Two men in Thailand have been arrested for allegedly running an AI-assisted scam call centre that cost Thai-British beauty queen Charlotte Austin 4 million baht (US$118,000), raising fears about the growing threat of technologically sophisticated fraud in the region. Police identified the suspects as 31-year-old Ramil Pantawong, who was apprehended in the Wang Nam Yen district of Sa Kaeo on Sunday, and 28-year-old Thanawut Kanyaphanthe, who was detained in the Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri on Monday. They are accused of belonging to a 50-strong gang operating from a building in Poipet, a city in northern Cambodia near the Thai border. Police Lieutenant General Jiraphop Bhuridej, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, said the group had targeted at least 163 people by impersonating Thai officers with the goal of
Author Archives: The Esbec Team
Feb
In a stunning proposal, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will “take over” the Gaza Strip, “level the site” and rebuild it, after earlier saying Palestinians living there should leave. “They instead can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety, and they can live out their lives in peace and harmony” in other areas or countries, he said at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out,” he said. “Create an economic development that
Feb
Less than 15% of Israelis believe Trump’s plan is “immoral,” including 54% of Arab respondents and only 3% of Jewish israelis. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF FEBRUARY 3, 2025 19:16 US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025. (photo credit: Jim WATSON / POOL / AFP) A majority of Israelis support US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Gaza’s population to other countries, a Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Israel Index survey revealed Monday. The survey, which was published ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump in Washington, found that approximately eight out of ten Israelis support Trump’s suggestion that “Arabs from Gaza should relocate to another country,” while most Arab Israelis oppose the proposal. According to the findings, 43% of all
Feb
Major figures in artificial intelligence (AI) acknowledge the accomplishment of Chinese start-up DeepSeek , but caution against exaggerating the company’s success, as the tech industry weighs the implications of the firm’s advanced models developed at a fraction of the usual cost. Industry heavyweights from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to former Baidu and Google scientist Andrew Ng have praised the open-source approach of DeepSeek, following its release of two advanced AI models. Based in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, DeepSeek stunned the global AI industry with its open-source reasoning model, R1. Released on January 20, the model showed capabilities comparable to closed-source models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI, but was said to be developed at significantly lower training costs. DeepSeek said its foundation large language model, V3, released a few weeks
Feb
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing . 1. Taiwanese actress Barbie ‘Big S’ Hsu dies from pneumonia Hsu gained popularity for her starring role in the 2001 TV drama Meteor Garden. Confirming Hsu’s sudden death on Monday, her family said in a statement that the actress was travelling in Japan when she caught the flu, which triggered pneumonia. 2. China warns that US tariffs will hit fentanyl cooperation efforts, damage trust China’s public security ministry has spoken out against the US decision to place a 10 per cent duty on all Chinese imports – along with larger tariffs for Canada and Mexico – warning that it will be detrimental
Feb
The Learjet 55 crashed after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. January 31, 2025, 8:46 PM A small plane crashed in Philadelphia on Friday, officials said, with a fiery explosion observed upon impact. The incident occurred near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia. The Learjet 55 crashed around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. There is no word yet on injuries or deaths. Speaking at a news conference shortly after 8:30 p.m., Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said officials could not yet provide a number of fatalities. “So right now we’re just asking for prayers,” she told reporters. She said several homes and vehicles were impacted by the crash. People run after a small plane crash was reported in northeast Philadelphia, Jan. 31, 2025.
