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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013760

A discussion between the Commerce Ministry, farmers and factories to find a solution to the animal feed ingredient problem did not reach a conclusion on Wednesday.

Department of Internal Trade director-general Wattanasak Sur-iam made the remark after meeting with farmers, herdsmen, animal feed factories and related government agencies.

They discussed easing the regulation that required the purchase of three portions of corn for animal feed for every portion of wheat imported until July 31.

They also examined the appropriate proportion and period to ease the regulation, but could not finalise it because the Thai Feed Mill Association took leave of the meeting.

The department will soon call another meeting to come to a conclusion on the issue.

Wattanasak said every sector understood the situation of increasing costs and impacts on small herdsmen.

They were glad to discuss an easing of the measure in the hope that stocks of the ingredient would be enough and the price of animal feed could therefore come down, he added.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013757

At least 20 hotel operators in the North are yet to receive the government subsidy of 40 per cent under the latest phase of the “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) tourism stimulus campaign, La-Iad Bungsrithong, former president of the Thai Hotels Association (Northern Chapter), said on Wednesday.

Under Rao Tiew Duay Kan, eligible travellers receive 40 per cent discount on hotel rooms and restaurants. They also receive an e-voucher when checking into a hotel as well as a 40-per-cent flight fare refund when they check out. The subsidy is capped at 2 million room nights, in which registrants must reserve a room at least 7 days in advance.

“We urge the government, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and the Tourism and Sports Ministry to look into the matter and disburse the subsidy as soon as possible, as hotel operators are shouldering operational costs while the number of tourists is yet to rise to the same level seen before the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

La-Iad said that although the latest phase of the campaign has seen an underwhelming response, with 1.3 million rights claimed out of the 2 million available, hotel owners still need the subsidy promised by the government to keep their businesses afloat.

“We estimate that the total amount the government owes us could be more than 10 million baht,” she added.

A news source speculated that the reason why some hotels have not yet received the subsidy is because authorities are checking their business transparency. Some hotels are also reported to have ignored the campaign conditions by accepting more customers. One of the most-broken rules is letting travellers stay more than five days.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013755

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) is notifying five airlines in Thailand that use the Boeing 737-800 to inspect their aircraft thoroughly and monitor flight operations closely after the crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming in Yunnan at 1.11pm on Monday with 132 people on board. It was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong, at 3.05pm but air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou at 2.21pm. All 123 passengers and nine crew on board reportedly lost their lives in the tragic accident.

China Eastern Airlines subsequently grounded its fleet of 106 Boeing 737-800s until further notice.

“This week, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, K-Mile Air, Thai Airways International and Thai Summer Airways will receive a letter ordering them to perform a thorough investigation of their Boeing 737-800 aircraft,” CAAT director-general Suttipong Kongpool said on Wednesday.

“Should they find any abnormality, the airlines must notify CAAT immediately.”

There are currently 26 of the Boeings being used by Thai airlines – 14 owned by Nok Air, 7 by Thai Lion Air, 2 each by K-Mile Air and Thai Airways International, and one by Thai Summer Airways.

“All active aircraft must pass safety inspections and receive a Certificate of Airworthiness, which must be renewed every three years,” said Suttipong.

“We suspect the recent accident could have been due to a technical malfunction, not because this particular model is faulty as in the case of the 737 Max, as Boeing 737-800s have been used by several airlines for almost 20 years now,” he added.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013752

The Department of Airports issued an announcement on Wednesday stating that its recent order to transfer the acting director of Betong International Airport to an inactive post at the Airports Standard Control Division had nothing to do with Nok Air’s cancellation of flights to the southern airport.

Acting director Duangporn Suvanmanee was previously Narathiwat Airport director before she was tasked with taking charge of Betong Airport.

Nok Air cancelled its flights on March 16, just one day after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his Cabinet flew in to officially open the new airport. The airline subsequently came out to say that it “needed more time to adjust its marketing plans” due to the energy crisis and the Covid-19 situation.

Nok Air was initially scheduled to fly into Betong from Don Mueang on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“The order aimed to ensure efficient personnel allocation and also ensure that administration of the department’s airport can continue seamlessly while achieving our goals and missions,” the Department of Airports said. “It has nothing to do with Nok Air’s cancellation of flights to Betong International Airport as some have speculated.”

The department added that it was also investigating an incident in which unauthorised personnel had been using the airport’s aircraft parking area to park their vans, which was a clear violation of airport safety regulations.

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Cancellation of flights to new Betong airport a ‘costly lesson’ for govt, say tourism operators

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013750

Similan Islands National Park officials together with the Third Naval Area Command rescued a Vietnamese national on Wednesday from his “unsafe” inflatable boat in the Andaman Sea off Similan amid strong winds and waves.

The audacious man aimed to row all the way to India to reunite with his wife.

The rescue took place about 14km off the Similan Islands’ west coast and 80km off the Phang-nga coast.

After he was brought ashore on Similan at around 1pm, the man reportedly told officials that his name is Ho Hoang Hung, 37, a Vietnamese national.

Hung, who barely speaks English, reportedly said he hailed from Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and entered Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport on March 2, intending to catch a transfer flight to India to meet his wife of two years who lives in Mumbai and could not travel to Thailand due to Covid-19 restrictions.

After learning that he needed a visa to enter India, Hung decided to catch a public bus from Bangkok to Phuket, bought the inflatable boat, and left the Phuket shore on March 5, heading toward India, roughly 2,000km away.

