In August 2018, Yingluck used a Cambodian passport to register as the sole director of PT Corporation, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday. It cited corporate filings in the Hong Kong Companies Registry.

Mao Chandara, the director general of the identification department at Cambodia’s Interior Ministry, said they had not issued a passport to Yingluck.

“We don’t know whether it [the passport] is fake or not,” he told the Phnom Penh Post.

The ex-PM was suspected of using a foreign travel document when she left Thailand under mysterious circumstances a few days before the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders was scheduled to read its verdict in a case against her.

Yingluck, 51, was later sentenced in absentia to five years’ in prison for criminal negligence, in connection with her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

She has since lived overseas, making headlines from time to time when appearing in public in countries like the UK, Japan, China and Singapore, along with her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Yingluck returned to the limelight recently following media reports that she has become a legal representative and chairwoman of Shantou International Container Terminal in China.

Her name was added to the port company’s registration filed last month. Her appointment as chairwoman of the Guangdong-based port operator came four months after she set up PT Corporation.

But it remains unclear what business the company is involved in. Yingluck and Thaksin were in China over the weekend to visit their ancestral home in Guangdong.

A Bangkok-based company of the same name, PT Corporation, was listed as the Hong Kong firm’s founding member, the South China Morning Post reported. Thaksin’s daughters, Pinthongta, Kunakornwong and Paethongtarn Shinawatra, are major shareholders in the Thai firm, according to the newspaper.

In Hong Kong, Yingluck’s company registered its office at the same address as a firm, among whose directors is a Hong Kong businesswoman believed to be close to Yingluck.

The businesswoman is also managing director of a Singapore-listed property company, the Hong Kong paper reported. Yingluck registered her residential address as a luxurious house on The Peak, the highest hill in Hong Kong, that belonged to the businesswoman and her husband, according to corporate filings.

Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, who had run away from alleged family threats, has been under the care of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHRC) in a safe house in Bangkok since Monday, when Thai authorities gave up their plan to deport her after the case made global headlines.

Payne told reporters that Canberra was “engaged in the steps of the assessment process of al-Qunun as required”.

There was “no possibility” that al-Qunun would return to Australia with her yesterday, said Payne, who declined to speculate on a timeframe for giving the Saudi teen asylum if she were granted refugee status.

Immigration chief Surachate Hakparn said al-Qunun’s father and brother, who have arrived in Thailand, could not object to the UN process as she has already been granted refugee status.

The Immigration police chief said the father and brother had told him that the case was a family matter and not related to relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Thailand is ready to facilitate her travel to a country where she could be resettled, he added.

Unusual speed

Australian authorities are weighing the young Saudi woman’s asylum claim at unusual speed, several lawyers and legal experts told AFP, contrasting her high-profile plight with a normally excruciatingly slow system.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne talks to members of the press during a press conference at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, 10 January 2019. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Canberra has insisted it will treat the case of 18-year-old al-Qunun “in the usual way, as it does with all” refugee cases referred by the UN.

But just days after fleeing a powerful and allegedly abusive family in Saudi Arabia, al-Qunun has already been judged a legitimate refugee by the UN and been in contact with Australian officials in Bangkok about resettlement.

Her plight is not that of refugees who languish for years in sprawling city camps like Dadaab, Kenya or Zaatari, Jordan.

“Usually it’s really very slow,” said Mary Anne Kenny, a veteran legal practitioner and expert in Australian migration at Perth’s Murdoch University.

HA protestor holds a placard during a protest in front of the Opera House for the release of refugee footballer Hakeem Alaraibi in Sydney on January 10, 2019. // AFP PHOTO

Payne said during her visit to Thailand yesterday, she had also advocated the safe return to Australia of footballer Hakeem al-Araibi, who has been detained in Thailand since November while trying to go on vacation.

Al-Araibi was granted permanent residency by the Australian government in recognition of his status as a refugee, she said. Al-Araibi, however, faces a court trial in Thailand for extradition as requested by Bahrain for his role in anti-government protests.

Payne reiterated Australia’s call to Thailand not to send al-Araibi back to Bahrain.

Graham Thom, refugee coordinator at Amnesty International Australia, called upon the |football community to help support the return of al-Araibi to Australia.

“Hakeem will not be safe until he is back home in Australia. As a recognised refugee with approved travel documents, he should never have been detained. He faces torture and possible death if he is sent back to Bahrain,” he said.

