Leaders of Australia, India, Japan, US highlight need for 'stable' PacificUS President Joe Biden, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Australian Primer Minister Scott Morrison meet in the White House. WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia, India and Japan highlighted their Quad group's role in safeguarding a stable, democratic Indo-Pacific on Friday in a veiled dig at rival China. "This event demonstrates the strong solidarity between our four nations and our unwavering commitment to the common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed their countries' "shared democratic values." AUKUS was unveiled only last week and centers so far on a project for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines using US and British technology.

The island has opened for foreigners who are fully vaccinated to visit the resort island without quarantine. He said the government should allow antigen test kits to be used for the second test, which reduces the cost from 5,200 baht for two RT-PCR tests to around 3,000 baht. Operators received feedback from travel agents that the cost of RT-PCR tests are only 1,000 baht in Europe compared with 2,400 or 2,800 baht for a test in Phuket. Moreover, the complicated Certificate of Entry process should be streamlined to make travel to Thailand more inviting, he said. She said some tourists decided to cancel their trips in Krabi and stay in Phuket to avoid gloomy weather.

New drive to give 1m doses per dayA woman receives a booster shot at a vaccination centre at Bang Sue Grand Station on Friday. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)The government on Friday kicked off a new national Covid-19 vaccination campaign aimed at administering up to 1 million doses per day to those receiving their first, second or booster shot. With a total of 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines expected to be delivered by the end of this month and another 20 million doses next month, the government is now attempting to maximise the number of injections per day to 1 million, said Anutin Charnvirakul, Public Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Prior to the beginning of the 1-million-doses-a-day campaign, Thailand was administering between 600,000 and 800,000 doses per day, he said. According to the Disease Control Department, a total of 1.16 million doses were administered to people on Friday.

The Chinese flag flutters in front of the Evergrande Center in Shanghai on Wednesday. (Reuters photo)The crisis at property giant China Evergrande Group poses a US$305 billion (10 trillion baht) conundrum for President Xi Jinping: how to impose financial discipline without fuelling social unrest. But clamping down on property prices is difficult given the fiscal dependence on the sector. That triggered a rise in property prices and the growth of developers like Evergrande, which thrived in third- and fourth-tier cities. UBS estimated there are 10 developers with potentially risky positions accounting for combined contract sales of 1.86 trillion yuan (9.6 trillion baht), nearly three times Evergrande's total.

PM will not be quitting anytime soonPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, right, and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon in parliament. With the Covid-19 situation becoming more stable, the prime minister has regained the confidence that his flagging popularity can rebound. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, the government's legal guru, already ruled out the possibility the prime minister would face the eight-year limit. About 58% of the respondents said Gen Prayut should call it quits while 20% still want him to carry on. Gen Prayut may find it easier to run the country from now, especially as the pro-democracy movement has become exhausted.

Exports continue growth in August, but slacken paceExports rose in August at a slower pace than the previous month, attributed to the government's tighter restrictions affecting manufacturing and logistics systems. The Commerce Ministry reported on Friday customs-cleared exports rose 8.39% year-on-year in August to US$22 billion, with imports increasing by 47.9% to $23.2 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.22 billion. Exports in the real sector (excluding gold, oil-related products and weaponry) continued to rise by 19.4% in August from the same month last year. For the first eight months this year, exports expanded by 15.3% to $177 billion, while imports rose by 31% to $176 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.41 billion. Industrial product exports also increased for the sixth consecutive month with a growth rate of 3.3% in August to $17.1 billion.

Chelsea face Man City test as Liverpool, Man Utd bid to keep pacePep Guardiola (left) is preparing to lock horns with Thomas Tuchel in the Premier League. LONDON: Chelsea host Premier League champions Manchester City in a stiff test of the leaders' title credentials on Saturday as Liverpool and Manchester United bid to keep pace with Thomas Tuchel's side. Tuchel's team beat Manchester City three times last season -- including in the Champions League final. Norwich were given a hideous task on their return to the English top-flight, with their four first matches against Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester and Arsenal before last week's loss to Watford. Fixtures (all times GMT)SaturdayChelsea v Manchester City (1130), Manchester United v Aston Villa (1130), Everton v Norwich, Leeds v West Ham, Leicester v Burnley, Watford v Newcastle, Brentford v Liverpool (1630)SundaySouthampton v Wolves (1300), Arsenal v Tottenham (1530)MondayCrystal Palace v Brighton (1900)

LONDON: The latest James Bond movie gets its world premiere next week, nearly six years after the last film in the storied franchise and an 18-month delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "The film is a celebration of Bond -- the 25th film and almost 60 years and, most importantly, Daniel Craig's final outing. The last Bond movie "Spectre" -- released in late 2015 -- set box office records for a 2D film in China, and grossed more than $880 million worldwide, according to movie industry magazines. "No Time To Die" sees Bond drawn out of retirement in Jamaica by his old friend and CIA agent Felix Leiter. However, he made headlines in 2015 by saying he would "rather slash my wrists" than play 007 again.

