Road toll hits 73 on Day 3 of breakTravellers at Mo Chit Bus Terminal, Bangkok, on Dec 30, 2021. A total of 574 people were injured, the Road Safety Directing Centre of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, reported on Sunday. As a result, 85,196 people faced legal action for violating traffic rules, including 24,279 who were not wearing a crash helmet and 21,815 driving without a licence. Officers and volunteers have been deployed to ensure road safety and reduce accidents across the country. Motorists are advised to comply with traffic rules and regulations, respect speed limits and get enough rest while making long journeys.

As long as it's a bit better than last yearIt's that time of the year for columnists to suggest what could be in store for the next 12 months. Let's just hope things are a bit more enjoyable than the last couple of years which frankly have been a nightmare. In addition they noted that some of the vocals were a bit "ruff". June: Railway authorities announce that the Hua Lamphong railway station in Bangkok, which was supposed to have closed for good last December will now carry on operating forever. Let us hope this year is a bit more fun than 2021.

Victims turned activists: Iraqi women battle abuseIraq has no specific law dealing with violence against womenBAGHDAD - After a day's work in an Iraq public sector job, Azhar offers legal support to women who are victims of domestic abuse, something she knows well given her experience with a brutal husband. From marriage of minors to economic coercion, feminists and lawyers struggle to defend the rights of women in the overwhelmingly patriarchal country. - 'Victims pay the price' -The marriage of minors is on the rise in Iraq, according to a government survey. A key provision of the bill is the creation of shelters for victims of domestic violence, said lawyer Marwa Eleoui. Now she works with Al-Amal and makes house calls to tell women about their rights.

3,112 new Covid cases, 12 more deathsTravelers at Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak) during the New Year's holiday. (Bangkok Post photo)There were 12 more Covid-19 fatalities and 3,112 new cases registered during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry said on Sunday morning. Since the pandemic started early 2020, there have been 2,229,558 Covid-19 cases, with 2,174,730 complete recoveries so far. The vast majority of the Covid cases and deaths have occurred since April 1 last year, around when the third wave of Covid-19 began. The highest number of cases was 23,418 on Aug 13.

But all of a sudden, there came an unexpected turning point – the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. A new outbreak of the highly-transmissible strain in many countries has consequently dealt another blow to Thailand's tourism yet again. The decision by the government on Dec 22 to suspend the Thailand Pass registration, however, has badly affected many tourists intending to visit Hua Hin, he said. The province was the first to pilot a partial tourism reopening last year. The number of foreign visitors is expected to begin rising between the first and second quarters of this year.

A charging station is seen at a Beijing showroom for Nio Chinese-made electric cars. (Reuters File Photo)BEIJING: China will end subsidies for electric and hybrid cars at the end of the year, authorities have announced, saying the strength of sales in the sector meant state support was no longer needed. “Vehicles registered after Dec 31, 2022 will not be subsidised.”Sales of electric and hybrid cars have boomed in China, with increases of more than 100% year-on-year in recent months. The association estimated overall growth in the world’s largest vehicle market in 2021 was 3.1% — the first year of sales growth since 2018. China, the world’s largest polluter, has set ambitious goals for the widespread adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles, and aims to have the majority of cars powered with clean energy by 2035.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 50.3 in December, up from November's 50.1, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Friday. It also marked the second straight month in which the manufacturing PMI figure remained above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. Even as production weakened, market demand for China's factory output showed marginal improvement in December, with a measure of domestic orders increasing slightly. Beyond the factory floor, China's services sector enjoyed a tepid recovery following the latest round of coronavirus control measures. The subindex measuring construction activity declined to 56.3, compared with November's 59.1, as construction was dampened by unseasonably cold weather.

That represents 41.07% of the SET's total market trading value of 21.31 trillion baht. The total trading value rose 30.27% from 16.36 trillion baht in 2020 while the average daily trading value was at 88.44 billion baht, up 31.36% from 67.33 billion baht in 2020. Fewer foreign funds flowed out of the market as foreign investors' net selling dropped from 264.39 billion baht in 2020 to 48.78 billion baht. Meanwhile, retail investors were net buyers of 112.24 billion baht in 2021, down from 216.71 billion baht in 2020. The main products with the highest trading volume on the TFEX in 2021 were single-stock futures with a total trading volume of 70,326,055 contracts, followed by SET50 Index futures with a trading volume of 47,620,961 contracts.

