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APRIL 26, 2010
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Morning Brief: Thailand's protesters prepare for battle as talks break down
Posted By Joshua Keating Monday, April 26, 2010 - 8:56 AM
Top news: Thailand's opposition protesters are removing their signature red shirts in preparation for a crackdown by security forces after negotiations with the government broke down over the weekend. The protesters are fortifying their positions in Central Bangkok and have set up roadblocks in the provinces surrounding the capital to prevent more government forces from swarming the city.

Protests are mostly peaceful at the moment, but a grenade was thrown near the home of former Prime Minister Banharn Silapa-archa late on Sunday, injuring 11 people. Banharn is closely allied with Thailand's ruling coalition.

Thai Prime Minsiter Abhisit Vejjajiva has rejected an ultimatum from the protesters to dissolve parliament and hold new elections within 30 days, saying he will not be swayed by "violence and intimidation."

The red-shirts are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who voiced his support on Monday for what he called a "fight for democracy and justice." Thaksin is currently in Montenegro, one of just a handful of countries that have accepted the former leader, who is wanted in his home country on corruption charges.

At least 26 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 wounded since the latest round of red-shirt protests began in late March.

U.S. immigration fight: Immigration reform activists are calling on President Obama to help fight Arizona's harsh new immigration law. Obama criticized the bill -- which among other things, allows police to require those suspected of being illegal immigrants to produce documentation -- as irresponsible last Friday. The Arizona law may have revived the issue of immigration reform as a priority for the administration.


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Asia

Three explosions hit Kandahar this morning, killing two civilians.
A presumed U.S. drone strike killed five in Pakistan's North Waziristan region.
Russia extradited Kyrgyzstan's former interior minister back to Bishkek.
Middle East

The British ambassador to Yemen narrowly escaped a suicide attack on his armored car.
Israeli forces killed a senior Hamas militant in a raid in the West Bank.
Al Qaeda in Iraq confirmed the killing of two of its senior leaders in a U.S. airstrike.
Africa

Clashes between South Sudan's army and Arab nomads left dozens dead in South Darfur.
Sudan election results could be announced today.
South Africa is launching a new, massive anti-AIDS initiative.
Europe

The conservative Fidesz party won a landslide victory in the second round of Hungary's general election.
Austrian President Heinz Fischer was reelected for a second term.
Greece's finance minister says negotiations over a $60 billion rescue package for his country could be complete in a few weeks.
Americas

Cuba held elections for municipal assemblies amid protests.
Oil firm BP is using robotic vehicles to try to stop a potentially disastrous oil leak from the rig which sank last week in the Gulf of Mexico.
Colombian police say they have arrested a major drug trafficker and right-wing paramilitary.



HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images
SHARE: MoreCOMMENTS (0) EXPLORE:MORNING BRIEF Friday Photo: The Knights Who Say Neoliberalism
Posted By Joshua Keating Friday, April 23, 2010 - 7:04 PM

LONDON - APRIL 23: David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party, (2nd R) and Mayor of London Boris Johnson, (2nd L) meet men dressed as English knights during St George's day celebrations, at Leadenhall Market April 23, 2010 in London. Cameron took part in the second of three live TV leader's debates last night where Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed that the Tories would cut benefits for the elderly. The General Election, to be held on May 6, 2010, is set to be one of the most closely fought political contests in recent times with all main party leaders embarking on a four week campaign to win the votes of the United Kingdom electorate.



WPA Pool/Getty Images

SHARE: MoreCOMMENTS (5) EXPLORE:FRIDAY PHOTO Attack of the vuvuzelas
Posted By Andrew Swift Friday, April 23, 2010 - 5:26 PM

From the captain obvious department: a study in the latest issue of South Africa's Medical Journal claimed that vuvuzelas, the obnoxiously loud trumpet played at football matches in South Africa, can cause permanent hearing damage:

Participants in the stadium study were "exposed to high-intensity sound far exceeding the current legislated average exposure and peak exposure levels for occupational noise".

Tests on the 11 after the match showed a "significant" decrease in hearing sensitivity.

Worse, the study used stadiums that simulated the noise of only 30,000 people -- many of the crowds expected at World Cup matches are expected to be three times that amount.

If you watched last year's Confederations Cup, you're well aware how annoyingly ubuquitous vuvuzelas are in South African stadiums. (And if you didn't, you'll understand if you watch even a single minute of any World Cup match this summer.)

Thankfully, a South African company is taking advantage of the obvious entreprenurial opportunity and marketing foam earplugs.


H/T Andrew Harding.