of lax law enforcement. Such places are generally under the control of ethnic minority armed groups, either opposed to or allied with Myanmar’s central government. Some also cooperate with organized crime gangs.
“From the vantage point of the Chinese government, it’s a source of extreme embarrassment that you have so many of these Chinese criminals operating all across Southeast Asia,” said Jason Tower, an expert on transnational crime with the United States Institute of Peace.
BANGKOK (AP) — Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager in central China, took various gigs in and outside China to support his family after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, a job offer to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant led him into a cyber scam compound in Myanmar, where he was instead ordered to lure Chinese into giving up their savings for fake investment schemes via social media platforms.
Zhang is one of tens of thousands of people, mostly but not all Chinese, who have become ensnared in cyber scam networks run by powerful Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia. Regional and Chinese authorities have netted thousands of people in a crackdown, but experts say they are failing to root out the local elites and criminal networks that are bound to keep running the schemes.
When scam operations are shut down in one place they often just resurface elsewhere. The problem is an embarrassment for Beijing and is discouraging ordinary Chinese from traveling to Southeast Asia out of fear they might be duped or kidnapped and caught up in a cyber scam operation.
In recent years, media reports have uncovered instances of young people being lured to places in Cambodia or Myanmar for high-paying jobs, only to be forced to work as scammers. Rescue organizations say people are regularly beaten or face physical punishments such as being forced to run laps if they don’t perform well.
In August, China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar agreed to set up a joint police operations center to tackle cyber scams in the region. On Oct. 10, China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that its “Summer Operation” had successfully brought back 2,317 scam suspects from northern Myanmar to China.
China calls such people suspects, though experts say most of them are victims who were forced to work for the criminals. They question how they will be treated once back in China.
The schemes based in countries like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are run by Chinese bosses hand-in-hand with local elites. Many are based in places where China has financed big construction projects through leader Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative.
Myanmar’s border regions long have been a magnet for criminals — historically including drug producers and traffickers — because of lax law enforcement. Such places are generally under the control of ethnic minority armed groups, either opposed to or allied with Myanmar’s central government. Some also cooperate with organized crime gangs.
“From the vantage point of the Chinese government, it’s a source of extreme embarrassment that you have so many of these Chinese criminals operating all across Southeast Asia,” said Jason Tower, an expert on transnational crime with the United States Institute of Peace.
Zhang Hongliang poses for a selfie in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province, on Oct. 19, 2023. (Zhang Hongliang via AP)
The syndicates also are known for “pig butchering” cons, where scammers entice individuals, often halfway across the world, to invest their money in bogus schemes after duping them into digital romances.
The scammers divide their targets into two categories: Chinese and non-Chinese. They use scripts, images of models and influencers and translation software to trick the people they contact by phone or online into parting with their money. Victims can be anywhere in the world.
The criminals have “ridden on the shoulders of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Tower, who outlined links between the criminals and Chinese state enterprises, think tanks and government officials in a 2020 report written for the United States Institute of Peace.
Zhang was working in Thailand and on a visa run to Laos when he met the man who lured him to the scam compound in Myanmar. Giving what he said was his last name, Gao, he claimed to be a broker and travel agent for Chinese living in Thailand. Zhang and his wife wanted extra money to pay for in vitro fertilization to have another child. Gao suggested he go work in Myawaddy, in eastern Myanmar’s Kayin state, teaching a local chef how to cook Chinese dishes in Gao’s new restaurant. The pay would be double what Zhang made in China.
Zhang was wary. Since a 2021 coup, military-controlled Myanmar has been embroiled in civil conflict. But Gao reassured him that he wouldn’t be doing anything illegal and said the restaurant would have plenty of customers since many cyber scam businesses were operating in the area.
That might have raised a red flag but it was only once he got to Myanmar that Zhang realized his predicament. He asked to go back home, saying there was a family emergency. His family helped him scrape together some 40,000 yuan ($5,472) to pay off the debt Gao claimed he owed him, and he slipped away one night, swimming across the Moei River into Thailand, where he turned himself in to Thai police, who contacted the Chinese Embassy.
Zhang showed the AP copies of his deportation notice from the Thai Immigration police and a temporary ID card. He returned to China in late June and was questioned by Chinese police but not detained. He has been sharing his story on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to alert others to the risks and says people often contact him about relatives trapped in cyber scam compounds.
