#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

BMA refuses to provide toilets in ‘desperate trick’ to stop Oct 14 protest

NationalOct 12. 2020

By The Nation

The authorities are allegedly trying to stop the October 14 protest by refusing to provide mobile toilets, though protesters remain unfazed and are building their own privies.

Move Forward Party MP Amarat Chokepamitkul posted messages on her Facebook page voicing concerns that mobile toilets may not be provided by the authorities, who are using this as an excuse to prevent the political gathering.

She said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) should not bow to dictatorial power and instead serve its duty to the people.

Meanwhile, protest organiser Pakorn Pornchewangkurn said in a Facebook message that his team was solving the problem by building their own mobile toilets.

He said there will be 21 toilets for people, while separate facilities will be provided for the disabled and elderly, adding that cleaning staff will be put in place to take care of hygiene.

He said the protest organisers have been preparing for a while now, as they expected such “desperate tricks” to be used against them.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Vegetable prices leap 5-10% after farms hit by flooding

NationalOct 12. 2020

By THE NATION

The price of fresh vegetables has risen sharply after weeks of flooding hit crops across the country.

Wattanasak Sur-iam, acting director of the Internal Trade Department, said on Monday that flooding in several provinces has reduced supply, resulting in price increases for vegetables with a shorter shelf life or vulnerability to damage by heavy rain.

He said several vegetables will be up to 10 per cent more expensive during the upcoming Vegetarian Festival.

“Cabbage, coriander, Chinese kale and celery are among those that will see price hikes,” he said. “We expect to see price rises of 5-10 per cent during the Vegetarian Festival next week, but the supply should be adequate as the flood situation has started to improve.

“The price of other vegetarian food ingredients, such as soybean and TVP [textured vegetable protein], is still in the same range as last year, so there should be no price hike for vegetarian foods,” he added.

“The department has asked markets and discount stores nationwide to provide low-price vegetarian dishes starting at Bt20-25 from October 14 until the festival ends on October 25, to help low-income earners who wish to participate in the festival.”

The price rises as per the department’s recent market survey are as follows: Coriander is Bt29-30 per kilo, up Bt10 from before the rainy season; Chinese kale is Bt30-35/kilo, up Bt5; Chinese mustard greens and morning glory is Bt25-30/kilo, up Bt5; and spring onions are Bt9-10/kilo, up Bt1.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

School alumni gather to pay respect to beloved late monarch

NationalOct 12. 2020Photo Credit: Nation Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha 

By The Nation

Alumni associations from Bangkok Christian College, Suankularb Wittayalai School, Assumption College and Debsirin School brought up to 800 students and school staff together on Monday morning to pay obeisance to His Majesty King Rama IX.

The event was held outside the Grand Palace on Bangkok’s Na Phra Lan Road.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Songkhla’s Kathin celebrations muted

NationalOct 12. 2020Photo Credit: Nation Photo by Charoon Thongnual 

By The Nation

Many devotees braved heavy rain on Sunday to participate in the Kathin ceremony marking the end of the three-month retreat for Buddhist monks at Wat Wang Yai in Songkhla’s Thepha district.

However, the number of attendees was low because the border between Thailand and Myanmar has been closed temporarily to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Temporary closure of the border is having an adverse impact on Songkhla’s farming industry due to the lack of workers, especially in rubber farms.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Police identify seven bodies from horror train-bus crash

NationalOct 12. 2020

By The Nation

Police have identified seven of the at least 18 people killed when a train collided with a bus in Chachoengsao province on Sunday morning.

On Monday, forensics officials at Bangkok’s Police General Hospital revealed they had identified the bodies of five Myanmar men, one Myanmar woman, plus the upper part torso of a 44-year-old Thai woman.

Relatives will verify the identity of the bodies on Monday afternoon before retrieving them for funerals. If the bodies are mutilated beyond recognition, relatives will be required to take a DNA test to confirm a match, the results of which will take 45 days.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

New mobile app gives access to universal healthcare

NationalOct 12. 2020Dr Jadet Thammathat-Aree 

By The Nation

Universal healthcare users will soon be able to access the service via a mobile app developed by the National Health Security Office (NHSO) and Krungthai Bank.

Deputy NHSO secretary-general Dr Jadet Thammathat-Aree said the Health Wallet in the Paotang smartphone app will be piloted for Gold Card holders in Bangkok from Thursday (October 15).

Jadet noted that while every Thai has the right to free medical care, they may face difficulty in accessing healthcare services at hospitals and clinics. “Therefore, we have developed this platform to help people,” he said.

“Initially, the project will focus on promoting health preventing disease, via vaccinations, screening for diseases, and providing health advice.”