S.African report on Zuma-era graft to be released TuesdayZuma, pictured in October, presided over an era that was notorious for corruptionJOHANNESBURG - South African investigators next week will hand over their first report in a long-awaited probe into state corruption under former president Jacob Zuma, the government said Friday. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday "will formally receive the first part of the report of the judicial inquiry into allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud," a minister in the presidency, Mondli Gungubele told reporters. The report will be released to the public either the same day or on Wednesday, he said. Zuma, 79, is accused of enabling the plunder of state coffers during his nine years in office. In a separate case, Zuma is facing 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering relating to a 1999 purchase of military equipment from five European arms companies when he was deputy president.

Paxlovid, a Pfizer's coronavirus disease pill, is seen manufactured in Ascoli, Italy, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on Nov 16. (Pfizer/Handout via Reuters)Britain has approved Pfizer's Covid-19 pill for adults who have mild to moderate infection and are at high risk of their illness worsening, its second easily administered antiviral against the coronavirus. Britain is scrambling to build its defences amid a record hit a daily record of new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, government data showed surge in Covid-19 cases in the winter season as the Omicron variant of the virus spreads quickly. "We now have a further antiviral medicine for the treatment of Covid-19 that can be taken by mouth rather than administered intravenously. Rival Merck's Covid-19 pill was approved by Britain last month, but that drug only reduced hospitalisations and deaths in its clinical trial of high-risk patients by around 30%.

The legislation mandates that data controllers and processors that use personal data must receive consent from data owners and use it only for expressed purposes. Organisations need to have data protection officers who will ensure their data protection practices are in line with those stipulated in the PDPA and act as contact person in regard to the issue. They are obliged to clearly determine methods on how data owners can cancel organisations' usage of their personal data. The central bank already established guidelines for testing the currency as a pilot project on two tracks -- foundation and innovation. The central bank views that the financial innovation has given rise to various forms of privately-issued digital currencies, such as cryptocurrencies.

Close friends and seniors, teachers, monks or priests will bring good fortune. Regarding financial problems, Geminis will find a better solution from the second quarter until the end of the year. And there will be no more problems with their employees or colleagues in the second quarter. ♎ Libra(Oct 18-Nov 16)Work and finances: Finances are much better than last year, especially for those who work in service. ♓ Pisces(Mar 14-Apr 13)Work and finances: Finances are not stable.

Take a look at Bangkok Post's best photos of 2021. A worker operates a vehicle to spray disinfectant around Wat Ta Khien and the adjacent floating market in Bang Kruai district, Nonthaburi yesterday. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)Political protesters clash with anti-riot police while staging a protest at Sanam Laung yesterday evening. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)Bubble and Seal -Mask-clad construction workers, many of them foreign migrants, queue up for food at their camp in Phaya Thai district yesterday. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)A woman looks at herself wearing ‘rad klao’ headgear while shopping in the Sam Peng area of Bangkok yesterday.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha chairs a meeting of the Police Commission at the Royal Thai Police Office in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Governmentn House photo)Six opposition parties plan to seek an interpretation by the Constitutional Court next August on when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's tenure expires, as they believe his term must end on Aug 24, 2022, Cholnan Srikaew, leader of the opposition Pheu Thai Party, said on Wednesday. A House source said its legal team was assigned to go over the issue earlier and concluded the PM's tenure began on June 9, 2019. Metha Matkhao, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy (CPD), said the findings of the House's legal team were nonsense. Gen Prayut declined to comment when questioned on the matter on Wednesday.

B24m in aid paid to laid-off workersThe Labour Ministry has paid out 24 million baht in aid to almost 3,000 workers who became unemployed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, under a new relief programme rolled out by the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare. Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who oversees the ministry, had asked it to provide financial aid to those who were laid off during the pandemic. Between Dec 16-28, 2,864 people signed up for the relief programme, to which the government has channelled 24.16 million baht in aid, he said. This rendered 1,388 workers at the clothing and undergarment factory jobless. Mr Suchart said 661 have been compensated and 425 others will get theirs today.