YEMEN
Council sacks PM
The nation’s internationally recognized presidential council on Monday sacked the prime minister in an unexpected move that comes at a time when a US-led coalition has been striking targets of the government’s rivals, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. A decree from the council appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak the new prime minister. Bin Mubarak, who is close to Saudi Arabia, replaced Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who was the prime minister since 2018. The council did not give a reason behind the reshuffle.
UNITED STATES
Haley requests protection
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley has requested secret service protection after receiving a growing number of threats during her presidential campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Haley told the paper while campaigning in South Carolina that she had made the request. “We’ve had multiple issues,” she said. “It’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do.” Neither Haley’s campaign nor the Secret Service responded to requests for comment. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump receive Secret Service protection. The Secret Service is also authorized to provide protection to major party presidential candidates. Haley is the last major challenger to Trump in the Republican primary race.
THAILAND
Thaksin charged with insult
Police have charged former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with lese majeste over comments he made almost a decade ago, officials said yesterday. The nation has some of the world’s strictest royal defamation laws protecting King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family, with each charge bringing a potential 15-year prison sentence. Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, returned from self-exile in August last year and was immediately jailed on old graft and abuse-of-power charges. Prayuth Pecharakun, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, told reporters police filed lese majeste charges late last month against Thaksin, over comments he made in Seoul in 2015. Prosecutors will wait for police to complete their investigation before deciding whether to proceed with the case against Thaksin, Prayuth said, adding that Thaksin denies the charge and has written to the attorney general asking for fair treatment.
THAILAND
‘Elephant pants’ under eye
The government yesterday ordered its ports to keep a close watch out for rogue “elephant pants” being imported to the kingdom, as Bangkok trumpeted its copyright claim to the popular print. The thin cotton trousers have long been a staple of European backpackers traveling through Southeast Asia. In recent months, they have become an unexpected hit with young Thais, but a jumbo influx of cheap Chinese-made pants has sparked concern over foreign imports edging out local manufacturers, and caught officials’ attention. “We have ordered the surveillance of elephant pants in all ports,” Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters. Phumtham, who is also commerce minister, said the elephant design that stomps across the ubiquitous trousers was copyrighted. “If we allow foreign producers to produce it, it might impact the local Thai products,” he said, warning of the inferior quality of some imports. “Thai products are standardized. Some [imported] products are easily torn after using them a couple of times,” he said.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
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