The Foundation for Consumers (FFC) and 37 other consumer organisations have filed a lawsuit against the Trade Competition Commission (TCC) for giving the go-ahead to the CP-Tesco merger.
The foundation said this merger will allow the Charoen Pokphand Group to hold an 83.97 per cent market share of Thailand’s wholesale and retail sector, and essentially stifle small businesses.
FFC slammed TCC for not listening to stakeholders before allowing the merger as is required by the 2017 Trade Competition Act.
The Trade Competition Act aims to prevent any particular operator from holding more than 50 per cent of the market share in any sector.
It also pointed out that some members of the subcommittee that approved the merger had close ties with the CP Group, which is in violation of the Information Act.
FFC also warned that this merger will only encourage other big players in the energy, telecom or entertainment sector to seek similar deals to dominate the market.
Huawei has introduced a new smart modular data centre solution for small and edge computing scenarios, including three products – FusionModule500, FusionModule800, and FusionModule2000 – designed for different industrial needs.
Promising to “Make Any Room a Data Centre”, the recent online launch event gathered together Information and Communications Technology (ICT) thought leaders and key partners from across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
In his opening remarks, Brandon Wu, chief technology officer at Huawei’s Asia Pacific Enterprise Business Unit, emphasised the need to ensure enhanced resiliency across all industries, given the impact of the global pandemic.
Wu explored the key trends emerging in edge computing, namely better connected infrastructure, increased resiliency through the use of edge computing, and enhanced reliability through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Market predictions suggest that 75 per cent of all data generated by enterprises will be processed at the edge within four years.
Demand for real-time interactions is driving businesses to bring computing power closer to end-users. As a result, small and edge data centres are making appearances in several industries and scenarios:
Retail: Small and edge data centres can exist within retail outlets as retailers close the gap between online and offline sales.
Manufacturing: Edge data centres deployed in distribution warehouses are capable of managing growing volumes of inventory and shipping data; in factories, such data centres manage data generated from sensors as well as communications between equipment, contributing to a growing industrial internet of things (IIoT).
Telecoms: Central offices of telco companies are being converted to computing rooms and used as edge data centres to make networks more dynamic.
Mahesh Choudhary, solution architect for the Huawei Digital Power Line, launched the new solution directly from the Huawei Digital Power Innovation Experience Centre, offering a real-life demonstration for event attendees.
Changing the game with SmartLi inside – Huawei’s smart lithium battery Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) – now any room can be made into a data centre.
Indeed, with far lower requirements placed on ceiling height, the Huawei Modular Data Centre Solution has no need for a traditional raised floor design.
Instead, air conditioner pipes and strong- and weak-current cables are routed from top-down, meaning that equipment can be accommodated in ceiling heights as low as 2.6 metres, far below the 3 metres minimum height required for a traditional data centre.
FusionModule2000 supports a single row design, with the flexible configuration of cold and hot aisle containment and simplified architecture reducing delivery time by 50 per cent compared to traditional alternatives.
FusionModule800 supports pre-integrated rack-mounted cooling and a UPS system, offering on-site installation in just four hours and service rollout in a mere two days.
FusionModule500 offers a highly integrated, one cabinet-one data centre design, requiring only a two-hour installation time, with business effectively brought online in just four hours.
At the Smart Modular Data Centre Product Launch, Huawei’s partner – NetCraft Information Technology (Macau) Co Ltd – shared its experiences cooperating with Huawei. Benjiman Wong, the company’s sales director, said: “With the Huawei Modular Data Centre Solution, all required components are modular.
An easy way for customers to understand this solution is to consider that each component is like a building block: you can build up your castle by adding different blocks together, so you can add more blocks in the future when needed.”
Stated simply, Huawei’s Smart Modular Data Centre Solution is designed as an ideal choice for small and edge data centres.
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has extended proactive Covid-19 testing for people who live near six markets in Bangkok’s Bang Khae district, after a cluster of 96 infections was discovered at one of the markets last week.
The move covers Sirisetthanont Market, Bang Khae Shopping Centre Market, Kitti Market, Phasom Market, Bang Khae New Market, and Wonder Market.
Local residents and anyone who visited the markets between February 20 and March 13 can now get a free test until March 26 from the mobile testing units stationed at the public park near The Mall Bang Khae, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Monday. The extension of testing is aimed at relieving congestion at the mobile units.
Aswin said locals should also fill in the Covid-19 risk assessment form at the bkkcovid19.bangkok.go.th website.
Last week, the BMA found 96 positive cases among 2,335 people tested at Bang Kae’s Wonder Market from March 7-13.
Another 1,711 people tested at markets nearby were also awaiting results.
“The markets will be closed for three days [March 16-18]. We may extend the closure of markets if many infections are found during the proactive tests,” Aswin added.
Bang Khae district officials will disinfect the six markets on Tuesday.
Authorities also urged anyone who visited the markets between February 20 and March 13 to visit their nearest hospital for a test or contact the Bangkok Health Office hotline at (02) 203 2393 and (02) 203 2396.
Detained pro-democracy leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak declared a hunger strike on Monday, as the trial of 22 activists got underway at the Bangkok Criminal Court.
Parit, 22, is among seven defendants being held in custody after bail release was denied. He said he would not eat until the court grants him temporary release in line with his basic rights. Meanwhile, the court granted permission for three other detained Ratsadon activists – Panupong “Mike” Jadnok, Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa, and Piyarat “Toto” Chongthep – to be moved from Thonburi Remand Prison to Bangkok Remand Prison in Chatuchak district as per their lawyer’s request.
“The court’s decision takes effect immediately, so the three will be transported to the new location today,” said Krisadang Nutjaras, a lawyer from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights Centre.
