Free Republic

Thailand's navy wants to buy a submarine - and China's offer looks tempting. It is not only cheaper than the rest, but reportedly includes technology transfer and training. That, in a nutshell, describes the kind of friendship that China extends to the Thai military government now - a relationship smoothed by appealing deals unattached to the political doctrines championed by much of the Western world. Work on the Sino-Thai railway project that will give the trans-Asian rail network a sea outlet broke ground last December. Chinese and Thai air forces held their first joint exercise last year, shortly after Thailand...

President Barack Obama signed a bill Wednesday that includes a provision banning U.S. imports of fish caught by slaves in Southeast Asia, gold mined by children in Africa and garments sewn by abused women in Bangladesh, closing a loophole in an 85-year-old tariff law that has failed to keep products of forced and child labor out of America. An expose by The Associated Press last year found Thai companies ship seafood to the U.S. that was caught and processed by trapped and enslaved workers. As a result of the reports, more than 2,000 trapped fishermen have been rescued, more than...

Boston, MA — The Boston Globe is reporting that two more women have come forward to accuse former Planned Parenthood abortionist Roger Ian Hardy of sexually molesting them at a fertility clinic where he once worked. Roger Ian Hardy was forced to surrender his Massachusetts medical license in January 2014, after 18 witnesses came forward in 2004 to testify against him about his inappropriate sexual behavior not only with his patients, but also female members of his staff. This salacious scandal covered in technicolor-detail in a three-part expose published by the Boston Globe. Now the Globe is also reporting that...

Last October, two members of a small exile Chinese opposition political party -- Jiang Yefei and Dong Guangping -- were arrested by Thai police. Several weeks later, despite protests from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the two men were extradited to China and promptly thrown in prison. Since the extradition of Dong, his wife, Gu Shuhua, and daughter fled Thailand for Canada. Speaking from Toronto, she says Dong's capture has devastated her small family. "The Chinese government put pressure on my husband for so long that he ran away [from China]. Why did they still need to chase...

Bangkok-based Buddhist monk Maha Aphichat is among a growing group of Thai monks who feel their religion is under threat from Islam.Anti-Islamic sentiment is brewing in Thailand, spurred-on by Buddhist monks who feel that their religion is under threat from Islam. This fear mongering has been exacerbated by the ongoing political conflict within Thai Buddhism, the 12-year-old armed-insurgency in Thailand’s deep south, and the growing influence of Buddhist radicals in neighboring Myanmar. Bangkok-based Buddhist monk Maha Aphichat is unafraid of speaking his mind. The 30-year-old gained notoriety last October, after he urged Thai Buddhists on social media to burn down...

BANGKOK (AP) - A large chunk of metal that could be from an aircraft washed ashore in southern Thailand, but Malaysian authorities on Sunday cautioned against speculation of a link to a Malaysia Airlines flight missing almost two years.

The separatist violence in the south continues to decline and was lower in 2015 than in any year since the unrest turned nasty in 2004. There were only 674 incidents of separatist violence, which was 14 percent less than in 2014. The number of people killed (246) was down 28 percent from 2014. The average annual deaths down there has been 545. The decline has been the trend for several years as there were 456 deaths in 2013. Opinions differ about why there is less violence down there. The government credits the efforts of 70,000 soldiers and police in the...

Thailand is considering buying an unknown number of Russian-made T-90S or MS main battle tanks (MBT). According to the website Defence Blog, a Thai delegation visited the Russian city of Nizhny Tagil, the site of the largest main battle tank manufacturer in the world. The Royal Thai Army delegation expressed interest in both the T-90(M)S and the T-14 Armata MBT – dubbed “Russia’s deadliest tank” (See: “It’s Official: Russia’s Deadliest Tank Will Be Ready for Battle in 2020”). However, the export version of the T-14 MBT is still in the development stage and would not be ready in time to...

Every morning at 2 a.m., they heard a kick on the door and a threat: Get up or get beaten. For the next 16 hours, No. 31 and his wife stood in the factory that owned them with their aching hands in ice water. They ripped the guts, heads, tails and shells off shrimp bound for overseas markets, including grocery stores and all-you-can-eat buffets across the United States. After being sold to the Gig Peeling Factory, they were at the mercy of their Thai bosses, trapped with nearly 100 other Burmese migrants. Children worked alongside them, including a girl so...

Russian intelligence warns Thailand ISIS militants infiltrated country By REUTERS 12/04/2015 10:56 Ten Syrians linked to Islamic State entered Thailand in October to attack Russian interests, Thai police said in a leaked document citing information from the Russian Federal Security Service. In the document, Special Branch police urged an intensification of security around "target areas that Russian authorities are concerned about", including venues associated with allies that have taken part in attacks on IS in Syria. Russia began air strikes in Syria on Sept. 30 and has stepped up attacks in recent weeks. An IS affiliate claimed responsibility for downing...