Hung said officials rescued him on the 18th day of his daredevil trip.

His inflatable boat was about 2.5 metres long and filled with about a dozen packets of instant noodles, bottled water and his suitcase.

Officials have contacted relevant agencies to come pick him up and process his immigration papers under Covid-19 preventive measures.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013749

The government has extended the state of emergency until May 31. The 17th extension of the emergency declaration following the Covid-19 outbreak was published in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday.

The emergency will be effective from April 1 to May 31.

The government had cited the health emergency situation, invoking the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations BE 2548 (2005) for the first time on March 26, 2010, and has extended it 16 times until March 31.

The announcement stated that the Sars-CoV-2 virus had mutated into the Omicron variant, which is highly transmissible, leading to another wave of infections in the country.

The announcement said that although most Thais have been vaccinated against the virus, the number of people who have received a booster dose is still low, and therefore the situation can pose a risk to the public health system and the health and life of Thais if the pandemic worsens.

Moreover, there are several public holidays in April and May, including the Songkran Festival, when most people leave the capital and travel upcountry to visit their families, which could cause the virus to spread fast across provinces and worsen the situation.

As a result, the government said it needed to continue emergency measures for controlling and preventing the pandemic so it had invoked Section 5 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations BE 2548 to extend the declaration of the health emergency situation.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha signed the announcement on March 23.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013741

Ministry of Public Health reported on Thursday (March 24) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 27,024 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 46 of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad.

Death toll increased by 82, while 23,721 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.

Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 1,227,545.
 

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013740

A rogue elephant, whose wild ways had antagonised villagers in Prachin Buri province, was caught after extensive planning and successfully moved to a wildlife sanctuary in Chachoengsao province on Tuesday morning, an official said on Wednesday.

Pithak Intharasorn, director of the Wild Animals Conservation Division of the Sriracha-based 2nd Conservation Area Management Office, said the operation to move the bull elephant nicknamed “Ten-wheel truck” took 11 hours. It involved cooperation from Prachin Buri’s wildlife officials, local volunteers and local administration officials.

The operation was planned after officials received complaints from local villagers that the elephant was roaming around and damaging their farmland.

The officials met and planned the operation at 10.30am on Monday. They had earlier prepared a trap on a truck to transport the elephant.

They rehearsed the operation at 1pm and went to the spot in Tambon Khao Mai Kaew in Prachin Buri’s Krabin Buri district at 2pm.

Pithak said an official fired a tranquiliser dart at the elephant at around 6pm and the team put a GPS collar around its neck and embedded a microchip for identifying it later.

The officials also took a blood sample of the elephant to check for viral disease. They gave a 100cc Vitamin E shot and selenium to prevent the elephant from slipping into coma under the influence of the tranquiliser.

The officials managed to pull the elephant aboard the truck at 11.44pm and drove to Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tambon Klong Taphrao in Chachoengsao’s Tha Takiab district.

On reaching the destination, they released the elephant at 4.01am on Tuesday. A veterinarian gave a shot of medicine to overcome the effects of the tranquiliser at around 4.33am. The elephant was able to walk down the truck and entered the forest at 4.46am, Pithak added.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013736

South Korea’s new ambassador to Thailand on Tuesday made a courtesy call on the Foreign Ministry’s permanent secretary, the ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said in a press statement that Moon Seoung-hyun met Thani Thongphakdi on assuming his role as ambassador.

Moon and Thani expressed satisfaction with the close and comprehensive relations between Thailand and South Korea and the marking of the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries in 2022.

On this occasion, a Joint Action Plan will be drafted to set the direction for bilateral relations in the next five years (2022-27), the Foreign Ministry added.

Both sides also agreed to promote economic cooperation, trade and investment between Thailand and the Republic of Korea.

The permanent secretary invited Korean investors to expand investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in areas of South Korea’s strengths, including smart cities. Both sides also welcomed the convening of the 5th Consular Consultation on March 25 in Bangkok.

During the meeting, Thani and Moon exchanged views on regional and international situations of mutual interests.

Thani welcomed South Korea’s constructive roles in sub-regional and regional cooperation frameworks such as Mekong-ROK, Ayeyawady – Chao Phraya Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and Asean-South Korea.

Thani said he looked forward to welcoming South Korea’s president at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Week in Bangkok in November this year.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013732

The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry and National Telecom (NT) on Wednesday opened the National Environment Data Centre to enable people to check readings of particulate matter (PM) in the air via the RGuard smartphone application.

The move came after the ministry’s Digital Economy and Society Development Fund granted a budget to the NT to set up 8,000 air-quality monitoring stations across 77 provinces, focusing on areas where the population is high and at risk of air pollution.

These stations can record air-quality data, such as PM1, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure and wind direction.

The project has received cooperation from several government agencies, such as the Interior, Education, and Public Health ministries, National Office of Buddhism, Royal Thai Police and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The stations will record air-quality data every five minutes and send them to the centre’s Big Data via LoRaWAN network for analysis.

Once plenty of air-quality data is received, the centre will be able to analyse and forecast the possibility of air pollution in each area effectively.

In addition, the National Environment Data Centre is also providing an open data service to enable government and private agencies to utilise air-quality data in their research, statistics and innovation, which will help boost the value of the digital economy as well.

“Apart from complying with the government’s policy to take care of citizens’ health, this project is also a part of the DES Ministry’s pilot projects to create Big Data to enable interested people, educational institutions and private agencies to utilise and develop innovations,” the ministry said.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION