Showing posts with label Bangkok. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangkok. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2015

barely veiled message to the U.S. ? You can try to take down Assad, but you probably wouldn't like the outcome. All Assad has to do is ask and both China and Russia would send troops.

If Assad asks, China can deploy troops to Syria

September 19, 2015, 7:51 pm

Turkey-backed Chinese Uyghur terrorists are gaining a stronghold in Syria from which to launch attacks on China.

  
Chinese Uyghur terrorists establishing base in Syria


A new article reported that 3,500 Uyghurs are settling in a village near Jisr-al Shagour that was just taken from Assad, close to the stronghold of Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) that is in the Turkey-backed Army of Conquest. They are allegedly under the supervision of Turkish intelligence that has been accused of supplying fake passports to recruit Chinese Uyghurs to wage jihad in Syria.
The news comes on the heels of TIP capturing a Syrian airbase and acquiring MIG fighter jets as well as other advanced weaponry, similar to ISIS capturing Iraqi army’s advanced US weaponry.
It also comes on the heels of the Bangkok bombing at the shrine frequented by Chinese tourists, with Thai authorities now drawing a link to Uyghurs “and the same gang that attacked the Thai Consulate in Turkey” in reference to Turkey’s Grey Wolves.
This seems to corroborate IHS Jane’s analyst Anthony Davis’s assessment that Grey Wolves are the likely culprit, given their anti-Chinese protests and violent demonstration back in July.
Through Turkey’s support for the Army of Conquest, TIP has risen to prominence within the anti-Assad coalition and played a key role in defeating the Syrian army at Jisr al Shughour earlier this year.



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Russia ready to consider sending troops to Syria if Damascus asks

 
MOSCOW: Russia would consider a request from Syria to send troops if Damascus asks for it, the Kremlin’s spokesman said on Friday.

“If there is a request (from Syria), then in the framework of a bilateral dialogue it would be, naturally, discussed and considered,” Dmitry Peskov told journalists on a conference call. “For now, it’s difficult to speak hypothetically.”

The Syrian military, which has lost ground to rebels recently in a four-year-old civil war, has begun using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source told Reuters on Thursday..


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RT

Putin’s consistency on Syria has Washington fuming

 
Russian President Vladimir Putin. © Sergey Guneev
It is increasingly difficult to watch the most recent coverage of the Syrian war and not be struck by how utterly illogical and convoluted it has become. But look through the media spin and it’s clear: the Russian leader's steady moves in Syria are perplexing the US.
Whether it's the latest neocon claim that the way to ‘help’ refugees is to drop more bombs and train more Al-Qaeda-linked rebels, or the conveniently-timed mass hysteria over Russia's (never secret) support for Bashar Assad — or even the strange (and completely false) notion floating around that the West has 'done nothing' in Syria, all of this nonsense is becoming very difficult to take seriously.
It’s fairly easy to tell when Washington is scrambling to keep control of a story, because two things usually happen: firstly, the media coverage becomes muddled and frazzled, and secondly, the White House quickly looks for somewhere to offload the blame. These days the scapegoat is usually Russia, and hey, why fix what ain’t broken?

Obama’s fumbling vs. Putin’s consistency

On September 11, Barack Obama warned that Russia’s strategy of continued support for Assad was “doomed to fail” and a “big mistake.” In a patronizing little addendum, Obama said Putin was “going to have to start getting a little smarter.”
Russian involvement in Syria would be "destabilizing" ...says the US after backing radical groups and illegally bombing Syria for a year.
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U.S. asks Greece to deny Russian flights to Syria


By Renee Maltezou, Tom Perry and Lidia Kelly
ATHENS/BEIRUT/MOSCOW Sept 7 (Reuters) - The United States has asked Greece to deny Russia the use of its airspace for supply flights to Syria, a Greek official said on Monday, after Washington told Moscow it was deeply concerned by reports of a Russian military build up in Syria.
The Greek foreign ministry said the request was being examined. Russian newswire RIA Novosti earlier said Greece had refused the U.S. request, adding that Russia was seeking permission to run the flights up to Sept. 24.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would not give any official reaction until there was a decision from Athens.
Russia, which has a naval maintenance facility in the Syrian port of Tartous, has sent regular flights to Latakia, which it has also used to bring home Russian nationals who want to leave.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Saturday that if reports of the build-up were accurate, that could further escalate the war and risk confrontation with the U.S.-led alliance that is bombing Islamic State in Syria.
Lavrov told Kerry it was premature to talk about Russia's participation in military operations in Syria, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman told RIA Novosti on Monday.
Lavrov confirmed Russia had always provided supplies of military equipment to Syria, saying Moscow "has never concealed that it delivers military equipment to official Syrian authorities with the aim of combating terrorism".


