Scientists probe carcass of giant white whale found floating in Gulf of Thailand
A 10-metre-long carcass of a Brydes whale that was found floating off Koh Talu Island in Prachuap Khiri Khan province has been retrieved from the sea and sent for examination.
The carcass had been bleached white by the sun, indicating the giant mammal died about seven days ago.
“We towed the carcass to shore so that officials at the Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Centre can perform an autopsy,” a park official said.
Scientists probe carcass of giant white whale found floating in Gulf of Thailand
The Bryde’s whale is a baleen whale or filter feeder. It belongs to the same group as humpback and blue whales.
Bryde’s whales usually appear individually or in pairs, and occasionally in loose groups of up to 20 animals around feeding areas. They are the most frequently spotted among the 22 species of dolphins and whales that live in Thai waters.
Scientists probe carcass of giant white whale found floating in Gulf of Thailand
The Bryde’s whale is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. It has an unfavourable conservation status and “would benefit significantly from international cooperation organised by tailored agreements”.
Scientists probe carcass of giant white whale found floating in Gulf of Thailand
Phuket ‘ready’ as thousands of foreigners kickstart Thailand’s tourism industry
Phuket was declared 100 per cent ready to receive foreign tourists from Thursday, with few Covid-19 cases, high vaccination rates and hotels fully prepared.
In an exclusive interview with The Nation Thailand on Tuesday, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn confirmed the Phuket sandbox scheme would launch on Thursday (July 1).
To those who do not know already, Phuket will be the first province to kickstart Thailand’s tourism revival by opening to foreign travellers under the pilot sandbox scheme.
Under the scheme, tourists with proof of full Covid-19 inoculation and a negative test can fly into Phuket and move around freely without having to quarantine.
After 14 days in Phuket, they can then travel to other parts of Thailand. The scheme is open to tourists from 63 countries and three territories.
Phiphat said government and local agencies have prepared for at least two months to ensure the scheme runs safely and smoothly.
“However, I am concerned about the possibility of workers returning to Phuket by land or boat without Covid-19 checks,” he said, adding that the Navy and marine authorities were on alert for people sneaking back to the island. “If this hole is completely plugged, Phuket should be 100 per cent safe from Covid-19 risk,” he explained.
The minister said 70 per cent of Phuket locals have now been vaccinated against Covid-19, while the safety of hotels and venues on the island was guaranteed by the government’s SHA+ certification.
He said a total of 13,000 rooms in Phuket hotels and resorts had been booked by foreign tourists, citing Tourism Authority of Thailand information on Tuesday. Phiphat said he expected that figure to rise.
“About 30 to 40 per cent of tourists decided to cancel bookings following the change of quarantine period in Phuket,” he explained. “Initially, the government reduced quarantine to seven days, but it was restored to 14 days after the virus crisis in Thailand became more concerning.”
Asked about Samui in Surat Thani and Phi Phi in Krabi – the next resort islands due to open under the sandbox scheme – the minister confirmed the areas had been free of Covid-19 for months. Vaccination programmes would ensure they were ready to reopen soon, he added.
Samui is scheduled to reopen on July 15 and Phi Phi on August 1.
“I am informed that no new cases have been found on Phi Phi in the past seven months and no one has tested positive on Krabi’s Ngai Island for the past three months,” the minister said.
From July 1, Phuket will also open to domestic travellers who have had at least one AstraZeneca jab or two doses of another Covid-19 vaccine.
Phiphat added that cases per day in Phuket were now down to single digits, despite Thailand’s current daily caseload of 4,000 to 5,000.
Jab rollout picks up as 3 million doses to be delivered this week
Thailand expects delivery of 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and a million doses of the Sinovac vaccine this week, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.
“The first batch of 800,000 doses of AstraZeneca arrived on Monday and the remainder will arrive on Friday,” he said. “Since the vaccines have started arriving every week, the Department of Disease Control will speed up their delivery to different vaccination venues.”
As for the Infectious Disease Association of Thailand calling on the government to procure more mRNA vaccines for the public, Anutin said the government has finalised the purchase of 20 million doses from Pfizer and expects delivery in the fourth quarter of the year.
“The government will negotiate with more manufacturers next year to import mRNA and other types of vaccines to protect the population against different Covid-19 variants,” Anutin said.
“Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine is also researching mRNA vaccines for local production and has made considerable progress so far,” he added.
When asked about the possibility of Thailand buying mRNA vaccines from countries that have leftover stocks, like Romania selling its leftovers to Denmark, Anutin said Thai law requires the importer of the vaccine to be registered locally.
