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Crime Elite Security Forces to Stage Anti-Terror and Riot Response Drill in Bangkok
File picture courtesy of Amarin. Thailand’s elite special operations units are conducting a major joint exercise simulating urban riot and terrorism scenarios, in preparation for potential national crises amid ongoing domestic and border security concerns. The high-profile training, held under the framework of the Crisis Management Exercise 2025 (C-MEX 25), aims to test the country’s readiness to handle threats such as bombings, hostage situations, and large-scale civil unrest. According to official sources, the main event is scheduled for 27 June 2025 at 14:30, with General Songwit Noonphakdee, Chief of Defence Forces, presiding over and observing the drill at the site of the Orange Line MRT station on Rama IX Road, within the premises of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), Huai Khwang district, Bangkok. The training involves multiple simulated scenarios across designated mock stations: • Crowd control operations, led by the 11th Military Circle, at the MRTA multi-purpose building plaza. • Bombing and arson attack, managed by MRTA, in front of its Learning Centre. • Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and active shooter scenario, coordinated by MRTA and the International Counter Terrorism Operations Center (ICTOC), at the MRTA ticketing zone. • Hostage crisis and counterterrorist rescue mission, executed by ICTOC, inside the Orange Line’s underground tunnel. The selected station for this drill will be closed to the public. High-ranking officials attending the event include the Governor of MRTA, Commander of the 1st Army Region, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Commander of the 11th Military Circle, and senior commanders from the Special Operations Division and Counter-Terrorist units. General Songwit is expected to oversee and evaluate the readiness and coordination between the various agencies. This exercise comes amid heightened political tensions, with mass protests expected on 28 June, and rising security concerns along Thailand’s borders. Authorities have stressed that while no third-party threats have been confirmed, precautionary measures and surveillance are being intensified to ensure public safety. Adapted by Asean Now from Amarin 2025-06-27 -
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H.Pylori test in Bangkok -- cheapest option?
I did the breath test and didn't have h.pylori so you need to find out other reasons anyway, will be food and drink related -
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Report New Cannabis Regulation: Prescription Required for Sales
If it turns out anything like Thailand's tobacco cartel /monopoly we will soon have the most toxic, most expensive and poorest quality marijuana in the region. -
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UK Rotherham ‘grooming victim’ was told ‘white girls are for rape’
A woman said she was told that being raped “is what white girls were for” when she was attacked as a teenager in Rotherham, a jury has heard. The alleged victim was about 14 years old when she was raped by Sageer Hussain, who was about the same age as her, and two other men, Sheffield Crown Court heard on Wednesday. Andrew Bailey, prosecuting, said the girl, who is now in her late 30s, was raped by Mr Hussain, Kessur Ajaib and Mohammed Makhmood between 1999 and 2002. Describing one of the times the teenager was allegedly raped by Mr Hussain, Mr Bailey told the court she later said: “He said it was my own fault, I’d led him on. “I shouldn’t have walked around in what I was dressed in. I deserved it and that is what white girls were for.” Mr Bailey opened the trial of the three men by telling the jury: “The three defendants are all charged with serious sexual offending of a historical nature. “The offending all took place in the Rotherham area.” Mr Hussain is also charged with raping a second teenager. Victim ‘felt overpowered’ Mr Bailey said the first teenager was an “immature and vulnerable young girl” when she began going to a Rotherham youth club. He said this club was also frequented by young Asian men, some around her age but others who were older and would ask the girls if they wanted to drink. The older men also gave the girls cigarettes. The prosecutor said the 14-year-old girl met Mr Ajaib at the youth club and he began to sexually assault her after word got out that she had had consensual sex with a boy of her own age. Mr Bailey said Mr Ajaib saw this as a “green light” and the defendant said that “now she needed to come to try somebody real”. He told the jury how Mr Ajaib, who was about 18 at the time, allegedly raped her in an alleyway. “She told him she didn’t want to do it,” Mr Bailey said, adding: “He was a lot bigger than her and she felt overpowered. She realised she had no choice.” Mr Bailey said this girl was forced into sexual intercourse on “about five or six occasions”, as she was “in fear of being hurt if she didn’t do it”. ‘Did not dare tell anyone’ The prosecutor said Mr Makhmood, who was 18 or 19 at the time, raped the same girl in an old graveyard in Rotherham as she fought against him. Mr Bailey said that he called her a “slag” and a “dirty b----” before spitting at her and laughing. The prosecutor said her parents had split up and her mother was working four jobs, so she had to deal with it on her own. He said she “did not dare tell anyone”. Mr Bailey told the jury how Mr Hussain allegedly raped the second complainant in an alley in Rotherham town centre with another male and female present. All counts denied. Mr Ajaib, 43, denies two counts of rape and one of indecent assault, all relating to the first complainant. Mr Makhmood, 43, of Falding Street, Rotherham, denies one count of raping the first complainant. Mr Hussain, 39, formerly of Rotherham, denies two counts of raping the first complainant and one of raping the second complainant. Mr Bailey told the jury that Mr Makhmood told police that it was a case of “mistaken identity” and police had “got the wrong man”. Hussain told officers the “allegations were vindictive” and Mr Ajaib made no comment when he was interviewed. The trial continues. Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Mail 2025-06-27 -
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Tourism North Korea ready to open its first beach resort with Kim betting on tourism
