Thailand

BANGKOK, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Former Thai singer Prissana Praisaeng, or Pooky, was arrested in Bangkok for allegedly trafficking more than five kg of ketamine, police said on Tuesday.

Pooky, 40, was arrested in her rented house together with her husband, 49, on Monday.

In the raid, police found 98.3 grams of crystal meth, eight speed pills, 10 ecstasy pills, four grams of ketamine and 40 grams of marijuana, along with chemicals and equipment believed to be used to produce narcotics.

Thailand's junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha was elected late Wednesday as the kingdom's first civilian prime minister since the 2014 coup he led, in a vote by a parliament stacked with appointed allies of the conservative, arch-royalist army.

Prayut swept aside his sole challenger, the charismatic 40-year-old billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit who led the anti-military bloc, garnering 500 votes to his rival's 244.

BANGKOK (AP) — When Prayuth Chan-ocha led a military coup to take over Thailand’s government five years ago, he wore a dowdy officer’s uniform. A five-year makeover transformed him into a politician, now styled in a well-tailored Western suit or an elegant silk “suea phraratchathan,” a Thai spin on the Nehru jacket.

The now-retired general, who has run Thailand with absolute power since the 2014 coup, completed his transition to a civilian leader Wednesday when Parliament chose him as prime minister of the new government.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Tuesday after a tumultuous session for tech shares on Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.1% to 20,384.43, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.3% to 26,804.81. The Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.8% to 2,865.87 and the Kospi in South Korea declined 0.1% to 2,066.20.

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was flat as the central bank announced it was cutting its benchmark interest rate to a record low 1.25% from 1.5%. It was the first rate cut in nearly three years.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares wobbled Monday after U.S. and Chinese officials traded jibes in their widening clash over trade and technology.

China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% to 2,890.08 after surveys showed a deteriorating manufacturing outlook in May. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% to 20,410.88, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1% to 26,871.23. The S&P ASX 200 dropped 1.2% to 6,320.50.

BANGKOK, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Thailand is scheduled to pick a new prime minister on June 5, Chuan Leekpai, speaker of the House of Representatives, said on Friday.

All MPs and senators will convene in a joint House of Representatives & Senate meeting to vote for the prime minister, Chuan said at a press conference. The voting will be openly conducted on a roll call basis.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares advanced Monday in Europe after centrists lost ground to pro-business and environmentalist groups in elections for the 28-nation bloc’s parliamentary assembly.

Germany’s DAX climbed 0.5% to 12,066.21 and the CAC 40 in France added 0.3% to 5,332.66. Markets were closed in Britain. With U.S. markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday, the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher to 25,652.00 and that for the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged at 2,832.90.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed early Monday in Asia in the absence of fresh news on the tariffs standoff between the U.S. and China.

U.S. markets will be closed for the Memorial Day holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.3% to 21,173.27 after visiting President Donald Trump said he expects a deal with Tokyo on trade after a Japanese election in July.

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday, with India and Australia leading gains for the region following elections that looked set to keep incumbents in office.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.3% to 21,343.09 after the government reported Monday that the economy grew at a better-than-expected 2.1% annual pace in January-March.

BANGKOK, May 11. /TASS/: Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat has presented a project on keeping statistical accounting at a seminar of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, head of the Russian delegation, Deputy Head of Rosstat Sergey Egorenko told TASS on Friday, adding that the initiative would help raise the research potential of countries for forming a larger number of sustainable development indicators.