World
World News: Russian roulette goes tragically wrong

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community
PHUKET: An American teenager, who was critically injured last week while playing a game of ‘Russian roulette’ with friends has died at a hospital in central Florida, police said on Sunday.
The incident happened at approximately 7:30pm local time on Friday when 17-year-old Thorin R. Montgomery was playing the game with his friends at his home in Largo, a city about 19 miles (30 kilometers) west of Tampa. First responders found him suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives said Montgomery was playing the game with three of his friends, ages 19, 18 and 16, on the back porch of the house. “Montgomery was the first of his friends to have a turn at the game when the gun discharged and he received a gunshot wound to the head,” the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Montgomery was airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg and remained in critical condition until he died early on Sunday. Police said the Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy in the coming days to officially determine the cause and manner of death.
Officials have not said whether anyone will face charges or if Montgomery’s parents knew about the game.
In March 2011, 26-year-old U.S. soldier Michael Metthew McCloskey was killed while playing Russian roulette with another soldier at a house in the Alaskan community of Eagle River. The second soldier, 25-year-old Jacob Brouch, was later charged with murder in the second degree for knowingly providing the weapon which resulted in the death of his friend.
— Phuket Gazette Editors
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Law
Australia sets worldwide precedent by passing pay‐to‐play legislation for social media giants

In a landmark decision, Australia is now requiring global digital giants, such as Facebook and Google, to pay for using local news content on their websites. The move sets a precedent that many global companies have been anticipating.
The law passed yesterday after Facebook and Google reached an agreement to pay local Australian news organisations for using their stories on their websites. 1 week ago, Australians woke up to a blackout after Facebook temporarily banned local news, which included emergency notifications. The blackout was in response to the legislation being put forth for approval, with Facebook spokespeople saying it seemed to be their only choice at the time.
Companies like Google and Facebook pushed back against the legislation, saying such a law could threaten their companies’ business models, with Google saying it could make their search engine website “unworkable.”
But local news organisations have rebuked the reasoning, citing that social media giants claim a large percentage of online advertisin, leaving local news companies out of the revenue game. Citing that news is gathered by reporting and fieldwork, the companies say it is unfair for social media companies to profit largely off of the work of local, smaller companies.
The law, called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, aims to protect such local companies and to sustain public interest journalism. Thousands of journalists have lost their jobs over the past decade as local media outlets have seen the bulk of their advertising revenues flow to digital companies’ sites after using their content.
Australia’s competition watchdog says that for every $100 invested by Australian advertisers, $49 is sent to Google and $24 to Facebook. Now, both online businesses say they will each invest around US $1 billion in local news content globally in the next 3 years. Facebook and Google now have 2 more months to reach solid agreements before being subjected to binding arbritations.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
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World
Lady Gaga offers US $500,000 reward for stolen bulldogs

Who knew that finding 2 french bulldogs would earn US $500,000? That is the case for the lucky person that finds Lady Gaga’s equally lucky stolen dogs. The dogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen in Los Angeles, California while out on a walk with their dog walker.
But that’s not all. The employee in charge of keeping the dogs healthy was shot and wounded by a gunman who left the scene in a car, but not before allegedly shooting another man in this 30s. That man was hospitalised according to LA police.
Asia, Gaga’s 3rd dog was luckily found by police at the scene and was taken home by the singer’s staff. It isn’t clear if the frenchies were targeted due to their owner’s famous status or if they were taken simply because they were an expensive pedigree breed that can be sold for thousands of dollars.
Gaga, however, has offered the hefty reward for their return with “no questions asked.”
SOURCE: CNN
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Politics
Former Thai PM Thaksin makes appearance on popular Clubhouse app

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been living in exile for over 10 years, has made an appearance on the new “Clubhouse” social media app, in which he discussed his battle with Covid-19. Thaksin’s appearance was confirmed by the CARE movement, as he joined a forum hosted by the organisation on Monday night.
Nation Thailand reports that also taking part in the forum were former ministers from Thaksin’s cabinet, including Surapong Suebwonglee, Prommin Lertsuridej, Chaturon Chaisang and Pichai Naripthaphan. According to a Facebook post from CARE, Thaksin appeared under the name he has been using while living abroad.
“Thaksin would appear under the name ‘Tony Woodsame’, as Tony is the name he had used while studying abroad.”
During his appearance, Thaksin confirmed he had contracted the Covid-19 virus but has since recovered. He also brought up the “30 baht cure all” policy of his former party, Thai Rak Thai, designed to deal with Thailand’s healthcare problems. Asked about the current political turmoil in Thailand and how he would deal with protesters if he was still in power, he emphasised the importance of communicating with Thailand’s youth.
“Political rallies in Thailand are caused by young people starting to become uncertain about their future. The government must communicate with these young protesters based on reason, as well as find ways to make Thailand open and free.”
The exclusive, invitation-only Clubhouse app is gaining popularity in Thailand and around the world, helped by the approval of prominent figures like Elon Musk, Kanye West, and Jared Leto. Renowned Thai academic, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, himself living in exile, is also a Clubhouse member.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
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