World
Thai political deadlock drags on as vote for prime minister is delayed
Prolonged post-election uncertainty is raising questions over stability in Thailand, which has seen two coups over the past 20 years.
Thailand’s parliament has postponed a vote for the next prime minister after the Constitutional Court began reviewing a case challenging the legislature’s refusal to allow the election-winning party a second shot at forming a government.
The move on Thursday prolongs a political deadlock that has raised questions about stability in the Southeast Asian nation, which has seen two coups and waves of street protests over the past two decades.
Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha told reporters that a vote for a prime minister, which had been scheduled for Friday, could only be held after the Constitutional Court rules on the appeal by the Move Forward Party.
“We have to wait for the constitutional court to make its decision on August 16 before determining when we will have the vote again,” he said.
Move Forward won the most seats in a general election held on May 14 and forged a coalition with seven other parties in order to form a government.
The alliance controlled 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives but was unable to form a government because of resistance from conservative opponents and the 250 members of a Senate appointed during military rule.
The prime minister is chosen in a joint vote of both houses of parliament.
An initial bid by Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat in July fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. The conservative legislators say they oppose Pita because of his party’s pledge to reform a law banning criticism of the country’s monarchy.
His second attempt a week later was blocked by a procedural vote in parliament, which said his name could not be nominated again.
The kingdom’s ombudsman referred the decision to the Constitutional Court to determine if it was in line with the constitution.
The court said on Thursday that it needed more time and evidence to decide whether to accept the case and would consider it on August 16.
“The Constitutional Court has considered that the request requires thorough deliberation as it includes the administrative principle in the constitutional monarchy system, so the Court has decided to postpone the deliberation to study more information,” it said in a statement.
The deadlock has strained the reformist coalition, and on Wednesday, Pheu Thai, the second biggest party in the alliance, announced that it will attempt to form a new government without Move Forward.
Chonlanan Srikaew, Pheu Thai’s leader, said at a news conference on Wednesday that after speaking with other parties and senators, it was clear that Move Forward’s stance on the monarchy was a major obstacle for the coalition in rallying enough votes in parliament to confirm a new prime minister.
Chonlanan said Pheu Thai would nominate real-estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin for prime minister and will announce its new coalition partners on Thursday.
Public frustration has grown amid the prolonged uncertainty, with supporters of Move Forward staging several protests calling for senators to stop blocking the candidate from the eight-party coalition.
On Wednesday, dozens of protesters rallied outside the Pheu Thai headquarters to demand that the eight-party coalition stay together.
Upon hearing the news that Move Forward has been excluded from the coalition, they laid effigies at the front gate and set them on fire.
Move Forward won the votes of many young people and its exclusion from power by conservatives allied with the royalist-military establishment has raised the prospect of a return of the sort of street protests that have brought intermittent turmoil to Thailand over the past decades.
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)
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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
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