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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021163

Bangkok to compete with HK, S’pore in move to become MICE destination

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is working with the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce to promote the capital as a regional economic and investment hub, aiming to compete with Hong Kong and Singapore as the preferred meeting and seminar destination.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Tuesday after a meeting with Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Narongsak Puttapornmongkol that the BMA is ready to work with the chamber to attract foreign organisers to hold their events in Bangkok.

“Becoming a meeting and seminar destination will revive investors’ confidence in Bangkok as the economic hub in the region, and consequentially attract foreign investment to Thailand,” he said.

“By working with private entrepreneurs, the BMA is confident we can upgrade our facilities to international standards to compete with Hong Kong and Singapore.”

Chadchart pointed out that his policy has always focused on making Bangkok a “livable city”, with emphasis being placed on solving immediate problems such as flooding, and stimulating the economy in the post-Covid era.

The governor said the BMA had been facilitating business operations for foreign entrepreneurs and investors by speeding up the registration process of foreign businesses and coordinating with foreign chambers of commerce in sourcing English-speaking personnel to work in these foreign companies.

“With the newly renovated Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre that features more than 300,000 square metres of usable space, we hope Bangkok will attract global event organisers to hold their activities here,” Chadchart said. “Furthermore, we have another world-class venue – at Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi, just a short drive from Bangkok. The city is also full of business hotels and office spaces to fully accommodate foreign business travellers,” he noted.

The BMA and the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce is holding separate meetings on Wednesday for entrepreneurs in target industries such as MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), jewellery, creative products and hotels at Thai CC Tower in Sathorn district.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021157

Krungthep Bridge opens to accommodate luxury yacht, causing heavy traffic jams

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022

Rama III Road and nearby sois witnessed heavy traffic congestion after Krungthep Bridge was opened to allow a tall yacht to pass on Tuesday afternoon.

The large luxury vessel was seen sailing past the opened bridge before traffic movement could return to normal.

Krungthep Bridge is a bascule one spanning the Chao Phraya River, connecting Thonburi to Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district. Built in 1952, it is claimed to be the only functional drawbridge left in Southeast Asia.

The bridge takes roughly 20 minutes to open using the main mechanism powered by electricity. It also has a backup engine-powered mechanism, but this takes around 30 minutes to complete the task.

If all else fails, the bridge can be opened manually using a worm drive, which takes at least an hour.

Krungthep Bridge opens a few times each month to accommodate large ships, mostly Royal Thai Navy vessels, on the way to the shipyard at Bangkok Dock Company (1957), a state enterprise specialising in ship repairs and maintenance.

The Department of Rural Roads has had to close roads to traffic to perform maintenance on the bridge from time to time due to its old age to make sure its mechanisms still work.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021156

Their Majesties make merit in Royal Kathin ceremonies

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022

His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana on Tuesday performed religious ceremonies to make merit and present robes to monks in the Royal Kathin ceremonies marking the end of Buddhist Lent.

The ceremonies were held at Wat Ratchabophit and Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho) in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district.

Accompanying Their Majesties was Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya.

Meanwhile, Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, Princess Rajasarinisiribajra, performed the duty of commander of the Royal King’s Guard to welcome and see the departure of Their Majesties at Wat Phra Chetuphon.

Thais celebrate Kathin, or Thod Kathin, ceremony on the day after the 11th full moon, marking the end of the monks’ retreat during Buddhist lent. Villagers head to local temples for prayers and paying respect, and offer new saffron robes to the monks. The presentation of robes by the King or his representative is called The Royal Kathin Ceremony and often has been an occasion for one of Thailand’s Royal Barge Processions.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/pr-news/thailand/general/40021155

Chula research team develops nano-vaccine option for fish

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022

A lecturer and his research team from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Chulalongkorn University have developed “Flavo Innovac” nano-vaccine for the prevention of bacterial gills diseases in freshwater fish species, such as Tilapia and freshwater Asian sea bass. This nano-vaccine is an effective solution that reduces the risk of death from diseases and avoids the limitations of vaccine injections.