 
 
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Peace in Syria? It’s Putin’s fault: Escobar

All one needs to know about the intellectual caliber of the Obama administration is that it is still pondering whether to persist in “ignoring” Russian President Vladimir Putin, or invest in a real partnership to solve the Syrian geopolitical/humanitarian drama. After all, when in doubt between diplomacy or chaos, the Beltway weapon of choice still veers towards the simplistic group think uniting neocons and neoliberalcons: regime change.


 Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad shake hands in Moscow in 2006
Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad shake hands in Moscow in 2006




And then there’s the non-stop The Russians Are Coming! hysteria — the Cold War 2.0 remix, now switching from the invasion/military occupation of Ukraine to the invasion/military occupation of Syria. The White House — which, same as the Pentagon, does not do irony — actually appealed to the Kremlin to behave in a “more constructive” way side-by-side with the spectacularly inefficient coalition of the dodgy opportunists which is in thesis fighting ISIS/ISIL/Daesh.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest clarified that when Obama decides that the Sisyphean task of picking up the phone and dialing K for Kremlin is actually in America’s interests, he will do it. The Shakespearean doubt may last days — even as Putin reaffirmed, via Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, he was always open to dialogue.
The White House at least is mulling an offer from Moscow to actually discuss the Russian buildup in Syria via direct military-to-military talks. The Pentagon will do the talking, seeking the “clarity” that so eludes the Obama administration.
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Sunday, February 2, 2014

Yingluck Asks Thais to Protect Democracy as Disputed Vote Begins


Feb 1, 2014 8:24 PM CT

Photographer: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
Anti-government protesters take cover before the elections, February 1, 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged people to cast their vote in the nation’s general election today, as thousands of protesters seeking her ouster took to the streets in Bangkok to disrupt the poll.
“I want to persuade people to come out to vote to protect democracy,” Yingluck told reporters after voting near her home in Bueng Kum in Bangkok’s north-west. Polling stations nationwide are scheduled to close at 3 p.m.
Voting was abandoned in the northern Bangkok district of Laksi after seven people were injured in a gun-battle yesterday, the Election Commission said. As many as 62 of Thailand’s 77 provinces will be unaffected, including Yingluck’s strongholds in the north and northeast, according to the commission.
In the south, where the main opposition Democrat Party has its power base, “demonstrators are still blocking post offices in Chumporn, Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat,” Election Commission Secretary-General Puchong Nutrawong said. The Democrats are boycotting the election, and poll results may not be certified for months because by-elections must be held in districts where advance voting was disrupted last weekend, as well as areas blockaded by demonstrators today, Puchong said.
A disputed poll will leave Yingluck’s administration in caretaker mode, complicating its efforts to raise funds to pay rice farmers under a state subsidy program. Suthep Thaugsuban, a former Democrat powerbroker who has led a three-month street campaign to oust Yingluck, said the election will be annulled because his group blocked candidates from registering in some provinces and shut down polling stations during advance voting.

Laksi Clash

A clash yesterday between pro- and anti-government groups at Laksi intersection involved explosive devices and gunfire, according to the Bangkok Emergency Medical Service’s website. Seven people were injured and taken to the hospital, it said.
The army sent personnel to assist the police in Laksi, Winthai Suvaree, the deputy army spokesman, told reporters yesterday, urging “all groups to respect the law.”
Protesters have also occupied several major intersections in the city since Jan. 13 in a bid to prevent Yingluck’s government from functioning. Suthep said protesters won’t block polling stations, while urging all voters to choose a side in the country’s political conflict.
“We will not vote, but we will not criticize anyone for casting their vote,” he told supporters late yesterday. “We will not block anybody who wants to cast their ballot. You can go to vote. We want to know who is on our side.”
Suthep says he speaks for a “silent majority” who don’t want elections until Yingluck is replaced with an appointed council that would erase what they call her family’s corrupting political influence. Yingluck says such a council would be undemocratic and an affront to the almost 16 million people who elected her in 2011.

Soldiers Deployed

Yingluck is deploying 10,000 police in Bangkok alone, having declared a state of emergency, as she seeks to avoid a repeat of the violence that obstructed advance voting on Jan. 26 in the south and most of the capital. Ten people have been killed and more than 500 injured since protests began Oct. 31.

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Six people injured as gunshots and explosions break out on the streets of Bangkok on the eve of the general election

  • Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is set to win re-election tomorrow
  • But protesters are trying to delay the poll by bringing violence to the streets
  • Masked gunmen fired weapons and explosion were heard at demonstrations
By Daily Mail Reporter
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Multiple people were injured today as chaos broke out on the streets of Bangkok the day before a general election which has divided Thailand.
Gunshots rang out while at least two explosions were heard at anti-government protests, with six people wonded in front of a suburban shopping mall in the north of the city.
Sporadic gunfire continued into the evening, with masked men openly firing handguns as security forces used M-16 rifles to fire warning shots into the air.
Warning: graphic content
Gunman: A protester wielding a pistol on the streets of Bangkok ahead of the Thai general election
Gunman: A protester wielding a pistol on the streets of Bangkok ahead of the Thai general election