“We all went out with this wonderful sense of hope, but then reality slammed us in the face,” he said.
In total, China has detained some 4,000 suspects and returned them back to China.
The Ministry of Public Security has claimed “breakthrough results” through operations in coordination with Myanmar authorities. On Monday, they announced they had repatriated another 2,349 people. The ministry did not respond to a faxed request for comment.
One 31-year old former chef who was smuggled into Myanmar’s Wa State earlier this year said he saw his company hand over four people to Chinese police with little fanfare in September. Other companies did the same, said the man, who was smuggled into Myanmar and later rescued by a non-profit organization. He declined to be named out of fear of government retribution, and The Associated Press could not independently verify his account.
Overall, the enforcement actions don’t seem very comprehensive, experts say. The groups now based in Myanmar originally were located in Cambodia. When Cambodia cracked down on online gambling rings and illegal casinos in 2019, many of the groups just moved to less well policed places in Myanmar. Some were taken over by rival gangs.
China’s efforts to repair its image have so far not made much headway, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.
“You can crack down on these symptoms and the manifestations … that you can see in the borderland areas,” he said, “but they’ll come back unless you really have a sustained effort.”
-—-
Huizhong Wu reported from Bangkok. AP researcher Wanqing Chen in Beijing and AP writers Grant Peck and Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center, arrives at Don Muang airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023.
The Department of Corrections received a report from the Bangkok Remand Prison on October 23, 2023, stating that at approximately 9:00 a.m., Thaksin Shinawatra was sent into the orthopaedic surgery room until the surgery was completed at 2:00 p.m. He is now in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Police Hospital.
The Department of Corrections also clarified information and statistics about sending prisoners for medical treatment outside of prison from October 1, 2022, to the present: for more than 30 days, for a total of 149 cases, divided into more than 30 days, 115 cases; more than 60 days, 30 cases; and more than 120 days, 4 cases.
FILE – The security personals guarded at the police general hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 24, 2023.
On October 21, Sahakarn Petchanarin, Director-General of the Department of Corrections, signed a letter approving the doctor’s recommendation that Thaksin should remain at the Police Hospital. He delivered the document to the Permanent Secretary of Justice.
Thaksin has been in the Bangkok Remand Prison’s custody since August 22, when he returned to Thailand and was removed on the first night to go to the Police Hospital for treatment.
Since then, an anti-Thaksin movement has attempted to demand for an investigation to find out whether Thaksin is indeed ill. Some people, including as Thai Phakdee Party chairman Warong Dechkitvigrom, are unconvinced that detainee Thaksin Shinwatra is still at the Police Hospital.
A woman undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment became pregnant at a Tokyo hospital this spring after concealing from doctors that her husband, who it was believed was infertile, was actually dead, according to hospital officials and sources close to the matter.
The incident at Hara Medical Clinic in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward has raised concerns over the ramifications for the child’s biological father as infertility treatments in Japan are limited to married couples, and when donor sperm is used the husband usually assumes legal parenthood.
Japanese law does not cover cases in which the husband dies during IVF treatments. It is possible that, if identified, the sperm donor may be asked to legally accept recognition as the child’s father.
The clinic, which reported the incident to the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has temporarily suspended IVF procedures using donor sperm and is considering whether or when it will resume them.
According to the sources, the woman deliberately concealed her husband’s death from doctors, knowing it would render her ineligible to continue IVF with donor sperm, and attempted to conceive after discussions with her in-laws. She finally revealed her husband’s death during a post-pregnancy consultation in June.
File photo taken Feb. 8, 2023, shows frozen donor sperm at Hara Medical Clinic in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward. (Kyodo)
The clinic began recruiting sperm donors in February 2022, with around 150 people registering within a year. Since September last year, it has used non-anonymous donors for IVF treatments, where identifying information is disclosed when the child comes of age.
The clinic has since revised its guidelines to introduce preventive measures, including requiring the husband to provide verbal confirmation on the day of embryo transfer and participate in study sessions. The changes took effect this month.
“This incident has the potential to threaten the rights of the non-anonymous donor, as the patient’s husband cannot become the legal parent of the child,” the hospital said Sunday in a statement.
The hospital said it confirmed that the woman chose to conceal her husband’s death as she “prioritized her strong desire to have a child.”
“This medical treatment relies on trust and contract in Japan,” where legal provisions for such a case do not exist, the hospital said, adding that the incident shakes such principles to their foundations.
