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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40016847

Republican Eric Greitens, who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, released a campaign ad on Monday depicting him and a group of armed men going hunting for “RINOS,” or “Republicans in name only” – prompting social media platforms to flag or take down the video.

“I’m Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL, and today, we’re going RINO hunting,” the 48-year-old former Missouri governor says at the start of the ad, racking a shotgun.

Greitens and a team dressed in military gear then break down the door of a house, throw what appears to be a stun grenade inside and storm into the building.

“Join the MAGA crew,” Greitens tells the camera, referring to Republican former President Donald Trump’s slogan, Make America Great Again. “Get a RINO hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”

The ad was released amid a national debate over gun violence following the May 24 Texas elementary school massacre that left 19 students and two teachers dead and the racially motivated killing of 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York, on May 14.

Twitter flagged the ad, saying it violated the social media platform’s rules about abusive behaviour. Facebook took it down, prompting Greitens to post a Facebook message criticizing the platform for removing it and vowing to take on “Big Tech” if elected.

Greitens’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Missouri’s primary election is scheduled for Aug. 2. Greitens is one of many Republicans seeking their party’s nomination, including U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt, for the seat held by retiring Republican Senator Roy Blunt.

The ad also drew immediate condemnation, including from some Republicans who said Greitens was encouraging political violence.

“Every R should denounce,” Republican former congresswoman Barbara Comstock of Virginia said on Twitter. “This is such a sick and dangerous ad.”

Greitens has previously come under pressure from some Republicans to drop out of the race after his former wife accused him of abusive behaviour. He has denied any wrongdoing.

He resigned as governor in 2018 after being accused of photographing a woman naked and threatening to release it if she went public about their relationship, though he denied the allegations.

Adam Kinzinger, a Republican congressman who on Sunday posted a letter addressed to his wife that threatened to kill their whole family, called Greitens a “very bad man” on Twitter.

Kinzinger, who has broken with his party over Trump, is a member of the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, invasion of the Capitol by a group of Trump supporters trying to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

Published : June 21, 2022

By : Reuters

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Israelis voiced mixed feelings on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid agreed to dissolve parliament.

Bennett will step aside to be replaced by Lapid, his partner in the unlikely coalition of opposites that ended former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s record 12-year rule 12 months ago.

Lapid, a former journalist who heads the largest party in the coalition, will serve as interim prime minister until new elections can be held.

“Well I am not happy, I think the country needs stability and having elections every several months or even every year is not good. I don’t think there is a big difference between Bennett and Netanyahu, as far as their attitude or their policies, but I think the country was right for a change. And I did want to see Bennett stay in power for longer and gain more experience unfortunately I think what it means is that Netanyahu now is going to come back to power,” said an investment manager Etian Etzioni.

While Clotlda Cohen felt a relief hoping that Israel’s opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu will return to power.

“I think this is bad for Israel, for all the people, because Bibi (Netanyahu) was the only one and the best. I think for the older people we wait for this, wait for a long time,” she said.

A vote will be held in parliament next week, after which Lapid will take over the premiership, according to Bennett’s spokesperson.

The move comes just weeks ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Joe Biden which the government had been counting on to help boost regional security ties against Israel’s longtime enemy Iran.

However, the eight-party coalition, including hard-right, liberal and Arab parties with deep differences on questions from religion to the Palestinian issue, had faced growing strains as its slight majority was cut by defections.

Lapid said he would not wait until the new elections to address the problems facing Israel.

Bennett, a former commando and tech millionaire who entered national politics in 2013 defended his government’s record, saying it had boosted economic growth, cut unemployment and eliminated the deficit for the first time in 14 years.

But as pressure on the government increased in recent days, he was unable to hold the coalition together and decided to step aside before Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party could table a motion of its own to dissolve parliament.

Netanyahu, who has vowed a comeback despite facing trial for corruption, said Likud would lead the next government and he poured scorn on Bennett, a right-wing politician who was once one of his closest aides.

In Gaza, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, said it would not alter its course with any new government.

