Eight migrants found under pile of corn

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Personnel from Myanmar claimed they were bound for Samut Prakan for work.

PUBLISHED: 6 Feb 2025 at 12: 07

Soldiers from the Ratchamanu Task Force pull illegal migrants out from under a pile of corn kernels where they were hiding on Thursday in the border district of Mae Sot in Tak province. (Screenshot)
In the border city of Mae Sot in Tak state on Thursday, men from the Ratchamanu Task Force rescued illegal migrants from a pile of maize seeds from where they were hiding. ( Screenshot )

TAK- On Thursday, eight improper migrants from Myanmar who were hiding under a pile of wheat were detained along with a truck driver in Mae Sot, a border area.

A 10-wheel vehicle was stopped by men from the Ratchamanu Task Force at a station about 1am. They said the pilot, identified as Saitharn, 36, looked dubious during questioning, but they asked to hunt the car.

Military noticed some activity in the pile as the vehicle was carrying corn kernels. Six gentlemen and two women, who were among the eight Myanmar citizens, were discovered beneath a pile of material.

The refugees claimed they were traveling to work in Samut Prakan territory. The pilot acknowledged carrying foreign nationals who had entered Thailand improperly.

The drivers and the employees were detained and had face charges at the Mae Sot place.

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‘I will get rid of them’: Prabowo warns ministers to perform or face the boot

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has warned that government officials who neglect to do their work will be punished for their inaction.

Prabowo’s alert comes amid a number of controversy that have plagued his presidency for the first time in its term.

The president sworn in as Indonesia’s seventh leader on January 28th, marking his 100th day in business.

The Jakarta Globe reported Prabowo as saying at an event on Wednesday ( Feb 5 ) to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, that he had repeatedly warned that those who are persistent and fail to meet the people’s demands or uphold good governance in the first 100 days will have to answer to me.

He more warned:” We tried to remain calm during the first 100 times, giving all state machine and companies a chance for self-correction. Keep yourself hydrated, or we’ll chase you.

After the celebration, Prabowo threatened to retaliate in a press conference.

We want the people to need a sound and fresh state. I want to maintain that. There are no other pursuits beyond the nation and the people, which are the only ones that interest people. Those who don’t want to function really for the people, I did get rid of them”, said Prabowo.

Joint Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, who was question by the police in December as part of an ongoing research into an alleged online gaming controversy within the Communication and Digitalisation Ministry, is one of the officials who just sparked controversy, according to local media reports.

When President Joko Widodo took business, Budi had formerly assumed the role.

However, Prabowo recently overturned Bahlil Lahadalia’s determination, which earlier this month established a sales cap on 3 kg canisters of subsidised cooking oil to “authorised marketers” through a new regulation.

The Jakarta Post reported that the action caused a public outcry after locals had trouble finding the gas cylinders, which are normally sold at small stands or convenience stores.

Prabowo now leads a Cabinet that is the largest in Indonesia’s story. These include 48 officials, 56 vice-ministers as well as other leaders.

Despite the controversies, a Jan 4-10 surveys by the study component of magazine Kompas found that 80.9 per share of Indonesians approve of Prabowo’s after 100 days in business, with the respondents attributing the higher ranking to his first delivery on campaign promises.

Yet his adored father, Widodo, who received approval ratings of 65 to 75 % during his two-term presidency, was far more common.

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Maid jailed for biting, pinching baby out of frustration he would not sleep

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SINGAPORE: A maid who cared for an 11-month-old baby was jailed for 20 months on Thursday ( Feb 6 ) for biting and pinching the boy.

The injury caused bit signs and bruising.

The lady, a 24-year-old Myanmar nationwide, admitted that she did this because she was frustrated when the child would never sleep.

She claimed in her oath that she was only allowed to go to bed after midnight every day and that she was compelled to rest with the child. During the day, she may have to&nbsp, do house chores without any sleep, she added.

” I did not have enough sleep every day”, she told the jury through a Burmese translator.

Nonetheless, District Judge Paul Chan argued that this did not lessen the victim’s guilt or add any mildering effects to her sentence.

There was no need to abuse an innocent baby, and it was utterly overwhelming for the accused to have done so, even if it was accurate to say that the accused was deprived of sleep,” he said.

