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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS -

Bangkok, Thailand - 16 May 2025

1. Wide of Thai earthquake building collapse suspects leaving police station

2. Close of suspect

3. Zhang Chuanling, Chinese national involved with development of building that collapsed during earthquake, leaving police station

4. Suspect hiding face leaving police station

5. Media outside police station

6. Wide of suspect leaving police station

7. Various of Premchai Karnasuta, main Thai contractor for building project, charged with the felony of professional negligence causing death, being taken out of police station in wheelchair and loaded into police car

8. Wide of Bangkok deputy police chief Noppasin Poonsawat at news conference

9. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Noppasin Poonsawat, Bangkok Deputy Police Chief:

"I'm waiting for other evidence so that we can cover all aspects. I'd like to insist that we are working straightforwardly, and will pursue charges against everyone who has an involvement."

10. Wide of police vehicles with suspects inside leaving station for Criminal Court

STORYLINE:

A construction magnate and several builders, designers and engineers surrendered to police Friday on criminal negligence charges for the deadly collapse of a Bangkok high-rise in the March 28 earthquake that hit Myanmar.

Premchai Karnasuta, the president of Italian-Thai Development Co, the main Thai contractor for the building project, was among the 17 people charged with the felony of professional negligence causing death, Bangkok police said.

They added that those who met police on Friday formally denied the charges.

Several previously issued public denials in response to allegations in the media.

Ninety-two people were confirmed dead in the rubble of the building that had been under construction and a small number of other people remain unaccounted for.

The building, which was to become a new State Audit Office, was the only one in Thailand to collapse in the earthquake that was centred in neighbouring Myanmar.

The search for victims at the site has been halted, though efforts to identify remains through DNA will continue.

According to police, evidence and testimony from experts suggested the building plan did not meet standards and codes.

The Bangkok Post newspaper reported that police also determined the project showed "structural flaws in the core lift shaft and substandard concrete and steel”.

Thai media had reported allegations of wrongdoing in the project almost every day since the building’s collapse, many of them involving irregular documentation for the project.

Their reports also highlighted the role of Italian-Thai’s Chinese joint venture partner, the China Railway No. 10 company, which is involved in projects around the world.

It is Premchai’s second major tangle with the law.

In 2019, he was convicted of wildlife poaching and served about three years in prison.

He was found guilty of killing protected animals and illegal possession of weapons after park rangers found a hunting party at a wildlife sanctuary in 2018 with carcasses of a rare black panther, a kalij pheasant and a barking deer.

The panther had been butchered and its meat cooked for soup.

AP video by Tian Macleod Ji, Jerry Harmer

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Caracas, Venezuela - 15 May 2025

1. Various of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro holding 2 year-old girl Maikelys Espinoza at a government rally

2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan President:

++PART OVERLAID BY SHOTS 3 & 4++

"Let's give an applause for the family for the migrants kidnapped in El Salvador, by petition of "La Sayona" (The Banshee - refering to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado) they kidnapped them and sent them to El Salvador. She is the devil, evil and perversity but with the favor of God sooner rather than later we will rescue them safe and sound, all of the Venezuelans kidnapped in El Salvador and will come to hug their families."

3. Maduro and government officials sitting as Espinoza plays on stage

4. Wide of crowd listening to Maduro

5. Espinoza and Maduro on stage

STORYLINE:

2-year-old Maikelys Espinoza, who was separated from her parents when they were deported from the U.S., appeared on stage with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at a government event in Caracas on Thursday.

The toddler played on stage and ate ice-cream as government officials attended the event marking the International Day of Families.

Maikelys Espinoza arrived at an airport on Wednesday outside the capital, Caracas, along with more than 220 deported migrants.

Footage aired by state television showed Venezuela’s first lady Cilia Flores carrying Maikelys at the airport.

Later, Flores was shown handing the girl over to her mother, who had been waiting for her arrival at the presidential palace along with Maduro.

The child's mother arrived in Venezuela on a recent flight without her daughter.

Her father had already been deported to El Salvador in March and is being held in a maximum-security prison, according to the family's lawyers.

U.S. authorities allege that both parents are linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, which was designated a terrorist organization under President Donald Trump.

Venezuela denounced the case as kidnapping.

AP Video shot by Juan Arraez

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Taipei, Taiwan - 16 May 2025

1. Wide of protesters outside the government building in Taipei

2. Various of protesters; UPSOUND chanting (Mandarin) "Oppose secret negotiations"

3. Close of banner reading (Mandarin) "Firmly oppose zero tariff negotiations"

4. Various of official accepting petition from protesters

5. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Tzu-wen, 72 year old farmer and activist:

"We must let the U.S. government know that Taiwanese farmers disagree with zero tariffs. We want to maintain food sovereignty to ensure that farmers' work continue and their livelihoods are protected."

