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But on the general issue of COVID in Thailand, then there was this following report in The Nation a couple days later: Bangkok Omicron rate rising as people ignore vaccination: lung expert MONDAY, November 07, 2022 A respiratory diseases expert on Monday urged people to keep getting vaccinated, warning that his hospital had seen an alarming rise in Covid-19 Omicron cases. Manoon Leechawengwongs, a pulmonologist at Vichaiyut Hospital, wrote on Facebook that Omicron infections registered at the central Bangkok hospital rose from 778 in September to 986 in October. ... He said Omicron cases seen in October included healthy young people who had not bothered to get fully vaccinated. (more) https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021794 Just of note, as a result of a Thai MoPH policy change earlier this year, these days, when the government talks of COVID "cases," the only ones they're reporting are those that involve hospitalizations.

This report below was published in The Nation about a week ago... If correct (I haven't yet seen other media reports confirming this), it seems to saying the government has reneged on its prior talk of itself buying the newer, 2nd gen COVID mRNA vaccines. What the article doesn't address, though, is whether and to what extent private hospitals in Thailand may decide/be able to purchase the 2nd gen vaccines on their own and, of course, sell them for a price, unlike the government's free vaccination program. Thailand stops procuring Covid-19 vaccine FRIDAY, November 04, 2022 The Royal Gazette on Thursday published a Public Health Ministry announcement cancelling the decree dated October 9, 2020 that had allowed the ministry to procure Covid-19 vaccines to protect the public interest, control the outbreak or maintain national security. The latest announcement, dated October 31, 2022 and signed by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, said the Covid-19 situation was improving globally according to World Health Organisation data showing the mortality rate is now the lowest since March 2020. ... Thailand’s stock of Covid-19 vaccine is now sufficient to meet demand and there is no need to procure additional vaccine, it added. (more) https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/policies/40021707

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Meta laying off 11,000 as tech industry slashes jobs Facebook’s parent company is facing severe threats to its business model, including competition for users and advertising dollars from TikTok Facebook parent company Meta plans to cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13 percent of its workforce, as it seeks to scale back expenses and transform its business in a more competitive digital advertising market. The social media giant also will cut discretionary spending and extend its hiring freeze through March in a bid to become “leaner and more efficient,” Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a Wednesday statement. He called the layoffs “some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history” and noted that all employees would soon get an email “letting you know what this layoff means for you.” (more) https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/09/facebook-layoffs/

Some candidates didn’t just win on Tuesday, they also broke barriers. Those victories included the first female governors elected in Arkansas, Massachusetts and New York; the first Black person to be elected governor of Maryland; and the first member of Gen Z to be elected to Congress. In some ways, this election had already made history for the diversity of candidates running. (more) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/08/candidates-made-history-firsts-midterms/

Voters in several states where abortion was on the ballot were generally favorable to abortion rights. ... Vermont became first state in the country to amend its constitution to protect "reproductive autonomy," after a large majority of voters cast ballots in favor of it, as widely expected. ... In one of the most-watched ballot measures on the issue, Michigan residents also voted to amend their state's constitution to protect abortion rights. (more) https://www.npr.org/2022/11/09/1135418384/where-abortion-was-on-the-ballot-midterm-voters-largely-signaled-support Abortion rights were on the ballot in these states. Here’s what voters decided Washington (CNN) — Voters in four states moved to affirm abortion rights on Tuesday, CNN projects, following a months-long push from Democrats nationwide to act on the issue in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June. Party lawmakers and organizers cast the midterm elections as a referendum on Republican efforts to limit women’s choices, even as voters consistently expressed more concern about issues like the economy. ... While CNN projected some anti-abortion Republicans will win their races, voters in key states made their support for abortion rights clear through a number of ballot measures. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/politics/abortion-rights-2022-midterms

