Jonathan Fairfield

Former MP candidate faces smuggled meth charges

 

 

BANGKOK, (NNT) - The Thai Liberal Party leader, Pol. Gen. Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, has insisted that his political party had no involvement in the illicit drug trade allegedly engaged in by one of its former MP candidates who was apprehended on June 15, 2019, after police seized a shipping container bound for the Philippines containing over 985 kilograms of methamphetamine.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108685-seri-ruam-thai-boss-disowns-mp-candidate-held-in-drugs-case/?tab=comments#comment-14289792

 

Former MP candidate faces smuggled meth charges

 

 

BANGKOK, (NNT) - The Thai Liberal Party leader, Pol. Gen. Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, has insisted that his political party had no involvement in the illicit drug trade allegedly engaged in by one of its former MP candidates who was apprehended on June 15, 2019, after police seized a shipping container bound for the Philippines containing over 985 kilograms of methamphetamine.

 

The discovery took place in Si Racha district of Chon Bburi province and resulted in the arrest of an additional four people, two of Thai nationality and two from China. One of the Thais arrested was Suban Mahachananonta, formerly an MP candidate for the Thai Liberal Party.

 

The deputy national police chief, Pol. Gen. Chalermkiat Srivorakarn, explained today that officers had cooperated with customs officials to carry out an investigation that led them to the container and Suban. The politician operates a used car business based in Chiang Mai that regularly exports products to China. It is suspected that Suban used the infrastructure of his company to smuggle methamphetamine out of Thailand. The meth found in the container was valued at about two billion baht. Further investigations are underway to intercept more suspects.

 

Mr. Suban has denied the accusations against him and stated he was unaware of the drugs in the container. Police nevertheless say they have evidence tying him to the drugs and have detained him for the time being.

 

Pol. Gen. Seripisuth meanwhile, voiced confidence that the case won’t tarnish his party’s name, assuring the public it is an issue involving just one person. He admitted that due to the large number of candidates running in the recent election, the party was unable to properly vet all candidates for any involvement in criminal activity.

 

Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG190627162832754

 

 

DDC: African Swine Fever not Contagious for Humans

 

 

BANGKOK, (NNT) - Livestock related agencies in various provinces are strictly monitoring the African swine fever situation while the Department of Disease Control (DDC) has confirmed that the disease is not transmitted from animals to humans.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108752-ddc-african-swine-fever-not-contagious-for-humans/

 

DDC: African Swine Fever not Contagious for Humans

 

 

BANGKOK, (NNT) - Livestock related agencies in various provinces are strictly monitoring the African swine fever situation while the Department of Disease Control (DDC) has confirmed that the disease is not transmitted from animals to humans.

 

DDC Director General Dr. Suwanchai Watthanayingcharoenchai, said today that the DDC has been working closely with the Department of Livestock Development (DLD) to implement African swine fever monitoring and preventive measures by focusing on continuous and integrated cooperation from all relevant agencies in all sectors and at all levels. There are currently African swine fever outbreaks in neighboring countries, including Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Mongolia. The DDC emphasized that the African swine fever can’t be transmitted from animals to humans but people are advised not to eat raw pork.

 

In Khon Kaen, one of the northeastern provinces with a large number of pig farms, Khon Kaen’s Somsak Jangtrakul along with the head of the Khon Kaen Provincial Office of Livestock Development, and the head of Chum Phae District Animal Quarantine Checkpoint, inspected Somboon Farm in Muang Khon Kaen district in order to prevent any spread of the African swine fever outbreak. Local pig farmers are asked to be on alert if more than five percent of pigs raised on a large farm die within two consecutive days, because there is likely to be an outbreak. For pig farms with fewer than 50 pigs, the farm operator has to monitor the situation if two pigs or more die within one day.

