BANGKOK — Will it be the “Best Part” of December? Canadian R&B singer Daniel Caesar will perform in Bangkok this December.
As part of his Superpowers World Tour, Caesar’s gig will take place at Impact Muang Thong Thani on December 9. Pre-sale tickets will go on sale online from 10am on October 29 and will cost between 1,500 to 3,500 baht. General ticket sales will begin the next day.
Caesar will kick-start the third leg of his ongoing tour in Australia this November, before heading to Asia and Hawaii in December. This leg followed his previous shows in North America in October. The concert will be the second time he performs in Bangkok after his first live show in the capital in 2019.
Born Ashton Simmonds, the 28-year-old Grammy Awards winner released his first studio album “Freudian” in 2017, which was nominated for the Best R&B Album at the Grammy in 2018. At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in the year after, he eventually won Best R&B Performance for his single “Best Part.”
The ongoing tour follows his latest studio album “Never Enough,” released in April, which include hits such as “Always” and “Do You Like Me?”
Palestinians look for survivors in buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Deir el-Balah, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Eslaiah)
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A massive blast rocked a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter Tuesday, killing hundreds of people, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian militants.
At least 500 people were killed, the ministry said.
In a briefing with reporters, the chief army spokesman of Israel, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the army determined there were no air force, ground or naval attacks in the area at the time of the blast. He said radar detected outgoing rocket fire at the same moment, and intercepted communications between militant groups indicated that Islamic Jihad fired the rockets.
Hagari also shared aerial footage collected by a military drone that showed a blast that he said was inconsistent with Israeli weaponry. He said the explosion occurred in the building’s parking lot, and he noted that the death toll could not be confirmed.
Wounded Palestinians sit in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, after arriving from al-Ahli hospital following an explosion there, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
Since the war began, the military said in a statement that roughly 450 rockets fired at Israel by militant groups had landed in Gaza, “endangering and harming the lives of Gazan residents.”
Islamic Jihad dismissed those claims, accusing Israel of “trying hard to evade responsibility for the brutal massacre it committed.”
The group pointed to Israel’s order that Al-Ahli be evacuated and its previous bombing of the hospital complex as proof that the hospital was an Israeli target. It also said the scale of the explosion, the angle of the bomb’s fall and the extent of the destruction all pointed to Israel.
Hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge in al-Ahli and other hospitals in Gaza City in past days, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.
Ambulances and private cars rushed some 350 casualties from the al-Ahli blast to Gaza City’s main hospital, al-Shifa, which was already overwhelmed with wounded from other strikes, said its director, Mohammed Abu Selmia. The wounded were laid onto bloody floors, screaming in pain.
Palestinian child wounded in Israeli bombardment is treated in a hospital in Deir al-Balah, south of the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
“We need equipment, we need medicine, we need beds, we need anesthesia, we need everything,” Abu Selmia said. He warned that fuel for the hospital’s generators would run out within hours.
Before the al-Alhi Hospital deaths, Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 2,778 people and wounded 9,700, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and nearly two-thirds of those killed were children. Another 1,200 people across Gaza are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead, health authorities said.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians who were slain in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The assault also resulted in some 200 being taken captive into Gaza. Hamas militants in Gaza have launched rockets every day since, aiming at cities across Israel.
Expressions of condemnation and grief are pouring in after hundreds of people were killed in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital. Countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia blamed Israel for the blast, with Libya’s Foreign Ministry accusing Israel of “war crimes and genocide” in the Gaza Strip. Iraq declared three days of mourning, and there were protests there and in Lebanon.
Bodies of Palestinians killed by an explosion at the Ahli Arab hospital are gathered in the front yard of the al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)
Egypt’s President, Abdul-Fattah el-Sissi, condemned what he called Israel’s “deliberate bombing” of Ahli Arab hospital and “a clear violation of international law … and humanity.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his country condemns “the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital” and there’s no justification for targeting a hospital or civilians.