The hospital said it plans to take legal recourse against the woman.
Rules for disclosing the details of donors in Japan as part of an individual’s right to know their origins were included in a legislative framework for assisted reproductive technology drafted by a nonpartisan parliamentary group last year, but it has yet to be enacted.
The Roll Series (photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
Thai Airways International hosted the “Taste of Thai Tales event,” which showcased the new menu designed and curated by “Chef Bo” Duangporn Songvisava, owner of Bo.lan restaurant. Chef Bo won Asia’s Best Female Chef Award in 2013 and was featured in the Netflix series “Chef’s Table” season 5, which focuses on Thai cuisine.
Thai Airways International CEO Chai Eiam-siri said the changes to the passenger menu are aimed at meeting passengers’ needs and satisfaction while enhancing the inflight dining experience with delicious, healthy and unique flavours. The new menu will be served to passengers in Economy and Business Class on Thai Airways flights to Europe, Austria and Japan from July this year.
(photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
Chef Bo drew inspiration from Thailand’s rich culinary culture, one of the country’s strengths, when creating the menus. The ingredients used are of the highest quality and come from different regions of Thailand.
The new menu has five categories: First, ‘All Day Dine’, which consists mainly of bread and is known as ‘The Roll Series’. Secondly, ‘The Pie Series’ with Thai specialities such as Pork Hang Le Pie and Chicken Khao Soi Pie.
Chicken Khao Soi Pie (photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
The third category is ‘The main courses’. This category will be introduced in early 2024 and will include dishes such as roast lamb with red curry, raw banana and jasmine rice, soft-boiled steamed eggs and pineapple curry with prawns. These dishes are served with jasmine rice, omelette with preserved radish and basil-fried aubergine.
“Chef Bo” Duangporn Songvisava, owner of Bo.lan restaurant. (photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
The Ochazuke breakfast series includes dishes such as rice or boiled rice with smoked mackerel, fresh vegetables and soft-boiled eggs, rice with crispy fish, Thai herbs and fried dried chillies, and broth with young coconut served with shredded chicken, tiger prawn and soft-boiled egg.
Finally, the Heritage Series offers dishes such as rice vermicelli with chili sauce, boiled morning glory, cucumber and diced green mango, garnished with coriander, fried garlic, and deep-fried chilli with kaffir lime zest.
Thai Airways hopes that these menus will serve as a form of soft power to promote Thai culinary culture internationally and encourage the use of quality ingredients from Thai farmers and producers.
Thai Jasmine Rice in “Tom Long” Style Soup with Smoked Fish and Thai Herbs (photo by Chavalit Panyong, Khaosod)
Chaowalit Thongduang, a 37-year-old prisoner, escaped from Maharat Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital.
A bounty was issued by the Department of Corrections on October 22 in an attempt to catch Chaowalit Thongduang, a 37-year-old prisoner suspected of robbery, breaking the guns law, and committing an offence against freedom. The total prison sentence was 21 years, 3 months, and 25 days. The sentence has a parole date of May 6, 2043.
This prisoner’s nickname is Wealthy Pang Nanode. He was transferred from Phatthalung Central Prison on August 7, 2023, due to his behaviour as an influential person. On October 20, he was transferred to Maharat Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital for dental treatment. He was admitted to the hospital after fainting and feeling weak in his legs. But he escaped about 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22.
The Department of Corrections stated that those involved in the escape or provide support in escaping or providing shelter will be prosecuted according to law as well.
On CCTV footage in the hospital, this prisoner came down from his room without any shackles before escaping by pickup truck.
“Authorities thus requested cooperation from the prisoner’s relatives and close friends in order to persuade him to surrender. If anyone sees him, please contact the commander of Nakhon Si Thammarat Central Prison at 075-803905 or 096-6411495. “A reward of 100,000 baht is offered for his capture,” it said.
The police officer revealed that in the CCTV footage in the hospital, this prisoner came down from his room without any shackles. There were three rescuers, one of whom was a woman.
Additionally, correctional officers did not immediately notify police by waiting for up to 3 hours to pass before reporting to Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat Police Station.
According to police, Chaowalit had been plotting the jail breakout for several days and may be ready to exact revenge on the two witnesses who caused him to lose the case and go to prison.
A Palestinian carries a boy wounded during the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
Israeli warplanes have struck targets across the Gaza Strip as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, while a second convoy of humanitarian aid reportedly began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday afternoon.