He explained that people could use the Health Wallet in the Paotang smartphone app to check their eligibility, make appointments and search for clinics or hospitals. It can also be used as an alternative form of ID.

“Meanwhile, this platform will enable primary care units [hospitals, clinics] to reduce congestion and provide more effective medical treatment, resulting higher patient-satisfaction rates,” he added.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Provinces in Northeast, South in the line of fire from increased storm activity

NationalOct 12. 2020

By The Nation

Three storms could be heading Thailand’s way and nine provinces in the Northeastern region could face the direct impact, the Thai Meteorological Department has warned.

Kornrawee Sitthichivapak, the department’s deputy director-general, said that tropical storm “Linfa” covering Laos has weakened to monsoon depression which would soon reach Thailand’s Northeast, affecting Mukdahan, Roi Et, Yasothon, Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani, Sisaket, Surin, Buriram and Nakhon Ratchasima.

The monsoon trough and southwest monsoon are other factors that would increase the volume of rain in provinces in the southern region, such as Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Krabi, Phuket, Phang-nga, Satun and Trang.

Moreover, Thailand might also be confronted by a depression in the South China Sea becoming a tropical storm, while a low-pressure area near the Philippines had the potential of growing stronger.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Chulalongkorn offers free dental service on October 21

NationalOct 12. 2020

By The Nation

Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Dentistry is offering free dental treatment, including extractions, fillings and scaling, on October 21 to mark National Dental Public Health Day.

People can register for the free service online from October 14 to 18.

Free treatment will be provided to no more than 500 adults and 50 children. An additional 30 children will be treated for their baby teeth. The faculty has also set 45 as the limit for removal of wisdom teeth.

One dental treatment will be provided per patient.

Children below 12 must be accompanied by their parents. If parents are not available, the child can be accompanied by a relative armed with a signed proxy form and copy of the parents’ ID.

People below the age of 20 wanting to remove their wisdom teeth must also hold a proxy form signed by a parent and a copy of their parents’ ID.

Those interested can visit the faculty’s website or call (02) 218 8635 for more information. The proxy form can be downloaded here.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Student union reminds Thammasat of its purpose as it calls for classes to be cancelled for protest

NationalOct 12. 2020

By The Nation

The Thammasat University Student Union is demanding that all classes between October 14 and 16 be cancelled, so students can take part in the political rally on Wednesday.

The union’s Facebook page read that Thammasat has always supported political movements since it was established, and that it should no lose sight of this purpose.

Former PM Sanya Dharmasakti, then-university chancellor and dean of the Faculty of Law, had said during the October 14, 1973 uprising that: “Students have the right to voice their opinions verbally or on paper. The university will never intervene, as that will violate their rights.”

The October 14 popular uprising had successfully overthrown the unpopular government of Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn and changed the country’s political system.

In its Facebook post, the union also called on the current university management to grant students permission to rally against the establishment on Monday at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument.

“This peaceful protest will not violate the law and is within our rights according to the Constitution and international law on civil and political rights, which say that protesting is a basic right in a democracy,” the union’s Facebook page read.

Thammasat University’s direction appears to be shifting as the management decided not to allow protesters to base themselves in the Tha Prachan campus during their protest on September 19.

The university also banned student activists Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak from delivering speeches during a panel discussion of the 44th anniversary of the October 6, 1976 Thammasat University massacre.

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Commerce Ministry defends its latest economic stimulus package

NationalOct 12. 2020

By THE NATION

The Commerce Ministry provided clarifications of its new economic stimulus scheme after it was criticised by property developer Srettha Thavisin and Kasikorn Research Centre.

The new scheme, “Shop Dee Mee Kuen” (Shop and Payback), proposed to run from October 23 to December 31 was given the green light by Cabinet on Monday.

Under the scheme, people who purchase specific products that include value-added tax (excluding alcohol, tobacco, hotel accommodation and flight tickets), OTOP goods or books will be given a tax discount.

Srettha, president of property giant Sansiri, said this stimulus package will not be of much help because people are not financially liquid enough to spend money to get the payback. He also said that this scheme is not addressing the main economic problems of the country.

The Kasikorn Research Centre, meanwhile, said the scheme is only a short-term measure and will only really benefit huge businesses, not small, independent ones.

The Commerce Ministry, however, said this latest payback scheme was designed along the lines of the previously launched “Kon La Khreung” (Let’s Go Halves) scheme and the move to boost the credit limit of state welfare cards.

It said that more than Bt192 billion is being spent on these schemes, and this money will begin circulating in the economy and should boost the gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.54 per cent. The ministry also insisted these schemes were created to support more than 28 million people nationwide.

The ministry also said “Shop Dee Mee Kuen” aims to support entrepreneurs in the tax system as well as people who pay personal income tax. The scheme will promote local products and urge people to read more.