On July 21, the Consumer Protection Division of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced the results of the search at “CCoco Beauty Clinic” in Soi Thonglor on Sukhumvit Road, Klongton Nuea, Wattana District, Bangkok.
According to information from the Department of Health Service Support, Ministry of Public Health, this health facility was found to be operating without a license. The attending physician did not have a valid professional license.
During the search, it was found that the clinic only provides services to foreign clients. Ms. El Mon (last name reserved), a national of Myanmar, claimed to be the clinic’s attending physician. She was responsible for examining clients and administering vitamin injections for skin care.
Ms. El Mon, a national of Myanmar, claimed to be the clinic’s attending physician.
She stated that she had completed her medical studies at a college in Myanmar and was invited to work part-time at this health facility. Ms. El Mon worked for approximately one month and earned 2,000 baht per session. She had a work permit as a manager but no license to practice medicine in Thailand. Therefore, she was charged by the authorities with practicing medicine without a license or practicing a prohibited profession.
Officials seized another 51 items in the beauty clinic.
Officials also seized another 51 items, including 23 unregistered medicines, 12 medical devices and 16 cosmetic products. The total value of the seized items is over 5 million baht.
C COCO Beauty Clinic has a Chinese national as a director of the company. It has been operating in Thailand for about 9 months under the name CCOCO BEAUTY and has branches in 15 other countries, including China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The clinic caters exclusively to foreign clients and does not serve Thai nationals.
The CCoco Beauty Clinic only provides services to foreign clients
The company advertises its services in online media and uses well-known influencers to promote its public relations. Officials will gather evidence and subpoena the Chinese owner to provide further testimony on the allegations.
According to allkpop report, BTS, NewJeans, BLACKPINK and IVE are the top ranking K-Pop idol groups in terms of brand value for July, 2023
The Korea Brand Reputation Research Institute analyzed big data of currently promoting K-Pop idol groups from June 18 through July 18 KST, in order to determine each group’s overall brand power.
Based on the Institute’s analysis, BTS came out on top with a total of 6,773,406 points , followed by NewJeans in second place with 5,971,913 points. BLACKPINK came in third place with 4,960,500 points total, and IVE took up fourth place with 3,982,683 points.
In July IVE wrapped up their “IVE THE FIRST FAN CONCERT <The Prom Queens> IN BANGKOK” held on July 8 – 9, 2023 at Thunder Dome, Muangthong Thani. It was their last stop and their Asia Tour ended beautifully. The fan concert received overwhelming support from Thai and international DIVE (fandom’s name) filling up the seats for their 2-day show which was their first-ever full concert in Thailand.
Besides, all six queens consisting of “AN YUJIN”, “GAEUL”, “REI”, “JANG WONYOUNG”, “LIZ” and “LEESEO” presented the fans with their special stages and made fans scream their lungs out from the opening of the show as they were captivated by the diverse visuals of the six ladies.
This fan concert was presented by BEX, partnering with “YJ PARTNERS”, “PROUD2” and “Starship Entertainment”. They opened the show with After Like following by Take It, My Satisfaction, and ROYAL. The girls turned the show even more impressive when they performed two versions of ELEVEN and LOVE DIVE – the original version and band version that was rearranged to heat up the stage.
IVE continued to fascinate fans by their performances of Kitsch and I AM – their latest top-chart songs from the new album. They also performed other two songs – Blue Blood and NOT YOUR GIRL from the same album.
The highlight was their unit performances. The group was divided into three subunits – unit 1 was Jang Wonyoung and Rei as they did a cover of Me Too by Meghan Trainor. An Yujin and Liz teamed up for unit 2 covering Jessi J’s Flashlight. The last unit was Gaeul and Leeseo performing Kill This Love by Blackpink.
Fans sent their loud cheers throughout the shows. There was a fun game time that they prepared for fans to feel closer to them and created a good memory together. The six girls successfully finished off their first Prom Queens. In the future, they will keep doing more activities worldwide to present their new and diverse images.
With the start of the peak foreign tourist season, which coincides with the end of the academic year in many countries, the Thai government said July 20 that last week saw a significant increase in international tourists from East Asia and Europe coming to the country.