Richard Peeperkorn, World Health Organization representative for the West Bank and Gaza, expressed “our deepest grief at the horror that has unfolded,” calling it “unprecedented even in a region that has seen consistent attacks on healthcare.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it was “shocked and horrified by reports that Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza was destroyed.”
The United Arab Emirates and Russia called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
A man sits outside his building which was destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Rafah refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
As rage spread through the region because of the hospital carnage, and with President Joe Biden heading to the Mideast in hopes of stopping the war from spreading, Jordan’s foreign minister said his country canceled a regional summit scheduled for Wednesday in Amman, where Biden was to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
The war between Israel and Hamas was “pushing the region to the brink,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told state-run television. He said Jordan would host the summit only when everyone had agreed its purpose would be to “stop the war, respect the humanity of the Palestinians and deliver the aid they deserve.”
Biden will now visit only Israel, a White House official said.
The explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital left gruesome scenes. Video that The Associated Press confirmed was from the hospital showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital grounds strewn with torn bodies, many of them young children. The grass around them was strewn with blankets, school backpacks and other belongings.
A rendered image shows a HondaJet Echelon business aircraft. (Courtesy of Honda Aircraft Co.)(Kyodo)
NEW YORK – The aircraft unit of Honda Motor Co. revealed Monday that its new small business jet will be named the “HondaJet Echelon,” with the company aiming for its first flight in 2026.
The 11-seater jet, categorized as a “light jet” that is bigger than the existing HondaJet that can carry up to eight people, is designed to be the first single-pilot light jet capable of flying across the United States without refueling, Honda Aircraft Co. said.
The U.S.-based company said it is aiming to obtain flight certification from U.S. aviation authorities in 2028.
“The HondaJet Echelon was born to create a new category that transcends the travel experience on conventional light jets,” said Honda Aircraft President and CEO Hideto Yamasaki in a statement.
The new jet will have one engine on each wing and will be 20 percent more fuel efficient than its rivals, it said.
The new aircraft will be assembled at the company’s factory in North Carolina, with early build processes scheduled to begin in 2024, it said.
The price of the light jet has not been determined and it has yet to decide whether to sell it in Japan, according to the company.
Honda Aircraft, which entered the business jet market in 2015 and sells its products globally including in Japan, announced in June a plan to offer a small business jet.
Thailand’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance bilaterally discussed with Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, at the Diaoyutai Guest House, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, October 17, 2023.
Both leaders are in Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
The Thai Prime Minister invited Russia’s President to strengthen bilateral agricultural trade, asking Russia to consider increased investment in Thailand. Both sides agreed that trade facilitation should be enhanced.
According to Srettha, Putin is pleased that Thailand has raised the number of days that Russian tourists can remain in Thailand from 30 to 90 days, which would help the economy. More than a million Russian visitors have visited Thailand.
Thai Prime Minister and Minister of Finance bilaterally discussed with Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, at the Diaoyutai Guest House, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, October 17, 2023.
“The Russian president enjoys Phuket as well. I understand he pays frequent visits. I’ve invited him to travel to Thailand next year. He nodded and stated in Thai, “Khob Khun Krab” (thank you). “The fact that he can speak Thai demonstrates that he is familiar with it because of previous leaders and many other things that resulted in good relationships,” the PM remarked.
According to TASS, Russian President assured the Thai premier at a meeting that Russia would do its best to develop relations with Thailand, saying he expected the two economies to boost trade.
“For our part, we will do all we can to develop relations as intensively as possible and make a notable contribution to developing our countries,” Putin told Thai Prime Minister Srettha.
“Unfortunately, bilateral trade declined a bit amid the turbulent international situation last year,” the Russian leader lamented, adding that he expected the joint commission on bilateral economic cooperation to be able to reverse this trend.
Putin described the ongoing humanitarian ties between Russia and Thailand as encouraging. He also noted the growing tourist flow. The next two years, he said, will be years of cultural exchange and tourism in the two countries, he added.
