Journal of Studies in the Field of Humanities

กองบรรณาธิการ

Rattanaphon Chuenka — 2023-12-26

ถ้อยแถลงจากบรรณาธิการ

Rattanaphon Chuenka — 2023-12-26

จริยธรรมการตีพิมพ์ผลงานในวารสารมนุษยศาสตร์วิชาการ

Rattanaphon Chuenka — 2023-12-26

“Cleromancy” in Thai Literature

Thitiphat Jaroonchaikuljaroen — 2023-12-26

This research paper aims to study and analyze the characteristics of “Cleromancy” and the tools used for such purpose, as well as to discuss the definition and importance of “Cleromancy” in Thai literature. The research has found that “Cleromancy” is an essential motif in Thai literature, and it can be classified into four types by its objectives, namely: for selecting partners in marriage; for proving that something is truthful; for predicting what is going to happen to one’s life in the future; and for proving one’s determination to achieve one’s goal. Besides, the key tools for “Cleromancy” (literally “things used for divination” in Thai) can be divided into 2 types, which are 1) natural things, which are the natural elements and living things and 2) man-made things. “Cleromancy” has an important role as a method for finding answers for the unknown, or for resolving irresolution in human’s mind when they confront incidents that need decisions but are hesitant to find exact solutions. In such cases, they pray for divine power or virtues power, which are highly revered, to judge or reveal the answers through the media of “things used for divination”.

The Art of Epithet in the Kumārasambhava, Sanskrit Poetry of Kālidāsa

Phramaha Phornpawit Uppachai — 2023-12-26

The purpose of this article is to study the literary art of Kālidāsa, specifically the art of epithet, with Cantos 1-8 of Sanskrit poetry titled Kumārasambhava as the main resources for data collection. The research found that Kālidāsa used synonyms for the Lord Shiva’s names that can be divided into three types: 1. the main word of ancient names; 2. the names that the poet himself had made; 3. the various meaningful names related to the story. The third type can be divided further into 4 groups: 3.1 the general well-known name; 3.2 the names that show greatness; 3.3 the names that represent the identity of the deity; and 3.4 the names corresponding to the events that the poet was telling. For the goddess Pārvatī’s, the poet used epithets with characteristics appropriate for the story, which can be divided into 3 groups: 1. the names corresponding to the role of the daughter of God Himawat; 2. the names corresponding to the role of the perfect ascetic; and 3. the names corresponding to the role of a noble or virtuous woman. The poet also used the art of epithet with God Himawat’s names, which can be divided into 3 groups: 1. the general words that mean “a mountain”; 2. the words that directly refers to the “Himālayan mountain”; and 3. the words that clearly indicates the deity’s role as “the king of the mountains”.

Image of French Woman in the Poem “Pour Emma Payelleville L’infirmière” of Léopold Sédar Senghor

Sirivijit Pantrakul — 2023-12-26

The article is a study of the poetry “Pour Emma Payelleville L'infirmière” by Léopold Sédar Senghor, focusing on the poet’s portrayal of a French woman based on the concept of “Mother Africa” according to the black African aesthetic to reflect the identity of black Africans, as well as to react against the colonialists during the 19th century, when France came to occupy Africa. In addition, Senghor is trying to drive “Universal Civilization” for the integration of French and African cultures. In the poetry of Senghor, there is a link between two art forms: literary and painting. The images of French women appear to be linked to the traditional ones of the African Mother as a saint woman bringing light to humanity with the power of religion, a key player in the transformational history of the human, and a solid foundation of society.

An Analysis and Comparison of Connatative and Political Satire Translation between the Two Thai Translated Versions of Animal Farm

Paramaporn Boontook — 2023-12-26

Connotative meaning is one of the most challenging barriers facing translators. This study, which is documentary research and interdisciplinary in nature, is aimed at analysing and comparing connotative meaning and political language between the two Thai translations of George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945). It utilises the theory of semiotics, particularly an analysis of denotation and connotation as suggested by Roland Barthes (1974), translation theory, mainly Mona Baker’s text analysis (2011), as well as William E. Connolly’s theoretical grounding regarding politics (1977). The results suggested that both translators adopted political language in their translations, and that political, social, and economic factors of different periods essentially affected the meanings of signifiers. Additionally, it was found that lexical gap was another key obstacle facing the two translators.

