Vladimir Putin said in a televised address to the nation on June 24, 2023.
“Our actions to protect the motherland from such a threat will be tough,” Putin said.
MOSCOW, June 24 (Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday ordered the Russian Armed Forces to neutralize those who organized the armed rebellion of the Wagner private military group.
“Any internal turmoil is a deadly threat to our statehood, to us as a nation. This is a blow to Russia, to our people. And our actions to protect the motherland from such a threat will be tough,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation.
“All those who deliberately embarked on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, who embarked on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment and answer both before the law and before our people,” he said.
“I urge those who are being dragged into this crime not to make a fatal and tragic mistake, but to make the only right choice — to stop participating in criminal acts,” Putin said.
Russia’s National Anti-terrorism Committee announced on Saturday that a counter-terrorist operation regime has been introduced in Moscow city, the Moscow region and the Voronezh region to prevent possible terrorist acts, after the Wagner private military group was accused of trying to organize an armed rebellion.
In this photo circulated on social media, tourists pose with starfishes in the sea off Koh Racha in Phuket Province on June 22, 2023.
PHUKET — Marine protection officials on Friday filed a police complaint against Chinese tourists for taking photos with rare sea creatures in the sea off Koh Racha.
Chinese tourists Sanyang Qin and Wen Zhang were accused of holding up a starfish and stepping on coral reefs during their Thursday diving trip in Phuket province. Their actions violated a law forbidding harm to the coastal environment, environment minister Varawut Silpa-archa said.
“We coordinated with the provincial tourism police, marine office, and a tour operator to bring in the perpetrators,” Varawut said in a Saturday post on his personal Facebook page. “They confessed to wrongdoing and a charge has been filed against them.”
If found guilty, they face a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a 200,000 baht fine.
Officials launched an investigation after photos and videos of tourists posing with sea creatures surfaced on social media. Marine environmental watchdog page Monsoon Garbage Thailand, who first shared the photos on Thursday, also urged authorities to look into whether the tour operator is properly licensed.
Sirikwan Saengravee, manager of Jinyang Holiday Group, said the tourists were her clients and apologized for the incident.
“On behalf of the company, we are deeply saddened by this incident and we are ready to improve and take greater care of our customers,” Sirikwan said. “From now on, the company will instruct our diving instructors to remind our Chinese customers more firmly.”
In this grab taken from video and released by Prigozhin Press Service on Friday, June 23, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the outspoken millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner, speaks during his interview at an unspecified location. He assailed the Russian military top brass, accusing it of downplaying the threat posed by the Ukrainian counteroffensive. (Prigozhin Press Service via AP, File)
The owner of the Wagner private military contractor who called for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister confirmed in a video that he and his troops have reached Rostov-on-Don.
The city is home to the Russian military headquarters that oversees the fighting in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed early Saturday that his forces had crossed into Russia from Ukraine, where they have played a crucial role in the war. The video posted on social media was the first confirmation that he was in Rostov saying they faced no resistance from young conscripts at checkpoints and that his forces “aren’t fighting against children.”
“But we will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said in one of a series of angry video and audio recordings posted on social media beginning late Friday. “We are moving forward and will go until the end.”
This screen grab from video provided by Ostorozhno Novosti, Saturday, June 24, 2023, reportedly shows a military vehicle driving through a street in Moscow. (Ostorozhno Novosti via AP)
He has long feuded with the Defense Ministry and late Friday claimed that the defense minister had ordered an attack on his field camps in Ukraine.
He claimed that the chief of the General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, scrambled warplanes to strike Wagner’s convoys, which were driving alongside ordinary vehicles. Prigozhin also said his forces shot down a Russian military helicopter that fired on a civilian convoy, but there was no independent confirmation.
And despite Prigozhin’s statements that Wagner convoys had entered Rostov-on-Don, there was no confirmation of that yet on Russian social networks. Video posted online showed armored vehicles, including tanks, stationed on the streets and troops moving into position, but it was unclear whether they were under Wagner or military command. Earlier, heavy trucks were seen blocking highways leading into the city and long convoys of National Guard trucks were seen on a road.
