Author: Press Room

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Medical Council suspended two doctors on Thursday (May 8) over alleged ethical violations linked to treatment given to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra following his return from exile. Thaksin, 75, returned to Thailand in August 2023 after more than a decade overseas and was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and abuse of power upon arrival. However, he was transferred almost immediately from a detention centre to a private room in Bangkok’s Police General Hospital for health reasons and never spent a night in a cell. His transfer, and the timing of his return, which coincided with…

OpenAI said late Wednesday that it hired Fidji Simo, the chief executive of Instacart, to take on a new role running the artificial intelligence company’s business and operations teams.In a blog post, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, said he would remain in charge as the head of the company. But Ms. Simo’s appointment as chief executive of applications would free him up to focus on other parts of the organization, including research, computing and safety systems, he said.“We have become a global product company serving hundreds of millions of users worldwide and growing very quickly,” Mr. Altman said in the…

Canadians have long spent wintertime in Florida, trading in frigid temperatures for the Sunshine State’s sunny beaches and spending money in restaurants and hotels that cater to Canadian tourists. But President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and actions targeting Canada have given some Canadians pause about spending money in the United States. Trump has repeatedly said Canada should become the 51st US state, called then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “governor” and enacted substantial tariffs. Canadians replied, “excusez-moi?” and, on April 28, elected Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party. And according to a Florida congressman, many Canadians also ditched their Florida travel plans.…

My favorite Paris guidebook is not from Lonely Planet, Wallpaper or Monocle. In fact, I’m sure you have never heard of it. Titled “Paris Here I Come!” and published by the Afro-American Company in 1953, it is a slim volume, a mere 30 pages set inside a cheerful yellow cover emblazoned with a white line drawing of the Eiffel Tower.Full of charming, conversational advice, the booklet describes Paris as “not a place, but a way of living — unique, lusty and uninhibited.”The book’s author, Ollie Stewart, was my father’s uncle, born in Louisiana in 1906. He was the first Black…

A man lay on a New York City sidewalk with a gun shot wound, clutching his side.Emily Borghard, a social worker who hands out supplies to the homeless through her nonprofit, found him and pulled out her phone, preparing to dial 911. But the man begged her not to make the call, she said.“No, no, no,” he said, telling her in Spanish that he would be deported.Ms. Borghard tried to explain that federal law required hospitals to treat him, regardless of his immigration status, but he was terrified.“He said, ‘If I go to the emergency department, that will put me…

The fresco is on the north wall of the Sistine Chapel, up and to the right as the cardinals enter to choose their successor. It depicts a scene from the life of Jesus, as told in the Gospel of Matthew, painted by the Italian Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino in the 15th century.Jesus, robed in blue, stands just left of center with his disciples in an open piazza, a temple in the background. Just right of center kneels his disciple Peter, reaching up to take what Jesus is handing him, the object of ultimate importance, signified by its placement at the…

Marc Parravano has donated blood 146 times. He remembers regularly going to the blood collection centre with his mother when he was a kid and followed in her footsteps after he turned 17 and was able to donate himself.“I get a sense of accomplishment and reward because I’m helping others,” Parravano, now 40, said in an interview.Just as his mom did for him, he’s teaching his three sons that giving blood saves lives. His 11-year-old, Christian, proudly went with him to the donation centre wearing his number 84 hockey jersey when Parravano made his 84th donation in December 2023.Parravano, who…

Three teenagers and a 12-year-old girl have been arrested by police officers following a dramatic police pursuit across Sydney’s southwest and eastern suburbs.On Thursday morning at about 10.30am, police attempted to stop a white Mazda CX3, believed to be stolen from a home in Victoria, as it travelled through Edmondson Park on the Hume Hwy.Camera IconFour teens have been arrested in Sydney today after a pursuit from Sydney’s southwest to Bondi Junction where they were detained. Supplied Credit: SuppliedA high-speed pursuit ensued along the M5 towards the M7 at Prospect, before police were forced to withdraw due to safety concerns.Police…

TOKYO: Three men were arrested in Japan after their rustling suitcases alerted hotel staff to the thousands of protected hermit crabs inside, police said Thursday (May 8). A hotel worker in Amami City, on one of the archipelago’s southwestern subtropical islands, reported the suspected crime to environmental authorities on Tuesday. The guests “had asked the hotel to watch their suitcases, and the suitcases made a rustling noise”, a police official told AFP. When two of the three guests returned to the hotel, police asked them to reveal the contents of their luggage. Inside the three suitcases, police found about 95kg…

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping, the leader of China, presented their countries as guardians of stability and historical memory on Thursday, at a meeting in Moscow a day before celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.The leaders made public remarks ahead of talks in the Kremlin, part of a separate state visit that Moscow has organized for Mr. Xi, its most important partner. The Chinese leader will also attend a military parade in Red Square on Friday.Both Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi are having to deal…