Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

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Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

While the FIFA World Cup is in full swing in Qatar, camels from different Gulf countries are having a tournament of their own at the Qatar Camel Mzayen Club’s beauty festival.

“The idea is similar to the soccer World Cup, we did a camel beauty World Cup”, said the president of the club, Hamad Jaber al-Athba, underlining the importance of camels in the area, ‘a companion during the beginning of civilization in the Gulf’.

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

With their heads held high and in a constant chew, participating camels waited in a pen before being paraded in front of an audience seated indoors and enjoying coffee and sweets while gauging the beautiful beasts.

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

With participants from different Gulf countries, the competition is fierce between camels running in different categories according to their age and type.

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

“Black camels are judged according to the size of the body and the head and the location of the ears. But with the Maghateer-type camel, we look for proportionality and the ears should be dropping down, not stand straight. In addition to the way the mouth is curved,” Athba said.

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

To avoid fraud and detect ‘cosmetic surgery’, a medical committee examined the animals before allowing them to participate in the beauty pageant.

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

According to the medical committee’s president, owners sometimes use fillers, botox or silicon to increase their camel’s chances of winning – a disqualifying foul.

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

Ahead of declaring the winner of the day’s competing category, other female camels were milked and the owner of the one producing the most was rewarded 20,000 Qatari riyals (about 5,500 USD).

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

But all eyes were on the competition between Maghateer-type camels over the age of four, the day’s competing category, and whose winner fetched a sum ten times higher.

The Saudi owner of camels who won bronze and gold in the competition, Mohanna Ibrahim al-Anazi, was thrilled after receiving his prize.

Beautiful camels eclipse beautiful game at Qatar World Cup

“I can’t describe my feelings, because this female has an audience like the audience of the World Cup. Like Real Madrid or Manchester (United). And now, they are all celebrating,” he said.

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Wakayama: Retro sandals stepping up again

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Wakayama: Retro sandals stepping up again

Wakayama: Retro sandals stepping up again

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Slide sandals, which are known as hep sandals in Japan and were popular about 40 years ago, are coming back into vogue. One shoe manufacturer in Nara Prefecture, which was once a major producer of the footwear, is attracting attention for its stylish designs.

Hep sandals were said to be named after Audrey Hepburn, who changed from heels to this style of footwear in the movie “Roman Holiday.”

The backless, easy-to-wear footwear became popular for daily use in Japan at that time, but demand dwindled due to changes in lifestyle.

There were more than 100 hep sandal manufacturers in Nara Prefecture in the early 1980s, but the figure has dropped to about 15 now, according to the Nara Footwear Cooperative Federation.

Munetoki Kawahigashi, the 33-year-old president of Kawahigashi Hakimono Shoten, a shoemaker and retail business in Yamato-Takada in the prefecture, began selling such sandals under his brand, HEP, in spring 2020.

The footwear has both a retro look and the comfort of cushion insoles, making it popular with people across generations despite the fact being priced between around ¥7,000 and ¥18,000, compared to around ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 for conventional hep sandals.

“If I become a leader of this local industry and create jobs, our followers may increase and this local business may be revitalized,” Kawahigashi said.

The Japan News

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Blinken: No particular geopolitical aspects to Iran-US World Cup match

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Blinken: No particular geopolitical aspects to Iran-US World Cup match

Blinken: No particular geopolitical aspects to Iran-US World Cup match

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he didn’t see any particular geopolitical aspects in the forthcoming football match between the United States and Iran on Tuesday.

“I’m looking forward to the match between the United States and Iran. I will be cheering our team USA. I will watch the match later tonight,” Blinken said.

Diplomatic foes the United States and Iran face off on the pitch at the World Cup on Tuesday in a match that some Iranians fear may see further run-ins with stadium security or clashes with pro-government fans over raging protests back home.

The contest between the two nations that severed ties over 40 years ago will be held with increased security to prevent a flare-up of tensions over the unrest that has gripped Iran since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16.

In a show of solidarity ahead of the match, which starts at 1900 GMT, the US Soccer Federation temporarily displayed Iran’s national flag without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, leading Tehran to complain to FIFA, according to state media.

Qatar, which has strong ties with Washington and friendly relations with Tehran, has staked its reputation on delivering a smooth World Cup, beefing up security at Iran games and banning some items deemed inflammatory, like Iran’s pre-Revolution flag.

