CharlieH

Top officials at the United Nations are warning of an “apocalyptic” situation in war-torn Gaza with “no place safe to go” for civilians, as Israel’s war with Hamas spreads into the south, where many had previously sought refuge. “Every time we think things cannot get any more apocalyptic in Gaza, they do,” said Martin Griffiths, the top UN emergency relief official, in a statement on Monday. “People are being ordered to move again, with little to survive on, forced to make one impossible choice after another,” he said. “Such blatant disregard for basic humanity must stop,” he also said. Israel has been intensifying its aerial bombardment of southern Gaza in pursuit of Palestinian militant group Hamas and said over the weekend that it will expand ground operations to the whole of the territory. “Intense battles” are still taking place in northern Gaza, where two Israeli soldiers were killed during “close-quarter combat” with Hamas fighters, the military said on Monday. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday appealed to the IDF to spare civilians from more suffering. “Civilians – including health workers, journalists and UN personnel - and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times,” Guterres’ statement said, noting that despite evacuation orders, “there is nowhere safe to go in Gaza.” FULL STORY

French police have arrested a man suspected of killing one person and injuring two others in a knife and hammer attack in central Paris. The attack took place at Bir Hakeim, near the Eiffel Tower, France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at the scene on Saturday night. One man – a German tourist born in the Philippines – was killed in the attack and two others sustained non-life threatening injuries, he added. One of those wounded was a British national, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said Sunday. The other was French, a spokeswoman for the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said. One of the police officers responding to the scene used a taser to neutralize the attacker, Darmanin said. The suspect’s life is not at risk, he added. “After his arrest, he said he could no longer bear to see Muslims dying in both Afghanistan and Palestine,” Darmanin said. Suspect was known to intelligence services Addressing reporters, Darmanin said that the suspect was born in France in 1997 and had been sentenced to four years in prison back in 2016 for planning “violent action.” The suspect was known to intelligence services for having “serious psychiatric disorders,” Darmanin added. The minister said he had been told by police that the attacker had reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the assault. FULL STORY

President Joe Biden’s administration is publicly attempting to avoid a war with Iran, but American officials continue to fan the flames of war with incendiary rhetoric as the war in Gaza risks expanding into a broader regional conflict. For instance, on Nov. 26, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said the Biden administration needs to take a “massive retaliation” against Iran to end attacks on U.S. assets. Ultimately, congressmembers, the Biden administration, and former defense officials are all sharing sentiments that Washington could escalate its move toward armed conflict in the face of Iranian aggression. But despite the confidence of hawks, a war with Iran would be disastrous for the United States and the broader Middle East. Regardless of the goals of the mission — from destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities to regime change — there are only two real paths for Washington to directly attack Iran: an air and naval campaign designed to impose significant costs on the regime; or a ground invasion dependent on establishing air and naval superiority. Both options, however, are more untenable than policymakers suggest, and reflect a fundamental miscalculation of Iran’s military strength. A campaign that relies on air and naval power to rapidly beat Iran into submission will meet significant challenges. Iran’s military is designed to prevent such an invasion and impose significant costs on any potential attack by air or sea. They have 600-mile range cruise missiles, advanced long-range air defense systems, short-range air defense systems, anti-aircraft missiles, 3,000 ballistic missiles, 6,000 naval mines, and the most capable unmanned aerial vehicles in the region. FULL STORY

An American warship and numerous commercial vessels came under fire in the Red Sea on Sunday, prompting the warship to open fire in self-defense. The Associated Press (AP) first reported news of the assault Sunday, saying that the attack was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. This marks another incident of escalation in the Middle East connected to the Israel-Hamas war, which is approaching two months of fighting. “We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” a Defense Department official said in a statement to The Hill. According to the U.S. Central Command, the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, opened fire in self-defense Sunday in the attack that lasted hours. The Carney responded after a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier said it was under missile fire. The Carney shot down two drones during the attack, CENTCOM said in a post online. CENTCOM said at this time it cannot determine if the Carney was a target for the drone. There was no damage to the Carney or injuries to personnel. The Unity Explorer reported minor damage from the missile strike, CENTCOM said in a post. “These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,” CENTCOM said. “They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world.” CENTCOM said it has reason to believe the attacks were “fully enabled by Iran.” FULL STORY