6. Wide of news briefing held by Premier Cho Jung-tai

7. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Cho Jung-tai, Taiwan's Premier:

"We must still emphasize the protection of domestic industries. Our ultimate goal in negotiations (with the U.S.) is to maintain the country's greatest interests while preserving the international competitiveness of our industry."

8. Mid of Cho and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun

9. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Cheng Li-chiun, Taiwan's Vice Premier:

"In fact, currently, 76% of products exported from Taiwan to the United States have zero tariffs. For products imported from the United States to Taiwan, 62% already have zero tariffs. Therefore, on this basis, both sides can discuss in a mutually beneficial way in the future."

10. Close of photographer

11. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Cheng Li-chiun, Taiwan's Vice Premier:

"We hope to promote the balance of bilateral trade, but also to pursue the establishment of a mutually beneficial bilateral economic and trade system in the future. Moreover, further developing the Taiwan-U.S. high-tech strategic partnership is essential. Therefore, we believe that expanding investment in the U.S. and purchasing from the U.S. will help balance the trade deficit and create industrial opportunities for both sides."

12. Cutaway of journalists

13. Various of farmers and activists protesting outside the parliament in Taipei

STORYLINE:

Dozens of farmers and activists gathered outside the Executive Yuan building in Taipei on Friday to protest against the Taiwanese government’s plan to pursue a zero-tariff import policy with the United States, fearing its impact on the agricultural sector.

Chanting slogans and holding banners reading “oppose zero tariff negotiations,” the demonstrators voiced strong opposition to what they see as a threat to farmers’ livelihoods.

“We must let the U.S. government know that Taiwanese farmers disagree with zero tariffs,” said 72-year-old farmer and activist Lin Tzu-wen. “We want to ensure that farmers’ work continues and their livelihoods are protected.”

The protest follows a controversial move by U.S. President Donald Trump, who on April 2 announced a sweeping 32% “reciprocal” tariff on goods from Taiwan, citing large trade surpluses. A week later, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs to allow negotiations for a lower rate.

Premier Cho Jung-tai addressed the media on Friday, saying, “We must still emphasize the protection of domestic industries."

Despite the government’s reassurances, protesters on the ground say they remain unconvinced and are calling for more transparent communication and greater protection of Taiwan’s domestic agriculture in any future agreements.

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid, Spain - 15 May 2025

1. Various of people sleeping rough at Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4

2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Cecilia Cardenas, 58, rough sleeper at airport:

"Well, I have been here for a long time, at the airport, sleeping, and of course, it's very hard here. To shower, I have to go to some public bathrooms on Pantoja Street in Cuatro Caminos. I have to go to the Embajadores area. My insulin gets spoiled. The social worker says it's the city council's fault. The city council tells me it's emergency services. The emergency services tells me talk to the social worker. So it's like a dog chasing its tail."

3. Various of people sleeping rough at airport

STORYLINE:

Spain’s airport authority will limit access to Madrid’s airport during parts of the day to stop more homeless people sleeping in its terminals.

Airport authorities said Wednesday that only travellers with boarding passes, airport employees and those accompanying passengers with tickets will be allowed inside during hours with few departing and arriving flights.

It said limits would start to be implemented over the next few days but did not specify exactly when or during what hours of the day.

For months, the Spanish capital's airport has been dealing with homeless encampments in some of its terminals.

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Istanbul, Turkey - 16 May 2025

1. Various exteriors of Presidential Dolmabahce Working Office in Istanbul, security and media at scene

STORYLINE:

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace negotiations in nearly three years on Friday in Istanbul as delegations from both countries have now confirmed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is sending a team headed by his defense minister from the Turkish capital Ankara to Istanbul to meet a Russian delegation

A trilateral meeting involving representatives from Turkey, the US and Ukraine at the Presidential Dolmabahce Working Office in Istanbul is expected this morning, according to Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources.

The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the U.N. Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.

AP Video by Mehmet Guzel

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hwange, Zimbabwe - 29 April 2025

1. Various of park rangers collaring an elephant

2. Various of Arnold Tshipa and other rangers collaring an elephant

3. Close of park rangers tightening the collar around the elephant

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Arnold Tshipa, IFAW Field Operations Manager

++SOUNDBITE PARTLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 1-3++

“Collaring helps us understand the movement of animals within these human wildlife areas or corridors per se. We are going to be able to see the interactions between both wildlife and people. This then allows us to give more resources to particular areas.”

5. Close of collar around an elephant

6. Various of local volunteer Capon Sibanda and farmer Senzeni Sibanda looking at the Earthrager Application on a mobile phone

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Capon Sibanda, local volunteer

++SOUNDBITE PARTLY OVERLAID BY SHOT 6++

“Everyday it has become a morning routine, every time I wake up I take my bike, I take my gadget then I hit the road. As I am travelling the circumference I can cover is 5-10kms depending on how I’m feeling on a daily basis, so I’m going through the boundaries, checking the spoors of animals, which animals came in and which went out. So, its so interesting because what I have in this gadget is an EarthRanger - the app that I work with. Whatever I see on the road the spoors I come across, that’s unusual in the bush, I record it.”