Due to a gag order placed in the case to protect the victim’s personality, the person’s name has been redacted.

The jury heard that she cared for the three children in her company’s house, including the target.

On November 6, 2024, her firm initially noticed a bite mark on the mother’s left arm.

When the lady was questioned about it, she claimed that the child may occasionally bite himself, which might have contributed to the mark.

She later admitted biting him because she was angry when he wouldn’t go to sleep.

The maid informed her company on November 20, 2024, that she had discovered a bite mark on the mother’s right arm while taking him bath. &nbsp, When questioned about it, she said she did no know how it happened.

The baby’s mother checked images from a closed-circuit tv cameras in the house.

She observed that the girl had taken the child from his cot on November 19, 2024 when he awoke crying. The girl was spotted wailing and arching away from the girl.

The family suspected that the girl had pinched the mother’s neck, and she confronted her on Nov 24, 2024.

The girl admitted to pinching the baby double on his waist on the occasion because she was alarmed that he wouldn’t sleep. She even admitted to biting his shoulder out of anger somewhere on or before November 20, 2024.

The victim’s boss made a policeman statement on Nov 24, 2024.

DPP J Jayaletchmi, the deputy public attorney, requested a sentence of 16 to 20 months in prison.

Highlighting the victim’s vulnerabilty, she said:” He was at her kindness and he was able to raise any alarm”.

She added that the girl repeatedly tried to avoid detection by lying to the murderer’s parents about the bit marks and that she repeatedly misled the child.

The girl, who did not have a solicitor, apologised for her steps and stated that she hoped to be taken up to Myanmar as soon as possible to look after her family.

In punishment, Judge Chan stressed that the authorities have held “in no uncertain terms” that violence against children will not be tolerated.

” It is crucial to make it clear that kids are vulnerable people and that they must be given the total protection of the law,” he said.

The punishment for ill-treating a child is a jail term of up to eight years, a fine of up to S$ 8, 000 ( US$ 5, 900 ) or both.

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The dog that didn’t bark is the Chinese stock market – Asia Times

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With a one-month test for only$ 1, you can subscribe right away and then get the special discount of just$ 99.

The dog that didn’t wood is the Chinese stock market

Despite new US taxes, according to David Goldman, Chinese technology stocks are rising. As well as the possibility of Chinese AI types like DeepSeek, there is a rumor that President Trump may seek a business deal rather than a full confrontation with China.

The onset of US sanctions against China.

According to Scott Foster, new AI types from DeepSeek and Alibaba have exposed the US’s harsh sanctions against Chinese tech. US steelmaker Nvidia, however, eager to regain sales in China, hopes Trump may ease Artificial chip export controls.

How war ending … and why Ukraine’s may bring on

Uwe v. Parpart makes the case that a long-term peace deal must be incorporated into a wider European security model in light of the potential dangers of the Ukraine war becoming Donald Trump’s equal of Vietnam.

Trump’s plan of ‘ great stick’ force starts in Panama

Diego Faßnacht examines the Trump administration’s extreme revival of control in Latin America. Washington is using economic and geopolitical strength to stymie Foreign investment, which bears a lot resemblance to the “big stay” politics of the early 20th century.

Putin debates whether to talk to or strike back at Ukraine.

As units within the Kremlin appear to be growing, James Davis describes the evolving interactions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict as hardliners call for a new round of participation and a significant affect to completely devastate Ukraine’s military and business.

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Man charged with stealing US5 from passenger on Scoot flight

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SINGAPORE: A 30-year-old man was charged on Thursday ( Feb 6 ) with stealing US$ 885 ( S$ 1, 200 ) in cash from a passenger on a Scoot flight.

Zhang Youqi, a Taiwanese national, is accused of the robbery on board aircraft TR813 from Jeju to Singapore on Tuesday.

supposedly between 8o’clock and 1o’clock in the afternoon, he reportedly took the money from a drawstring pocket inside a backpack.

Prior to the police’s claim, studies revealed that a customer witnessed the gentleman touching her bag in the overhead compartment.

The customer opened her bag and confronted the person. She discovered that a stack of US money was missing and believed he had taken her income.

After the airplane landed at Changi Airport, officials from the Airport Police Division investigated.