The defendants face charges ranging from sedition to lese majeste for their roles in anti-establishment rallies held at several locations last year.
The court also set a date of April 19 to examine the evidence in Parit’s case. He is charged with sedition over his role in a rally at Democracy Monument on July 18 last year.
A team of police officers and rescue workers managed to coax a 53-year-old woman to come down from the Khao Yai overpass in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district in the early hours of Monday.
The officials rushed to the scene after being informed that someone was planning to jump off the bridge and spent about half an hour persuading her to come down.
The woman said she wanted to kill herself because of problems at work and at home but thanked the officials for motivating her to face challenges.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and other members of the Cabinet will receive the AstraZeneca jab on Tuesday morning, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed on Monday.
Yong Poovorawan, chief of Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, will personally administer the shot to Prayut.
The inoculation drive, to be conducted at the Santi Maitree building in Government House, will be broadcast live via the Thai Khu Fa Facebook page.
The shots are being delivered at Government House to avoid overcrowding at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute.
Adrenaline shots have been prepared and an ambulance will be on standby for transfer to Rajavithi Hospital in case any of the ministers have severe side-effects.
Bang Khae cluster of infections linked to four other provinces
NationalMar 15. 2021Apisamai Srirangsan reports at CCSA daily press conference on March 15
By The Nation
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said on Monday that 995 people underwent swab tests in six markets of Bangkok’s Bang Khae district, of whom 107 tested positive.
CCSA spokesperson Apisamai Srirangsan said 2,772 have also been tested using the pooled saliva method and suspected cases will be confirmed via swab tests again.
Location of markets in Bang Khae district where new cluster was found
The virus has spread to at least four provinces from the new cluster of infections in a Bang Khae market. Five cases in Suphanburi, three in Nakhon Pathom, six in Phetchaburi and one in Samut Sakhon are believed to have originated from Bang Khae. It is suspected that the virus was carried by tradesmen who bought products from Bang Khae to sell in their own provinces.
An inspection of the Wonder Market in Bang Khae, conducted on Sunday by the Department of Disease Control (DDC), showed it may have been the source of the new wave of infections as the first case was found there.
A 21-year-old owner of four chicken and egg shops in Wonder Market is believed to have spread the infection. As chief of the rotating savings and credit association in the market, his job is to walk around collecting money from different vendors. His symptoms surfaced on March 1 when he developed a fever and lost his sense of smell and taste. He then went to the hospital on March 5, where he tested positive.
DDC also found that six markets located next to each other had many entrances and people going in and out were not checked. These markets were packed with vendors and customers, especially Wonder Market which had more than 1,200 people milling around. Apart from crowds, the virus also spread easily due to poor airflow and low panels between stalls.
Most of the workers at the markets are migrants who have ignored preventive measures and have continued shouting at each other, chewing betel and wearing their masks incorrectly.
Wonder Market was also found to have not set up a registration system, so it is difficult to report how many people were present each day.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ordered the closure of Wonder Market on March 7 for a big clean. Free virus tests are being offered at the market from Monday until the situation gets better.
Six cute cats are among assets up for auction after being confiscated from a suspected drugs gang.
On Monday, drug suppression police raided a residence in Rayong’s Klaeng district and arrested the occupant, Tathep Arun, on suspicion of belonging to a drug network run by “Kook Rayong” Soradet Sonsiri. Soradet is already in custody.
Police said Tathep laundered money and took care of financial transactions for the network.
The Kook Rayong network was a large drugs gang working in the eastern region.
Total assets confiscated today were worth over Bt35 million.
Officials identified the cats’ owner as Soradet’s wife, Achara Namnil, who is still on the run. The cute creatures had been left at the residence for around two months.
The cats will be checked by the Department of Livestock Development before being auctioned along with other confiscated assets.
“The owner is allowed to contact us about her cats despite being a suspect,” the police said.
Ban Bang Khae Social Welfare Development Centre for Older Persons (Ban Bang Khae) shut its doors to visitors on Monday in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The move was in response to the discovery of several asymptomatic cases in a market nearby.
Suchitra Pitayanoraset, director-general of the Department of Older Persons, said she has instructed Kanokwan Luangmongkollert, who oversees the old-age home, to raise awareness among the elderly and officials on measures to contain the spread of the virus.
“People who have visited risky areas must observe their symptoms, create a timeline and take a Covid-19 test,” Suchitra said.
“Preventive measures include refraining from outdoor activities, undergoing cleaning operations, maintaining distance from others, washing hands and wearing facemasks.”
She added that so far nobody at Ban Bang Khae has tested positive.
“However, the centre and related agencies will monitor the situation closely to deal with future situations,” she added.
The father of a student at the Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School in Nonthaburi has sworn to fight tooth and nail against charges he claims are completely false.
Last week, Santi Khanpiriyaanan was handcuffed for allegedly violating the Computer Crime Act as per charges filed by the school.
Last year, the Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School made the headlines when CCTV footage of young student being abused went viral. The most horrendous clip was that of a teacher banging a 3-year-old kindergartner’s head on her desks, pushing her to the ground and twisting the ears until she screamed in pain.
Though Santi’s daughter was not one of the victims, he often criticised and questioned the school’s standards on the parent association’s Facebook page.
He now faces charges of posting false information on the page.
On Monday morning, Santi and his lawyer Ronnarong Kaewpetch, visited Central Investigation Bureau in Nonthaburi’s Pak Kret district indicating that he was serious about fighting back.
He said the arrest itself was suspicious because he had not received a summons as is the norm, and believes the school called in favours from some influential persons.
He added that the school had also tried to expel his daughter after he raised questions about the school’s operations on Facebook last year.
Apisamai Srirangsan reports at CCSA daily press conference on March 15