“We have been cooperating actively in the international arena, too,” Putin concluded.
A bullet hole is seen on the outside of an office building in Brussels, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, close to where two Swedish soccer fans were shot by a suspected Tunisian extremist on Monday night.. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
BRUSSELS (AP) — Police in Belgium on Tuesday shot dead a suspected Tunisian extremist accused of killing two Swedish soccer fans in a brazen shooting on a Brussels street before disappearing into the night.
Hours after a manhunt began in the Belgian capital, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in Brussels has been identified and has died.”
She thanked Belgium’s intelligence and security services, as well as the public prosecutor’s office, “for their swift and decisive action last night and this morning.” The man was shot by police in the Schaerbeek neighborhood near where the rampage took place. The weapon used in the assault was recovered.
Amateur videos posted on social media of Monday’s attack showed a man wearing an orange fluorescent vest pulling up on a scooter, taking out a large weapon and opening fire on people getting out of a taxi before chasing them into a building to gun them down. He was also filmed calmly loading his weapon as cars drove slowly by.
Belgian Police patrol behind a cordoned off area close to where a suspected Tunisian extremist has been shot dead hours after manhunt looking for him Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Questions remain unanswered over how a man who was on police files, thought to be radicalized and being sought for deportation was able to obtain a military weapon and launch such an attack.
“Last night, three people left for what was supposed to be a wonderful soccer party. Two of them lost their lives in a brutal terrorist attack,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a news conference just before dawn. “Their lives were cut short in full flight, cut down by extreme brutality.”
De Croo said his thoughts were with the victims’ families and that he had sent his condolences to the Swedish prime minister. Security has been beefed up in the capital, particularly around places linked to the Swedish community in the city.
“The attack that was launched yesterday was committed with total cowardice,” De Croo said.
Not far from the scene of the shooting, the Belgium-Sweden soccer match in the Belgian national stadium was suspended at halftime and the 35,000 fans were kept inside as a precaution while the attacker was at large.
“Frustrated, confused, scared. I think everyone was quite scared,” said Caroline Lochs, a fan from Antwerp.
A supporter is comforted on the stands after suspension of the Euro 2024 group F qualifying soccer match between Belgium and Sweden at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
At a news conference in Stockholm, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that “everything indicates this is a terrorist attack against Sweden and Swedish citizens, just because they are Swedish.” He said the suspect had occasionally stayed in Sweden but was not on police files there.
“It’s not an unusual pattern to move around,” Kristersson added. “We have an openness in Europe, which is one of the important reasons why we need to keep an eye on the EU’s external border because otherwise people can easily move between European countries.”
De Croo said the assailant was a Tunisian man living illegally in Belgium who used a military weapon to kill the two Swedes and shoot a third, who is being treated for ”severe injuries.”
Federal prosecutors said later that the suspect was found after a witness claimed to have spotted him in a Schaerbeek cafe. Police arrived at the scene and the suspect was shot as they tried to arrest him. First responders attempted to save the man, but he later died in hospital.
“A military weapon and a bag of clothes were found,” a statement said.
Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw described how the suspect, a 45-year-old man who wasn’t identified, had posted a video online claiming to have killed three Swedish people.
The suspect is alleged to have said in the video that, for him, the Quran is “a red line for which he is ready to sacrifice himself.”
The Swedish Parliament flags are flown at half-mast in Stockholm, Sweden, Tuesday Oct. 17, 2023, in honor of the victims of the attack in Brussels. (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via AP)
Sweden raised its terror alert to the second-highest level in August after a series of public Quran burnings by an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups.
Belgian prosecutors said overnight that nothing suggested the attack was linked to the war between Israel and Hamas.
According to Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, the suspect was denied asylum in 2019. He was known to police and had been suspected of involvement of human trafficking, living illegally in Belgium and of being a risk to state security.
Information provided to the Belgian authorities by an unidentified foreign government suggested that the man had been radicalized and intended to travel abroad to fight in a holy war. But the Belgian authorities were not able to establish this, so he was never listed as dangerous.