They discovered the missing money in another bandwidth room with the assistance of the cabin crew. During the event, the person had passed through this area of the plane.

Zhang is out on parole of S$ 10, 000. His case will be heard once more on February 13.

The crime of fraud carries a prison term of up to three years, a good, or both. &nbsp,

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Australian scientists produce first kangaroo embryo using IVF

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The first kangaroo embryo created by Australian scientists was created using in vitro fertilization ( IVF), which they claim could save other species from extinction.

The researchers successfully injected a one egg cell into an egg using eastern gray kangaroos, but they also claimed that “technical advancements” and more work may be required to achieve a live birth.

Direct researcher Andres Gambini said the feat provides significant insights into marsupial breeding and may aid efforts to increase the genomic diversity of threatened species like the koala, the Tasmanian devil, the north hairy-nosed wombat, and Leadbeater’s possum.

Australia has the highest level of animal extinctions, but it also has the largest range of mammal mammals.

Before creating eggs using a technique known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection ( ICSI), the University of Queensland study examined the growth of bunny eggs and sperm in a laboratory setting.

The method, which is already used on people and some local creatures, was tried on eastern dark kangaroo that had died. The kinds was chosen because it already has large groups and is not threatened.

Despite the classic mammal species in Australia and the important role they play in its wildlife, researchers claim that studies into their cells have been limited.

According to Dr. Gambini,” we are currently developing methods to collect, culture, and preserve animal eggs and sperm,” adding that” the biological material of these special and important animals” would be at stake.

Infertility is being used as a tool to try to protect threatened species around the world.

Last year, scientists achieved the world’s first IVF rhino pregnancy, successfully transferring a lab-created rhino embryo into a surrogate mother in Kenya.

In 2018, IVF was also used to create the world’s first animal zygote.

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You can get limited-edition Butter Town bolo buns from this shio pan ‘ATM’

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Singapore’s shio dish sisters&nbsp, Serene Tan, 33, and Danielle Tan, 29, from stalls barn Butter Town are again – never with another new barn or shop collab, but with a vending machine dispensing their food.

Located at Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre, the machine, or ‘ Shio Pan ATM ‘ as the sisters call it, dispenses fresh, pre-packed shio pan ( crescent-shaped roll with a salted crispy crust and chewy butter-soaked centre popular in Japanese bakeries ) that are just as tasty as those you’d get from their stalls.

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Waitangi day: Thousands gather in NZ as Māori rights in focus

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14 hours before
Kathryn Armstrong

BBC News

Getty Images A boat carries Māori warriors under the bridge at Waitangi after a service to commemorate the national dayGetty Images

To honor the nation’s national day, thousands of people have attended activities in Waitangi, in north New Zealand.

The Treaty of Waitangi, or Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Mori, is the country’s first official record of independence.

Premier Christopher Luxon resisted history by abstaining from attending a celebration in the South Island and rather chooses to be in Waitangi for the festivities.

The government is pursuing policies that some people find anti-Mori, including a bill that would reimagine the 184-year agreement, as the week’s commemorations come at a time of increased conflicts.

On the day of the trip, hundreds of Mori protesters staged a silent show on Wednesday, turning their backs on federal officials, expressing their dissatisfaction with how the government deals with indigenous issues.

Act party chief David Seymour, the author of the contentious Treaty Principles Bill, even had his microphone removed half at the event.

” We are sick of talking to lips that will not hear, and to thoughts that will not change”, Eru Kapa-Kingi- from the Toitū te Tiriti motion, which led the largest always outcry over Māori rights in 2024- said.

Luxon made announcing in December that he would not be visiting Waitangi and would instead choose to observe the moment with its largest community in the South Island, the Ngii Tahu, or the communities in Mori.

Communities are groups of people who are united by their common heritage and connection to nature. Ngāi Tahu has about 74, 000 people, according to New Zealand’s final survey.

In a video information from Akaroa, Luxon said,” Now is a moment to reflect on where we have come from and look forward to where we are going as a country.”

Getty Images Māori Warriors perform a haka on the beach at Waitangi during a service to commemorate the national holidayGetty Images

The convention is both significant to our past and significant to our future. When Māori.communities succeed, all of New Zealand rewards. We’ll continue to deal with our differences graciously and walk forward up”, he added.