US-Iranian ties have been especially strained since then-President Donald Trump abandoned Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Efforts to salvage the pact under President Joe Biden’s administration have stalled.

TAT forecasts Thai tourism slump from Q2 next year

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TAT forecasts Thai tourism slump from Q2 next year

TAT forecasts Thai tourism slump from Q2 next year

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Thai tourism will likely be challenged by recession, inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and rising travel expenses from the second quarter next year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said on Tuesday.

The industry will also be squeezed by the arrival of low season in March and the decline in travel demand after the Covid-19 pandemic, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said.

“These issues pose challenges to our tourism marketing as Thailand has to compete with countries that have reopened to tourists,” he said.

The TAT aims to attract 20 million foreign arrivals next year to generate 2.38 trillion baht in tourism revenue, or 80% of the 3-trillion-baht revenue in 2019.

Yuthasak said the TAT will ramp up its tourism marketing and road shows in countries around the world.

Meanwhile, the number of flights to Thailand will recover to 80% of 2019 levels.

“Airlines will target a passenger transport rate of 80%,” he said, adding that TAT aims to boost that level to 90%.

It will also launch campaigns to promote seasonal tourist attractions all over Thailand.

TAT forecasts Thai tourism slump from Q2 next year

Yuthasak expects the return of Chinese and Russian tourists to boost arrivals beyond 20 million next year.

The private sector expects the Chinese government to allow its citizens to travel abroad in March next year, he added.

President Xi Jinping’s remark at the recent Apec summit that China and Thailand are relatives and ready to promote tourism exchanges was well publicised in China and should encourage Chinese tourists to visit the Kingdom, said the TAT chief.

Meanwhile, Russian airlines had recently restored direct Russia-Thailand flights, he added.

Yuthasak said he expects foreign arrivals in December to hit 10 million, as the first high season after the Covid pandemic kicks off.

He forecast tourism revenue of 1.33 trillion baht for the whole of this year, lower than the target of 1.5 trillion baht. He said 731.77 billion baht of this year’s revenue would come from Thai tourists and 600 billion baht from foreign tourists.

He added that Thailand could still hit the 1.5 trillion target if foreign tourists stay longer and spend more cash in the remainder of this year.

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Trio appointed to Cabinet as PM prepares for next election

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Trio appointed to Cabinet as PM prepares for next election

Trio appointed to Cabinet as PM prepares for next election

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has added three new members to his Cabinet, including former government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, according to an announcement in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday.

Thanakorn was appointed as a PM’s Office minister, while Sunthorn Parnsaengthong was appointed deputy agriculture minister and Narit Khamnurak was appointed deputy interior minister.

Filling the three vacant Cabinet seats was seen as a crucial move for the coalition parties to begin preparing for the next general election, which is scheduled tentatively for May 7.

As government spokesman, Thanakorn served as one of Prayut’s most loyal supporters and ardent defenders. He has degrees in mass communications, political science and public administration, the last of which is a doctorate from Western University.

Thanakorn won a party-list House seat under the ruling Palang Pracharth Party’s banner in August. He had been on the waiting list since the March 2019 election. He joined the ruling party in November 2018.

Narit will fill the seat left vacant by the Democrat Party’s deputy interior minister Niphon Bunyamanee since September when he resigned. Niphon resigned to defend himself against court charges of malfeasance from the time he was president of the Songkhla provincial administration organization.

Like Thanakorn, Narit has three degrees: a bachelor’s in agriculture, a master’s in social development and a doctorate in public administration. He received his doctorate from Southwestern University. Narit was elected as a Democrat MP for Phatthalung for the first time in 2001 and was re-elected in 2005, 2007 and 2011.

Sunthorn received his Cabinet seat under the quota allotted to the Samut Prakan group of MPs in the ruling coalition. Previously, he served as vice president of the Samut Prakan provincial administration organisation.

Last election hurdle cleared as Constitutional Court endorses MPs election bill

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Last election hurdle cleared as Constitutional Court endorses MPs election bill

Last election hurdle cleared as Constitutional Court endorses MPs election bill

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday unanimously endorsed the constitutionality of the MPs election bill, clearing the last hurdle before the next general election scheduled for 2023.

The court said that the nine judges viewed the MPs election bill as drafted under the provisions of Section 132 of the Constitution and it has no wordings or provisions that would contradict Section 93 and Section 94 of the Constitution of Thailand.

