One of the front-runners in Thailand’s general election yesterday hailed her newborn son as her “secret power” as she presented the baby to the media after giving birth just two weeks before polling day.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, vowed to get back on the campaign trail for the May 14 vote after giving birth on Monday.
The 36-year-old has been first or second in surveys of voters’ preferred choice of prime minister and her Pheu Thai party — the latest incarnation of the political movement founded by her father — is leading most opinion polls.
Photo: AP
“I believe that good things come with babies, so this is a blessing for my family,” she told reporters at Bangkok’s Praram 9 hospital. “My children are my secret power to work and to live life.”
A heavily pregnant Paetongtarn was a near-constant presence at campaign rallies in searing tropical heat until just a week before giving birth.
The baby, named Prutthasin Sooksawas and nicknamed “Thasin” in honor of her father, is Paetongtarn’s second.
She described her emotions on delivering him safely, after his heart rate fell during labor.
“Once I heard his cry, my tears fell,” she said.
“I felt relief that he was safe. I am glad he is safe,” she added.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
CHEER ON: Students were greeted by citizens who honked their car horns or offered them food and drinks, while taxi drivers said they would give marchers a lift home Hundreds of students protesting graft they blame for 15 deaths in a building collapse on Friday marched through Serbia to the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to block three Danube River bridges this weekend. They received a hero’s welcome from fellow students and thousands of local residents in Novi Said after arriving on foot in their two-day, 80km journey from Belgrade. A small red carpet was placed on one of the bridges across the Danube that the students crossed as they entered the city. The bridge blockade planned for yesterday is to mark three months since a huge concrete construction