Chinese scam suspects arrested in PattayaA Chinese suspect, right, is arrested during a police raid on a residence in Pattaya, Chon Buri province on Thursday. (Police photo/Wassayos Ngamkham)Two Chinese men were arrested in Pattaya on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a transnational call centre scam network linked to the death of a South Korean student. A third Chinese man was in the house along with Mr Ham and Mr Chen, though no offences were found against him. The arrests followed intelligence that found Mr Ham had fled to Thailand. The scam gang was also accused of using violence and of being involved in the deathof a South Korean university student in a neighbouring country.

Switzerland mourns Crans-Montana fire tragedyListen to this articleSwitzerland will hold a national day of mourning as it grieves the 40 people killed in a New Year's fire. Just over a week after the tragedy at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, which left 40 dead and 116 injured, the wealthy Alpine nation will come to a standstill for a minute of silence at 2pm (1300 GMT). Of those injured, 83 remain in hospital, with the most severely burned airlifted to specialist centres across Switzerland and abroad. Video footage which has emerged from the tragedy shows young people desperately trying to flee the scene, some breaking windows to try to force their way out. On Tuesday, municipal authorities acknowledged that no fire safety inspections had been conducted at Le Constellation since 2019, prompting outrage.

Grappling with an ageing population and a low fertility rate, Singapore has stepped up efforts to improve conditions facing its many low-paid migrant workers, also known as work permit holders. Who else is going to do the construction work in the hot sun?" asked Ethan Guo, executive director from Transient Workers Count Too, a nonprofit working to improve conditions of migrant workers. "The Singapore way of life and economy completely depends on access to large numbers of work permit holders. To cope with this boom in demand, in July Singapore removed a limit on the number of years work permit holders can work in the city-state.

Rybakina has little hope of change to tennis scheduleListen to this articleElena Rybakina hits a return in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo: AFP)BRISBANE — Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina said Friday she agreed with Aryna Sabalenka's description of the tennis schedule as "insane" -- but does not see it changing. Speaking after her surprise loss to Karolina Muchova in the Brisbane International, world number five Rybakina said Sabalenka's criticism of the packed WTA Tour calendar was correct. Rybakina, who beat Sabalenka to win last year's season-ending WTA Finals, said players should be able to choose their schedules more freely. "You don't need to force anyone to play so many tournaments since it's so tough on the body.

Truck smuggling 37 Cambodian migrants seized in Sa KaeoListen to this article(Photo: Sa Kaeo Public Relations Department)Police and army rangers in Sa Kaeo on Thursday intercepted a truck smuggling 37 Cambodian undocumented migrants hidden behind foam panels. Opening the back of the vehicle, officers found 37 concealing Cambodians — 17 men, 20 women and five children — hiding behind multiple layers of foam panels. All 37 migrants were taken into custody along with the seized truck and charged with illegal entry and staying in the kingdom without permission. The migrants told authorities they had entered Thailand in search of work, citing unemployment and severe hardship under the Cambodian government. They said they paid Cambodian brokers between 7,500 and 8,000 baht per person to facilitate their illegal entry.

Travel mayhem and power cuts in storm-tossed northern EuropeListen to this articleLondon escaped the brunt of this week’s storms, although dozens of flight cancellations affected thousands of passengers. (Photo: AFP)CHERBOURG, France - Gale-force winds and storms barrelled through northern Europe on Friday, disrupting air and rail travel and cutting power to hundreds of thousands in freezing temperatures. In France, Goretti cut power to some 380,000 homes, most of them in the northern Normandy region, the Enedis power provider said. It also issued an amber snow warning in Wales, central England and parts of northern England, predicting snow of up to 30 centimetres in some areas. Schools outSchools remained shut in parts of northern France, where weather alerts have been issued in 30 other regions.

‘All are in the streets’: Iranians’ anger with regime growingListen to this articleDemonstrators chanted “death to the dictator” as they marched in the Iranian capital Tehran. “At first, people dispersed, but they gathered again,” rallying in the streets until the early hours of the morning. The demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over the rising cost of living and a currency nosedive have spread nationwide, their numbers — and death toll — growing. “You can see 50-year-old women, I saw someone who used to collect garbage on the streets chanting slogans along with shopkeepers. The 43-year-old said he had taken part in every protest since 2009, when mass demonstrations flooded the streets after disputed elections.

Iran rocked by night of protests despite internet blackout: videosListen to this articleThe protests were the biggest in Iran in years. (Photo: AFP)PARIS - Iranians staged their biggest protests yet of an almost two week movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" and setting fire to official buildings, videos showed on Friday. Several videos said protesters had set fire to the entrance to the the regional branch of state television in the central city of Isfahan. Flames were also seen in the governor's building in Shazand, the capital of the Markazi province in central Iran after protesters gathered outside, other videos showed. He called for new protests later Friday "to make the crowd even larger so that the regime's repressive power becomes even weaker".