“For instance, if we were to import more Pfizer vaccines, it will have to be done through Pfizer Thailand, as the vaccine has to come directly from their stock and not anywhere else. This is to guarantee the vaccine’s quality and safety,” he explained.
A source added that the other mRNA vaccine that has been approved for use in Thailand is the one produced by Moderna, which will be imported by Zuellig Pharma. The company has announced that its first batch of 5 million doses will be delivered over the fourth quarter of this year and the beginning of next year. The third alternative vaccine is Sinopharm’s Covilo, which uses inactivated virus, will be sold directly to private hospitals.
Arbitral Tribunal’s irregular decision ordering Nop Narongdej to make substantial payments to Nopporn Suppipat has been revoked by the Singapore Court of Appeal
The Singapore Court of Appeal has rendered a final and binding decision absolving Nop Narongdej of an obligation to make a bonus payment of 525 million USD for the purchase of shares in Wind Energy Holding Group from Nopporn Suppipat’s companies on the ground that the Arbitration Tribunal’s decision was made in excess of jurisdiction.
Nop Narongdej praises the court for upholding justice. Mr. Pokpak Thongbhakdee, attorney-at-law of FBLP Legal, the legal counsel in the case, reports that the Singapore Court of Appeal has revoked the Arbitration Tribunal’s decision ordering Fullerton Bay Investment Limited (Fullerton) and KPN Energy Holding Co., Ltd. (KPNEH) under Mr. Nop Narongdej to pay the “remaining amounts” or “bonus payment” under an agreement to purchase shares in Wind Energy Holding Group (WEH) held by Mr. Nopporn Suppipat’s companies. The payment amounts to 525 million USD plus interest and all expenses incurred during the arbitration. The Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision is final.
In its ruling, the court says the Arbitration Tribunal has no authority to deliberate on the matter of bonus payment and therefore its decision on the remaining amounts has no legal effect. The Arbitration Tribunal’s decision ordering Fullerton and KPNEH to pay Mr. Nopporn Suppipat’s companies arbitration costs was consequently also revoked by the Singapore Court of Appeal. On his part, Mr. Nop praises the Singapore court for upholding justice in its decision to clear his name and resolving the dispute between himself and the previous shareholder of WEH, which had posed an obstacle to previous efforts to list the company in the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Low dry season flows in Mekong drive down Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, countries urged to improve basin-wide management
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat has urged the wider exchange of data and information as part of recommendations to improve water resource management in the Lower Mekong Basin, in a bulletin released today
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat has urged the wider exchange of data and information as part of recommendations to improve water resource management in the Lower Mekong Basin, in a bulletin released today.
The 18-page Situation Report encourages MRC Member Countries and Dialogue Partners to share operational data to garner a deeper understanding of recent changes in Mekong mainstream flow patterns and to address any potential impacts on the riverine communities.
“For the sake of better management of the basin and of good faith cooperation, both Member Countries and China should notify any planned major changes in the operation of hydropower projects and share that information with the MRC Secretariat. This is important where such operations may result in abnormal rises and falls in water levels,” says Dr An Pich Hatda, MRC Secretariat Chief Executive Officer.
He also invites other platforms monitoring Mekong River levels to coordinate and verify data with the MRC Secretariat to ensure the public is kept adequately informed.
The Member Countries are obligated to “enable the acceptable natural reverse flow of the Tonle Sap River to take place during the wet season” and prevent human-made peak flows that what would not naturally occur during the flood season, according to the MRC Procedures for Maintenance of Flows on the Mainstream (PMFM).
The report, which evaluates hydro-meteorological conditions during the 2020–2021 dry season spanning November 2020–May 2021, showed fluctuations in water levels in the upper reaches of the Mekong mainstream in Lao PDR and Thailand, as well as low water volume stored in the Tonle Sap Lake.
Rainfall in April–May was the highest on record for these months for the last 18 years in places. This was particularly striking over the middle part of the Lower Mekong Basin areas of Thailand and northern Cambodia. But overall, river flows did not increase significantly.
Hydropower impacts
Rapid changes in water levels in the flows due to hydropower operations in the Upper Mekong continued in 2021. Such changes, the report says, may have impacted navigation, river ecosystems, and riverbank stability, although more study is needed to pinpoint the type and extent of impact.
The report notes that, as has been the case during the past few years, releases from storage dams increased dry season flows above the long-term averages for most of the dry season, with both positive and negative consequences. Increases in dry season flows could be beneficial for agricultural production and navigation and combatting seawater intrusion in the Mekong Delta.
