In Argentina, scattered looting portends ugly election race as inflation bites

BUENOS AIRES/BARILOCHE (Reuters) - A spate of looting of stores and supermarkets around Argentina has led to dozens of arrests, a possible sign of increasing volatility with inflation over 100% and a tense race to general elections in October. The looting, from southern Patagonian city Bariloche to wine region Mendoza and around capital Buenos Aires, has...

China gym punished for smearing country’s image with ‘zombie’ dance at S. Korea taekwondo meet

BEIJING (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Dressed as mythical zombies from the Qing Dynasty, taekwondo practitioners from a Chinese martial arts gym bagged the first prize for their performance at an international competition in South Korea, but their undead-themed routine did not go down well with the Chinese authorities back home. X-Taekwondo Studio, a gym based...

US says it does not support Ukrainian strikes inside Russia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States does not encourage or enable attacks inside Russia, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said after Russian authorities said they downed drones that tried to attack Moscow early on Wednesday. It is up to Ukraine to decide how it chooses to defend itself from the Russian invasion that began in February...

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is expected to be arrested upon his return as he ends almost two decades of self-imposed exile, pays his respects to a portrait of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand August 22, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Thailand’s jailed ex-PM Thaksin hospitalised after return from exile

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was moved to hospital overnight, officials said on Wednesday, over concern about his heart and high blood pressure on his first night in jail following his historic return from self-exile. The latest condition of 74-year-old Thaksin, the billionaire founder of the populist juggernaut Pheu Thai, was not clear...

Srettha endorsed by king as Thailand’s new PM – official

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai Party has been confirmed as prime minister after receiving royal endorsement following his victory in a parliamentary vote, a spokesperson for the house speaker said on Wednesday. "His Majesty has given royal assent for the 30th prime minister of Thailand," spokesperson Khumpee Ditthakorn told reporters. (Reporting by...

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy has ‘fruitful’ talks with Serbian president

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he had had "open, honest and fruitful" talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. "An open, honest, and fruitful meeting with the President of Serbia," Zelenskiy, who is visiting Athens, wrote on the Telegram messaging app under a photograph of the two leaders shaking hands. "Good conversation on...

Property tycoon bids to emerge from turmoil as Thailand’s leader

BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Srettha Thavisin, a former property tycoon and a political newcomer, is set to take a shot at becoming Thailand’s next prime minister in a vote scheduled on Tuesday that may help resolve a monthslong political impasse. While backed by a coalition of populist and conservative parties, Srettha’s fate rests on the military-appointed Senate, whose...

Most Thais oppose plan for Pheu Thai-military coalition government – poll

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Most Thais disagree with the leading plan for a coalition government which includes military-backed groups, an opinion poll showed on Sunday, two days before a parliamentary vote aiming to end a three-month political stalemate. About 64% of 1,310 respondents disagreed or totally disagreed with the idea of the Pheu Thai party forming a...

Man dies after suspected fall from Hong Kong’s Lion Rock

A man was suspected to have fallen to his death at Hong Kong’s Lion Rock, police on Thursday revealed. The force said it received a report at 9.30pm on Wednesday from a hiker who last saw the man, with short hair and a rotund build, standing near the iconic lion-shaped rock on Lung Cheung Road in...

Thai ex-PM Thaksin to return from exile on Tuesday (Aug 22), daughter says

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand's self-exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to return to the country on Tuesday, his daughter said on Saturday, amid prolonged political uncertainty following a May national election. "On Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 0900, at Don Muang Airport, I will meet father Thaksin," Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a social media post, referring to...