Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's dreams of acquiring a 30 percent stake in English club Liverpool lie in tatters, with analysts and observers decrying Thailand's latest schemes to revive the bid as farcical.
The goal of buying into the Premiership side was touted by the government first as a source of unifying national pride.
But in the end it has brought ridicule, a loss of face and raised eyebrows among foreign observers and investors over the administration's motives over the bid.
"The deal is not a good image for Thai people," media rights campaigner Supinya Klangnarong said of the continuing and shifting attempts to secure some form of a buy-in despite a loud chorus of opposition.
"I don't think the international community would admire us for what our government or businesses are trying to do," he said.
Supinya, who is currently being sued by Thaksin for alleging that a conglomerate he founded that is now run by his family has benefited under his tenure, said the premier at least distanced his administration from the deal when opposition reached fever pitch.
Had a deal gone through Thaksin may have broken barriers as the first Asian to have bought his way into the world's wealthiest football league.
England's Premiership enjoys massive popularity in Thailand, partly because its games are screened live here during prime viewing time.
In May, Thaksin, a billionaire-turned-politician and an avowed football fan, launched his campaign. The Thai press seized on the drama, and within days he found himself backpedaling over the bid in which at first he had been expected to use over 4 billion baht (US$100 million) of his own fortune.
From the start, two of three Thais thought a government-funded stake would be a waste of state money, according to a survey reported in The Nation newspaper. Then it got worse.
Thaksin variously announced plans to use taxpayer money, float shares on the Thai stock exchange, and eventually launch a massive US$250 million public lottery to raise the money.
But the Thai fantasy of pulling strings at the top of one of the world's most celebrated sports dynasties unravelled.
Last month he backed out altogether, handing over control of negotiations to Paiboon Damranongchaitham, chairman of Thailand's biggest entertainment company GMM Grammy.
Paiboon quickly sought the financial help of "millions" of Thais to contribute somehow to the purchase, but when vague proposals fell flat, the deal was reduced to passing the hat around Asian business leaders.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS