#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018361

The Chiang Rai airport has closed for four days after a Nok Air plane skidded off the runway in heavy rain on Saturday night.

The airport initially issued a Notice to Airmen (Notam) to all airlines, advising them that the airport would be closed on Sunday. However, the closure was then extended until August 3.

The airport, which is also known as Mae Fah Luang, explained that officials needed time to remove the stricken Nok Air plane after it careered off the runway and came to a stop.

The accident occurred at around 9pm on Saturday as Nok Air flight DD108 attempted to land in heavy rain. The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 164 passengers and six crew from Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport.

Nok Air said the pilot managed to bring the plane to a stop and all passengers and crew were then ferried safely to the terminal. An accident investigation has been launched.

Published : July 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018360

Bangkok drivers should find things easier at a notorious congestion blackspot tomorrow, when a 600-metre-long underpass opens at Fai Chai Intersection after 13 years of construction work.

City governor Chadchart Sittupunt said the tunnel under the Fai Chai Intersection in Bangkok Noi district will open on Monday from 5am to 10pm to alleviate traffic jams.

The tunnel will be closed from 10pm to 5am until construction is finalised. Chadchart did not say when the tunnel would be opened to traffic on a round-the-clock basis.

The Bt788-million project, which is being carried out by Kamphaeng Phet Wiwat Construction, began in October 2009. However, construction progress has been delayed by disputes over its size, design and overlap with the Blue Line’s Bang Sue-Tha Phra section. The disputes prompted several revisions of the contract.

Chadchart said the two-lane tunnel’s construction took 13 years because of disputes and negotiations with the Mass Rapid Transit Authority, which owns the Blue Line.

Chadchart said that after being elected governor in May, he instructed the Public Works Department to speed up the project to reduce congestion during rush hours.

He was speaking to reporters on Sunday during his trip to inspect the tunnel.

The governor said engineers would test the tunnel structure for safety on Sunday night before it opened to motorists on Monday.

“If Public Works officials detect any issues, the opening will be further delayed,” he added.

Chadchart also inspected progress of construction of the 1.34-billion-baht overpass at the busy Na Ranong Intersection connecting Ratchadapisek with Sunthorn Kosa Road, Na Ranong Road and Rama III Road.

The Na Ranong overpass is also due to open on Monday at 5am.

Published : July 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018350

Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang International Airport was closed on Sunday after a Nok Air aircraft slid off the runway while trying to land in heavy rain on Saturday night.

The airline announced that all its flights on Sunday to Chiang Rai will be cancelled and passengers can either choose to reschedule or ask for a full refund.

Nok Air said it has received a Notam (notice to airmen) from the airport that Runway 03/21 will be closed from 6am to 10pm on Sunday.

The airline said passengers who cannot reschedule will be taken to Chiang Rai airport to board a flight to Bangkok, while those flying from the capital will also be offered alternatives.

The Saturday night mishap took place at around 9pm when the Boeing 737-800 aircraft was trying to land during heavy rain. Nobody was injured.

Published : July 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018343

A Nok Air aircraft slid off the runway while landing at Chiang Rai’s Mae Fah Luang Airport on Saturday night. No injuries were reported.

The mishap took place at about 9pm while the Boeing 737-800 was trying to land during heavy rain. There were 164 passengers and six crew on board the Nok Air flight DD108 that had taken off from Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok.

“All passengers and crew disembarked and were transported to the terminal safely,” the airline said. “The company will cooperate with related agencies to investigate the cause of the incident.”

The passengers were later helped with their luggage and provided snacks, beverages and accommodation.

However, in a Facebook post a passenger complained that the airline’s evacuation procedure was very slow and many of them were short of breath as they were forced to wait in the aircraft for over an hour.

After disembarking the passengers had to wait for another hour for the bus to the terminal.

Published : July 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018338

The Public Health Ministry reported on Sunday (July 31) that over the past 24 hours, 1,664 Covid-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals.

The death toll has risen by 26, while 2,800 patients have recovered and discharged from hospitals. 

The number of cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022, stands at 2,366,741.

Published : July 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018337

Award-winning school marching bands will battle for supremacy at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok on Sunday afternoon.

Four student bands — two from the city and two from Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) — will perform before about 1,500 spectators. Free tickets for the event were swept up within 26 minutes of registration opening last Monday.

Spectators will be screened with antigen tests on entry to the stadium, located next to Ramkhamhaeng University in Bang Kapi district.

Scheduled to start at 2pm and end at 4.30pm, the show will be broadcast live on Thai PBS and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Public Relations Facebook page.

Taking part in the musical extravaganza are Suthiwararam Concert & Marching Band and Wachirathamsatit Drum & Brass Corps from Bangkok, and Suranaree Witthaya Marching Band and Ratchasima Witthayalai Marching Band from Korat.

The northeastern province is home to some of the world’s top-ranked marching bands. Both Suranaree and Ratchasima have won numerous international awards.

Suranaree was Thailand’s first marching band to win the top prize at the International Winds Festival in the Czech Republic. It won four awards in February 2020 — Gold with Honours, Best Test Piece, Middle Class, and Best Conductor.

