Thailand lifts emergency measures aimed at stopping protests

Pro-democracy protesters during a march from Victory Monument to Government House in Bangkok on Oct 21, 2020.PHOTO: NYTIMES

BANGKOK (REUTERS) - Thailand's government on Thursday (Oct 22) ordered the removal of emergency measures imposed a week earlier to try to end months of protests against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the monarchy, a statement said.

The measures, which had prompted even bigger demonstrations, were lifted from 12pm (1pm Singapore time).

"The current violent situation that led to the announcement of the severe situation has eased and ended to a situation in which government officials and state agencies can enforce the regular laws," the statement published in the official Royal Gazette said.

The only specific incident given for the ban was one in which Queen Suthida’s convoy was jeered by protesters, but it came after protests that are the biggest challenge in years to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Protesters who have given Prayuth a three day deadline to quit said that withdrawing the measures was not enough.

“He’s still seeking to stay in power while ignoring all the people’s demands. The emergency decree shouldn’t have been issued in the first place,” Sirawith “Ja New” Seritiwat, one of the leaders, said:
Dozens of protesters – including many of the most high profile protest leaders – were arrested during the crackdown.

Among them was Patsaravalee “Mind” Tanakitvibulpon, who was released on Thursday after being arrested a day earlier.

Patsaravalee, 25, told reporters after being freed that the court had deemed the charges were not serious and that she still needed to attend classes and exams, so bail was granted without having to submit any guarantees.

Protesters say Prayuth rigged an election last year to keep hold of power he seized in a 2014 coup. He says the election was fair.

Protesters accuse the monarchy of enabling years of military domination and want to curb the king’s powers. The palace has a policy of making no comment to media.

Tan Hui Yee

@Tan_Hui_Yee

Thai PM Prayut has just cancelled declaration of severe emergency in #Bangkok . Note that arrest of #protest leaders have taken place under various other legal clauses #WhatsHappeningInThailand

Tik_News

@Tik_News

ประกาศให้ยกเลิกประกาศสถานการณ์ฉุกเฉินที่มีความร้ายแรง ในเขตท้องที่กรุงเทพฯ

10:55 PM · Oct 21, 202010

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Thai protesters reject PM Prayut's olive branch, give him 3 days to resign

Thousands of demonstrators on Oct 21 broke through police barricades to march towards Mr Prayut's official office. PHOTO: EPA-EFE


BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) - Thai protesters gave Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha three days to resign and meet other key demands that include reforming the monarchy, appearing to reject an olive branch he offered in a televised address.

Thousands of demonstrators on Wednesday (Oct 21) night broke through police barricades and barbed wire to march towards Mr Prayut's official office.

They gathered near the building, known as Government House, shortly after the Prime Minister said his government is prepared to withdraw emergency rules banning large gatherings in the capital if the protest remain peaceful.

"We submitted the letter for Prayut to resign, which is one of our three demands," Free Youth, one of the main protest organisations, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night.

"If the government doesn't give an answer within three days, the people will return with higher demands than before."

Mr Prayut has struggled to stem the mounting street demonstrations, which have used Hong Kong-style pop-up rallies to avoid police and defy an emergency decree issued last week.

The government has shown no signs of meeting the protester's demands, which would upend the royalist elite that has maintained power throughout much of Thailand's history, but it has also sought to avoid bloodshed that could further roil the economy.

"I will make the first move to de-escalate this situation," Mr Prayut said in an address to the nation on Wednesday.

"I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents."

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Thai royalists confront pro-democracy protesters in Bangkok

The protests are underpinned by years of sluggish growth now exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has put the Thai economy on course for its worst performance ever by derailing the two main drivers: tourism and trade. The benchmark SET Index of stocks has lost 23 per cent this year.

Thailand's financial markets will take a wait-and-see approach to the protests and the government's response, said Dr Tim Leelahaphan, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank Pcl in Bangkok.

"It remains to be seen if the emergency would hurt the government's plan to gradually reopen tourism to foreign visitors from this month," Dr Leelahaphan said.

"While the political situation has so far been under control, the lingering protests do not bode well for the Thai economic recovery."

The demonstrations have shown no signs of letting up, and have even started to spread to other parts of Thailand. They have broken long-held taboos about publicly criticising the royal family, with demands for the monarch to no longer endorse coups, provide transparency in how funds are spent, and get rid of laws that stifle discussion of the royal family.

