BANGKOK: Thai rescuers used hoes on Friday to search muddy, forested terrain for debris and the remains of nine people aboard a charter flight that crashed the day before, authorities said, with all the travelers presumed dead.
Five tourists from China and four Thais, including the two pilots, were on the Cessna Caravan C208B aircraft that went down 100 km (62 miles) southeast of Bangkok, 11 minutes after losing contact with ground control following take-off.
All aboard the charter plane are presumed dead, said Chonlatee Yongtrong, the governor of the Chachoengsao province, the site of the crash, as authorities scramble to investigate the cause.
“We found many human remains,” the governor told reporters late on Thursday, adding that the muddy terrain complicated the task of searchers.
“The plane dropped vertically, so we have to dig 10 m (33 ft) into the ground.”
Photographs of the site show aircraft debris scattered over a forested, boggy area, while rescue workers dig with hoes and use a pump to extract water from some areas, while police forensic units seek to recover and reassemble the bodies.
The plane, operating flight TFT209 headed for the eastern province of Trat, had taken off from the Suvarnabhumi airport in the capital on Thursday afternoon.
Registered to Thai Flying Service Co. Ltd, according to the aviation regulator, the craft lost contact with ground control in Bangkok 11 minutes after take-off, provincial officials said.
All presumed dead on Thai charter plane that crashed with five Chinese aboard
https://arab.news/65x7e
All presumed dead on Thai charter plane that crashed with five Chinese aboard
- Five tourists from China and four Thais, including the two pilots, were on the Cessna Caravan C208B aircraft that went down
- The craft lost contact with ground control in Bangkok 11 minutes after take-off
Law firm that helped ban pro-Palestine protests on UK campus assisting other universities
- Shakespeare Martineau LLP helped Cardiff University obtain 12-month ban on protests
- Students, staff face unlimited fines, up to 2 years in prison amid ‘chilling precedent for academic institutions’
LONDON: A law firm in the UK that helped a university ban pro-Palestine protests on campus has been assisting other higher education institutions considering legal action against their students.
Shakespeare Martineau LLP represented Cardiff University in a case that resulted in a year-long ban on unauthorized campus protests from June.
The case could result in unlimited fines for staff and students found in breach of the injunction, as well as prison terms of up to two years.
Those wishing to hold protests on Cardiff’s campus will be required to apply for permission up to three weeks in advance.
Earlier this year, similar 12-month injunctions were granted to two colleges at Cambridge University
The Guardian reported on Monday that the law firm promoted the type of injunction, known as a “newcomer injunction” because it can be used “against persons unknown,” to other universities during a webinar held in October.
According to a freedom of information act obtained in conjunction with Liberty Investigates, it was found that representatives of Reading, Exeter, Northumbria, Hertfordshire, Birkbeck, Bath Spa and Liverpool John Moores universities registered for the webinar.
The Guardian reported that lawyers acting in the case against Cardiff warned that the injunction was too broad and could affect industrial action.
A UN watchdog, the newspaper reported, said the move is a “flagrant violation of international human rights law,” while Gina Romero, UN special rapporteur for freedom of assembly, said: “Profiting from the … curtailing of human rights is despicable.”
A spokesperson for Shakespeare Martineau said the injunction relates to “unlawful encampments,” and “lawful” protest would not be affected.
Smita Jamdar, head of education at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Universities are dealing with complex situations on campus every single day. Understandably, many institutions are seeking guidance on how to manage a whole host of situations effectively and safely, while upholding the law and balancing the rights and freedoms of the whole campus community.”
But the European Legal Support Centre called the use of the injunctions a “chilling precedent for academic institutions,” adding that they are “legally complex and financially impractical for affected students to challenge in court.”
Last week, England’s Office for Students warned universities against “sweeping” limits on protest in a new set of guidelines due to take effect in August.
Most Filipinos in favor of rejoining ICC, study shows
- Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte
- 57 percent of respondents support rejoining the court, while 37 percent are against it
MANILA: The majority of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court, the results of a new opinion poll showed on Monday.
The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, as the court’s prosecutors began to look into his “war on drugs” campaign in 2016-22, which they estimate has resulted in the extrajudicial killings of 30,000 Filipinos.
Despite the Philippines’ withdrawal, the court has issued an arrest warrant against Duterte, as it keeps jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while a country was a member.
The current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. complied with the arrest warrant and Duterte has been in ICC custody since March, awaiting trial. The Marcos’s spokesperson, Claire Castro, said earlier this month that he was also “open to talking about” rejoining the ICC.
The move would be supported by 57 percent of Filipinos, according to the latest survey by OCTA Research.
“A clear 57 percent of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the ICC. In contrast, 37 percent are opposed, and 6 percent remain undecided, indicating broad, though not unanimous, public backing for renewed engagement,” the Quezon City-based polling and research firm said in its report.
The study was conducted between April 20 and April 24, on 1,200 respondents in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
In Mindanao, where Duterte traces his political roots and despite detention won the mayoral election last month, the support for rejoining the ICC was the lowest.
“In Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, at least 60 percent of respondents express support,” the OCTA Research report said. “In Mindanao, however, is an exception — with only 30 percent supporting the move and 66 percent expressing opposition, the highest rate of opposition recorded across regions.”
The highest rate of support for reengagement with the ICC was among people aged 25-34, with 62 percent of them in favor of the move, while the lowest support was among those aged 45-54, at 50 percent.