Narratives in Literature Textbooks:

Naphatsara Daosawa — 2023-12-26

This article analyzed narratives in literature textbooks in order to understand strategies of storytelling and the construction of female identity in Lao Literature textbooks. The article examined the post-revolutionary literature between 1975-1993, which marks the era of changes in the educational system and structure. The education system is instrumental to the development of the country and serves as a communication tool between the Lao government and the emerging generations. Apart from fostering the perceptions and understanding about the new regime, the system contributes to the preparation of citizens for, as well as creates social values in accordance with, the political ideology of the new governance and society. The study revealed that, from 4 volumes of the literature textbooks at the secondary school level, 14 stories with a storyline and characters related to women were presented. It was found through studying composition of the narratives that the Lao literature textbooks depict female characters as a smart, selfless, and devoted follower of the socialist and state ideology. At the same time, the traditional ideal woman still retains the image of a good mother and a dutiful wife. Thus, these textbooks emphasized the roles of women in family and society, especially their selfless contribution, and praised hard working women from the perspective of new social system and new socialist generation.

The Style and the Imagery in Reading Textbook Pasapatee

Artid Saokham — 2023-12-26

This study aimed to analyze the style and imagery of the 88 reading articles in six reading textbooks named Pasapatee of Grade 1-6 published in 2020, using a purposive sampling method. The concept of the style was applied to analyze these articles. The findings revealed that there were three styles: 1) the uses of word style consisting of the words that describe actions and movements, colors, qualities of light, tactile, scents, and emotions and feeling; 2) the uses of sentence style containing the attic and isocratic sentence; and 3) the figure of speech consisting of the uses of the rhetorical, imaginative, comparative, and sound figurative language respectively. These styles suggested that the imagery in the work can be divided into two groups. 1) The imagery conveying the characteristics of nature, animal, and environment; and the imagery conveying the livelihood in rural life. 2) The imagery conveying the awareness of goodness, of doing good, and of being good; the imagery conveying perception of behaviors, emotions and feelings; the imagery conveying feelings of love and pride of Thainess; and the imagery conveying the importance of the Thai Monarch.

This study illustrated many kinds of style of the authors that contain the imagery that ingenuously inculcates students with desirable characteristics based on the demand of the adults.

Mitigating Expressions in Thai Discourse

Suchitra Siripanich — 2023-12-26

Mitigation plays a very important role in communication because it enhances the reduction of negative effects which utterances have on speakers and hearers (Fraser, 1980). Previous studies suggest that mitigation has been examined in several languages; however, little has been investigated in Thai. Accordingly, this paper aims at investigating mitigating expressions in Thai. The data consists of 4 types of discourse: task-based conversations, interactions in academic seminar, academic articles, and opinion articles. The notion of mitigation is adopted as an analytical framework. The results reveal that there are 8 types of mitigating expressions used by Thai speakers, namely 1) epistemic expressions, 2) non-specific remarks, 3) parenthetical verbs, 4) question forms used for proposing opinions, 5) defensive expressions, 6) hypothetical remarks, 7) disclaimers, and 8) hesitant remarks. The most preferred mitigating expression is epistemic expressions. This linguistic behavior seems to be related to Thai norms which give precedence to humility and interpersonal relations. In addition, the result also shows that Thai speakers usually adopt only one form of mitigating remarks. It is hypothesized that this might be because using only one mitigating remark is enough to reduce negative effects of utterances in Thai. On the contrary, using a few mitigating remarks together might reduce the reliability of the speaker’s utterances.

Real-Time Advertising Discourse of Twitter Tops Thailand

Onjira Kongsomchitt — 2023-12-26

The purpose of this article was to analyze the structure and the linguistic strategies in the real-time advertising discourse of Twitter Tops Thailand. The researcher collected the real-time advertising data of Twitter Tops Thailand from September 1, 2018 to November 30, 2018, and 117 real-time advertising discourses were collected and analyzed.

