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Police asking courier, logistics operators to install X-ray machines to tackle wily criminals (nationthailand.com)

Police asking courier, logistics operators to install X-ray machines to tackle wily criminals

NationalNov 25. 2020

By THE NATION

Police are asking courier and logistics operators to install X-ray machines to screen packages for drugs, firearms and other illegal objects that criminals and drug dealers send via private services.

“From November 10-24, police arrested 29 suspects who had sent drugs via packages and seized evidence including more than 28,000 amphetamine tablets, 1.7 kg of methamphetamine and 118 kg of Krathom leaves,” deputy National Police chief Pol General Manu Mekmok said on Tuesday.

“The Covid-19 situation has inspired criminals and drug dealers to use private courier and logistics services to send drugs and illegal objects instead of using their usual channels,” he revealed.

Manu said he had ordered police divisions to work with private courier and logistics operators by asking them to register with the police and install X-ray machines at their distribution centres to scan every package for contraband.

“Drug syndicates are modernising their operations with the use of social media and a comprehensive network of private courier services,” he said. “They often rent a house or building as a distribution centre for smuggled drugs, while local dealers take orders via Line, Facebook or Twitter and send their drugs through private courier services.

“If you have any information about drug operations in your area, please forward it to the Royal Thai Police headquarters, or contact Hotline 1386,” he added.

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Cool morning in upper Thailand, isolated heavy rain in South (nationthailand.com)

Cool morning in upper Thailand, isolated heavy rain in South

NationalNov 25. 2020

By THE NATION

The upper North, the Northeast and the Central region will all witness cool weather in the morning as a moderate high-pressure system from China covers the region, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Wednesday, forecasting isolated heavy to very heavy rain in the lower South during the day as the strong northeast monsoon prevails over the Gulf and the South.

The department said waves in the Gulf will be 2-3 metres high and above three metres in thundershower areas. All ships should proceed with caution and keep away from areas with thundershowers, it said, advising small boats to stay ashore until December 1.

Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 16-22 degrees and highs of 31-34 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 8-15 degrees Celsius.

Northeast: Cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 19-22 degrees and highs of 31-33 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltop is likely to drop to 10-17 degrees Celsius.

Central: Cool weather in the morning; temperature lows of 21-23 degrees, highs of 32-33 degrees Celsius.

East: Partly cloudy; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 32-34 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres off shore.

South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area and isolated heavy to very heavy rain; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 27-33 degrees Celsius; waves 1-2 metres high and 2-3 metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 22-24 degrees, highs of 28-31 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Partly cloudy; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 33-34 degrees Celsius.

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Prawit mulling plan for desalination plants in thirsty EEC (nationthailand.com)

Prawit mulling plan for desalination plants in thirsty EEC

NationalNov 25. 2020

By THE NATION

Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan is considering a proposal for desalination plants to produce freshwater from seawater in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

Drawn up by the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR), the plan is aimed at preventing water shortages in the special industrial zone.

If the deputy PM gives the go-ahead, the ONWR will study the economic, engineering and environmental feasibility of the project, said ONWR secretary general Samroeng Sangphuwong.

The study will be conducted in 2021, with desalination plants constructed in 2022 and 2023 before operations begin in 2024. The plants will be located in Chonburi and Rayong provinces.

Demand for water is rising fast in the EEC.

Useable water totalled 2.539 billion litres this year, with demand at 2.419 billion litres.

However, demand is estimated to reach 2.888 billion litres in 2027 and 3.019 billion litres in 2037.

The desalination project aims to boost the EEC’s useable water by 2.20 per cent by producing 200,000 litres of freshwater per day.

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Thailand to launch vaccine production ‘in first half of 2021’ (nationthailand.com)

Thailand to launch vaccine production ‘in first half of 2021’

NationalNov 25. 2020Disease Control Department director-general Opas Karnkawinpong 

By The Nation

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine should be available in Thailand in the first half of 2021, under a technology-transfer deal signed with the Thai government.

Siam Bioscience will receive the technology for the vaccine, which was developed by a team at Oxford University.