Simultaneous rallies by pro-royalist groups in support of King Maha Vajiralongkorn also raised fears of clashes between the rival groups. Past protest movements in Thailand have ended in bloody crackdowns, most recently in 2010.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Thai leaders have no easy options to end anti-monarchy protests

Thailand cracks down on protesters: A timeline of events

Mr Prayut, a former army chief who staged a coup in 2014, urged the protesters to trust the parliamentary process to address their grievances during a special session next week and said the government and the activists should "each take a step back" and "find solutions to the problems".

The king endorsed the session to be held from Oct 26, according to a Royal Gazette notification on Wednesday.

The youth-led protesters are also calling for the resignation of Mr Prayut's government and a rewriting of the constitution, which was drafted by a military-appointed panel after the 2014 coup. The activists say the charter was instrumental in helping Mr Prayut retain power after the 2019 elections.

The Prime Minister said it was time to break the cycle of government leaders having to face mobs of opposing groups to prevent the country from becoming ungovernable and descending into chaos.

"The only sure way to achieve a sustainable, enduring resolution to the problems is to speak to each other, respect the due process of law, and then let the will of the people be resolved in parliament," Mr Prayut said. "That is the only way."

THEOLOGICAL TYRANNY

Poland considers banning right to abortion in nearly all cases
Thursday, 22 October 2020

Credit: Workers Solidarity Movement / Flickr

The Polish Tribunal on the constitution will meet on Thursday to consider tightening Poland’s strict abortion laws further and ban abortions in case of severe (potentially fatal) abnormalities in the foetus.

The Tribunal will consider whether it should be legal for women to access abortions in the case of severe and irreversible abnormalities in the foetus, or if prenatal tests show the presence of incurable and life-threatening diseases.

Opponents argue that this access would disrespect the dignity of human life.

Abortions in Poland are illegal except for in cases of incest, rape, severe foetal abnormalities and when the mother’s life is at risk.

In addition, Polish doctors have the right to refuse to perform abortions on grounds of religion.

The ruling PíS-party is in favour of further limiting access to abortions for Polish women. Some say the party is looking to use the Tribunal to change the law, as previous parliamentary debates on the issue caused public outcry and political unrest.

The Polish Parliament delayed a vote on the same issue in April. Following the Tribunal’s decision, the Parliament will likely meet later this year to potentially make the restriction into law.

On Wednesday, Member of the European Parliament Terry Reintke (Greens) spearheaded a protest outside the European Parliament where women dressed in red robes based on the books and television series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. The costumes have been used in many women’s rights protests before.

“The attack on women and LGBTI rights in Poland continues,” Reintke said. “We can see in action right now what happens when authoritarians and fundamentalists take political control.”

“I can reassure you we are going to continue to stand up across groups in the European Parliament to defend fundamental rights – to defend women’s rights, and to defend LGBTI rights.”

On Tuesday, the Slovakian Parliament rejected a proposal to tighten its abortion law with a narrow majority of one vote.

On 9 October, Spain considered removing parental approval for underage girls seeking abortions.

Last week, 117 MEPs pressured the EU to ratify the Istanbul Convention on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, and to make violence against women a crime, stressing that one in five women in the EU suffer sexual and/or physical violence.

The Convention is the world’s first joint binding effort to fight and prevent violence against women, ranging from marital rape to domestic violence and female genital mutilation

Terry Reintke

@TerryReintke

The battle is on between those who want to go back in time and take away rights from women and minorities. And those who fight for more freedom and equality. I know which side I am on. OUR BODIES, OUR RIGHTS. #OstraJazda #WyrokNaKobiety

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10:47 AM · Oct 21, 2020

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Amée Zoutberg
The Brussels Times

MAD SCIENCE 

Hundreds of self-cloning crayfish invade Antwerp cemetery

The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a creature that does not exist in nature, but is thought to have been created experimentally by pet traders in Germany in the 1990s.

Thursday, 22 October 2020

© Zfaulkes/Wikimedia


The Antwerp city cemetery Schoonselhof has been invaded by hundreds of marbled crayfish in pools and streams around the grounds, presenting a danger to local biodiversity, according to the Flemish Institute for Nature and Woodland Research (INBO).