The study results revealed that the structure of the real-time advertising discourse of Twitter Tops Thailand consisted of three parts as follows. 1) The opening section: the content from the events gaining attention from people in society was used. Three types of content, namely entertainment, news, and festivals or important dates were used. 2)The story: the details of the product, including the names, properties and description of the product were described. 3) The closing section: where to buy and the website to place an order were informed. In addition, hashtags (#) on the events that people in society were paying attention to were used. The three structures of the discourse were sequenced and correlated. Moreover, five linguistic strategies, namely intertextuality, cohesion, rhyming words, reduplication and wordplay were used in the real-time advertising discourse of Twitter Tops Thailand. The communication contexts influencing the choice of structures and linguistic strategies for achieving the product advertising objectives include real-time marketing strategies, text producers, audience, communication objectives and media types.

The Study of Vowel Soundsㅐ[Ɛ] andㅔ[e] in Korean Language Thai Learners

Paphonphat Kobsirithiwara — 2023-12-26

This research is consequential to the research project of Paphonphat Kobsirithiwara (2020) which examined the differentiation between the vowel sounds ㅐ[Ɛ] and ㅔ[e] among Korean representative samples by employing OpenSesame program due to the equivocal pronunciation problem of the vowel sounds ㅐ[Ɛ] and ㅔ[e] which is not related to Korean rules of phonetics among Korean nowadays. This follow-up research aims to study the differentiation between vowel sound ㅐ[Ɛ] and ㅔ[e] among a Thai Korean language learners sample group. The researcher examines the representative samples from 246 Thai Korean language learners who study the Korean language as major and minor subject from 5 Thai universities. This research methodology is conducted through a listening test. The representative samples have to listen to vocabulary sound once per one vocabulary then they have to write down the vocabulary on paper (dictation). The 34 words used in dictation test are composed of ㅐ[Ɛ] and ㅔ[e] vowel sounds. Afterwards, the researcher examines the result by SPSS program.

The analysis of average accuracy in the differentiation between the vowel sounds ㅐ[Ɛ] and ㅔ[e] reveals that the average accuracy of the vowel sound ㅐ[Ɛ] among the Thai Korean language learners sample group is at 59.95% and the average accuracy of the vowel sound ㅔ[e] among the Thai Korean language learners sample group is at 57.31%. By employing Paired Sample T-Test methodology, the result reveals that the average accuracy in the differentiation between the vowel sounds ㅐ[Ɛ] and ㅔ[e] among the Thai Korean language learners sample group is higher than the Korean representative sample group significantly. But overall, Thai Korean Language Learners are unable to distinguish between the vowel sounds ㅐ[Ɛ] and ㅔ[e] like native Korean speakers.

Comparative Analysis on Synonym for Adverb of Time in Korean and Thai:

Kanchana Sahaviriya — 2023-12-26

The objectives of this study were to 1) identify the specific grammatical meaning and application of the synonym for adverb of time in the Korean language, 2) analyse and compare the specific grammatical meaning and application of the synonym for adverb of time in the Korean and Thai languages. The sample data are the Korean adverb of time: “이미-벌써” “지금-이제” “어서-얼른” which are taken from the Korean dictionary, “표준국어대사전, 연세현대한국어사전”; the Thai dictionary, ‘the Royal Institute Dictionary’ (Royal Society of Thailand, 2011); and other related works on the specific grammatical meaning and grammatically correct usage terms from example sentences.

The results of the study revealed that Korean synonyms for adverb of time with identical meaning and usage can be interchangeable, but it is unreciprocated if its meaning is different. Moreover, the comparative analysis on the specific grammatical meaning and application of the synonym for adverb of time in the Korean and Thai languages presented two significant points. Firstly, the similarity: 1) it can modify the sentence to present the past, the present and the future tense; 2) it can be freely put anywhere in the sentence; and 3) it can be found in affirmative sentences, interrogative sentences, invitations, commands, and exclamations. Secondly, the difference: 1) the Korean synonyms for adverb of time are usually found with the affixes of time ““-었-/-는-/-겠-”, but Thai adverb of time could be found either before or after verb without changing the word form; and 2) if Korean synonyms for adverb of time convey different individual meanings, it is necessary to combine new words, when comparing with Thai, to convey the meaning and terms of use to match the synonym adverbs in Korean.

