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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s taxation authorities fined A-list Chinese movie star Fan Bingbing more than 479 million yuan ($69.74 million) over tax evasion and ordered her to pay back more than 255 million yuan in taxes, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday. Fan appeared in the “X-Men” and “Iron Man” film franchises with more
The closure of Maya Bay, part of an island in Krabi’s Mueang district globally famous after it was picked as the shooting location for the movie “The Beach” in 1999, has been extended indefinitely from Monday (Oct 1), sending tour operators into a disarray. The bay and nearby bays in Koh Phi Phi in
The Finance Ministry’s plan to seek the Cabinet’s approval on a new rise in excise taxes that will result in the retail prices of cigarette being raised by 2 baht per pack has drawn mixed reactions. The ministry aims to gain about 3 billion baht more in additional tax revenues per year from the proposed hike in cigarette
JAKARTA (Reuters) – The confirmed death toll from an earthquake and tsunami on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island has risen to 1,234, from 844, the national disaster mitigation agency said on Tuesday. A 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday triggered tsunami waves as high as six meters (20 feet), which swept ashore at the small city of
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed authorities concerned to quickly help restore Thailand’s tourism image in wake of recent unpleasant events involving Chinese tourists. He singled out problem of bribe-taking allegedly committed by immigration officials who prey on tourists, especially Chinese, when they apply for visas on arrival at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang international airports.
In the wake of mass destruction caused by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, survivors in Palu and Donggala in Central Sulawesi of Indonesia have been scrambling to salvage food supplies and other items, as aid from the central government began to trickle into the region, The Jakarta Post reported. It said on Monday,
The son of former Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thuagsuban and three associates were acquitted by the Appeals Court which overturned the guilty verdict on land encroachment on Samui Island by the Criminal Court. The Appeals Court said that the prosecution evidence was not convincing enough to prove that the 31-rai land plot on Khao Paeng on
Despite mounting pressure from various political quarters, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted today the four Cabinet members who have joined the pro-junta Palang Pracharat Party do not have to resign from their political posts. Defending the four ministers, he said that their affiliation with the Palang Pracharat party is their personal affairs. But the prime
STOCKHOLM (REUTERS) – Some of the actions Aung San Suu Kyi has taken as Myanmar’s civilian leader are “regrettable” but her Nobel Peace Prize will not be withdrawn, the head of the Nobel Foundation told Reuters in an interview in Stockholm. Lars Heikensten, speaking days before the awarding of this year’s peace prize, said
Malaysia will no longer support the leadership of Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi over her handling of the Rohingya crisis in her country, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, The Start of Malaysia reported. In an interview with Turkish international news channel TRT World, Mahathir said Suu Kyi seemed to be a “changed
Twenty-six Thai students were today flown back to Thailand from Indonesia after they and six other Thais were evacuated out of quake-stricken Palu town on Sulawesi island with the help of the Thai Embassy in Jakarta. All the 32 Thais, including the 26 students, were first taken to Makassar, the provincial capital of Sulawesi, from
A new-born baby miraculously escaped almost unscathed after she was apparently dropped from the fifth floor of an apartment building onto a banana orchard in Tambon Teparak, Muang district of Samut Prakarn province on Monday. Police said they suspected that the baby was hurled from the apartment building by her single mother. They said they
The newly-appointed immigration police chief today ordered his subordinates at all international airports and border check-points to stop demanding “tip” from foreign tourists and threatened to crack down on “brokers” preying on Chinese tourists applying for visa on arrival. On his first day on the job, Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn visited Don Mueang International
PALU, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesia scrambled on Monday to get help into quake-hit Sulawesi island as survivors streamed away from their ruined homes and accounts of devastation filtered out of remote areas, including the death of 34 children at a Christian camp. The confirmed death toll of 844 was certain to rise as rescuers reached
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak came to the defence today of four cabinet members who are facing pressure to relinquish their posts after joining the pro-junta Palang Pracharat Party. Somkid described the four as qualified individuals who intend to bring something new to Thai politics. “They are not politicians. They have been working hard with