The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a creature that does not exist in nature, but is thought to have been created experimentally by pet traders in Germany in the 1990s.

The crayfish is similar to the slough crayfish found in Florida in the US, with one important difference: it is parthenogenetic, which means it is able to reproduce without mating, and all offspring are female and genetically identical.

That characteristic makes it easy for a large population to spring up quickly, which is what appears to have happened in Antwerp.

“Someone apparently had the animal in their aquarium, and then set it free in a canal,” said Kevin Scheers of the INBO. “It’s impossible to round up all of them. It’s like trying to empty the ocean with a thimble.”

Marbled crayfish have already been spotted in the Berchem area of Antwerp, as well as two sightings near Leuven.

“Often people get tired of their animals or the marbled crayfish population is getting too large at home,” said Scheers. “It must seem like a good idea to let the animals loose in nature.”

Since a single example can clone itself and so reproduce exponentially, it represents a threat to the local environment. The crayfish eats anything it can get hold of, and is able to travel up to 2km and dig down to a depth of one metre.

“The marbled crayfish is about 10cm in size and crawls around both in the water and over land at night,” Scheers said. “That’s how they move to other canals and pools.”

For the time being, there is no easy way of getting rid of the growing population.

“In Spain they tried some experiments with poison, but that is not permitted in Belgium.”

In 2014 the European Union introduced a total ban on “the possession, trade, transport, production and release” of the species in the wild. However since all examples of the species are identical, it would be impossible to trace back to wherever the cemetery examples came from.

Alan Hope
The Brussels Times

Plastic made from biomass logs the highest heat resistance on record

By Nick Lavars
October 21, 2020

Conventional plastics made from petroleum products boast properties that bioplastics don't, but scientists are working to make up the difference  VadimVasenin/Depositphotos

Scientists in Japan have produced a plastic with the highest heat resistance ever reported, and done so by using natural materials as the building blocks. This biomass-derived plastic therefore promises not just greater performance in some aspects than conventional plastics, but paves the way toward greener production for the omnipresent material.

The majority of plastics in circulation today are synthetic and derived from crude oil, gas and coal, but recently we’ve seen an alternative emerge in the form of bioplastics, which are made from biomass such as plants, egg shells, chicken feathers or even by-products of t
Making plastics in this way could not only lessen our reliance on fossil fuels (which first need to be refined in an energy-intensive manner), but lead to materials that are far friendlier for the environment once they’ve served their use, biodegrading in just a fraction of the time.

But bringing their performance up to speed poses a number of challenges, with bioplastics not offering the same properties as tried-and-true petroleum-based plastics. This includes things like strength and flexibility, but the team behind this new study has taken aim at one characteristic in particular: stability at high temperatures.

Consisting of scientists from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo, the team sought its ingredients from the kraft pulping process that turns wood into pulp, deriving two aromatic molecules by the name AHBA and ABA.

These molecules were combined with recombinant microorganisms along with other chemicals and converted into polymers, which were in turn processed into a thermo-resistant film. The end product was a lightweight organic plastic produced without heavy inorganic fillers, and featuring the highest heat resistance of any plastic on record, enduring temperatures of over 740 °C (1,364 °F). Promisingly, the team believes the technique can be adapted to other plastic types to improve their performance.

“This innovative macromolecular design increases thermoresistance and can be widely applied to well‐processable plastics for the production of lightweight materials and is expected to contribute to the development of a more sustainable society,” the team writes.

The research was published in the journal Advanced Sustainable Systems.

Source: Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology via AlphaGalileo

NO BS CLAIMS 
CBD helps manage pain and nausea, but isn't a cure for illnesses

Most CBD users take it for medical issues like orthopedic, psychiatric, and sleep conditions, which happens to be treated also by doctors using other methods.

By Snow Digon October 22, 2020 

There has been a wide debate on the use of cannabidiol (CBD) for medicinal purposes. A recent study may shed more light on how people responded to using CBD and how it affected their health.

The study titled, "Self-reported Cannabidiol (CBD) Use for Conditions With Proven Therapies," published in JAMA Network Open, analysed comments of Reddit users for several years to determine how effective CBD is on their health and wellness. Researchers from the Qualcomm Institute's Center for Data Driven Health at the University of California San Diego, stated that scientists do not have enough data on why people take CBD, and so they reviewed the testimonials of CBD users. They then found that most of them took CBD due to medical issues like orthopedic, psychiatric, and sleep conditions, which are otherwise diagnosable.

