Thailand, Asia | featured news

Trumpeted as earthy in flavor and smooth on the palate, the exotic new brew is made from beans eaten by Thai elephants and plucked a day later from their dung. A gut reaction inside the elephant creates what its founder calls the coffee's unique taste.

Chinese teen sensation Tianlang Guan made history Sunday by capturing the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and an invitation to the Masters in the process. Guan, 14, fired a 1-under 71 Sunday at Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand, to finish the event at 15-under 273 and hang on for a one-stroke victory. The youngest player in this week's field, Guan completed a wire-to-wire victory and will become the youngest competitor in the history of The Masters.

The American pop export known as Lady Gaga keeps running into trouble as she tours Asia. First, she was pegged as a "devil" by Islamic hardliners in Indonesia, where protests and security concerns forced the cancellation of a June 3 concert. Now, the 26-year-old pop star is causing a ruckus for tweeting that she was going to use her time in Thailand to buy a "fake Rolex."

Six roasted fetuses covered with gold for black magic rituals were found in a Bangkok hotel room, and the gruesome discovery led to the arrest of a British citizen Friday, Thai police said.

The death toll from Thailand's worst floods in half a century climbed past 500 Sunday, as advancing pools of polluted black water threatened Bangkok's subway system and new evacuations were ordered in the sprawling capital....

The central business district of Bangkok dodged severe flooding Saturday afternoon, but surrounding areas of the bustling capital faced further inundation at the next high tide.

Thailand announced a five-day holiday on Tuesday to give people the chance to escape floods closing in on Bangkok as authorities ordered the evacuation of a housing estate on the outskirts of the city after a protective wall gave way.

Relief workers reinforced barriers on Sunday to help defend Thailand's capital, Bangkok, from the country's worst floods in half a century and efforts were stepped up to protect a huge industrial estate to the city's north.

Many hope today's election will bring an end to years of unrest between two political factions whose differences led to deadly protests last year.

As the super-pimp who once ran Thailand's biggest brothel empire and then exposed the police kickbacks he had to pay for it to flourish, Chuvit Kamolvisit feels uniquely qualified to lead the country's fight against corruption.