After years of delays, North Korea is set to open its ambitious Wonsan Kalma beach resort to domestic tourists on July 1st, state media reported, in what leader Kim Jong Un hopes will mark the beginning of a new tourism-driven chapter for the isolated regime. The long-promised complex, spanning 4 kilometers of the country’s eastern coastline, has been six years in the making. Although it was originally slated for completion in 2019, the project faced construction setbacks and was further delayed by the pandemic. The extravagant resort, which Kim attended a ceremony to inaugurate on June 24, features hotels, restaurants, a water park, and shopping malls, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It is said to be able to accommodate up to 20,000 visitors, though none of these claims can be independently verified. Kim, joined at the event by his daughter Kim Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju—who was making her first public appearance since a New Year’s Day event—framed the resort’s completion as a “great, auspicious event of the whole country” and a “prelude to the new era” in tourism. Kim has a personal connection to the area. He spent part of his youth in Wonsan, a town where many members of the North Korean elite have coastal villas. The resort is located on the site of a former missile testing ground—another example of Kim’s pattern of converting symbols of military strength into showcases of regime modernization. Still, some see it as little more than a glitzy distraction from the nation’s stark economic reality. North Korea remains one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world, largely due to its nuclear weapons program. With most of its resources dedicated to military projects and grand monuments glorifying the Kim dynasty, the average North Korean continues to live in deep poverty. Observers say the resort may be more of a financial lifeline than a genuine economic opening. “I was hoping this might signal a broader reopening to international tourism, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case for now,” said Rowan Beard, co-founder of Young Pioneer Tours, speaking to the BBC. The nation’s borders were sealed in early 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it wasn’t until mid-2023 that North Korea began loosening restrictions. Russian tourists were welcomed later that year, and in February 2024, small groups from countries like the UK, France, Germany, and Australia briefly crossed into the country from China. However, the regime suddenly halted those visits within weeks, offering no explanation. Tour operators remain skeptical about the resort’s broader appeal. “It is unlikely to be a major draw for most Western tourists,” Beard noted, adding that visitors to North Korea typically prioritize politically iconic sites like Pyongyang, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and examples of socialist architecture and culture. Still, the unusual nature of a North Korean beach resort may offer some niche appeal. “It's intriguing to experience something as familiar as a beach resort that's been shaped within the unique cultural context of North Korea,” said Elliott Davies, director of Uri Tours. The Wonsan resort may serve as a symbolic gesture more than a genuine policy shift. But with Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora and his embassy staff present at the opening, it’s clear which direction the regime is looking in terms of future guests. For now, Wonsan stands not just as a monument to Kim’s vision of tourism, but also as a reminder of how deeply North Korea’s fortunes remain tied to politics and propaganda. Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-06-27 -
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Middle East After the Bunker: Iran’s Supreme Leader Faces a Nation Forever Changed
Title: After the Bunker: Iran’s Supreme Leader Faces a Nation Forever Changed After nearly two weeks in hiding during a brutal war with Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expected to re-emerge into a country dramatically altered. The 86-year-old cleric reportedly remained holed up in a secret bunker, fearing assassination attempts by Israel, and had little to no contact with senior government officials. The ceasefire, tenuously brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and the Emir of Qatar, has brought a halt to the fighting for now—but the damage, both physical and political, is irreversible. Despite reports that President Trump warned Israel against targeting Khamenei, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not offer similar assurances, leaving open the possibility of future action. If Khamenei steps out, he will confront the ruins of a once formidable regime—militarily battered, economically broken, and deeply mistrusted by its people. Iran’s military suffered significant losses as Israel took swift control of its airspace and conducted devastating strikes on Revolutionary Guard and army installations. Top commanders were killed in the opening days of the conflict. While the full extent of military damage remains unclear, the pattern of repeated bombings suggests a crippling degradation. Iran’s nuclear facilities—long the source of global sanctions and diplomatic tension—were also targeted, though details of the destruction are still emerging. Public sentiment is shifting. Many Iranians now view Khamenei’s decisions as catastrophic, blaming him for the ideological obsession with Israel’s destruction and the pursuit of nuclear weapons. Both strategies, they argue, have brought nothing but economic ruin and international isolation. “It is difficult to estimate how much longer the Iranian regime can survive under such significant strain, but this looks like the beginning of the end,” says Professor Lina Khatib, a visiting scholar at Harvard University. “Ali Khamenei is likely to become the Islamic Republic's last 'Supreme Leader' in the full sense of the word.” Dissent has surfaced even within Iran’s ruling elite. During the war, a semi-official news agency reported that some former regime figures appealed to religious scholars in Qom—traditionally separate from the ruling ayatollah’s apparatus—to intervene and push for a leadership transition. “There will be a reckoning,” said Professor Ali Ansari, founding director of the Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews. “It's quite clear that there are huge disagreements within the leadership, and there's also huge unhappiness among ordinary people.” In the past two weeks, many Iranians displayed remarkable solidarity—supporting each other in the face of crisis. People opened their homes to the displaced, shopkeepers provided goods at reduced prices, and neighborhoods came together in mutual aid. But beneath this unity lies a painful duality: the urge to protect the homeland against external threats versus the long-standing resentment of a repressive regime. While many hope for regime change, they remain wary of one orchestrated by outside powers. Yet Iran’s parliament has voted to curtail cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, possibly setting the stage for withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty—a move hardliners believe will finally allow Iran to build a nuclear bomb. Khamenei may see survival as a temporary victory. But at 86, frail and increasingly isolated, he must now consider the legacy of his rule. Whether he hands power to another cleric or a council of leaders, the Iran he left behind when he entered the bunker is not the Iran he will return to. And many within its borders may no longer welcome him back. Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-06-27
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