FILE – In this handout photo taken from video released by Prigozhin Press Service on Friday, March 3, 2023, (Prigozhin Press Service via AP, File)
The governor of the Voronezh region, just to the north, told residents that a column of military vehicles was moving along the main highway and advised them to stay off the road.
Prigozhin said Wagner field camps in Ukraine were struck by rockets, helicopter gunships and artillery fire on orders from Gerasimov following a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at which they decided to destroy Wagner.
The Wagner forces have played a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, succeeding in taking the city where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place, Bakhmut. But Prigozhin has increasingly criticized Russia’s military brass, accusing it of incompetence and of starving his troops of weapons and ammunition.
Prigozhin, who said he had 25,000 troops under his command, said his troops would punish Shoigu in an armed rebellion and urged the army not to offer resistance: “This is not a military coup, but a march of justice.”
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee, which is part of the Federal Security Services, or FSB, charged him with calling for an armed rebellion, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Ivan Dedov, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a specialist in applied and fundamental endocrinology during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 23, 2023. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The FSB urged Wagner’s contract soldiers to arrest Prigozhin and refuse to follow his “criminal and treacherous orders.” It called his statements a “stab in the back to Russian troops” and said they amounted to fomenting armed conflict.
Putin was informed about the situation and “all the necessary measures were being taken,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Heavy military trucks and armored vehicles were seen in several parts of central Moscow early Saturday, and soldiers toting assault rifles were deployed outside the main building of the Defense Ministry. The area around the presidential administration near Red Square was blocked, snarling traffic.
But even with the heightened military presence, downtown bars and restaurants were filled with customers. At one club near the headquarters of the FSB, people were dancing in the street near the entrance.
Moscow’s mayor announced Saturday morning that counterterrorism measures were underway, including increased control of roads and possible restrictions on mass gatherings.
Prigozhin, whose feud with the Defense Ministry dates back years, had refused to comply with a requirement that military contractors sign contracts with the ministry before July 1. In a statement late Friday, he said he was ready to find a compromise but “they have treacherously cheated us.”
“Today they carried out a rocket strike on our rear camps, and a huge number of our comrades got killed,” he said. The Defense Ministry denied attacking the Wagner camps.
Prigozhin claimed that Shoigu went to the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don personally to direct the strike and then “cowardly” fled.
“The evil embodied by the country’s military leadership must be stopped,” he shouted.
A view of the Russian Defense Ministry building with anti-aircraft artillery systems atop the roof in Moscow, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo)
Col. Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, urged the Wagner forces to stop any move against the army, saying it would play into the hands of Russia’s enemies, who are “waiting to see the exacerbation of our domestic political situation.”
Tatiana Stanovaya, a political analyst, predicted this would be the end of Prigozhin.
“Now that the state has actively engaged, there’s no turning back,” she tweeted. “The termination of Prigozhin and Wagner is imminent. The only possibility now is absolute obliteration, with the degree of resistance from the Wagner group being the only variable. Surovikin was dispatched to convince them to surrender. Confrontation seems totally futile.”
Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev, a top military officer, denounced Prigozhin’s move as “madness” that threatens civil war.
“It’s a stab in the back to the country and the president. … Such a provocation could only be staged by enemies of Russia,” he said.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine was concentrating troops for an attack around Bakhmut to take advantage of “Prigozhin’s provocation.” It said Russian artillery and warplanes were firing on Ukrainian forces as they prepared an offensive.
In Washington, the Institute for the Study of War, said it appeared that “Prigozhin fully intends for Wagner to move against MoD leadership and forcibly remove them from power, more likely against the Southern Military District command in Rostov-on-Don but possibly also against Moscow.”
It added that despite Putin’s support for Prigozhin, he would be highly unlikely to accept any armed rebellion: “The violent overthrow of Putin loyalists like Shoigu and Gerasimov would cause irreparable damage to the stability of Putin’s perceived hold on power.”
At the White House, National Security Council Adam Hodge said: “We are monitoring the situation and will be consulting with allies and partners on these developments.”