A government spokeswoman said that as a result, by the end of July, the total number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand in 2023 is expected to exceed 15 million people.
Thailand’s tourism industry has a policy of promoting new forms of tourism that take into account the behavior and demands of specific tourist groups.
Chinese tourists visit the Grand Palace scenic spot in Bangkok, Thailand on May 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)
For the nature-based tourism sector, Thailand has a total of more than 156 national parks spread across different regions, including both marine and terrestrial national parks. Every year, both Thai and international tourists visit these parks.
According to the National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department for the first half of 2023, a total of 8,853,001 tourists visited these national parks from January to June.
The top 5 national parks with the highest number of tourists are as follows:
1. Khao Khitchakut National Park, Chanthaburi Province, with 708,747 tourists.
2. Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Krabi Province, with 697,851 tourists.
3. Khao Laem Ya – Mu Ko Samet National Park, Rayong Province, with 589,787 tourists.
4. Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, with 572,223 tourists.
5. Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province, with 324,593 tourists.
Khao Khitchakut National Park
For the national parks that generate revenue for the National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department, there are a total of 133 parks with a total revenue of over 841 million baht from January to June 2023.
The top 5 national parks with the highest revenue are as follows:
1. Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, Krabi Province, with a total revenue of 167,466,123 Baht.
2. Mu Ko Similan National Park, Phang Nga Province, with a total revenue of 107,070,830 Baht.
3. Khao Laem Ya – Mu Ko Samet National Park, Rayong Province, with a total revenue of 57,509,630 Baht.
4. Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province, with a total revenue of 47,076,335 Baht.
5. Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, with a total revenue of 41,325,614 Baht.
Ko Phi Phi National Marine Park, Krabi / Tourism Authority of Thailand
Hun Manet, front right, a son of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, waves from a vehicle as he leads a procession to mark the end of an election campaign of Cambodian People's Party, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Hun Sen has been his country’s autocratic prime minister for nearly four decades, during which the opposition has been stifled and the country has grown increasingly close to China.
With his Cambodian People’s Party virtually guaranteed another landslide victory in this Sunday’s election, it’s hard to imagine dramatic change on the horizon. But the 70-year-old former communist Khmer Rouge fighter and Asia’s longest-serving leader says he is ready to hand the premiership to his oldest son, Hun Manet, a four-star general who heads the country’s army.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Hun Manet, 45, also has a master’s degree from NYU and a doctorate in economics from Britain’s Bristol University. His speeches tend to broadly praise his father’s government but are short on specifics about issues, so it’s hard to know if his background may portend political change.
FILE – Hun Manet, the first Cambodian to graduate from the United States Military Academy, holds his diploma on May 29, 1999, after he received it from the military academy at West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Ken Bizzigotti, File)
But it will take work for the West to regain influence in the Southeast Asian country of 16.5 million, given China’s strategic and economic importance, said John Bradford, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
“A Cambodia led by Hun Manet might very well be a stronger U.S. ally, but the U.S.-Cambodia relationship can only thrive if it is built on strong fundamentals of common benefit and mutual respect,” Bradford said. “U.S. diplomats should focus on these things.”
At the top of a Western wish list would be an end to human rights abuses and the sidelining of political opposition, which Hun Sen has stepped up ahead of the election to the point that Human Rights Watch said it now “bears little resemblance to an actual democratic process.”
Internationally, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which Cambodia chaired last year, has criticized it for undermining its unity in disputes with China over South China Sea territorial disputes, and the U.S. has expressed concerns over China’s involvement in construction at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base which could give Beijing a strategically important military outpost on the Gulf of Thailand.
Hun Manet, front right, a son of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, delivers a speech before leading a procession to mark the end of an election campaign of Cambodian People’s Party, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 21, 2023.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Ground was broken last year on the Ream project, and satellite imagery of the ongoing construction from Planet Labs PBC taken about a month ago and analyzed by The Associated Press shows a jetty now large enough to accommodate a destroyer, providing that the water is deep enough.
It is not clear when — or even if — Hun Sen will hand off to his son during the next five-year government term, though most seem to think it will happen early enough for Hun Manet to establish himself in the job before the next election.
Both men refused requests to be interviewed by The Associated Press.
Even when Hun Manet does take over, Bradford said it might not mean any change at all, noting that educational and personal background do not necessarily translate into leadership style or political stance.
