Remains of former cricketer return to Melbourne ahead of funeral and state memorial service at end of March
The body of cricket great Shane Warne has arrived back in Australia almost a week after he died of a suspected heart attack in Thailand.
The 52-year-old died at a resort on the Thai island of Koh Samui last Friday sparking widespread grief as fans mourned the loss of one of the world’s best-ever spin bowlers.
Continue reading...Shane Warne’s last meal was a plate of Vegemite and toast shared with a friend at the Thailand resort where he died hours later. The poignant detail was revealed by The Sporting News CEO Tom Hall, who was already on the island of Koh Samui when Warne and three mates arrived.
“I have dined with Shane in many fine establishments, but rather than sample some of the local Thai fare, we tuck into a plate of Vegemite on toast,” Hall wrote in an article on the outlet’s website.
Continue reading...Cricket star’s former fiancee among many to pay tribute to bowler after suspected heart attack
Actor Elizabeth Hurley paid tribute to her former fiance and “beloved Lionheart”, Shane Warne, as fresh details of the Australian cricket star’s sudden death in Thailand emerged.
Hurley, who was engaged to Warne for more than two years until they split in December 2013, said that “the sun has gone behind a cloud forever”.
Continue reading...Thai police say Warne was taken to hospital after being found unconscious at the Samujana Villas resort
The desperate attempts to save the life of cricket legend Shane Warne have been detailed by police officers and rescue teams on the Thai island of Koh Samui, as the sports world mourns and the 52-year-old leg-spinner’s final moments are pieced together by authorities.
Warne was on a week-long holiday with three friends at the Samujana Villas resort, the start of a three-month lay-off after covering the 2021-22 Ashes series for Fox Sports.
Continue reading...Big brewers maintain monopoly as smaller operations incur huge fines for even sharing photos of their beer
Naamcial’s craft beers often have distinctly Thai flavours, as he experiments with the country’s native produce, boiling the pulp of jackfruit and mango to mix into different creations. Yet his homemade products are forbidden in the kingdom.
Talking to the Guardian under a pseudonym, Naamcial says he would like to operate a legal brewery, but Thailand’s laws around alcohol production make this ambition almost impossible for newcomers. Current laws restrict brewing licences to manufacturers that have capital of 10 million baht (£230,000), while brewpubs must produce at least 100,000 litres a year and only serve their beer on their premises. The legislation effectively blocks new, small breweries from opening, and tips the market firmly in favour of two powerful companies – Thai Beverage, which produces Chang beer, and Boon Rawd Brewery, which produces Singha and Leo.
Continue reading...Head of student union forced out as debate on monarchy intensifies
Just a few years ago, student activism and protests were a rarity at Chulalongkorn University – considered Thailand’s most elite and staunchly conservative campus. Yet Thailand’s oldest university, named after King Chulalongkorn, has since become yet another battleground for debate over the role of Thailand’s monarchy and political system.
On Saturday, the head of the student union, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, said he had been removed from his post by the university, which accused him of activities that damaged its reputation, undermined public order and were incompatible with Thai culture.
Continue reading...As the UK Treasury pushes for free tests to be scrapped, here’s how charges look in other countries
In Australia, a federal scheme introduced at the end of January allows pensioners and concession card holders to access up to 10 free rapid antigen tests over three months through their chemist. But the scheme got off to a difficult start, with supply issues hampering attempts to procure the tests. In January the competition regulator raised concerns that rapid antigen tests often cost between A$20 and A$30 (£15-£20) per test and sometimes more than A$70 a test through smaller retail outlets, despite wholesale costs ranging from A$3.95 to A$11.45.
In Belgium the price of an antigen self-test sold in pharmacies is around €6-€8 (£5-£7), more expensive than in neighbouring countries, such as France and the Netherlands, although they are available in Belgian supermarkets for about €3. Prices have come down and are expected to fall further: one big pharmacy chain announced this week they had begun selling tests for €1.99. While a PCR test, which costs about €41, is free for people with symptoms, or may be reimbursed by health insurance, self-tests usually have to be funded by individuals. The Belgian consumer association Test-Achats/Test Aankoop estimated this week that a family of four could spend €250 a month on Covid tests, hand sanitiser and face masks.
Continue reading...A beach in eastern Thailand has been declared a disaster area as oil leaking from an underwater pipeline in the Gulf of Thailand continues to wash ashore and blacken the sand.