Disabled people can now use Android phones with face gesturesPeople with disabilities can use their Android powered smartphones with a smile or tilt of their headSAN FRANCISCO - Using a raised eyebrow or smile, people with speech or physical disabilities can now operate their Android-powered smartphones hands-free, Google said Thursday. Two new tools put machine learning and front-facing cameras on smartphones to work detecting face and eye movements. "To make Android more accessible for everyone, we're launching new tools that make it easier to control your phone and communicate using facial gestures," Google said. "Every day, people use voice commands, like 'Hey Google', or their hands to navigate their phones," the tech giant said in a blog post. "This feature also works with VoiceOver so you can navigate Apple Watch with one hand while using a cane or leading a service animal," Apple said in a post.

Catalan separatist leader Puigdemont arrested in ItalyFormer Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is wanted in Spain on allegations of sedition following an attempt to gain independence through a referendumMADRID - Exiled former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont was arrested in Italy on Thursday, his lawyer and an aide said, four years after fleeing following an independence referendum that Madrid ruled unconstitutional. Puigdemont's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, tweeted that the exiled separatist leader was arrested on his arrival in Italy, where he was travelling in his capacity as an MEP. Following Thursday's arrest, Madrid expressed "its respect for the decisions of the Italian authorities and courts". - 'Persecution' -New Catalan president Pere Aragones -- a separatist but more moderate than his predecessor -- condemned what he called the "persecution" of Puigdemont. Besides Puigdemont, former Catalan regional ministers Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati are also wanted in Spain on allegations of sedition.

Schauffele and Cantlay to face McIlroy and Poulter as Ryder Cup opensCaptains Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker announced the pairings for Friday's opening foursomes matches at Thursday's opening ceremony for the 43rd Ryder Cup. KOHLER: Americans Xander Schauffele, the Tokyo Olympic champion, and US PGA playoff winner Patrick Cantlay face Europe's Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy in Friday's opening foursomes session of the Ryder Cup. Schauffele and Cantlay are Ryder Cup newcomers but played four matches together at the 2019 Presidents Cup. Spanish legacy is deep in the Ryder Cup and I'm hoping we can start a new tradition." The event was delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, those involved not wanting to conduct the Ryder Cup without spectators.

Ancient footprints re-write human history in the AmericasWhite Sands in New Mexico has offered up 23,000-year-old footprints that indicate humans were in North America much earlier than previously thought. LOS ANGELES: Footprints dating back 23,000 years have been discovered in the United States, suggesting humans settled North America long before the end of the last Ice Age, research published on Thursday showed. The findings push back the date at which the continent was colonized by its first inhabitants by thousands of years. Sediment filled the indentations and hardened into rock, protecting evidence of our ancient relatives, and giving scientists a detailed insight into their lives. For decades, the most commonly accepted theory has been that settlers came to North America from eastern Siberia across a land bridge -- the present-day Bering Strait.

Ref 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon Haut Artisanat. The classic moon phase complication has evolved in following the progression of the celestial body through its different phases. Ref 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon Haut Artisanat. Ref 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon Haut ArtisanatLaunched in 2001, the Sky Moon Tourbillon is Patek Philippe's second most complicated wristwatch combining 12 complications, including a minute repeater that strikes on cathedral gongs. Ref 6002R-001 Sky Moon Tourbillon Haut Artisanat.

As we get closer to October and Halloween, finding spooky movies to watch with the family isn't so easy. His room is covered with posters of various horror movies such as The Lost Boys and The People Under The Stairs. Right off the bat, you know Nightbooks is geared towards families and kids, so there's no graphic violence, sex or things that we see in adult-oriented horror movies. It's a horror movie and it delivers on that promise. It's the perfect gateway horror movie for families to watch that's scary but not too scary.

US envoy to Haiti resigns, slams migrant deportationsHaitian migrants cross the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, to the United States. PORT-AU-PRINCE - The US special envoy to Haiti resigned Thursday two months after his appointment, denouncing the Biden administration's deportation of Haitian migrants from the US-Mexico border back to their poverty-stricken homeland. - Deportation fears -The resignation came after the Biden administration had already flown 1,400 Haitians back to Haiti on 12 flights. Many Haitian migrants are still in Ciudad Acuna, where they also risk being deported. Blinken said the underlying problem was Haitians falsely believing they can stay in the United States due to protections announced by Biden which only apply to those already in the United States.