NATION & WORLD WATCH

US Army artillery officer dies during assignment in Thailand

BANGKOK – A U.S. Army officer has died while on temporary duty in Thailand to take part in a major multinational military exercise, U.S. and Thai officials said Wednesday. No foul play was suspected, they said. Maj. Andrew Cotter served as operations officer for the 17th Field Artillery Thunderbolt Brigade in the army’s I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-mcchord in Washington State, a statement said. It said he was found unresponsive in the central Thai city of Lopburi, one of the sites for the exercise, and confirmed dead on Tuesday.

Idaho joins Texas lawsuit over new federal clean-water rules

BOISE, Idaho – Idaho has joined a Texas lawsuit against the Biden administration’s waterway protections, claiming the rules are too vague and violate state sovereignty rights. The lawsuit, filed in southern Texas’ federal courts Jan. 18, was amended to include Idaho on Monday. In it, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador contend a new interpretation of a Clean Water Act rule is too vague, oversteps the bounds of federal authority and puts the liberties of states and private property owners at risk.

Suu Kyi’s lawyers unable to meet with her to plan appeals

BANGKOK – Lawyers for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving a 33-year prison sentence on what are widely seen as contrived charges, have been denied meetings with her as they prepare her appeals, legal officials familiar with her situation said. In December, a court sentenced Suu Kyi, 77, to seven years on corruption charges, leaving her with a total of 33 years to serve. Most of the appeals that lawyers have filed on her behalf have already been rejected, but some are still being processed, a legal official said.

Turkey intends to hold elections on May 14 despite quake

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated on Wednesday that his government still intends to hold elections a month earlier than scheduled despite the Feb. 6 earthquake and strong aftershocks that that killed around 50,000 in Turkey and Syria. Erdogan chided critics of the government’s handling of the earthquake’s aftermath and said the people would give their response to those critics on May 14 – the election date his ruling party had tentatively set before the deadly tremors hit.