BANGKOK: Eight people were killed when a freight train struck a pickup truck that was crossing railway tracks in an eastern province of Thailand early Friday morning, authorities said.
The accident at 2:20 a.m. (19:20 GMT) also injured four people in the Muang district of Chachoengsao province, according to the State Railway of Thailand.
The 54-year-old driver, Wichai Yulek, told authorities he saw the approaching train and heard a warning horn. He slowed, but passengers in the vehicle urged him to keep going. When he realized the truck was headed for a collision, he could not stop in time, the railway agency said.
Suraphat Prasop, 20, was in the truck carrying workers to Laem Chabang in Chonburi Province. He told authorities that he saw the train approaching as the vehicle was about to cross the railway. Despite hearing the train’s horn blast three times, the driver did not stop, he said.
The deceased included three women ages 22, 55 and 64 and five men ages 18, 27, 55, 60 and 62, the rail agency said.
The bodies were taken to a police hospital to allow relatives to prepare for religious rites.
The site of the accident on a concrete road was at an unauthorized crossing without any automatic barriers to prevent crossings when trains approach. There are 693 unauthorized crossing points currently being used along the national rail system, the agency said.
Despite the crossing being unsanctioned, a photo of the accident site provided by authorities shows lights and warning signs there.
Thailand: 8 people killed, 4 injured as train collides with pickup truck
https://arab.news/ru5x3
Thailand: 8 people killed, 4 injured as train collides with pickup truck
- The accident happened in the Muang district of Chachoengsao province
- Site of the accident was at an unauthorized crossing without any automatic barriers
Investigators find black boxes from crashed Russia plane
- Investigators are looking into whether the crash was caused by technical malfunction or human error
- Russian authorities have also launched an investigation into the plane’s operator
MOSCOW: Investigators have recovered flight data recorders from the wreckage of a plane that crashed in Russia’s far east, killing 48 people, and will send them for analysis, Russian authorities said Friday.
The aircraft, an Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was making a second attempt to land in the remote Siberian town of Tynda when it disappeared from radar around 1:00 p.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Thursday.
A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 15 kilometers (nine miles) south of Tynda’s airport.
Prosecutors have not commented on what may have caused the crash, but a rescuer quoted by the TASS news agency said the twin-propeller plane — almost 50 years old — was attempting to land in thick cloud.
Investigators are looking into whether the crash was caused by technical malfunction or human error, the agency reported.
“The flight recorders have been found at the crash site and will be delivered to Moscow for decryption in the near future,” Russia’s transport ministry said in a statement.
Russian authorities have also launched an investigation into the plane’s operator, Angara Airlines, and whether it complied with regulations, it added.
“Based on the findings, a decision will be made on the company’s future operations,” the ministry said.
Angara Airlines, a small regional carrier based in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, said it was doing “everything possible to investigate the circumstances of the accident.”
The company’s CEO, Sergei Salamanov, told Russia’s REN TV channel on Thursday that it was the plane’s captain — an experienced pilot with 11,000 hours of flight time — who decided to make the flight.
“The weather forecast was unfavorable,” he said.
The plane came down in a hard-to-reach area and it took a ground rescue team hours to reach the site.
Russia’s transport ministry said the families of the 48 killed — six of whom were crew — would receive five million rubles’ ($63,000) compensation each.
The number killed could have risen to 49 if the Marina Avalyan, who was already sitting on the plane, had not been asked by her daughter to urgently get off and return home, according to a story reported by Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.
The daughter wanted Avalyan to look after her newborn baby, as she was taking her second child to a hospital, the daily said.
“I have no words to describe it: is this a miracle? Thank God she returned! My child has saved my mother,” Zimina told Argumenty i Fakty.
Greek heatwave drags out as temperatures near 46C
- The National Observatory in Athens said the warmest temperature recorded was 45.8C in the Peloponnese region of Messinia
- The Greek weather agency EMY modified a warning note to reflect that temperatures would begin falling after Monday July 28
ATHENS: A week-long heatwave in Greece that began on Monday is now expected to last more than a week, the country’s weather service said as temperatures on Friday neared 46C.
The National Observatory in Athens said the warmest temperature recorded was 45.8C in the Peloponnese region of Messinia.
In Athens, the highest temperature in parts of the capital was 42C, also recorded in the main port of Piraeus.
Officials once again modified the opening hours of the Acropolis, the country’s top archaeological site, for the safety of visitors and staff.
The monument was shut from midday to 5:00 p.m. — the hottest part of the day — in line with usual safety rules.