Israel’s military spokesman said the country is stepping up its attacks, and there are growing expectations of a ground offensive.
The war, now in its 16th day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.
The ministry said 90 Palestinians were also killed in violence and Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank since Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7. More than 1,650 others were wounded, it added.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial Hamas attack. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said.
Palestinians look for survivors after the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
‘HEARTBREAKING’ LIFE-OR-DEATH DECISIONS FOR GAZA’S DOCTORS
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hospitals across the Gaza Strip are scrounging for fuel stocks to keep the lights on in critical wards and continue to save the lives of the relentless stream of wounded patients.
Serious shortages in other supplies, including ventilators, are forcing medical teams to prioritize the lives of those who can be saved for certain over severe cases that require complex care, said Dr. Mohammed Qandeel, who works in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he told The Associated Press. “Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients, we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available. We have to choose who must face death, or manage them in regular wards or do some limited care because we think as a medical team, between two patients in a life-threatening situation, we have to give the ventilator to the patient who has a higher chance of improving in 24 hours.”
Many departments in the hospital are plunged in darkness as medical staff allow electricity only in critical departments where patients risk death without it. On Friday the hospital was on its last stock of fuel, but managed to get another tank from UNRWA’s existing stock on Saturday, said Qandeel. “This amount should last for three to five days,” he said.
Palestinian medic holds a child wounded in Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip, in Deir el-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)
The World Health Organization says Gaza’s Health Ministry is reporting that its daily use of medical consumables during the war is equivalent to its monthly consumption before the war. The report said “an imminent public health catastrophe looms” in the setting of mass displacement, overcrowding of shelters and damage to the water and sanitation infrastructure.
SYRIAN MEDIA REPORTS ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HIT AIRPORTS IN DAMASCUS AND ALEPPO
Syrian state media reported that Israeli airstrikes early Sunday targeted the international airports of the Syrian capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person. The runways were damaged and put out of service.
The attack is the second this month on the Damascus International airport and the third on Aleppo’s airport as tensions increases in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war.
Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airports were struck by the Israeli military from the Mediterranean to the west and from Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the south. It said one employee was killed and another wounded in Damascus in addition to material damage.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Mourners attend the funeral of Roee Munder in Kibbutz Metzer, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria including one on the Damascus airport and two on Aleppo’s airport putting them out of service.
Flights were directed in the past to an international airport in the coastal province of Latakia.
Israel has targeted airports and sea ports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the region joined Syria’s 12-year conflict helping tip the balance in favor of President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. ( AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 90 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers since the Hamas attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel says it has arrested more than 700 Palestinians since Oct. 7, including 480 suspected Hamas members.
Israeli forces killed at least five people there early Sunday, according to the Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gunbattles over the past year.
The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, visiting Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping prior to their bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. Thavisin meets with Xi after attending the Third Belt and Road Forum which was held on Oct. 18. Photo: Huang Jingwen / Xinhua via AP
We are seeing more of the type of diplomacy the new prime minister is engaging abroad and there is valid cause to be concerned. PM Srettha Thavisin was in Beijing a few days ago as part of the gathering of leaders from 130 nations attending China’s 10th anniversary of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
It was there that the new PM, who was on a four-day visit to China, spoke at a Thai Board of Investment (BOI)-organized forum in Beijing in front of many potential Chinese investors and verbally degraded Thailand’s stature by describing China as Thailand’s “elder brother.”
Here’s the quote: “It is like the saying that China and Thailand are not far from being siblings, but I would like to confirm that China is the elder brother. I hope this visit will lead to positive results for tourism, including increased visa exemptions.”
Srettha might be well-intended, but he was too eager to please and sell Thailand to Chinese investors that he ended up, for the record, characterizing Thailand as a lesser nation compared to China.
We are not in the age of mid Ching Dynasty, when China thought of itself as the center of the universe, and Siam for a period nominally kowtowed to Imperial China. There is absolutely no need for PM Srettha to praise China by degrading Thailand through such a major diplomatic faux pas.
Srettha could have said things like: “China has proved herself to be an example in many aspects for other Asian countries to emulate and its economic and technological success is an inspiration to smaller Asian nations like Thailand to emulate, blah, blah, blah.”