The school’s all-girl band also won a gold medal at the World Music Contest in the Netherlands, the only Thai school to have achieved such success.

Meanwhile Ratchasima has won awards at the European Open Championship 2019 in Germany and World Band Challenge 2019 in Italy.

Bangkok’s Suthiwararam won at the WAMSB World Championship 2022 while Wachirathamsatit has been showered with awards at contests held in the city.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt proposed the battle of the bands in a recent meeting with Nakhon Ratchasima governor Wichian Chantaranothai, in a bid to stimulate the local economy. Chadchart is also behind the weekly “Music in the Park” events for bands and audiences in Bangkok’s green spaces.

Published : July 30, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018336

Twenty-two Thai provinces are in the regular path of China’s Long March 5B rocket, whose 22-tonne booster is expected to fall back to Earth on Sunday, Thai space research agency GISTDA said on Saturday.

However, GISTDA said there was only a 1.2 per cent chance of the space debris crashing on Thailand.

The agency said it was closely monitoring the situation and would warn the Thai public if necessary.

According to data from GISTDA’s Space Technology Research Centre, the orbiting Long March 5B rocket passes over Thailand twice every day — from 2.01-2.03am and from 11.21-11.22am.

In its first round, the space debris transits over 12 provinces from the West to the Northeast, namely Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Ayutthaya, Saraburi, Lopburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom.

In the second round, it orbits past 12 Thai provinces from the North to the lower Northeast, covering Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, and Surin.

The Long March 5B rocket, carrying China’s Tianhe space station core module, was launched from the southern Chinese province of Hainan in April 2021. The rocket booster that propelled the spacecraft into orbit is now “dead” and beyond the control of China’s space agency.

Experts expect the booster to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday. They say the ocean is the most likely impact point but the possible debris field also includes Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, Brazil, India, and the United States.

Published : July 30, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018335

Khao Yai National Park has closed its Haew Narok (Hell’s Ravine) waterfall, a popular tourist destination, for two months after two wild elephants fell to their death at the beauty spot on Tuesday (July 26).

The waterfall was declared off-limits on Thursday and will stay closed until September 30, according to the national park’s chief, Chaiya Huaihongthong.

He said frequent flash floods in the area during rainy season posed threats to tourists and wild animals feeding near waterways.

Park officials also needed to close the waterfall to remove the carcasses of the two elephants found there following torrential rain, the chief said.

The elephants are believed to have fallen down the 150-metre-high waterfall. At least 27 elephants have been found dead at Haew Narok since 1986 when the first death at the falls was recorded.

Haew Narok has three tiers and is the largest and highest waterfall in Khao Yai.

The waterfall is normally closed for two months from August 1 to allow the local flora and fauna to recover. However, this year it has been closed four days earlier.

Published : July 30, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018333

A 41-year-old Australian of Chinese ethnicity is in police custody after allegedly shooting his 65-year-old mother at a condominium on Soi Sukhumvit 39 in Bangkok’s Wattana district on Friday night.

Thong Lor police said the deceased, Liew Xing, was shot in the stomach and died on the spot. Officers arrived at the scene to find the alleged shooter, Kevin Chow, waiting in the room together with his wife and son, 7, and two-year-old daughter. They seized a 9mm Colt handgun and four BB rifles found in the room.

Police said Chow confessed to the crime, saying that he felt pressured by his mother who was running the family plastic factory business. He also admitted to drinking alcohol before the killing, after which he tried to commit suicide. He said his wife and children stopped him from killing himself.

Police charged Chow with killing his parent and owning firearms without a licence. He was taken to Bangkok South Criminal Court where police advised against granting him bail.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Chow has been living in Thailand for 12 years, doing business involving LED lamps in the family’s plastic manufacturing firm.

Published : July 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018332

The government has collected 1.87 trillion baht in revenue in the first nine months of the 2022 fiscal year (October 2021 to June 2022), marking a 7.5 per cent increase year on year.

The disbursement of funds during this period also rose 1.9 per cent year on year to 2.43 trillion baht, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Saturday.

Since the government also borrowed 621.07 billion baht to make up the deficit, this resulted in the country’s finances as of June 2022 coming in at 587.91 billion baht in surplus.

Taxes collected by the revenue, excise and customs departments came in at 2 trillion baht, up 10.5 per cent year on year.

Earnings submitted by state enterprises for the nine months was 116.13 billion baht, up 10 per cent year on year. However, revenue from other agencies stood at 109.71 billion baht, dropping 11.7 per cent year on year.

“The prime minister acknowledged this report from the Finance Ministry and has thanked all agencies for their efforts in helping the country’s economy recover from the pandemic fallout and the global energy price crisis,” Thanakorn said.

“Prime Minister Prayut [Chan-o-cha] has also said the rise in revenue collection proves that the government is on the right track in solving economic problems. He also believes that working together to maximise the country’s potential will soon see Thailand achieve economic success.”

Published : July 30, 2022

By : THE NATION