Apple apologized for its advertisement set in Thailand

Verge: 

Thai citizens, lawmakers, and influencers criticized the video’s use of sepia filters and depiction of an airport, transportation, clothing, and hotels for misrepresenting the country as being underdeveloped.

@bangkokpost.official Apple’s latest short film commercial ‘The Underdogs: OOO (Out Of Office)’ that aims to represent its gadgets filmed in Thailand has sparked criticism among Thai people as the commercial portrays Thailand in a low-tech and underdeveloped mood and tone, using a warm colour in several scenes of the film. #apple #Thailand #commercial #technology #gadgets #shortfilm #iphone #ipad #macbook #imac #applevisionpro #ios #applethailand #ไอโฟน #ไอแพด #แมคบุ๊ค #แอปเปิ้ล #โฆษณา #หนังสั้น #ข่าวtiktok #ข่าวเทคโนโลยี ♬ original sound - Bangkok Post

"Thai officials found assets belonging to adult children of Myanmar's junta leader during a raid on the Bangkok apartment of a Myanmar tycoon charged with drug trafficking and money laundering"

Reuters:

[The tycoon], who has interests in hotels, energy and mining, is a close associate of [the junta leader], who seized power from the democratically elected government in February 2021, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters last year. He has procured supplies for the military, the sources said. Publicly available pictures show them together at an arms fair in 2019.

...

A spokesperson for the activist group Justice for Myanmar said the discovery also indicated [the junta leader]’s family was hiding assets in Thailand and urged the Thai government to take “urgent action to prevent it from becoming a safe haven for Myanmar war criminals

Four-Person "Buddhist Temple Left Without Monks After They All Test Positive for Meth"

Vice:

It’s not clear why police targeted this particular temple, nor these particular monks, to test for drug use

...

In recent years, the sacred institution of Thai Buddhism has been tarnished by a series of high-profile arrests and scandals relating to corruption, murder, and drug trafficking among its clergy.

Thai protesters defend themselves with giant rubber ducks and have their own water truck; The king rides on a train with his subjects

Thai protesters use inflatable rubber ducks against water cannons https://t.co/a8jeEDoiXr 📷 @Athit_P pic.twitter.com/F7raLBDfvY

— Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) November 17, 2020

🐤🐤🐤 #18พฤศจิกาไปราษฎร์ประสงค์ #ม็อบ18พฤศจิกา #WhatsHappeninglnThailand pic.twitter.com/gOFuZvk99f

— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) November 18, 2020

Protesters have somehow brought their own water truck with them for tonight's protest, probably for dousing teargas canisters. #18พฤศจิกาไปราษฎร์ประสงค์ #ม็อบ18พฤศจิกา #WhatsHappeninglnThailand pic.twitter.com/6RNzp8fOJq

— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) November 18, 2020

1）Art for supporting #Thailand pro democracy protest.

Last night Giant rubber ducks were used by the young students protesters to protect themselves from the attack of police water cannons.
Thats what inspires the drawing.#ม็อบ17พฤศจิกา #whatishappeninginthailand pic.twitter.com/HBwdoB2JoX

— 巴丢草 Badiucao (@badiucao) November 18, 2020

German newspaper BILD has a story on King Vajiralongkorn’s absurd Skytrain trip, noting that everybody apart from the king and queen had to sit on the floor pic.twitter.com/nmaZPcbcrb

— Andrew MacGregor Marshall (@zenjournalist) November 15, 2020

"the revival of an arcane immigration law has angered the expat community and got them questioning their freedoms in Thailand"

BBC:

Thailand's Immigration Act contains a clause requiring all foreigners to let the authorities know where they're staying at all times.

Previously this job has been done by hotels collecting guests' details, or it was just ignored. But as of March, the government has been applying the law without compromise or exception.

Landlords must notify immigration authorities whenever a foreigner returns home after spending more than 24 hours away from their permanent residence - be it a trip abroad or even leaving the province. The same applies to foreigners married to Thais - their Thai spouse, if they own the house, must file the report.

Related:

The king of Thailand announced this week that he was naming a 34-year-old woman (and military general) as his official consort — in addition to his wife

...

the whole display has raised many questions: Who is Sineenat? What is her role in the Thai monarchy? Is wearing a sports bra as a top acceptable attire in a military aircraft? And, most notably, what exactly is a consort, and why hasn’t there been one in Thailand for almost 100 years?

