The three-day coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn began at the Grand Palace in Bangkok on Saturday with a dazzling display of pageantry marked by Hindu and Buddhist rituals that came two and a half years after his father’s death.At 10.09am, a time picked by astrologers, the holy ablution ceremony began – a symbolic purification ceremony using water collected from around Thailand.A canon-salute marked the moment, while horns and pipes were played and Buddhist monks chanted.King Vajiralongkorn…
Two dead, thousands evacuated as Cyclone Fani pummels India’s Orissa
Two people died on Friday after Cyclone Fani slammed into eastern India, officials said, as the storm sent coconut trees flying, blew away food stands and cut off power and water.The monster weather system, which made landfall at the eastern city of Puri in the morning, is one of the strongest to come in off the Indian Ocean in years, with winds gusting at speeds of up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour.In recent days authorities in Orissa state, where 10,000 people died in a 1999 cyclone,…
Vietnam races to launch 5G network, but Chinese tech giant Huawei notably left out of plan
Vietnam may soon become one of the first Southeast Asian countries to go 5G, with local telecoms firms racing to develop the country’s first nationwide network. But the cutting edge advancement is likely to come with one notable absentee: Chinese tech giant Huawei.The country’s biggest carrier, Viettel, announced on April 25 it had successfully tried out a 5G broadcast station in Hanoi with a speed of 600 to 700Mbps, reportedly on par with Verizon in the US. A full 5G network test is expected…
Experts welcome FCA’s business plan priorities but say more action needed
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has laid out its priorities for the coming year, with Brexit named as its most immediate focus.
1MDB scandal: fugitive financier Jho Low allegedly bought diamonds for his mother using stolen funds. Now the US government is seizing them
A US$1.7 million diamond jewellery set, allegedly bought for the mother of fugitive Malaysian financier Low Jho, will be handed over to the US government, US prosecutors said in a court filing.Low, known as Jho Low, has been charged in Malaysia and the United States for his role in the suspected theft of about US$4.5 billion from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, has consistently denied wrongdoing.Explained: Malaysia’s 1MDB scandalIn 2017, the US…
LGBT rights in Singapore: gay community continues battle to be accepted, 10 years after Christian power grab at women’s group Aware
As mysteries go, this was in a class of its own.One day in March 2009, Singapore’s most prominent women’s organisation held its annual general meeting, and everyone expected it to be uneventful. Not many members were expected to turn up, and a team had already agreed to form its new committee. It would be over quickly.Except that it did not go that way, that day. Just before the meeting began, a stream of strangers appeared and soon outnumbered the surprised Aware members present. The new faces…
Australian court finds man guilty of plotting to blow up Etihad Airways flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi by hiding bomb in brother’s luggage
An Australian court on Wednesday found a man guilty of plotting to blow up an Etihad Airways flight out of Sydney at the behest of the Islamic State militant group, by hiding a bomb in his brother’s luggage.Police had accused the man, Khaled Khayat, and another brother, Mahmoud Khayat, of planning two terrorist attacks that also included a chemical gas attack on the flight to Abu Dhabi in July 2017, police said.The third brother was unaware that he was carrying a bomb, disguised as a meat…
Are Facebook and YouTube ‘online gangsters’ corrupting the youth of Vietnam?
“Let me tell you something. In this society, there is no f*****g right or wrong. There are only the weak and the strong. That’s it. And you guys beat my brother, so I’m gonna beat you,” Kha Banh shouts at his opponents in one of his viral videos.As soon as the tirade finishes, he puts up a hand – signalling a bunch of his bat-wielding henchmen to launch forward and attack.The scene ends with Kha Banh triumphantly walking away from the fight with his rescued “brother” under his arm – a gambler…
MP proposes legislation to review mandatory levy on gambling sector
The UK parliament took a step towards the establishment of a mandatory levy on gambling firms’ revenues when it supported the introduction of a bill put forward by a Conservative MP to review the case for a levy on the gross revenues of gambling firms.
Thailand’s Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit defiant as post-election legal challenges pile up
The billionaire leader of the newest and most dynamic force in Thai politics says he is “prepared” for jail as legal cases besiege his youth-focused party just weeks after it scooped up millions of votes in a general election.Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the charismatic political newcomer whose radical agenda of social and economic reform captured millennial hearts and rattled the ruling junta, was expected to appear at the Election Commission on Tuesday to explain a disputed share transfer…