Tilapia and Asian sea bass are the economically important fish species in the market but raising them to be healthy is a painstaking task, especially when faced with the possibility of disease outbreaks such as infections from Flavobacterium commonly found in raising water environments.

The problem worsens with the over-crowding of fish in ponds and other risk factors that promotes the spread of bacteria resulting in gills disease. The disease can cause massive mortality of fish.

For this reason, Associate Professor Dr Channarong Rodkhum has formed a collaborative effort with a research team from the Center of Excellence in Fish Infectious Diseases (CE FID) and Aqua Innovac Co. Ltd. to develop “FLAVO INNOVAC” the world’s first inactivated Flavobacterium nanovaccine.

“Normally fish farming or aquatic industries do experience diseases and infections. Overcrowding, bad environments and water quality, increase of organic substances or changes in water temperatures can weaken the fish making them susceptible to diseases. Flavobacterium spp. is the causative agent that attacks fish and causes gills and skin infections leading to as high as up to 100 % mortality rates, especially among the juvenile stage of fish that are still weak and cannot specifically protect themselves from Flavobacterium spp. infections. This can be prevented by administering a vaccine for these fish.” Channarong Rodkhum explained.
 
Why Needle-Free Vaccinations?  
When people think of vaccines, they immediately think of needles or injections. Vaccine injection in fish is, however, different from humans in terms of the process, expenses, limitations, and the risk of using needles.  

Associate Professor Dr Channarong Rodkhum

Channarong enumerated more on the process saying “We aren’t able to inject a fish directly as it will start moving which causes fish stress. Injecting a fish means, therefore, that the fish first needs to be made unconscious by way of soaking it in a sedative agent for a while, after that fish will be injected one by one by an expert.  The process also involves transferring the vaccinated fish into the pond.  All of this increases the costs and labour consumed.”  

“Vaccine injection in fish also involves the risk of infections at injection sites.  Another limitation is that we are unable to inject very small fish.”  

Therefore, the needle–free AQUA INNOVAC is an alternative to injections with needles.  It can effectively stimulate the specific immune responses of the fish at a lower cost and enable vaccination of a mass population of fish at one time (up to many thousands or millions).   

“Fish farmers can prepare FLAVO INNOVAC vaccination easily by themselves. The fish need to be immersed in water mixed with the vaccine for approximately 20-30 min in the proportions determined on the labels. During that time, the fish need to be given oxygen for the entire time.  After receiving the vaccine, the fish can be released into the ponds right away.  The nano vaccine is produced from the strain of Flavobacterium spp. locally isolated here in Thailand and is therefore very effective in the prevention of diseases occurred by a local strain of Flavobacterium spp.”
 
Vaccine delivery via Nanotechnology 
Aside from being Thailand’s first Flavobacterium nanovaccine for fish, “FLAVO INNOVAC” is also the world’s first inactivated Flavobacterium nanovaccine against bacterial gills disease caused by Flavobacterium infection, that makes use of nanotechnology for its delivery.

“Nanotechnology helps encapsulate the vaccine antigens.  When the fish is soaked in the nanovaccine which has positive charge, the vaccine can attach itself to the negative charge of fish mucous membranes.  The organic nanoparticles will then release antigens that help stimulate the immunity of the fish continuously.  Once those antigens have all been released the organic nanoparticles will gradually decompose within a short time, and without leaving the residues.  This makes it safe for the fish, the environment and also the consumers.”

Effects of FLAVO INNOVAC tested in field research
FLAVO INNOVAC is currently undergoing field clinical trials along with the assessment of marketing results.  Reactions from those farmers who have experienced the project have been largely positive.  