Michael Kofman, director of Russia Studies at the CAN research group in Arlington, Virginia, tweeted that Prigozhin’s actions struck him as “a desperate act, though much depends on whether Prigozhin is alone, or if others that matter join him. I’m skeptical this ends well for him or Wagner.”
In Kyiv a Russian missile attack killed at least two people and injured eight Saturday when falling debris caused a fire on several floors of a 24-story apartment building in a central district, Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, posted on Telegram.
He said more than 20 missiles were detected and destroyed. Video from the scene showed a blaze in the upper floors of the building and the parking lot strewn with ash and debris.
In other developments in the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on other countries to heed warnings that Russia may be planning to attack an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster.
Members of his government briefed international representatives on the possible threat to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, whose six reactors have been shut down for months. Zelenskyy said he expected other nations to “give appropriate signals and exert pressure” on Moscow.
The Kremlin’s spokesman has denied the threat to the plant is coming from Russian forces.
The potential for a life-threatening release of radiation has been a concern since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year and seized the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The head of the U.N.’s atomic energy agency spent months trying to negotiate the establishment of a safety perimeter to protect the facility as nearby areas came under repeated shelling, but he has been unsuccessful.
The International Atomic Energy Agency noted Thursday that “the military situation has become increasingly tense” amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began this month in Zaporizhzhia province, where the namesake plant is located, and in an adjacent part of Donetsk province.
“I’d want to remind any butlers or men who wish to make friends with strangers. Keep in mind: See face, do not know heart,” Pol. Maj. Gen. Teeradet. Thammasutee, the Metropolitan Police Headquarters’ Commander of Investigation, said after announcing the arrest of the accused in the case of threatening to extort money from victims online.
The Metropolitan Police and the Police Cyber Task (PCT) officers tracked down and arrested Mr. Ekapon or Prairie, 29, for “joint extortion” at the room in the Phetkasem-Tha Phra Road area of Wat Tha Phra Bangkok Yai District, Bangkok, while she was live broadcast online.
According to the inquiry, Prairie is a transgender woman who uses Twitter to hunt male victims by her sexy photos, solicit chats, and entice victims to provide pictures of their “sizes” of their genitalia in order to decide whether or not to meet with him.
When the victim sent the picture to Prairie, she threatened that if he did not want the pictures to be posted on social media or contact the victim’s wife, he would have to transfer 500-1,000 baht each time, sometimes 4-5 times a day, until he transferred 40,000 baht, at which point he couldn’t take it anymore and filed a lawsuit.
Prairie revealed that she is a transgender woman who has not yet undergone sex reassignment surgery. Currently, she makes a career by broadcasting 18+ through the M Live app; it has roughly 10,000 viewers on average, and its channel has over 300,000 followers, although she has refuted all claims.
According to Maj. Gen. Theeradet, the authorities believe that many other criminal organisations behave similarly to Prairie. Some victims did not dare to report their abuse to authorities, and some even considered suicide in order to escape their dark history.
“As a result, I’d like to notify the public relations department about the victims. You can contact me via the Facebook page Seub Nakornban IDMB – สืบนครบาล IDMBfor clues,” said Maj. Gen. Theeradet.
Chad Doerman sheds a tear as he stands just inside the Clermont County Municipal courtroom for his bond hearing, Friday, June 16, 2023 in Batavia, Ohio. Doerman allegedly shot and killed his three young sons and wounded their mother at their Ohio home. (Liz Dufour/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
Chad Doerman, 32, was indicted Thursday on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and assault for the June 15 deaths of his sons, according to Clermont County court records.
Clayton Doerman, 7, Hunter Doerman, 4, and Chase Doerman, 3, were all killed. Prosecutors say he admitted to planning the shooting, but at a Friday arraignment, Doerman entered a not-guilty plea.
“This was the man that everyday they woke up looking to for protection, love and guidance in all things,” Clermont County’s chief prosecutor of Municipal Court, David Gast, said at a previous hearing.
