Have you ever had marital or family problems because of someone’s drinking habit? According to a survey published Monday, 1 in 10 Thais say they have experienced this problem.

The survey involved face-to-face interviews with 1,695 Thais over the course of twelve months, and it found out that over a third of respondents feel threatened when they see someone drinking in public.

The survey comes at a time when proponents of stricter alcohol regulations are saying it’s time the authorities focus on the adverse impacts of drinking, similar to a recent crackdown on second-hand smoking.

“When someone faces a drinking problem, people around them are affected as well,” survey organizer Orathai Waleewong from the Ministry of Public Health said at a news conference.

The survey was supported by four organizations, including the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the Center for Alcohol Studies.

Although less than 2.4 percent of respondents say they have been assaulted by family members or friends under the influence of alcohol – and even less, 0.8 percent, say they have been sexually assaulted – Orathai said alcohol can precipitate violence.

She also identified other impacts on work, the emotional well-being, and the finances of drinkers.

More details on Khaosod English.

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He was a man who “knew how to form a personal bond with the French people,” according to former socialist President Francois Hollande. His country was in his blood, and he explored its every corner and tasted every local delicacy.

He is Jacques Chirac, the French president from 1995 to 2007. He passed away peacefully on Thursday surrounded by his loved ones, his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux stated in an interview with Reuters.

Mayor of Paris for 18 years and prime minister for presidents on the political left and right before entering the Elysee Palace himself, Chirac had a knack for connecting with voters, particularly in rural France.

The National Assembly interrupted a sitting to hold a minute’s silence. President Emmanuel Macron canceled a public engagement and scheduled a televised address later on Thursday.

Know more about his life over at Reuters.

(Image Credit: David Scull/ Wikimedia Commons)

Add extra cuteness to your caffeine-filled mornings or your tea breaks in the afternoon with this pair of kawaii cat mugs from Goodglas Japan.

Two kitties are on offer, with the one above sporting a clear handle as it closes its eyes in cheerful bliss.

The alternate design comes with a black handle and an alert feline looking right back at you.

Since the cat is transparent and won’t form until you pour your drink in the cup, the cat’s color depends on what the color of your drink is. A handle-free version of the cup is also available.

The handle-less members of this glass menagerie are priced at 3,200 yen (US$30) each, while the mugs are just a bit more, at 3,500 yen. The entire lineup is being offered for sale at the Tokyu Hands Hands Expo interior shop in Toky’s Ginza neighborhood, but if that’s a little outside the bounds of your next shopping trip, they can be purchased online through Goodglas’ website here.

It’s cuteness overload!

(Image Credit: SoraNews24)

At about 9:15 PM on Tuesday, estate agent Asif Ali was taking a business call when he suddenly heard the dogs barking really aggressively. When he went to see what the commotion was about, he saw a man dressed in black from head to toe standing at his front door. Immediately, the man threw a punch at Ali, which Ali dodged. Ali then instantaneously responded with a flurry of punches which cornered the man in black.

“I didn't know what I was doing. Instinct just kicked in - I just trying to get him out of the house,” Ali said as he recounted the events of the night.

But the man dressed in black was not alone; there were four of them. But Ali was able to drive them all away from his home.

Find out the details over at Daily Mail.

(Image Credit: Men Media/ Daily Mail)

Swedish photographer Geert Weggen has been, for the past eight years, investing his time bonding with red squirrels living near his home.

Through the years that he bonded with them, Weggen learned that he was able to earn the little creatures’ trust by leaving trails of nuts and acorns.

Weggen put together an outdoor studio built entirely of wood, plants and trees on the balcony outside his kitchen.

He often waits for hours to get the perfect image, which he takes with a remote camera. 

He said: ”I create scenes with small props and toys in which I hides [sic] nuts to attract the squirrels.

The results are these adorable photos.

(Image Credit: Geert Weggen/ SWNS)

Experts say that for those who plan to travel, the best time to start looking and booking for airfare is now, and by “now”, they mean today. This also applies for Thanksgiving.

Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman for AAA, says that while it may seem that this time is really early to be thinking about our holiday plans, this is the best time to plan them, as we can find “some of the best options and best deals” at this time.

She said the months-early approach means there’s still a lot of supply, or flight options and seats, available.

To be sure, the prices of flights will remain in flux as Thanksgiving and the winter holidays get closer. And there could even be some last-minute deals for those who wait until a week or two before their departure dates. But, experts say, those travelers will probably need to be willing to go at inconvenient times or under less-than-ideal circumstances.

“If you’re going to wait, be sure to be very, very flexible with both dates and time of day and layovers if you want to get a good deal,” says Hayley Berg, economist at the airfare prediction app Hopper.

Have you planned your holiday travel as early as now?

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NBC's Kerry Sanders, as part of the NBC News “Climate in Crisis” series, went to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Florida, for a visit to observe how climate change and pollution have affected sea turtles, which are essential creatures within the marine ecosystem.

Before, millions of sea turtles swam the high seas. Now, they are only less than a million of these reptiles, according to scientists, and they are all considered endangered.

Many sea turtles end up getting caught in plastic waste or eating some form of plastic garbage, whether it's a fishing line, drinking straw, plastic bag or pieces of microplastic, because they mistake them for food. Their plastic encounters can cause physical injuries or health problems.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center is on the front lines of the conservation effort to protect and save the dwindling sea turtle population. The center took another small step in healing endangered turtles when they released a 265-pound turtle nicknamed Today back into the ocean on TODAY Tuesday, who was brought in when she became entangled in monofilament.