“We have a dictator in North Korea who went to school in Switzerland,” he said. “His choices don’t exactly reflect Swiss values.”
Hun Manet has given few clues himself, posting frequently on Facebook and Telegram like his father but revealing little of his political leanings.
And few think Hun Sen will fade into the woodwork, instead choosing now as a good time to turn over power so that he can still maintain a large degree of control from the sidelines, said Gordon Conochie, a research fellow at Australia’s La Trobe University and author of “A Tiger Rules the Mountain: Cambodia’s Pursuit of Democracy,” which was published this month.
Hun Manet, right, a son of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, stands before he leads a procession to mark the end of an election campaign of Cambodian People’s Party, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
“It means that while his son is establishing his own authority as prime minister, he’s still got a relatively young, healthy — physically and mentally — father behind him,” Conochie said.
“The reality is that as long as Hun Sen is there, nobody’s going to move against them. And Hun Sen will be the man in charge, even if his son is the prime minister.”
Hun Manet is also only one of five Hun Sen relatives running on the CPP ticket in this election, including Hun Manet’s brother, Hun Many.
Hun Sen joined Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge at age 18 as it fought to seize power, losing his left eye in the final battle for Phnom Penh in 1975.
When a series of purges within the genocidal communist regime, blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians, put his own life at risk, he fled to neighboring Vietnam, returning to help oust his former comrades in 1979 alongside an invading Vietnamese army.
By his late twenties he was installed as foreign minister by occupying Vietnamese forces, and in 1985 became prime minister, the world’s youngest at the time.
Over the decades he tightened his grip on power while ushering in a free-market economy and helping bring an end to three decades of civil war.
“The defining characteristic of Hun Sen’s career has been his ideological and political flexibility,” said Hun Sen biographer Sebastian Strangio.
“This is a leader who ruled at the head of a communist government in the 1980s, made a very rapid transition to the democratic system that the U.N. brought in in the early 1990s, and since then has shown an uncanny ability to duck and weave and adjust on the fly in order to consolidate his hold on power.”
Supporters of the Cambodian People’s Party participate in a procession to mark the end of its election campaign in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
With average annual economic growth of 7.7% between 1998 and 2019, Cambodia was elevated from a low-income country to lower middle-income status in 2015, and expects to attain middle-income status by 2030, according to the World Bank.
But at the same time the gap between the rich and poor has greatly widened, deforestation has spread at an alarming rate, and there has been widespread land grabbing by Hun Sen’s Cambodian allies and foreign investors.
As discontent strengthened opposition, the country’s compliant courts dissolved the main opposition party ahead of 2018 elections, ensuring victory for Hun Sen’s party, and the country’s National Election Committee barred the only credible challenge to him in this Sunday’s election on a technicality.
“Draconian laws, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and judicial harassment, including politically motivated mass trials against over 100 opposition members and dozens of human rights defenders, perpetuate autocratic rule and silence dissent,” Human Rights Watch wrote of Hun Sen’s methods.
While an element of “diehard opposition” remains, in the five years since the last election more people have become part of a “silent majority” who might want to see more options but are comfortable enough in their jobs and lives that they’re not motivated to demand change, said Ou Virak, president of Phnom Penh’s Future Forum think tank.
“They don’t really care enough to actually be pushing for anything, and probably just accept that this is the way it is,” he said.
With Hun Manet due to take over as prime minister, and an expected wholesale replacement of top ministers, the election will bring a “generational change” to Cambodia’s leadership, Ou Virak said.
That could create a “honeymoon period” for international diplomacy with younger, Western-educated officials better equipped to hold “global conversations on issues and topics.”
But people will be disappointed if they expect a sharp pivot away from China, he said.
“China is still Cambodia’s main backer, Cambodia’s main superpower partner,” he said. “So I think any shift to the West will be limited, because you can’t alienate your main supporter.”
___
DAVID RISING reported from Phnom Penh. Associated Press journalists Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Jerry Harmer in Bangkok and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this story.
