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A series of off-topic and diversion posts have been removed. Please stay ON-TOPIC in the discussion here, which is -- U.S. lists Houthis as terrorists, rebels hit another US-operated ship.

Several off-topic posts above have been removed. The topic of the thread here is the ICJ ruling and the impact and implications of it -- not re-arguing thousands of years of history. Let's at least try to stay in the current century...

Middle East latest: ICJ rules Israel will face genocide investigation - but fails to order ceasefire Israeli and Palestinian officials react after the International Court of Justice hands down its ruling in South Africa's genocide case. https://news.sky.com/story/middle-east-crisis-us-uk-launch-strikes-houthi-targets-israel-gaza-hamas-12978800 https://news.sky.com/story/middle-east-crisis-us-uk-launch-strikes-houthi-targets-israel-gaza-hamas-12978800?postid=7129803#liveblog-body "Just as a reminder, the court has said Israel must: Take all measures in its power to prevent the commission of any acts of genocide; Prevent and punish direct and public incitement to commit genocide; Immediately enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza; Prevent the destruction, and ensure the preservation, of evidence related to South Africa's allegations."

A number of flame and trolling comments have been removed from this thread and the General Topics thread that preceded it. Please be mindful of the forum's rules: 9. You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages. You will respect other members and post in a civil manner. Personal attacks, insults or hate speech posted on the forum or sent by private message are not allowed.

UN court orders Israel to ensure acts of genocide are not committed in Gaza International court of justice stops short of granting South Africa’s request to order immediate ceasefire "The ruling is not the final word from the court on whether Israel’s actions amounted to genocide, but it provides a strong indication that the judges believe there is a credible risk to Palestinians under the genocide convention. Granting South Africa’s application for special measures, the court did not have to find whether Israel had committed genocide, which will be determined at a later date, only that its acts were capable of falling within the genocide convention and urgent preventative action was necessary." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/26/un-court-orders-israel-to-ensure-acts-of-genocide-are-not-committed-in-gaza

ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but not to end war https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-68097640

This is a World News topic, and there already is a thread on the subject running there, and may also be updated later with a new thread there. Therefore, this topic is CLOSED.// This subforum: General Topics A forum for general interest and discussion topics related to Thailand only and not covered by other sub forums. The General Forum is not a place for political topics, chit chat, banter or observations about daily life. [emphasis added]

Several off-topic posts have been removed for contravening the forum's Community Standards, specifically: 31. You will not publicly discuss other members...

CLOSED per request of OP.

Several off-topic posts have been removed.

Several trolling and flame posts by one member have been removed for contravening the forum's Community Standards: 9. You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages. You will respect other members and post in a civil manner. Personal attacks, insults or hate speech posted on the forum or sent by private message are not allowed.

For some reason, in Thai news reports, it's very comment for them to wrongly use the term "congenital" when what they're actually talking about is a "chronic" illness.

Regarding COVID vaccines, the government policy all along is that they have been FREE for resident expats -- those with annual or longer visas or extensions of stay. And people should bring and show evidence of their status when they go for a COVID vaccine. On the flip side, if a person is here visa exempt or on a tourist visa, then their policy has been to charge for the vaccines at government facilities.

The current developments in the Georgia case are already running in a current World News thread. So this thread is CLOSED. // See the following:

Expert scientists in the field who have publicly reviewed this study confirmed Rabas' post above -- that the COVID vaccine dose given to the rats in this study, a normal human dose, was nonetheless in the range of 350 times the equivalent human dose, because the rats here weigh about 1/350th the weight of an average adult body (about 80 kilograms). Therefore, this thread is CLOSED. //

The House and the Senate have both approved a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through early March. The bill now heads to President Biden's desk for a signature. With some federal agencies, including those that oversee agriculture, transportation and veterans' services, set to run out of funding Friday night at midnight and a winter storm toward the nation's capitol, lawmakers were under pressure to finish their work and leave town. The new spending measure maintains a two-tier structure where some agencies would run out of money on March 1 and others would remain funded through March 8. The measure is the latest in a series of short-term measures meant to buy lawmakers time to do the more arduous work of drafting and advancing the full suite of 12 annual government spending bills, which have so far been waylaid in large part because of internal disagreements among the wafer-thin House Republican majority. (more) https://www.npr.org/2024/01/18/1225369336/congress-races-against-the-clock-and-the-weather-to-fund-the-government

