The man who faces charges for allegedly defaming PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s twin daughters insists he is innocent as he does not own a Twitter account and could not have posted the comment.
On March 20, a Twitter user had allegedly posted a comment calling on people to “rape Prayut’s daughters” before removing it.
Investigators later traced the alleged comment to a man and summoned him to Bangkok’s Nang Lerng Police Station. The man, however, has been insisting he is innocent and is saying he does not own the Twitter account that carries his profile picture.
He claims the photograph was stolen from his Facebook page, which he insists is his only social media account.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Monday reported 39 new cases, 11 of whom are returnees in quarantine facilities.
Meanwhile, 16 of the patients had been exposed to the virus while visiting high-risk areas. Bangkok topped the list with nine cases, followed by five in Samut Sakhon and one each in Kalasin and Maha Sarakham.
This is the first case in Kalasin after several months, CCSA spokesperson Apisamai Srirangsan said. The infection had been brought to Kalasin by a woman who visited a friend in the Bangkok hotspot in Bang Khae district on March 22.
Proactive testing led to the discovery of 12 cases, six of which were in Bangkok, five in Samut Sakhon and one in Ratchaburi.
Of the overseas travellers found positive, six are Thai returnees, three Indians, one Russian and one German national.
Meanwhile, 74 patients have recovered and been discharged.
As of Monday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 28,773. Of these, 25,715 infections had been contracted locally, including 16,052 who were found via proactive testing, while 3,058 were returnees. So far, 27,313 have recovered and been discharged, 1,366 are still being treated, while the death toll remains unchanged at 94.
According to Worldometer, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 127.78 million (up by 486,724) as of 10am on Monday. Of these, 102.97 million have recovered, 22.01 million are active cases (93,634 in severe condition) and 2.8 million have died (up by 6,799).
Thailand ranks 116th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 30.96 million, followed by Brazil 12.53 million, India 12 million, Russia 4.54 million and France 4.52 million.
Nearly 3,000 villagers from Myanmar’s Karen state escaped to Thailand on Sunday and have been given shelter in refugee camps in Mae Hong Son.
Myanmar military launched airstrikes on Sunday evening in several areas, including a displacement camp on the Thai border, killing at least two soldiers from the Karen National Union (KNU) and wounding several others.
This is the first air attack since KNU signed a ceasefire agreement in 2015. Tensions in Myanmar have surged after the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government on February 1.
Sithichai Jindaluang, Mae Hong Son governor, said more people will seek refuge as the conflict in Myanmar worsens. He said he is waiting for the government to issue clear instructions on how they can be helped.
He said a temporary camp has been set up in Mae Hong Son’s Khun Yuam district to accommodate the refugees.
Local administration sources in Mae Sariang district, meanwhile, have said that there are no exact details on how many refugees have shown up because the area is overseen by the military and other agencies are prohibited access.
The governor of Phuket held an urgent meeting on Sunday with agencies and community leaders to discuss the allocation of the Covid-19 vaccine, urging all Phuket residents to prepare for the inoculation and sign up on the health officer website.
The meeting set the goal of vaccinating 100,000 people in April before the opening of the province on July 1, according to plans for accepting vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine.
Governor Narong Woonclew said that 300,000 doses of vaccine would arrive in May according to the government’s promise, 200,000 in June, and 260,000 in July, totalling 920,000 doses. He urged local people to quickly register for vaccination within five days, before March 31. If the number of vaccinated people did not reach at least 50,000, it might affect vaccine procurement plan in the future, he said.
The baht opened at 31.12 to the US dollar on Monday, weakening from its close of 31.10 on Friday.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 30.85 and 31.30 this week and between 31.10 and 31.20 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
The baht in the short term will move in line with the dollar. The US economic recovery has strengthened the dollar, while Europe is battling a new wave of Covid-19.
Poon advised investors to monitor funds flowing into the stock market.
He predicted that the baht would tend to weaken from April to the middle of May, adding that the Thai currency would strengthen at the end of this year.
Krungthai Bank announced on Sunday via its Facebook “Krungthai Care” page that its Pathumwan branch in Bangkok will be closed on Monday for disinfection, as a staffer who works there had tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday.
“The staffer is a price estimation supervisor working on the fourth floor of the building,” said the bank. “He had displayed symptoms since March 25 and was tested on Sunday. The result came back positive for Covid-19.”
The bank added that four other staffers who had close contact with him, had also been tested and were told to stay in self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
“During the closure, the bank will perform deep cleaning and disinfection throughout the branch following the guidelines from Ministry of Public Health. We have already reported the situation to the ministry and the Bank of Thailand,” it added.