“We must resist to regain the full rights of our people,” said spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum.

Published : June 21, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40016845

Kaliningrad region Residents sandwiched between EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania, expressed fear and regret over Lithuania’s transit ban on Monday. 

“Construction works will stop. Development of roads. It’s all only going to get worse. I think many people will lose their jobs because there is no other option,” said one Kaliningrad resident, who refuse to give his name to Reuters, but said that he already has plans to leave the region because of strengthening European sanctions. 

Urging citizens not to resort to panic buying, representative of the Kaliningrad region Government Dmitry Lyskov said to Reuters that two vessels were already ferrying goods between Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg, and seven more would be in service by the end of the year.

“We can reroute the resources released on logistics of sanctioned goods, to transportation of the unsanctioned goods, ” Lyskov said. 

Lithuanian authorities said a ban on the transit through their territory to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad of goods that are subject to EU sanctions was to take effect from Saturday.

News of the ban came on Friday, through a video posted by the region’s governor, Anton Alikhanov. 

The EU sanctions list notably includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology, and Alikhanov said the ban would cover around 50 per cent of the items that Kaliningrad imports.

Its immediate start was confirmed by the cargo arm of Lithuania’s state railways service in a letter to clients following “clarification” from the European Commission on the mechanism for applying the sanctions.

A spokesman for Lithuania’s rail service confirmed the contents of the letter but declined to comment further. The foreign ministry did not reply to a request from Reuters for comment.

Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas told the public broadcaster his institution was waiting for “clarification from the European Commission on applying European sanctions to Kaliningrad cargo transit”.

Russia warned NATO member Lithuania on Monday that unless the transit of goods to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea was swiftly restored then Moscow would take undisclosed measures to defend its national interests.

With east-west relations at a half-century low over Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Vilnius banned the transit of goods sanctioned by the European Union through Lithuanian territory to and from the exclave, citing EU sanction rules.

Kaliningrad is home to the headquarters of Russia’s Baltic sea fleet. The enclave was captured from Nazi Germany by the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union after World War Two.

Published : June 21, 2022

By : Reuters

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Hong Kong’s famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant capsized on Sunday after encountering “adverse conditions” in the South China Sea.

No crew members were injured, said the Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises in a statement posted on Twitter.

“When passing Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, the vessel encountered adverse conditions which water soon entered before it began to tip.”

“Despite the efforts of the towing company responsible for the trip to rescue the vessel, unfortunately, it capsized on Sunday.” The company added it was “very saddened” by this incident.

The vessel, which resembled a Chinese imperial palace, has welcomed celebrities such as Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise with Cantonese cuisine since 1976.

Residents had said their goodbyes to the iconic Jumbo Seafood Restaurant on Tuesday (June 14) as it was towed away by tugboats from its home of 46 years.

In 2020, Jumbo ceased operations due to the coronavirus outbreak. After months of COVID-19 restrictions, its parent company was unable to find a new owner and lacked the funds to maintain it.

Published : June 21, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40016811

Colombian construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez conceded defeat in the Andean country’s presidential contest on Sunday after he lost by more than 700,000 votes to leftist Gustavo Petro.

Hernandez recognized his lost through a social media video and wished Petro doesn’t “disappoint those who trusted him.”

Meanwhile, several of his supporters gathered outside his campaign headquarters in Bucaramanga looking disappointed.

Hernandez, who refers to himself as the ‘king of TikTok’, ran a non-traditional campaign focused mostly on social media, repeatedly canceling media interviews, and barely appearing in public in the 10 days leading up to the vote.

Petro won 50.5% to Hernandez’s 47.3%. The two had been technically tied in polling ahead of the vote.

Petro, a former mayor of capital Bogota and current senator, has pledged to fight inequality with free university education, pension reforms, and high taxes on unproductive land.

His proposals – especially a ban on new oil projects – have startled some investors, though he has promised to respect current contracts

Some 20 million people cast ballots nationwide.

This campaign was Petro’s third presidential bid and his victory adds the Andean nation to a list of Latin American countries that have elected progressives in recent years.

