Pro-democracy protesters escaped without casualties after firecrackers were thrown at a rally in Bangkok on Monday evening.
The protesters of the Ratsadon group had gathered at the Tha Phra intersection in Bangkok Yai district on Monday evening. At 7.50pm, when the protesters were about to stand up for the national anthem while making a three-finger salute, a small explosion was heard among the rally group at the intersection, resulting in a commotion.
Some protesters ran up to the Tha Phra MRT station that overlooks the intersection, as they believed the explosive devices were thrown from there. Witnesses said they saw a man riding a motorcycle away to Wongwianyai intersection shortly after the incident, but the protesters’ security guards were unable to catch him.
A small, unexploded firecracker wrapped in plastic sheet was found at the scene. It was about the size of a candy, while the fuse had a burn mark. Officials suspect that two firecrackers were thrown, but only one exploded. There was no report of injuries.
Police, MRT staff and the security guards of the protesters are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the suspect.
The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Tuesday that a high pressure system from China covers the upper North and the Northeast of Thailand. Cool weather with isolated rain is likely in upper Thailand. The moderate monsoon trough across the lower South will bring isolated heavy rain to the South.
The department said that the category 3 tropical storm “Goni” over the middle South China Sea is expected to enter the coast of central Vietnam on November 5.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Cool weather with rain in 10 per cent of the areas; minimum temperature 21-24 degrees Celsius, maximum 32-34°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 9-14°C.
Northeast: Cool weather with strong winds; minimum temperature 21-23°C, maximum 31-33°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 12-15°C.
Central: Cool weather with thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; minimum temperature 23-25°C, maximum 32-34°C.
East: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the areas and isolated heavy rain; minimum temperature 23-26°C, maximum 32-34°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the areas and isolated heavy rain; minimum temperature 23-25°C, maximum 31-33°C; waves 1-2 metres high and two metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the areas and isolated heavy rain; minimum temperature 23-25°C, maximum 30-34°C; waves 1-2 metres high and over two metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Partly cloudy with isolated light rain; minimum temperature 25-26°C, maximum 32-34°C.
Thriving New York Times, Fox News ponder a post-Trump scenario
NationalNov 03. 2020A bartender watches the debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden at a bar in Clawson, Mich., on Oct. 22, 2020. Bloomberg photo by Emily Elconin.
By Bloomberg Gerry Smith, Kurt Wagner, Shelly Banjo
President Donald Trump has long predicted that the New York Times would go out of business and cable-news ratings would collapse if he left the political stage
.The numbers from the height of the political campaign would suggest otherwise — that, in fact, viewers and readers are ready to tune in to somebody new.
In October, former Vice President Joe Biden outdrew Trump in the ratings for their competing town-hall events. And in the past six months, articles about Biden in U.S. publications have gotten slightly higher engagement per story on social media than articles about Trump, according to NewsWhip, which tracks, among other metrics, the number of reactions, shares and comments each story receives on Facebook.
A Biden victory would hardly remove Trump from the scene. Weeks of tension between the president and his successor could make for compelling articles and good TV.
It’s when news outlets look further into the future that they start to get nervous. Year three of a Biden administration might mean relying more on political kerfuffles in Washington, and whatever crises await, than on a single man’s personality.
“With Biden you’re not going to have these wild rallies. You’re going to have speeches on budget reconciliation. I don’t think that’s going to light people’s hearts afire,” said Jim VandeHei, co-founder and CEO of the digital news startup Axios. “There’s no way you’re not going to see lower cable ratings and some reduction in traffic to websites.”
Perhaps no media company has had a better run during the Trump years than the New York Times. The breakneck pace of news — and free marketing from Trump’s “failing” label — have brought subscribers in droves. In the summer of 2015, the Times had about 1 million digital-only subscribers. It had 5.7 million at the end of this year’s second quarter.
“There’s certainly a perception within the investor community that a Biden win will result in a slowdown in New York Times subscriber growth,” said John Belton, a media analyst at Evercore ISI.
But while Trump was a big reason for the surge in Times subscriptions a few years ago, growth has accelerated recently “for reasons that go well beyond Trump,” Belton said, citing a $1-a-week promotional offer as one of the moves that has helped drive growth.