Ukraine has launched an investigation after a video emerged purportedly showing Russian troops killing two Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered. Ukrainian prosecutors say the footage shows "a group of people in Russian uniforms" shooting the unarmed Ukrainians at close range. The prosecutors say the killing of prisoners of war is a "gross violation" of the laws and customs of conflict. The video has not been independently verified. Russia has not commented. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of violating the Geneva conventions - a set of international humanitarian laws regulating the conduct of armed conflict, and specifically the treatment of POWs. Has Russia carried out war crimes in Ukraine? In a statement on Sunday, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said a pre-trial investigation was launched "for violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder". It said the killing of POWs qualified as "a grave international crime". Preliminary data suggested that the shooting happened near the village of Stepove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the office added. It gave no details about who shot the video and when. The area has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks, as Russian troops have been attempting to seize the nearby town of Avdiivka - a Ukrainian stronghold just outside the Russian-held regional capital of Donetsk. In a separate statement on Sunday, Ukraine's military urged the world community to "condemn Russia's actions and bring to justice the military leadership of the aggressor country". Russia's military is yet to publicly comment on the allegations. FULL STORY

Israeli ground forces are pushing into southern Gaza, after three days of heavy bombardment. Initial reports from Israeli army radio effectively confirmed Israel has launched a ground operation to the north of Khan Younis. The BBC has also verified images of an Israeli tank operating near the city. The head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later told troops the IDF was also fighting "strongly and thoroughly" in south Gaza. Lt General Herzi Halevi was speaking to reservists from the Gaza division about military objectives and the IDF's killing of Hamas commanders. He told the soldiers: "We fought strongly and thoroughly in the northern Gaza Strip, and we are also doing it now in the southern Gaza Strip". An IDF spokesman later confirmed Israel "continues to expand the ground incursion" across all of Gaza, including troops "conducting face to face battles with terrorists". Since a week-long ceasefire ended on Friday, Israel has resumed a large-scale bombing campaign on Gaza, which residents of Khan Younis have described as the heaviest wave of attacks so far. The seven-day truce saw Hamas release 110 hostages being held in Gaza in return for 240 Palestinians being released from Israeli prisons. On Sunday morning, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for several districts of Khan Younis, urging people to leave immediately. Israeli authorities believe members of the Hamas leadership are hiding in the city, where hundreds of thousands of people have been sheltering after fleeing fighting in the north in the early stages of the war. A UN official has described a "degree of panic" he has not seen before in a Gaza hospital, after the Israeli military shifted the focus of its offensive to the south. James Elder, from the children's agency Unicef, described Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis as a "warzone". An adviser to Israel's prime minister said Israel is making "maximum effort" to avoid killing civilians. Mr Elder told the BBC he could hear constant large explosions close to the Nasser hospital and children were arriving with head injuries, terrible burns, and shrapnel from recent blasts. "It's a hospital I've gone to regularly and the children know me now, the families know me now. Those same people are grabbing my hand, or grabbing my shirt saying 'please take us somewhere safe. Where is safe?'" "They are unfortunately asking a question to which the only answer is there is nowhere safe. And that includes for them, as they know, that hospital," he said. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 500 people have been killed since the bombing resumed. More than 15,500 people have been killed in the strip since the war began, the ministry also said. FULL STORY

Get the METV as recommended above.The rest play by ear and adjust as required after you are on the ground. One thing you MUST consider is Health or at the very least accident insurance.! Medical issue or accident could wipe you out of what little finances you have so DONT RISK IT.

Video removed. If posting videos in Health forum you need to provide a link as to its source and it must be from a recognised credible source or it will be removed. Thank you.

Live out in the sticks so for me Sunday is the same as any other day. quiet and peaceful.

2000bt, hit that 5 times this year.

Must try harder 4/10 CLOSED

Image with identifying details has been removed. Rather than derailing a News article, please ask such questions in the Electrical forum.

