14/06/2026

theSun on Sunday JUNE 14, 2026

WORLD 7

Standards set for gig workers

Myanmar detains US businessman BANGKOK: An American businessman who wrote a book about living through a military coup in Myanmar was detained on his return to Yangon on Thursday, according to two people briefed on the matter. Adam Castillo, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar who is based in Yangon where he runs a security firm, was stopped at an airport after travelling to the country, one of the people said. A US State Department spokesperson said it was aware of reports of the detention of an American in Myanmar but had no further comment due to privacy concerns. A spokesperson for the military-backed government told Reuters they had not received any information on the matter and had no comment. Castillo had been abroad promoting his book, Finding Our Voic e, about staying in Myanmar following the 2021 coup that threw the country into turmoil, according to social media posts. The military’s power grab ended a brief experiment in democratic rule under Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked a civil war between the army and a coalition of resistance forces allied to ethnic minority groups. In early April, former State Administrative Council chairman Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as the country’s president, following a general election that excluded the main opposition groups. Castillo, a former US Marine, last year visited the White House and suggested to officials that the United States play a peace broker role with a view to accessing rare earth minerals, Reuters reported. His book chronicles the crackdown but also criticises Washington’s policy, including sanctions, as ineffective and advocates for more business engagement. – Reuters said, Beijing will “inevitably retaliate resolutely and forcefully”. The Pentagon update supersedes a list from early 2025 and comes a month after Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Beijing and maintained a delicate trade-war truce. The ministry said the Pentagon’s move “ignored the consensus” reached between the two leaders. – Reuters the federal minimum wage. Amanda Brown, vice-chair of the ILO’s Workers’ Group, said the deal was a landmark moment for platform workers and a response to years of documented abuse and exploitation. “For the first time in the history of international ߑ law, the women and men who move our cities, who clean and care in our homes ... will be named, recognised and protected by a binding international standard,” Brown told delegates. The convention also states that platforms must disclose how automated systems affect workers. It ߑ also sets international rules concerning algorithmic management, meaning that platforms must disclose how and when automated systems are being used to manage pay and access to work. – Reuters

Police closed roads and traffic in parts of Bangkok’s commercial centre ground to a halt as the royal motorcade passed, led by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida. Thailand’s public broadcaster Thai PBS reported that the princess’ body was carried in the same vehicle that had transported the body of her grandfather, King Bhumibol, following his death in October 2016. “I feel sad, very sad, because Her Royal Highness was so beloved by the Thai people, well-known for what she had done and contributed,” said Pongsanguan Paranan, 63. The Thai government has yet to announce details of the funeral. – AFP evolving areas of the economy. “This is especially true for the cross cutting platform economy, where overly rigid rules hinder innovation and harm workers that they intend to help,” Riboni said. The World Bank estimates that the number of app-based gig workers is somewhere between 154 million and 435 million people. Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and trade unions, say that the widespread classification of workers as independent contractors ߑ allows companies to avoid paying the minimum wage and providing benefits. A 2025 Human Rights Watch report found that US platform workers surveyed earned a median of US$5.12 (RM20.77) per hour after expenses, with overall compensation falling about 30% below

for the first time, a set of protections that apply regardless of employment status, including measures on occupational safety and health, minimum remuneration, and protection against unjustified termination or deactivation. However, how those protections are applied will depend on employment status. A total of 406 members including the governments of China, Japan, Germany, France and South Africa voted in favour of the employment standards convention while eight, including the United States ߑ and New Zealand, voted against. Another 36, including Britain and India, abstained. Members of the UN agency include governments, employers and workers. US representative Lorenzo Riboni told delegates the US did not support a prescriptive binding convention in fast

GENEVA: The International Labour Organisation agreed on Friday to adopt the first binding employment standards for gig workers in sectors such as ride hailing and food delivery, potentially giving them rights on pay, safety and social benefits. The standards, however, still need ratification by governments, and then enforcement. The United States, for example, has frequently declined to ratify ILO conventions and its government voted against ߑ Friday’s convention, whereas European countries have been more supportive. While the convention recognises that platform workers may be employees or independent contractors, it establishes, Deal covers pay, benefits

Thousands in Thai capital mourn late princess BANGKOK: The body of the Thai king’s eldest daughter was brought to the royal palace here yesterday, as thousands of black-clad mourners lined the procession route. water into a ceremonial bowl placed before a portrait of the princess. “I’m sad that she passed away, especially when I saw her pictures as a child,” said another mourner, Nitikan Tephakham, 79, from the northeastern province of Roi Et.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, known as Princess Bha, died aged 47 on Thursday following an abdominal infection. She had already spent more than three years in a coma due to a cardiac condition. “When it comes to saying goodbye, it’s not easy for us,” said mourner Donnapha Kladbupha, a 54-year-old English teacher. The monarchy represented “unity” for Thai people during times of distress, she said. Nearby, others queued for their turn to perform a Buddhist ritual of pouring holy

“When she was sick, I prayed for sacred beings to protect her and hoped for a miracle,” she said. Thousands of mostly older mourners sat in sweltering temperatures along the 10km route from Chulalongkorn Hospital, where the princess had been treated, to the Grand Palace. Her body arrived at the palace at around 5pm (6pm in Malaysia) in a solemn and orderly procession.

Mourners hold photos of the late Thai princess outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. – AFPPIC

China opposes Pentagon list linking firms to military BEIJING: China is “strongly dissatisfied” with a US move to add several large Chinese companies to the Pentagon’s list of firms it says are aiding China’s military, its Commerce Ministry said yesterday. Alibaba, internet search provider Baidu and carmakers BYD and NIO. The list also includes the world’s largest solar panel makers: Trina Solar and JA Solar Technology .

competition between the countries. “China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes this,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. “China urges the US to immediately stop its erroneous practices, immediately withdraw relevant measures and return to the correct track of building a constructive strategic and stable China-US relationship.” If Chinese firms are not treated fairly, it

The list includes a broad swathe of China’s top technology firms key to advancing Beijing’s military and industrial prowess, reflecting Washington’s security concerns amid intense geopolitical

The Foreign Ministry has also expressed concern about the US Defence Department’s long-awaited update to its list on Monday, which included such top technology names as e-commerce giant