The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Monday that a heat low covers upper Thailand leading to a hot to very hot day with haze in the North and the Central regions.
Meanwhile, the southerly and southeasterly winds bring humidity from the Gulf and the South China Sea to cover the lower North, the Northeast, the Central and the East regions, resulting in thundershowers and gusty winds in the areas.
People in upper Thailand should beware of the severe conditions, it warned.
The department also said that the easterly winds prevailing over the Gulf and the South would bring isolated heavy rains to the lower South.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot to very hot day with haze,; thundershowers and gusty winds in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 20-29 degrees Celsius, highs of 37-41°C.
Northeast: Hot day with haze; thundershowers and gusty winds in 30 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 23-27°C, highs of 37-39°C.
Central: Hot to very hot day with haze; thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 24-27°C, highs of 38-40°C.
East: Hot day with haze, thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 26-29°C, highs of 32-39°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas and heavy rains in some areas; temperature lows of 24-25°C, highs of 32-35°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 23-28°C, highs of 33-37°C; waves less than a metre high and a metre during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Hot day with haze; temperature lows of 27-28°C, highs of 34-39°C.
A Phalang Pracharat Party-list MP, Wathanya Wong-ophasi, and rapper Aphisit “Joey Boy” Ophas-iamlikhit on Sunday led a group of skaters in Thai traditional costumes in cruising around the Rattanakosin Island in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district.
The event was called “Rattanakosurf” and was organised by the Ministry of Culture in association with Joey Boy’s Facebook group for skating and skateboarding enthusiasts. It aimed to promote Thai arts and culture as well as skating and skateboarding sports along the historic route around the Rattanakosin Island of more than four kilometres.
Over 300 singers, actors and general public joined in the event in their Thai traditional costumes and skates of choice.
As the event was shared via social media, some netizens questioned the legality of the event, especially regarding the violation of the Communicable Disease Control Act.
Wathanya reportedly responded that she had requested the permission from Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration as well as coordinated with related authorities to provide police officers, traffic volunteers and three ambulances to ensure the safety of all participants.
“Some participants took their face masks off while skating or when taking photos, but after they reached the destination or finished their shot, they put their masks back on,” she said.
“Besides, skating is a non-contact sport played in open areas, which is already in line with the social distancing practice.”
PTT has joined hands with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) — the producer of Murban crude — and eight of the world’s largest energy companies and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to launch ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD).
The official opening ceremony of IFAD is scheduled for March 29. Auttapol Rerkpiboon, president and chief executive officer of PTT Pcl and other co-founders will join the event.
PTT’s senior executive vice president, International Trading Business Unit, Disathat Panyarachun said that by foreseeing the benefits of being a co-founder, not just a player in the market, TBU decided to establish PTT MEA Ltd (PTT MEA) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which is 100 per cent owned by PTT International Trading Pte. Ltd. (PTTT).
The company, registered on February 21, will be a shareholder of IFAD and represent PTT Group’s trading hub in the Middle East, he said.
By connecting Asia, Europe and Africa, insightful market information will be delivered to PTT networks while trading flows can be expanded.
IFAD will be home to the world’s first Murban Crude Futures Contract, where Murban crude is desired by more than 60 refineries in Asia, offering transparent and market-driven pricing for the first time.
By establishing a secondary market and offering inter-commodity spreads, not only a differential to other global crude benchmarks such as ICE BRENT and WTI, but also a differential between Murban crude and petroleum products, participants will have more options to manage risk and clear trades, he said.
ICE Murban Futures traded at IFAD will be cleared at ICE Clear Europe, a leading energy clearing house, and will clear alongside global oil benchmarks ICE Brent, which has daily tradable volume around 1 trillion barrels per day.
As PTT Group refineries imports crude oil for approximately 20 per cent of production capacity from the United Arab Emirates, participation in the IFAD will help provide security of supply for the nation as well as enhance PTT Group’s efficiency to manage risks and strengthen its competitiveness in the international markets, Disathat said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), which celebrates its 60th year, has enhanced the standard of training to members of the Regional Centres of Excellence (RTCE), with the ICAO Trainair Plus programme since March 19.
An agency under the Ministry of Transport, it is the only aviation specialist institute in Thailand that has been certified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The programme is certified in two areas of expertise: air navigation services and flight safety.
Thailand is regarded as one of 21 RTCE members worldwide, or one of six aviation training institutions from five countries in the Asia-Pacific region who is a member of the RTCE level together with China, India, South Korea and Singapore.
