BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is ready to consider lifting martial law in some parts of the country to help boost a struggling tourism sector and economy, a deputy prime minister said yesterday. Thailand’s army imposed martial law nationwide in May, days before it took power in a coup that it said was necessary to end months of at times violent street protests aimed at ousting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Tourism operators have repeatedly urged the government to scrap the law to restore the country’s image as a trouble-free holiday destination. Prayuth last month dismissed calls by tourism operators to lift martial law. But Deputy Prime Minister Wisanu Krue-ngam told reporters the prime minister was reassessing his stand. “The prime minister is ready to consider lifting martial law in some areas of the country,” said Wisanu. He did not give a time frame for when the law would be lifted.
15 years jail for Korea ferry CEO sought
SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors yesterday demanded a 15-year jail term for the president of the firm which operated the sunken Sewol ferry, holding him partly responsible for the disaster that killed more than 300 people. Kim Han-Sik, CEO of Chonghaejin Marine Co, is on trial in the southern city of Gwangju on charges of criminal negligence and embezzlement. “We ask for 15 years in prison for the accused, taking into account the scale of the disaster, his status and responsibility for causing the disaster”, Senior Prosecutor Park Jae-Eok said. Prosecutors also demanded jail sentences of between four and six years for 10 others on trial alongside Kim on charges of criminal negligence. They included six officials from the company, two from a freight-handling firm and two port management officials at Incheon Port.
Seoul suspends deal to upgrade fighter jets
SEOUL: South Korea has suspended a $1.61bn deal to upgrade its fleet of F-16 fighter jets because of delayed work and cost over-runs, a government agency said. The US unit of London-based BAE Systems had been chosen over US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin for the 1.75 trillion won project to upgrade the South Korean air force’s fleet of 134 F-16s. The upgrade began in December last year. But it was suspended in recent days because of faltering negotiations over additional costs presented by both BAE Systems and the US government. Agencies
