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Mekong River in Nong Khai at its most beautiful now

NationalNov 09. 2020

By The Nation

Cool weather and clear skies have made the Mekong River in Nong Khai province a sight to behold.

“According to the Water Resource Regional Office 3, the water levels in the Mekong River was only 2.43 metres, up by just 3 centimetres after recent rainfall,” the Nong Khai Public Relations Office reported on its Facebook page.

“There is a gentle breeze with temperature as low as 18 degrees Celsius in the mornings, which turns the river into a picturesque sight, reflecting the blue of the sky as well as silhouettes of rafts, boats, houses and temples on both Thailand’s and Laos’ side.”

The office said the river is at its most beautiful in the morning and advises people to stand against the sun to enjoy the vista.

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Armed gang breaks into ordination ceremony, leaves 13 injured

NationalNov 09. 2020

By The Nation

A gang of youths showed up at an ordination ceremony in Si Sa Ket province on Monday morning and began shooting randomly, leaving 13 people injured.

The scene in Samrong Sung village temple became chaotic as people tried to avoid bullets, and the gang began fighting and punching people.

Of the 13 victims, one had to be admitted to hospital with a bullet wound in the head.

Police managed to arrest Mongkol Duangsit, 27, who was found to be carrying a gun. He is being interrogated for information on motive and who was behind the incident.

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Elephant that died of injuries had 15 bullets in its body

NationalNov 09. 2020Photo credit: Forest for Wild Life_ป่าเพื่อสัตว์ป่า 

By THE NATION

Veterinarians found 15 bullets in the body of an elephant, which had been caught in a rut and was captured at the end of October.

On Sunday, the injured elephant called “Nga San” (short ivories) reportedly died of complications, according to the government’s Twitter feed “Forest for Wild Life_ป่าเพื่อสัตว์ป่า”. Its body was buried in line with an academic procedure.

On October 29, forest officials had tranquilised the aggressive animal and captured it in Rayong province, after it was reported to have been stuck in a rut.

Veterinarians from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation later found several bullets in Nga San’s body. They suspected that the elephant had been shot previously after it invaded human residential areas.

The elephant’s injuries were treated by vets until it gradually recovered. However, in the last week the elephant had soaked itself in a pond located near the place where the vets had treated it.

The immersion in water for some 48 hours aggravated the elephant’s wounds. Nga San died on Friday from infection, despite veterinarians trying several medicines. Its funeral was held on Sunday.

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Scourge of PM2.5 returns to Greater Bangkok

NationalNov 09. 2020

By The Nation

Air pollution has returned Bangkok and its vicinity, with 71 air-quality stations across the capital showing readings of 27 to 52 micrograms of PM2.5 dust particles per cubic meter of air.

Fine dust particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter or PM2.5 can be easily inhaled and be hazardous to health.

According to IQAir.com, as of 8.50am on Monday, Bangkok ranked 23 globally with its air quality index logging in at 116.

Meanwhile, as per Air4Thai.com, pollution in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem district has exceeded safe limits, while air pollution in Mae Charoen Road and Petchkasem Soi 8 has reached unhealthy levels.

Residents in these areas have been warned not to conduct outdoor activities and follow pollution reports closely.

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CP’s acquisition of Tesco Lotus compromises consumer interests, says ex-deputy PM

NationalNov 09. 2020

By The Nation

The takeover of Tesco Lotus by conglomerate CP Group will have a negative effect on consumers, former deputy prime minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said.

After the Office of Trade Competition Commission voted to allow CP Retail Development Co Ltd and Tesco Stores (Thailand) to merge, Korbsak pointed out that there would be less competition in the market.

He expressed disappointment that the merger was allowed on November 2 after about three months of deliberations.

He said that the consumers would lose benefits from CP’s decision to buy Tesco from Ek-Chai Distribution System Co Ltd, which was the major shareholder. About

40 per cent of CP Retail Development shares belong to CP All, 40 per cent is held by Charoen Pokphand Holding Co Ltd, and 20 per cent by CP Merchandising Co Ltd.

The acquisition along with that of Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd were processed simultaneously and they were worth Bt338 billion in total.

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FDA finds 20% of hand-sanitising gels on shelves below standard

NationalNov 09. 2020

By THE NATION

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently conducted a study on alcohol-based sanitising gels available in the market and has found that some 20 per cent do not meet its standards, FDA’s deputy permanent secretary Suphatra Boonserm said.

“Of the 135 brands tested, 27 failed FDA standards while eight were found to contain methanol. Legal action has already been taken against these manufacturers,” she said.

Methanol cannot be used in hand sanitisers because it can cause poisoning and affect the eyes or the nervous system. It is also believed to cause dermatitis.