The leak, from a pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining, started late on Tuesday and was brought under control a day later after spilling an estimated 50,000 litres (11,000 gallons) of oil into the ocean about 12 miles (20km) from the country’s industrialised eastern seaboard
Continue reading...Students who speak out against royal family’s role in universities face jail but can also be pressured by pro-monarchy parents
When 24-year-old Krai Saidee returned to his alma mater Chiang Mai University on 14 January, nearly two years after his graduation, he came not just to support his friends but to make a political statement.
Painted gold, he held up a sign attached to a graduation gown: “You took my dream, and gave me this,” the message read.
Continue reading...Crocodile meat began to grow in popularity in Thailand when pork prices surged after a shortage caused by the spread of African swine fever. Wichai Roongtaweechai, who owns a farm and a restaurant specialising in crocodile meat, says he has seen sales of crocodile meat go up by 70%
Continue reading...Second British man taken to hospital following incident that reportedly took place in early hours of Saturday
The death of a British man in Thailand has been confirmed by officials amid reports he was attacked.
A second British man was taken to hospital after the incident, the Foreign Office confirmed.
Continue reading...A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Mexico to Hong Kong
Continue reading...Mass tourism had brought the archipelago to the brink of ecological catastrophe. Now Thailand hopes to make it the standard bearer for a sustainable tourism model as the country reopens to visitors after the Covid shutdown
Continue reading...High commissioner says Omicron is mild variant and travel ban not necessary; fully vaccinated traveller to Argentina had tested negative on departure and arrival
The Johnson & Johnson booster shot may work well for those who originally had a Pfizer vaccine, a recent study has found.
Researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston studied 65 people who had received two shots of the Pfizer vaccine. Six months after the second dose, the researchers gave 24 of the volunteers a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine and gave 41 the Johnson & Johnson shot.
Continue reading...At least 16 people including protest leaders have received alerts about devices possibly being compromised
Thai activists who have called for reform of the monarchy are among at least 16 people in Thailand who say they have been warned by Apple that they have been targeted by “state-sponsored” attackers.
Warnings were sent to the prominent activists Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul and Anon Nampa, according to Panusaya’s sister May, and the administrator of Anon’s Facebook page. Panusaya and Anon are in pre-trial detention after leading demonstrations calling for the power of the monarchy to be curbed.
Continue reading...Lawyers say judgment demonstrates increasingly harsh stance taken by authorities over lese-majesty law
It was last December that Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, a Thai student activist, and her friends strolled into a shopping mall in Bangkok wearing crop tops. They ate ice cream and carried dog-shaped balloons. Phrases such as “I have only one father” were written in marker pen on their skin.
Now, four of them are in pre-trial detention over the outing, which royalists say was an insult to the monarchy.
Continue reading...Survey also finds adults aged 18-24 and women more concerned about personal finances than other groups
Young people and women have taken the hardest psychological and financial hit from the pandemic, a YouGov survey has found – but few people anywhere are considering changing their lives as a result of it.
The annual YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project found that in many of the 27 countries surveyed, young people were consistently more likely than their elders to feel the Covid crisis had made their financial and mental health concerns worse.
Continue reading...Humans have encroached on the animals’ habitat – now villagers face daily raids as the elephants break into their homes in search of food
It was around midnight when Kittichai Boodchan heard two loud crashes coming from in front of his home. He knew immediately what was happening. An elephant was outside, and it wanted the family’s stash of bananas.
Boonchuay, a local bull from the nearby Kaeng Krachan national park notorious for his habit of raiding the village in search of snacks, had come to call. Kittichai had earlier bought 200kg of bananas to sell and, although stored inside, the sweet scent had undoubtedly piqued Boonchuay’s interest.
Continue reading...The coronavirus pandemic saw arrivals drop more than 80% in the tourism-reliant nation
Thailand has reopened to fully vaccinated tourists, with tens of thousands of travellers expected to touch down in Bangkok and Phuket as the country reboots its tourism industry after 18 months of Covid restrictions.
The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the kingdom’s economy, with tourism making up almost 20% of its national income. Last year saw its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis with arrivals down more than 80%.
Continue reading...Once used in the hunt for fugitive criminals, the global police agency’s most-wanted ‘red notice’ list now includes political refugees and dissidents
Flicking through the news one day in early 2015, Alexey Kharis, a California-based businessman and father of two, came across a startling announcement: Russia would request a global call for his arrest through the International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol.
“Oh, wow,” Kharis thought, shocked. All the 46-year-old knew about Interpol and its pursuit of the world’s most-wanted criminals was from novels and films. He tried to reassure himself that things would be OK and it was just an intimidatory tactic of the Russian authorities. Surely, he reasoned, the world’s largest police organisation had no reason to launch a hunt for him.
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