Srettha, a former real estate tycoon, can think and describe Thailand as whatever he likes as a private citizen, but as Thai prime minister, he must be aware that he carries the dignity of the whole nation with him and must not appear subservient to another foreign state. I don’t think many Thais would want to characterize themselves as China’s little brother or sister, or a younger sibling of the U.S. for that matter. To stretch this characterization, a brief introduction of a Thai abroad to foreigners unfamiliar with Thailand may sound like this.
“Hello. My name is Somchai, I come from Thailand. Please do not confuse Thailand with Taiwan even though it sounds similar, and our prime minister recently said China is like an elder brother of Thailand…”
Chinese President Xi Jinping was quick to exploit Srettha’s diplomatic blunder by “pledging to add new dimensions to family-like bilateral relations” when he met with Srettha on Thursday, according to China’s mouthpiece state media Xinhua. Xi was quoted as saying the two countries “should speed up construction of the China-Thai railway,” Xinhua News Agency stated.
Now, in the Asian context, it is probably hard for a younger brother to say no to the elder brother, right?
In another diplomatic overture, or blunder, while in Beijing, Srettha controversially held a bilateral talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While Russian netizens were wooed by Srettha’s shocking pink socks as he sat with Putin, Polish body language reader Dalekowschodnie Refleksje (@dal_ref) gave a damning assessment of Srettha’s body language on X.
“I have never seen a politician as scared and stressed as the new Prime Minister of Thailand. Srettha Thavisin, during his meeting with Putin points his entire body, torso, knees, head and feet towards the Russian autocrat, and to mentally prepares to talk to him by shrinking his body and trying to take up as little space as possible. He adopts a submissive attitude towards a more powerful and experienced player. Extensive experience in management and business does not always translate into self-confidence in foreign policy. Severe stress makes him very sensitive to sounds and movements around him, hence the violent shaking of his head in all directions. In this way, the brain tries to spot potential threats that may need to be faced… Thavisin touches the papers on the table right after Putin puts his document in front of him which may indicate a mind susceptible to guidance and suggestions sent by a stronger actor. His stress is also evidenced by an artificial [Thai] smile directed at Putin… in combination with another signal of submission – lowering the head and shoulders…. What is the lesson for our [Polish] politicians from this meeting? People who are weaker at managing their emotions and have lower self-esteem (can be easily measured by observing body language and listening to politician’s statements on TV)…”
That was a damning interpretation of Srettha’s body language while meeting Putin. I am no body-language expert, but it seems our new PM was nervous and awkward. More important however is how Srettha, as Thai PM, decided to sit down for a one-on-one meeting with a leader of a country that is invading another sovereign state and killing citizens of Ukraine daily – and what it says about Thailand today with Srettha at the helm.
One may now call him the Salesman PM, as it seems he is willing to deal with any leader disregarding the optic and consequences on Thailand’s international standing and dignity.
I am reminded of a senior Thai student at the same dormitory when I was an undergraduate abroad. He was a former salesman doing an MBA and once he said as a salesman, there is nobody you cannot praise in an attempt to sell something as you can always be able to spot something positive from even the most horrible person while ignoring the person’s negative traits. Now I am reminded of Srettha.
Is there a redline to Srettha’s salesman diplomacy? Will PM Srettha be flying to Nyepidow to officially meet Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to sell more Thai goods or off to Pyongyang for a meeting with Kim Jong Un to sell durians next?
FILE - Soccer stars Sir Bobby Charlton of England, left, and Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele, of Brazil, are shown during the MasterCard International meeting in Paris, Feb. 9, 1995. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, file)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Bobby Charlton, an English soccer icon who survived a plane crash that decimated a Manchester United team destined for greatness to become the heartbeat of his country’s 1966 World Cup triumph, has died. He was 86.
Wearing black armbands, Manchester United’s players laid a wreath in the center of the field and took part in a period of applause ahead of their Premier League game Saturday in honor of Bobby Charlton, the club great who has died at the age of 86.
The image of former Manchester United and England player Bobby Charlton is shown on a large shown following the news of his death at the age of 86 ahead the English Premier League soccer match between Sheffield United and Manchester United at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
A picture of a young Charlton was shown on the screens inside Bramall Lane before kickoff of Man United’s 2-1 win at Sheffield United as members of both teams stood in a line to pay their respects to one of the world’s most recognizable and respected soccer players.
A message on the wreath laid in front of the Man United players read: “In loving memory of Sir Bobby.”
Scott McTominay was selected in Man United’s team for the match and said it was a tough moment for him and his teammates.
