Sudan Battles Intensify on 3rd Day; Civilian Deaths Reach 97

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17 April 2023, 14:56

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudan’s embattled capital awoke Monday to a third day of heavy fighting between the army and a powerful rival force for control of the country, as the weekend’s civilian death toll rose to 97.

Airstrikes and shelling intensified in parts of Khartoum and the adjoining city of Omdurman. Rapid, sustained firing was heard near the military headquarters, with white smoke rising from the area. Residents hunkering down in their homes reported power outages and incidents of looting.

AP23106598974115 — This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows fires and smoke at Khartoum railway, Sudan, Sunday April 16, 2023. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)

The clashes are part of a power struggle between Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. The two generals are former allies who jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup that derailed Sudan’s short-lived transition to democracy.

Both men have dug in, saying they would not negotiate a truce, instead engaging in verbal attacks and demanding the other’s surrender. Still, both have powerful foreign backers, making them potentially susceptible to mounting diplomatic pressure.

Since fighting erupted on Saturday, 97 civilians have been killed and hundreds have been wounded, said the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, a pro-democracy group monitoring casualties.

AP23106438998422 — Smoke rises from a central neighborhood of Khartoum, Sudan, Sunday, April 16, 2023, after dozens have been killed in two days of intense fighting..(AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

There has been no official word on the number of fighters killed.

Footage posted online Monday purported to show RSF barracks in Omdurman. The bodies of dozens of men in camouflage uniforms were seen sprawled on beds and the floor of a medical ward and in a sandy outdoor area. Another video showed civilians inside the base, apparently looting food.

The authenticity of the videos could not be confirmed independently, but they surfaced after the military said it has targeted RSF bases with airstrikes. Mohmed al-Mokhtar al-Nour, an RSF adviser, told the Al Jazeera satellite network Sunday that RSF forces have withdrawn from the camp.

The doctors’ group said a stray shell struck a hospital south of Khartoum on Monday morning, without causing causalities.

The chaotic scenes of fighting with tanks, truck-mounted machine guns, artillery and warplanes in densely populated areas of the capital are unprecedented. Sudan has a long history of civil strife, but much of that has taken place in remote tribal areas, far from Khartoum.

AP23105459336254 — Smoke is seen rising in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, April 15, 2023. Fierce clashes between Sudan’s military and the country’s powerful paramilitary erupted in the capital and elsewhere in the African nation after weeks of escalating tensions between the two forces. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

The violence erupted during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which ends later this week and is capped by the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday.

On Sunday, the warring sides agreed to a three-hour pause in fighting to allow civilians to stock up on necessities. Compliance was spotty, and there were reports of casualties during the humanitarian pause.

Top diplomats urged the sides to stop fighting, including the U.S. secretary of state, the U.N. secretary-general, the EU foreign policy chief, the head of the Arab League and the head of the African Union Commission. The U.N. Security Council was to discuss the developments in Sudan later on Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed his call for a truce and a return to negotiations during a meeting of the Group of Seven wealthy nations in Japan on Monday.

“People in Sudan want the military back in the barracks,” he said. “They want democracy. They want the civilian-led government, Sudan needs to return to that path.”

The fighting also spread to the war-wrecked western Darfur region, and areas of northern and eastern Sudan, near the borders with Egypt and Ethiopia. Over the weekend, the World Food Program suspended its operations in Sudan after three of its employees were killed in fighting in Darfur.

In recent months, negotiations had been under way to get back on a path to democracy. Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups.

However, the deal was vague on key points of dispute, including how the RSF would be integrated into the armed force and who would have final control. The signing of the deal was put off repeatedly, amid rising tensions between Burhan and Dagalo.

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Jack Jeffery reported from Khartoum and Samy Magdy reported from Cairo.

A Japanese Tourist Is Saved From Heatstroke in Sukhothai

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Khaosod English

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17 April 2023, 14:20

Local people in Sukhothai Province saved the life of a 70-year-old Japanese male tourist who suffered from heatstroke while falling on the footpath at the entrance of Soi Sangkhalok Road Ban Mai Traphang Thong Community, Old Town Subdistrict, Mueang District, Sukhothai Province, at 2 p.m. in the afternoon on April 15.

A Japanese man lied motionless and unable to move. He appeared exhausted, panting, short of breath, and unable to speak, with his right hand’s fingers gushing and a large laceration on his leg. The reporters then called the police and requested an ambulance, as well as phoning the resort where the Japanese man was staying.

