Finance

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand’s Grand Palace on Saturday, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy.

The kingdom has seen near-daily gatherings of youth-led groups since mid-July calling for the resignation of Prayut, the former army chief behind the 2014 coup, and a complete overhaul of his administration.

Some are also demanding reforms to Thailand’s ultra-wealthy and powerful monarchy — a once-taboo topic in the country due to its tough royal defamation laws.

The burgeoning movement, partly inspired by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, remains largely leaderless.

But this weekend’s demonstration was organised by students of Bangkok’s Thammasat University — a group that has been among the most vocal about the royal family’s role in Thailand.

Human rights lawyer Anon Numpa, who has emerged as one of the key figures in the movement, took a stronger line on monarchical reform in a fiery speech late Saturday night.

The kingdom has seen near-daily gatherings of youth-led groups since mid-July calling for the resignation of Prayut, the former army chief behind the 2014 coup
 AFP / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA

“My knee will never kneel for dictatorship,” he shouted,

The Federal Reserve has been too cautious in its recent policy shift allowing higher prices to boost employment, one US central banker said Friday, warning against heeding “ghost stories” about inflation.

As the United States faces the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreak and is approaching 200,000 deaths, tens of millions of workers still have not returned to their jobs and the unemployment rate, though down from its peak, is at 8.4 percent, more than double the pre-pandemic level.

The Fed on Friday released a survey showing only 30 percent of workers who were laid off early in the crisis have returned to work, while 22 percent do not expect to return to their jobs.

Neel Kashkari, president of the Fed’s Minneapolis branch, dissented from the Fed’s decision Wednesday, which pledged to allow inflation to rise above 2 percent “for some time” to achieve the central bank’s goal of maximum employment.

The statement reflects the policy shift first announced by Fed Chair Jerome Powell in August, but Kashkari said the Fed should have made a “stronger commitment to not raising rates until we were certain to have achieved” the full employment objective.

He stressed that economists and central bankers have long been

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Polish fur farmers and kosher meat producers protested in Warsaw on Wednesday against new legislation going through parliament with the support of animal rights groups.

Poland is the world’s third biggest fur producer after China and Denmark, according to activists, and a major exporter of kosher meat to Israel and Jewish communities in Europe.

The legislation would ban the breeding of animals for fur — a major industry in Poland — and stop exports of halal and kosher meat.

“Poland’s standards regarding animals should be no worse, or even better, than those in western countries,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, said when the legislation was first tabled last week.

Kaczynski, who is known for his love of cats, over the weekend launched the online #stopfurchallenge for people on social media to express their support for the draft amendment.

“In the 21st century, it’s possible to look really good without putting on a fur garment,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said ahead of a parliamentary vote on Wednesday.

Lawmakers later voted down a proposal to scrap the bill and sent it to a parliamentary committee for further consideration.

“In the 21st century, it’s possible to look

Apple on Tuesday said it is putting TV, music, news and more in a subscription bundle as it increases its push into services tied to its iPhone “ecosystem.”

An Apple One bundle to be available later this year will start at $15 monthly and include a freshly launched fitness service tied to Apple Watch.

The Silicon Valley titan made no mention of a keenly anticipated iPhone 5G considered vital to the company’s fortunes, with analysts expecting that debut next month, due to disruption in production caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The subscription bundle highlights Apple’s efforts to put more emphasis on digital content and services amid a sluggish global smartphone market.

The $15 Apple One bundle includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, the Apple Arcade game service and iCloud storage. A $20 family plan can be shared by up to six people.

An upgraded $30 bundle adds Apple Fitness+, Apple News+ and additional cloud storage.

“With Apple One, you can access the best of Apple entertainment across all your favorite devices with one simple subscription,” said Apple senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue.

The Fitness+ service introduced by Apple is tied to its smartwatch line-up, which was

Europe will face a rising death toll from the coronavirus during autumn, the World Health Organization warned on Monday as the number of daily infections around the world hit a record high.

Israel is among the countries battling a new spike, announcing a three-week lockdown from Friday when people will not be allowed more than 500 metres from their homes.

The announcement sparked anger.

“It’s unfair!” said Eti Avishai, a 64-year-old seamstress.

New cases of Covid-19 in European countries in the last 7 days
 AFP / Robin BJALON

“They didn’t stop the big gatherings in synagogues, the weddings and the other events, and now I can’t be with my children and grandchildren during the holidays?”

The World Health Organization reported 307,930 new cases worldwide on Sunday, the highest daily figure since the beginning of the pandemic in China late last year, as global cases rapidly topped 29 million.

Bordeaux is facing new curbs to limit publi gatherings as infections soar in France
 AFP / Philippe LOPEZ

“It’s going to get tougher. In October, November, we are going to see more mortality,” WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told AFP in an interview.

WHO Europe’s 55 members started a two-day online meeting