Luxon is not the first prime minister to miss the commemorations at Waitangi but his decision not to attend during a time of increased tensions between Māori and his government has drawn mixed reactions.

Ngāi Tahu said it welcomed the prime minister’s choice to honor with them and that it was a moment to “reflect on our shared story… and strengthen the ties between tangata whenua]Māori] and the Crown, for the benefit of all our populations in New Zealand”.

His political opponents have accused him of stupidity as his government implements policies that some Maori find unpleasant.

The primary minister’s refusal to attend Waitangi shows that he is not the right person for the job, according to Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.

What is the treaty of Waitangi?

Getty Images A Māori elder touches noses with Prime Minister Christopher LuxonGetty Images

Many, if not all, Mori nations and the British Crown signed the Treaty of Waitangi on February 6, 1840, granting both parties a number of rights and privileges.

This includes maintaining chief over their land and resources for Mori, but the differences between the Mori and English versions of the treaty leave that question open for interpretation.

Nevertheless, the promise to protect indigenous land rights was repeatedly broken and the economic and cultural impacts of this, coupled with racial discrimination, has led to an inequality that is still being addressed today.

The celebration of the signing of the treaty has become a significant time for discussions about how Mori and the state are faring.

A stressful landscape

This year’s anniversary comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the Treaty Principles Bill.

The minister who has been championing proposal – Act Party leader David Seymour – has attended, despite being asked not to by his hapū (sub-tribe).

Opponents of the bill claim that it will encourage fairness among New Zealanders, but opponents claim that it will divide people and put Mori in the worse position.

The issue with the costs is so pressing that a national organization representing some Mori nations wrote a email to King Charles, New Zealand’s head of state, asking for his assistance.

The open text states,” We request your assistance to ensure that the government does not undermine the Crown’s honor.”

” Choose keep them in mind that you are expected to act in your honor on your behalf.”

Some of those who have taken part in the public hearings about it claim that the bill’s very existence is insulting, despite the fact that it is unlikely to pass due to Luxon and his lot National Party’s pledge to no support it at its second reading after this year.

Previous justice minister Kiritapu Allan, who described the proposed policy as an “abomination,” is one of them.

” This is a bill that is about scrubbing us]Māori] from history”, she said.

It has been backed by another. Ananish Chaudhuri, an economist, believes that a dialogue about enshrining the Treaty guidelines must be held in order for New Zealand to continue to be a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country.

He even criticized a way in which different nations in New Zealand are treated differently, calling his birthplace of India a” warning story.”

Additional actions the government has taken that have sparked outrage include the breakdown of the Mori Health Authority, which was established under the previous Labour government to promote greater health justice, and the removal of Mori brands from government agencies.

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ChatGPT: India media seek to join lawsuit against OpenAI chatbot

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Umang Poddar

BBC Hindi

PTI Sam Altman in Delhi on 5 FebPTI

India’s biggest media organisations are seeking to add a complaint against OpenAI, the US company behind ChatGPT, for alleged illegal use of their information.

The media agencies include some of India’s oldest magazines like The Indian Express, The Hindu, The India Today group, businessman Gautam Adani-owned NDTV, and over a hundred people.

OpenAI refutes the accusations and told the BBC that it only uses “publicly available information” that is consistent with “widely accepted legal norms.”

On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was in Delhi to explore India’s prepare for a low-cost Artificial ecosystem with IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

He claimed that India” should be one of the frontrunners of the Artificial revolution” and that previous statements from 2023, in which he claimed American businesses may struggle to engage, had been taken out of context.

According to local media, he claimed that” India is a very significant market for both OpenAI and AI in common.”

The largest news agency in India, Asian News International ( ANI), filed a legal case against OpenAI in November.

ANI accuses ChatGPT of using its copyrighted materials improperly- which OpenAI denies- and is seeking damages of 20m pounds ($ 230, 000, £185, 000 ).

The case holds significance for ChatGPT given its plans to expand in the country. According to a survey, India already has the largest user base of ChatGPT.

Chatbots like ChatGPT are trained on massive datasets collected by crawling through the internet. The content produced by nearly 450 news channels and 17,000 newspapers in India holds huge potential for this.

There is, however, no clarity on what fabric ChatGPT is officially gather and use for this goal.