Petro, 62, said he was tortured by the military when he was detained for his involvement with the guerrillas, and his potential victory has high-ranking armed forces officials bracing for change.

Petro’s running mate Francia Marquez, a single mother, and former housekeeper, will be the country’s first Afro-Colombian woman vice-president.

Published : June 20, 2022

By : Reuters

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Supporters of France’s left-wing Nupes bloc celebrated on Sunday as initial projections showed President Emmanuel Macron on course to lose his absolute majority in the National Assembly.

The French President’s centrist ‘Ensemble!’ alliance was set to end up with the most seats, the polls showed, followed by the Nupes bloc headed by the hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon.

But the threshold for an absolute majority is 289 seats in the lower house, and the four pollsters’ projections showed Macron and his allies would fall well short of that.

“These results mean so much to me, there’s immense joy in seeing that Macron does not have an absolute majority,” said one Nupes supporter, 17-year-old Megane Cleopatre.

Another supporter of Melenchon, Brahim, said that this was an “exceptional” day.

“We have found a great man (Melenchon) for the government who will step into the prime minister’s office.”

Macron’s supporters expressed disappointment in the result, and raised concerns for the future.

“We don’t know what will happen next, what deals will take place. Will the parliament group be able to function or will they make compromises with other groups?” asked Clement.

The first projections by four pollsters showed Sunday’s election delivering a hung parliament.

If confirmed, a hung parliament would open up a period of political uncertainty that would require a degree of power-sharing among parties not experienced in France in recent decades, or else political paralysis and even possibly repeat elections.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that the result of the lower house elections, in which the camp of President Emmanuel Macron lost its absolute majority, was a “risk” for the country.

“The result is a risk for our country in view of the challenges we have to face,” Borne said.

Her government will now reach out to potential partners as it seeks to rally a majority behind it, Borne said in a televised address.

“From tomorrow, we will work towards forming a majority of action… to guarantee stability for our country and carry out the necessary reforms,” Borne said.

“I have trust in all of us and in our sense of responsibility,” said Borne, telling voters: “We want to continue to protect you and ensure your security.”

Borne herself succeeded in her race for a seat in the National Assembly in the northern Calvados region where she won a runoff vote against a challenger from the left.

Some members of her cabinet, including the environment and health ministers, failed in their bids to secure a parliamentary seat, while others like Europe Minister Clement Beaune, budget minister Gabriel Attal and Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt succeeded.

The government had previously announced that those ministers who failed in their parliamentary campaign would resign.

Published : June 20, 2022

By : Reuters

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At least 25 people were killed by lightning or landslides over the weekend in Bangladesh while millions were left marooned or homeless in low-lying northeastern parts hit by the worst monsoon floods in the country’s recent history, officials said.

Residents in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh are struggling to cope after they were hit with the worst monsoon floods in the country’s recent history on Sunday.

Monsoon rains swamped huge areas of the country, leaving millions of homes underwater.

Many of Bangladesh’s rivers have risen to dangerous levels and the runoff from heavy rain from across Indian mountains exacerbated the situation, said Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, the head of the state-run Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.

Highways became rivers, with people using boats to get around on what would normally be tarmacked roads. Lorries and cars struggled on the roads, while journeys by rickshaw or motorbike journeys proved to be challenging for all but the bravest.

Thousands of policemen and army personnel have been deployed to parts of the country to help search and rescue efforts.

About 105,000 people have been evacuated so far but police officials estimated that over four million were still stranded.

Syed Rafiqul Haque, a former lawmaker and ruling party politician in Sunamganj district, said the country was facing a humanitarian crisis if proper rescue operations were not conducted.

Regional officials said about 3.1 million people were displaced, 200,000 of whom are staying in government-run makeshift shelters on raised embankments or on other highlands.

Officials said the Monsoon storms in India and Bangladesh have killed at least 59 people and unleashed devastating floods that left millions of others stranded.

Bangladesh and India have experienced increasing extreme weather in recent years, causing large-scale damage.