Masked: Many of the gunmen were wearing balaclavas to hide their identities as they sought to disrupt the election
Masked: Many of the gunmen were wearing balaclavas to hide their identities as they sought to disrupt the election

Hurt: A bloodied man and a woman look around a wall as a gun battle rages in the Bangkok suburbs
Hurt: A bloodied man and a woman look around a wall as a gun battle rages in the Bangkok suburbs


Tomorrow's election is almost certain to return prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to power, despite efforts by some opposition supporters to disrupt the poll.
The violence came amid generally peaceful protests around Bangkok and revived chilling memories of political unrest in 2010, when supporters of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra - Ms Yingluck's brother - paralysed Bangkok in protest against the Democrat Party.
Today's attack took place in Bangkok's Laksi district, close to the Don Muang airport, where Ms Yingluck's fans gathered in support of the election.
Ten people have died and at least 577 have been wounded in politically related violence since late November.

On the run: An injured protester attempts to get away from the violence after being caught in the crossfire
On the run: An injured protester attempts to get away from the violence after being caught in the crossfire

Agony: The man tries to stanch his wounds as blood covers his face while violence rages
Agony: The man tries to stanch his wounds as blood covers his face while violence rages

Treatment: An injured protester who was shot by anti-government mobs is carried away by friends
Treatment: An injured protester who was shot by anti-government mobs is carried away by friends

The protests' leader, opposition boss Suthep Thaugsuban, has called for a peaceful blockade of roads, but has vowed not to stop people voting.
'The people will not close the polling booths, but will demonstrate on the roads,' he said yesterday. 'They will demonstrate calmly, peacefully, without violence. We won't do anything that will hinder people from going to vote.'
Election Commission secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong said the commission has instructed staff to halt voting if there is rioting or other violence.
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Friday, January 31, 2014

British boss of Indian car giant Tata jumped to his death from 22nd floor of Bangkok hotel after a blazing five-hour row with his wife

  • British-born Karl Slym was in Thailand for a Tata Motors board meeting
  • He died after falling from a high floor hotel window in a 'possible suicide'
  • Police believe it would be impossible to 'accidentally fall' from the window
  • Officers said Mr Slym rowed with his wife Sally the night before he died
  • They found a three page letter from Mrs Slym to her husband in his room
  • Slym, 51, was hired to revive flagging sales at the Indian car giant
  • Tata Motors stock fell by more than 6% on Monday following his death
  • Company statement described him as a 'valued colleague' and 'strong' leader
By Nick Fagge and Ben Lazarus
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The British boss of Indian car giant Tata Motors jumped to his death from a Bangkok hotel room following a blazing row with his wife, it emerged yesterday.
Karl Slym was handed a three-page letter by his wife Sally detailing a ‘family problem’ on Saturday night after she became so enraged she stopped speaking to him.
In the early hours of Sunday the managing director clambered out of the tiny window of his room on the 22nd floor of the luxury Shangri-La Hotel and jumped, landing on the staff accommodation block.
Fall: British-born Karl Slym, managing director of India's Tata Motors has died after reportedly 'jumping' from a hotel balcony
Fall: British-born Karl Slym, managing director of India's Tata Motors has died after reportedly 'jumping' from a hotel balcony

Mr Slym was handed a three-page document by his wife Sally detailing a 'family issue' on the night he died

Karl Slym and his wife Sally, who had travelled to Thailand with her husband, during an awards ceremony
Karl Slym and his wife Sally, who had travelled to Thailand with her husband, during an awards ceremony

Mrs Slym had accompanied her 51-year-old husband to Bangkok for a board meeting of Tata Motors’ Thailand unit, but the couple were overheard engaged in a loud and bitter fight on Saturday night.
After giving her husband the letter she went to sleep, and only learned of his death from police officers who knocked on her hotel room door on Sunday morning.
Mrs Slym was treated for shock and was later interviewed by Thai police. She told them: ‘We rowed and rowed about family business from about 7pm. Then I wrote a long letter and went to bed.’
A Thai police source added: ‘The wife said that they had rowed so much about a family problem that she could not talk to her husband any more. They had been fighting and it had become very loud.
Mr Slym's body was discovered by staff on a ledge on the fourth floor of the riverside Shangri-La hotel
Mr Slym's body was discovered by staff on a ledge on the fourth floor of the riverside Shangri-La hotel
Mr Slym, with an employee at a plant in Halol, was heard arguing with his wife on Saturday night
Mr Slym, with an employee at a plant in Halol, was heard arguing with his wife on Saturday night

Mr Slym and his wife were not talking the last time they saw one another, police said today


‘She went to the bedroom and decided to write her husband a letter to let him know how she felt. She gave it to her husband and then went to sleep.’ Officers declined to give details of the family problem.
Police Lieutenant Somyot Booyakaew said detectives found no sign of a struggle and were working on the assumption that Mr Slym committed suicide.

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