 

Nan Provincial Office of Livestock Development has declared a surveillance zone and set up an operations center to monitor the control of African swine fever. Early this month, the DLD’s officials conducted a survey of about 50,000 pigs in the province and found no pigs on the farm had fallen ill or died. As for control measures in the transfer of pigs, and pig carcasses, as well as pig-related products into and out of Nan, Animal Quarantine Checkpoint 5 seized many pig-related products and sent them to the laboratory for examination but the disease was not found. It has also been alerting the public to African swine fever through broadcasting vehicles, and in leaflets and posters at the entrances and exits at border checkpoints.

 

Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG190627163654761

 

Fast AUTO Show opens in Bangkok

 

 

BANGKOK, (NNT) - Car sales this year are likely to go up thanks to the improved purchasing power of many people, in line with recent better prices for agricultural products. This year, the Ministry of Industry expects that 2.2 million cars will be manufactured in Thailand.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108751-fast-auto-show-opens-in-bangkok/

 

Fast AUTO Show opens in Bangkok

 

 

BANGKOK, (NNT) - Car sales this year are likely to go up thanks to the improved purchasing power of many people, in line with recent better prices for agricultural products. This year, the Ministry of Industry expects that 2.2 million cars will be manufactured in Thailand.

 

Mr. Phasu Loharachun, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, said today that the automotive industry is the main economic activity generating revenue for the country. The government has therefore, placed importance on preparing for the automotive industry of the future, by opening a special area to attract additional investment and create more value for the economic system. Meanwhile, the total number of cars to be manufactured this year is expected to reach 2.2 million which is similar to that of the previous year. Of that figure, 1.1 million cars are for domestic sales and another 1.1 million cars are for export.

 

Mr. Phatthanadej Arsasapphakit, President of the Fast Auto Show Thailand 2019, said today that this year, although the overall economy may be affected by the international trade war, he believes that it won’t affect the car building industry in terms of sales of both new cars and used cars because the purchasing power of many people has improved along with the prices of agricultural crops, and competition among financial institutions offering credit. Meanwhile, sales of electric vehicles are likely to grow in number, due to the advancement of technology.

 

The private sector is organizing the Fast Auto Show Thailand 2019 which is supported by more than 20 new car and used car operators. There are special promotions at the event in response to the various needs of consumers. In addition, booths have been set up by financial institutions and entrepreneurs involved in the automobile industry, to provide credit counseling. It is expected that at least two thousand new cars and one thousand used cars will be sold at the event. The event will continue until June 30 at the BITEC Exhibition and Convention Center.

 

Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG190627120106647

 

Welcome to Thailand - and welcome to immigration queues!

 

Image: Oo Spin9

 

A widely shared Tweet said there was chaos at Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday as massive queues greeted international passengers. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108750-welcome-to-thailand-and-welcome-to-immigration-queues/

 

"Fast and Furious 9" team to the rescue as motorcycle overturns in Krabi

 

Image: Namtal Paphatchaya Kyokong

 

The production team from "The Fast and The Furious 9" that is filming in Thailand got a taste of why the Thai roads are so dangerous yesterday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108749-fast-and-furious-9-team-to-the-rescue-as-motorcycle-overturns-in-krabi/

 

"Fast and Furious 9" team to the rescue as motorcycle overturns in Krabi

 

Image: Namtal Paphatchaya Kyokong

 

The production team from "The Fast and The Furious 9" that is filming in Thailand got a taste of why the Thai roads are so dangerous yesterday.

 

A Thai woman went on Facebook to praise a group of Western men who rushed to the aid of a woman on a motorcycle samlor who was hurt in a collision with a pick-up.

 

Daily News said locals were sure these were men from the film company. 

 

Namtal Paphatchaya Kyokong said (adjusted for accuracy): "I saw you run and help people. We do really appreciate that. I don't know who you are but I want to say thank you". 

 

The movie series - that features crazy driving - will be shot in Krabi, Phuket, Phangnga and Surat Thani over the next four weeks. 