People in the neighbourhood came to help the Japanese man while he waited for rescue, providing him with inhalers, balm, a damp cloth, and towels. They also used salt water to clean his wound, let him drink sweet water, and poured water on the chilly cement floor. The symptoms of the Japanese man began to improve.

When the police came, they rushed him into the car and switched places with the ambulance on the way. At that time, a lot of people came to play Songkran water, causing a traffic jam of more than 3 kilometres.

As of April 17, it is learnt that this Japanese tourist had been hospitalised for one night at Sukhothai Hospital, with the resort’s owner handling additional help before boarding an aircraft to Chiang Mai. Getting ready to return to Osaka, Japan.

“He was very fortunate that some people arrived on the scene and assisted him in a timely manner.” “If you encounter 20-30 minutes later, it could turn into a sad story,” said Mr. Phubet Faithes, a Sukhothai province reporter.

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Green and Purple Ballot Papers for the Thai General Election

By

Khaosod English

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17 April 2023, 13:32

The Election Commission has unveiled examples of ballot papers on Monday. The purple sheet is for constituency-based MPs and contains no name of the candidate or party’s name or symbol while the green paper is for party-list MPs and contains the name of the party and party symbol.

The move came after the commission disqualified 71 MP candidates in 71 provinces on Sunday due to the lack of qualifications. Those disqualified can petition the Supreme Court within seven days. Now there are 4,710 candidates left in the constituency elections.

The general election will take place on May 14, and more than 52 million people are eligible to vote in the House of Representatives, which has 500 members, all of whom are democratically elected: 400 members were elected through single-member constituency elections, while the other 100 were elected through party list parallel voting.

The prime minister is selected by a vote in a combined session of the newly elected lower house and the 250-seat Senate, a conservative body whose members are appointed. In 2019, the Senate unanimously backed Prayut Chan-ocha.

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Pope Slams ‘Insinuations’ Against John Paul II As Baseless

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Associated Press

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17 April 2023, 03:12

Vatican Pope — Pope Francis delivers his speech as he recites the Regina Coeli noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday publicly defended St. John Paul II, condemning as “offensive and baseless” insinuations that recently surfaced about the late pontiff.

In remarks to tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said he was aiming to interpret the feelings of the faithful worldwide by expressing gratitude to the Polish pontiff’s memory.

Days earlier, the Vatican’s media apparatus had described as “slanderous” an audiotape from a purported Roman mobster who insinuated that John Paul would go out looking for underage girls to molest.

The tape was played on an Italian TV program by Pietro Orlandi, brother of Emanuela Orlandi, the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee who lived at the Vatican. The disappearance of the 15-year-old in 1983 is an enduring mystery that has spawned countless theories and so far fruitless investigations in the decades since.

AP23106391104014 — People gather as Pope Francis recites the Regina Coeli noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Francis noted that in Sunday’s crowd in the square were pilgrims and other faithful in town to pray at a sanctuary for divine mercy, a quality John Paul stressed often in his papacy, which spanned from 1978 to 2005.

“Confident of interpreting the sentiment of all the faithful of the entire world, I direct a grateful thought to the memory of St. John Paul II, in these days the object of offensive and baseless insinuations,” Francis said, his voice turning stern and his words drawing applause.

Last week, Pietro Orlandi met for hours with Vatican prosecutors who earlier this year reopened the investigation into his sister’s disappearance. Italy’s Parliament has also begun a commission of inquest into the case.

Emanuela vanished on June 22, 1983, after leaving her family’s Vatican City apartment to go to a music lesson in Rome. Her father was a lay employee of the Holy See.

Among the theories about what happened to her have been ones linking the disappearance to the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt against John Paul in 1981 in St. Peter’s Square or to the international financial scandal over the Vatican bank. Still other theories envision a role played by Rome’s criminal underworld.

AP23106386155365 — Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Regina Coeli noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The recent four-part Netflix documentary “Vatican Girl” explored those possible scenarios and provided new testimony from a friend who said Emanuela had told her a week before she disappeared that a high-ranking Vatican cleric had made sexual advances toward her.

Her brother has long insisted the Vatican knows more than it has said. The Vatican prosecutor in charge of the probe says the pontiff has given him free rein to try to find the truth.