Police and inspectors work in an area where a shooting took place in the center of Brussels, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. Belgian police say that two people are dead in central Brussels after several shots were fired. (AP Photo/Nicolas Landemard)
The man was also suspected of threatening a person in an asylum center and a hearing on that incident had been due to take place on Tuesday, Van Quickenborne said.
Belgian Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor said the man disappeared after his asylum application was refused so the authorities were unable to locate him to organize his deportation.
A terror alert for Brussels was raised overnight to 4, the top of Belgian’s scale, indicating an extremely serious threat. It previously stood at 2, which means the threat was average. The alert level for the rest of the country was raised to 3.
Premchai Karnasuta left Thong Pha Phum District Prison, Kanchanaburi Province, at 3:30 p.m. on October 17, 2023.
Former Italian Thai top executive turned convicted wildlife poacher Premchai Karnasuta was released from prison Tuesday due to ill health and after serving the minimum required sentence before gaining parole. He will be put under the supervision of the Corrections Department.
Premchai was sentenced by the Supreme Court in December 2019 to serve a total of 2 years and 14 months for poaching a protected black panther and possession of unlicensed firearms in 2018.
The 68-year-old tycoon was actually imprisoned for 1 year, 10 months, and 9 days. He was one of 113 prisoners approved on October 17 for release by the Department of Corrections by reducing the days spent in prison.
Premchai Karnasuta was actually imprisoned for 1 year 10 months and 9 days.
He left Thong Pha Phum District Prison, Kanchanaburi Province, at 3:30 p.m. on October 17. He looked weary and tired. He walked on a limp while using a cane to help support himself before boarding the car that took him to Bangkok.
Premchai’s lawyer, Witoon Praiyam, said Premchai’s family was very happy to hear the news of his release. But because it was quite urgent, not all family members came to pick him up. His client had health problems, both foot ulcers and physical health problems; therefore, he had to see a doctor at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok immediately.
The Department of Corrections explained in a statement that Premchai will be placed on probation beginning on October 17, 2023, and will be released from prison on December 7, 2023.
Premchai Karnasuta, 63, left, is seen with a group while being detained in the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi province on Thailand’s western border, Feb. 4, 2018. (Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation via AP, File)
“However, because of his ankle health issues, specifically the diabetes-related amputation of dead tissue into the leg, applying an electronic tracking device (EM) to him will cause friction, worsening the severity of his wounds and preventing treatment. After careful consideration, the committee determined that he is not required to use EM,” according to the statement.
The Department stated that Premchai is required to report and remain under probationary conditions until his scheduled punishment.
The president of the construction conglomerate Italian-Thai at the time of his arrest in 2018 was also found guilty of bribing park rangers at the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi Province. In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay a share of a 2 million baht fine.
Two men arrested with him—a driver and a hunter—also received prison sentences and fines. One of them, Thani Thummas, the hunter, died of cancer in 2022.
The jailing of Premchai is a rare case of a rich, influential Thai having to serve time for wrongdoing. The Thai public has grown weary of repeated examples of wealthy Thais apparently flouting the law with impunity.
His early release was also criticized. There are also rumours that Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, will also be released.
Two Thai women, Jam and Nong, drive past the Israel tank to help a Thai worker.
One Thai woman who is widely praised and admired both in the Thai labor community and on social media is 40-year-old Viphavadi Vannachai, or “Jam”. She has earned the titles of “Thai Angel” and “Hero” for her courageous efforts to travel to dangerous areas and help Thai workers during the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
She only returned to Thailand on October 17 to attend her mother’s funeral in Nong Bua Lamphu province. She is very sad because she did not have the last opportunity to say goodbye to her mother as she was in a life-threatening situation helping Thai citizens.
