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Phitsanulok health officials monitoring 4 high-risk individuals after domestic Covid-19 case (nationthailand.com)

Phitsanulok health officials monitoring 4 high-risk individuals after domestic Covid-19 case

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

Phitsanulok public health officials are closely monitoring four people at high risk of contracting Covid-19 after the four had come into contact with a recent domestic case.Dr Sophon Iamsirithaworn from the Department of Disease Control said on Wednesday that a total six cases were detected among those who sneaked into Thailand from Myanmar via Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.Among the infected cases is a woman aged 25, who took a flight from Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok to Phitsanulok Airport and was later found infected in Phichit province.Provincial Governor Ronnachai Chitwiset said the flight she took was AirAsia FD3306. This 5.15pm flight on November 28 had 120 passengers and a crew of nine.According to a report, 20 passengers are said to be at high risk – four live in Phitsanulok while the remaining 16 are from other provinces. Health officials said the other 100 passengers were treated as low-risk cases.Ronnachai said the high-risk cases in Phitsanulok are under close watch. Authorities have also contacted all low-risk persons.The province has urged people to make sure they protect themselves from Covid-19 after the infected case was confirmed.The provincial airport was sterilised on Wednesday.

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Baht strengthens a tad (nationthailand.com)

Baht strengthens a tad

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

The baht opened at 30.21 to the US dollar on Thursday, strengthening from 30.25 at close on Wednesday.The Thai currency is likely to move between 30.10 and 30.30, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.On the Wednesday night, the S&P 500 Index increased by 0.2 per cent due to strong performance by energy stocks, after the price of WTI crude oil rose by 1.4 per cent.Meanwhile, the Stoxx 600 Index decreased by 0.1 per cent after sales of some profitable stocks, which grew last month.Moreover, the US ADP report said employment in private organisations in November rose by 307,000 positions, but this showed that companies are still concerned about the economic situation next year. However, most firms believed the US government would launch a stimulus package by the end of this year, the report added.In the financial market, the dollar weakened by 0.1 per cent, while the US Ten-Year Treasury yield rose by 2.5 basis points to 0.95 per cent, the highest so far this week.Jitipol said most currency investors decided to hold main currencies, such as the Japanese yen, Australian dollar or Swiss franc.In Thailand, the baht continued to move in a narrow range. Investors are watching the direction of the currency exchange policy as well as capital flows, he added.

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Investigation into possible corruption at THAI reveals 20 suspects (nationthailand.com)

Investigation into possible corruption at THAI reveals 20 suspects

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

An investigation into corruption at Thai Airways International (THAI), which started in August, has revealed that 20 people were involved in possible graft that resulted in massive losses to the airline, said Pol Lt-General Saroj Nimjaroen, deputy head of the commission probing internal administration at THAI.

The commission will meet with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on December 14 to provide additional information regarding the investigation into the possible corruption, he said.

“We had earlier submitted investigation details to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Finance Ministry, which is THAI’s major shareholder, and the NACC president, who subsequently contacted Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam to submit additional documents relating to the investigation,” Saroj said.

“The investigation has so far revealed that there are 20 persons who were involved in corruption at THAI in six different aspects. For example, the commission found that the mechanics department had disbursed more than Bt6 million to 567 staff as overtime pay for 1,500 hours [of extra work] per year,” he said. “This will require further investigation into the reason and necessity of disbursing such a large amount as overtime pay.”

Saroj also said that in the meeting with the NACC on December 14, he would submit the list of persons suspected of being involved in corruption at THAI, as well as a record of complaints that have been filed in court or at related agencies regarding the suspected misconduct of the 20.

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Anti-Fake News Centre has taken legal action against 61 offenders in past year (nationthailand.com)

Anti-Fake News Centre has taken legal action against 61 offenders in past year

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry’s Anti-Fake News Centre, which was established on November 1, 2019, has so far investigated 660 cases of fake news and pursued legal action against 61 offenders in 26 cases, deputy permanent-secretary Putchapong Nodthaisong said.