While at the Vatican last week, Pietro Orlandi provided Vatican prosecutors with an audiotape from a purported Roman mobster insinuating that John Paul would go out looking for underage girls to molest. The Vatican’s editorial director in a scathing editorial noted the insinuation lacked any “evidence, clues, testimonies or corroboration.”

Writing in the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, Andrea Tornielli said “no one deserves to be vilified in this way, without even a shred of a clue, on the basis of the ‘rumors’ of some unknown figure in the criminal underworld or some sleazy anonymous comment produced on live TV.”

John Paul’s longtime secretary, Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, also criticized the insinuations as “unreal, false and laughable if they weren’t tragic and even criminal.”

Pietro Orlandi’s lawyer, Laura Sgro, has insisted her client wasn’t accusing anyone.

An American Tourist Asks the Media to Help His Case in Phuket

By

Khaosod English

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17 April 2023, 02:29

phuket american4 — Mr.Bryce Alan Terzian

Mr.Bryce Alan Terzian, 33, an American tourist, told reporters in Phuket that he reported to Chalong Police Station, Muang District, Phuket Province, that he was attacked in a pub in Rawai Subdistrict, Muang District, Phuket Province, on April 8, 2023, around 4:00 a.m.

He was concerned that the matter would not be pursued because the story had been ongoing for 7 days, but no action had been taken by the police.

Bryce said he had an argument with a DJ. In the pub before being dragged by the guards who later stomped on his body until he was injured. His nose was broken, he had to go to Chalong Hospital for treatment.

Bryce claimed he had an argument with a DJ in the pub and was dragged by guards, who stomped on his body until he was injured. His nose was fractured, and he needed to be treated at Chalong Hospital.

To authenticate the information for the media, the family of a Thai friend later requested CCTV footage as well as confirmation of injuries treatment at the hospital.

“I came to Phuket and Thailand for the first time. Everyone here is very nice. Everyone in the pub is good except that DJ. If I go back to the country, I will come back to travel again. I love Thailand.” Bryce said.

Archeologists In Italy Unearth Ancient Dolphin Statuette

By

Associated Press

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16 April 2023, 15:20

Italy Ancient Discovery — This undated photo shows a terracotta figurine of Eros riding a dolphin found in a newly discovered sanctuary, which dates from the 5th century B.C., that was first identified in 2019 along the ancient city walls of Paestum, Southern Italy. The excavations of the sanctuary in the ancient city of Paestum have unearthed seven terracotta bull heads and a figurine of Eros riding a dolphin that shines new light on the religious life and rituals of the ancient Greek city, culture ministry officials said Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Paestum Velia Archeological Park via AP)

ROME (AP) — Excavations in southern Italy have unearthed terracotta bull heads and a figurine of the Greek god Eros riding a dolphin, shining new light on the religious life and rituals of an ancient city, culture ministry officials said Saturday.

It’s the first trove of artifacts identified from a sanctuary in the ancient Greek city of Paestum, which dates from the 5th century B.C. Paestum, famed for its three massive Doric-columned temples, is near the archaeological site of Pompeii, but farther down the Almalfi coast.

AP23105601871567 — The excavations of the sanctuary in the ancient city of Paestum have unearthed seven terracotta bull heads and a figurine of Eros riding a dolphin that shines new light on the religious life and rituals of the ancient Greek city, culture ministry officials said Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Paestum Velia Archeological Park via AP)

The small temple was first identified in 2019 along the ancient city walls but excavations were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Italian Culture Ministry said in a statement.

Excavations yielded several small terracotta figurines in the first months of resuming work, the Ministry said. Archeologists found seven bull heads found around a temple altar as if placed there on the ground in a form of devotion.

A dolphin statuette found in the first trove of artifacts appears to be from the Avili family of ceramists whose presence had never before been documented in Paestum, the statement said.

Limited excavations began at the temples in the 1950s, and the ministry believes more treasures can be found in the area.

Ancient Romans controlled the city by around 275 B.C., renaming it Paestum from the Greek “Poseidonia,” in what had before been Magna Graecia.