Analysis of Syntactic Errors in Korean Relative Clause Produced by Beginning Thai Learners

Napassorn Kessri — 2023-12-26

The purpose of this research is to analyze the syntactic errors in Korean relative clauses produced by beginning Thai learners. The data from 35 Thai universities are elicited through two tasks: a sentence combination task and a Thai-Korean translation task. The overall results indicate that 1) beginning Thai learners are able to produce Object-Subject (OS) type more correctly than Subject-Object (SO) type with statistical significance. This is in line with the Perceptual Difficulty Hypothesis (PDH) which proposes that the OS type is more difficult to be produced than the SO. 2) Syntactic errors in Korean relative clauses produced by beginning Thai learners can be divided into 2 types: sentence’s word order errors and case marker’s errors. This analysis suggests beginning Thai learners lack Korean relative clause’s syntax knowledge in finding both the matrix clause and grammatical marker.

An Investigation into Pronunciation Deviations in German Final Sounds among Thai YouTubers Teaching German Through YouTube

Pondwanat Charoenwong — 2023-12-26

This research study aims to examine and corroborate the hypothesis that Thai individuals encounter difficulties in accurately pronouncing certain German final consonants, particularly clusters, due to the distinct phonological functions associated with these sounds. The investigation will delve into the linguistic and phonetic aspects of both languages to explore potential underlying factors influencing this phenomenon. A comparative analysis of Thai and German phonological systems will be conducted, focusing on final consonant articulation, phonetic rules, and language-specific phonotactic constraints. The outcomes of this study enhance our comprehension of cross-linguistic speech production difficulties, revealing that Thai individuals learning German encounter challenges with specific German final sounds due to variations in the phonotactic patterns of final consonants. The finding shows that some final consonant sounds are pronounced accurately, while others, like /t^h, k^h, n, f, s, ç, x, l, st^h, nt^h, çt^h, xt^h, t͡ʃ/, are problematic due to differences between Thai and German phonetics.

The Union of Thai Sanghas in Europe Management

Phramaha Nong Abpai — 2023-12-26

This qualitative study purposes to study about policy and strategy in terms of propagation management of Buddhism by the Union of Thai Sanghas in Europe, analyze the management model of The Union of Thai Sanghas in Europe, and give advice about a new management model that conforms with the current social change. There are three methods that are used in this study. They are documentary research from Tripitaka and other documents, in-depth interviews from 25 savants, and focus group analysis from 12 savants. The results show that management policy and strategy of propagation of Buddhism in European Union is extensive in all fields under the law of Thai clergy, particularly in making relationships with other organizations and encouraging education of Thai Sanghas. However, they should have standardized policy and approach for regulating all temples. In the case of the management model of the Union of Thai Sanghas in Europe, Thai Sanghas do not understand policy and strategy. The action plan of the Union is not clear. Thai Sanghas do not have enough potential. These are weaknesses of the Union management model. On the other side, the strengths are clear administrative districts, being the hubs for groups of Thai Sanghas. These empower the management system and facilitate efficient coordination. Moreover, good management leads to stability, harmony, understanding and benefits in Buddhism, and among Buddhist monks and Buddhists. Nevertheless, there are many threats for efficient propagation of Buddhism such as a lack of human resources, budget, and support from Thai public agency and different cultures. The last aspect concerns the new management model of the Union of Thai Sanghas in the future. The Union should determine explicitly policy and strategy as well as use the same approach for propagation of Buddhism, including the role and duty of Board. Furthermore, Thai Sanghas in all countries should do the work in conjunction with each other, and organize public hearing meeting to receive suggestions from all generations of Sanghas, with the objective to enhance efficiency of management and stability of propagation of Buddhism.

Buddhist Concepts Appearing in Lanna Mantra and Ritual Used in Shingles Treatment of Master Jumpong Tangtrakul

Phramaha Woraphon Varabala (Kaenkamchorn) — 2023-12-26

This study aimed to analyze the way of shingles treatment based on the Buddhist concepts that appeared in the Lanna mantra and rituals of Master Jumpong Tangtrakul. The study is a qualitative study and the data described in this study was obtained from documentary evidence and from individual interviews.