CP Brand proudly announces its remarkable achievement of securing the Marketeer’s No.1 Brand Thailand 2023 award. This prestigious recognition underlines CP Brand’s industry leadership and dedication to innovative research & development (R&D) for producing consumer-driven food solutions. Notably, the brand emerged victorious in the Frozen and Chilled Food categories, a testament to its ability to consistently align with consumer insights and deliver superior products.
The award was handed out following a comprehensive consumer survey conducted during 2022-2023 by Marketeer Magazine, an esteemed influence marketing publication in Thailand. This year, CP Brand triumphed in two categories: Frozen and Chilled Food, including the celebrated ‘CP Sausage,’ which has retained consumer trust for an impressive three consecutive years.
Anarkawee Chooratn, Head of Marketing at Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods), realizes the shift in modern consumers’ lifestyles and their conscious preference for better convenience and longer shelf-life products. “Our dedication to consistency in developing new products, underlining the “consumer-centric” concept, while upholding food safety adhered to international standards, along with our acute understanding of changing consumer demands, has been the primary catalyst in driving our growth and success,” expressed Anarkawee.
This third-time recognition as Thailand’s No.1 Brand serves as a motivating force for CPF, inspiring our constant pursuit of enhancing food safety and quality standards. “Our aim is to consistently earn consumer trust, providing innovative solutions that cater to the diverse needs of consumers across all age groups,” added Anarkawee.
The success of ‘CP Sausage’ reflects CPF’s dedication to creating products based on consumer demand. CPF recently launched CP Fit-It, in response to consumer trends leaning towards healthier food choices. Made with quality chicken breast meat, CP Fit-It offers 20 grams of protein per serving, equivalent to 5 egg whites, while maintaining low fat and sodium levels. This cutting-edge product was honored with the ‘World’s Best Taste of the Year 2023’ or the 3-star Superior Taste Award 2023 from the International Taste Institute, a further affirmation of its excellent taste and quality.
Our commitment in developing new products, underscoring the “consumer-centric” concept, while upholding food safety adhered to international standards, along with our acute understanding of changing consumer demands, has been the primary catalyst in driving our growth and success.
Additionally, CP Brand’s Frozen Food category continues to gain nationwide consumer awareness. CP Brand’s successful development of frozen food, which provides consumers with a fresh experience, is supported by Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) technology. This technology helps maintain the taste and nutritional value of the food without the need for preservatives. The company’s efforts to improve people’s health have resulted in a 30% reduction in salt content in various products such as CP Spaghetti Carbonara Chicken and CP Spaghetti with minced chicken and sausage, while still preserving their delicious taste. The company’s focus is on continuously delivering healthier innovations for consumers of all generations.
CP Foods is continually dedicated to producing nutritious and healthy innovative food by integrating innovative technologies throughout the production process. This commitment enables the company to consistently provide high-quality and delicious products. In addition, CP Foods continues to launch campaigns that align with emerging trends, always seeking fresh opportunities to better understand and serve consumers of all generations.
Officials in the municipality of Daito, in Osaka, speak at a news conference on Wednesday regarding a case in which a mother is suspected of starving her daughter, hospitalizing her and claiming insurance payments. | KYODO
OSAKA – A 34-year-old mother in Osaka Prefecture has been served a fresh arrest warrant for allegedly swindling a cooperative out of mutual aid money by starving her child to the point of hospitalization for low blood sugar in January, according to police.
Kasumi Nawata, a part-time worker in Daito, allegedly withheld giving meals to her now 9-year-old daughter and had her hospitalized for ketotic hypoglycemia from Jan. 22 to Jan. 27 in order to defraud the cooperative of 60,000 yen ($430) in mutual aid payment.
The latest charge leveled against Nawata on Tuesday came as the police suspect she had her daughter, who was 8 years old at the time, admitted to the hospital 43 times.
The child spent a combined 332 days in a hospital since the spring of 2018, with her mother defrauding some 5.69 million yen from the cooperative and two other organizations that were supposed to cover hospitalization costs, investigative sources said.
Nawata has denied the allegation, saying she had not intended to cause her daughter to develop low blood sugar and that her aid application was not about deceiving the cooperative, according to the police.
Nawata’s smartphone records during the period showed that she invited her partner on a trip, as well as a friend to a bedrock bath, the sources said.
While she did not end up following through on either of the plans, the police suspect she hospitalized her daughter to earn time for recreational purposes, the sources said.