The Greek weather agency EMY modified a warning note to reflect that temperatures would begin falling after Monday July 28, instead of on the weekend as it had previously reported.
Northern winds are expected to pick up later Friday, raising the risk of fires, EMY said.
A wildfire earlier this week destroyed more than 2,800 acres (1,130 hectares) of forest and grassland near the mountain village of Feneos in the Peloponnese.
It was apparently started by two workmen using welding equipment near a forest.
Over half of the area affected was a pine forest that cannot regenerate, the National Observatory said.
On Friday, a fire burning near the city of Kilkis in northern Greece forced the evacuation of a university, homes and businesses, the fire service said.
A high of 44C was expected in Greece on Saturday, with a maximum of 42C forecast in Athens, the agency said.
In neighboring Albania, there were 10 active fires including one in Delvina, near the border with Greece.
Another fire in Kakavia, near the border crossing with Greece, was brought under control on Thursday.
Swinney to raise Gaza crisis with Trump during landmark Scotland visit
- Scottish first minister facing increasing pressure from within SNP to adopt strong stance on Gaza conflict
- Trump said Friday he was “looking forward” to meeting Swinney during trip
LONDON: Scottish First Minister John Swinney has vowed to raise the “unimaginable suffering” in Gaza when he meets Donald Trump during the US president’s four-day visit to Scotland this weekend.
Describing the trip as “a landmark moment” in US-Scottish relations, Swinney said the visit provides a key platform for Scotland to express its views on pressing global issues.
“As we welcome the president of the United States, Scotland will be showcased on the world stage,” Swinney said.
“This provides Scotland with a platform to make its voice heard on the issues that matter, including war and peace, justice and democracy.
“As first minister, it is my responsibility to advance our interests, raise global and humanitarian issues of significant importance, including the unimaginable suffering we are witnessing in Gaza, and ensure Scotland’s voice is heard at the highest levels of government across the world.”
Trump said on Friday that he was “looking forward” to meeting Swinney during the trip.
Swinney is facing increasing pressure from within the Scottish National Party to adopt a strong stance on the Gaza conflict. On Wednesday, his predecessor and former First Minister Humza Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla, who has family in Gaza, issued a direct plea via social media.
“Millions in Gaza are being deliberately starved while Israel withholds food mere kilometres away. Words are not enough,” they wrote. “Force Israel to open the borders and allow aid to flow in.”
El-Nakla, who also convenes the SNP Friends of Palestine group, told The Times that the Trump meeting represented “a critical opportunity to raise, directly and unequivocally, the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
She said: “Time is not on the side of the people there. As I speak, my family — like millions of others — is starving. The first minister must demand that Trump use his influence to compel Israel to end the starvation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
While highlighting the humanitarian issues at stake, Swinney also noted the wider benefits of the visit in terms of showcasing Scotland’s tourism and investment potential. He expressed confidence that planned protests would remain peaceful and respectful.
He said he believed demonstrators would “do Scotland proud” and act “peacefully and lawfully.” Rallies are being organized by the Stop Trump Coalition in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with others expected near Turnberry and Menie, where Trump owns resorts.
Trump is expected to stay at Turnberry over the weekend before meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer there on Monday. He will then travel to Aberdeenshire to mark the opening of a new golf course named after his mother. Although the visit is private, a joint press conference with Trump and Starmer is expected.
Police have warned that the scale of the operation could stretch resources, with the Scottish Police Federation stating it may double response times elsewhere.
France’s top court annuls arrest warrant against Syria’s Assad
- The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity
- Judge Soulard, added that, as Assad was no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, “new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him“
PARIS: France’s highest court Friday annulled a French arrest warrant against Syria’s ex-president Bashar Assad — issued before his ouster — over 2013 deadly chemical attacks.
The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad was no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, “new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him” and as such the investigation into the case could continue.
Human rights advocates had hoped the court would rule that immunity did not apply because of the severity of the allegations, which would have set a major precedent in international law toward holding accused war criminals to account.
French authorities issued the warrant against Assad in November 2023 over his alleged role in the chain of command for a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence, on August 4 and 5, 2013 in Adra and Douma outside Damascus.
Assad is accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case. Syrian authorities at the time denied involvement and blamed rebels.
The French judiciary tackled the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, whereby a court may prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries.
An investigation — based on testimonies of survivors and military defectors, as well as photos and video footage — led to warrants for the arrest of Assad, his brother Maher who headed an elite army unit, and two generals.
Public prosecutors approved three of the warrants, but issued an appeal against the one targeting Assad, arguing he should have immunity as a head of state.
