Duterte orders customs chief to shoot, kill drug smugglers

13 Sept 11:53 Key points summarised by AI

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte publicly ordered Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero to "shoot and kill" drug smugglers, expressing frustration that no one had been killed despite approved firearms.
Duterte pledged to back Guerrero, assuring him he would not face jail for killing drug traffickers during operations.
This directive escalates Duterte's controversial four-year anti-drug campaign, which has led to over 5,700 deaths and prompted scrutiny from human rights groups and the International Criminal Court.
The order follows previous incidents where significant drug shipments bypassed the corruption-plagued customs bureau, leading to its temporary military control in 2018.

Suchada: Meet the reluctant star of Thailand’s cryptic crypto drama

Yesterday 15:38 Key points summarised by AI

Thai MP Suchada Zhang Thaensap faces intense scrutiny over her husband’s substantial 1.84 billion baht wealth, with opposition lawmakers alleging connections to international scam networks.
A significant portion of her husband, Taiyang Zhang's, declared assets includes a 1.44 billion baht loan to the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which still owes him 1.34 billion baht.
Opposition MP Rangsiman Rome accused Suchada's husband of links to online scam networks and gambling sites, prompting Suchada to vehemently deny the claims, demand evidence, and file a defamation complaint.
Taiyang Zhang's background includes co-founding Ren Protocol, later sold to Alameda Research (linked to the FTX collapse), and some of his former associates have been convicted in crypto company failures.
Suchada, a former actress and first-time MP, maintains her husband's innocence, while her party leaders have distanced themselves from the allegations, deeming it a private matter.