The researchers looked at the 430 million users of Reddit and studied specific groups that were using CBD. The period of analysis of the comments was from January 2014 to February 2019.

After the analysis, the authors noted that 90 percent of the testimonials revealed that users take CBD for medical conditions. These conditions also happen to be treated by doctors using other medically available methods.

Dr David Smith, a co-author of the study and a professor at U.C. San Diego said that the public seems to believe cannabidiol is medicine. He said that who would have predicted that there would be individuals who would think that cannabidiol is a cardiology medication?

Dr Lenny Cohen, a neurologist, narrated in Healthline that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only one medical use for cannabidiol, and that is for epilepsy. He also said that there are cannabis derivatives, which have been approved to help alleviate nausea in those who were receiving cancer treatment. Cohen then drew the line, and said that official approval on the medical use of CBD stops there.

Caleb Chen, owner of a website that reviews cannabis products, and also a Reddit moderator, noted that the study by the University of California has a valid point. He said that although the study implies that CBD is not as effective in treating medical conditions as the real medicine, what the authors really wanted to convey was their study was proof that there is a need for FDA to regulate the manner by which CBD producers market themselves more.

Cannabinoids for pain and nausea but not as cure. Photo: Pixabay

On the other hand, Carey Clark, PhD, RN, Pacific College of Health and Science's chair of the medical cannabis program stated in 2017 there was detailed evidence evolving around cannabis and various states of illnesses. She also highlighted that cannabinoids like CBD have shown efficacy in managing pain and muscle spasms that were associated with multiple sclerosis, along with nausea and vomiting induced by chem

Vaccine trials 'can't detect' virus risk reduction: Expert

The WHO has identified 42 candidate vaccines in clinical trials, ten of which are in the most advanced "phase 3" stage.

By Patrick Galey October 22, 2020 

None of the trials of Covid-19 candidate vaccines can detect a reduction in serious outcomes such as hospitalisation or death, a leading public health expert said Thursday.

Writing in the BMJ medical journal, associate editor Peter Doshi warned that not even phase 3 trials under way in the race for a vaccine can prove their product will prevent people contracting Covid-19.

In a sobering essay, Doshi said those hoping for a breakthrough to end the pandemic would be disappointed, with some vaccines likely to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection by only 30 percent.

"None of the trials currently under way are designed to detect a reduction in any serious outcome such as hospital admissions, use of intensive care, or deaths," he wrote.

"Nor are the vaccines being studied to determine whether they can interrupt transmission of the virus."

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 42 candidate vaccines in clinical trials, ten of which are in the most advanced "phase 3" stage.

This is where a vaccine's effectiveness is tested on a large scale, generally tens of thousands of people across several continents.

But Doshi, assistant professor of pharmaceutical health services research at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, said that even the most advanced trials are evaluating mild rather than severe disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 42 candidate vaccines in clinical trials, ten of which are in the most advanced "phase 3" stage. Photo: AFP / Ludovic MARIN

This may be down to the numbers of people involved in trials, he said, pointing out that the majority of confirmed Covid-19 infections involve mild or no symptoms.

And few if any current trials are designed to find out whether there is a benefit among the elderly, a key at-risk constituency.

Without enrolling frail and elderly volunteers in trials in sufficient numbers, Doshi said "there can be little basis for assuming any benefit against hospitalisation or mortality.

He added that children, immunocompromised people and pregnant women had largely been excluded from trials, making it unlikely that the experiments will address key gaps in our understanding of how Covid-19 develops differently among individuals.

Several trials have already been halted after participants became ill.

Many countries plan to prioritise vulnerable people once a vaccine is available, but Doshi said that those hoping for a miracle end to the pandemic would have to wait.

He said that several pharmaceutical firms had designed their studies "to detect a relative risk reduction of at least 30 percent in participants developing laboratory confirmed Covid-19".

Recent studies have also confirmed that it is possible for someone to be reinfected with Covid-19, a development that may impact how governments' form their vaccination plans.