AP23105601928297 — This undated photo shows a terracotta statue found in a newly discovered sanctuary, which dates from the 5th century B.C., that was first identified in 2019 along the ancient city walls of Paestum, Southern Italy. . (Paestum Velia Archeological Park via AP)

AP23105601879645 — This undated photo shows an architectural element with a leonine protome drip found in a newly discovered sanctuary, which dates from the 5th century B.C.. (Paestum Velia Archeological Park via AP)

AP23105601924895 — This undated photo shows a terracotta bull head found in a newly discovered sanctuary, which dates from the 5th century B.C., that was first identified in 2019 along the ancient city walls of Paestum, Southern Italy. (Paestum Velia Archeological Park via AP)

Pita and Pheu Thai Lead the Matichon-DailyNews Polls

By

Khaosod English

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16 April 2023, 13:54

After the Eligible Thai voters had invited to take part in Matichon Group-Daily News online poll the first round, starting Saturday April 8-14, 2023, with the two questions:

Who will you support as PM in the general election?
Which political party will you vote for?

The results were published on Saturday, April 15, and showed that Move Forward Party PM candidate Pita Limjaroenrat came out on top in the first question and Pheu Thai Party led in the second question, out of a total of 84,706 online respondents during the period.

The biggest group of the online respondents are between 42-57 year old or Gen X (35.08%), followed by baby boomers or those age between 58-76 with 27.63%, followed by Gen Y, or those between 26-41 (26 50%), Gen Z, 18-25 (9 77%) and Silent Gen or those 77 year old and older (1.02%).

Most respondents are from Bangkok followed by nine of the following provinces: Nonthaburi, Chiang Mai, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakarn, Chonburi, Buriram, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen and Songkhla.

Move Forward Party PM candidate Pita Limjaroenrat was the leading candidate whom people wanted to be a prime minister. Pita receives 29.42% of support. At Number Two is Pheu Thai Party PM candidate Paetongtarn Shinawatra with 23.23%, followed by Pheu Thai Party’s second PM candidate Srettha Thavisin at 16 69%.

Incumbent Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha of the United Thai Nation Party is at Number Four with 13.72%, followe by 2 97% of undecided voters.

Anutin Charnveerakul of Bhumjai Thai Party is at Number Six at 2.94% and Thai Liberal Party’s Sererpisuth Temeeyaves at 2.25%. Sudarat Keyuraphan of Thai Sang Thai came at Number Eight with 1.90%, followed by Korn Chatikavanij of Chart Pattana Kla Party with 1.40% and former deputy junta leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwan of the ruling Phalang Pracharath Party with 1.24%.

For the party which people prefered to vote for, Pheu Thai receives 38.89%. At Number Two is Move Forward Party with 32.37%, followed by United Thai Nation Party at 12.84%.

Bhumjai Thai Party is at Number Four with 3.30%, followed by decided voters at 2 21%, then the Democrat Party at 1.83%, Thai Sang Thai 1.73%, Thai Liberal Party 1.63%, Phalang Pracharath 1.55% and Chart Pattana Kla 1.14%.

This polls were organized by two Thai newspaper giants: Matichon and Daily News on the theme: “Which party – who is the next prime minister?” The second round, also online, is expected to begin on April 22.

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Opinion: What Can We Expect If Prayut, Prawit, Pita, Paetongtarn, Anutin or Srettha Becomes PM?

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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16 April 2023, 12:00

Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha joins the waterfight on Khaosan Road on Apr. 14, 2023.

While I definitely have no crystal ball as to who will become the 30^th PM of Thailand, I think it is time to consider the leading candidates and what kind of PM they might become if the person wins.

PM Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha (again): Do I really need to elaborate on what PM Prayut will be like after these eight years? The moody former coup leader has shown us more than enough. Expect more of the same, mediocre economic management, friendly to Burmese junta, clueless on how to tackle PM2.5 micro dust particles and more – but not quite.

Not quite because PM Prayut will only have two years left to “serve” under the current junta-sponsored constitution. This means Prayut could be thinking about his legacy, not wanting to be remembered most as a coup leader and more of a statesman. Or the moody former dictator could become reckless during this last ride in power.

Already, the party which supports him as PM candidate suggests they will launch a harsh crackdown on anti-monarchists.

United Thai Nation Party leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga said at a recent campaign rally in Bangkok.

“Go live elsewhere if you don’t like [Thailand and the monarchy]… But Thailand must remain as it is forever. If the United Thai Nation forms the next government, we will harshly deal with those who hate [their own] country and are anti-monarchists,” Pirapan said on April 8. That sounds like a policy to freeze Thailand into conservatism.

Will PM Prayut see through a major crackdown on anti-monarchists and risk even more reactions by the young monarchy-reform movement? Well, under him, hundreds have already been charged over the past few years and ultra-royalists may support him as the most ‘credible’ PM candidate to go very hard on anti-monarchists.