You can track Today’s progress via the Loggerhead Marinelife Center website. Scientists expect that the now 25-year-old turtle can live well into her 80s, should she remain healthy.

(Image Credit: Loggerhead Marinelife Center/ Facebook)

The Oktoberfest is here once again, as the 186th Oktoberfest beer festival opened in Munich, Germany over the weekend. Organizers expect around 6 million visitors over the next two weeks, with the last keg to be tapped on October 6.

Check out the photos over at The Atlantic.

(Image Credit: Alexas_Fotos/ Pixabay)

Canada — Two grizzly bears are on the side of a road, staring and growling at each other. Suddenly, the fight escalates, and both stand up on their hind legs, with one bear suddenly shoving the other. A wolf observes from behind as they fight. The intense moment was captured by Cari McGillivray, who posted the “rare and amazing moment” on Facebook.

(Image Credit: Cari McGillivray/ Facebook)

It turns out that cats love us humans more than we thought. According to a recently published research from Oregon State University, cats form close emotional attachments to people who take care of them, similar to what babies and dogs do. But cat owners already know this, and The Guardian asked their readers to tell them their experiences when they realized that their pets loved them very much.

For one Twitter user, Fletch Williams, it was when her cat “brought me a tissue when I was sick in bed. Something he did only a few times, and never when I was well.” Elizabeth Booth, 60, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, says her black-and-white cat, Billy, would “stroke my hand with his paw while he lay outstretched next to me on the sofa”.

Many readers say their cats helped them through heartbreak or grief. “My boyfriend broke up with me when I was 16,” says Ludovica from Italy. “My cat came to me while I was crying alone in the house. She licked the tears on my face and then curled up on my lap. I really appreciated it.”

How about you? Do you have moments with your pet similar to these ones?

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On the evening of August 30, the police responded to an emergency call and they went to the Osaka home of Kazuya Ogawa. Upon arriving there, they were confronted by a horrifying scene: there was Ogawa’s wife who was found lying on the floor in the bedroom of their two daughters, 5-year-old Risa, and 3-year-old Juri. All of them have sustained serious stab wounds.

The two girls were rushed to hospital but were later pronounced dead. Ogawa’s 40-year-old wife underwent treatment for knife wounds to her abdomen and was reported to be in a stable condition.

There were no signs of forced entry into the house, and nothing was stolen, which led the police to conclude that the mother stabbed her daughters to death and tried to commit suicide after. The question is: why?

In recent years, there has been a growing number of cases in which children were harmed by their own parents or guardians. The killings of Risa and Juri Ogawa, however, were “the first in a series of similar attacks across Japan by middle-aged mothers on their own children,” which leave experts baffled.

“It’s complicated,” admits Fujiko Yamada, who set up the Child Maltreatment Prevention Centre 21 years ago and agrees that the number of cases being dealt with by police appears to be rising inexorably.

[...]

“There are many reasons why we’re seeing more children being hurt, but a big one is domestic violence between couples,” Yamada told the South China Morning Post.

Many women who are victims of physical abuse at the hands of their partner tend to try to shake it off and play down the problem – even when one incident becomes a regular occurrence, Yamada says. Women who are exposed to such violence in the family have a tendency to then become violent with their own children.

Yamada also states other factors which could lead violence against children.

More details over at the South China Morning Post.

(Image Credit: Reuters)

It is inadvisable to mess with Mother Nature. It is something we humans have known for quite a while. Some researchers from the Russian Geographical Society learned a new lesson during their expedition in the Arctic Ocean: don’t mess with a mother walrus either, or you’ll face undesirable consequences.

The scientists were aboard a Russian Navy tugboat known as the Altai on an expedition to the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic Ocean this week right before the unusual human-animal interaction occurred. They boarded a small rubber landing craft and were en route to the shore to study its flora and fauna when a female walrus attacked, sinking the vessel.

"During the landing at Cape Heller, a group of researchers had to flee from a female walrus, which, protecting its cubs, attacked an expedition boat," the Russian Military's Northern Fleet said in a press release.

More details on CBS News.

Scary!

(Image Credit: Joel Garlich-Miller, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/ Wikimedia Commons)

Check out these dinner recipes which only take five or fewer ingredients but still look like expensive dishes you order at restaurants. What’s more, if ever you have leftovers, you can eat them at lunch the next day as they store well!

See them over at the Los Angeles Times.

(Image Credit: Leslie Grow/ For The Times)

J. Kenji López-Alt is mostly a stay-at-home dad responsible for all the meals in his household. As an essential part of his planning, he relies on a supply of boiled eggs in the refrigerator.

During one of the years in his egg-citing cooking adventures, he became curious and asked himself, “What's the best way to boil an egg?” This question would then lead to a multi-decade endeavor.

See more details on The New York Times.

(Image Credit: minree/ Pixabay)

Indonesia — Skies over the Jambi Province turned red over the weekend due to the widespread forest fires that rage over huge parts of the country. A resident of the province, who took photos of the sky, stated that the haze “hurt her eyes and throat.”

Every year, fires in Indonesia create a smoky haze that can end up blanketing the entire South East Asian region.

A meteorology expert told the BBC the unusual sky was caused by a phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering.

Eka Wulandari, from the Mekar Sari village in Jambi province, captured the blood-red skies in a series of photos taken at around midday on Saturday.

The haze conditions had been especially "thick that [day]", she said.

(Image Credit: Eka Wulandari)