“Everyone has gone into this game thinking of him and wanting to do the best for Bobby,” McTominay said.
Manchester United players observe a minute of silence in honour of late English soccer legend Bobby Charlton and for the victims of the Israeli-Hamas war before the English Premier League soccer match between Sheffield United and Manchester United at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Man United manager Erik ten Hag said he had never met Charlton, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2020, but appreciated he was “an outstanding person, an outstanding gentleman in every inch, outstanding on the pitch and off the pitch.”
“He is an example for everyone,” Ten Hag said. “We know not only is the football world losing a big person but the whole of society.”
A book of condolence is opened to the public at Old Trafford from Sunday.
The death of Charlton, who is regarded by many as the greatest ever English player, was announced in a statement from his family that was released by United, which said he died Saturday surrounded by his family.
FILE – Former British soccer star Bobby Charlton, now a football team manager, at Buckingham Palace, London, for a medal presentation, surrounded by his wife and children, in Feb, 1974. (AP Photo/File)
No cause of death was disclosed. In November 2020, it was announced that Charlton had been diagnosed with dementia, the same disease that afflicted his brother Jack — who died in 2020 at age 85 — and another World Cup winner, Nobby Stiles.
An extravagantly gifted attacking midfielder with a ferocious shot, Charlton was the leading scorer for both United (249 goals) and England (49 goals) for more than 40 years until being overtaken by Wayne Rooney.
Charlton was easily recognizable with his comb-over, and known globally for being a gentleman of the beautiful game.
“Sir Bobby was a hero to millions, not just in Manchester, or the United Kingdom, but wherever football is played around the world,” United said.
“He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as he was for his outstanding qualities as a footballer; Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game.”
Alex Ferguson, who managed United from 1986-2013, said before Charlton’s death that he “is the greatest Manchester United player of all time — and that’s saying something.”
“Bobby Charlton is absolutely without peer in the history of the English game,” Ferguson said.
FILE – Ex-Manchester United players Bobby Charlton, bottom right, and Denis Law, bottom 2nd right, watched by Manchester manager Alex Ferguson, bottom left, speak, after the unveiling of the new statues of left to right, George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton called “Holy Trinity”, in memory of United’s 40th anniversary of their first European Cup win over Benfica, at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, May 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Thomas, File)
Charlton was also renowned for his humility and discipline. He was never sent off in 758 appearances for United from 1956-73 or 106 internationals for England from 1958-70.
Charlton played with George Best and Denis Law in the so-called “Trinity” that led United to the 1968 European Cup title after surviving the 1958 Munich crash that wiped out the celebrated “Busby Babes” team. He won three English league titles at United, and one FA Cup.
“For a footballer, he offered an unparalleled combination of grace, power and precision,” said former United defender Bill Foulkes, another survivor of the Munich air crash.
“It added up to a greatness and something more — something I can only call beauty.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino described Charlton as a “football legend whose impact on the game spanned generations.” United great David Beckham said Charlton was “truly a national hero.” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called him ”one of the game’s greatest players.”
Charlton’s England scoring record stood for 45 years until Rooney scored his 50th goal for the national team in September 2015. Three of his England goals came in the World Cup in 1966, during which Charlton played every minute for the team and stood out especially in the semifinals when he scored twice against Portugal to lead England to a first major final.
FILE – England’s Bobby Charlton, plays for the Rest of Europe against Scandinavia, in a show soccer match to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Danish Football Association, in Copenhagen, Denmark. (AP Photo/File)
England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time in the title match at Wembley Stadium.
Although Ryan Giggs beat Charlton’s appearance record for United in 2008, his scoring record for the club lasted another nine years. It was only in 2017 — 44 years after Charlton last wore the famous red jersey of England’s most successful club — that Rooney scored his 250th goal for United.
United played a Premier League match against Sheffield United a few hours after Charlton’s death was announced. Man United’s players laid a wreath on the field ahead of the game, which the team won 2-1, and took part in a period of applause while a picture of a young Charlton was displayed on the screens inside the stadium.
After retiring in 1973, Charlton went into coaching and founded a youth scheme that included Beckham among its participants.
After brief spells in charge of Preston, Wigan and Irish side Waterford, Charlton returned to United in 1984 as a director and persuaded the board in 1986 to appoint Ferguson, who delivered 38 trophies during nearly 27 years in charge.