 

Source: Daily News

 

Bangkok cabbie "pervert" fined 1,000 baht for posting upskirt selfie on the "dark taxi web"

 

Image: Daily News

 

Taxi Report TH said that a taxi driving pervert had turned himself into police after sharing a selfie of him driving his cab with a female passenger in the back with her legs wide open. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108743-bangkok-cabbie-pervert-fined-1000-baht-for-posting-upskirt-selfie-on-the-dark-taxi-web/

 

Bangkok cabbie "pervert" fined 1,000 baht for posting upskirt selfie on the "dark taxi web"

 

Image: Daily News

 

Taxi Report TH said that a taxi driving pervert had turned himself into police after sharing a selfie of him driving his cab with a female passenger in the back with her legs wide open. 

 

The driver said it was not his intention to publicize the picture - it was just for his taxi mates on the "dark taxi web" to have a good ogle at. 

 

 

The police did absolutely nothing and handed him over to the Department of Land Transport. 

 

They fined him 1,000 baht and made him sit in front of a TV screen and watch three hours of "awareness training".

 

Earlier in the week Thai Rath produced a video that said the man has been taking pictures of people in the back of his cab for years. 

 

He once posted a picture or video clip of a foreign couple snogging. 

 

The driver always denies he is doing anything wrong.

 

Source: Daily News

 

Another quality Pattaya tourist: Butt naked in the middle of the street

 

Image: Pattaya Update News

 

Police were called to Pratumnak Hill in Pattaya last night after reports that a Western tourist was standing naked in the middle of an intersection.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108741-another-quality-pattaya-tourist-butt-naked-in-the-middle-of-the-street/

 

Apple design chief Jony Ive, Steve Jobs' confidant, to leave and start own firm

 

FILE PHOTO: Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive (R) look over the new Mac Pro during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S. June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Mason Trinca

 

(Reuters) - Jony Ive, a close creative collaborator with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) co-founder Steve Jobs whose iPhone and other designs fuelled Apple’s rise to become a $1 trillion (£789.3 billion) company, will leave later this year to form an independent design company.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108732-jony-ive-to-leave-apple/

 

Apple design chief Jony Ive, Steve Jobs' confidant, to leave and start own firm

 

FILE PHOTO: Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive (R) look over the new Mac Pro during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S. June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Mason Trinca

 

(Reuters) - Jony Ive, a close creative collaborator with Apple Inc (AAPL.O) co-founder Steve Jobs whose iPhone and other designs fuelled Apple’s rise to become a $1 trillion (£789.3 billion) company, will leave later this year to form an independent design company.

 

Apple’s shares fell as much as 1.5% to $197.44 in after-market trading, wiping about $9 billion from the firm’s value. Ive spent nearly three decades at Apple, playing a leading role in the design of the candy-coloured iMacs that helped Apple re-emerge from near death in the 1990s to the iPhone, regarded by many business experts as one of the most successful consumer products of all time.

 

“It’s the most significant departure of somebody who was a core part of the growth story” under Jobs, said Ben Bajarin, analyst with Creative Strategies.

 

Ive joined Apple in 1992 and led Apple’s design teams since 1996. He took up his current role as chief design officer in 2015.

“Jony is a singular figure in the design world and his role in Apple’s revival cannot be overstated, from 1998’s groundbreaking iMac to the iPhone and the unprecedented ambition of Apple Park, where recently he has been putting so much of his energy and care,” Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said.

 

Apple said it will be among the primary clients of Ive’s new design company for a range of projects.

 

“I have the utmost confidence in my designer colleagues at Apple, who remain my closest friends, and I look forward to working with them for many years to come,” Ive said.

 

Ive’s new company will be called LoveFrom, the Financial Times reported, quoting Ive as saying it would be based in California “for now”. Ive told the newspaper he would work on Apple priorities wearable technology and healthcare in addition to unspecified “personal passions”. LoveFrom will have other clients beside Apple.