A group of 105 MPs and senators had signed a petition to ask the court to rule whether Section 25 and 26 of the MPs election bill would violate Section 93 and 94 of the Constitution.

The 105 MPs and senators had alleged that the bill had not properly passed the enactment process as required by the Constitution because it had not been vetted by a parliamentary committee.

They argued that Section 25 would violate Section 93 of the charter because it would cancel the prohibition in Section 93 on the counting of votes in constituencies where by-elections need to be held, as votes for sharing party-list House seats.

They also pointed out that Section 26 would violate Section 94 because it would cancel a requirement in Section 94 for recalculating party-list House seats in a year if some constituency MPs are found to have cheated in the election.

But the court disagreed and ruled the bill was valid constitutionally.

On November 9, the court had announced that it had enough information to issue a ruling on Wednesday.

In the next step, the Constitutional Court will inform the Parliament president of its ruling so that the prime minister can be informed to send the bill for a royal command that will officially enact the bill. The prime minister is scheduled to send the bill for a royal command within 20 days.

The MPs election bill — the version of the Election Commission — will use the divisor of 100, which is the total number of party-list MPs, for calculation of party-list House seats.

Small and micro parties prefer the use of the 500 divisor, which is the total number of House seats, because they would stand a much better chance to be allocated one or two House seats from the party-list election.

Earlier, Rawee Maschamadol, leader and party-list MP of the New Palang Dharma Party, said he and 104 other parliamentarians questioned the validity of the election bill and political party bill because they had not been properly vetted. They also suspect that the two bills would violate the intention of the Constitution that would share party-list House seats on the principle that all votes must be taken into account – even votes for failed candidates.

The two bills were taken up for use after the bills that had been vetted failed to clear the third reading in Parliament within the 180-day deadline due to repeated lack of quorum.

Rawee accused major parties of playing games to cause the lack of quorum in order to sink the vetted bill that would use the 500-divisor for party-list House seat calculation.

On November 23, the Constitutional Court voted unanimously to endorse the constitutionality of the political party bill.

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Court endorses constitutionality of new political party bill

DSI cracks down on electricity theft for crypto-mining

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DSI cracks down on electricity theft for crypto-mining

DSI cracks down on electricity theft for crypto-mining

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) conducted a lightning operation and inspected 41 places that used illegal electricity connections for crypto-mining in Greater Bangkok.

The DSI held a press conference on Wednesday to announce the outcome of the “Electrical Shock” operation to search 41 commercial buildings in Greater Bangkok.

Previous investigation by the department had found evidence of investors searching for commercial buildings in Greater Bangkok for crypto-mining.

The DSI requested a search warrant from the Criminal Court to inspect these buildings.

DSI searched for evidence of electricity theft and seized more than 2,000 crypto-mining tools worth around 400 million baht.

Around 100 crypto-mining tools were found in each building. These tools were connected to electric cables illegally without an electricity meter so the electricity bill is considerably lower than the actual cost.

DSI cracks down on electricity theft for crypto-mining

The electricity cost incurred by the suspects was around 300 baht to 2,000 baht per month, while the actual cost should have been around 500,000 baht per spot.

The DSI estimated that the Metropolitan Electricity Authority had incurred losses of around 20 million baht per month, or about 250 million baht per year.

DSI cracks down on electricity theft for crypto-mining

The DSI said it would coordinate with the Customs Department to check whether these mining tools were imported legally.

Related stories

Fourth ‘lieutenant’ arrested as noose tightens on triad, police say

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Fourth ‘lieutenant’ arrested as noose tightens on triad, police say

Fourth ‘lieutenant’ arrested as noose tightens on triad, police say

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Police on Wednesday arrested another high-level suspect in their crackdown on what they describe as a Chinese gang that trafficks narcotics in the Kingdom – one that is led by the husband of a police colonel.

Chen Zhaohui, also known as “Tony”, was arrested at an entertainment venue in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district on Wednesday as part of a crackdown on what police describe as a Chinese gang that began last week and swiftly expanded to 34 locations in eight provinces.

Police say Chen is a lieutenant of alleged narcotics kingpin Chainat Kornchayanan (also known as “Tuhao”) who turned himself in to police last week after an arrest warrant was issued for him. Chainat is a Chinese national who became a naturalised Thai after marrying a police colonel.

Chainat is under investigation for involvement in criminal activity in several provinces. On 23 November he surrendered to the police team overseeing a crackdown on Chinese mafia, but has denied the charges against him.