Knighted in 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II, Charlton remains a mainstay at Old Trafford, featuring alongside Best and Law on a statue outside United’s stadium.
A picture of late English soccer legend Bobby Charlton is displayed on a giant screen during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, England, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Charlton avoided the controversies and distractions that damaged the career of Best, with his style and demeanor bringing a popularity that transcended the tribalism of club and international football.
“I felt he could be a bit aloof,” the late Best said in a 2001 magazine interview. “We were never at each other’s throats, we simply didn’t go and have a pint together.”
Charlton’s death left Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat trick in the 1966 final, as the only surviving member of that England team.
“We will never forget him and nor will all of football,” Hurst said of Charlton on X, formerly known as Twitter. “A great colleague and friend, he will be sorely missed by all of the country beyond sport alone.”
Robert Charlton was born Oct. 11, 1937, in the coal-mining town of Ashington, northeast England, and his talent was obvious from a young age.
“We realized Bobby was going to be a bit special as a player when he was about 5 years old,” said Jack, his older brother. “He was always kicking a football or a tennis ball against a wall and when it bounced back it stuck to him like a magnet.”
FILE – Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, center, holds the Ballon d’Or trophy, as former Manchester United players Denis Law, left, and Bobby Charlton, right, look on, at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Dec. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)
Charlton wrote in 2007 that his family sometimes relied on illegally caught salmon or rabbit to ward off hunger, while his father — also named Robert — gathered coal washed up on local beaches and sold it to bolster his income.
His father’s commitment to his mining colleagues meant that in 1966 he missed Charlton scoring both goals against Portugal in that World Cup semifinal because he didn’t want someone else to have to cover for him in the pit. He was, however, persuaded to attend the final when the Charlton brothers lifted the trophy.
Charlton’s playing career began far from home in Manchester after leaving school at 15, making his United debut three years later against Charlton in 1956.
Within two years, tragedy struck the tight-knit group of United players whose relationship was forged as trainees in austere conditions. The team was still celebrating winning at Red Star Belgrade to secure a place in the European Cup semifinals when their plane caught fire on its third attempt to take off in heavy snow after a refueling stop in Germany.
Charlton miraculously emerged from the smoldering wreckage with only light head injuries and picked his way through the wreckage to help survivors. Spotting manager Matt Busby groaning in agony on the smoke-shrouded runway, Charlton rushed to help the father-figure who had promoted him to the first team.
But eight members of the “Busby Babes” team packed with bright prospects were among the 21 fatalities. They included Duncan Edwards, considered one of England’s most talented players at 21.
“Sometimes it engulfs me with terrible anger and regret and sadness — and guilt that I walked away and found so much,” Charlton wrote in 2007.
Charlton became driven by a lingering obligation to preserve the memories of the Munich dead, returning to action less than four weeks later and helping a hurriedly assembled team of survivors and stand-ins reach that season’s FA Cup final.
Busby rebuilt his team around Charlton, adding the 1965 and 1967 English league titles to the championship they won in 1957.
“There was always one great hope — the return to greatness of my beloved club,” Charlton said.
The biggest prize of his club career arrived in 1968 as United became the first English club to become champion of Europe. Charlton scored twice in a 4-1 extra-time win over a Benfica team containing Portugal great Eusebio.
But Charlton is perhaps best known for being part of the England team that won the World Cup. It remains England’s only major title in men’s soccer.
Charlton and his brother fell out over Jack’s public assertion that Bobby’s wife caused him to become estranged from his mother. But the pair reconciled and Jack presented Bobby with a lifetime achievement trophy at the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
“We have had our public disputes, proving that in any family discord can sometimes disrupt the force of love and blood, but throughout that time I never lost the sense of wonder and gratitude that we were together in 1966 on such a great day in the history of our nation’s sport,” Bobby Charlton said.
Charlton was rarely seen in public in the final years of his life after being diagnosed with dementia. He was never forgotten, though.
“This man, from day one, was everything I wanted to be,” United striker Marcus Rashford wrote of Charlton after hearing about the diagnosis. “Kind, professional, caring, talented.”
Another former United player, Phil Neville, told NBC that Charlton deserved to stand alongside the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi as a soccer great, because of what he achieved and the way he did it.
“World champion. Gentleman. Legend. A true great who will be remembered forever,” Prince William, who is also president of England’s Football Association, wrote on X.
Charlton is survived by his wife, Norma, whom he married in 1961, and his two daughters.
