Ubon beauty Arisara crowned this year’s ‘Original’ Miss Tiffany
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
Ubon Ratchathani’s Arisara “Kwang” Kankla was crowned this year’s “Miss Tiffany: The Original” at a gala celebration on Sunday.
The extravaganza was held at Tiffany Show Pattaya in Chonburi and also saw the transgender beauty winning in the “Best of Tiffany’s Fashion Shoot” and “Miss Photogenic” categories.
Apart from the million-baht crown designed by God Diamonds, Arisara also won an MG ZS Limited Edition car, 300,000 baht in cash and a gift voucher from Pratunam Polyclinic among other goodies.
Though the 21-year-old is a trained nursing assistant, she also enjoys traditional and contemporary dance and co-owns a cosmetic surgery business. She also spends her free time working as a volunteer at M Plus Foundation to boost awareness of preventing Aids.
The two runners-up were Napichaya “Namfah” Pimpru and Nattaphat “Earth” Waichana.
E-sport a gamechanger for Thailand’s digital economy: Democrats’ Madame Dear
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
E-sport is not just a leisure pursuit but also a big opportunity to boost Thailand’s digital economy, Democrat Party member Watanya Bunnag said on Sunday.
However, the main obstacle to Thai e-sport development is the lack of government support, she added.
Watanya, also known as “Madame Dear”, was speaking at a seminar titled “E-sport: More Than Just a Game” organised by the Democrat Party’s Bangkok strategy committee at Siam Square.
Many people assume e-sport is just a hobby and are not aware it has a big role to play in Thailand’s digital expansion, she said.
“The main question is what the government can do to make e-sport more than just a sport,” she said.
Watanya noted that other countries are paying serious attention to electronic sport as an economic driver, adding that South Korea has a plan to promote e-sport as soft power.
Experts had demonstrated how e-sport can be used to grow economies, but Thailand was still lagging compared with other countries, she said.
Rathanon Phalanon, founder and director of e-sport agency Invate, agreed that many people fail to see the economic value and potential of e-sports.
Pointing to lucrative rewards from the fast-growing gaming industry and player income, he urged the government and other sectors to promote e-sport in Thailand.
National Basketball League (Thailand) CEO Payu Nerngchamnong said Thailand was a world leader in adopting e-sport, which he defined as a bridge to boost business.
Thailand is the biggest video-game market in Southeast Asia, worth US$1.24 billion (47.48 billion baht) last year. That figure is forecast to rise to $1.4 billion (53.53 billion baht) this year.
The country recognised e-sports as professional sport last year.
SF woos movie buffs with popcorn feast at CentralWorld today
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
Popcorn and movie-lovers on Monday are queuing up at SF World Cinema CentralWorld with their container of choice for the “Bring Any Container for 199 baht of Popcorn” event.
The one-day offer, hosted by SF Group at CentralWorld shopping centre in Bangkok’s Pathumwan district, is available only on November 28 from 11am.
Customers who have registered can bring any container to fill up as much as they can of the theatre’s popcorn for 199 baht, plus a refillable serving of Coca-Cola.
Containers of choice for most customers are oversized water buckets, while others select multi-purpose plastic containers with wheels for easy movement.
Just last month, the “Popcorn Beast” campaign by Lotte Cinema theatre in Vietnam went viral and became popular on the internet. Customers brought unusual containers, such as water buckets and rice cookers, to get free popcorn for a limited time.
Thailand clamps down on smoking in Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
Cannabis shops have been warned not to use Thai traditional doctors to get around the ban on recreational smoking inside stores.
The Public Health Ministry issued the warning on Sunday after cannabis shops on Bangkok’s Khaosan Road hired traditional doctors to staff their Amsterdam-style weed cafes.
The ministry has struggled to prevent rampant recreational use of the herb after cannabis shops sprang up across the capital following legalisation earlier this year.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said cannabis businesses should not seek loopholes to the ban on smoking in stores.
“The ministry did not campaign for people to use cannabis for recreation, so they cannot smoke the decriminalised herb in stores,” he said on Sunday. He added that the use of cannabis will be regulated by law.
Cannabis can however be smoked in stores if they have permission to operate as medical facilities, according to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine.