“Twenty-one offenders in 14 cases involve the violation of the computer-related Crime Act, while 40 offenders in 12 cases are to do with violation of the State of Emergency,” he said.

“We have also publicised 96 cases to educate the public and warn them not to believe fake news,” Putchapong said.

“In the past 11 months, the centre has made 20 arrests among 104 posters of fake news online. The trend shows that the number of fake news posters has gradually declined, thanks to strict law enforcement.”

Since its establishment, the centre has also organised three seminars to increase public awareness on how to deal with fake news.

“The seminars have involved the public and related agencies, and are especially helpful to parents who need to screen unsuitable content that their children may gain access to via online channels,” Putchapong said.

“The Centre has suggested various steps to screen fake news, which include reading the whole article and not just the headline, checking the credibility of the URL, checking sources and reference data used by the author, and cross-checking with other news outlets,” he added.

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Mobile phone charges outside promotional rates must not exceed Bt1.60 per minute (nationthailand.com)

Mobile phone charges outside promotional rates must not exceed Bt1.60 per minute

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

The Royal Gazette website on Wednesday published an announcement by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) that the maximum rate charged for domestic mobile telephone services, among other things, must not exceed Bt1.60 per minute outside sales promotion rates provided by operators, while mobile Internet charges should not be more than Bt0.9 per megabyte.

The announcement, signed by NBTC chairman Sukit Khamasundara, stipulated that mobile phone services outside promotional rates must not exceed the following rates:

– Voice services: Bt1.6 per minute

– Short message service (SMS): Bt2.5 per message

– Multimedia messaging service (MMS): Bt4.5 per message

– Mobile Internet: Bt0.9 per megabyte

The above rates however do not include value added tax.

The announcement takes effect retroactively on November 25. Operators who have set fees outside promotional rates at higher than the rate stipulated in this announcement prior to the date of effect may continue using their rates until contracts expire, but must not exceed 270 days from the effective date.

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State welfare card holders to get Bt500 more for another 3 months (nationthailand.com)

State welfare card holders to get Bt500 more for another 3 months

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

Holders of state welfare cards will receive an additional Bt500 per month for three more months starting next year in a bid to ease the cost of living for low-income earners.

A Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday approved the motion to extend the scheme providing Bt500 per month to state welfare card holders from January to March 2021.

“Normally holders of state welfare cards receive Bt200-Bt300 per month depending on their monthly income,” the CESA said.

“On September 29, the Cabinet approved adding Bt500 per month to this subsidy to help ease the cost of living during this economic recession. Therefore, those who used to receive Bt200 will get Bt700, while those who received Bt300 will get Bt800 per month.”

The October-December scheme has a budget of Bt21 billion.

“The extension of the measure for three months is expected to help more than 14 million state welfare card holders who have been affected by the Covid-19 situation and will help them buy consumer products that are a necessity,” the CESA added.

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Cool to cold weather forecast for upper Thailand, isolated heavy rain in South (nationthailand.com)

Cool to cold weather forecast for upper Thailand, isolated heavy rain in South

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

Get your coats or jackets ready if you’re living in upper Thailand. The region will experience cool to cold weather with strong winds and a 1-3-degree-Celsius drop in temperature especially on Friday as a strong high-pressure system from China blows across to Thailand, the Meteorological Department forecast on Thursday.

A strong northeast monsoon prevailing over the Gulf and the South will bring heavy to very heavy rain in the area on Thursday, the department said, warning people in the lower South to beware of severe conditions that may cause flash floods and water runoff.

The department also said waves in the Gulf and the Andaman Sea are likely to be about 2 metres high and above 3 metres during thundershowers. It advised all ships to proceed with caution and keep away from thundershower areas, while small boats should stay ashore until December 4.

Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cool to cold weather and isolated light rain; temperature lows of 13-22 degrees and highs of 29-33 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 7-14 degrees Celsius.

Northeast: Cool to cold weather with strong wind; temperature lows of 15-22 degrees and highs of 29-32 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 8-15 degrees Celsius.

Central: Cool weather with strong winds; temperature lows of 21-23 degrees, highs of 30-32 degrees Celsius.