Police suspect that Chen is one of Chainat’s five lieutenants.

Deputy National Police chief Gen Surachet Hakparn said Chen was initially charged with helping foreign nationals conduct businesses in Thailand without legal permission.

Chen’s operations are based in Samut Prakan, where he owns a hotel worth 50 million baht, as well as several private airplanes and tour buses.

Information regarding Chinese criminals in Thailand was provided to police by former massage parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit. Chuwit claimed that Chainat has five crime networks in Thailand, and that each one is run by a lieutenant. Three “lieutenants” were arrested before Chen, while the fifth (known as “Ming”) is believed to have fled Thailand.

Police on Wednesday also charged the Thai manager of Space Plus Club, an entertainment venue in Huai Kwang district. They said they have evidence that Chen had invested over 100 million baht in the establishment through its manager Natthason Hutasewi, who illegally acted as a nominee for foreign investment.

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Thailand’s first Covid Deltacron-infected patient has ‘recovered fully’

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Thailand’s first Covid Deltacron-infected patient has ‘recovered fully’

Thailand’s first Covid Deltacron-infected patient has ‘recovered fully’

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Thailand’s first patient infected with the XBC Deltacron Covid-19 virus has fully recovered, the Department of Medical Sciences said on Wednesday.

The department director-general, Supakit Sirilak, revealed that the first case of a patient infected with a hybrid of the Delta and Omicron BA.2 variants was detected in a sample collected in October.

He added that the patient had not travelled abroad.

“As of November 20, up to 153 XBC cases from many countries were reported on GISAID [Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data],” he said, “Even though XBC has not shown signs of causing severe symptoms, the virus could spread quickly,” he cautioned.

He said Omicron and its subvariants are still the dominant strain due to their ability to spread quickly.

Citing results of the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP/deletion) tests on 299 people between November 19 and 25, he said cases of Omicron BA.2.75 infections had increased to 63.3% from 42.9% last week. He added that most cases were local infections.

“Whole genome sequencing has shown that more than 468 Thai people were infected with Omicron BA.2.75 and its related subvariants, such as BA.2.75.2, BA.2.75.5.1 (BN.1) and BA.2.75.1.2 (BL.2),” he said.

He added that the department had found four patients infected with the Omicron XBB subvariant (a hybrid between BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants) and seven patients were infected with the BQ.1 subvariant.

Thailand’s first Covid Deltacron-infected patient has ‘recovered fully’

The department would continue to monitor the mutations of the Covid-19 virus and assess the efficiency of public health measures and adjust treatment methods, he said.

“During this time, Covid-19 prevention measures, such as the wearing of face mask and washing of hands, are still necessary to contain the spread of the virus,” he said.

He emphasised that receiving a Covid-19 vaccine could reduce the severity of the virus, especially among the “608” group (those 60 years old and above, and those with eight underlying health conditions).

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Inspectors warn Khao San shops of stricter regulations over recreational marijiuana

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Inspectors warn Khao San shops of stricter regulations over recreational marijiuana

Inspectors warn Khao San shops of stricter regulations over recreational marijiuana

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022

The Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine Department (DTAM) joined hands with Phra Nakhon District Office and Chana Songkhram Police Station to inspect cannabis shops on Khao San Road.

DTAM’s director-general, Dr Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, on Tuesday led the inspection of cannabis shops on Khao San Road.

Thongchai said that he inspected five cannabis shops who had put up advertisements for recreational use. All shops had a licence but one store had got its licence from Lopburi province when it is supposed to have got the permission in Bangkok.

He said that the stores had made a room for customers to smoke cannabis. He clarified that the Public Health Ministry was not promoting cannabis for recreational use, so he asked the operators to run the businesses properly even though the department could not take legal action against them.

He explained that the “Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Regarding Controlled Herbs (Cannabis)” does not allow legal action against a store that opens a room for use of marijuana for recreation.

However, he will look into other related regulations because there is more than one law related to cannabis control.

Inspectors warn Khao San shops of stricter regulations over recreational marijiuana

Therefore, the department does not have permission to close any store immediately, but it could take legal action if it found the store violating other laws.

Inspectors warn Khao San shops of stricter regulations over recreational marijiuana

Thongchai added that operators, who would like to support cannabis legalisation for medical and economical reasons in the long term, excluding recreation, must follow the laws. He warned of more stringent regulation if they do not conform.

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