The next PM Prayut will likely have to rely on coalition partners, however, as the conservative pro-army party has split into Phalang Pracharath and the United Thai Nation. He will have to rely on most of his 250-appointed senators to vote for him to become PM again and that is not guaranteed. Even if he made it, this could weaken Prayut’s ability to take any executive decisions as the next PM considerably.

PM Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan: The former deputy junta leader and caretaker deputy PM is the leader of the ruling Phalang Pracharath Party and he can count on the support of the 250-junta-appointed senators to help him becomes PM.

He is very eager to become the next PM to the point where earlier this week, he told the press his went through a medical checkup and declared physically fit and mentally sharp, despite him have been often quoted by the press as saying “I don’t know” when asked about various political and public issues over the years.

The party vows to transcend the protracted political divide plaguing Thailand over the past two decades and it means we can probably hope that PM Prawit will be less of a hardline leader than Prayut.

PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra: Expect more ousted and fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra if the 36-year-old daughter of Thaksin becomes PM. Paetongtarn has exhibited a common touch with the grassroots while campaigning contrary to the aloof image of past PMs like Abhisit Vejjajiva or even Prayut.

The fact that she is the next PM means the risk of another widespread anti-Thaksin, anti-Shinawatra, street protests cannot be ruled out as a good sector of the Thai population suffer from prolonged severe allergy to anything Shinawatra. It will be a challenge for her to win the middle ground in order to focus on the economy, something the Pheu Thai Party has a proven track record.

While Paetongtarn is an unknown quality and could be too young and inexperienced to the eyes of some, the Pheu Thai’s second PM candidate, Srettha Thavisin, is widely rumoured to be the real PM candidate for the party.

PM Srettha Thavisin: The 60-year-old former real-estate tycoon is expected to be the business-friendly face of the Pheu Thai Party. With no past political beef, PM Srettha will be much more palatable to anti-Thaksinites and able to focus on the economy – at least at the very beginning of his time.

It is not clear to what extent Thaksin can direct Srettha if the latter becomes PM, but a good sector of the old elites will find Srettha more palatable than Paetongtarn. Caveat: Watch out for a possible dissolution due to its controversial policy to handout 10,000-baht worth of digital money to everyone 16 and older, however.

PM Anutin Charnveerakul: This is a wildcard, but a conservative poll called Super Poll, suggested after asking over 6,000 respondents between April 5 and 13 and Anutin’s Bhumjai Thai Party came second behind Pheu Thai with 121 MP seats out of 500 total seats. This means both Phalang Pracharath and United Thai Nation parties will need Anutin who can work with both sides, and he may become PM.

More marijuana trade and promotion can be expected as it was Anutin’s signature policy to “successfully” decriminalized marijuana for medical purposes which led to de facto recreational use. Just chill and see what business friendly PM Anutin means to Thailand.

PM Pita Limjaroenrat: Pita is another unknown quantity as PM as the man who should have represent the party as PM candidate should have been Thanathorn Juangrungruangkit but through a political accident (or political assassination plot), Thanathorn was banned from politics for 10 years after the 2019 elections for loaning money to his own Future Forward Party.

The party was dissolved due to that act and became the Move Forward Party led by Pita. The Harvard-educated politician is young at 42 and seems to be a moderate with no history of opposing the 2014 coup when he was a businessman, but the party’s progressive stance against the lese majeste law, its pledge to reform the controversial law as well as to reform the armed forces means PM Pita and his government will be automatically be regarded as the mortal enemy of the army and the deep state.

Some are already saying this is the PM and a Move Forward-led government will pose the highest risk of seeing yet another military coup and it is ironic because it is this very party which pledge to send the generals back to the barracks and create civilian supremacy over the military.

Though unlikely to become PM because polls suggest the party will win much less seats than Pheu Thai, a possible PM Pita will make for a period of wild political experimentation.

A Russian On Motorbike Crashes Into A Car In Phuket

By

Khaosod English

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16 April 2023, 03:53

A motorbike accident near Kuan Wijit Bungalow, Viset Road, Moo 7, Rawai Subdistrict, Muang District, Phuket Province, left a Russian guy with serious injuries on April 15, 2023.

Mr.Vladislay Kalaev, 28, lost control of his motorbike and leapt across the street isle into oncoming traffic. He was hit by a bronze Isuzu pickup truck, breaking both of his legs and injuring the Isuzu driver.