 

Since 2012, Ive had overseen design for both hardware and software at Apple, roles that had previously been separate. Apple said Thursday that the roles would again be split, with design team leaders Evans Hankey taking over as vice president of industrial design and Alan Dye becoming vice president of human interface design.

 

Both will report to Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, who in addition to overseeing Apple’s supply chain also oversaw the development and introduction of the Apple Watch, Apple’s first major new hardware platform since the iPad.

 

Jobs was known to deeply involve himself in Apple’s design process, often visiting Apple’s design studios on a daily basis to offer feedback on Ive’s work. Ive reports directly to Cook, but Cook never involved himself to the same extent as Ive.

 

“Tim is not going to be the one who looks and criticizes design the same way that Steve would have,” Bajarin said.

 

But Apple has been slowly laying the groundwork for Ive’s eventual departure. Ive became Apple’s chief design officer in 2015, but he then handed off some duties to other executives while he focused on finishing Apple’s new corporate headquarters, Apple Park. Dye was one of those executives, and both Dye and Hankey have been deeply involved in Apple’s design processes for years, the company said.

 

“The goal was to plant some seeds so the transition would be pretty smooth,” Bajarin said. “I don’t think this is a signal that Apple’s design days are done.”

 

If anything, Bajarin said, the elevation of Dye and Hankey could reignite the connection between Apple’s design teams and its senior executives. Apple said that Williams “will spend more of his time working with the design team in their studio.”

 

Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Lisa Shumaker

 

Thailand Live 28 June - https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108731-thailand-live-friday-28-june-2019/

13 students injured in minivan/pickup collision in Chachoengsao

By The Thaiger

 

VIDEO: teenee8rews

 

13 students in a minivan have sustained injuries after a pickup truck, running through a red light, collided with their van in Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108713-13-students-injured-in-minivanpickup-collision-in-chachoengsao/

Stateless student wins consolation prize from US’s Genius Olympiad program

 

(Photo) Ploy Yonladee Phiyatat Facebook page

 

A stateless high-school girl, from Thailand’s southern province of Ranong, has won a consolation award from the Genius Olympiad program held recently in the United States.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108704-stateless-student-wins-consolation-prize-from-us’s-genius-olympiad-program/

Somkid sees rosy economic outlook in immediate future

By The Nation 

 

 

 

While Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak says he has not been surprised by economic projections recently made by public and private economic houses, he is expressing confidence that once the new government is firmly in place the prime minister will be able to continue implementing the national plans.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108702-somkid-sees-rosy-economic-outlook-in-immediate-future/

Junta’s national reform plan branded just a pile of paper by Opposition

 

 

Thailand’s national reform master plan, drawn up by the incumbent military backed government, came under heavy criticism from opposition MPs in the lower House today, branding the plan just a pile of paper and unrealized rhetoric.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108707-junta’s-national-reform-plan-branded-just-a-pile-of-paper-by-opposition/

Thai central bank holds key rate, slashes growth and export outlook again

By Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon

 

 

BANGKOK,  (Reuters) - Thailand's central bank cut its forecasts for 2019 economic growth and exports for the third time in six months on Wednesday, but held its benchmark interest rate steady, saying monetary policy remains appropriate.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108553-thai-central-bank-holds-key-rate-slashes-growth-and-export-outlook-again/

 

Thai central bank holds key rate, slashes growth and export outlook again

By Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon

 

 

BANGKOK, June 26 (Reuters) - Thailand's central bank cut its forecasts for 2019 economic growth and exports for the third time in six months on Wednesday, but held its benchmark interest rate steady, saying monetary policy remains appropriate.

 

The Bank of Thailand (BOT), in a unanimous vote, left the one-day repurchase rate at 1.75 percent for a fourth straight meeting, after hiking it in December for the first time since 2011.

 

The BOT said it would keep closely monitoring fund inflows.

 

All but one of the 15 economists polled by Reuters had predicted no policy change; one had forecast a quarter-point cut.

Titanun Mallikamas, monetary policy committee secretary, said the central bank's policy stance "is neutral and will be data dependent going forward".