Adam Frisch holds narrow lead over Lauren Boebert, race too close to call Political experts and pollsters anticipated strong voter support for the first-term Republican congresswoman, but Frisch gained national momentum late in the campaign The race between incumbent U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and challenger Adam Frisch for Colorado’s massive 3rd Congressional District was still too close to call Wednesday morning, as election officials continued to count ballots. As of results posted at 11:42 a.m., Frisch, a Democrat from Aspen, had kept ahead of Boebert, a Republican from Silt, 50.41% to 49.59%, the secretary of state’s office reported. So far, 296,947 votes had been counted, more than 60% of the district’s 487,094 registered voters. (more) https://www.denverpost.com/2022/11/08/lauren-boebert-colorado-election-results-adam-frisch/ Lauren Boebert, Colorado’s Trump-Backed Gun-Toting Darling, Staring Down a Monster Upset A loss for the Trump loyalist in a solidly red district would be a rebuke of Trump’s brand of Republicanism and mean that perhaps Republicans aren’t willing to hold their noses all the way to the polls. Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert – who splashed onto the political scene in 2020 as a young Second Amendment evangelist and quickly cemented her image as a Trump-thumping MAGA Republican – is staring down what could be the biggest upset of the 2022 election cycle in a race that was considered locked in her favor. https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2022-11-09/lauren-boebert-colorados-trump-backed-gun-toting-darling-staring-down-a-monster-upset

Florida re-elects Republican Ron DeSantis Four years ago, Ron DeSantis won the governorship of Florida by a fraction of a percent over Democrat Andrew Gillum. After four years of his conservative leadership, where he leaned into hot-button cultural issues like transgender rights and "critical race theory", railed against coronavirus pandemic restrictions, and became a fixture on conservative news outlets, he has won re-election by a comfortable margin. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63564434

Georgia Senate race will go to a runoff, CNN projects The hotly contested Senate contest in Georgia will advance to a runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker on December 6, CNN projects. Neither candidate surpassed the 50% threshold to win the race outright on Tuesday. Depending on the outcome of Senate races in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada, voters in Georgia could then – for the second consecutive election cycle – have the Senate majority in their hands. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/politics/herschel-walker-raphael-warnock-georgia-senate-results

When We’ll Know: The Remaining Key Factors in Georgia, Nevada, Arizona Who will control the Senate and the House? Settle in for a long wait For the second Election Day in a row, election night ends without a clear winner. It could be days until a party is projected to win the House of Representatives. It could be a month until we know the same for the Senate. (more) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/upshot/election-midterms-winners.html

Michigan voters projected to approve constitutional right to abortion Race call: Fetterman wins hard-fought Senate contest against Oz Race call: Michigan Gov. Whitmer survives challenge by Dixon Control of Congress was still too close to call. Republicans J.D. Vance of Ohio and Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina were projected to win their Senate races, fending off Democratic efforts to flip those seats. Sens. Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Michael F. Bennet (Colo.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) were projected to win reelection, keeping those seats in Democratic hands. Close Senate races remain in Georgia and Wisconsin. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/08/election-live-results-updates-2022/

GOP finger-pointing begins as control of Congress is still up in the air Some Republicans blamed former President Donald Trump for endorsing poor candidates As the political world settled in for a long wait to know who will control Congress, Republicans began finger-pointing Wednesday about whether former President Donald Trump was to blame for their lackluster election night. Republicans could still take control of both the House and Senate, but their predictions of a massive red wave sweeping the country fell short as some major Trump-backed candidates like Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania were defeated while key races in Arizona and Nevada were still too close to call Wednesday. (more) https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/republican-finger-pointing-begins-control-congress-still-air-rcna56366

Although control of both chambers was still unclear Wednesday morning, Democrats could keep control of the Senate and still have a path to keep the House, a scenario viewed as a long shot before the election amid voters' concerns about the economy and inflation. Legislative gridlock. Possible government shutdowns. GOP investigations. Those are still in play in a possible Republican-led House. But Democrats displayed surprising strength in races throughout the country, exceeding expectations and boosting Biden on a night when most pundits anticipated a setback. (more) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/not-a-repudiation-joe-biden-holds-off-red-wave-gets-unexpected-boost-from-midterm-election/ar-AA13VgsT

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KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces are stepping up their efforts to make life unbearable for civilians across the occupied southern Kherson region, where power was cut on Sunday night and Ukrainian officials warned that Russian troops were mining critical infrastructure even as they dig in to fight for their last bridgehead west of the Dnipro River. The battle for Kherson City — the only regional capital to be captured by Moscow since the invasion in late February — has been looming for months. A Ukrainian counteroffensive launched at the end of August has reclaimed over 100 towns and villages and steadily closed in on Kherson while also pounding Russian supply routes, command centers and ammunition depots far from the front. (more) https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11/07/world/ukraine-war-news-russia-updates