*Previously: "Meet . . . Miss Universe Thailand's Only Thai-Burmese Contestant"

"Meet . . . Miss Universe Thailand's Only Thai-Burmese Contestant"

KE:

While contestants in Miss Universe Thailand are often look kreung or half-Thai – usually half-American or half-European – they are almost never from neighboring Myanmar.

...

[She] snagged the “Golden Tiara” judges’ choice – while making judges cry and gaining viral fame – when she showed up at the audition in early June with a story of having traveled from rural Tak without any managers, sponsors, or even pageant clothes.

...

[She] did retract some comments made during the audition about feeling sorry for the Rohingya in Myanmar.

“I really want to apologize for what I said. I didn’t really understand the problem deeply. I said what I said because I really felt sorry for them. But I just want everyone to get along peacefully,” she said, visibly stressed.

Mimi faced backlash from Burmese social media for her original comments.

"Bangkok has hit out at the CBS show Madam Secretary on Sunday in response to an episode that referenced the country's monarchy"

BP:

Officials said many of the scenes in the show were shot in Thailand but they had no inkling of the key lese majeste references and sequences.

Though no legal action was threatened, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had asked the Thai embassy in Washington to "convey our concern and disappointment to CBS" over the Nov 4 episode.

...

In real life, the number of prosecutions under the Section 112 law has shot up since the junta seized power. According to figures compiled by Prachatai.com, since the 22 May 2014 coup, at least 127 people have been arrested for violating Article 112, with 57 sentenced to prison terms of up to 35 years.

"Rescue teams have found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive in a cave in Thailand nine days after the group went missing"

CNN:

The boys, who range in ages from 11 to 16 years old and are all members of the Wild Boar soccer team, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system on Saturday, June 23, for a team outing, but became stranded in the dark tunnels by a sudden and continuous downpour.

...

"Now they've got to try and figure out how to get these 13 very weak footballers out of the caves and that is going to be an enormous task," Newton said. "They've got some medical doctors who are also divers, who are ready to get into the caves. They clearly want to stabilize the boys before they try and bring them out.

"A retired Japanese crime boss has been arrested in Thailand ending more than 14 years on the run after photos of his 'yakuza' tattoos and a missing little finger went viral"

Yahoo:

arrested by a SWAT team on Wednesday in the sleepy central Thai market town of Lopburi while he was out shopping

...

That was until a Thai local posted some photos of the diminutive, frail-looking retiree playing a streetside checkers game with his intricate gang tattoos on full show and a missing little finger

...

The photos were shared more than 10,000 times online and caught the attention of Japanese police

"Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon will submit an explanation on his luxury watch and diamond ring to the National Anti-Corruption Commission Tuesday"

"The Richard Mille watch and diamond ring came under the media spotlight when Gen Prawit raised his right hand on which he wore the items to shield his face from the sun during a group photo session for the new cabinet on Monday."

"Rise and fall of General Manas: Thailand's top trafficker"

AFP:

Around the time of the money transfers, Manas served as a top commander of Thailand's southern security arm.

His job was to enforce its controversial "push-back" policy -- which meant turning around boats of stateless Rohingya who were trying to flee persecution in Myanmar.

But he used this position to do just the opposite, according to last week's verdict, which exposed a matrix of collusion between state officials and businessmen who profited from trafficking.

Witnesses said Manas instructed officers to force back a boat of 265 Rohingya in 2012 -- only to covertly re-route the ship to shore and truck the human cargo south to the jungle prisons.

"A subsequent investigation by the Thai Department of Special Investigations uncovered a lifestyle of what appeared to be mind-blowing decadence"

BBC:

After a succession of scandals, people are openly talking about a crisis of Buddhism in Thailand. Numbers of ordained monks have been falling steeply in recent years, and many smaller village temples are unable to support themselves financially.

The body which is supposed to govern the Buddhist clergy is the Supreme Sangha Council, but this comprises a group of very elderly monks, and until this year had not had a properly functioning Supreme Patriarch for more than a decade. It has proved ineffective.

...

The government has now introduced a law requiring temples, which collectively accumulate $3-4bn (£2-3bn) in donations every year, to publicise their financial records. It is also talking about introducing a new, digital ID card for monks to ensure those tainted by malpractice cannot be ordained again.