Overall, flows in the Mekong in the first five months of 2021 were higher than the long-term average, except for December 2020 where flows in the Mekong mainstream were closer to normal. But the report notes at the start of the dry season hydropower plants were holding back or storing the first flows of the wet season. This occurred again near the start of the wet season when early rain to re-fill the reservoirs on the Lancang and LMB tributaries was held back.
Lower flows in the Mekong in the 2019 and 2020 wet seasons decreased return flows and seasonally flooded area of the Tonle Sap Lake on which much of Cambodia’s population relies for their livelihoods. This triggered adverse impacts, according to the report, on agricultural production, the ecological balance, reduced nutrient-rich sediment mobilisation, and transportation as well as decreased household fish catch in the Tonle Sap Lake area.
The report recommends a more detailed study on the pattern of water level changes using newly installed water monitoring stations at Xiengkok upstream of Chiang Saen, and Ban Pakhoung downstream of the Xayaburi dam, all in Lao PDR. It also suggests that further studies into active management of water storage in the whole basin could lead to improved operations by the riparian countries, thus reducing the potential adverse impacts on the communities.
Outlook for the 2021 wet season
Citing NOAA and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the report indicates higher than average rainfall in June when compared to the same period in 2019 and 2020.
But drier than normal conditions are expected in July and August over some parts of the basin. Cambodia, the Central Highlands of Viet Nam, and southern Lao PDR may receive less rainfall than normal in July.
Note to editors:
The MRC is an intergovernmental organisation for regional dialogue and cooperation in the Lower Mekong River Basin, established in 1995 based on the Mekong Agreement between Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The organisation serves as a regional platform for water diplomacy as well as a knowledge hub of water resources management for the sustainable development of the region.
Booking.com recommends 6 luxurious accommodations in response to Phuket Sandbox
Phuket has been on countless travel bucket lists due to its picture-perfect beaches, stunning landscapes, friendly locals, countless nightlife options and beautiful accommodation options around the island, which all make for an amazing experience.
As part of the Phuket Sandbox Program, from July 1, Phuket will allow vaccinated foreign tourists to visit directly without quarantine. However, travelers must stay in Phuket for at least 14 days before visiting other destinations in Thailand. Travelers need to follow Phuket Sandbox Requirements, which include:
obtaining a vaccine certificate to be a proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no less than 14 days before the travel date;
obtaining a medical certificate with a negative RT-PCR laboratory result issued no more than 72 hours before departure;
downloading ThailandPlus alert mobile application;
purchasing A COVID-19 health insurance policy;
undertaking RT-PR test before arrival and during your stay in Phuket;
acquiring Certificate of Entry (COE) issued by the Thai Embassy/Consulate;
staying at SHA+ Hotel in Phuket (for first 7 days), and
preparing a confirmation of booking in a SHA Plus-certified accommodation establishment.
Recent research from Booking.com has shown global travelers’ optimism returns as vaccines vitalize their hope. In fact, two-thirds (66%) of global travelers feel more hopeful about traveling in 2021 due to successful COVID-19 vaccines. With a mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, Booking.com would like to recommend 6 luxurious accommodations with SHA+ certificated in Phuket that not only offer world-class services, but are also perfect places for travelers around the world to rediscover enjoy the charm of the Pearl of the Andaman.
Pamper yourself along the serene Mai Khao Beach at SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach resort offering world-class services and facilities including a spa with sauna and steam bath facilities. SALA Phuket Resort features a lush garden, 2 beachfront pools and villas with private pools, and sundecks. Guests can enjoy serene atmosphere while taking in the panoramic beach views at this well-designed resort with special prices through Getaway Deal from Booking.com that help you save at least 15% on longer trips in Phuket for minimum 5-night stays from July 1 until Sep 30, 2021.
Best Western Plus The Beachfront offers a relaxing environment by Rawai Beach, at the south end of Phuket island. This beachfront hotel provides comfort and world-class services from friendly and professional staff. Guests can truly enjoy a relaxing holiday at Best Western Plus The Beachfront that allows guests to get a close-to-nature experience from a luxurious property equipped with full facilities. This property is offering a 10% base-rate discount for Genius members and a 15% discount from Getaway Deal, which is valid up to September 30, 2021.
OZO Phuket located near Kata Beach just 300 meters from the beachfront. This resort is a perfect choice for a family vacation with spacious rooms, a children’s playground, billiard table, and car hire services. Moreover, guests rate this property highly in cleanliness and great location where you can visit interesting attractions within a few minutes, such as Dino Park Mini Golf and The Coffee Club Kata Beach. For the Phuket Sandbox Program, the hotel offers a special price for a minimum 7-day stay, as well as Mobile Application deal.
Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach Phuket is only a few steps from Bangtao Beach. Next to a stunning beachfront, Movenpick features an infinity pool, a sunken spa pool, and a health club. Mövenpick Resort offers guest a special country rate for this Phuket Sandbox travel opportunity when book room through Booking.com. Alternatively, Genius member can get free room upgrade from two-bedroom residence to two-bedroom Seaview pool Suite.
Uplift your soul in Phuket Town at Island Escape by Burasari, a perfect hide-away stay. Guests can enjoy a slow vacation along the beach to escape the chaos of the city, as well as visiting the old city to experience unique and authentic charm of local culture within 8km distance from main-land with a boat transfer. Island Escape by Burasari offers a gorgeous private beach area and a kids’ club for guests. You can enjoy staying on a private island with special offers including a Getaway Deal valid until September 30, 2021, and Genius members are offered with a free breakfast.
The Slate presents an industrial chic design set against the stunning natural backdrop of Nai Yang Beach and the Andaman Sea. This uniquely-decorated property with original art pieces and locally crafted furnishings, offers beachfront rooms, rainforest spa and 3 outdoor swimming pools, one is open for family while the other 2 pools are for adults only. For the Phuket Sandbox Program, Genius members and those booking via the Booking app can enjoy special room discounts for staying at The Slate.
CP in trouble for selling drinking water with fake quality stamp
More than 400,000 bottles of drinking water were confiscated from four convenience stores in Bangkok and a factory in Ayutthaya on Wednesday for being sold with an unauthorised stamp of quality.
The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) said 402,978 bottles of drinking water sold under the brands “CP” and “CP Freshmart” were seized.
“The institute received a tip-off that two brands of bottled water distributed by CPF Trading have been using the TISI badge without authorisation,” said Wanchai Phanomchai, TISI secretary-general.
“We investigated four branches of CP Freshmart convenience stores in Bangkok on Pracharat Bamphen and Phetchaburi roads and in the Orchard Micromall and Kasetsart University and seized 2,978 bottles from the shelves.”
Wanchai added that TISI also raided the factory in Ayutthaya that produced this water and seized 400,000 bottles bearing the TISI badge. The manufacturer, Holland Star Packaging, had never applied for the standards badge with TISI, he said.
TISI also contacted CPF Trading and ordered it to remove the two brands from its Freshmart stores as well as recall them from other retailers.
“Manufacturers who use the TISI badge on their product without authorisation will face up to one year in prison or a fine of 1 million baht or both. Stores that sell these products will also face a penalty of up to six months in prison and/or 500,000 baht fine,” he said. “To use the TISI badge, the manufacturer has to apply for and pass the quality inspection process. Applications can be filed online for all kinds of products.”
To get a TISI stamp, visit www.tisi.go.th, Facebook page @tisiofficial or call (02) 202 3386, (02) 202 3387.
Thailand hits new high with 53 deaths, 4,786 infections
Thailand was hit with a record high of 53 deaths and 4,786 new infections over a 24-hour period on Tuesday, bringing the country’s total caseload to 259,301 infections and 2,023 deaths.
Of the new cases, 3,303 were tested in hospitals, 1,347 were found through proactive testing, 127 were in prisons and nine came from overseas.
Bangkok again led the list with 1,826 cases, followed by Samut Prakan (433), Samut Sakhon (253), Chonburi (208), Nakhon Pathom (191), Pathum Thani (177), Songkhla (157), Nonthaburi (155) and Pattani (106).
Meanwhile, 2,415 patients have recovered and were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours.
Of the total 259,301 infections, 207,479 have recovered and been discharged, 49,799 are still in hospitals, and 2,023 have died.
Meanwhile, another 189,131 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, while 66,603 people were given their second shot, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in Thailand to 9,672,706.
According to Worldometer, as of 11am on Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 182.58 million (up by 373,330), 167.17 million of whom have recovered, 11.46 million are active cases (79,918 in severe condition) and 3.95 million have died (up by 7,640).
Thailand ranks 73th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 34.52 million, followed by India with 30.36 million, Brazil 18.51 million, France 5.77 million, and Russia 5.49 million.
Scientists probe carcass of giant white whale found floating in Gulf of Thailand
Scientists probe carcass of giant white whale found floating in Gulf of Thailand
Scientists probe carcass of giant white whale found floating in Gulf of Thailand