The Paris Court of Appeal in June last year however upheld it, and prosecutors again appealed.
But in December, Assad’s circumstances changed.
He and his family fled to Russia, according to Russian authorities, after he was ousted by advancing rebels.
In January, French investigating magistrates issued a second arrest warrant against Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes for a bombing in the Syrian city of Daraa in 2017 that killed a French-Syrian civilian.
The Court of Cassation said Assad’s so called “personal immunity,” granted because of his office, meant he could not be targeted by arrest warrants until his ouster.
But it ruled that “functional immunity,” which is granted to people who perform certain functions of state, could be lifted in the case of accusations of severe crimes.
Thus it upheld the French judiciary’s indictment in another case of ex-governor of the Central Bank of Syria and former finance minister, Adib Mayaleh, for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity over alleged funding of the Assad government during the civil war.
Mayaleh obtained French nationality in 1993, and goes by the name Andre Mayard on his French passport.
Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes since its eruption in 2011 with the then-government’s brutal crackdown on anti-Assad protests.
Assad’s fall on December 8, 2024 ended his family’s five-decade rule.
Over 130,000 people displaced as deadly Thailand-Cambodia clashes enter 2nd day
- Both sides accused each other of opening fire on Thursday morning
- At least 16 people were killed, some 50 others injured in clashes so far
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH: Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire along their disputed border for a second day on Friday, as their worst fighting in years killed at least 15 people and displaced more than 130,000.
The fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors is the latest in a history of disputes that dates back more than a century, to when Cambodia’s former colonial ruler France first mapped the 800-km shared land border.
Both countries have blamed each other for starting a clash on Thursday near Prasat Ta Muen Thom, an ancient temple claimed by both nations. It quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling, with hostilities spreading to various locations along the border, marking a shift from usually brief confrontations that only rarely involved the use of weapons.
At least 14 people were killed, 46 others injured and more than 138,000 displaced in Thailand, the Thai military said. In Cambodia, around 2,400 families have been evacuated after the fighting killed one person and injured five others in Oddar Meanchey province, Meth Meas Pheakday, spokeswoman for the provincial administration, said on Friday.
Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai said Thailand has “exercised utmost restraint” against provocations and chose “peaceful means” in its responses.
“Our beloved Thailand is currently facing a severe threat from Cambodia … It is profoundly disappointing that the Cambodian side chose to initiate military force. Their actions blatantly violate international law and humanitarian principles through indiscriminate attacks on hospitals and civilian residential areas, extending more than 20 kilometers beyond the border … We consider these acts to be severe war crimes,” he said in a statement on Friday.
“I must emphasize that this incident is not a conflict between the peoples of our two nations, nor is it a declaration of war. It is a border clash undertaken to protect our sovereignty and respond to aggression.”
Thailand has also responded to the alleged attacks by sending F-16 jets to strike targets in Cambodia.
On Friday, Thailand had fired at seven sites in Cambodia, according to Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman for the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense.
The clashes this week followed months of tension along the border, which began when troops exchanged fire in contested territory in May, killing a Cambodian soldier.
Ties deteriorated further after Cambodia’s powerful former leader Hun Sen leaked a private phone call with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra about the border tensions, sparking public anger that led to her suspension from duties earlier this month.
The crisis further escalated on Wednesday, when five Thai soldiers were injured by a land mine explosion near Prasat Ta Muen Thom, prompting both sides to recall their ambassadors.
“This tense situation cannot be ended swiftly with armed clashes; it needs diplomatic mechanisms and international law,” Vann Bunna, a Cambodian geopolitical expert, told Arab News.
“Since as of now there’s no signal of negotiations, it’s prompting the worst situation, leading to devastation of both human life and infrastructure. This not only provokes insecurity in both countries but also affects the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) security region geopolitically.”
The last time that Cambodia and Thailand fired on each other’s territories was during a three-year border conflict that ended in 2011 and killed 20 people on both sides of the border.
The root of this week’s border violence can be traced back to the “discord between Thaksin and Hun Sen,” according to Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Japan’s Kyoto University
Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father and the former prime minister of Thailand, had a decades-long personal relationship with the Cambodian strongman.
“The border has come many times in the past, but Hun Sen’s decision to leak a personal conversation with Paetongtarn, which led to her suspension from serving as prime minister, was a clear betrayal of personal relationships,” Chachavalpongpun said in a statement.
“When the personal relationship between the leaders of both countries is broken, it (becomes) harder … to find a way out.”