Clermont County Sheriff’s Office shows Chad Doerman. Doerman, who is accused of fatally shooting his three young sons on Thursday, June 15, 2023, in Monroe Township, Ohio, admitted to planning the killings and lined them up before executing them with a rifle, prosecutors said Friday. (Clermont County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
“He was their world, he was their guardian and he executed them in cold blood,” Gast said.
The sheriff’s office said the 34-year-old mother, who was not identified, was outside the home and was shot in the hand while trying to shield her sons from their father.
The three little boys were described in their obituary as full of unconditional love for each other and anyone they met. They loved fishing, baseball, staying up past their bedtime and laughing together, the obituary stated.
A child’s bike, along with evidence markers, are shown in the front yard of the home in Monroe Township, Ohio, on Friday, June 16, 2023. (Liz Dufour/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)
Officials have not released a motive for the slayings, which occurred in Monroe Township, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Columbus. Doerman is being held without bail and is currently in the Clermont County Jail.
Court records did not indicate whether he was represented by a lawyer at his most recent arraignment. Clermont County’s public defender’s office declined to say whether they represent him.
A fire extinguisher exploded during a school’s annual fire drill Friday, killing one student and injuring 21 others at Rajavinit Mathayom School in Bangkok’s Dusit district.
The incident occurred around 11:00 a.m., according to investigators at the Nang Loeng Police Station, during the Samsen firefighters’ practise of fire control and fire evacuation for students. The tank exploded violently when they started a fire to demonstrate the basics of fire extinguishment. A loud noise erupted throughout the school, causing many people to be greatly frightened.
The fire extinguisher hits a student named Mr. Khumthong Premani, 17, who was seated watching in front of the shrine. As a result of the explosion, he perished in an instant. His body was thrown onto the corridor in front of the classroom in the school building, hardly 10 metres from the explosion. Several injured students sobbed in the courtyard in front of the flag pole. They were brought to the hospital by the rescuers.
debris of a fire extinguisher
According to preliminary forensics investigation, the exploding fire extinguisher had simply been loaded with more gas and left in the sun for an extended period of time until the temperature rose, causing the pressure to rise and explode due to the lack of a safety valve installed.
Treenuch Thienthong, an Education minister said it was the first time in six years that the school had held a fire drill, and that it was coordinated by Bangkok’s fire department. She said the department hadn’t experienced such an accident before during the many drills it has conducted at schools.
A policeman and volunteers cover a victim with green sheet, at an explosion site at Rajavinit Mathayom School, Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, June 23, 2023. (Khaosod Photo)
Chatchart Sitthiphan, Governor of Bangkok, said the fire extinguisher in this incident was 6 years old and was a carbon dioxide tank with a pressure of 800 PSI or higher, which was different from the chemical fire extinguishers installed in general communities, which have a pressure of about 100 PSI. The training team did not utilise this tank in demonstrations; it was just put in the school courtyard during a period of intense sunlight.
Chatchart stated that it is now difficult to verify who owns the fire extinguisher between the trainer and or the BMA department because there were many fire exercises when there were not enough tanks. As a result, the trainers brought their own fire extinguishers.
Following that, police officers from Nang Loeng Police Station questioned the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office’s demonstration team in Bangkok’s Samsen District about the facts and details of the fire extinguishers, as well as the principles of work for the firefighting demonstration, to decide if it was negligence or a risk to put the fire extinguisher in such a way.
Forensic experts investigate at an explosion site in Rajavinit Mathayom School in Bangkok’s Dusit district. (Khaosod Photo)
Police Colonel Ratthanon Ekthitikulphat, Superintendent of the Nang Loeng Police Station, said that the officers charged three members of the fire demonstration team with two charges, namely Section 291, who acts recklessly and that action causes the death of others, and Section 390, who acts recklessly and that action causes serious harm to others.