Fuadi Pitsuwan, on behalf of his father, received the award and thanked the Nara Prefecture and Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia. He expressed gratitude for the recognition of his father’s achievement. He pledged the continue to follow-up Surin’s work on democracy, human rights and conflict resolution.

Surin, who died in November 2017, served as the Asean chief from 2008-12. Under his leadership, he helped to implement the Asean charter after it came into effect. He also strengthened the ties between the Asean Secretariat and civil society organisations in the region.

At the same event, former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda was awarded the Grand Prize for his contributions in building a stronger Asean. “The world has been paying attention to the recent stable development of Asia. I am pleased to be a member of Asia, and at the same time, I think that it is a great mission for Japan to build a relationship to cooperate with the development of the Asian region in the future,” he said in his acceptance speech.

The award ceremony, held at Nara Kasugano International Forum IRAKA, Noh Theatre in Japan was attended by 400 participants, including diplomats and Secretary General of Asean, Dato Lim Jock Hoi.

The Economic and Social Science Prize was awarded to Richard Baldwin, professor of international economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva for his work on trade policy and economic integration, particularly his work on the “third unbundling”.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s attempt to flee the ultra-conservative kingdom has become a cause celebre for rights groups since the 18-year-old landed in Bangkok from Kuwait over the weekend.

Thai authorities had threatened to deport her but with the help of activists, diplomats and a hastily opened Twitter account Qunun launched an impassioned campaign for asylum.

As global interest surged, Thai authorities backed down from the deportation threat, handing her into the care of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Bangkok, which has urged Australia to offer resettlement.

Payne’s scheduled visit comes after Canberra dropped strong hints it would accept Qunun.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne talks to members of the press during a press conference at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, 10 January 2019. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Australia on Wednesday said the UNHCR had studied her case and designated her as a legitimate refugee.

Qunun alleges abuse by her family, while rights groups also said she had renounced Islam, risking prosecution in conservative Saudi Arabia.

Her father, who denies mistreating her, will remain in Bangkok “until he knows which country she is going to”, Thailand’s immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn told reporters Thursday.

The Saudi embassy in Bangkok has said it did not demand the teenager’s deportation and that the case was a family affair.

Saudi Arabia has come under fire since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the country’s consulate in Istanbul last year.

 – No sanctuary in Thailand –

In a statement ahead of her trip, Payne did not mention Qunun’s case.

But she said she would lobby for the return of former Bahraini national footballer Hakeem Alaraibi, who was granted refugee status in Australia after fleeing a crackdown during the Arab Spring.

He is wanted in Bahrain on charges linked to rioting, which he denies.

Alaraibi was detained in Bangkok in November while trying to go on vacation with his wife.

Qunun’s case has revived interest in the plight of the footballer, who has been held in detention since his arrival in Thailand.

“The Thai authorities did the right thing by a young Saudi woman in agreeing not to forcibly remove her and pledged to respect the rule of law,” Human Rights Watch’s Australia Director Elaine Pearson said Thursday.

But it also needs to realise the dangers facing the Alaraibi, she added.

Thailand, which is a not a signatory to the UN’s code on protecting the rights of refugees, has repeatedly faced fierce criticism for detaining or sending back people with asylum claims to repressive regimes.

Australia has also come under fire for re-routing migrants attempting to arrive by boat to offshore island camps.

Social media appears to have played a decisive role in helping Qunun avoid being sent back to a family she accuses of abusing her.

In less than a week Qunun — and supporters who helped manage her Twitter account — have racked up 124,000 followers.

“Don’t let anyone break your wings, you’re free,” she tweeted late Wednesday. “Fight and get your RIGHTS!”

The couple, believed to be tourists, were seen topless and hugging each other in a fountain in a roundabout along the street in the central business district.

However, it is not known when the picture was taken, although it is widely believed to have been sometime around midnight when most businesses in the area had closed.

The clothes of the couple were placed on a bench near the fountain as they frolicked in the water.

Kota Kinabalu City Hall has yet to comment on the incident.

A City Hall official said they had yet to receive any complaints on the photograph of the couple inside the fountain amid claims on social media that it could have been edited.

However, it is learnt that an investigation is underway after the picture went viral among WhatsApp users late on Tuesday to ascertain if the incident did indeed take place and who the people were.

Steps would be taken to step up enforcement at the fountain as many have continue to ignore warnings not to enter the pool for whatever reason.

It is not the first time people, mainly tourists but also young children, took dips in the fountain. However, this would probably be the first time that they have done it topless.

Hanoi told North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yongho during his official visit in late November that it wishes to host the summit.