“The vaccine is able to prevent infections at a time span of 2-3 months from the farming cycle of 6-9 months.  That may seem a rather short period, but the first trimester is when fish are rather small and highly susceptible to infections.  Boosting their immunity is, therefore, a crucial factor to ensure their survival to the next phase where they will develop greater resistance to the infections.”

Prevention of disease outbreaks is the most important task
Channarong stressed the importance of health examinations for the fish before they are released into the pond.  Administering vaccines to the fish while they are still small can also reduce losses during the early phase making it possible for them to survive until reach marketing size and can be sold to the markets.   
“Other than vaccinating the fish, another important aspect involves sending a sample group of fish to the laboratory for disease screening.  This service is available at AQUA INNOVAC Co., Ltd., Faculty of Veterinary Science as well as the Department of Fisheries. The disease screening will help determine whether the fish might have been infected prior to being vaccinated. If fish have some infections prior to being vaccinated, it can be the cause of failure for the vaccination”. 

The development of FLAVO INNOVAC has received support from various sectors such as Chulalongkorn University, the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), as well as the Chulalongkorn University Technology Center (CU UTC) for the spinoff company’s incubation.  The research team plans to develop a booster vaccine that can be mixed with fish feed that will be easier and more convenient to administer.   

Aside from the FLAVO INNOVAC vaccine innovation, AQUA INNOVAC Co., Ltd. also plans to develop another kind of vaccine for the prevention of other primary diseases which affect fish cultivation as well as other innovations which will be useful for aquatic animal health.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021152

Amcham welcomes new US ambassador to Thailand at AGM, names board for 2023

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022

The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (Amcham) welcomed the new US Ambassador to Thailand, Robert Godec, to the chamber’s annual general meeting (AGM) on October 17 at the Shangri-La Bangkok.

Amcham also announced its incoming board of governors for 2023, which includes an unprecedented seven women governors. “This board of governors is Amcham’s most diverse board yet, equally balanced between men and women of various nationalities, with representation from both US and Thai companies, including both MNCs and SMEs. We are proud to have leadership which is so representative of Thailand’s international business community and our membership,” Amcham executive director Heidi Gallant said.

Amcham‘s board for 2023 includes newly elected governors Wiyada Srinaganand of 3M, Jamie Brennan of Amazon Global Selling, and Tanapot Parksuwan of Citibank, as well as returning board governors Ornkanya Pibuldham of Bank of America, Arpaporn (Gift) Samabhandhu of Johnson & Johnson, Aileen Chew of Mastercard, Chatit Huayhongtong of Chevron, Charles Blocker of IC Partners, Deborah Seifert of Pfizer Thailand, Eliot Delunas of Nitro Labs, Jeffrey Nygaard of Seagate Technology, John Evans of Tractus, Kaveepan Eiamsakulrat of The KE Group, and Rachel Davidson of the Hilton and DoubleTree Sukhumvit.

During the fireside chat, Amcham president Jeffrey Nygaard and Ambassador Godec engaged with Amcham members on a dialogue to foster the US-Thai trade and investment relationship.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021139

Select Bangkokians can ride Pink, Yellow monorail lines for free from December

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022

The Rail Transport Department (RTD) has announced it will start offering free rides on a section of the Pink and Yellow monorail lines in December.

Pichet Kunadhamraks, RTD director-general, said the Yellow Line will be open partially from Samrong to Pavana station, while the Pink Line will start running from Minburi to Government Complex station.

He said free rides will only be provided to those who register in advance, adding that interested schools, universities, agencies and companies as well as individuals can contact the department to register.

The free rides will be available until February, after which fares will be charged, he said.

He added the fares will be calculated based on the consumer price index, adding that a rough calculation last month saw the rates to be around 15 to 45 baht based on the distance. Pichet said RTD has yet to decide on whether it should come up with special rates for students and the elderly or offer monthly promotions.

Pichet said he has spoken to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority and the two concessionaires – Eastern Bangkok Monorail and Northern Bangkok Monorail – and they have agreed to speed up the construction so partial test rides can start in December.