Department director-general Thongchai Lertvilairattanapong said his staff will conduct random surveys of stores where cannabis is being sold in the next two weeks to ensure compliance with this rule.
Decriminalisation of the herb occurred in a legal vacuum that has left shops and users uncertain of their rights. Consumption of cannabis in public remains banned.
Meanwhile, legislation to control cannabis use and trade is pending, though some MPs and doctors want legalisation to be revoked.
#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.
E-cigs can help you quit smoking? Fake news, says Thailand
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry says reports that electronic cigarettes can help you quit smoking are fake news and should not be taken seriously.
In the ministry’s fake news weekly update on Sunday, spokesperson Noppawan Huajaiman said reports and posts about e-cigarettes were among the top 10 fake news items it detected between November 18 and 24.
“Several research studies have concluded that using e-cigarettes still increases the risk of diseases caused by smoking normal cigarettes,” Noppawan said.
US and UK health authorities, however, have found evidence that e-cigarettes can be useful in helping smokers to quit the habit.
The ministry’s anti-fake news centre said it monitored 5.18 million online posts and messages during the week and detected that 225 were spreading fake news on 100 topics. The majority of the fake-news topics (64) were related to government policies, it said. Notably, three of the topics were scare stories about Covid-19 after the recent rise in infection rate.
The top 10 fake news items circulating from November 18-24 according to the ministry:
1. E-cigarettes can help you quit smoking.
2. Antiparasitic drug Ivermectin can treat Covid-19.
3. Lime juice can be used to treat kidney disease.
4. The Labour Ministry is hiring people to work from home.
5. A weed called Ya Khai Hao (Mollugo pentaphylla) can treat all kinds of cancer.
6. Others can know your bank account balance from your mobile phone number used to register with Promptpay.
7. The Stemonaceae plant, which is used to make traditional Thai insecticide and anti-parasite concoctions, can cure cancer.
8. Parents of children under six can register to receive a government subsidy of 1,400 baht per month.
9. Eating vitamin-C along with shrimps will immediately kill you.
10. E85 gasohol can remove black spots on your skin.
Phuket medical tourism hub at stake when host of ‘Specialised Expo’ picked Monday
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Phuket’s future as a global medical tourism destination will be at stake on Monday when the host country of the “Specialised Expo 2028” is announced. Thailand and four other countries, the US, Spain, Serbia and Argentina, have submitted proposals to organise the international expo.
“The proposed 22.56 hectare site on Mai Khao Beach at the northern tip of Phuket island encompasses a sandy white beach, lush green forests, and exotic wetlands. It is part of a wider area reserved for the ‘Phuket World Medical Tourism City’ project, which was initiated to transform Phuket into a world-class centre for medical tourism and holistic healing,” reads Thailand’s proposal.
Thailand’s proposal to host the expo in Phuket will be broadcast on the Facebook page at 10pm.
Vachira Phuket Hospital in Thalang district will be the proposed venue under the theme “Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity”.
The government is vying to host the expo in line with its 20-year national development strategy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“This expo will generate revenue, create jobs and maintain the balance between social, economic and environmental development, the Southern MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) page said.
“Apart from promoting Phuket as a medical tourism destination, this expo will also prove that Phuket is ready to organise other big events,” it added.
Macro-textured breast implants banned in Thailand as of Friday
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Thailand’s ban on the manufacturing and import of macro-textured breast implants went into effect immediately after the Public Health Ministry’s directive was published in the Royal Gazette.
The directive, signed by Deputy Public Health Minister Satit Pitutecha on October 20, was published on Friday.
The directive says that macro-textured breast implants are banned because they may cause implant-related anaplastic large cell lymphoma – a rare form of cancer.
A macro-textured implant has a textured, irregularly shaped surface and when it is implanted in the human body, it adheres to the surrounding breast tissue, which makes it very stable. This helps ensure that the implant stays precisely where the surgeon put it.
The ban covers macro-textured silicone implants that have an average surface roughness larger than 50 microns.
Last year, the Thai Food and Drug Administration and the Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery recalled macro-textured silicone implants after they were found to be associated with 800 breast cancer patients across the world.
Thai police nab 653 on Saturday for World Cup gambling
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Police officers in charge of cracking down on World Cup-related gambling announced on Sunday that 653 suspects were arrested this weekend alone.