FILE - Malaysian police forensic team members excavate an unmarked grave in Wang Burma at the Malaysia-Thailand border outside Wang Kelian, Malaysia, on May 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Joshua Paul, File)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Four Thai nationals were charged Friday under Malaysia’s anti-trafficking laws in connection with the 2015 discovery of mass graves believed to be of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis held in camps in a hilly jungle area on the country’s border with Thailand.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said in a statement that the four were among 10 Thai citizens the government had sought for extradition in 2017 over the tragedy at Wang Kelian in northern Perlis state that had shocked the nation. Following cooperation with Thai authorities, he said the four men were caught and extradicted to Malaysia on Thursday to face charges.
In May 2015, Malaysian police announced the discovery of a cluster of abandoned jungle camps used by human traffickers in Wang Kelian and later exhumed 139 bodies from mass graves there. The findings followed a similar discovery earlier the same month by Thai police, who unearthed 36 bodies from shallow graves on the Thai side of the border.
Malaysian grave diggers position coffins containing remains believed to be of Rohingya at Pokok Sena, Malaysia, in a June 22 file photo. EPA/STR MALAYSIA
The discoveries exposed hidden networks of jungle camps run by human smugglers, who for years held people captive while extorting ransoms from their families. Most of those who fell victim to the trafficking networks were members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority or impoverished migrants from Bangladesh, part of a wave of people who fled their homelands in search of better lives.
The four men were escorted Friday by armed police to a lower court in Perlis where they were charged with human trafficking, which carries up to 15 years imprisonment upon conviction, local media reported.
Malaysia’s English-language dailies New Straits Times and the Star said the four, whose ages range from 30 to 58, were charged with trafficking two Myanmar nationals in Wang Kelian. No pleas were recorded and they were disallowed bail, the reports said. Their case will be transferred to the high court for hearing.
Malaysia had already charged five foreigners with trafficking-related offenses in connection with the Wang Kelian camps. Thailand meanwhile, convicted 62 people, including nine Thai officials, of trafficking crimes.
A joint report in 2019 by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and Fortify Rights found gaps in the investigation and possible obstruction of justice. It said Malaysian authorities were aware of the existence of the camps, with raids on one of the sites where trafficking victims were held in cages months earlier. The bodies were only exhumed in May with no explanation for the delay since the raids, which hampered forensic efforts to determine their cause of death, according to the report.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry set up by the government later said no Malaysian enforcement officials, public servants or local citizens were involved in trafficking syndicates but found negligence by border patrols. It also said Malaysian enforcement agencies failed to follow standard operating procedures that significantly affected their investigation.
Siam Piwat Group, a leading property and retail developer – the owner and operator of world-renowned destinations including Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery, and a joint venture partner of ICONSIAM, ICS and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok, received 3 prestigious awards from Retail Asia Awards 2023.
Starting with the Mall of the Year Award, Siam Paragon was recognized as Thailand’s leading shopping center that always sets new industry standards. The second one is the Marketing Initiative of the Year Award given to ONESIAM Siam Smiley Campaign, the phenomenon of happiness during the festive year-end season, followed by Customer Service Initiative of the Year Award given to the Luxury Chat and Shop service.
These all together reflect Siam Piwat’s leadership in shaping a world-class and globally-admired destination and how it never ceases to forge ahead and inspire to dimensionally fulfill lifestyle needs of the future.
Mrs. Saruntorn Asaves, First Executive Vice President, Division Head – Shopping Center Business, Siam Piwat Group said: “I feel truly honored for and so proud of the three awards Siam Piwat Group has received from Retail Asia Awards 2023, held by Retail Asia, Asia’s leading retail business media. This serves as a testament to our commitment to creativity and cutting-edge innovations to upgrade shopping centers under the roof of the Siam Piwat Group into a must-visit destination for both Thai and international shoppers and a world-class platform where experts of various fields join forces with renowned international brands and Thai entrepreneurs to co-create first-ever experiences that go beyond expectations. This enables Siam Piwat gain the global recognition, alongside our outstanding marketing campaign and customized service for luxury consumers.”
