Thailand

SAME was led by President Tautaituasivi Tagaloa Eddie Wilson & a Delegation of 12 members who also focused on private sector cooperation on investment and agricultural and private sector development.

His Excellency Leasi Tommy Scanland, Samoan Ambassador to New Zealand introduced the Thailand delegation during the meeting.

The Thailand government hosted six SAME member companies in Thailand last year in September to visit various manufacturing and export enterprises.

The social media giant has been given until next Tuesday to remove more than 130 items from pages viewable in Thailand.

Facebook says it does consider requests from governments to block material, and will comply if it breaks local laws.

Any comment critical of the monarchy can result in prosecution under Thailand's strict lese-majeste law.

Those convicted face long prison sentences.

Thailand's military government that seized power in Thailand in 2014 has made great efforts to suppress any criticism of the monarchy.

That Vorayuth Yoovidhaya, the grandson of the billionaire who invented the energy drink Red Bull, would once again fail to appear at a Bangkok prosecutor's office to face charges relating to the death of a police officer.

On 3 September 2012, that officer was struck by a Ferrari driven by Mr Vorayuth.

The sometimes farcical attempts by the Thai authorities to bring Mr Vorayuth to justice are now commonly cited as epitomising the untouchability of the super-rich in Thailand.

The facts of the incident early on the morning of 3 September are reasonably clear.

The Aston Villa midfielder opened the scoring in Bangkok from the penalty spot, but the home side overturned that advantage thanks to two goals from Teerasil Dangda.

Jedinak levelled with a second spot-kick but the Socceroos were unable to fashion a winner, leaving them outside the automatic qualifying spots for Russia 2018 after five third-round matches, a point behind Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Prajin Juntong said he had met Google representatives to complain about material found using the search engine and on YouTube, a Google subsidiary.

Google said it was following its existing policies on content removal.

Thais, which have the some of strictest lese majeste laws in the world, are mourning King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Mr Juntong said more than 100 pieces of content insulting to the monarchy have been found on Google services since he died on 13 October.

The social network said it has turned off ads in Thailand following the death of the country's deeply revered king. It's the first time Facebook has imposed an ad blackout for a whole country.

An emotional crowd held a late-night vigil in Bangkok for the king, who died on Thursday aged 88.

His body is to be moved to the city's Emerald Temple later on Friday. The official mourning will last a year.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is to be the new monarch, but has asked for a delay before taking over the role.

Flags are to fly at half-mast for 30 days and the government has asked for "joyful events" to be halted for 30 days.

King Bhumibol was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and coups.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej is widely revered and seen as an arbiter in Thailand's divided political arena.

He has not been seen in public for months and has spent most of the last year in hospital.

The king has received treatment for a variety of ailments in recent years.

The palace statement, released late on Sunday night, said the king's blood pressure dropped as he was being prepared for haemodialysis, a procedure used to treat kidney failure.

Mr Wong, who became the face of the 2014 Hong Kong street protests, had been hoping to speak to Thai students.

But the 19-year-old was detained on arrival at Suvarnabhumi airport and then flown back to Hong Kong.

He said there had been "no explanation for his detention", but activists attributed the decision to intervention from Beijing.

Mr Wong was at the heart of the mass demonstrations against Beijing that brought parts of Hong Kong to a standstill in late 2014.

It is the first time in South East Asia that the disease has been linked to the condition, which causes abnormally small brains and heads.

Several countries in the region have reported Zika cases. The virus is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito which also spreads dengue and chikungunya.

The current outbreak of the disease was first detected in Brazil last year.

Cases have recently been reported across South East Asia.