East: Mostly cloudy with strong wind; temperature lows of 20-24 degrees, highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres off shore.

South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area and isolated heavy to very heavy rain; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 26-33 degrees Celsius; waves 2 metres high and over 3 metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area and isolated heavy to very heavy rain; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 25-28 degrees Celsius; waves 2 metres high and over 2 metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cool weather in the morning with strong winds; temperature lows of 22-23 degrees, highs of 30-34 degrees Celsius.

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Five pets, a wild bird found dead near rubbish tip in Udon Thani (nationthailand.com)

Five pets, a wild bird found dead near rubbish tip in Udon Thani

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

The bodies of four dogs, a cat and a wild bird were found near a rubbish bin in Udon Thani’s Muang district on Wednesday morning.The dogs and cat were pets, and initial inspection showed they had been poisoned. It is believed that the killer must have mixed poison in food and left it near the bin.Locals told police that a man, with his face covered by a helmet, was seen riding a motorbike around in their community on Tuesday. Residents also said that they heard the sound of dogs howling for several hours and now believe that those were howls of pain.

Wang Khuntiam, 75, the owner of one of the dead dogs and the cat, said something similar had happened in his community last year.“A robber tried to break into a house in the midst of festivities, and four or five dogs were found dead. However, since nothing was stolen, we decided not to file a police case,” he said.

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Bangkok Bank opens online gold-trading platform (nationthailand.com)

Bangkok Bank opens online gold-trading platform

NationalDec 03. 2020

By THE NATION

Bangkok Bank (BBL) has joined hands with Hua Seng Heng Group to open an online gold trading service.The Hua Seng Heng USD Gold Trade platform enables customers to use their foreign currency deposit (FCD) accounts to trade in gold at the US dollar price, said BBL senior executive Chansak Fuangfu on Wednesday.“Those interested can open an FCD account at any of BBL’s 45 branches,” he said, adding that applications will be made available at more branches if the platform proves popular.Thanarat Pasawong, CEO of Huang Seng Heng Group, said that online gold trading had grown sharply by 6 per cent this year despite Covid-19’s impact on the global economy.The minimum trade on the platform was just $1, he said.Thanarat estimated the gold price at the end of this year will hit $1,800 per ounce, while the price in 2021 would move between $1,750 and $2,000 per ounce.

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Govt lines up 343 projects, ‘mini FTAs’ to boost exports next year (nationthailand.com)

Govt lines up 343 projects, ‘mini FTAs’ to boost exports next year

NationalDec 03. 2020

By The Nation

The Commerce Ministry will deploy a total of 343 projects to promote exports next year, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Wednesday.

Of the total, 135 projects will operate in Thailand and 208 overseas. The latter include an online export negotiation and promotion of Thai products via platforms including Amazon, Lotte, Tmall, BigBasket and Kha-Leang.

Jurin said Thailand will also accelerate negotiations on international trade agreements to lower barriers for Thai exports.

“The ministry has finished studying the Thailand-European Union Free Trade Agreement [FTA] and is still studying FTAs with the United Kingdom, Eurasia and Asean Free Trade Area [AFTA], as well as the Asean-Canada FTA,” he said.

Meanwhile, “mini FTAs” which the ministry and private sector will negotiate with provinces, states or cities will enable Thai entrepreneurs to expand trading and investment.

“We will sign mini FTA agreements with three cities, namely China’s Hainan, India’s Telangana and South Korea’s Gyeonggi soon.”

Jurin said the country’s export sector was recovering gradually after falling sharply in the second quarter due to the Covid-19 outbreak. He expected Thai exports to drop by 7 per cent this year but rise by 4 per cent next year.

“The ministry is cooperating with both government and private sectors to promote the exports,” he said, adding that Thailand was the first country in the world to introduce hybrid trading.

Meanwhile the ministry was working to solve problems of border trade and container shortages as soon as possible.

“The second Covid-19 outbreak caused border trade with Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia in October to contract 40 per cent, 21 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively,” he added.