8. Wide of elephants walking through Hwange National Park

STORYLINE:

When GPS-triggered alerts show an elephant herd heading toward villages near Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, Capon Sibanda springs into action.

He posts warnings in WhatsApp groups before speeding off on his bicycle to inform nearby residents without phones or network access.

The new system of tracking elephants wearing GPS collars was launched last year by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

It aims to prevent dangerous encounters between people and elephants, which are more frequent as climate change worsens competition for food and water.

“When we started it was more of a challenge, but it’s becoming phenomenal,” said Sibanda, 29, one of the local volunteers trained to be community guardians.

For generations, villagers banged pots, shouted or burned dung to drive away elephants. But worsening droughts and shrinking resources have pushed the animals to raid villages more often, destroying crops and infrastructure and sometimes injuring or killing people.

Zimbabwe's elephant population is estimated at around 100,000, nearly double the land’s capacity. The country hasn’t culled elephants in close to four decades. That's because of pressure from wildlife conservation activists, and because the process is expensive, according to parks spokesman Tinashe Farawo.

Conflicts between humans and wildlife such as elephants, lions and hyenas killed 18 people across the southern African country between January and April this year, forcing park authorities to kill 158 “trouble” animals during that period.

“Droughts are getting worse. The elephants devour the little that we harvest,” said Senzeni Sibanda, a local councillor and farmer, tending her tomato crop with cow dung manure in a community garden that also supports a school feeding program.

Technology now supports the traditional tactics. Through the EarthRanger platform introduced by IFAW, authorities track collared elephants in real time.

“Every second counts,” said Kudzai Mapurisa, a parks agency veterinarian.

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hanoi, Vietnam - 16 May 2024

1. Various of Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long, right, and Thailand's Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, left, exchanging documents

2. Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Public Security Pham The Tung and Thailand's Secretary General of the Narcotics Control Board Phanurat Lukboon

3. Wide of Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra during press conference

4. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand's Prime Minister:

“I’m very pleased that Thailand and Vietnam have upgraded the bilateral relation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It demonstrates the signification that both countries have for each other. It also opens a new era in Thailand-Vietnam bilateral relations amid the instability in the world’s current situation.”

5. Close of Thai flag

6. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnam's Prime Minsiter:

“(The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Thailand) will contribute to peace and stability in regional security and defense in ASEAN, in Asia and in the world. Secondly, it will promote the socio-economic development in both countries.”

7. Chinh and Paetongtarn hug and shake hands

STORYLINE:

Vietnam and Thailand upgraded ties to the highest level of diplomacy Friday during Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s official visit to the fellow Southeast Asian nation.

The comprehensive strategic partnership was announced after Paetongtarn’s meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Paetongtarn and Chinh co-chaired the 4th Thailand-Vietnam joint cabinet meeting, a platform to promote cooperation in fields including security, tourism, trade and investment.

Thailand is Vietnam’s largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations voting bloc and 7th in the world. Bilateral trade value reached over $20 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.

Paetongtarn is also scheduled to meet with Vietnam's Communist Chief To Lam, President Luong Cuong and attend a business forum with Chinh before concluding the visit.

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bangkok – 16 May 2025

1. Wide of Premchai Karnasuta, main Thai contractor for building project, charged with the felony of professional negligence causing death, arriving to surrender at police station

2. Close of Premchai

3. Various of Premchai being assisted up ramp into police station

4. Wide of media outside police station

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bangkok – 2 April 2025

5. Various of clearance work at site of collapsed building, workers on site

STORYLINE:

A construction magnate and several builders, designers and engineers surrendered to police Friday on criminal negligence charges for the deadly collapse of a Bangkok high-rise in the March 28 earthquake that hit Myanmar.

Premchai Karnasuta, the president of Italian-Thai Development Co, the main Thai contractor for the building project, as well as designers and engineers were among 17 charged with the felony of professional negligence causing death, Bangkok deputy police chief Noppasin Poonsawat said.

Noppasin said those who met police on Friday formally denied the charges. Several have previously issued public denials in response to allegations in the media.

Ninety-two people were confirmed dead in the rubble of the building that had been under construction and a small number of other people remain unaccounted for.

The building, which was to become a new State Audit Office, was the only one in Thailand to collapse in the earthquake that was centred in neighbouring Myanmar.

The search for victims at the site has been halted, though efforts to identify remains through DNA will continue.

Noppasin said at a news conference that evidence and testimony from experts suggested the building plan did not meet standards and codes.