“FDA has also revoked manufacturing permits from 82 producers who failed to make hand-sanitising gel that contains at least 70 per cent of alcohol, and confiscated products they had stored in warehouses in different provinces, including Pathum Thani and Samut Sakhon.”

Suphatra added that the crackdown on substandard alcohol gel manufacturers has resulted in 70 offenders facing charges and seizure of products worth more than Bt148 million.

Consumers are encouraged to report sub-standard products to the FDA via www.fda.moph.go.th, Line and Facebook @FDAThai, or through the Oryor Smart mobile application.

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Religious tourism takes a hit because of Covid-19 outbreak

NationalNov 09. 2020

By THE NATION

Thais spend on average around Bt10.8 billion in religious travel per year, Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said.

The office recently conducted a poll on Thai consumers’ spending related to religious and sacred items.

“Out of 7,904 respondents, 43.9 per cent said that they travelled less often to religious venues [temples, churches] compared to the previous year, mainly due to the Covid-19 outbreak,” she said.

“The top reasons for visiting religious venues are to pay respects and gain spiritual support, followed by praying to holy objects and asking for blessings.

“Over 70 per cent of respondents said they spend less than Bt200 for donations/merit-making on each trip to religious venues. People in this group are mostly students or unemployed, while those who spend more than Bt200 at religious venues are mostly civil servants and business owners,” she added.

“Activities that are most popular among religious visitors are fortune-telling from horoscope [54.1 per cent], palm reading [20.9 per cent] and Tarot cards reading [12.2 per cent].”

From the poll results, the office estimated that Thais spend around Bt10.8 billion on religious travelling per year, accounting for 0.36 per cent of total tourism revenue. “Religious travelling is an important economic activity that helps create revenue at the community level, as Thailand has religious venues scattered in every province,” Pimchanok said. “Therefore, local administrators and communities must work together to promote local tourism as well as maintain religious venues in good condition to attract tourists.”

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Three foreigners test positive for Covid-19

NationalNov 09. 2020

By The Nation

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported three new cases in state quarantine over 24 hours on Monday.

Two Ethiopians – a 28-year-old medical tourist and her 38-year-old male companion – who arrived on October 23 tested positive in a Bangkok hospital on Friday.

The third case was a 36-year-old government officer from Oman, who had arrived on Friday to look after a medical tourist, tested positive on that very day in a hospital quarantine facility in Bangkok. He had the sniffles.

Meanwhile, seven patients have recovered and been discharged.

The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand has risen to 3,840 (884 in state quarantine), 119 of whom are in hospital and 3,661 have recovered. The death toll remains unchanged at 60.

According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Monday, the total number of confirmed cases globally has risen to 50.74 million (up by 472,468). Of them, 35.8 million have recovered, while 13.68 million are active cases ( 92,624 in severe condition) and 1.26 million have died (up by 5,839).

Thailand ranks 149th the global list for most Covid-19 cases, which is topped by the US with 10.2 million cases, followed by India at 8.55 million, Brazil 5.66 million, France 1.78 million and Russia 1.74 million.

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Prayut congratulates Biden on winning US presidential election

NationalNov 09. 2020File Photo 

By The Nation

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has sent a message congratulating former vice president Joe Biden on his election as the 46th president of the United States.

The PM said he was ready to work closely to further enhance Thai-US relations.

In his message, Prayut said:

“I wish to extend to you and Senator Kamala Harris my warm congratulations on your election victory and the trust that you have earned from American voters.

“With the long-standing ties of friendship between our countries dating back more than 200 years, Thailand as the first treaty partner of the United States in Asia takes pride in our strategic partnership which contributes to our mutual benefit and the region’s peace, stability and prosperity.

“On behalf of the government and the people of the Kingdom of Thailand, I wish you every success and look forward to working closely with you and your administration to further enhance our cooperation at all levels.”

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Baht expected to strengthen against dollar in line with Asian currencies

NationalNov 09. 2020

By THE NATION

The baht opened at 30.62 to the US dollar on Monday, weakening from 30.56 at close on Friday.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 30.55 and 30.70 on Monday and between 30.25 and 30.75 this week, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.

At the same time, the baht has strengthened in line with other Asian currencies, due to support from foreign investment in bonds after the US election. Jitipol advised investors to monitor the capital and financial markets.

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will hold its monetary policy committee meeting. The market predicted that New Zealand would freeze the interest rate at 0.25 per cent or cut the rate by 0.10 percentage point.

Also, the US will announce its initial jobless claims this week on Thursday.

The senior director said that the US economy has continually recovered but the dollar has not. Jitipol added that the yen and euro this week were worth monitoring.

The dollar index this week would tend to move between 92 and 93 points, from the present 92.2 points.