Twenty people were killed and 120 injured in the attack at the Erawan Shrine, a popular tourist destination

A Thai court has handed out death sentences to two Uyghur men from the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang for a 2015 bombing in the centre of Bangkok that killed 20 people.

The explosion occurred at the Erawan Shrine in the centre of Bangkok, an area popular with foreign tourists. As well as the 20 people killed, another 120 were injured. Five of the dead were from mainland China and two from Hong Kong.

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© Photograph: Sakchai Lalit/AP

© Photograph: Sakchai Lalit/AP

© Photograph: Sakchai Lalit/AP

India declares onset as up to 280mm of rain falls in 72 hours in Kerala, while downpours hit south-west Thailand

The monsoon season has officially begun in parts of Asia, marking the start of a period of enhanced rainfall vital to the region’s economy.

The south-west monsoon begins each year as a consequence of a growing temperature difference between the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean. Through spring, the land heats up more rapidly than the surrounding sea, creating a pressure difference that draws moisture-laden ocean air inland. Once this contrast reaches a critical point, the humid air pushed over the continent rises, condenses into cloud and unleashes intense rainfall across the region.

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© Photograph: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

by Nicolas Creed | Substack I will preface this roundup by reminding readers that the overwhelming majority of Bangkok’s visible population are walking around like zombies staring at their phones. In the parks, most people just want to find a quiet spot in beautiful nature, to spend quality time with their phones. It is getting more difficult to use cash as vendors rarely have change. People love to pay for things using their phones via QR code scanning with banking apps. Bangkok is ground zero for all things technocratic to be battle tested. There is no resistance. There shall be […]