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

Japan develops deer-friendly bags in effort to stop plastic ingestion of deer population

The proposed paper bags pose less of a health risk for Japan's treasured Nara deer that tend to eat them

By Nina Siena October 20, 2020 

Japan is looking into the use of deer-friendly bags in an effort to keep the country's famed Nara deer from eating plastic bags left behind by tourists at Nara Park. A group of locals have come up with a solution to replace plastic bags with a digestible type of paper bag made from rice bran. The proposed bags pose less of a health risk for Japan's treasured Nara deer that tend to eat them.

Nara, which is a small city and a former Japanese capital located in the south of Kyoto, has a growing population of Sika deer. There are more than 1,000 deer that freely roam the park and are protected by law.

Visitors are allowed to feed the deer, provided they only give them digestive and sugar-free deer crackers, also known as "shika sembei." These crackers are specially made for this purpose and do not come in plastic packaging. However, some park visitors are believed to be feeding the deer with other snacks. They then discard the food wrappers, leaving the scent of its former contents on the wrappers which the deer eat by mistake while foraging.

In 2019, more than 4kg of tangled up plastic litter and packets were found in the stomachs of several dead deer.

Local resident Takashi Nakamura, who runs a paper company, came up with the idea of rice bran bags. He worked together with two other Nara residents who helped develop the paper bags. The bags are to be made with the combination of recycled milk cartons and rice bran, which is the same material used to make the special deer crackers.

According to the BBC, tests on the bag were conducted by the Japan Food Research Laboratories and has declared the product safe for consumption. Each bag costs around 100 yen (£0.73) compared to a normal plastic bag which typically would cost about a few pence.

Around 3,500 paper bags have already been sold to six local companies including Nara's tourism bureau, a local pharmacy, as well as a local bank. The Nara Chuo Shinkin Bank has been giving the bags to clients to help them carry documents which has become quite a popular conversation topic among local residents.

  

Video captured by the researchers. Snow monkey on sika deer Youtube

Infant formula: Study warns millions of microplastics leak from baby bottles

Baby bottles that were made with polypropylene could release up to 16 million particles of microplastics per litre, the study found.

By Snow Digon October 21, 2020 

Feeding babies with infant formula has become the most common way of nourishing little ones, especially in a very busy society. However, there may be danger lurking around the corner. Recent research showed that during formula preparation, high levels of microplastics leak from baby bottles.

A study published in the journal Nature Food titled, "Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation," revealed that polypropylene-made infant feeding bottles release several millions of particles per litre of microplastics. When these bottles are exposed to high-temperature water and are sterilised, they release significantly higher amounts of microplastics.

In order to estimate the exposure of infants up to 12 months old to microplastics, researchers from Trinity College Dublin surveyed 48 countries. They found that baby bottles that were made with polypropylene could release up to 16 million particles of microplastics per litre. If it is in terms of nanoplastics, which are smaller in size, the amount runs in trillions.

Another key finding of researchers was that sterilisation in hot water can significantly increase the number of microplastics released from the bottles. The researchers estimated that when the temperature increases from 25 to 95 degrees Celsius, the number of microplastics released goes up from 0.6 million to 55 million particles per litre.

Aside from infant feeding bottles, other products made with polypropylene like kettles and lunchboxes would also release similar levels. Regions with the highest levels of daily exposure to microplastics were in North America, Europe and Oceania, pegged at more than one million microplastics daily. The researchers noted that microplastic leak may be reduced significantly by modifying formula preparation and sterilisation procedures.

The researchers recommended ways on how to prepare formula and sterilise infant feeding bottles. Sterilised water may be prepared using glass or stainless steel kettle or cooker. Then, use room temperature sterilised water to rinse sterilised bottles. Do this three times at the very least.

For formula preparation, water should be boiled using a non-plastic kettle. The infant formula must be prepared in a non-plastic container using water at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius. Thereafter, the water must be cooled down to room temperature, then the prepared formula may be transferred to an infant-feeding bottle made of high-quality plastic.

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High levels of microplastic leak during infant formula preparation using plastic feeding bottles. Photo: Pixabay

Professor John Boland, one of the authors of the study from Trinity's School of Chemistry, said that they do not want to unduly alarm parents, particularly when the information on any possible health consequences on infants is not yet sufficient. However, they are calling on policymakers to reassess existing guidelines used for preparing infant formula using plastic feeding bottles.