Word: thailander
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Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has carefully cultivated the impression that Thailand is somehow immune to the ills that have afflicted much of the 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...
Thai lawmaker Hangthong Tumwattana was visibly upset when he turned up at his family's 12-bedroom mansion on the night of Sept. 5, 1999. A scion of one of Thailand's richest business clans, Hangthong's personal fortune had been depleted by costly political campaigns and his familial relations strained by an ugly inheritance feud. "He was nervous, hands shaking as he ate," recalls younger brother Nopdol Tumwattana, who lived at the compound in Bang Khen in northern Bangkok with Hangthong and may have been the last person to see his brother alive. Hours later, after calls from panicked...
...Thailand, business disputes are often settled out of court, sometimes murderously. Economist Chris Baker, who helped conduct a survey for the World Bank, said most Thai businessmen don't trust the legal system, because they believe courts and cops can be bought. "Violence was quite a big option," says Baker. The country has an estimated thousand or so professional gunmen who earn their livings mainly by "solving" business conflicts. Few are ever caught. Shortly after Nopdol's arrest, Thaksin told the press that fingerprint evidence showed that more than one person was involved in Hangthong's death. Instructing police...
...found guilty due to the current political climate. Meanwhile, the six surviving Tumwattana siblings remain a family divided. "It's really a shame," says Hangthong's son Changwat, who adds that he believes his uncle Nopdol is innocent. "Our family could have become one of the most prominent in Thailand. But greed has held us back. Greed has been our tragedy...
...begin churning out discs by the thousand. Two and a half years ago, hard copies would hit the street about a week after theatrical releases. Today they're usually out in 48 hours. On Dec. 13, a TIME reporter bought Samurai from a stall along Taweewong Road in Phuket, Thailand. "We've had Last Samurai for three days already," said vendor Nook (not his real name). At his booth, just 50 yards from an official Warner Bros. store, Samurai was available with Thai, Chinese or Bahasa Indonesia subtitles. Business has improved, Nook says, since police stopped shaking him down...