“The Times is in many ways, as a business, countercyclical to certainty in the world,” CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said at a recent investor conference. “And it is very hard to imagine that we’re moving into more certain times.”
If Trump loses, however, newspapers and magazines may shed subscribers who signed up to support media outlets that the president attacks. “The tribal representation of subscribing as political act loses some of its strength,” said Tony Haile, CEO of Scroll, a startup that sells subscriptions to an ad-free online news bundle. A Biden victory could also pose a dilemma for newsrooms. An ex-President Trump likely wouldn’t cede the spotlight, and covering his political opinions could prove irresistible to news outlets, VandeHei said.”If on one hand you’ve got Biden who is predictable and conventional and you have all these wild antics on other side, do you just ignore it or do you cover it?” he asked. “It’ll be a big test for the media.”
For cable news channels, the past four years have been a ratings bonanza, with viewership soaring to records at Fox’s Fox News, AT&T’s CNN and Comcast’s MSNBC. If Biden wins, audiences could look more like they did under his former boss, Barack Obama.
A return to a normal media landscape could benefit Fox News more than its rivals. The most-watched cable news channel’s 55% share of the cable news audience during the Obama years actually slipped to 46% during the Trump administration, according to Nielsen. Left-leaning MSNBC, meanwhile, has struggled when the news cycle this year has strayed away from politics.
Longer-term, the pandemic will likely continue to attract viewers. And Trump could still be a ratings magnet as he faces legal challenges from authorities in New York. If Trump loses, said Jon Klein, a former president of CNN/U.S., it could be “like the end of season 1 of your favorite binge-worthy drama. There’s a huge cliffhanger, but that’s just the start.”
Trump has been both a boon and a headache for social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. His posts are often some of the platforms’ most engaging, but both companies have also had to change policies to combat his public declarations, which can be misleading or in violation of their rules.
Facebook and Twitter’s policing of Trump’s posts has been a point of contention in Washington, with Republicans saying their approach shows bias. A Biden victory could make it easier for Facebook and Twitter to enforce their own rules without having the president at the middle of most debates.
A Biden presidency might also alleviate internal tension among Facebook and Twitter staff. Hundreds of Facebook employees held a virtual walkout in June, for example, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg refused to remove a Trump post suggesting that police would use violence against protesters in Minneapolis.
As Trump’s online platform of choice, Twitter may have the most to lose by a Biden win. But the company points more to live events like the Olympics or political debates as catalysts for growth, and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal downplayed the idea that Trump’s presence on the service helps keep users engaged.
“There are lot of people who use Twitter a lot,” he told Bloomberg Television’s Emily Chang on Friday. “Politics Twitter is great, but politics Twitter is a small fraction of what happens on the service.”
Even if he loses, it seems unlikely Trump would abandon the unparalleled reach of Facebook or Twitter.
A Biden presidency may temper political posts on TikTok, the music-video app that became a home for activist clips during the pandemic — and found itself in the Trump administration’s crosshairs. While many supporters of Biden are on the app, Trump is talked about more there. Posts with #Trump2020 hashtags have 13.9 billion views on TikTok, compared with 4.7 billion views for posts with #Biden2020.
Court rejects police plea to keep Arnon, Ekkachai and 2 others in jail
NationalNov 02. 2020From left; Ekachai, Arnon, Somyod and Suranat.
By The Nation
The Criminal Court on Monday dismissed a police request to extend the detention period for protest leaders Somyod Pruksakasemsuk, Ekkachai Hongkangwan, Suranat Paenprasert and Arnon Nampa, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Somyod and Arnon, a human rights lawyer, are facing charges stemming from their participation in the rally at Thammasat University on September 19-20.
Ekachai and Suranat are charged with attempting to harm HM the Queen’s liberty by allegedly obstructing the royal motorcade as its passed a group of protesters on Phitsanulok Road on October 16.
The Pathumwan Municipal Court has rejected police plea for an arrest warrant against Panasaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul in relation to political assemblies held at Pathumwan Skywalk on June 5 and 22.
The first gathering was held to demand answers and justice for Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a Thai political exile who was snatched off a Phnom Penh street on June 2. The second rally was held two days before the 88th anniversary of the June 24, 1932 declaration of the end of absolute monarchy in Thailand by Khana Ratsadon (People’s Party).
