A Thai woman involved in a $32 million luxury goods scam has been convicted of cheating and money laundering. Pansuk Siriwipa, 30, masterminded a scheme to defraud and cheat 189 victims, in what the prosecution said was one of the largest scams perpetrated against multiple victims in recent memory. On Oct 21, Pansuk, who faced 180 charges, pleaded guilty to 30 of them. These included fraudulent trading charges, where she collected payments for luxury watches and bags amounting to more than $25 million, despite knowing these orders could not be fulfilled. The remaining 150 charges will be taken into consideration…
Author: Asia News Network
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she was not worried about the Election Commission (EC) investigating her party, Pheu Thai, and its six coalition partners over allegations of her father “dominating” her government. Paetongtarn is the leader of the Pheu Thai Party and the daughter of its de facto leader, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. “I’m not worried,” Paetongtarn said when asked about the pending probe. On Friday, the EC decided to form an investigative committee after it reviewed six petitions seeking the dissolution of Pheu Thai and its six coalition partners for allegedly allowing Thaksin to guide and influence their decisions…
The expanded BRICS cooperation will make more contributions to improving the global governance system, said Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua ahead of the 16th BRICS Summit scheduled from Oct 22 to 24 in Russia’s Kazan, Zhang noted that the summit is the first BRICS leaders’ off-line summit since the group’s expansion. As the BRICS mechanism enters a new era of greater cooperation, BRICS members will continue to pursue modernization together, contribute more to improving the global governance system, and offer “BRICS solutions” to the major transformations happening worldwide, Zhang said. Noting that BRICS…
Newly-elected State President Luong Cuong took the oath of office on Monday, pledging to build a prosperous Vietnam and consistently follow an independent and self-reliant foreign policy, focused on promoting peace, friendship, cooperation and development. In his speech, the new State President pledged absolute loyalty to the Fatherland, the people and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, striving to fulfill the tasks assigned by the Party, State and people. Reflecting on his career, President Luong Cuong recalled his decision in February 1975 to volunteer for military service during the heroic nationwide movement to liberate southern Vietnam. His commitment…
The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday released a comprehensive plan to support a growing number of Seoul residents struggling with loneliness and social isolation. The initiative, called “Loneliness-Free Seoul,” aims to intervene early to tackle loneliness at its root and prevent people from dying alone, known as “lonely deaths,” which have been rapidly increasing in the city. Over the next five years, the city plans to invest a total of 451.3 billion won ($326 million) to ensure no resident feels alone, according to the city. At the core of this initiative is the “Smart 24 Platform,” which has online and…
Indonesia’s new regulation mandating Halal certification for all imported food products is expected to widen the export gap between large conglomerates and small businesses in Korea due to the high costs and time need to meet the requirements. After a five-year grace period, the Indonesian government has officially ordered businesses in most industries to be Halal compliant and Halal certified, starting Thursday. While products lacking halal certification can still be exported, they must be labeled “non-halal” and comply with regulations set by Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority. Halal refers to items permissible under Sharia, Islamic law. Generally prohibited meats include…
The Philippines is the only Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member actively denouncing China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions in the South China Sea, according to a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official. Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said this in response to an opinion piece published in the Global Times claiming that “Manila is the only Asean member that deliberately turns a blind eye to Washington’s manipulation.” “The Philippines stands as the sole ASEAN member actively denouncing China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions in the South China Sea,” Tarriela wrote on…
An oil leak in the pre-dawn hours of Oct 20 from a Shell pipeline has affected waters off Singapore, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The oil started leaking at around 5.30am from a land-based pipeline belonging to the British petrochemical company between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil, the authority said in a statement the same day. MPA was alerted to the incident more than seven hours later at about 1pm. The leak was stopped at about 3pm, a Shell spokesperson said separately. Shell said the oil “spilt into a holding area but some overflowed” into the…
More reported evidence points to North Korean troops’ presence in Russia’s Far East region, as intelligence authorities of Seoul and Kyiv claim that North Korea is preparing to deploy soldiers to the front line in Ukraine in what could be Pyongyang’s first major intervention in an international conflict. Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security on Saturday released a video via its official X account showing what it claimed were North Korean soldiers lining up and receiving uniforms and equipment in Russia’s training ground in the Far East region. CNN revealed questionnaires with sizing for uniforms and gear written…