Mr. Jarin Phonsongkram, 52, was injured by the car’s glass. The rescue team then gave first aid before rushing the two injured people to Chalong Hospital.

According to the preliminary inquiry, an eyewitness reported seeing a Russian man on a blue Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle headed to Rawai Beach from the Saiyuan T-junction. When he arrived at the scence, the bike had slid over the street isle and crashed with a pickup vehicle travelling in the opposite direction. Both vehicles were damaged.

The officer lifted both vehicles to Chalong Police Station and investigated CCTV cameras for clear information for further inquiry.

Previously on April 8, two Russian brothers riding a motorbike crashed sideways in Phuket Province, the elder named Maksim, 36, has died. The younger brother, Mr. Andrei, 32, was badly hurt.

The accident had happened near Bang Pae Waterfall in Ban Bang Rong, Village No. 3, Pa Klok Subdistrict, Thalang District.

The officer assumed that Mr. Maksim rode a motorcycle and Mr. Andrei sat on the back. They travelled to the Patong area to visit Bang Tao Beach, Choeng Thale Subdistrict, and Bang Pae Waterfall, Pa Klok Subdistrict.

On the way back to their hotel, Mr. Maksim rode a motorcycle around a curve and unexpectedly fell to his death because he was unfamiliar with the route.

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US, Vietnam Pledge To Boost Ties As Blinken Visits Hanoi

By

Associated Press

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15 April 2023, 22:42

Vietnam US Blinken — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Vietnam's Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son meet at the Government Guest House in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

HANOI (AP) — Fifty years after the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked Saturday to strengthen America’s ties with its old foes in Hanoi as it seeks to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Blinken and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pledged to boost relations to new levels as they met just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the U.S. troop withdrawal that marked the end of America’s direct military involvement in Vietnam.

AP23105178163022 — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son pose for photographs as they meet at the Government Guest House in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

And it came as Blinken broke ground on a sprawling new $1.2 billion U.S. embassy compound in the Vietnamese capital, a project the Biden administration hopes will demonstrate its commitment to further improving ties less than 30 years after diplomatic relations were restored in 1995.

Despite concerns over Vietnam’s human rights record, Washington sees Hanoi as a key component of its strategy for the region and has sought to leverage Vietnam’s traditional rivalry with its much larger neighbor China to expand U.S. influence in the region.

“We think this is an auspicious time to elevate our existing partnership,” Blinken told reporters after meetings with Chinh, Vietnam’s foreign minister and Communist Party chief.

“This has been a very comprehensive and effective relationship and going forward we will continue to deepen relations,” Chinh said. “We highly appreciate the role and responsibility of the U.S. towards the Asia Pacific, or, in a larger scheme, the Indo-Pacific.”

AP23105308316623 — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at Communist Party of Vietnam Headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

He added that Vietnam’s communist government is keen to “further elevate our bilateral ties to a new height.”

Along with a number of China’s smaller neighbors, Vietnam has maritime and territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. The U.S. has responded by offering diplomatic support and bolstering military cooperation with the Philippines and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as a renegade province.

Blinken noted that the U.S. is currently finalizing the transfer to Vietnam of a third Coast Guard cutter, which will complement existing maritime security cooperation that has seen Washington give Hanoi 24 patrol boats since 2016 along with other equipment and training.

“All of these elements bolster Vietnamese capacity to contribute to maritime peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he said.

AP23105386321097 — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pauses while speaking at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy Annex in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

Just last month, China threatened “serious consequences” after the U.S. Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security. The Paracels are occupied by China but also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

U.S. officials are reluctant to describe any visit to Asia in terms of China, preferring instead to discuss the importance of improving bilateral ties. But they frequently speak to broader concerns in the region that are clearly directed at China.

“We focused on how our countries can advance a free and open Indo-Pacific; one that is at peace and grounded in respect the rules-based international order,” Blinken said.

AP23105178797767 — Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, second from right, speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Government Guest House in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

And five decades after the Nixon administration pulled U.S. combat forces out of Vietnam on March 29, 1973, Blinken said the U.S. is seeking a more strategic orientation with the country.

Blinken’s visit comes as the administration grapples with its own record of troop withdrawals and is facing congressional criticism and demands to explain the chaotic U.S. departure from Afghanistan two years ago.

Some have likened that to the Vietnam experience, especially as it relates to the fate of Afghans who supported the 20-year military mission but were left behind when the Biden administration pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021.

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