Saraburi Hospital director Dr Anan Kamolnate has confirmed that the hospital got hacked via ransomware, a type of cryptovirology malware, in which the hackers threatened to publish personal data unless they were paid a certain amount.
However, he said reports that hackers demanded 200,000 bitcoins were false as nobody had contacted the hospital for that.
Saraburi Hospital said on its Facebook page: “Due to a computer system failure, it impossible to use various systems. The hospital is currently working on an urgent solution, so we ask for patience of all clients who arrive for treatment. Please bring a certificate of treatment or a copy of a [payment] slip [if any], your identity card, drug allergy card, and the last drugs received until the hospital fixes the computer system.”
The hospital hasn’t backed up files for a long time, risking the loss of most of its patients’ data.
NationalSep 09. 2020Photo Credit: Nation Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha
By The Nation
Hundreds of students filed a complaint today (September 9) with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) about being deceived by a Chainat Technological College advertisement on starting vocational courses outside Chainat province.
The National Reform Steering Committee on Law and Justice Reform’s Songkran Artchariyasarp, who led a group of students in filing the complaint, said the college had advertised courses via computer and the Line application, adding that registrants were told to pay Bt40,000 each to take the course.
“The college decided to go out of business and denied taking responsibility for any damages that occur to students who registered for their courses,” he claimed.
DSI director-general Pol Lt-Colonel Korrawat Panprapakorn and representatives from the Justice and Education ministries received the complaint.
The Thai currency would move between 31.33 and 31.53 today, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, head of markets strategy at SCB Securities.
Yesterday, the S&P 500 decreased by 2.78 per cent, while the Stoxx Europe 600 was down by 1.15 per cent. Tech stocks saw intensified trading as investors looked to gain high value.
At the same time, the WTI crude oil price decreased by 7.3 per cent, due to market concern over oil use in the future.
Jitipol said the stock market’s “risk off” state pressured the US Ten-Year treasury yield by 5.6 basis points to 0.66 per cent.
Also, the dollar strengthened by 0.3 per cent, compared to other currencies. The Australia and New Zealand dollars decreased by 0.6 and 0.9 per cent, respectively.
In Thailand, the strategist said, the baht moved in a narrow range despite being traded by foreign investors. In the short term, he predicted, the change in stock markets would weaken the baht, in line with other Asian currencies.
However, he added that the falling oil price would ease pressure on imports and help improve the country’s balance of payments.
The Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECi) project is 45 per cent complete and will be ready for operation by June 2021, EECi director Jengrit Khanatharana, who is also the National Science and Technology Development Agency deputy director, said.
The project area will cover 3,454 rai in Rayong.
“In the first phase of the EECi, we will focus on establishing model biorefineries that will turn agricultural produce and leftovers into biofuel and bio-plastic palettes, an important raw material for many bioproducts,” he said.
“We expect the bio-refinery to help reduce reliance on petrochemical materials and reduce the environmental impact due to the increasing use of bioproducts,” Jengrit said.
“Biorefineries will revolutionise Thailand’s industrial sector for the second time after the first 30 years ago, when we started a petrochemical industry in the Eastern region, which resulted in significantly lower prices of petrochemical products that we used to import,” he said.
“The EECi project is expected to yield similar results. It will enable Thailand to produce a new type of biochemical to serve the needs of several industries and drive us to become a bioindustry leader in the future.”
Jengrit said there will be two biorefineries, a GMP certified one and a non-GMP one.
“The GMP certified refinery will manufacture biochemicals that are used by the food, drug and cosmetic sectors, while the non-GMP refinery will manufacture biochemicals that have no direct contact with the human body,” he said. “When complete, the project’s biorefineries will be the most state-of-the-art in Asean, as currently only Malaysia has a biorefinery that processes oil palm, while our refineries can process all kinds of agricultural produce.
“The EECi’s model biorefineries are developed under cooperation with a partner in Belgium, which has expertise in the biorefinery field, and are expected to be operational by March-May 2021. They are also in compliance with the government’s BCG economy policy, which includes a bioeconomy, circular economy, and green economy,” he added.
Alcohol sales via electronic channels will be prohibited, the Royal Gazette announced on its website yesterday (September 8).
The announcement, signed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, stated that due to the popularity of e-commerce, some entrepreneurs opted to sell alcoholic beverages via electronic channels, making it difficult to control the date, time, venue and target groups buying alcohol to be in compliance with the legal limit as stated in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act BE 2551.
Therefore, the prime minister, after getting advice from the National Alcoholic Beverage Policy Committee, announced that sales or “other actions” related to the selling of alcoholic beverages via electronic channels will be prohibited. This includes direct selling, persuading, introducing the product or related services via electronic channels that enable sellers and consumers to complete a sale without physically meeting.