The suspects had placed a total of 111,000 baht on wager.
The arrests were announced by Pol Lt-General Phanurat Lakboon, who oversees the centre in charge of preventing and suppressing gambling on World Cup matches.
He said on Saturday, six bookmakers and 614 gamblers were arrested for offline gambling, while 33 were arrested for betting online.
The centre has been on the lookout for people placing bets on World Cup matches since November 19, one day before the tournament kicked off last Sunday. Since last Saturday, 3,179 suspects have been arrested for placing bets worth a total of 1.08 million baht. Those arrested include 70 bookmakers and 13 representatives.
Chula expert slams deal to hand Thailand’s World Cup rights to True
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
A Chulalongkorn University academic has questioned why the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) handed control over the country’s World Cup broadcasting rights to True Corp.
Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, an associate professor at CU’s Political Science Faculty, complained after a court ordered AIS Playbox to stop broadcasting the quadrennial football tournament on Friday. The court order came after True filed a court for an injunction to protect its exclusive rights to broadcast 32 of the 64 World Cup matches.
True insists it owns exclusive rights to broadcast those matches, including the final, on internet and OTT (over the top) platforms. It said other operators in Thailand can broadcast the matches on terrestrial TV, pay cable and satellite TV platforms.
Siripan noted that SAT was approved by Fifa as the World Cup broadcast licence-holder for Thailand.
She added that SAT had received 600 million baht of public money from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to purchase the rights to ensure that all Thais can watch the World Cup via all channels.
“The question is why SAT allowed True, which contributed 300 million baht, to decide on World Cup broadcasting,” she said.
She also demanded that SAT reveal details of the contract and clarify the issue.
“The 600 million baht [from NBTC] belonged to the country and its people, so this issue should be transparent,” she added.
The NBTC’s 600 million baht was topped up by private corporations to meet the purchase price for World Cup broadcast rights of 1.4 billion baht.
True contributed 300 million baht, PTT 100 million baht, and Thai Beverage 100 million baht. True then reportedly did a deal with SAT for exclusive rights to broadcast half of the matches on OTT and internet platforms.
Tom yum or somtam? Which do you think is most Thai?
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Tom yum koong (spicy shrimp soup) topped the list in a recent survey when respondents were asked to name the dish that best reflects Thailand’s “food identity”.
The Suan Dusit Poll was conducted between November 19 and 24 on 1,044 respondents, who were allowed to choose more than one answer.
Here are some of the questions, and the answers:
• What dish signifies Thai cuisine?
57.65%: Tom yum koong (spicy shrimp soup)
33.17%: Phad thai (stir-fried rice noodles)
23.89%: Somtam (spicy green papaya salad)
22.11%: Kaeng khiao waan (green curry)
13.23%: Massaman curry
• What makes Thai cuisine so different?
83.96%: Precise recipes
81.17%: Rich and nutritious
75.98%: Local wisdom
• How difficult is it to cook Thai food?
90.75%: Difficulty in replicating the taste
74.95%: Difficulty in replicating quality
68.02%: Few people keeping old traditions alive
• What can be done to maintain the identity of Thai cuisine?
88.85%: Should be promoted as soft power
82.5%: Boost awareness among the young
77.31%: Campaign for all Thais to keep old cooking traditions alive
• Who should be responsible for maintaining Thai cuisine’s identity?
70%: All Thais
65.38%: Culture Ministry
63.37%: The older generation
• Do you think the Apec Summit last week helped promote Thai cuisine internationally?
51.44%: Moderately
29.7%: A lot
Akkarapol Waichiangkha, a home economics lecturer at Suan Dusit University, said the history of Thai cuisine should also be told when it is being promoted via various channels, especially online.
Also, he said, all sectors should join hands when it comes to promoting Thai food, especially traditional dishes and old recipes.
Kanchana Fuengsri, another home economics lecturer at Suan Dusit University, said Thai cuisine varies vastly. For instance, the same dish can taste different in different parts of the country, the recipes can differ as can ingredients and cooking methods.
She too believes building an awareness of the history of Thai cuisine and its various benefits are key to preserving the identity of Thai cuisine.