BANGKOK // Thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets Friday, peacefully marking the six-month anniversary of the military's crackdown of their protest that dragged the Thai capital into chaos.
The so-called Red Shirts massed at the same intersection - briefly blocking traffic there - where they made their final stand in the spring before heavily armed soldiers swept through and arrested top protest leaders.
More than 1,000 police turned out to provide security for the demonstration, which drew between 5,000 and 10,000 people.
Despite repression, including a state of emergency still in effect in Bangkok that allows civil liberties to be curbed, the Red Shirt movement continues to be active and is treated as a major threat by the government.
About 90 people were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded in the March-May unrest, as the protesters tried to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva call early elections. They claim he came to power illegitimately, with the help of the military. Many are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup.
The protests earlier this year had been mostly peaceful until April 10, when an armed clash occurred as the military sought to drive the protesters from one stronghold. Gunmen on the side of the Red Shirts fought back and killed a high-ranking army officer, escalating the confrontation.
The gunmen continued to launch attacks and used grenade launchers on targets in the middle of the city. Several civilians were among those killed.
The authorities struck back with deadly force, and demonstrators accounted for most of the fatalities. As the army moved in, arsonists set fire to several dozen building, including a luxury shopping mall that was next to their encampment.
The Red Shirts have demanded that authorities be held accountable for the deaths among their ranks.
"I still would like to ask Abhisit Vejjajiva if he wants the country to carry on this way," Jatuporn Prompan, a key Red Shirt leader, said Friday after paying respects at a Brahmin shrine next to where the main protest stage used to be. "As long as there is no justice and the political leaders are either killed or are behind bars, the people can always rise up to fight."
Jatuporn then released a dozen of doves into the sky. A candlelight vigil was also held.
Earlier Friday, some 200 Red Shirts laid red roses in front of a Bangkok prison, where the key leaders are under detention. Another 300 visited the office of the Department of Special Investigation - Thailand's equivalent of the FBI - to ask them to speed up their probe of protest-related deaths.
Earlier this week, the DSI announced that the Red Shirts or their allies were responsible for the deaths of at least 12 people and the authorities might have been involved in causing at least six deaths.
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Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
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Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
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What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
'Midnights'
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