International
Paetongtarn Shinawatra swears in as Prime Minister of Thailand
Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sworn in as Prime Minister of Thailand on Sunday, two days after Parliament elected her after the dismissal this week of her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, by order of the Constitutional Court.
Paetongtarn, who turns 38 on Wednesday, became the youngest president in the country and the second woman to occupy the position, after her aunt Yingluck (2011-2014).
The leader is also the third member of the influential Shinawatra clan to take the reins of the Thai Executive, after her father Thaksin (2001-2006) and his younger sister, whose governments withdrew from office in two military uprisings.
For his part, his father, Thaksin Shinawatra, went to a court in Bangkok on Monday to hold a hearing of the trial for lesa majesty against him, a day after his daughter was sworn in the position of prime minister.
Dressed in the official white uniform for the ceremony of her official appointment in Bangkok, Paetongtarn heard the approval of King Vajiralongkorn, a mere formalism and read by the secretary of the House of Representatives, Apat Sukhanand.
The young woman, who came accompanied by her father, paid tribute to a portrait of the monarch and, in a brief speech, promised to “fulfill her duty” and listen to the opinions of the legislators in order to give “stability” to Thailand.
Paetongtarn came to power after Srettha, with whom he shares a party (Pheu Thai), resed on Wednesday after less than a year in office in a controversial decision of the conservative Constitutional Court for a case curiously linked to Thaksin.
The court considered that Srettha violated a code of ethics by appointing a lawyer convicted of attempted bribery as Minister of Finance in April, in a case involving the patriarch of the Shinawatra.
On Friday, after 48 hours of frantic political cabals, Paetongtarn received the support of 319 of 493 members of Parliament to occupy the position of prime minister.
Interestingly, the appointment of Thaksin’s third daughter coincides with the first day of freedom of influential former president after it was confirmed on Saturday that he received a pardon from the king that allowed him to pay the one-year prison sentence for crimes of corruption that he had served since August 22, the day the patriarch returned to Thailand after 15 years of self-imposed exile.
Thaksin, who did not spend a night in prison and regained his parole after being in custody for six months in a capital hospital, now faces an accusation of lesa majesty, which is punishable by between 3 and 15 years in prison, with a judicial hearing scheduled for Monday and destined for the parties to present their list of witnesses and evidence.
According to the complaint, Thaksin accused the Privy Council of the Royal House of Thailand, the body that advises the king, of organizing the 2014 military coup d’état that overthrew the Yingluck Government, during an interview published in 2015 by a South Korean media.
Thaksin’s return, the same day that the already dismissed Srettha was elected, stages the apparent reconciliation between the former president and the pro-military and pro-military elite that overthrewal him by a military coup d’état in 2006.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
International5 days agoDismembered bodies of five found in Guanajuato pickup truck
-
Central America5 days agoMassive fire destroys 100 shops in Honduras capital market
-
Central America5 days agoEl Salvador intensifies monitoring of Conchagua seismic activity
-
International3 days agoFrance will send a diplomatic delegation to Syria after 12 years without official representation
-
Central America5 days agoEl Salvador anticipates 125,000 international tourists during holiday season
-
Central America2 days agoEl Salvador’s $9.663 billion budget for 2025 focuses on key sectors with no new debt issuance
-
Central America5 days agoPresident Bukele expresses condolences over tragic Los Chorros collapse
-
Central America4 days agoHonduras Seizes Over 26 Tons of Cocaine in 2024, Marking Major Drug-Fighting Achievements
-
Central America4 days agoCosta Rica takes step toward full membership in Pacific Alliance to Stimulate Trade and Jobs
-
International2 days agoChrystia Freeland resigns as Canada’s deputy PM over dispute with Trudeau on U.S. Tariff Threats
-
International4 days agoGustavo Petro visits the Galápagos Islands for bilateral talks with Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa
-
International2 days agoAt least 12 injured in shooting at abundant life christian school in Wisconsin
-
International2 days agoVenezuela announces 179 new releases in post-election violence cases
-
International2 days agoTrinidad and Tobago Education Minister Lisa Morris-Julian dies in house fire with her children
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador’s bitcoin reserves soar in value as cryptocurrency’s bullish surge continues
-
International2 days agoMilan’s Via MonteNapoleone overtakes Fifth Avenue as world’s most expensive retail destination
-
International3 days agoMaría Corina Machado says that Nicolás Maduro is “cornered” inside and outside Venezuela
-
International2 days agoNearly 40 dead in Istanbul after consuming contaminated alcohol in six weeks
-
International3 days agoNetanyahu: “Israel’s policy in Syria will depend on the emerging reality”
-
International4 days agoVenezuelan opposition in Argentine embassy urges Brazil to expedite safe passage
-
International4 days agoMayor Brandon Johnson Vows to Protect Chicagoans from ICE Actions
-
International4 days agoEcuador police intercept major drug shipment destined for Europe
-
International13 hours agoHomemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
-
International13 hours agoColombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
-
International3 days agoThe new Syrian authorities plan to end compulsory military service
-
International3 days agoLula asks for severe sanction if the guilt of general arrested for coup is proven
-
International3 days ago
The Constitution of Venezuela, a quarter of a century later
-
International13 hours agoAustrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
-
International13 hours agoEcuador announces debt swap of $1.527 billion to protect Amazon rainforest