The daughter only consumed about 700 calories worth of food, including school meals, over the three days before her hospitalization, of which for one day she ate nothing, according to the police and the health ministry.
Her calorie intake during the period accounts for a mere 12-15 percent of the daily energy requirement for a girl aged 8 to 9, which stands at 1,500 to 1,900 calories, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.
Ketotic hypoglycemia, which is caused by lengthy fasting, presents various symptoms, including convulsion and vomiting.
Of the 43 times the child was hospitalized, 39 were at the same hospital, with charges amounting to about 40,000 yen, the sources said.
The mother allegedly used the money she fraudulently received to pay for dining out and esthetic salon expenses, they said.
The case came to light after the hospital noticed Nawata telling her child over the phone, “Don’t eat, sleep,” while she was in hospital in early February, the sources said. The girl was subsequently taken into protective temporary custody at a local child consultation center.
Nawata was served three arrest warrants between March and June on suspicion of, among other crimes, causing injury by not feeding her daughter, leading to her developing low blood sugar, as well as forcing her to take laxatives.
While she has told the police that she gave her daughter the laxatives to improve her health, the police suspect that she intended to prolong her time in the hospital so that she could receive more mutual aid payments, as the girl had no constipation symptoms, according to the sources.
Three Russian women, ages 34, 32, and 26, were arrested for working as beauticians without a work permit.
Officers from Phuket Police investigated complaints of foreigners working as barbers in Patong Subdistrict, Kathu District, Phuket Province, as one of the 27 occupations that are fully forbidden to foreigners.
The business is located at 200 Pee Road, Rat Uthit. A Thai woman runs the business, and Osamh, a male barber, works there. When the cops arrived to investigate on July 19, he was giving tourists haircuts.
As a result, the police requested that they review his documents for admission into the Kingdom of Thailand as well as his work permit. Osamh does not have a work permit. He held Jordanian citizenship and accepted that he had worked as a barber at this shop.
Barber Osamh does not have a work permit.
Officers then arrested him and took him to the Patong police station to document the arrest and inform him of the allegations and his rights.
Another location under investigation is a beauty salon in Choeng Thale Subdistrict, Thalang District in Phuket, where three Russian women, ages 34, 32, and 26, were working or were being employed as beauticians without a work permit.
A beauty salon in Choeng Thale Subdistrict where three Russian women have worked.
The Ministry of Labour recently urges employers and foreign workers to strictly comply with the law. If violations are found, employers who hire foreign workers without work permits or use them for unauthorized work face fines of between 10,000 and 100,000 baht per foreign worker employed.
Repeated violations could result in imprisonment of up to 1 year or fines of 50,000 to 200,000 baht, or both, as well as a ban on hiring foreign workers for a period of 3 years. Foreign workers who work without a work permit or engage in unauthorized activities face fines of between 5,000 and 50,000 baht and may be deported.
Armed New Zealand police officers stand outside a hotel housing a team from the FIFA Women's World Cup in the central business district following a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, Thursday, July 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — A man stormed a high-rise construction site in downtown Auckland early Thursday morning, shooting at terrified workers and killing two people hours before New Zealand planned to host the first game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament.
The gunman was found dead after a police shootout, during which an officer was shot and wounded. Four civilians were also injured.
The shooting happened near hotels where Team Norway and other soccer teams have been staying.
New Zealand Prime Minster Chris Hipkins said the tournament would go ahead as scheduled. Police said there would be heightened security at the tournament’s opening game to help reassure fans, and FIFA said a minute of silence would be observed before each of the two opening games.
“Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland,” Hipkins said. “The government has spoken to FIFA organizers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned.”
In this image from a video, an injured police officer, second left, is led away to be placed in an ambulance following a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand Thursday, July 20, 2023. (TVNZ via AP)
“I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat,” he added. “This appears to be the action of one individual.”
The shooting jarred New Zealand, where active shooter incidents are rare, leading the country’s the main news websites and broadcasts.
Hipkins said the man was armed with a shotgun, adding that police arrived within minutes of the first emergency call and ran into harm’s way to save lives.