...

Wirapol fled to the US. It took four years for the Thai authorities to secure his extradition

"Thai soap hunks enlisted to boost military pride"

Yahoo:

Sporting flak jackets, machine guns and smouldering stares, four Thai heartthrobs have been enlisted to woo fans -- and some say spruce up the ruling junta's image -- in a new soap opera dividing the army-run kingdom.

The series, titled "Love Missions," follows four leading men -- one from each branch of the armed forces, plus the police -- as they take down drug traffickers, foreign terrorists and of course, traverse the battlefield of love.

The junta, which seized power in 2014, is not directly funding the series but has been lending props and extras for the production.

...

The name of the first instalment, "Pull the Trigger on My Heart," quickly became a trending hashtag on Twitter.

"Turkey has removed the concept of evolution from its high school curriculum, in what critics fear is the latest attempt by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government to erode the country’s secular character"

NYT:

It “uses religion to get votes,” said Jenny White, an expert on the changing role of Islam and secularism within Turkey. “But they do not have a coherent theological, religious ideology.”

Relatedly: "Thai activist arrested for commemorating democratic revolution"

In recent years small groups of democracy activists have gathered each anniversary to lay flowers on a small bronze plaque marking the spot where revolutionaries proclaimed the end of absolute monarchy in a fiery speech lambasting the king.

But the 30-inch plaque was mysteriously removed from Bangkok's Royal Plaza this April and replaced with a new marker bearing a royalist message.

Authorities have not offered an explanation for the incident and earlier this month police banned people from gathering around the memorial on the revolution's anniversary.

On Saturday an activist, Ekachai Hongkangwan, was taken to a Bangkok military base for "attitude adjustment" after he tried to lay a replica of the original plaque on top of the new one, said Phanurat Lukboon, deputy Metropolitan Police commissioner.

"Brits and Thais race to close stolen supercar pipeline"

Yahoo:

Dozens of supercars including Lamborghinis, Porsches and BMWs have been stolen from the streets of Britain and shipped to Thailand in a complex scam that police from both countries are now rushing to dismantle.

...

The dealership's owner Indharasak Techaterasiri -- who goes by the nickname "Boy Unity" and is well-known on the luxury car circuit -- told AFP he was baffled that the seven cars were reported stolen.

"Thailand's king was targeted by two teenagers firing rubber pellets while he was cycling in southern Germany's Bavaria"

"the king's aides had already informed the prosecution service that he did not wish to press charges"

"Openly gay and with a young family, British Ambassador to Thailand Brian Davidson aims to put the advancement of human rights at the top of his agenda"

BP:

"My husband, as we are legally married, is not recognised as my husband by the Thai bureaucracy. His visa says he is a domestic servant," said the ambassador in dismay. "So there are some anomalies.

"Apple, Facebook and Google logos have been removed from a giant statue of a mythical beast that will stand inside the sprawling cremation complex being built for Thailand's late king"

Yahoo:

One of the leading artists included logos for the tech giants on a two-metre tall statue of the Garuda -- a half-bird-half-human creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology -- as a way of paying tribute to Bhumibol's embrace of technology.

But their inclusion sparked a backlash when photos of the statue were published online, prompting their removal and an apology from the artist.

11 security cameras removed before disappearance of marker placed in 1936 to commemorate "the bloodless revolution that installed democracy in Thailand four years earlier"

"There was construction to improve traffic signaling, so the cameras were taken down"

"BANGKOK — One of the nation’s few remaining acknowledgments to the birth of its democracy disappeared Friday"

K:

A brass plaque honoring the bloodless 1932 revolution, the removal of which had been threatened by revanchist ultraroyalists, was dug up and replaced with a message asserting a nation at ease.

“Long live Siam forever! Happy, fresh-faced citizens build up the power of the land!” the replacement reads. “Happy, fresh-faced citizens” takes up the most place in the middle.

Circling the plaque, the text quotes the proverb of Chakri Dynasty’s motto: “Loyalty and love for the Triple Gem, one’s clan and having a honest heart for one’s king is good. These are the tools to make one’s state prosper!”

Before it was replaced, the plaque paid tribute to what are regarded as “the promoters” who lead a bloodshed-free revolt that directly resulted in Thailand becoming a democratic constitutional monarchy.