Singapore enjoyed great publicity and financial gains as the host of the hisฌtoric summit between Trump and Kim in June last year.

Trump has repeatedly said he will meet with Kim again in the near future, but the two sides have failed to agree on anything significant enough to hold another summit yet. Only talk about where the event may be held has occasionally been leaked to the media.

While the general consensus is that Trump and Kim will meet in an Asian country considering the limits on how far Kim’s plane can fly, Washington has eliminated Mongolia from its list of possible hosts, making Vietnam a likely canฌdidate. Vietnam wants to host the summit in the resort town of Danang.

Vietnam’s third most powerful person and chairman of its parliament, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, asked President Moon Jaein during their early December meeting in Cheong Wa Dae to support hosting the summit in the Southeast Asian country, according to multiple sources.

“Indonesia has also been mentioned as a candidate, but Pyongyang may be wary of the distance,” Yonhap quoted a source as saying.

“Vietnam is seeking to host it in Danang for security reasons.”

The father, who flew in on Wednesday and is set to take the evening flight back to Riyadh, was scheduled to meet UN refugee agency (UNHCR) officials to give his side of the story.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s problems caught worldwide attention after she fled her family during Kuwait visit and ended up being detained in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. She was apparently on her way to Australia, where she intended to seek asylum.

The young woman is accusing her family of physical and psychological abuse.

It is still unclear why the woman was detained in Bangkok. Earlier reports claimed al-Qunun’s father had asked the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Bangkok to detain her, while another said that she had no ticket to Australia.

She later barricaded herself in the room she was being detained and tweeted asking for help, saying she would be killed if she were deported to Saudi Arabia. She also demanded to meet UNHCR officials.

Her demands were met, when the authorities handed her over to UNHCR on Monday.

A snap of Scott Morrison with his family — which featured as the banner heading on the prime minister’s official website — drew public attention thanks to his obviously doctored and implausibly white sneakers.

Facing widespread mockery on social media, including suggestion that the fake shoes were both for the left foot, Morrison decided to jump into the furore feet first.

“Message to my Department,” he jokily tweeted. “I didn’t ask for the shoeshine.”

    “But if you must Photoshop, please focus on the hair (lack thereof), not the feet!”

Morrison posted a first person view of his legs and tattered old blue and what-was-once-white trainers.

“Here they are in all their glory — my footwear of choice whenever I can get out of a suit,” he said.

The prime ministerial shoes were also resurrected in a more authentic version of the family photo on his website.

Amid a string of suggestions that he resign and general Twitter abuse, some social media users reciprocated the gesture, posting photos of their own questionable shoe choices and portraying Morrison with clown shoes.

The US Senate website announcement said it returned Murphy’s nomination as ambassador as his appointment was not approved by the close of the 115th US Congress period on January 3.

“The request of [Patrick Murphy] has been returned back to the US President and it is the implementation of Paragraph 6, Article 31 of Internal Order in the US Senate,” the announcement read.

According to Paragraph 6, if the Senate is paused or in a vacation period for over 30 days, all nomination requests will be returned to the president via the State Department. To be considered, the president will need to make the request once again.

Murphy was nominated Ambassador to Cambodia by Trump on August 10 to replace outgoing Ambassador William Heidt. He was set to be confirmed once he received approval from the Senate before the close of the 115th Congress.

Government shutdown

However, the Senate failed to approve Murphy’s appointment – along with a number of other ambassadorial appointments – as a result of a US government shutdown that began on December 22, when the Democrats and Trump could not agree on $5 billion in funding for the president’s infamous border wall with Mexico.

The Democrats assumed majority control of the US’ lower legislative body, the House of Representatives, on Thursday, marking the start of the 116th Congress that will run until January 2021.

Murphy is originally from the state of Vermont and has been deputy assistant secretary of the State Department’s East Asia and Pacific Region Bureau since 2016. He has served over 25 years in senior positions in the Foreign Service.

Murphy also worked as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires in Bangkok, Thailand from 2013 to 2016, and as acting special representative and policy coordinator for Myanmar from 2012 to 2013.

While on a visit to the Kingdom in December 2017, Murphy criticised the arrest of former Cambodian National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha and the subsequent dissolution of his party. At that time he urged Cambodia to “return to democracy”.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said he “hoped the new ambassador would not interfere in Cambodia’s internal affairs” and would “benefit the two countries in terms of creating a good relationship and cooperation.”

US Embassy spokesman Arend Zwartjes did not wish to comment on the matter when contacted by The Post.