PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community India denies visas to U.S. religious freedom body Phuket Gazette / Reuters The delegation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had been scheduled to leave for India on Friday for a long-planned visit with the support of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, but India had failed to issue the necessary visas, the commission said. “We are deeply disappointed by the Indian government’s denial, in effect, of these visas,” USCIRF chairman Robert George said in a statement. “As a pluralistic, non-sectarian, and democratic state, and a close partner of the United States, India should have the confidence to allow our visit,” he said. George said USCIRF had been able to travel to many countries, including those among the worst offenders of religious freedom, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, China, and … [Read more...] about India denies visas to U.S. religious freedom body
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Belgian police arrest six in bombing probe, French foil Paris plot
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Belgian police arrest six in bombing probe, French foil Paris plot Phuket Gazette / Reuters The federal prosecutor’s office in Belgium said on Thursday that the arrests came during police searches in the Brussels neighborhoods of Schaerbeek in the north and Jette in the west, as well as in the center of the Belgian capital. The arrests came days after suicide bombers hit the Brussels airport and a metro train, killing at least 31 people and wounding some 270 in the worst such attack in Belgian history. The attack in Brussels, which is home to the European Union and NATO, has heightened security concerns around the world and raised questions about European countries’ response to the threat from Islamist extremists. The Islamic State militant group, which claimed responsibility for the Brussels bombings, also took credit for coordinated attacks in Paris in November … [Read more...] about Belgian police arrest six in bombing probe, French foil Paris plot
Earthquake hits Myanmar, no immediate reports of major damage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Earthquake hits Myanmar, no immediate reports of major damage Phuket Gazette / Reuters There were no immediate reports of major damage or loss of life as a result of the tremor, located around 100 km (62 miles) north-northwest of the city of Monywa at an estimated depth of 134 km. But around 50 people suffered mainly leg injuries in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and northeastern city of Sylhet as they fled homes and other buildings during the quake, according to police. Witnesses in Bagan, central Myanmar, said some tourists left their hotel rooms and stood outside when they felt the tremor. They saw no sign of damage to buildings, however. “We haven’t heard any reports of casualties or damage,” said an official from Myanmar’s meteorological department based in the capital Naypyitaw. “So far as I know the epicenter wasn’t in a densely … [Read more...] about Earthquake hits Myanmar, no immediate reports of major damage
Belgians hunt Islamic State suspect after blasts kill 30
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Belgians hunt Islamic State suspect after blasts kill 30 Phuket Gazette / Reuters The blasts on Tuesday claimed by the Syrian-based militants four days after the arrest in Brussels of a prime suspect in November’s Paris attacks, sent shockwaves across Europe and around the world, with authorities racing to review security at airports and transit systems, and drawing an outpouring of solidarity. “We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world,” said U.S. President Barack Obama. Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination to succeed Obama in November’s election, suggested that suspects could be tortured to deter such attacks. Brussels police mounted an operation in the north of the city, turning up another bomb, an Islamic State flag and bomb-making chemicals in an apartment in the … [Read more...] about Belgians hunt Islamic State suspect after blasts kill 30
Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74 Phuket Gazette / Reuters Family spokesman Bob Gunnell told NBC News that Ali died in a Phoenix-area hospital. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. “My heart is deeply saddened yet both appreciative and relieved that the greatest is now resting in the greatest place,” boxer Roy Jones Jr. said on Twitter. Ali was hospitalized this week for a respiratory ailment. The former prize fighter had long been suffering from Parkinson’s syndrome, which impaired his speech and made the once-graceful athlete almost a prisoner in his own body. Ali proclaimed himself “the greatest” – as well as “the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skillfullest.” Few could argue with him at his peak in the 1960s. With his dancing feet and quick fists, he could – as he put … [Read more...] about Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74