Facebook's parent company Meta is reportedly planning to begin large-scale lay-offs this week that will affect thousands of employees. US media reported at the weekend that the job cuts could be announced as early as Wednesday. Meta has about 87,000 employees worldwide across its different platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63541591

WASHINGTON — After weeks of intensifying speculation, former President Donald Trump said Monday that he will make a “big announcement” on Nov. 15 at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where he is widely expected to announce the launch of his 2024 presidential campaign. “I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,” Trump said at a Save America rally in Vandalia, Ohio on the eve of the midterm elections. Trump was reportedly considering whether to launch his third presidential campaign at the Ohio rally, but national Republicans reached out to him and urged him to hold off, fearing that his announcement could energize Democrats and potentially alienate independent voters. (more) https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/08/trump-suggests-he-will-launch-his-2024-presidential-campaign-on-nov-15.html

A non-American’s guide to the 2022 US midterms (CNN) — Can Joe Biden avoid the midterm elections curse? Republicans have the momentum going into Election Day on Tuesday, with high hopes of winning back the House. The Senate will be decided by a handful of close races. If the GOP takes one or both chambers, they will be in a position to kill Biden’s domestic legislative agenda. Still, they’ll struggle to get policies past the president’s veto, which requires a two-thirds majority to override. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/07/americas/us-midterms-explained-non-americans-intl/index.html

(CNN) — A dispirited nation worn down by crises and economic anxieties votes Tuesday in an election that is more likely to cement its divides than promote unity. Elections are often cleansing moments setting the country on a fresh path powered by people freely choosing their leaders – and those leaders accepting the results. But the final hours of this midterm campaign laid bare the polarized electoral environment, the specter of political violence and the possibility of disputed races – all of which have raised the stakes of the first nationwide vote since former President Donald Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election and have augured an acrimonious two years to come. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/08/politics/midterm-fractious-political-environment-analysis/index.html

Legal fight explodes in Pennsylvania over mail-in ballots Democrats, including John Fetterman's campaign, demanded in a lawsuit that undated or incorrectly dated mail-in ballots be counted in the battleground state On the eve of Election Day, a legal battle has erupted in one of the most closely watched battleground states of the 2022 midterms. Democrats sued Monday demanding that undated or incorrectly dated mail-in ballots be counted in Pennsylvania's election, which could end up determining which party controls the Senate. The lawsuit, filed in part by Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman's campaign, argues that a provision in state law requiring that mail-in ballots include the date on the outside of the envelopes violates federal law. (more) https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/legal-fight-explodes-pennsylvania-mail-ballots-rcna56112

Climate change is unleashing “far-reaching and worsening” calamities in every region of the United States, and the economic and human toll will only increase unless humans move faster to slow the planet’s warming, according to a sprawling new federal report released Monday. “The things Americans value most are at risk,” the National Climate Assessment authors, who represent a broad range of federal agencies, write in the draft report. “Many of the harmful impacts that people across the country are already experiencing will worsen as warming increases, and new risks will emerge.” (more) https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/11/07/cop27-climate-change-report-us/

Duran Duran's original guitarist Andy Taylor has been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. The musician revealed the diagnosis in a letter read by his former bandmates as they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday. ... Taylor, who was born in Tynemouth, wrote that he was receiving "sophisticated life-extending treatment", but had recently suffered a "setback," that prevented him travelling to Los Angeles for the ceremony. "Although my current condition is not immediately life-threatening there is no cure," he added. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63540455

Suspected Russian Plot Used Political Cartoons to Influence U.S. Voters Social media activity detected by Graphika Inc. tied the effort to people involved with Russia’s IRA Social media users tied to Russia are using political cartoons to try to influence the outcome of tight electoral races ahead of the US midterms, according to research provided exclusively to Bloomberg News. Members of a Russian group accused of meddling in prior US elections have pushed internet memes that promote right-wing conspiracy theories in a way that aims to undermine support for Democratic political candidates, according to the social media analysis firm Graphika Inc. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-03/suspected-russian-plot-used-political-cartoons-to-influence-americans