He added that the concessionaires were also asked to install ticket reading machines that support Europay, Mastercard and Visa as well as the existing Rabbit cards that are already being used on the Skytrain and BRT buses.

The MRT Pink Line is an elevated monorail that runs between Bangkok and Nonthaburi. The line will be 34.5 kilometres long and will have 30 stations from Khae Rai in Nonthaburi to Minburi in Bangkok.

The MRT Yellow Line, also elevated, links the capital with Samut Prakan province. This line will be 30.4km and will have 23 stations from Lat Phrao to Samrong.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021135

High honour for Thai doctor who spent 30 years treating poor patients with ear infections abroad

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022

An ENT specialist from Rajvithi Hospital, Soontorn Antarasena, will receive a diplomacy award from the Foreign Ministry for his devotion to treating ear infections of more than 70,000 underprivileged people in 10 foreign countries for over 30 years.

The Foreign Ministry and Thailand Foundation announced that Soontorn, from the Department of Otolaryngology, Rajvithi Hospital, would be the first Thai to receive the Public Diplomacy Award.

The award ceremony will be held at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

The foundation announced that Soontorn was chosen for the honour because of his devotion to helping poor people who suffered ear infections in over 80 cities in 10 countries over the past 30 years.

The foundation said Soontorn and his team of voluntary doctors have treated acute otitis media, a painful ear infection, in over 70,000 underprivileged people in 10 countries — Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, southern China, India, Kenya, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and East Timor.

It is not the first time Soontorn would be receiving a prestigious award. In 1996, he was honoured with “Distinguished Award for Humanitarian Efforts” from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He also received the National Award for his distinguished achievements in developing quality of life in 2002.

Soontorn recounted that he was motivated to help the underprivileged who suffered from ear infections over 40 years ago when he returned to Thailand and found that the Kingdom had very few otolaryngologists.

“When I returned to Thailand, the country had fewer than 20 otolaryngologists, very few indeed, while a lot of people suffered from acute otitis media.

“So I invited friends to form a small group of volunteer doctors and we used our own money to treat people in the provinces.”

Soontorn said he and his friends treated the poor with ear infections in Thailand for over 10 years before he started going out to help the poor in foreign countries.

His first trip was to Kunming in China. His team then visited Myanmar and Cambodia to treat ear infections.

“We have been doing it for over 30 years. We focus on treating the poor in Thailand’s neighbouring countries to boost ties between Thailand and those countries,” Soontorn said.

He recounted that his team had encountered a lot of obstacles in foreign countries, especially restrictions on importing medical tools and medicines.

Before each trip, Soontorn and his wife would visit and survey the destination to prepare everything — from accommodation to surgery room, food and interpreters.

He said the host countries would announce a month ahead of the visit for its citizens to avail of free treatments for ear infections.

Soontorn recounted that on the first treatment day, over 1,000 patients would wait in line and many would even faint, as some of them had to walk across mountains to the venue.

Several times, his team met with obstacles, including road accidents, landslides and floods. Once, a doctor in the team became ill and needed intravenous feed.

He explained that acute otitis media was caused by chronic flu symptoms that resulted in congested air passage between the ear canal and throat, causing the middle ear canal to trap liquid that eventually damaged the eardrum.

He said if the infection spreads to the brain, the patient could die.

Of the many memorable cases, he said he was moved by the case of a young girl in Bhutan who became suicidal because of her condition.

“The girl, who rarely heard any sound, came for a check-up. She was depressed because her friends rarely talked to her. After our team gave her a hearing aid, she could hear more clearly and she shed tears of joy. She hugged our doctors and said that she had once thought about committing suicide because of her condition. When we saw a patient get a better quality of life, our team quickly got over the tiredness and carried on working,” Soontorn recounted.