The Bangkok Post newspaper said police had also determined the project showed "structural flaws in the core lift shaft and substandard concrete and steel.”

Thai media have reported allegations of wrongdoing in the project almost every day since the building’s collapse, many of them involving irregular documentation for the project.

Their reports have highlighted the role of Italian-Thai’s Chinese joint venture partner, the China Railway No. 10 company, which is involved in projects around the world.

A Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the 17 on Thursday. Noppasin said 15 turned themselves in at a police station in the morning and the remaining two were expected to do so later Friday.

The epicentre of the quake was in central Myanmar, where it killed more than 3,700 people and caused major damage in Mandalay, the country's second biggest city, and the capital, Naypyitaw.

Premchai’s case is his second major tangle with the law.

In 2019, he was convicted of wildlife poaching and served about three years in prison.

He was found guilty of killing protected animals and illegal possession of weapons after park rangers found a hunting party at a wildlife sanctuary in 2018 with carcasses of a rare black panther, a kalij pheasant and a barking deer.

The panther had been butchered and its meat cooked for soup.

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hanoi, Vietnam - 16 May 2025

++PART MUTE++

1. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra posing for photos with children waving flags

2. Chinh and Paetongtarn walking on dais

3. Various of Chinh and Paetongtarn standing for national anthems during welcome ceremony

4. Honour guards

5. Various of Chinh and Paetongtarn inspecting honour guards

6. Vietnamese and Thai flags

7. Various of Chinh and Paetongtarn walking to meeting

AGENCY POOL

Hanoi, Vietnam - 16 May 2025

++MUTE++

8. Various of Chinh and Paetongtarn shaking hands

9. Various of meeting

STORYLINE:

Vietnam and Thailand upgraded their ties to the highest level of diplomacy on Friday, during Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s official visit to the fellow Southeast Asian nation.

The comprehensive strategic partnership was announced after Paetongtarn’s meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, Vietnam.

After attending a welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Paetongtarn and Chinh co-chaired the 4th Thailand-Vietnam joint cabinet meeting, a platform to promote cooperation in fields including security, tourism, trade and investment.

It’s Paetongtarn’s first visit to Vietnam as a prime minister.

She is also scheduled to meet with Vietnamese Communist Chief To Lam, President Luong Cuong and attend a business forum with Chinh before concluding the visit.

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(16 May 2025)

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bucharest, Romania - 11 May 2025

1. Romanian presidential candidate Nicusor Dan walking on stage

2. Various top shots of rally

3. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Nicusor Dan, Romanian presidential candidate:

++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON SHOT 1 AND IS PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 2&4++

"We need to rebuild this country, we need to project hope. And we need, from May 19, a united Romania so that its people will be able to face the challenges inside and outside the country."

4. Various of crowd

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bucharest, Romania - 13 May 2025

5. Failed debate between AUR leader George Simion and his counterpart Nicusor Dan who didn’t take part

6. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) George Simion, AUR party leader:

++SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOT 7++

"George Simion is here in order for us to go back to constitutional order, to normality, to democracy, to the will of the Romanian people. And if there's one partner who you want to work with… well that partner is represented by economic agents and the state of Romanian economy."

7. Various of failed debate

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bucharest, Romania - 2 May 2025

8. Various of electoral banners showing candidates Nicusor Dan and George Simion

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bucharest, Romania - 14 May 2025

9. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Andrei Taranu, Romanian National School of Political and Administrative Studies professor of politics:

++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOT 10++

“A quarantine period for Romania is due to happen next, regardless of who becomes president. It'll either be a quarantine from the U.S. side regarding Nicusor Dan or a quarantine from the EU regarding George Simion."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bucharest, Romania - 2 May 2025

10. Various of main entrance to Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest

STORYLINE:

Romania braces for a high-stakes presidential runoff this weekend between two starkly different candidates: hard-right nationalist frontrunner George Simion, and pro-Western reformist and incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, as a geopolitical choice between East or West.

The tense vote comes as Romania is gripped by a deep political crisis after a top court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped the first round following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.

After coming fourth in last year’s canceled race, Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, backed Georgescu who was banned in March from standing in the redo.

Simion then surged to frontrunner in the May 4 rerun after becoming the standard-bearer for the hard right.

Simion’s AUR party, which proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom,” rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election, and has since doubled its support to become the second-largest party in the Romanian legislature.

Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania’s political establishment has fueled a surge in support for nationalist figures, reflecting a broader pattern seen across Europe.

To his critics, Simion is a pro-Russian extremist who threatens Romania’s longstanding membership of the European Union and NATO.

In an AP interview last week, he rejected the accusations, calling Russia his country's main threat and that he wants Romania to be treated as “equal partners” in Brussels.

But he insists that his main goal is to restore democracy. “My platform is to return to democracy, to the will of the people,” he told the AP.

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