This prohibition does not include the selling and paying for alcoholic beverages via electronic methods at stores, restaurants or establishments that serve alcohol.
The ban will take effect within 90 days of being announced in the Royal Gazette.
Continuous showers are expected across the country with isolated heavy rain in all regions, the Thailand Meteorological Department forecast today (September 9), as a moderate monsoon trough lies across the North and the upper Northeast, while the southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea and Thailand.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-27 degrees and highs of 30-35 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees and highs of 30-34 degrees Celsius.
Central: Cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.
East: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees, highs of 32-34 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 31-33 degree Celsius; waves a metre high and 2 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 25-26 degrees, highs of 33-36 degrees Celsius.
Phuket Airport held a dress rehearsal on Tuesday (September 8) on dealing with international tourists as per the government’s “Phuket Model” programme.
The rehearsal covered every step, starting from the arrival of tourists and screening them, to filling documents and delivering tourists to the quarantine facility.
Thanee Chuangchoo, the airport’s general manager, said the exercise was held in collaboration with other agencies including Customs, Immigration Bureau and Tourist Police. He added that the airport wants to be ready in case the government decides to allow foreigners to land in Thailand.
He said the operation at Phuket Airport will be similar to the operation at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi, where Thai returnees and foreign expats are allowed to land.
Dr Darunee Budin, Phuket Airport’s medical director, said all arrivals will first be checked using a thermoscan. If there is any sign of fever or if the tourist is suspected to be ill, their medical certificate and fit-to-fly papers will be closely inspected.
She added that all foreigners will be told to download the Airports of Thailand (AOT) application before they undergo the immigration and customs formalities. They will then be transferred to their quarantine facilities.
However, if anyone is found to have a temperature, they will be isolated from others and monitored. If their condition worsens, they will be sent to hospital.
She added that those who do not have the correct documents will be sent back to their country right away.
Two of Thailand’s largest asset managers are advising clients to buy US technology stocks on the Nasdaq Composite index despite recent volatility.
The Nasdaq fluctuated sharply last week after mass selloffs of FAAMG stocks – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet (Google) – triggered after their prices rose in a range of 22 to 84 per cent.
The selloffs prompted investors to ask whether US tech stocks were worth purchasing at their currently high prices.
Krungthai Asset Management (KTAM) provided one answer, declaring that the stocks still had potential for strong growth for long-term trade or holding. Accordingly, KTAM advised investors to prioritise future opportunity over current price when making decisions on the stocks. It also recommended that they avoid selling when the market fluctuates and instead adopt a long-term strategy for tech investment.
Meanwhile, SCB Asset Management (SCBAM) said the US Federal Reserve’s liquidity injections and advances towards a Covid-19 vaccine will support the Nasdaq Composite.
SCBAM chief financial officer Nunmanus Piamthipmanus explained that tech stocks had risen during the Covid-19 “new normal” after investors bet on cloud technology and e-commerce businesses. She advised investors to buy when Nasdaq stock prices are down.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,293.80 on Tuesday, down 18.15 points or 1.38 per cent.
Total transactions amounted to Bt45.365 billion with an index high of 1,305.85 and a low of 1,293.33.
In the morning session, Krungsri Securities analysts predicted the SET would fall to 1,300 points due to investors’ concerns over escalation of the US-China trade war after Washington banned Chinese microchip giant SMIC. The stock market would also face pressure from the crude oil price falling to below $40 per barrel for the first time in two months, they added. Oil is being driven down by the sluggish economic recovery and strengthening dollar.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were AOT, CPF, CPALL, PTT, SCM, STGT, KBANK, SCC, MINT and BAM.
As of 5pm, the price of oil dropped by US$1.48 or 3.72 per cent to $38.29 per barrel, while gold dropped by $8.60 or 0.44 per cent, to $1,925.70 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 23,274.13, up 184.18 points or 0.80 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,316.42, up 23.83 points or 0.72 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,293.33, up 9.30 points or 0.070 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 24,624.34, up 34.69 points or 0.14 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,401.91, up 17.69 points or 0.74 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 12,663.56, up 62.16 points or 0.49 per cent.
A motion to amend the Constitution signed by 99 MPs from 13 parties was handed to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai on Tuesday.
The opposition-backed motion aims to amend Article 256 to pave the way for an assembly to redraft the charter.
The lower House is expected to debate the motion at the end of this month.
However, the opposition Move Forward Party said it will push for more amendments to “switch off” the unelected Senate’s power before a redrafting assembly is set up.
Move Forward is targeting Article 272 which allows senators to join the vote for a new prime minister. It also wants other changes to the charter that would scrap the Senate’s power to control the government and reform the country via the national strategy.
Photo Credit: Nation Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha 
(Representational Image) 