There is a specific forum that discusses the Air Quality etc of Chiang Mai and other areas of Thailand, its a sub-forum of the Green Forum, "Pollution in Thailand" https://aseannow.com/forum/424-air-pollution-in-thailand/

World leaders have for the first time promised to tackle the huge responsibility that food and agriculture have in climate change. More than 130 countries signed up to a declaration about food, on the second day of the UN climate summit COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Food contributes a third of the warming gases increasing global temperatures. Leaders including King Charles told COP28 that time was running out to tackle climate change. The Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action has been welcomed by many experts and charities who say it is long overdue. Countries that have signed up represent 5.7bn people and 75% of all emissions from global food production and consumption, according to the COP28 host nation the UAE. Nations should now include food emissions in their plans to tackle climate change - also called Nationally Determined Contributions. Sunak denies abandoning climate fight at COP28 The US, China, the EU and the UK - some of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases per capita from food - signed up. "The declaration sends a powerful signal to the nations of the world that we can only keep the 1.5 degree goal in sight if we act fast to shift the global food system in the direction of greater sustainability and resilience," said Edward Davey, head of research group World Resources Institute UK. Debates around food and climate often focus on whether people should eat less meat and dairy. Research has shown that a big meat-eater's diet produces 10.24 kg of greenhouse gasses each day. And as food prices have gone up around the world, focus has turned to how growing weather unpredictability caused by climate change could also increase the cost of a supermarket shop. But this declaration is unlikely to lead to government policies like a tax on meat or lower food prices in the short-term, says Edward Davey. Eating less meat 'like taking 8m cars off road' Leaders of global organisations representing farmers cautiously welcomed the declaration. FULL STORY

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree increasing Russian troop numbers by 15%. Some 170,000 will be added to the number of serving personnel in stages, bringing the total to 1,320,000. The defence ministry said the move was a response to an increase in threats, including from the expansion of Nato. Russia is thought to have sustained heavy casualties in more than a year-and-a-half of fighting in Ukraine, even though it does not release figures. The Russian defence ministry statement posted on the Kremlin's website said the numbers would be increased gradually through a recruitment drive, and not by mobilisation or changes to conscription. "The increase in the number of servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is being implemented in stages, based on citizens who express a desire to undergo military service under a contract," it added. Russia widens its conscription net: 'I live in constant fear' How many Russians have left during war - and who are they? It explained the increase by the "growth of the joint armed forces of [Nato] near Russia's borders" and threats associated with the "special military operation", which is how Russia describes its war in Ukraine. Nato has recently expanded to include Finland, which has a long border with Russia. Sweden has also applied to join. The alliance says Ukraine can join "when conditions are met", though it has given no timeframe. Ukraine cannot join Nato while it is still at war with Russia. Earlier on Thursday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for reinforcements and stronger defences along the front line with Russia, as temperatures in the region fall below freezing. FULL STORY

Congressman, who has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal fraud charges, becomes only sixth member ever expelled from US House How Santos responded to being fact-checked on his lies Who’ll replace him in his New York swing district? The New York Republican, fabulist and accused fraudster George Santos has been expelled from Congress. The vote to expel Santos, the second since his election last year, required a two-thirds majority of those present. The final tally on Friday was 311-114, with two members recorded present and eight absent. Santos therefore becomes only the sixth member ever expelled from the US House. The first three fought for the Confederacy in the civil war. The other two were expelled after being convicted of crimes. Santos has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal fraud charges but has not been tried. A previous expulsion attempt, mounted by members of his own party, failed in part because senior Democrats voted no, citing the dangers of expelling members without convictions secured. FULL STORY

A US appeals court on Friday ruled that Donald Trump must face civil lawsuits over his role in the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol by his supporters, rejecting the former president’s claim that he is immune. A panel of the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit found that Trump was acting “in his personal capacity as a presidential candidate” when he urged his supporters to march to the Capitol. US presidents are immune from civil lawsuits only for official actions. Part of the lawsuit was filed under the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era law, which makes it illegal to prevent an officer of the United States from performing their duties through threats or intimidation. “When a first-term President opts to seek a second term, his campaign to win re-election is not an official presidential act,” Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge of the US court of appeals for the DC circuit wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. “While Presidents are often exercising official responsibilities when they speak on matters of public concern, that is not always the case.” Srinivasan, an appointee of Barack Obama, was joined by Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee, and Judith Rogers, an appointee of Bill Clinton. While the panel ruled Trump could be sued, it made it clear it was not precluding him from arguing that he was acting in his official capacity as a defense as the lawsuit proceeds. “When these cases move forward in the district court, he must be afforded the opportunity to develop his own facts on the immunity question if he desires to show that he took the actions alleged in the complaints in his official capacity as President rather than in his unofficial capacity as a candidate,” the opinion said. FULL STORY

