Floods Inundate Thailand's Northern Tourist City of Chiang Maihttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5067979-floods-inundate-thailands-northern-tourist-city-chiang-mai
Floods Inundate Thailand's Northern Tourist City of Chiang Mai
Flooding hits the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai in the wake of Typhoon Yagi. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
Chiang Mai, Thailand's northern city popular with tourists, was inundated by widespread flooding Saturday as its main river overflowed its banks following heavy seasonal rainfall.
Authorities ordered some evacuations and said they were working to pump water out of residential areas and clear obstructions from waterways and drains to help water recede faster, The Associated Press reported.
Dozens of shelters were set up across the city to accommodate residents whose home were flooded. The Chiang Mai city government said the water level of the Ping River, which runs along the eastern edge of the city, was at critically high levels and was rising since Friday.
However, the provincial irrigation office on Saturday forecast that the water level was likely to remain stable and recede to normal in about five days.
Thai media reported that efforts to evacuate elephants and other animals from several sanctuaries and parks on the outskirts of the city were continuing Saturday. About 125 elephants along with other animals were taken to safety from the Elephant Nature Park, from where some escaped on their own to seek higher ground. About 10 animal shelters in the area have been flooded.
Chiang Mai Gov. Nirat Pongsitthavorn said that the latest flooding, the second in six weeks, exceeded expectations.
Thailand's state railway suspended service to Chiang Mai, with trains on the northern line from Bangkok terminating at Lampang, about 1 1/2 hours ride to the south. Chiang Mai International Airport said it was operating as usual on Saturday.
Flooding was reported in 20 Thai provinces on Saturday, mostly in the north. At least 49 people have died and 28 were injured in floods since August, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said.
In the Thai capital Bangkok, the government said Saturday it will let more water flow out of the Chao Phraya Dam in the central province of Chai Nat over the next seven days, as it risks exceeding it capacity. The release of the water may affect residents downstream who live near waterways in Thailand’s central region, including Bangkok and surrounding areas.
Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian Rallies in Europe amid High Alert as Oct. 7 Anniversary Nearshttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5068102-tens-thousands-join-pro-palestinian-rallies-europe-amid-high-alert-oct-7-anniversary
Protesters attend a demonstration in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Strasbourg, eastern France, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian Rallies in Europe amid High Alert as Oct. 7 Anniversary Nears
Protesters attend a demonstration in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Strasbourg, eastern France, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in London, Paris, Rome and other major cities around the globe Saturday to call for a ceasefire as the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel approached.
Massive rallies were planned in several European cities, with the largest gatherings expected from Saturday to Monday. Events will peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary.
In London, thousands gathered in Russell Square amid a significant police presence. Some of the march’s organizers had said they planned to target companies and institutions they claimed were “complicit in Israel’s crimes,” including Barclays Bank and the British Museum.
The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestine protesters and counter-demonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed each other. Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon. Fifteen people were arrested on suspicion of public order offenses and assault, London's Metropolitan Police said.
In Rome, several thousand demonstrators gathered in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorize protests in the Italian capital, citing security concerns. Protesters chanted “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon,” waving Palestinian flags and holding banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict.
People wave Palestinian and Lebanese flags as they demonstrate in solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people in central Sofia on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
In the northern German city of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags or chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the dpa news agency reported, citing a count by police. Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said.
Several thousand protesters gathered peacefully at Paris’ Republique Plaza in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Many were waving Palestinian flags while holding posters reading ”stop the genocide,” “free Palestine,” and “hands off Lebanon.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also planned to join rallies in Washington, New York’s Times Square and several other cities in the United States as well as in other parts of the world, including Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa and India. In the Philippines, dozens of left-wing activists protested near the US Embassy in Manila, where police prevented them from getting closer to the seaside compound.
Pro-Israeli demonstrations are expected to be held Sunday because Jews across the world are still observing Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish new year.
High security alerts
Security forces in several countries warned of heightened levels of alert in major cities, amid concerns that the escalating conflict in the Middle East could inspire new terror attacks in Europe or that the protests could turn violent.
Pro-Palestinian protests calling for an immediate ceasefire have repeatedly taken place across Europe and around the globe in the past year and have often turned violent, with confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.
A demonstrator holds a Lebanese flag in support of Lebanon amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, ahead of the anniversary of the October 7th attack, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Rome, Italy, October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Italian authorities believed that the timing of Saturday's rally in Rome risked the Oct. 7 attack being “glorified,” local media reported.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also stressed that, ahead of the key anniversary, Europe is on high alert for potential terror attacks.
“This is not a normal situation. ... We are already in a condition of maximum prevention,” he said.
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Britain, said he and others will keep organizing marches until action against Israel is taken.
“We need to be out on the streets in even bigger numbers to stop this carnage and stop Britain being drawn into it,” Jamal said.
In Berlin, a march is scheduled from the Brandenburg Gate to Bebelplatz on Sunday. Local media reported that security forces have warned of potential overload because of the scale of protests. German authorities pointed to increasing antisemitic and violent incidents in recent days.
Earlier this week in France, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned the country’s regional prefects, expressing concern about possible tensions and saying that the terrorist threat was high.
A tense and bloody year On Oct. 7 last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and setting off a war with Israel that has shattered much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, is seen with pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching to Downing Street to mark one year of the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and to call for a permanent ceasefire as part of an event organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London, Britain, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.
Nearly 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive. Israelis have experienced attacks — missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, explosive drones from Yemen, fatal shootings and stabbings — as the region braces for further escalation.
In late September, Israel shifted some of its focus to Hezbollah, which holds much of the power in parts of southern Lebanon.