Environmentalists warn climate change could lead to more disasters, especially in low-lying and densely populated Bangladesh.

Published : June 20, 2022

By : Reuters

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Mexico City’s residents set a new Guinness World Record on Saturday after taking part in the boxing class with the largest attendance worldwide.

With jabs, crosses, uppercuts, and hooks, a total of 14,299 people met early in the morning at the city’s Zocalo square to take part in the lesson.

Moscow was the last city to break the record in 2017 when 3,000 people showed up for the event.

Mexican boxing champions, such as Mariana Juarez, Ana Maria Torres, and David Picasso, led the massive 30-minute class while attendees formed a mosaic by wearing green, white, and red shirts, the colors of Mexico’s flag.

The event was organised by the Mexico City government and the World Boxing Council.

Published : June 19, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40016790

Former President Donald Trump wished current President Joe Biden well after Biden took a tumble off his bicycle earlier on Saturday.

“But, no, we do hope that Biden is ok. Because that was a hard fall. That was scary. Did anybody see it? Well, we wish him well in that respect,” said Trump, speaking at a rally in Tennessee.

Biden took a spill from his bike on Saturday as he stopped to greet supporters during a weekend trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

He appeared to be uninjured after standing up immediately. “I’m good,” Biden, 79, said after the tumble, which occurred in front of reporters. “I got my foot caught up,” he said.

The president, who was wearing a bike helmet, said the toe cages on his bike should be removed after his foot got caught before he could steady himself.

Later, Biden spent several minutes chatting with people who had gathered to watch him bike.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden were finishing up a morning bike ride in the Gordons Pond area on the Delaware shore. They marked their 45th wedding anniversary on Friday.

The White House said the president did not require medical attention.

Asked how he was feeling while emerging from church later on Saturday, Biden did a series of hops before entering his vehicle.

Published : June 19, 2022

By : Reuters

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A new study by scientists revealed that the human ear evolved from fish gills, with evidence gathered from 400-million-year old fish fossils found in China.

The human middle ear—which houses three tiny, vibrating bones—is key to transporting sound vibrations into the inner ear, where they become nerve impulses that allow us to hear.

Chinese scientists have eventually found clues to the mystery in fossils unearthed in the provinces of Zhejiang and Yunnan, which provided anatomical and fossil evidence for the origin of vertebrate spiracles from gills.

According to Gai Zhikun, a Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher and the first author of the article “The Evolution of the Spiracular Region From Jawless Fish to Tetrapods,” there is ample embryonic and fossil evidence that the human middle ear evolved from a fish’s spiracle.

“The discovery of these ancient fish fossils is proof that our middle ears originated from fish gills. It explains why human ears don’t breathe today, but they’re still connected to the mouth, because they used to be the organ of fish’s respiratory system,” said Gai.

The “ancient fish kingdom” of Qujing in southwest China’s Yunnan Province was ocean from Silurian to Devonian. During excavations of fossils in the early Devonian strata, the research team collected the first fossil material of broad-shelled turtle with intact gill-filaments marks. It provides the most accurate anatomical and fossil evidence for the theory that the spiracle of vertebrates such as fish originates from degenerated gills.

“Many human body structures can be traced back to the ancestors of fish, such as our teeth, jaws and middle ears. Paleontologists are filling in important processes in the chain of evolution from fish to humans. The fossil of Qujing ancient fish kingdom provides important evidence for the improvement of this chain,” said Zhu Min, researcher of Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under CAS.

The research team proposed the evolution process of the spiracle from jawless fish to tetrapod on the basis of the fossils, thus establishing the evolutionary sequence of the spiracle from the gills of jawless fish to the middle ear of human.

Experts believe that as fish evolved and landed on ground, they had to develop new senses to survive better in the air. The spiracle, which had lost its ability to breathe, gradually evolved into the middle ear, becoming the hearing canal used for transmitting sound to the brain via tiny inner ear bones. Thus, humans evolved acute hearing.

Published : June 19, 2022

By : Reuters