Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada laid flowers yesterday at the site where a Japanese cameraman was shot dead in April during violent street clashes between troops and opposition demonstrators.
Okada bowed in silence at the spot in Bangkok where Hiroyuki Muramoto was shot in the chest by an unknown gunman while covering the political unrest involving anti-government “Red Shirt” protesters and soldiers.
Japan’s top diplomat was expected to press the Thai government for information about the killing during talks later yesterday with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
Muramoto, 43, was one of two foreign cameramen killed during the unrest in April and May. They were among 91 people — mostly civilians — who died in the clashes. Both sides accused each other of using live ammunition.
In a report last month, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called on Thai authorities to publish final reports on the death of Muramoto and Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi “as soon as possible.” It accused the army of failing to act with the “required restraint” to protect members of the media.
Thai officials said yesterday they had not yet concluded their investigation into the journalists’ deaths.
“For the case of the Italian photographer, initially we can say that he was shot from the front to back, and the bullet passed through [him],” Police Colonel Naras Savestanan told a news conference.
“We cannot identify the type of bullet or weapon that caused his death,” said Naras, the deputy director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, which is investigating the killings.
He said that the investigation was proving difficult because most of the victims were quickly taken from the place they were shot to hospital for treatment.
Polenghi, a freelance photographer and documentary maker, was shot while covering the military offensive in May that ended the Red Shirt protests.
Naras said that 209 suspects were still being detained in connection with the mass demonstrations by the Red Shirts, who were demanding immediate elections they hoped would replace a government they view as elitist and undemocratic.
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
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