 

Given slowing growth, "pressure is likely to mount on the central bank to loosen policy," Capital Economics said.

 

But in its view, a cut this year will be resisted, as the BOT "has repeatedly raised concerns about the risks of lower interest rates for financial stability."

 

While faltering growth, low inflation and a strong baht should support policy easing, the BOT has reiterated concerns about financial stability risks and stubbornly high household debt.

 

The baht is hovering around a six-year high. It has appreciated about 5.5% against the U.S. dollar this year, with much of the gain coming recently.

 

Titanun said the central bank will tighten its management mechanism of the baht and has already "taken care" of the baht to some extent.

 

The central bank has instruments ready to handle the baht' strength, which may be introduced "before long", he said.

 

ZERO EXPORT GROWTH

 

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Wednesday that while the strong baht is hurting exports, intervention is not possible because of United States monitoring of such moves.

 

He said the central bank might cut interest rates this year as it "may not be able to resist the trend... But it's an independent agency, so we can't interfere with its decisions. But I think it would definitely cut."

 

The BOT cut its 2019 growth forecast for a third time in six months to 3.3% from 3.8% seen in March. It also trimmed its 2020 GDP growth forecast to 3.7% from 3.9%.

 

Exports, a key driver of economic growth, are expected to have zero growth this year, compared to a previous forecast of a 3.0% increase.

 

The central bank maintained its 2019 headline inflation projection of 1.0%.

 

Domestic political uncertainty remains after a March election, as junta chief-turned-civilian prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha will lead a fragile coalition. His cabinet line-up is expected to be announced by July.

 

The BOT said tourism would grow at a lower rate relative to the previous assessment due mainly to Chinese tourist figures. It now predicts 39.9 million tourists this year, from 40.4 million projected earlier.

 

The central bank said public expenditure would grow at a slower pace than previously due to an expected delay in the next budget.

 

Photo of drowned migrants triggers fight over Trump asylum clampdown

 

The bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter Valeria are seen after they drowned in the Rio Bravo river while trying to reach the United States, in Matamoros, in Tamaulipas state, Mexico June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

 

MATAMOROS, Mexico (Reuters) - A harrowing photo of a Salvadoran migrant and his young daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border became the focus on Wednesday of a U.S. political debate over President Donald Trump’s asylum policies.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1108552-photo-of-drowned-migrants-triggers-fight-over-trump-asylum-clampdown/

Photo of drowned migrants triggers fight over Trump asylum clampdown

 

The bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter Valeria are seen after they drowned in the Rio Bravo river while trying to reach the United States, in Matamoros, in Tamaulipas state, Mexico June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

 

MATAMOROS, Mexico (Reuters) - A harrowing photo of a Salvadoran migrant and his young daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border became the focus on Wednesday of a U.S. political debate over President Donald Trump’s asylum policies.

 

The picture of Oscar Alberto Martinez, 25, and his 24-month-old daughter Angie Valeria put a renewed focus on the plight of refugees and migrants who are mostly from Central America. The pair had traveled from El Salvador and were seeking asylum in the United States.

 

U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called the image “horrific” and said the president’s migration clampdown made deaths more likely.

 

“Trump’s policy of making it harder and harder to seek asylum - and separating families who do - is cruel, inhumane and leads to tragedies like this,” he wrote on Twitter.

 

In turn, Trump blamed the Democrats, whom he said were blocking his government’s attempts at closing “loopholes” in U.S. law that encourage migrants to apply for U.S. asylum.

 

“If they fixed the laws you wouldn’t have that. People are coming up, they’re running through the Rio Grande,” he said, referring to the river known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico that forms a large part of the border between the two countries.

“They can change it very easily so people don’t come up, and people won’t get killed,” Trump told reporters.

 

Record numbers of Central American migrants are reaching the United States this year despite a crackdown by Trump. Many flee their homes in Central America to escape poverty, drought and high levels of criminal violence, much of it carried out by street gangs.

 

U.S. border patrol agents have apprehended 664,000 people along the southern border so far this year, a 144 percent increase from last year, said Brian Hastings, chief of law enforcement operations for the U.S. Border Patrol. “The system is overwhelmed,” he said.

 

 

To manage asylum flows, the United States has in recent years implemented a system known as “metering” which puts daily limits on the number of asylum seekers processed at ports of entry, leading to weeks-long waiting lists in dangerous border towns.

 

The controls have contributed to growing numbers of migrants crossing the border illegally to hand themselves in to authorities and ask for asylum. Migrant rights activists say such limits on people’s access to asylum can put them in harm’s way, while driving migration underground and squeezing it into new routes.

 

Enrique Maciel, director of the migrant agency of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, said the Martinez family had decided to cross the river after being told they needed to register for a waiting list to apply for asylum at the Matamoros-Brownsville port of entry.

 

Martinez’ mother on Wednesday told Reuters she had urged her son not to leave, fearing danger would meet him on the long journey north.

 

The photo of Martinez and his toddler daughter — face down in the mud on the river bank, with her arm draped around his neck — has gone viral on social media around the world.

 

The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, put the picture on its front page and Pope Francis expressed “immense sadness.”

 

“The pope is profoundly saddened by their death, and is praying for them and for all migrants who have lost their lives while seeking to flee war and misery,” Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said.

 

PREVIOUS PHOTO

 

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR compared the photograph to the picture of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi who drowned in the Mediterranean and whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015.

 

Kurdi was part of a Syrian refugee wave that caused panic in Europe, prompting Turkey to effectively shut down the migrant route through Greece at the European Union’s behest.

 

As with the photograph of Kurdi, the image of the drowned father and daughter has triggered debate over the ethics of publishing such shocking photographs, with some commentators arguing that Western media was less likely to publish similar images of European or U.S. citizens.

 

Robin Reineke, co-founder and director of the Tucson, Arizona-based Colibri Center for Human Rights said the use of such pictures did little or nothing to halt the deaths occurring daily on the border.

 

Others said the use of the picture of Martinez and his daughter was justified because it made people face up to migrant deaths on the U.S. southern border.

 

“This is very sad, but it’s really necessary,” said Rafael Larraenza, founder and director of San Diego, California-based volunteer group Angeles del Desierto (The Desert Angels), which carries out search and rescue operations for missing migrants.

 

“This happens every day along the border from California to Texas, at least one or two people a day,” Larraenza said.

 

U.S. Border Patrol reported 283 migrant fatalities on the border in 2018. Activists say the number is higher as the remains of many migrants are never found and the data does not include all deaths registered by local authorities.

 

Many countries have erected barriers to migrants, and the European Union and the United States have pressured their neighbors to cut the numbers of people trying to make the journey.

 

Trump threatened Mexico with trade tariffs until it agreed to help lower the number of mostly Central American migrants reaching the United States, using increased enforcement along with and expanded program of asylum containment.

 

With more immigrants reaching the U.S.-Mexican border than at any time in the past decade, authorities in both countries have struggled to provide adequate care in detention, with immigration lawyers citing children being held for weeks without adequate food or hygiene in U.S. border facilities.

 

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said on Tuesday its acting commissioner was resigning.

 

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a $4.6 billion bill to address the migrant surge at the border with Mexico, setting up a negotiation with the House of Representatives and President Donald Trump over the funds and how they should be spent.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Martinez and his daughter had lost their lives because they could not get the protection they were entitled to under international law.

 

“The deaths of Oscar and Valeria represent a failure to address the violence and desperation pushing people to take journeys of danger for the prospect of a life in safety and dignity,” he said in the statement.

 

Additional reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico, Tom Miles in Geneva, Philip Pullella in the Vatican and Steve Holland in Washington; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Alistair Bell and Sandra Maler