BANGKOK // Thailand's red-shirted protesters, loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, said they would hold a parade tomorrow that would eclipse last week's street events that drew 65,000 people.
The "Red Shirts" said that, to avoid any attempt to halt their action, they will not announce the parade's route in advance and instead allow the assembled protesters to decide where to march.
"We ask all Red Shirt people to come here ... and leaders will ask our people on what our next move will be," the Reds leader Nattawut Saikua told reporters at the main rally ground in the government quarter today.
"We have to make a move in order to show our power, because staying put would not be a forceful protest," he said, adding that the street demonstrations which began on March 14 would remain peaceful.
Mr Thaksin's supporters were buoyed by last Saturday's parade which saw a colourful convoy of lorries, cars and motorcycles snake through Bangkok's teeming streets.
Mr Nattawut said this weekend's gathering would be bigger but, with grumbles emerging over disruption caused by the rallies, did not repeat organisers' earlier promises to mount an event that would "shut down" Bangkok.
The Reds, largely from poor northern areas, are pushing for elections to replace the government which came to power with army backing in a 2008 parliamentary vote after a controversial court ruling removed Mr Thaksin's allies.
Mr Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption, regularly addresses his supporters by videolink and yesterday urged them to intensify pressure on the government.
He also raised the prospect of a campaign of civil disobedience if the prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, continues to refuse demands to dissolve parliament.
"I pledge all of you to come out in force and fight peacefully. If they won't listen to us then we will begin civil disobedience as (Indian independence hero) Gandhi did to win against Britain.
"If it is necessary we will have to do this. It's time for you to make sacrifices - don't be afraid," he said.
A 50,000-strong security force has been in place in Bangkok and surrounding districts since the start of protests triggered by a court ruling that seized 1.4 billion dollars of Mr Thaksin's fortune.
*AFP
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5