The Thai firm expects to register the vaccine with the Food and Drug Administration in the next six months, and produce enough doses for Thailand and Asean neighbours in the first half of 2021. Initially, 26 million doses will be produced for 13 million Thais.

Siam Bioscience has a production capacity of 180 million to 200 million doses per year or 15 million doses per month.

Disease Control Department director-general Opas Karnkawinpong estimates Thailand needs 2 million doses per month. The rest will be exported to neighbouring countries.

The Vaccine Board is expected to reveal in December which groups will receive the vaccine first, after considering mortality rates, chance of infection, etc. Judging from the 2009 influenza vaccination programme, the first group to receive the vaccine will be the elderly and vulnerable people with underlying diseases.

Results from phase 3 of clinical trials showed the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was 70 per cent effective, rising to 90 per cent if a half dose then a full dose was administered.

The company will now submit the results to the UK and European Food and Drug Administrations for approval.

AstraZeneca and Oxford University are committed to expanding the vaccine capacity to the world population with a target of Bt3.1 billion doses per year.

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Police prepare lese majeste charges ahead of Crown Property protest (nationthailand.com)

Police prepare lese majeste charges ahead of Crown Property protest

NationalNov 25. 2020

By The Nation

Police were reportedly preparing to charge protest leaders with lese majeste on Tuesday, on the eve of Wednesday’s planned demonstration outside the Crown Property Bureau.

The Ratsadon group has instructed supporters to gather at Democracy Monument at 3pm on Wednesday before marching to the Bureau for a protest over royal assets.

Calling the demonstration “very sensitive”, police spokesman Yingyot Thepjamnong said police would try to prevent conflict but would prosecute anyone who broke the law.

A total of 6,045 officers will be deployed to keep order and prevent damage to historical sites, he added.

Deputy Bangkok police chief Piya Tawichai said police would try to separate any royalist demonstrators from the anti-establishment protesters.

Nearby buildings such as Saint Gabriel’s College would be closed on Wednesday, he added.

Meanwhile, police charged pro-democracy activist Piyarat Chongthep with sedition on Tuesday in Ubon Ratchathani province, over a protest speech he gave in August.

Police are also reportedly preparing lese majeste charges against fellow activists Arnon Nampa, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul. The lese majeste law, which hasn’t been used for more than two years, carries a jail term of up to 15 years.

Police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said on Tuesday that police had charged 170 people with protest-related offences, 100 in Bangkok.

He also defended the use of tear-gas chemicals against protesters, saying the substances were not lethal.

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Monk steps into path of speeding train (nationthailand.com)

Monk steps into path of speeding train

NationalNov 24. 2020

By The Nation

A 55-year-old monk in Si Sa Ket province was killed after stepping into the path of a train at 10.30am on Tuesday.

Police reported that the body was dismembered by the accident, which happened at a provincial train station. Passengers at the station were shocked by the horrifying event.

Eyewitnesses said the monk jumped on to the tracks and stood still with his arms wide open as the speeding train approached. They said there was no time to save the man.

Police are investigating the case, but no motivation has been offered for the suicide.

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Panusaya named one of world’s most inspiring women of 2020 by BBC (nationthailand.com)

Panusaya named one of world’s most inspiring women of 2020 by BBC

NationalNov 24. 2020Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul (left), Kotchakorn Voraakhom (centre), and Cindy Sirinya Bishop (right) 

By The Nation

Protest leader Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul has been named as one of the world’s 100 most inspirational and influential women of 2020 by the BBC.

Panusaya, a leader of the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration group, made international headlines in August when she read out a 10-point manifesto for monarchy reform at a Bangkok rally.

She is among three Thais on the BBC’s “100 Women of 2020” list.

The other two are Kotchakorn Voraakhom, an urban landscape architect, and Cindy Sirinya Bishop, an actress, model and TV host who also campaigns to end violence against women.

Kotchakorn began her work by prising apart the “cracked pavement” of Bangkok’s sprawling cityscape and letting the seedlings of fresh ideas burst through, said the BBC. She seeks to nurture public and green spaces so as to make megacities more liveable and resistant to climate change.