According to Buddhist principles, shingles is classified as a physical illness caused by ague, an illness in which a patient has a fever, feel cold, and shake slightly. In modern medicine, shingles is an infectious disease caused by Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) which belongs to the herpesviruses group. The shingles treatment based on Master Jumpong Tangtrakul consisted of 3 essential steps: 1) using water treatment by making holy water with the Lanna mantra for the patient to drink; 2) paying homage to the triple gems by reciting Namo 3 times and blowing gently to the wound area of the patient; and 3) refraining from eating foods which are antagonistic to the disease, including fermented food, chicken, beef, scaleless fish, seafood, etc. The information obtained by interviewing a patient who had been suffering from shingles around his chest revealed that he had been treated previously with modern medicine but the symptoms did not improve. Thereafter, he came to see Master Jumpong Tangtrakul and was treated by blowing mantra once a day for 3 days; the symptoms were gradually relieved within 1 week and cured eventually.

Lessons Learned in Rural Tourism Development from the Perspectives of Local Communities

Jariya Supun — 2023-12-26

This research paper is a qualitative research work with the objective to investigate the shared concepts of rural tourism development and lessons learned through the perspectives of the locals in the awarded rural tourism destinations. The purposive sampling method was employed to select five key informants from each of the five awarded rural tourism destinations, totaling 25 key informants. A series of field semi-structured interviews including in-depth interview and group interview were conducted to collect the data with interview guidelines validated by experts in the areas of rural tourism and development. The data gathered were subsequently analyzed using the content analysis technique. The results reveal that rural tourism development is based on a mechanism driven by both government agencies and local cooperations underpinned by five principles: (1) to inherit the local wisdoms and cultures; (2) to generate a source of additional income for the community; (3) to conserve the environment and natural resources; (4) to encourage a sense of pride in the community ways of life; and (5) to increase the potentials, skills and knowledge of the locals. The results from analyzing and synthesizing lessons learned from those awarded rural tourism destinations underline six important factors for the success of rural tourism development: (1) the roles of community leaders in comprehending the problems and the needs of local community, in organizing, coordinating, negotiating, holding moral values, building relationships, and being in a position of well-respected socio-economic background; (2) the local community in collectively brainstorming, cooperating and problem solving; (3) the uniqueness of local identity for the development into tourist activities, routes and attractions; (4) the establishment of regulations, rules and standards regarding rural tourism; (5) the community’s perseverance in overcoming obstacles and continuous improvement; and (6) the ongoing supports from government and private sectors.

An Analysis of Naresuan Phayao Journal and Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Phayao

Phornphan Jandaeng — 2023-12-26

This research aimed to study the management of Naresuan Phayao Journal and Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Phayao in terms of policy, objectives, staff, budget, publication, distribution, and to analyze the articles in these journals in terms of author, content, article format and citation. The data were obtained from 1) interviews with editors, editorial boards and coordinators and 2) extracts from the articles in Naresuan Phayao Journal and Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Phayao.

The study revealed that the University of Phayao has run two journals: Naresuan Phayao Journal and Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Phayao. The articles therein were reviewed by 2 peer reviewers. 1,000 Baht was paid to a reviewer per article. The former published 3 issues a year while the latter 2 issues a year. University of Phayao granted a budget of 400,000 baht per year. Both journals have published hard copies as well as provided online access. The copies have been delivered free of charge to university libraries and educational institutions. Approximately 30 articles were published per volume. Citation format is based on the graduate citation criteria of University of Phayao. The problems found were as follows: 1) the numerous articles awaiting to be published; 2) the workload of the Division of Research Administration; and 3) the insufficiency of citations from the Journal Humanities and Social Sciences University of Phayao to be classified as a Tier 1 journal per the Thai Journal Citation Index Centre’s requirements.

For an analysis of the articles, it was found that 1) most of the articles were research papers written in Thai by a single author outside the personnel of University of Phayao. Most articles in Naresuan Phayao Journal were mostly relevant to the agriculture, whereas in the Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Phayao mostly relevant to the education. The reference list in the Naresuan Phayao Journal frequently cited from the journals, whereas in Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Phayao mostly cited from books.

