Word: thai
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...region: terrorism, economic turmoil, SARS. So it was no surprise to hear him declare last week Thailand's poultry industry?Asia's largest chicken exporter?safe from the avian-flu outbreak sweeping the region. On TV, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet cheerfully tucked into a variety of spicy Thai chicken dishes. Even the European Union's Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, David Byrne, was convinced, asserting: "There absolutely is no evidence of the existence of bird flu in Thailand...
...Until now, few believed there were enough armed insurgents in the south to wreak such chaos. The fervor for separatism has waned since its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, when Islamic militants waged a bloody struggle against the Buddhist-dominated central government. But a senior Thai security official in the south told TIME that the past few years have seen a resurgence in militant Islam among the country's impoverished youth. This time, he believes, their fight is for a more grandiose cause. "[They are] in line with the global jihad... These kids have watched the war in Afghanistan...
...Similarly unclear is the extent to which G.M.I.P.'s members, estimated to number more than 150, have received assistance from local Islamic radicals in northern Malaysia or from JI and al-Qaeda. Thai officials suspect the professionalism of G.M.I.P.'s latest attacks suggests that they have received training from foreign militants. But Andrew Tan, a terrorism expert at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, argues that the recent violence is most likely a local affair: "This is just the latest in a long line of bombings, assassinations, arms robberies and school burnings that have been going on since...
...Riduan Isamuddin, a.k.a. Hambali, himself claims to have had no success dealing with southern Thai militants. The alleged former JI operations chief told his U.S. interrogators shortly after his arrest in central Thailand last August that Thai militants refused to help him blow up tourist spots in the country, recalling, "They did not agree with the targets." Whatever the motives behind the latest violence, there is no sign it will let up: last Friday, Thai security officers found a time bomb at a police station about 40 kilometers from the military base where the four soldiers were murdered. For once...
...island of Phuket for a thrifty $23.50, less than a third of the Malaysian Airlines fare. Next month, the airline founded by a former music executive will start service between the southern Malaysian border city Johor Baharu and Bangkok for about $26 a seat; plans are afoot to offer Thai domestic connections as well. But don't expect a morsel to eat or a refund if you miss the plane. Meanwhile, Orient Thai Airlines has launched flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, with similar no-frills service, and fares about 30% lower than Thai Airways'. The Thai government's move...