BANGKOK // Thai anti-government demonstrators fired shots at government supporters as the rival sides clashed this afternoon on a major highway in the Thai capital of Bangkok.
The fighting began when government supporters began throwing rocks at a truck carrying members of the People's Alliance for Democracy as it was returning from Bangkok's old airport, where the group had been holding a rally.
The airport has served as temporary government headquarters since the alliance occupied the prime minister's office in late August. The anti-government group responded by firing slingshots and at least two pistols from their truck, then gave chase to the attackers, who appeared to number several dozen, according to footage shown on television.
The gunmen fired about half a dozen shots. The men on the truck appeared by their dress, camouflage clothes and yellow armbands, to be among the so-called guards working for the alliance, who have earned a reputation for aggressive behaviour. They also hoisted a portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand's revered monarch, for whose interests they claim to be working.
The alliance has previously denied they carry guns, though reporters have seen them carrying and shooting firearms at earlier confrontations.
The footage showed anti-government supporters surrounding a motorcycle taxi driver and putting a knife to his throat. After the driver fled, the protesters hit several motorbikes with steel rods and set fire to another one.
he two sides are fairly easy to distinguish, since the protest alliance favors yellow shirts and their rivals, red. Some of the government supporters seen fleeing were wearing red shirts.
The Narenthorn Medical Center said four people were taken to the hospital. The pro-government crowd appeared to be members of a loose association of taxi drivers who support the government and are supporters of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The People's Alliance for Democracy opposed the current government, because it considers it to be a puppet of Thaksin, who was accused of corruption and abuse of power and deposed in a September 2006 military coup.
During the brief skirmish, neither police nor any other security forces intervened.
*AP
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
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Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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