Indian Kashmir separatist leader buried in night-time funeralThe Indian authorities imposed a lockdown across KashmirSRINAGAR (INDIA) - Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani was buried in a tightly controlled pre-dawn ceremony Thursday as Indian authorities imposed a lockdown across the disputed Himalayan region. The uncompromising campaigner against Indian rule in Kashmir died late Wednesday at the age of 92 following a long illness. Wary of his influence across the Kashmir Valley, security forces were deployed soon after, mobile internet and phones were cut and residents were told to stay in their homes. The police source acknowledged that security forces "took control of the arrangements". Kashmir is one of the world's most militarised zones, with 500,000 Indian security forces deployed in the region.

Taekwondo makes Paralympic debut as Storey pedals to gloryAfghanistan's Zakia Khudadadi arrived in Tokyo following a dramatic evacuation from KabulTOKYO - Taekwondo made its Paralympic debut in Tokyo on Thursday as cycling queen Sarah Storey won her road race to beat Britain's record for gold medals at the Games. Zakia Khudadadi, one of two Afghanistan team members who arrived in Tokyo following a dramatic evacuation from Kabul, fought in the Paralympics' first-ever taekwondo match on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, British cycling legend Storey returned to the Fuji International Speedway to claim her 17th Paralympic victory in the women's C4-5 road race. Storey won her record-equalling 16th gold on Wednesday and described the next day's race as a "nerve-racking" but exciting opportunity. The Tokyo Paralympics have so far avoided any major coronavirus clusters, although 275 positive tests have been reported by organisers overall, mostly among Japan-based staff and contractors.

China orders ride-hailing firms Didi, Meituan to stop 'disorderly expansion'China has in recent months tightened its scrutiny of its largest tech firms in sectors ranging from e-commerce to entertainmentBEIJING - Chinese regulators have summoned ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and ten other car platforms to demand they cease "disorderly expansion" and "vicious competition" tactics, the government said Thursday, amid a national crackdown on the tech industry. China has in recent months tightened its scrutiny of its largest tech firms in sectors ranging from e-commerce to entertainment, launching antitrust probes and rolling out strict regulation. The companies were ordered to investigate internal problems and "immediately rectify" poor behaviour, with regulators stressing that ride-hailing platforms must also reduce the cut they take from transactions and protect passengers' personal data. Regulators opened a cybersecurity probe into Didi the day after it raised more than $4.4 billion in a New York IPO, and are reportedly mulling a ban on overseas IPOs of tech firms handling large amounts of sensitive user data. The transport ministry on Thursday urged ride-hailing platforms to "maintain a fair competitive market environment" and promote the "healthy and sustainable development" of the industry.

Apple to let media apps avoid 30% fee after global scrutinyThe Apple logo on a signpost at the entrance to one of the offices at its headquarters in Silicon Valley - Cupertino, California. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant said the change will go into effect globally early next year for so-called reader apps spanning content like magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music and video. To date, Apple has forced such applications to use its in-app purchase system, which gives Apple up to a 30% commission on downloads and in-app subscriptions. The latest news helps the company achieve a settlement with Japan’s regulator, which is now closing its investigation into the App Store. Still, this will not impact mobile games, which are solely based on microtransactions within the app, and account for about 70% of App Store spending.

Apple plans to loosen App Store payment policyTech giant Apple has come under fire for its tight control of the App Store, where developers are required to use its payment system. SAN FRANCISCO: Apple announced on Wednesday it will loosen some of its App Store policies, allowing media apps to steer customers directly to their websites without paying commission. The modification will spare so-called reader apps that provide digital content such as newspapers, books, music or video from having to use the App Store payment system and thus avoid paying a 30% commission. Apple has come under fire for its tight control of the App Store, where developers are required to use its payment system. The change will allow small developers to inform their customers of alternative payment options beyond the official App Store.

Russian arrested on drug trafficking charges on Koh SamuiImmigration police arrest Russian Konstantin Savosin, 47, on charges of possessing illicit drugs for sale, on Koh Samui, Surat Thani povince, on Wednesday. (Police photo)SURAT THANI: Police arrested a Russian man at a housing estate on Koh Samui on charges of possessing several kinds of illegal drugs intended for sale. Pol Col Suparerk Pankosol, chief of Surat Thani immigration, said Konstantin Savosin, 47, was detained at house 42/121 in Tropical Villa Eagle Nest housing estate in tambon Bo Phut on Wednesday. Police seized from him 16 grammes of crystal methamphetamine, 200g of cocaine, 25g of ketamine, 16g of methamphetamine, 50 ecstasy pills, 10 pills of cocaine and a set of digital scales. Police charged him with illegally possessing illicit drugs for sale.

Japanese princess to wed commoner, move to AmericaJapan's Princess Mako will lose her royal title when she marries her commoner sweetheart. TOKYO: The course of true love never did run smooth, but after public controversy and a wedding delay, Japan's Princess Mako is reportedly set to tie the knot and move to America. Japan's imperial succession rules mean that 29-year-old Mako will lose her title after marriage to a commoner. I'm so worried about Princess Mako," wrote one Japanese Twitter user. "This is the decision Princess Mako made, standing firm for her life," added another Twitter user.