Listen to this articleA woman looks out from inside her tent at a temporary shelter amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, in Surin province, on Dec 11, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)The United States will provide $45 million in assistance to Cambodia and Thailand to help solidify peace-making efforts by the two countries after months of conflict, the senior US diplomat for East Asia said on Friday. Furthermore, the recent release of 18 Cambodian soldiers held in Thailand since July was seen by the US as a critical step toward lasting peace, he said. To help achieve this, he said, Washington would provide $45 million in funding assistance. The more recent clashes included fighter-jet sorties, exchanges of rocket fire and artillery barrages.

The demonstrations represent one of the biggest challenges yet to the Islamic republic in its over four-and-a half decades of existence, with protesters openly calling for an end to its theocratic rule. “Everyone knows the Islamic republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honourable people, it will not back down in the face of saboteurs,” he added. The crowd could be heard chanting “death to the dictator” in reference to Khamenei, 86, who has ruled the Islamic republic since 1989. Several videos showed protesters setting fire to the entrance to the regional branch of state television in the central city of Isfahan. Flames were also seen in the governor’s building in Shazand, the capital of Markazi province in central Iran, after protesters gathered outside, other videos showed.

Listen to this articleA police officer reads charges to one of four suspects arrested in a major crackdown on a fraudulent mule account network. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)Four suspects have been arrested at different locations in Thailand as part of a major crackdown on a fraudulent “mule account” network, authorities have confirmed. He said the network recruited more than 30 people to open multiple bank accounts and was responsible for 70 cases of fraud, causing losses of about 21 million baht. The perpetrators then instructed those who agreed to open at least five bank accounts each, complete with ATM cards, and prepare passports for cross-border travel. The mule accounts were used until they were frozen and rendered unusable, after which the victims were sent back to Thailand as they were no longer of use.

Cold snap deepens as Hong Kong temperatures plunge to 2°CListen to this articleTemperatures in many areas of Hong Kong dropped to single digits on Friday morning. (Photo: South China Morning Post)Temperatures in many areas of Hong Kong dropped to single digits on Friday morning, with some reaching 2°C to 3°C, according to the city's weather forecaster. The Hong Kong Observatory said that at 7am (6am Thailand time), Ta Kwu Ling in the New Territories recorded a low of 2°C, while Tai Lung near Sheung Shui registered 3.8°C. A cold weather alert issued at 6am was cancelled at 11am, while a red fire danger warning remains in force, indicating an extreme fire risk. Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Edwin Tsui Lok-kin also warned that the winter flu season was approaching amid the cold weather, urging residents to get vaccinated if they had not done so already.

International Space Station crew to return early after astronaut medical issueListen to this articleCrew-11 mission astronauts departed the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Aug 1, 2025. WASHINGTON (UNITED STATES) - Nasa crewmembers at the International Space Station (ISS) will return to Earth within days after an astronaut suffered a health issue, the US space agency said on Thursday, the first such medical evacuation in the orbital lab's history. Nasa chief medical officer James Polk said "lingering risk" and a "lingering question as to what that diagnosis is" led to the decision to return early. Once the situation on the station stabilised, careful deliberations led us to the decision to return Crew 11... while ensuring minimal operational impact to ongoing work aboard." Such journeys generally last approximately six months, and this crew was already due to return in the coming weeks.

(Photo: AFP)PARIS - France has the right to say “no” to its historical ally the United States when it acts in a way deemed unacceptable, the foreign minister said on Friday, warning that the European political order was “in danger”. In his annual address to France’s ambassadors, Jean-Noel Barrot warned that the European Union was threatened by adversaries from the outside, and also hit back at US claims Europe faced “civilisational erasure”. “Let’s be clear: nothing guarantees today that we will still be living within the European Union as we know it in 10 years,” he warned. “No, European civilisation will not fade away,” Barrot said. The New START treaty is the last bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia.

'Hectic' bushfires threaten rural towns in Australian heatwaveListen to this articleFirefighters warned millions of Australians of "catastrophic" bushfire dangers as they battled multiple blazes stoked by a heatwave blanketing the country. (Photo: AFP)SYDNEY - Bushfires threatened dozens of rural towns in southeast Australia on Friday, firefighters said as hot winds fanned "hectic" conditions in the tinder-dry countryside. Dozens of rural hamlets in the state of Victoria were urged to evacuate while they still could. The worst bushfires have so far hit sparsely populated rural areas where towns might number a few hundred people at the most. Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localised thunder storm, fire authorities said.