`Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout denied bail by Thai court
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The News Review:
- `Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout denied bail by Thai court
- Samui expected to pass Phuket as most expensive resort destination
- Pressure mounts on New York’s Gov. Spitzer to resign; he finds…
- Cambodia’s construction boom leaves the poor behind
- Man Pleads Guilty to Sex With Girls
- Tips From a World Traveler
`Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout denied bail by Thai court
Taipei Times – Mar 12, 2008
Viktor Bout 41 was arrested in Thailand last week at a Bangkok luxury hotel after a US-led sting operation. He was charged with conspiracy for trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to a rebel group in Colombia that is a US-designated terrorist organization. Bout also known as “The Merchant of Death” is being held in a Thai prison while authorities investigate whether he used the country as a base to negotiate the deal with terrorists. The Russian denies any wrongdoing and applied for bail yesterday. “The court has denied bail” Bout’s lawyer Lak Nitiwatanavichan said.
Samui expected to pass Phuket as most expensive resort destination
Nation Multimedia – Mar 12, 2008
Published on March 12 2008 The Mandarin riental the world's top chain of luxury hotels is considering building a resort on the island. It will be its third property in Thailand following Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Banyan Tree Intercontinental Conrad Sheraton and W Hotel of the Starwood Group are also at different stages of development. Local chains like Amari will not be left behind. It will launch the Sirimaya Resort next year or in 2010 along with an X2 Resort this year.
Pressure mounts on New York’s Gov. Spitzer to resign; he finds…
International Herald Tribune – Mar 12, 2008
Though it's true politicians have weathered sex scandals before few were in the former New York attorney general's position of having prosecuted others for involvement in the same sort of conduct he's accused of. In 2004 he took part in an investigation of a New York City escort service that resulted in 18 arrests. “The whole situation is marked by irony hypocrisy and self-righteousness” said Daniel Hochheiser a defense attorney in another case in which Spitzer accused two men of using their tour company to promote “sex tourism” in the Philippines and Thailand… Democrats privately floated another option telling The Associated Press that Spitzer was considering what was almost unthinkable immediately after Monday's bombshell apology: hanging on. “If the public is fine he'll stay” said a Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. The scandal erupted Monday when allegations surfaced that Spitzer a 48-year-old married man with three teenage daughters spent thousands of dollars on a call girl named Kristen at a Washington hotel on the night before Valentine's Day. The case started when banks noticed frequent cash transfers from several accounts and filed suspicious activity reports with the Internal Revenue Service a law enforcement official told the AP. The accounts were traced back to Spitzer prompting public corruption investigators to open an inquiry. Speaking of condition of anonymity a law enforcement official said Tuesday that Spitzer had spent tens of thousands of dollars with the high-end call-girl service Emperors Club VIP. Another official said the amount could be as high as $80000.
Cambodia’s construction boom leaves the poor behind
Taipei Times – Mar 12, 2008
Cambodia is experiencing a construction boom fueled by foreign investment particularly by South Koreans and buying and selling among the country’s few nouveaux riche — while leaving the poor majority behind. Shopping malls and tall apartment buildings are sprouting up transforming the capital’s landscape that once bore the charm of colonial French-styled villas but resembled a ghost town at the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime nearly 30 years ago. Political stability and robust economic growth of nearly 10 percent have lured investors to the real estate market that has seen prices surge over the last few years — though they are still lower than in neighboring Vietnam or Thailand. “Cambodia was sleeping for many years and now it’s waking up” said Claire Brown managing director of Britain-based Claire Brown Realty who began buying and selling property in Phnom Penh two years ago. “The government swept us away because they regarded us as very unpleasant for their eyes. Chhom Et former Phnom Penh slum dweller “Everybody wants to get a piece of the action” she said by phone. “The time to get in is now because soon it’s going to be too late… Construction will start next month and take three-and-a-half years to complete but Kim said nearly half of the units have already been bought. In recent years Siem Reap a northwestern town near the famed Angkor Wat ruins has also seen a frenzy of hotel and guesthouse construction for the growing numbers of tourists. Thrilled with the boom Prime Minister Hun Sen has said it has been made possible by the political stability he has brought. In a recent speech he warned that if he is not re-elected in July elections property prices could nosedive. “It was a threat a dirty trick to gain votes” said Son Chhay an opposition party lawmaker. Son Chhay and some human rights workers including Pilorge of the human rights group Licadho believe that the boom is partly fueled by people laundering money from illegal logging drug trafficking and tax evasion by plowing the cash into the real estate market.
Man Pleads Guilty to Sex With Girls
FXNews – Mar 12, 2008
William Constable 54 a self-employed contractor was arrested in ctober when he tried to retrieve a camera he left in a Cape Cod hotel room. A hotel employee who found the camera called police after seeing images of a man having sex with young girls. Prosecutors said the camera and dozens of cassettes and compact discs later seized from Constable’s Nantucket home showed him sexually assaulting girls as young as 5 sometimes two at a time. During a hearing in U. District Court Constable pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography… Constable told police he had sex with about 30 underage girls in Asia. When first questioned by police he said the girls were between the ages of 12 and 17 but later admitted some of the girls were as young as 7. Authorities who viewed the videos believe the vast majority of the girls were under 12 with some as young as 5 Gershengorn said. Constable did not speak at the hearing except to admit the allegations recited by the prosecutor and to enter guilty pleas.
Tips From a World Traveler
PC World – Mar 12, 2008
MartinWednesday March 12 2008 01:00 AM PDTYou think a three- or four-day business trip is challenging? How about a four-month journey to eight countries–using 14 different plane tickets?Randy Ross a former PC World executive editor recently took that journey. From August 30 until December 20 2007 Ross ventured solo to Venezuela Greece South Africa Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Australia and New Zealand… n a related note: Recently when traveling to Canada I mistakenly tried to use my Charles Schwab VISA card in a Toronto airport ATM. I attempted this two to three times before realizing the card I was using was not my Schwab ATM card. By the time I reached my hotel Schwab representatives had called my home and cell phone numbers to alert me to the unusual activity. I’ve been a Schwab customer for just a few months but so far I have nothing but praise for the company. Closing ThoughtsAs much as he enjoyed his trip Ross says “I was never so happy to be home” which is Boston. “I won’t be repeating this kind of trip anytime soon. Ross hopes to write a book about his adventures.