A 15-year-old Washington boy and his 17-year-old brother operated a prostitution ring that employed underage hookers who kicked back money to the duo’s mother, according to investigators.The accused pimps--Dionte Hunter and his older brother Thaishaun--are locked up on felony charges stemming from the prostitution business, which operated from their Spokane home.According to an October 20 court filing, Dionte’s involvement in the prostitution operation began when the 4’ 10”, 100-pound defendant was still 14. The Hunter brothers (Thaishaun is at left) are pictured in the adjacent Facebook photo.Police first learned that the brothers were turning out several women via backpage.com ads...

A REMOTE village has become the scene of a real-life sci-fi film after a strange creature was discovered.With scaly skin and calf-like hooves, the bizarre animal looks like a genetic mutation between a buffalo and a crocodile. The creature, which was found in Thailand, appears to have the rough, scaly head of a reptile and limbs and hooves of a mammal. It is not the first time a genetic cross between two species has been found, but it is one of the most unusual animals spotted. The animal died soon after birth, according to a local website, but is believed...

Confusing genetic creations happen all the time, but this is one of the most unusual animals seen in a long time Images have been shared of a most unusual creature spotted in a remote village - and it's the stuff of sci-fi movies. The strange animal appears to have the scaly, rough head and skin of a reptile such as a crocodile. However, on closer inspection, it's also got the body, limbs and hooves of a mammal such as a calf.

Late in the evening of March 17, 1981, a rickety Vietnamese river boat embarked on an ocean journey to Thailand, carrying 27 people in a desperate attempt to find a new life. A day and a half at sea, they were picked up by a Thai fishing boat, which they saw as salvation. Instead, the new vessel brought them a plague of robbery, kidnapping and starvation. When they were set back aboard their own disabled craft several days later, only 25 Vietnamese remained. Two infants -- a boy of five months, a girl of 11 months -- were kept by...

Thai police say a man they arrested over a deadly bombing at Bangkok's Erawan shrine is indeed the bomber, contradicting earlier statements. A police spokesman said the man - earlier named as Adem Karadag - was the figure in a yellow shirt seen on CCTV leaving a bag at the shrine. Thai police had earlier said neither of two men in their custody were the main suspects for the 17 August attack. The motive for the bombing, which killed 20 people, remains unclear.

A key suspect in last month’s bombing at a Bangkok shrine that killed 20 people has fled to Turkey, Thai police said on Monday, in another indication that the attack could be the work of members of China’s ethnic Uighur minority who have sympathizers in Turkey. Police had previously said the man, carrying a Chinese passport in the name Abudureheman Abudusataer, may have directed the Aug. 17 bombing of the Erawan Shrine. Investigations revealed that he left Thailand on Aug. 16 for Bangladesh, and police speculated that he might have gone to China. “He departed Dhaka on Aug. 30 for...

Mystery fireball seen blazing across Bangkok sky caught on film Posted about 2 hours ago A mystery fireball seen blazing across the sky in northern Bangkok has been captured on film. A dash cam captured the moment the fireball, thought to be a meteor, was seen over the Thai capital this morning. The film shows a bright ball of flames move across the sky for a few seconds like a shooting star. Locals took to social media to report sightings of the mystery blaze. There has been no official confirmation of what caused the fireball. However, local media reported that...

Middle of the day, somebody's dashcam, very bright and clear. Meteor appears at the 30 second mark. Amazing how good cameras are today. Video at source

Thai police have arrested a young man in connection with the Erawan shrine bombing. He reportedly holds a Turkish passport. According to the report, Thai police raided an apartment on Soi Chueam Samphan 11 in Bangkok's Nong Chok district about two o'clock this afternoon, arresting its occupant. The reports also say bomb-making equipment was found, including ball-bearings very similar to those used in the Erawan shrine bombing. Post Today reports that national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said plainclothes police were instrumental in tracking down the suspect and that others were involved in the plot, possibly some Thais.

Bangkok bomb: Thai authorities suspect Uighur link to Erawan shrine attack By Vasudevan Sridharan | International Business Times – 4 hours ago. Thai authorities are investigating whether Uighur militants from far-western China staged the deadly bombing in the Erawan shrine in Bangkok which killed 22 people. Amid the ongoing manhunt for the suspect who left his backpack, police said they were not ruling out any possibility including deported dozens of Uighurs to China sparking widespread criticism. "Police are not ruling out anything including (Thai) politics and the conflict of ethnic Uighurs who, before this, Thailand sent back to China," National...