OpenAI is facing at least a few complaints across the world filed by producers, artists and media companies, who have all accused ChatGPT of using their information without consent.

The most prominent of them was filed by The New York Times in December 2023, in which the newspaper demanded “billions of dollars” in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, its backer.

A jury selection would also have some compelling benefit for other similar cases from around the globe, says Vibhav Mithal, an attorney at the Indian law company Anand and Anand.

According to Mr. Mithal, the outcome of the lawsuit brought by ANI may “define how these AI models will run in the future” and “what copyrighted information content can be used to train AI conceptual models [like ChatGPT].”

A court ruling in ANI’s favour could spark further legal cases as well as opening the possibility of AI companies entering into license sharing agreements with content creators, which some companies have already started doing.

” But a decision in OpenAI’s favor will give us more freedom to teach AI designs using copyrighted protected information,” he said.

Getty Images Men read local news daily with front-pages news besides a stall in Amritsar on July 22, 2024Getty Images

What is ANI’s event?

ANI distributes information to its paying subscribers and holds unique copyrights over a sizable collection of words, images, and movies.

ANI claims in its lawsuit that OpenAI improperly trained ChatGPT using its information. According to ANI, this improved the robot, which has benefited OpenAI.

The information agency claimed to have offered to give the business a permit to use its data before filing the lawsuit and that it had informed OpenAI that its content was being used fraudulently.

According to ANI, OpenAI turned down the offer and placed the news agency on an interior blocklist so that its information is no longer being gathered. Additionally, it requested that ANI turn off some web crawlers to prevent ChatGPT from crawling its information.

The media firm says that despite these measures, ChatGPT picks up its content from websites of its users. This has enriched OpenAI “unjustly”, it says.

Additionally, ANI claims in its lawsuit that the bot verbally generates its content for specific prompts. In some instances, ANI says, ChatGPT has erroneously attributed comments to the news agency, hampering its reliability and misleading the public.

ANI has requested that the court order OpenAI to quit keeping and using its work in addition to requesting compensation for damages.

OpenAI responds by saying that the company’s servers are not located in India and that the robot has not been trained it. In its response, the company claims it opposes the situation being filed in India.

News organizations want to file a complaint with the government.

The Federation of Indian Publishers filed a lawsuit in court in December, claiming they were “directly affected” by this event and should be able to provide their arguments because well. It claims to represent 80 % of American publishers, including the American headquarters of Penguin Random House and Oxford University Press.

A month later, Digital News Publishers Association ( DNPA ), which represents leading Indian news outlets, and three other media outlets filed a similar application. They claimed that a similar concept had not been followed in India despite OpenAI having entered into licensing contracts with foreign media publishers like the Associated Press and Financial Times.

The event would have an impact on the livelihood of journalists and the full news industry, according to DNPA. OpenAI has, nevertheless, argued that bots are not a” supplement” for news membership and are not used for such reasons.

The court has not yet given these publishers’ uses an acknowledgement, and OpenAI has argued that the judge may not notice them.

The judge will only be allowed to hear ANI’s promises because the other parties had not filed their own lawsuits, the prosecutor said.

However, OpenAI told the BBC it is interesting in” constructive alliances and conversations” with media companies around the world, including India, to “work collaboratively”.

Getty Images Men watch the live telecast of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget speech on television screens inside a shop in SrinagarGetty Images

Where is the Indian AI law now?

Analysts believe that the lawsuits brought forth against ChatGPT around the world could bring attention to aspects of chatbots that have largely escaped scrutiny.

According to Dr. Sivaramakrishnan R. Guruvayur, whose research focuses on ethical use of artificial intelligence, one of the characteristics of chatbot training data is.

The ANI-OpenA I case will lead the court” to evaluate the data sources” of chatbots, he said.

Governments across the world have been grappling with how to regulate AI. In 2023, Italy blocked ChatGPT saying that the chatbot’s mass collection and storage of personal data raised privacy concerns.

The European Union approved a law to regulate AI last year.

The Indian government too has indicated plans to regulate AI. Before the 2024 election, the government issued an advisory that AI tools that were “under-testing” or “unreliable” should get government permission before launching.

Additionally, it demanded that AI tools refrain from” threaten the integrity of the electoral process” or refrain from “generating responses that are unlawful in India.”

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