May 14 2007
New species in Lao kebab inspires $1million prize
Identified for the very first time when served up to a hungry American naturalist on a skewer in 2005, a living specimen of the Laotian rock rat has now been photographed. Despite appearances, the creature - known locally as a kha-nyou - isn't a rat at all. Robert Timmins described his tasty new discovery as a "spineless porcupine."
At that stage, however, he'd never seen a live specimen so branding the enigmatic creature a coward might have been premature. For all we know, when ambushed by Laotian rice farmers brandishing sliced bell peppers and pineapple chunks, the bushy-tailed beast might have shown conspicuous bravery.
May 11 2007
Jail for Thailand's YouTube fans
Fans of the banned YouTube video-sharing website will soon face "severe punishment" under a draconian new cyber-crime law. Anyone using a proxy server to visit a website censored by the Thai government could now end up in jail.
This criminalization of ordinary Internet users is just another symptom of Thailand's descent into authoritarianism.
May 2 2007
Thaksin to buy Manchester City
Thailand's brief experiment with democracy seems to have ended badly but it remains to be seen which Premier League football club will be the ultimate beneficiary
- Mango Sauce, 20 September 2006.
Step forward Manchester City.
Yesterday, former PM Thaksin announced the £130 million deal on his blog (www.hi-thaksin.net) alongside this "happy slapping" phonecam shot that appears to show him selecting a severed head for his lunchbox.
Previously
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
December 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
