Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Buddhipongse Punakanta said on Thursday (January 30) that he had given TOT, which undertook this project, “to take responsibility for these issues without racking up additional service fee as they proposed”.

“If they fail to deliver, the DES Ministry will hand this project over to the private sector,” he warned.

The Village Broadband Internet Project aims to provide free Wi-Fi hotspots to villages in rural areas nationwide at one spot per village.

The DES Ministry had earlier proposed that TOT should increase the Wi-Fi speed from 30/10 Mbps to 200/100 Mbps per spot to solve the poor performance problem, but TOT had responded that they required an additional fee.

Buddhipongse further added that the issue with TOT might affect the DES Ministry’s decision to hire TOT for a future project that involves installing 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in areas with heavy usage.

“TOT has proved to be ineffective in carrying out projects with the DES Ministry and previously with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission,” he added.

Net Pracharat is one of the government’s schemes to provide free internet services to people in rural areas and decrease digital disparity in Thai society. It has received a Bt13-billion budget and TOT was awarded the contract as the lowest bidder quoting only Bt10 billion.

The campaign is in cooperation with the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the private sector.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on said on Thursday (January 30): “This project is called the ‘Green City Initiative by MOAC’ and will be kicked off on February 9 at Siam Paragon Shopping Complex. We plan to distribute seedlings of six plants that are known to be effective in absorbing air pollution.”

The six plants to be distributed to participants of the activity, which will be presided over by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, are little yellow star, spider plant, fern, coatbuttons, cypress pine and calathea roseopicta. “These can be planted either indoors, in the garden, or along the roads to help absorb air pollution and build the immune system for Bangkok in the long term,” he added. “Furthermore, it could lead to a career opportunity in growing these seedlings and selling them if more people are interested.”

Chalermchai said that after the campaign kicks off, agencies under BMA and private partners will continue to distribute seedlings to people in Bangkok and its perimeter areas, with the aim to distribute one million seedlings in total. “Interested peoole can register at the website www.green-city.online, and select their preferred location to pick up the seedlings at a maximum of five seedlings per person,” he added.

“The campaign will also give away seedlings to temples, schools, hospitals and public places in Bangkok who express interest in becoming lungs of the city, and will later expand to other provinces in the future,” added Chalermchai.

The high-pressure area covering the Northeast, the East, the Central and the South China Sea would lower temperatures by 1-2°C.

Meanwhile, the stronger easterly winds across the South would bring more rain to the region.

In the central region, including Bangkok and its vicinity, the prevailing easterly winds would help decrease dust/smog. In the North, light winds in the morning would increase accumulation of dust/smog.

The weather forecast for the next 24 hours is as follows:

Northern region: Cool to cold weather with fog in the morning; temperature lows of 10-18°C and highs of 29-35°C. Temperature likely to drop to 2-12°C on hilltops with frost in some areas.

Northeastern region: Cool to cold weather; lows of 14-17°C, highs of 28-34°C. Temperature likely to drop to 6-11°C on hilltops.

Central region: Cool weather in the morning; lows of 19-22°C, highs of 34-35°C Celsius.

Eastern region: Cool weather in the morning and isolated rains in 10 per cent of the area; lows of 22-23°C, highs of 32-35°C; waves a metre high.

Southern region (east coast): Partly cloudy with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 21-24°C, highs of 31-34°C; waves a metre high.

Southern region (west coast): Partly cloudy with thunder showers in 10 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 22-24°C, highs of 31-35°C; waves a metre high.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 22-23°C, highs of 33-35°C.

Minister Chalermchai Sri-on said this week the goal was to set up 77 centres this year, one in every province.

They will devise ways for farmers to reduce production costs and improve product quality, he said.

Chiang Mai and Kasetsart universities are among the participating schools.

Charita Leelayudth, Chief Executive Officer of THAI Smile Airways, said the carrier had cancelled all flights on three roundtrip routes to mainland China: Bangkok- Chongqing, Bangkok-Changsha and Bangkok-Zhengzhou throughout February, 2020.

Passengers who have been affected by the cancellations can obtain a full refund.

For those who still need to travel during the period, THAI Smile will transfer their flight itineraries to its alliance airlines without charge.

Vice president Nond Kalinta said on Thursday (January 30) the measures apply to roundtrip tickets from Bangkok to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Xiamen and Chengdu; to roundtrip codeshare flights with THAI Smile from Bangkok to Chongqing, Changsha and Zhengzhou; to roundtrip codeshare flights with Shenzhen Airlines between Bangkok and Shenzhen and Phuket and Shenzhen; and to THAI domestic flights and codeshares with THAI Smile that connect with flights to China.

Passengers with tickets issued prior to Tuesday (January 28) and valid for January 24-February 29 can choose new flights or get a refund anytime through February, with some terms and conditions applying.

Bookings must be cancelled prior to the date of departure and ticket changes can be arranged at any THAI sales office or via thaiairways.com or the THAI contact centre at 02 356 1111.

The network also plans to push for legislation against enforced disappearances.

The International Commission of Jurists submitted recommendations last year to a committee considering the bill and urged that the draft be swiftly approved so that Thailand is in compliance with its international legal obligations.

The measure is implemented for the safety of patients, visitors and employees at the hospital, according to its statement on Thursday (January 30).

Earlier, Krungsri Securities predicted the SET index dropping to 1,515-1,520 points on Thursday (January 30) before staging a rebound.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 22,977.75, down 401.65 points, or 1.72 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 26,449.13, down 711.50 points, or 2.62 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,148, down 37.28 points, or 1.71 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 11,421.74, down 696.97, or 5.75 per cent.

China’s Shanghai SE Composite remained closed for the Chinese New Year.

A person close to the premier said Prayut had a fever and was fatigued and was resting at home on his doctor’s advice.

His symptoms had no relation to Prayut’s visit to Suvarnabhumi Airport on Wednesday to inspect virus control measures, the person said.

In his stead, Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul presided at an awards presentation on Thursday morning and Deputy Defence Minister Chaichan Changmongkol chaired a meeting at the Defence Ministry.