The court justified its decision by saying Panasaya is a student with a fixed address. Moreover, she will not escape or tamper with evidence or commit dangerous acts that will require detention.
Meanwhile Pathumwan Municipal Court refused a police request to detain Panupong “Mike Ranong” Jadnok, who was charged over his role in protesting the Prime Minister on July 15 in Rayong province.
The court said Panupong could neither flee nor tamper with evidence since he was currently in hospital, adding that the investigation could continue without him being detained.
The MG auto brand will set up more than 400 charging stations for electric vehicles across Thailand next year – but has scrapped plans to install them at 7-Eleven stores.
MG Sales (Thailand) said that 100 charging stations will be ready nationwide this year, mostly at MG service centres. Another 400 will be constructed in 2021, located at filling stations, department stores, and shops.
However, MG said it would not be installing stations at 7-Elevens, despite the fact that both the auto brand and the convenience stores share the same parent company – Charoen Pokphand Group.
MG said “technical problems” prevented installation at 7-Elevens.
Prayut and Cabinet check tourism preparations on Samui
NationalNov 02. 2020Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister, visited Sheraton Samui Resort Hotel to check the Alternative Local State Quarantine (ALSQ) for foreign tourists.
By The Nation
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha led a Cabinet visit to the tourism hotspot of Koh Samui on Monday, to check preparations for the return of foreign visitors.
After landing at Koh Samui International Airport, the PM and his ministers inspected the Covid-19 screening checkpoints and told staff to be prepared for more tourist arrivals.
Prayut and his Cabinet also visited the Sheraton Samui Resort Hotel in Bo Phut to check the Alternative Local State Quarantine (ALSQ) for foreign tourists.
Foreigners must complete the mandatory 14-day ALSQ at one of eight hotels on Samui. If they then test negative for the virus, they can travel to various locations on the island, wearing an electronic wristband to monitor their movements. Any found to be infected with Covid-19 will be transferred for treatment.
The other ALSQ hotels are the Melia, Outrigger, Koh Samui Beach Resort, Baan Hin Sai Resort & Spa, Banyan tree, Impiana resort, and Aura Samui Best Beach Hotel.
The PM and his Cabinet also checked Samui’s Smart City Command Centre, which monitors safety for locals and tourists via 1,014 closed-circuit cameras located around the island. It also operates 26 free WiFi points that offer the SAFE T (SAFE-Travel) tourism information app.
The PM said he appreciated the efforts of staff at the Smart City Command Centre in taking care of the safety and health of citizens and tourists on Koh Samui.
The Cabinet will move on to Phuket on Tuesday, where it will hold its weekly meeting at the Splash Beach Resort.
The Senate’s Committee on Social Development and Children, Youth, Women, the Elderly, Disabled and Underprivileged Affairs has proposed that government agencies rehire retired civil servants so Thailand has an efficient ageing society.
“The hiring can begin once the Covid-19 situation improves,” a Senate source said. “Priority should be given to sectors that lack experienced candidates. Also contracts that have expired upon the signatory’s retirement can be extended or new ones can be signed on a work-from-home basis.
“Retired civil servants can also be hired to provide training in their area of expertise to government officials or even private company staff,” the source added.
The committee believes that employing retirees will not only help strengthen the government’s workforce, but will also help maintain the stability of the Government Pension Fund.
The committee is also calling on the authorities to consider reforming the pension system for local administration organisations, as retirees are left financially unstable because their pension is paid based on revenue earned by each organisation.
The Meteorological Department announced on Monday that super typhoon Goni will bring more rain and strong winds to the North on Wednesday and Thursday, and warned residents to beware of flash floods.
The typhoon has moved from the Philippines to the South China Sea, with its highest wind speed at around 65 kilometres an hour.
“It is expected to weaken before landing in central Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday, which will bring more rain and strong winds in the North,” the department said.
People have been warned to be ready for flash floods and monitor the department’s announcements.
Visit the department’s website or call the 1182 hotline for more information.
A bartender watches the debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden at a bar in Clawson, Mich., on Oct. 22, 2020. Bloomberg photo by Emily Elconin. 
From left; Ekachai, Arnon, Somyod and Suranat. 
Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister, visited Sheraton Samui Resort Hotel to check the Alternative Local State Quarantine (ALSQ) for foreign tourists. 