In an interview at Khon Kaen airport, Jam revealed that she was previously married to an Israeli husband who worked as a lawyer and ran a legal practice. They handled legal matters for over 15 years, including complaints from Thai workers in Israel. They had three children together, but she is no longer with her husband.
Viphavadi Vannachai, or “Jam,” gives an interview at the Khon Kaen airport on October 17, 2023.
During the violent clashes in Israel, Jam stayed with a Thai friend named Nong, and together they supported Thai workers in Israel. She also actively communicated via Facebook, known as “Jam Vannachai.”
She said, “During the violent incidents when the Hamas group attacked Israel, there were Thai workers who contacted my law firm by phone and text messages asking for help. So I spoke to Nong and said, ‘We are all born once and die once. We will do everything we can to help our Thai colleagues. Then we met with the Thai workers.”
On the way to help the Thai workers, Jam stressed that it was not easy because of the extreme danger in different areas. In some places, the military would not allow them to enter, but it was necessary to go in and save the Thai citizens. The military was understanding and ensured their safety.
She also actively communicated via Facebook, known as “Jam Vannachai.”
She explained that many workers had fled the camps where they were housed because the camps had been burnt down and they had no important documents. Some were injured and had to return home.
She contacted all relevant parties to facilitate the return of these Thai workers, especially those named Ono and Chatri who had been shot and had no documents. All of them registered for their return to Thailand. Others who had arrived at the airport but had no documents were also helped.
“I have no magical talismans or sacred objects, I simply pray to God to clear the way for me and protect everything I plan to do. Smoothly and safely,” Jam said. She also revealed that she plans to return to Israel in December this year.
Viphavadi Vannachai, or “Jam,” gives advice to Thai workers in Israel to remain vigilant and safe. Trust the authorities and do not venture outside secured areas.
She advised, “I hope Thais working in Israel will remain vigilant and safe. Trust the authorities and do not venture outside secured areas. If unfortunate incidents occur, no one can help us. I recognise that we all face challenges, but with determination and a clear mind we can overcome them. The situation in Israel remains tense every day, so please take care. Rejoice for the Thais who are safe and have returned home, and condole with the families of those who lost their lives.”
Jam’s father, who lives in Nong Bua Lamphu, expressed his deep regret for his daughter who did not get a chance to say goodbye to her mother. However, he is immensely proud of his daughter who has worked tirelessly to help Thai citizens in difficult situations, just as his wife did before her death on 13 October.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin, rear center, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine as well as Russian backing for China’s bid to expand its economic and diplomatic influence abroad.
The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations that is now complicated by the Israel-Hamas war. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel against its relations with Iran and Syria, two countries that are strongly backed by Russia and with which China has forged ties for economic reasons as well as to challenge Washington’s influence in the Middle East.
Putin’s plane was met by an honor guard as the Russian leader began his visit that is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s signature “Belt and Road” initiative to build infrastructure and expand China’s overseas influence.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, center, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)
In an interview to Chinese state media, Putin praised the massive but loosely linked BRI projects.
“Yes, we see that some people consider it an attempt by the People’s Republic of China to put someone under its thumb, but we see otherwise, we just see desire for cooperation,” he told state broadcaster CCTV, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin on Monday.
Putin will be among the highest profile guests at a gathering marking the 10th anniversary of Xi’s announcement of the BRI project, which has laden countries such as Zambia and Sri Lanka with heavy debt from contracts with Chinese companies to build roads, airports and other public works they could not otherwise afford. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has praised the Chinese policy as bringing development to neglected areas.
Asked by reporters Friday about his visit, Putin said it would encompass talks on Belt and Road-related projects, which he said Moscow wants to link with efforts by an economic alliance of former Soviet Union nations mostly located in Central Asia to “achieve common development goals.”
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, center, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)
He also downplayed the impact of China’s economic influence in a region that Russia has long considered its backyard and where it has worked to maintain political and military clout.
“We don’t have any contradictions here, on the contrary, there is a certain synergy,” Putin said.