“These kinds of situations move fast, and the actions of those who risk their lives to save others are nothing short of heroic,” Hipkins said.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the gunman was a 24-year-old who had previously worked at the building site, and his motive appeared to be connected to his work there.
The man identified as the shooter had a history of family violence and was serving a sentence of home detention, but had an exemption to work at the lower Queen Street site, Coster said.
The shooting began at about 7:20 a.m., and police soon swarmed the area.
Armed New Zealand police officer stand at a road block in the central business district following a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, Thursday, July 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
The shooter moved through the unfinished building firing at people, Coster said, as many workers fled or hid. He then barricaded himself in an elevator shaft on the third floor, Coster said, where SWAT-type officers engaged him after securing the floors above and below.
“The offender fired at police, injuring an officer,” Coster said. “Shots were exchanged and the offender was later found deceased.”
Coster said it wasn’t yet clear whether police had shot the man or he had killed himself. He said the suspected shooter didn’t have a gun license and so shouldn’t have been in possession of a firearm.
Outside, armed police officers placed an area in Auckland’s downtown on heavy lockdown, with streets cordoned off surrounding the harbor ferry terminal, which is popular with tourists. Police ordered bystanders to disperse and told people inside office buildings to shelter in place.
The shooting happened as soccer teams and fans gathered in New Zealand for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which the country is hosting jointly with Australia. The opening match is scheduled to be played in Auckland on Thursday evening, between New Zealand and Norway. Hipkins said he was considering whether he’d attend the match as planned.
Team Norway captain Maren Mjelde said her teammates were woken up abruptly when a helicopter began hovering outside the hotel window.
“We felt safe the whole time,” she said in a statement. “FIFA has a good security system at the hotel, and we have our own security officer in the squad. Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight.”
Police interview construction workers in the central business district following a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, Thursday, July 20, 2023. (Jason Oxenham/New Zealand Herald via AP)
Team USA said all its players and staff were safe and accounted for. It said the team was in contact with local authorities and proceeding with its daily schedule.
Officials at Eden Park, where the opening match of the FIFA tournament is taking place, said they were encouraging ticket holders to arrive early and there would be an increased security presence at the venue.
New Zealand has tight gun laws, imposed in 2019 after the country’s worst mass shooting prompted a sea change in attitudes toward guns. A shooter killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques during Friday prayers in March 2019.
The prime minister at the time, Jacinda Ardern, vowed to ban most semiautomatic weapons within a month and she succeeded, with only a single member of Parliament voting against the ban.
A subsequent buyback scheme saw gun owners hand over more than 50,000 of the newly banned weapons to police in exchange for cash.
Coster said the shotgun used in Thursday’s shooting is not on the list of banned weapons.
“I want to acknowledge that this has been a shocking and traumatic event for those people who came to work and found themselves in the middle of an armed emergency,” Coster said. “Thankfully, many people were able to escape the building, but I know for those who hid or remained trapped, this was a terrifying experience.”
Coster said the officer who was shot was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, had stabilized, and was expected to undergo surgery Thursday. He said the others had injuries ranging from moderate to critical. It wasn’t immediately clear if all those injured had been shot.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that he and Secretary-General Fatma Samoura had met with New Zealand Sports Minister Grant Robertson following the shooting to discuss security arrangements for the tournament.
“We appreciate the collaboration with the New Zealand authorities from the earliest moment of this tragic incident,” Infantino said in a statement. “We have been involved in ongoing communication from the outset, and we have also received the necessary reassurances.”
Jennifer Deering, a tourist from Orlando, Florida, said she was initially shocked to learn of the shooting after a tour guide had previously assured her that Auckland “was very safe here, other than some petty thieves.”
Then she went about her day.
“It’s sad that it’s normal for us (Americans) to see something like this on the news,” she added.
Tourism New Zealand canceled a media welcome party that was to have been held Thursday afternoon at a location within the cordoned-off area downtown.
___
JENNA FRYER reported from Auckland. NICK PERRY reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
Srettha Thavisin gave an interview to a group of journalists before attending a meeting at the Pheu Thai Party on July 20.
Pita Limjaroenrat, as expected, missed the chance to become prime minister, although he led his party to victory in the elections as the top candidate. He was unable to survive the encirclement by the established old power group with elements within the senators and lawfare.
What will the Thai political landscape be like in the future?