The Historical Development of Thai Vocal Singing of Burapha Phirom Palace

Panupak Mokhasak — 2023-12-26

This article aimed to investigate the historical development of Thai vocal singing of Burapha Phirom Palace through the court singers. It identified 10 court singers of Burapha Phirom Palace which include 2 groups: 1) 6 guest singers namely, Luang Klomkosolsub (Chon Soonthornket), Phra Phrompreecha (Klin Chanruang), Khun Likitsunthornkarn (Yin Mrigavesa), Luang Siangsanokhun (Pun Muktavaphai), Lady Rambundhit Sitthiseranee (Yiam Suwong), and Mrs. Thongdee Sunamalai; and 2) 4 regular singers namely, Mrs. Juea Chanyanatya, Mrs. Jian Chanyanatya, Lady Mahathepkasatsamuha (Banleng Sagarik) and Mrs. Jimlim Kulatan (Thanakom).

Thai singing style of Burapha Phirom Palace was characterized by its pluralism in terms of diversity, democracy, and respect to one another. The development and integration of singing approaches adhered to common basics. The singing approach of each singer is thus distinct by their voice potential as uniqueness. Vocal singing of Burapha Phirom Palace has the main objective for competition especially for Phleng Sepa, Phleng Sam Chan, and Phleng Thao, so they were adjusted according to the competition rules. Sometimes their singings had been developed upon the superior’s command. Since the 1932 governance reform, musicians and singers of Burapha Phirom Palace were transferred to several government offices such as Thai Music Division of the Fine Arts Department, other different music divisions under the Royal Thai Army, music institutions such as School of Musical and Dramatic Performance (The College of Dramatic Arts) of Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, Srinakharinwirot University, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, etc. Some of them taught music at home and later opened a music school which included Master Petch Chanyanatya Music School in Ayutthaya Province, Master Ruam Phromburi Music School in Rachaburi Province, for example. A significant music school belonged to Luang Pradit Pairoh (Sorn Silapabanleng) in Phranakorn district of Bangkok. The singing approaches of Burapha Phirom Palace was inherited and continued to develop overtime so as to disseminate the knowledge to general people and later on all over the country as well. Their approaches are easy to practice, understand, and listen to, and lead to a common understanding as the “Phranakorn” singing style.

A Clappers in the Royal Ceremony of Thailand

Noppon Chaiyason — 2023-12-26

There is evidence that clappers have been used to accompany music and singing since the Dvaravati Period. Clappers have also played an important role in ceremonies in connection with the royal duties of the King since ancient times. There is for example an engraved image of a Brahman playing clappers on the road on the wall of the porch of Angkor Wat in the era Suryavarman II in the 12th century. Nowadays, the tradition appears only in the Thai royal court. The clappers used are called "Krap Puang". This appeared in the royal ceremonies where the King came to join the congregation and the ceremonies related to the procession. Clappers were used as an instrument to give signals that royal ceremonies were about to begin. Clappers can therefore be classified as one of the regalia used to honor the king, as well as to build up the grandeur of such royal ceremonies. They indicate the royal status, royal power and represent the mighty sovereignty, which can find no equal.

Lanna Music Education:

Poramase Subphasri — 2023-12-26

This article presents the biography of Chaw Sunthorn Na Chiang Mai in the dimension of Lanna music education. He is a contributor to the Lanna music industry. Having grown up in the midst of Lanna culture and also having learned Thai traditional music made him proficient. An educational visionary, he has initiated more orderly forms of Lanna music. He has recorded music notes for application in music classroom, standardized the size and the sound system of both the band format the and instruments themselves, and taken the rhythmic pattern in Thai traditional music and adapted to Lanna folk band. He is a Lanna music teacher who teaches all learners equally, and he develops musical innovations to benefit the Lanna music education.

The Important Skills and Online Risk Prevention in Fake News Evaluation for Adolescents

Warapan Apisuphachok — 2023-12-26

The advancement of information technology in the twenty-first century, along with changes in communication such as social media, has led to rapid information dissemination. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the presented information may be incorrect or false. This type of information is known as fake news, and it is intended to deceive many people. The impact of fake news is widespread, affecting people, society, and nations, including adolescents who are particularly vulnerable. To address this issue, the author proposes "The Model of Key Skills and Online Risk Prevention in Fake News Assessment for Adolescents," which consists of three parts: 1) a synthesis of key skill components, specifically media literacy skills, information literacy skills, and digital literacy skills; 2) online risks for youth; 3) fake news assessment. This model aims to equip adolescents with the necessary skills to identify and prevent online risks associated with fake news.