Summary of the day so far It’s 2am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here’s a recap of the latest developments: Israel’s military pounded the Gaza Strip on Friday after the end of a seven-day truce. Israel launched more than 200 strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday, including in the densely populated south, where many civilians have fled. Khan Younis, which was previously attacked less heavily than the north of Gaza, was almost bombed from the air immediately after the truce broke down. Israel has signaled that it is preparing to launch a ground assault into southern Gaza in a significant escalation of the war. Gaza’s health ministry said 178 civilians had been killed since the ceasefire ended. Israel’s military has set out its plan for the “next stage of the war”: dividing Gaza into dozens of numbered “evacuation areas”, a core part of the military’s plan to gradually take control of the southern part of the strip. Under the plan, people in certain numbered districts of Gaza will be told to evacuate before bombing begins, although how much time they will get is not clear. Leaflets were dropped in parts of Khan Younis, where Israel believes Hamas’s leadership is based, warning citizens to evacuate further south to Rafah. Humanitarian groups said the Israeli warnings would be insufficient because civilians in Gaza were running out of places to evacuate to. Palestinians risked being forced completely out of the territory, they said. Homes in Khan Younis were among the targets struck on Friday hours after the truce expired, and residents were given little, if any, time to flee. No humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza on Friday, including fuel, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Israeli forces told organisations operating at the Rafah crossing that the entry of aid trucks is prohibited “until further notice”. A spokesperson for the crossing said the entrance of trucks carrying much-needed aid, fuel and cooking gas from Egypt into the Gaza Strip had stopped because of Israeli bombardment. The resumption of hostilities came as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared to brush aside US calls to pursue a more restrained military campaign. Netanyahu said his country’s forces were now “charging forward” and that the plan was for a total military victory. In a difficult meeting on Thursday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken clashed with the Israeli cabinet and insisted the level of civilian casualties had to be reduced in any resumed assault and that Israel had to share its long-term objectives for Gaza with moderate Arab states. The families of hostages being held in Gaza have said they are terrified about the safety of their loved ones after the end of the ceasefire. The relatives of some of the remaining 126 Israeli hostages have said they are grappling with feeling joy for those who have been released, while being worried sick for loved ones left behind. The UN said it deeply regretted the resumption of deadly hostilities in the Gaza Strip, calling the situation “catastrophic”. The body also said it was concerned by suggestions Israel could seek to expand its military offensive inside the Palestinian territory. The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, urged efforts to be redoubled to try to bring about a ceasefire on humanitarian and human rights grounds. Israel has said it will not renew visa for a top UN official who helps oversee humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a UN spokesperson said. Israel’s foreign ministry last month accused Lynn Hastings, the UN’s deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, of failing to be impartial and objective. Rishi Sunak has described the breakdown of the truce as “deeply disappointing” and issued renewed calls for “sustained humanitarian pauses” in Gaza as he held talks with Israel’s president and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Jordan on the sidelines of the Cop28 summit on Friday. More information in this article from

Flame post removed.

Paying is not the issue.The issue is opening accounts and thereby receiving money in Thailand for non Thais. I don't see any issue for you making a purchase with a Thai company assuming of course they accept that source.

Tried meditating a few times, admire those who can do it, or think they have. For me, I fell asleep every time.😉

Whilst I am not doubting the sincerity of the OP it is easy to see how this could be viewed as as a potential scam in either direction, so on that basis this is CLOSED for everyone's benefit.

Tesla to begin Cybertruck deliveries with price starting at $60,990 CEO Elon Musk warned before delivery event it would take a year to 18 months to make the car a significant cashflow contributor Tesla is set to start deliveries of its long-delayed, much-hyped Cybertruck electric pickup on Thursday after its CEO, Elon Musk, tempered investor expectations, citing problems in ramping production of what he called a “radical” product. Cybertruck, Tesla’s first new model in nearly four years, is critical to its reputation as a maker of innovative vehicles. At a time when the company is battling softening electric vehicle (EV) demand and rising competition, Cybertruck is also key for generating sales, though not to the extent of the company’s high-volume Models 3 and Y.