Duterte’s arrest has likely contributed to awareness about the ICC across the Philippines, with 85 percent of adult Filipinos claiming to have seen, read, or heard about the court and only 13 percent reporting being unaware of it.
“This widespread awareness sets the stage for significant national conversations on justice, accountability, and the Philippines’ potential reengagement with the ICC,” OCTA Research said.
“Awareness levels are consistently high nationwide. In Metro Manila, 89 percent of respondents indicated familiarity with the ICC, followed closely by Balance Luzon (86 percent), Mindanao (85 percent), and the Visayas (77 percent).”
EU warns Armenia about Russian ‘hybrid threats’
YEREVAN: The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged Armenia to protect its democratic values amid “hybrid threats” from Russia on a visit to Yerevan on Monday.
Ties between Armenia and its traditional ally Russia have been strained since Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh, in which Moscow did not intervene.
Russia has for years been the main mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But Brussels has played a stronger role recently, with Russia tied up with its Ukraine invasion.
Kallas visited several days after Armenia arrested a powerful cleric accused of plotting a coup against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
She said she discussed “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and specifically Russian hybrid activities in all countries” with Armenia’s foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
“Armenia’s commitment to democracy and freedom is key. These values must be protected, especially in the face of hybrid threats, disinformation, and foreign interference,” she said.
Mirzoyan warned Moscow against interfering in its internal political affairs after the arrest of powerful cleric Bagrat Galstanyan.
But speaking in Kyrgyzstan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Armenia against turning away from Moscow and against “attacks on the canonical, millennia-old Armenian Apostolic Church.”
“We do not put any pressure on Armenian authorities, we will wait for clarity on all these issues,” Lavrov said according to Russian news agencies.
“But we all understand that if Armenia turns away from its allies, its closest partners and neighbors, it will hardly be in the interests of the Armenian people,” he added.
Mirzoyan said Lavrov “would do better not to interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs and domestic politics,” calling on Russian officials to “show greater respect for the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.”
Kallas said “the EU and Armenia have never been as close as we are now.”
She announced a new EU-Armenia partnership and a 270-million-euro “resilience and growth plan for 2024-2027.” She also welcomed Armenia’s move to initiate an EU accession process earlier this year.
Kallas re-affirmed the EU’s support to normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Cyprus invites Turkiye’s Erdogan to summit despite long rift over 1974 invasion
NICOSIA: Cyprus said on Monday it would invite arch-foe Turkiye to a summit during its European Union presidency next year despite a decades-long rift over Ankara’s 1974 invasion and its backing of a breakaway state on the divided island.
Nicosia will hold the rotating EU presidency in the first six months of 2026 and plans a summit of regional leaders, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, on issues related to the Middle East, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.
“You can’t change geography — Turkiye will always be a neighbor state to the Republic of Cyprus .. Mr.Erdogan will of course be welcome to this summit to discuss developments in the area,” he told journalists in Nicosia.
Christodoulides had earlier said the same in a British podcast aired on Monday in response to a question, saying the summit was planned for April 2026.
The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the invitation to Erdogan.
Cyprus and Turkiye have no diplomatic relations and hosting a Turkish president might prove challenging both because of the diplomatic tightrope arising from past conflict and logistical issues.
The eastern Mediterranean island was partitioned by a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a brief Greek-inspired coup, and Ankara supports a breakaway, unrecognized state in north Cyprus where it stations thousands of troops.
Christodoulides heads a Greek Cypriot administration that represents all of Cyprus within the EU but with its powers stopping at a ceasefire line splitting the island into northern and southern sections. Erdogan has never visited the south.
A hard right lawmaker is sworn in as Greece’s migration minister
- Thanos Plevris, 48, is expected to maintain Greece’s hard line in migration policy
ATHENS: A hard-right lawmaker was sworn in Monday as Greece’s migration minister, replacing a fellow right-wing political heavyweight who resigned following accusations of involvement in the distribution of European Union farm subsidies.
Five high-ranking government officials, including the previous migration minister, Makis Voridis, three deputy ministers and a secretary general, resigned last Friday following allegations they were involved in a scheme to provide EU agriculture subsidies to undeserving recipients.
The funds, which were handled by a government body known by its Greek acronym OPEKEPE, were allegedly given to numerous people who had made false declarations of owning or leasing non-existent pastures or livestock.
Thanos Plevris, 48, succeeded Voridis and is expected to maintain Greece’s hard line in migration policy. Both Plevris and Voridis joined the conservative New Democracy party in 2012, from the right-wing populist Popular Orthodox Rally, or LAOS, party.
Voridis has denied any involvement in the alleged farm subsidy fraud and said he resigned in order to clear his name.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has investigated the case, passed on a hefty file to the Greek Parliament last week that includes allegations of possible involvement of government ministers. Lawmakers enjoy immunity from prosecution in Greece that can only be lifted by parliamentary vote.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his New Democracy party had failed to stamp out graft.
“Significant reform efforts were made,” Mitsotakis said in a social media post. “But let’s be honest. We failed.”
He said anyone found to have received EU funds they were not entitled to would be ordered to return the money.
“Our many farmers and livestock breeders who toil and produce quality products, and all law-abiding citizens, will not tolerate scammers who claimed to have non-existent pastures and livestock, or those who enabled them to do so,” Mitsotakis said.