Immediately after the fall of Pita, supporters of democracy and supporters of the Move Forward Party gathered in various places, including at the monuments of democracy and in some provinces. However, the crowds were not very large and they did not succeed in creating a broad public mood.
One possible reason for this could be that another section of the masses who support the Pheu Thai Party believe that the chance for a united democratic alliance still exists and that this chance has now come with Srettha Thavisin, the party’s candidate for prime minister. That is why they have not yet joined the opposition movement.
Another reason might be, as Nidhi Eawsriwong, a senior Thai academic, has analyzed, that the military junta and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha have succeeded in making the Thai people vulnerable in a way that no previous military junta has ever managed. Instead of using violent methods like previous military leaders, they have mobilized all state apparatuses through legal means, leaving no room for the opposition to confront them directly.
Pro-democracy protesters gathered at the Democracy Monument Wednesday afternoon protest the parliament’s refusal to allow Pita Limcharoenrat, the leader of the Move Forward Party, from being tabled for PM vote for the second time.
The formation of the government – which may include other parties that were not part of the previous 8-party alliance – now depends on the Pheu Thai Party, which has been accused of “fighting and fawning.” This means that it is pursuing a strategy of fighting for democracy while accommodating the old power group to some extent, including not amending Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
At present, it appears that the Pheu Thai Party is likely to propose Srettha Thavisin, a former CEO in the real estate industry, as its candidate. However, it seems to be better prepared and more cautious than the Move Forward party. This is because Pita seems to have been “set up” and had no chance even if nominated again. He is also facing legal action over allegations of media ownership, which could ultimately lead to the dissolution of the Move Forward party.
Srettha Thavisin, PM candidate of the Pheu Thai Party
On July 20, Chonlanan Srikaew, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, stated that from now on, efforts to put forward a candidate for prime minister must be approached with the certainty that the nomination will be successful. He stressed the need to build trust before embarking on another battle, as no one wants to fight on a losing battlefield.
“No one will go into a battle on a lost ground and fight again. Otherwise, we will also lose our people, especially if we have only one candidate and cannot propose others. That will be the end. That’s the problem,” Chonlanan said.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Move Forward Party, left, and Leader of Pheu Thai party Chonlanan Srikaew shakes hands after meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Despite Chonlanan’s statement that the formation of the government is still based on the alliance of the eight former parties, there is now growing opposition from the opposite camp. For example, the Bhum Jai Thai Party, which has the third-largest number of seats in parliament, said it would not support a Pheu Thai Party candidate if the Move Forward Party remained in government. Some right-leaning senators with a common alignment also hope to push the Move Forward Party into opposition.
Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, Chairman of the Parliament, announced that the next vote on the Prime Minister will be held on July 27, following the regular agenda. Candidates from political parties will be proposed and then qualifications will be discussed. 374 votes are needed to become prime minister.
However, it is uncertain whether the July 27 vote will produce a result; even the speaker of parliament said he was not sure. Nevertheless, the public hopes for a quick result and that a prime minister will soon be in office.
Srettha said on Thursday during the next PM vote on July 27, there must be a “no lese majeste law” issue; otherwise, the junta-appointed senators won’t support the candidate. “It’s very basic math,” he added.
People buy Powerball tickets at Joe's Service Center, a Mobil gas station that previously sold the $2.04 billion-winning Powerball ticket at Woodbury Road and Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, Calif., Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the 3rd largest in the history of the game.
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24. The California Lottery said on Twitter that the winning ticket was sold in Los Angeles at Las Palmitas Mini Market.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1 billion to $1.08 billion at the time of the drawing, moving it from the seventh largest to the sixth largest U.S lottery jackpot ever won.
People line up to buy Powerball tickets at a 7 Eleven liquor store on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Chino Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
The winner can choose either the total jackpot paid out in yearly increments or a $558.1 million, one-time lump sum before taxes.
The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players. The largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion Powerball in November.
The last time someone had won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one had won the grand prize.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Pedestrians walk past an electronic sign hanging at a convenience store announcing a Powerball jackpot exceeding 1 billion dollars, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in New York. The new jackpot for Wednesday’s Powerball drawing would be the seventh highest in U.S. history and the third largest for the game. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