Co-defendant Michael Roman requests DA be stood down over claims of improper romantic relationship with special prosecutor The Georgia judge overseeing the racketeering case charging Donald Trump and allies with attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in the state has scheduled a hearing for February to weigh whether the Fulton county district attorney should be disqualified from prosecuting the charges. In a one-page order, the Fulton county superior judge Scott McAfee set an evidentiary hearing for 15 February to address allegations raised by Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman that the district attorney Fani Willis had an improper romantic relationship with one of her prosecutors. The judge also ordered the district attorney to file a response to the allegations by 2 February. Earlier this week, Willis’s office had privately told at least two lawyers involved in the case that they intended to submit their written response by that date, people familiar with the matter said. The [Trump] case is unlikely to be dismissed outright even if the allegations are proven true. But that could result in the disqualification of Willis, which, under Georgia caselaw, would necessitate the disqualification of the entire Fulton county district attorney’s office, as well. (more) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/18/fani-willis-misconduct-hearing-nathan-wade-relationship-trump-georgia

South Korea, the US and Japan conduct a trilateral exercise featuring the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the waters and air south of Jeju island between January 15 and 17, 2024. Seoul, South Korea CNN — North Korea on Friday claimed it had successfully tested an underwater nuclear weapons system earlier this week in response to naval drills by the United States, South Korea and Japan. According to North Korean state media, its military conducted a new test of its underwater nuclear-capable drone, the Haeil, in waters off the southern end of the peninsula, in response to what it described as “frantic” and “provocative” US allied military exercises. Following tests of the Haeil system last year, North Korean state media said it could carry a nuclear warhead that could create a “radioactive tsunami,” though analysts at the time said Pyongyang offered no proof. North Korean state media on Friday did not show evidence for the success of the latest test, but warned the US, South Korea and Japan of the “catastrophic consequences” of their actions. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/19/asia/north-korea-underwater-nuclear-drone-test-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

This week Al Israa University became the latest major public building in Gaza to disappear from the map, blown up and destroyed by Israeli forces who had reportedly used it as a military base for several weeks. The war in Gaza has already let to an unprecedented loss of life, but there's also growing concern about the destruction of public and private buildings. Now a senior UN official has told BBC News of his fears that the widespread damage will lead to a "lost generation" of young people. ... Its latest updates say that at least 60% of homes or housing units in Gaza have been "destroyed or damaged". Nine in every 10 schools have suffered "significant damage". Hospitals, public buildings and electricity networks have also been hit. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68023080

Measles is likely to spread rapidly across more parts of the UK unless more people take up the vaccine, a senior health official has warned. Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), says vaccination rates are "well below" what is recommended by the World Health Organization. Pop-up clinics are being introduced to get more children vaccinated as cases continue to rise. Measles is a highly contagious disease. It is spread by coughs and sneezes. More than 200 cases have been confirmed in the West Midlands in recent months, mostly in Birmingham. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68028530

Members of Lords criticise PM’s ‘bizarre’ and ‘vacuous’ calls for swift approval of legislation to ensure deportation flights by spring Rishi Sunak’s pledge to begin flying asylum seekers to Rwanda by spring looked more distant than ever after members of the House of Lords approved a timetable that would not see the bill passed before late March. On Thursday the prime minister urged peers to pass his asylum bill as soon as possible after its approval by the Commons on Wednesday night, telling them that it reflected the “will of the people”. By Thursday evening, however, his comments appeared to have backfired, with members of the Lords calling them “bizarre”, “vacuous” and “weird” and then approving a two-month timetable to scrutinise the bill. (more) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/18/rishi-sunak-rwanda-bill-pledge-flights-house-of-lords-timetable

Everything I'm seeing from the USA shows the standard stopovers in Taipei enroute to BKK or CNX... So not exactly "seamless".

Their BKK to LAX flight I just checked shows them using the AIRBUS A350-900 for the Taiwan to LAX segment... Anyone flown on one of those before? Better or worse than EVA's 777s?

The weblink to the airline in the Thaiger article appears broken/malformed. It works if you use the address they post and then add a "www" in front of it. https://www.starlux-airlines.com/en-US