Mall of the Year Award – Thailand Siam Paragonunderpins its status as a world-class landmark nestled in the heart of Bangkok. It has been successful in both terms of store traffic and sales volume, especially in the luxury brand segment that has grown exponentially, thus securing a place among the world’s top-tier retailers. This led to luxury brands physically expanding brand spaces to offer exclusive experiences within their boutiques. Siam Paragon is currently in its major transformation process to become the ultimate of excellence as the first global prototype that awaits to thrill all visitors.
Marketing Initiative of the Year for ONESIAM Siam Smiley Celebration: Infinite Happiness It was a campaign that brought a great phenomenon of happiness to the year-end celebration in 2022, which was a collaboration with global brand Smiley, the holder of the rights to the famous smiley face icon. On the occasion of the brand’s 50th anniversary, Thailand was then honored as the first country to join the grand celebration and a contributor to the phenomenon of global collaboration.
Customer Service Initiative of the Year Award Siam Piwat’s Luxury Chat & Shop service launched in 2021 was recognized as it has enriched the infinite shopping experience with no limits of time and place. Customers can chat and shop for world-class brands from stores located within Siam Paragon and ICONSIAM via the omnichannel platform. The service has enjoyed overwhelming feedback and was successful in expanding customer bases even when COVID-19 striked.
With that, Siam Piwat managed to secure the market’s leading position and loyalty among high-purchasing consumers in Thailand. In this regard, the Luxury Chat & Shop service feature has been further developed to be included in the ONESIAM SuperApp, a platform that seamlessly connects online and offline experiences.
These awards represent the success of Siam Piwat as a developer of global destinations, which are not only a matter of shopping centers, but it is about creating a hub to resonate with unique lifestyle preferences and bridges over generation gaps, delivering new experiences and inspiring on a global scale to magnify the reputation of Thai companies on the global stage.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Surachate Hakparn, Deputy National Police Chief, attends a press conference with non-governmental organizations at the Inquiry Official Association of Thailand on June 23 regarding the extradition of 4 Thai suspects to Malaysia.
They were Jaepa Lapii (head of the operation), Somporn Ardam, Bunyen Nisalah and Arun Kaewfarnok. All are Thai nationals who will be sent to Malaysia to face trial under the Convention on the Extradition of Criminals.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Surachate Hakparn held a press conference on June 23, 2023.
Surachet explained that in 2015, Thai authorities discovered the bodies of Rohingya migrants who had been secretly smuggled into the kingdom. The 36 bodies were buried in a labor camp in the middle of the jungle on Khao Kaeo Hill, in Moo 8, Ban Taloh, Pa-Dang Besar Sub-district, Sadao District, Songkhla Province. In addition, Malaysian authorities had widened the investigation and discovered another temporary burial site with 180 bodies in Perlis State, Malaysia.
Thai officers found the bodies buried in a labour camp in Songkla Province in 2015.Malaysia officers discovered mass graves in Perlis State in 2015,
Malaysian authorities have cooperated with Thai authorities to issue international arrest warrants for 9 suspects in a human trafficking and murder case. They also coordinated with Thai authorities to arrest 4 other fugitives hiding in Thailand, including Mr Jaepa Lapii, the ringleader of the operation. The entire group was successfully captured and will face trial.
Subsequently, the officers, in collaboration with the prosecution, conducted proceedings under the Extradition Act for over two years to obtain permission to extradite the suspects to Malaysia to serve their sentences. On June 22, 2023, representatives of the Royal Malaysian Police traveled to Thailand to take all four suspects into custody and bring them to Malaysia for trial at the court in Perlis.
“This is the first time in Thai history that Thai individuals have been extradited to be punished abroad. This shows sincere efforts to address the problem of human trafficking,” Surachet said. He added that he and the Attorney General will personally travel to the trial at the court in Perlis, Malaysia, to ensure that the suspects receive fair treatment.
During the meeting with police station commanders along the Thai border, they were also instructed to closely monitor and prevent the illegal smuggling of undocumented workers into the country. It was stressed that any area that allows such illegal activities will be held accountable and face consequences.