Taiwan receives first batch of politically charged Pfizer vaccinesTaiwan has been struggling to secure enough vaccines for its populationTAIPEI - Taiwan received its first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines on Thursday, a delivery organised by two tech giants and a charity because of diplomatic pressure from China. Despite donations of several million doses from the United States and Japan in June, Taiwan has been struggling to secure enough vaccines for its 23.5 million population and its precarious political status has been a major stumbling block. As Taipei and Beijing accused each other of hampering vaccine deals, the companies stepped in with a face-saving solution: buying the Pfizer-BioNTech doses from Chinese distributor Fosun Pharma and donating them to Taiwan. Taipei had tried to secure Pfizer-BioNTech jabs from Germany but hit a roadblock: Shanghai-based Fosun has the distribution rights for China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. In return, Beijing accused Taiwan of refusing to deal with Fosun Pharma and politicising its vaccine search.

Manami Ito enthralled a nation with her brief but showstealing performance at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics. SHIZUOKA: Haunting notes stream from Manami Ito's violin as she gracefully draws her bow back and forth, clasping it with her specially designed prosthetic arm. But it took years before she was able to receive a special prosthetic arm and master the fluid tones she now produces. And though she had once tried to hide her scars, Ito said she chose swimming precisely because it revealed her as she is. "I never wanted anybody to look at my scars, the scars were the most vulnerable part of my body," she said.

On the auspicious occasion of the 76th National Day of Viet Nam, the Bangkok Post spoke to the Ambassador of Viet Nam to Thailand, H.E. President Ho Chi Minh (right) and Prime Minister of Thailand Pridi Banomyong in 1966Can you highlight key achievements of Viet Nam during 76 years of its independence? In these 76 years, the story of Viet Nam has been impressive to the world from the triumphs over the wars of resistance to the success of Doi Moi Reform making Viet Nam today become a strong, democratic, open nation and the fastest-growing economy in the world. Viet Nam and Thailand established diplomatic relations in August 1976, soon after Viet Nam's national reunification and the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Viet Nam is home of over 600 projects with more than US$13 billion invested by Thai companies, ranking Thailand as the 9th largest foreign investor in Viet Nam.

TEST YOURSELF: Into the futurePhoto: Benjakitti Forest ParkThings to look forward to in 2022Test Yourself is where you can improve your reading skills. After a tiring couple of years, let's try and look at some of the things we can look forward to. Benjakitti Forest ParkThe planned forest park is set to become Bangkok's green lung, measuring a huge 259 rai. How big is Benjakitti Forest Park? Bangkok Mall Bang Na …7… said to be not just the biggest mall in the city but also the biggest in Southeast Asia.

14,956 new Covid cases, 262 deaths ThursdayPeople wait for their turn to receive a Covid-19 vaccine at the parking lot in Nonthaburi’s municipal office. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)Thailand logged 262 more Covid-19 fatalities and 14,956 new cases during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported on Thursday morning. On Wednesday, 17,936 Covid-19 patients left hospitals after recovering from the coronavirus. Since April 1, around when the third wave of Covid-19 began, Thailand has treated 1,205,624 Covid-19 patients, 1,031,278 of whom have recovered to date. Since the pandemic started early last year, there have been 1,234,487 Covid-19 cases, with 1,058,704 complete recoveries so far.

Most Afghan allies left behind, US describes haunting choicesAfghans crowd the tarmac at Kabul airport on Aug 16, begging to flee the country as the Taliban took control. WASHINGTON: Most Afghan allies seeking to flee with the US withdrawal were unable to do so, an official acknowledged Wednesday, as the United States began to wrestle with painful choices in the chaotic final days of the war. President Joe Biden's administration says the victorious Taliban have promised to keep letting Afghans leave -- but many who worked for the United States over its 20-year mission fear retribution. Biden has hailed the airlift as unprecedented, but the State Department official acknowledged that most Afghan visa applicants and their families did not make it. Jamie Fly, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty which oversees the service, said the United States had a "moral duty" to help Afghan journalists.

Suvarnabhumi airport. The world's best airport in 2021 is Hamad International Airport in Doha as it beat out Singapore's Changi International Airport which ranked third. The fourth is Incheon International Airport in South Korea, followed by Narita International Airport, Munich Airport, Zurich Airport, London Heathrow, Kansai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport. The airport, which was designed to handle 45 million passengers a year, had 47 million passengers in 2011 and 60 million in 2017. Singapore's Changi Airport was voted to have the World's Best Airport Staff while Tokyo Haneda airport also won the World's Best Airport for Cleanliness and the Best Airport PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility)/Accessible Facilities.

Phiphat backs reopening, with a caveatThe atmosphere at Suvarnabhumi airport as domestic flights originating from dark red zones were approved to resume on Wednesday. Wichan CharoenkiatpakulThe tourism minister has defended the country's reopening plan as promised by the prime minister, stating that five more provinces including Bangkok should be ready for visitors from October, followed by another 21 provinces nationwide. However, he said only some provinces or districts are possible to reopen this year under a three-step plan. The South had five provinces selected -- Ranong, Trang, Satun, Songkhla and Narathiwat -- while the eastern region chose Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat. In practical terms, these areas should have a 70% vaccination rate and receive mutual approval from local administrations and local health authorities before being reopening," he said.