Putin said he and Xi would also discuss growing economic ties between Moscow and Beijing in energy, high-tech and financial industries. China has also grown in importance as an export destination for Russia.
Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said that from China’s view, “Russia is a safe neighbor that is friendly, that is a source of cheap raw materials, that’s a support for Chinese initiatives on the global stage and that’s also a source of military technologies, some of those that China doesn’t have.”
“For Russia, China is its lifeline, economic lifeline in its brutal repression against Ukraine,” Gabuev told The Associated Press.
“It’s the major market for Russian commodities, it’s a country that provides its currency and payment system to settle Russia’s trade with the outside world — with China itself, but also with many other countries, and is also the major source of sophisticated technological imports, including dual-use goods that go into the Russian military machine.”
Gabuev said that while Moscow and Beijing will be unlikely to forge a full-fledged military alliance, their defense cooperation will grow.
The Russian flag is flown near Tiananmen Square ahead of the Third Belt and Road Forum held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
“Both countries are self-sufficient in terms of security and they benefit from partnering, but neither really requires a security guarantee from the other. And they preach strategic autonomy,” he said.
“There will be no military alliance, but there will be closer military cooperation, more interoperability, more cooperation on projecting force together, including in places like the Arctic and more joint effort to develop a missile defense that makes the U.S. nuclear planning and planning of the U.S. and its allies in Asia and in Europe more complicated,” he added.
The Chinese and Soviets were Cold War rivals for influence among left-leaning states, but China and Russia have since partnered in the economic, military and diplomatic spheres.
Just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, Putin met with Xi in Beijing and the sides signed an agreement pledging a “no-limits” relationship. Beijing’s attempts to present itself as a neutral peace broker in Russia’s war on Ukraine have been widely dismissed by the international community.
Xi visited Moscow in March as part of a flurry of exchanges between the countries. China has condemned international sanctions imposed on Russia, but hasn’t directly addressed an arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court on charges of alleged involvement in the abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine.
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Christopher Bodeen reported from Taiwan. Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
A video clip of a patient’s daughter denouncing hospital staff for slowing down and stopping on the way to buy fried bananas, popular Thai snacks, has gone viral for criticism.
Usually, an ambulance is expected to take seriously ill patients to the hospital as quickly as possible. But on October 13, the ALS ambulance of Nakhon Nayok Hospital stopped to get fried bananas on the way.
On October 16, Nakhon Nayok Hospital issued a statement regarding this case after a brief investigation.
Nakhon Nayok Hospital
According to a dash cam, it was found that the car departed the 64-year-oldpatient’s house at 10:47 a.m. The car slowed down to receive fried bananas while driving for 3 seconds since the fried banana vendor was waiting to deliver on the road, which is inappropriate when heading out.
The vehicle arrived at the hospital at 10:57 a.m., and the patient was admitted to the emergency room for treatment. He spent one night in the male medical inpatient unit. When his general symptoms were normal, doctors allowed him to go home on October 14.
A video clip of a patient’s daughter denouncing hospital staff has gone viral.
“Nakhon Nayok Hospital recognises the issue and prioritises patient care. Thus, a committee was formed to investigate those involved in compliance with government regulations. Nakhon Nayok Hospital regrets this error. and welcome all suggestions. It would help Nakhon Nayok Hospital improve its workflow and service,” it stated.
Later, nurses at Nakhon Nayok Hospital travelled to the residence of the patient to apologise to him. They also talked with Ms. Suchada Nammali, 32 years old, the patient’s daughter.
Nurses from Nakhon Nayok Hospital travelled to the patient’s house to apologise to him.
Ms. Suchada stated that she does not want this to happen to anyone else. She was curious about the hospital’s disciplinary procedures or punishment for the four ambulance personnel that came to pick up her father that day.
“I’m pleased with the hospital’s visit to apologise to my father. But I want an answer about the hospital’s statement that the ambulance paused for about 3 seconds to get fried bananas. Is that correct? I want them to fix the complaint. “I don’t want it to happen to anyone else,” stated the patient’s daughter.