Jan
Tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada that are set to take effect could hike the price of a gallon of gasoline for some drivers by as much as 70 cents and send grocery bills climbing, experts told ABC News. The Trump administration this week reiterated plans to slap 25% tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1. Those countries make up two of the three largest U.S. trading partners, government data shows. Tariffs of this magnitude would likely increase prices paid by U.S. shoppers, since importers typically pass along a share of the cost of those higher taxes to consumers, experts said. The policy could raise prices for an array of products ranging from tomatoes to tequila to auto parts. “The scary thing is the list
Jan
Hangzhou -based Unitree forecasts a breakthrough in humanoid robot capabilities by 2026, when these automatons are enabled with more advanced perception, comprehension and task-execution capabilities. That is expected to turn up more clear-cut commercial uses for humanoid robots within three to five years. The Lunar New Year eve performance marked the world’s “first large-scale, fully AI-driven and fully automated cluster humanoid robot performance in history”, Unitree said in a statement. That milestone showing at the Spring Festival Gala reflects the progress being made by Unitree, which has accelerated its humanoid robot efforts over the past two years, as the field gets increasingly crowded with more foreign and domestic players amid recent advances in AI models. 01:01 Dancing robots take the stage at China’s Spring Festival Gala performance Dancing robots take
Jan
Hamas’s failure demonstrates how quickly years of diplomatic work can be jeopardized by chaos on the ground, which could derail future releases. By JPOST EDITORIAL JANUARY 31, 2025 06:01 Updated: JANUARY 31, 2025 06:07 Palestinian terrorist surround hostage Arbel Yehoud, held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack, on the day they hand her to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Yunis. (photo credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters) Our ceasefire and hostage exchange deal is hanging by the thinnest of threads, and no instance proved that more than Thursday’s hostage return. On yet another emotional and miraculous occasion, Israel saw the release of eight hostages: three Israelis and five Thai
Jan
Two US lawmakers, including the chair of a hawkish congressional committee, are raising concerns about the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts’ decision to host the National Ballet of China, accusing the dance company of being a tool of China’s “political machinery”. They are urging the cultural institution to reconsider its ties with the Chinese ballet company. Representatives Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, and John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House select committee on China , sent a letter this week to Kennedy Centre chairman David Rubenstein and president Deborah Rutter regarding the NBC performances, which are scheduled from January 29 to February 2 in Washington as part of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. 01:59 Taking Lunar New Year to Brooklyn Nets Taking Lunar
Jan
A session of the Appointments Committee of Parliament descended into chaos late on Thursday as tensions between Minority and Majority members flared over the vetting of Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. The disagreement began when the Minority proposed postponing the vetting to Friday, citing concerns about the day’s proceedings. However, the Majority rejected the proposal, insisting the process should continue as planned. The dispute quickly escalated and some tables as well as microphones were destroyed amid a tussle between some MPs. Security personnel were called in to manage the growing tension in the conference room. The Minority remained firm, arguing that an agreement had been reached to vet only four nominees before adjourning. They insisted that no further candidates should be assessed beyond that. As both sides refused
Jan
Forget the EV tax credit. Rivian founder and CEO R.J. Scaringe is far more concerned about another threat from President Donald Trump: tariffs. “It has, in some ways, bigger implications, far bigger, than what happens with the IRA tax credits,” Scaringe told reporters last week, referring to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which contains pro-EV policies that Trump has attacked time and time again. “There’s not a car company in the world that’s not thinking about moving supply chains around right now,” Scaringe said. More From Our Chat With Rivian’s CEO Trump plans to slap 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada on February 1, in an attempt to pressure those governments into preventing the flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants into the U.S. But it’s American consumers and
Jan
FireAid: Stars take to stage for LA benefit concert Christal Hayes BBC News Reporting from Los Angeles, California Getty Images Olivia Rodrigo is among the artists taking part in the show A star-studded line-up is taking over two venues in Los Angeles for a benefit concert to help the area recover from two of the largest fires in its history. More than 20 artists from various genres are on the line-up for the FireAid benefit show, which is happening simultaneously at two large venues in the city. Among those set to preform are Sting, P!nk, Lil Baby, Rod Stewart, Lady Gaga and Earth Wind & Fire. The lineup also includes multiple acts who were born in the LA area, including Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt.
Jan
The plane went down in the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport. Last Updated: January 30, 2025, 9:32 PM EST An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors expected. Sixty-four people were on board the plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas. Three soldiers were on the helicopter. The collision happened around 9 p.m. when the PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet was on approach to the airport. Map of the area around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the layout of Runway 33, which the regional American Airlines jet was approaching at the time of the collision with the Army Black Hawk helicopter, according
Jan
Intel co-chief executive Michelle Johnston Holthaus says the rise of DeepSeek chatbot could signal opportunity to be a disruptive player in the market for chips that power artficial intelligence. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFPSource: AFP Intel reported a fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday, but better than expected revenue as the US chip giant continues to struggle to stake its place in the artificial intelligence revolution. The company posted a net loss of $126 million for the quarter ending December 28, compared to a profit of $2.67 billion in the same period last year. Revenue declined seven percent to $14.3 billion, which was slightly better than expected by analysts. The company’s share price rose two percent in after-hours trading following the earnings release. “While Intel’s revenue decline remains concerning, the overall results