The doctor added that next year, he would lead his team to treat the poor in Victoria Point in southern Myanmar, Santikhiri village in Cambodia, and a Laotian town near Uttaradit province of Thailand.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021134

Master complainer Srisuwan gets a kick and a punch for latest complaint

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022

A supporter of the red-shirt anti-government group launched a physical assault on political activist Srisuwan Janya as he tried to file yet another complaint at the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) on Tuesday.

Srisuwan, who has been dubbed Thailand’s master complainer, was filing a complaint against comedian Udom “Nose” Taepanich for his recent stand-up comedy performance called “Deaw 13”.

His claim is that in the show, which reached the No 1 position in Netflix’s “Top 10 TV Shows in Thailand Today”, Udom promotes illegal gatherings that can undermine the government’s stability as well as affect public order and good morals.

Srisuwan, who leads the Society for Defence of Thai Constitutions, also claimed the show violated the criminal code as well as the 2007 Computer Crimes Act.

While Srisuwan was being interviewed by the press on Tuesday morning, a man identified as Veeravit Rungruengsiripol barged in and punched the activist in his face and head. A fight pursued between the two causing a commotion that lasted several minutes before reporters and police officers broke them up.

Veeravit, 62, who is a designer by profession but also an active red-shirt protester, was acquitted by court in June for violating the Covid-19 related emergency decree by joining an anti-government rally at Victory Monument in October 2020.

The red-shirt movement, called the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, was formed to fight against the military-led putsch that deposed then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The movement subsequently expanded to include various groups with diverse political priorities.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021133

Volunteers rescue 50 wild boars from flooded Ang Thong temple

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022

Rescuers on Monday night plucked about 50 wild boars to safety after they became trapped in a flooded Ang Thong temple about 100 kilometres north of Bangkok.

Wat Sai in Muang district reached out to the Poh Teck Tung Foundation after surging floodwater collapsed the temple’s wall and inundated its compound.

A temple official said the wild boars were donated by worshippers and were being raised in a pen.

The official said the water rose so fast that temple workers had no time to evacuate the boars.

Ang Thong is among downstream provinces flooded after the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat increased its discharge rate amid weeks of heavy rain in the North.

On Tuesday, the dam was discharging 2,969 cubic metres of water per second.

Officials reported that the Chao Phraya and tributaries have overflowed and flooded five Ang Thong districts – Chaiyo, Muang, Pa Mok, Pho Thong and Wiset Chaicharn. A total of 11,415 houses in 230 Ang Thong villages have been flooded so far.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40021131

Ayutthaya river overflows, washing away road and flooding 3 districts

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022

Ayutthaya has launched a disaster relief mission after the overflowing Noi River destroyed a road and left three districts flooded on Monday night.

A section of embankment road along the Jao Jed-Bang Yihon canal in Sena district collapsed as a torrent of floodwater flowed into Sena, Bang Sai and Lad Bua Luang districts.

The strong current eroded soil around a large underground drainage pipe, causing the road to collapse, said Nopporn Lorliam, head of Moo 7 village in Tambon Rang Jorake where the road is located.

Fortunately, villagers monitoring the situation managed to drive their vehicles to safety before the road collapsed, the chief said.

Provincial Electricity Authority workers rushed to cut electricity to power poles in flooded areas to protect residents from electrocution.

Nopporn said the water flooded parts of tambons Rang Jorake, Bang Pho and Sena in Sena district and Jao Jed and other tambons in Bang Sai and Lad Bua Luang districts.

The flood also entered Sena Hospital, which is located near the canal.

On Tuesday, Ayutthaya governor Niwat Rungsakhon led a rescue team comprised of Sena district chief Amornrat Kruengkrai, local Royal Irrigation Department (RID) heavy machinery chief Anek Kansangworn and other officials.

Niwat said his administration was working with the RID to relieve the crisis as quickly as possible. He said floodwater was gushing into the canal from the river at a rate of 90 cubic metres per second.

On Sunday, authorities reported that 14 of Ayutthaya’s 16 districts remain flooded.