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-21st District, embraces Oday Al-Fayoume, father of Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, during a news conference at the Muslim Community Center on Chicago's Northwest Side, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (Jim Vondruska/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois landlord accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother was charged with a hate crime after police and relatives said he singled out the victims because of their faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas.
In the Chicago-area case, officers found the 32-year-old woman and boy late Saturday morning at a home in an unincorporated area of Plainfield Township, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media.
Relatives and a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group identified the slain boy as the wounded woman’s son.
The home where a boy was killed and a woman critically injured after they were stabbed by a man who targeted them because they were Muslim is shown in Plainfield, Ill., Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital. The woman had multiple stab wounds and was expected to survive, according to the statement. An autopsy on the child showed he had been stabbed dozens of times.
“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the sheriff’s statement said.
According to the Will County sheriff’s office, the woman had called 911 to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife, adding she then ran into a bathroom and continued to fight him off.
The man suspected in the attack was found Saturday outside the home and “sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence” with a cut on his forehead, authorities said.
Joseph M. Czuba, 71, of Plainfield was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crimes and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the sheriff’s office. WLS-TV reported that Czuba was scheduled for an initial hearing on Monday afternoon at the county courthouse in Joliet, according to the Will County State’s Attorney Office.
This booking photo provided by the Will County Sheriff’s Office, in Joliet, Ill., shows Joseph M. Czuba. (Will County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Attempts to reach Czuba or a family member were unsuccessful Sunday. His home phone number was unlisted. Messages left for possible relatives in online records and on social media were not immediately returned. The sheriff’s office and county public defender’s office did not immediately return messages about Czuba’s legal representation.
Authorities did not release the names of the two victims.
But the boy’s paternal uncle, Yousef Hannon, spoke at a news conference Sunday hosted by the Chicago chapter Council on American-Islamic Relations where the boy’s father was in attendance. There the boy was identified as Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian American boy who recently had turned 6. The organization identified the other victim as the boy’s mother.
“We are not animals, we are humans. We want people to see us as humans, to feel us as humans, to deal with us as humans, because this is what we are,” said Hannon, a Palestinian American who emigrated to the U.S. in 1999 to work, including as a public school teacher.
The Muslim civil liberties organization called the crime “our worst nightmare” and part of a disturbing spike in hate calls and emails since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The group cited text messages exchanged among family members that showed the attacker had made disparaging remarks about Muslims.
“Palestinians basically, again, with their hearts broken over what’s happening to their people,” said Ahmed Rehab, the group’s executive director, “have to also worry about the immediate safety of life and limb living here in this most free of democracies in the world.”
In response to the increased threats, the Illinois State Police are communicating with federal law-enforcement and reaching out to Muslim communities and religious leaders to offer support, according to a Sunday press release from Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker.
“To take a six-year-old child’s life in the name of bigotry is nothing short of evil,” Pritzker said. “Wadea should be heading to school in the morning. Instead, his parents will wake up without their son. This wasn’t just a murder — it was a hate crime. And every single Illinoisan — including our Muslim, Jewish, and Palestinian neighbors — deserves to live free from the threat of such evil.”
President Joe Biden echoed that sentiment Sunday, saying in a statement: “This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are.”
The Justice Department opened a hate crime investigation into the events leading up to the attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, speaks at a news conference held at the Muslim Community Center on Chicago’s Northwest Side, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, (Jim Vondruska/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
FBI Director Chris Wray said on a call with reporters Sunday that the FBI is also moving quickly to mitigate the threats.
A senior FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Bureau said the majority of the threats that the FBI has responded to were not judged to be credible, adding that the FBI takes them all seriously nonetheless.
The official also said that agents have been encouraged to be “aggressive” and proactive in communicating over the last week with faith-based leaders. The official said the purpose is not to make anyone feel targeted but rather to ask clerics and others to report to law enforcement anything that seems suspicious.