Huawei Thailand wins Prime Minister Award as the “Best of Contributor in Human Capital Development Award” for Empowering Thailand’s Digital Workforce
Bangkok, Thailand, 22 June 2023 – Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd. has been honored with the prestigious Prime Minister Award as the “Best of Contributor in Human Capital Development Award” by the National Innovation Agency (NIA). This recognition highlights Huawei’s extensive efforts in fostering digital talents and supporting the growth of Thailand’s 5G, cloud, and green ecosystems.
Huawei is the only international company to receive this accolade. The award was presented to Mr. David Li, CEO of Huawei Technologies Thailand, by Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, where winning organizations and companies were celebrated for their contributions to empower Thailand as the future talent hub of ASEAN.
According to the Thailand Digital Talent Development Whitepaper — co-conducted by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society; the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation; and Huawei — Thailand is projected to face a digital talent shortage of 0.5 million people by 2030.
Recognizing this pressing social and industry need, Huawei has been providing technological innovations and digital talent programs to Thailand for over 20 years as part of their mission to harness the power of technology and unleash digital for better quality of life and to incubate and cultivate digital talents for a better Thailand.
Towards this goal, Huawei Thailand has initiated multiple programs and initiatives, including the establishment of the “Huawei ASEAN Academy (Thailand)” platform in 2019, which focuses on four key areas: leadership, profession, vocation, and inclusion. This platform provides digital leadership courses, hands-on training, and accreditations to bridge the gap between ICT talent supply and industry needs, with the goal of cultivating over 100,000 local ICT talents in Thailand within five years. So far, it has benefitted over 73,000 participants and 40 universities with more than 100 projects in Thailand.
Mr. David Li, CEO of Huawei Technologies (Thailand), expressed his gratitude for the award and shared Huawei’s vision, stating: “We are honored to receive this prestigious award. This recognition reflects our longstanding commitment to support digital transformation and contribute to Thai society in line with our mission to ‘Grow in Thailand, Contribute to Thailand’. At Huawei, we aim to establish a thriving digital talent ecosystem in Thailand, forging a competitive workforce foundation for the country’s 5G, Cloud, and Digital Power industries.”
As part of a strategic partnership, Huawei and the NIA have sought to strengthen talent cultivation in Thailand. In 2019, Huawei signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Capacity Development for Sustainable Innovation Society with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI); the National Innovation Agency (NIA); and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA). Since then, Huawei has continuously joined hands with the NIA to further incubate university students, start-ups, and SMEs to drive the process of talent cultivation, accelerate start-up enterprises, and promote and develop digital capabilities in order to expand Thailand’s future businesses and enable the country to become the future digital hub of ASEAN.”
To support Thailand’s journey towards becoming the ASEAN talent hub, Huawei Thailand has implemented several digital talent development programs. In 2008, Huawei launched its first global “Seeds for the Future” program in Thailand, which offers digital training and cultural tours to talented youths. In 2015, Huawei launched its first global ICT competition, aimed at connecting and inspiring young students through trainings, certifications, and job fairs. In Thailand, this competition has so far benefited over 1,000 outstanding students from 30 universities. Starting from 2022, Huawei also introduced the Digital Bus CSR program to improve awareness of ICT technologies in rural areas, which has gone on to benefit more than 3,000 students and workers.
Aligned with Huawei’s goals for 2023, the company aims to cultivate 10,000 green engineers and 20,000 cloud developers in the next three years as part of their vision to empower Thailand towards becoming a fully intelligent, connected, and sustainable digital economy.
This is the third time Huawei has received Thailand’s Prime Minister Awards. In 2021, Huawei was honored with the Prime Minister Award for “Digital International Corporation of the Year”. In 2022, Huawei Thailand’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and leadership in information security also earned them the “Prime Minister Awards – Thailand Cybersecurity Excellence Award 2022” from the Thai National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA).
About Huawei
Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have 195,000 employees and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.
Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will work towards ubiquitous connectivity and inclusive network access, laying the foundation for an intelligent world; provide diversified computing power where you need it, when you need it, to bring cloud and intelligence to all four corners of the earth; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; and redefine user experience with AI, making it smarter and more personalized for people in all aspects of their life, whether they’re at home, on the go, in the office, having fun, or working out.
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