Cindy was this year appointed UN Women regional goodwill ambassador for gender equality through education, communities and governments. She made headlines by founding the #DontTellMeHowToDress movement in 2018 after authorities told women not to look “sexy” if they wanted to avoid sexual assault at Songkran.

Women shortlisted in the BBC’s list this year come from a wide variety of professions. They include Sanna Marin, who leads Finland’s all-female coalition government, Michelle Yeoh, a rising star in Hollywood, and Sarah Gilbert, who heads Oxford University’s research into a coronavirus vaccine.

This year’s list highlights women who are leading change in turbulent times.

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No narcotics in Thailand’s ‘biggest ever drug haul’ – only cleaning agent (nationthailand.com)

No narcotics in Thailand’s ‘biggest ever drug haul’ – only cleaning agent

NationalNov 24. 2020Somsak Thepsutin 

By The Nation

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin has admitted that the chemical seized in what was initially billed as the biggest drugs haul in Thailand’s history is not ketamine, but a harmless cleaning agent.

Somsak explained on Tuesday that when the first test was carried out on 11.5 tonnes of the white powder, it turned the reagent purple – a match for ketamine. But after testing again, the substance was found to be trisodium phosphate, a cleaning agent and food additive which also turns the testing reagent purple.

The mistake was caused by an error in the scientific process, he added.

The seizure made worldwide headlines on November 12 when officials including Somsak announced they had made the largest drugs bust in Thai history. The chemical was found inside 475 sacks piled in a warehouse in Chachoengsao and was said to be worth Bt28.7 billion.

The raid on the warehouse in the eastern province followed a tip-off from officials in Taiwan, who told the Narcotics Control Board they had seized 300 kilos of ketamine, but more was on its way to Thailand. The Thai shipment was seized and tested, with the results checked by scientists from the Justice Ministry and the Forensic Department before the “haul” was announced to the press.

However, subsequent tests on 59 of the sacks showed no ketamine was present. The Justice Ministry said the remaining 406 sacks will now be examined by the NBC, Forensic Science police, and Department of Medical Sciences, with test results due this week.

On Monday, lawyer and transparency activist Atchariya Ruengrattanapong accused Somsak of negligence over the 11.5-tonne seizure and asked the anti-corruption agency to look into the case.

Somsak insisted that he had not bullied anyone, adding that he had set up a working group to investigate what had gone wrong.

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New e-boats to start plying Bangkok canals from Friday (nationthailand.com)

New e-boats to start plying Bangkok canals from Friday

NationalNov 24. 2020

By THE NATION

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has tested seven electric boats on Monday before they go into service from Friday.

These e-boats will run along Bangkok’s Phadung Krung Kasem Canal in line with the project of improving the capital’s water transportation system.

These boats, run completely by power generated from solar cells installed on the roof, will be monitored by the authorities via the pre-installed GPS system.

The 9.9-metre long and 2.9-metre wide boats can run at a maximum speed of 17 kilometres per hour, compared to the 15kmph speed of ordinary canal boats.

The new boats can seat 30 passengers and has space for one wheelchair.

Canal boats run along the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal from 6am to 7pm on weekdays and 8am to 7pm on weekends.

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IRPC board to consider budget for clean fuel project (nationthailand.com)

IRPC board to consider budget for clean fuel project

NationalNov 24. 2020

By THE NATION

Petrochemical firm IRPC’s board of directors will on Tuesday consider funding for the Ultra Clean Fuel (UFC) project, which aims to bring the quality of oil produced by IRPC up to Euro 5 emissions standards.Noppadol Pinsupa, president of IRPC, which is a subsidiary of national oil and gas firm PTT Group, said the funds will be spent on the acquisition of factories that produce plastic pellets. He said IRPC has discussed the acquisition plan with two or three other firms, adding that things will start becoming clearer next year.

He said once the Covid-19 crisis is over, the demand for plastic pellets will rise in the market, which will be advantageous for the IRPC.

Noppadol said the company will focus more on speciality grade products. “Revenue from this kind of product will rise to 30 per cent in 2024 from 17 per cent in 2020,” he added.