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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018333

A 41-year-old Australian of Chinese ethnicity is in police custody after allegedly shooting his 65-year-old mother at a condominium on Soi Sukhumvit 39 in Bangkok’s Wattana district on Friday night.

Thong Lor police said the deceased, Liew Xing, was shot in the stomach and died on the spot. Officers arrived at the scene to find the alleged shooter, Kevin Chow, waiting in the room together with his wife and son, 7, and two-year-old daughter. They seized a 9mm Colt handgun and four BB rifles found in the room.

Police said Chow confessed to the crime, saying that he felt pressured by his mother who was running the family plastic factory business. He also admitted to drinking alcohol before the killing, after which he tried to commit suicide. He said his wife and children stopped him from killing himself.

Police charged Chow with killing his parent and owning firearms without a licence. He was taken to Bangkok South Criminal Court where police advised against granting him bail.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Chow has been living in Thailand for 12 years, doing business involving LED lamps in the family’s plastic manufacturing firm.

Published : July 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018332

The government has collected 1.87 trillion baht in revenue in the first nine months of the 2022 fiscal year (October 2021 to June 2022), marking a 7.5 per cent increase year on year.

The disbursement of funds during this period also rose 1.9 per cent year on year to 2.43 trillion baht, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Saturday.

Since the government also borrowed 621.07 billion baht to make up the deficit, this resulted in the country’s finances as of June 2022 coming in at 587.91 billion baht in surplus.

Taxes collected by the revenue, excise and customs departments came in at 2 trillion baht, up 10.5 per cent year on year.

Earnings submitted by state enterprises for the nine months was 116.13 billion baht, up 10 per cent year on year. However, revenue from other agencies stood at 109.71 billion baht, dropping 11.7 per cent year on year.

“The prime minister acknowledged this report from the Finance Ministry and has thanked all agencies for their efforts in helping the country’s economy recover from the pandemic fallout and the global energy price crisis,” Thanakorn said.

“Prime Minister Prayut [Chan-o-cha] has also said the rise in revenue collection proves that the government is on the right track in solving economic problems. He also believes that working together to maximise the country’s potential will soon see Thailand achieve economic success.”

Published : July 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018330

The Airports of Thailand (AOT) will be putting a 723-rai plot next to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport up for bidding on August 8.

AOT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said earlier this week that the aim is to commercially develop the plot on Wat Srivari Noi Road in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district. The land’s estimated value is 1.76 billion baht.

Nitinai reckoned that the land could be developed into an agricultural wholesale market as it is surrounded by plantations. AOT also hopes that once the development is complete, it will help complement AOT’s certification centre for exported agricultural products, which AOT operates under its subsidiary AOT TAFA Operator.

“The new market will function like the wholesale fresh market in Pathum Thani, where farmers from nearby provinces send their produce to sell in bulk or for export. The contractor will be responsible for land development and construction of market facilities, which is estimated at 1.9 billion baht,” he said.

There is about 1,470 rai of free land around Suvarnabhumi Airport, some of which has been turned into a bicycle lane. AOT is planning to put the rest of the land up for commercial development projects in targeted businesses that promote the airport’s operation, including petrol stations, community malls and showrooms.

AOT hopes these projects will help boost the ratio of revenue from non-aeronautical businesses to 50 per cent from the current ratio of 43 per cent.

Published : July 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018327

The Public Health Ministry reported on Saturday (July 30) that over the past 24 hours, 1,962 Covid-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals.

The death toll has risen by 32, while 2,157 patients have recovered and discharged from hospitals. 

The number of cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022, stands at 2,365,077 with 9,661 deaths.
 

Published : July 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018314

Chiang Mai Zoo recorded its highest number of visitors in 10 years on Friday as about 7,000 people flowed through its gates.

The zoo also collected over 1 million baht in admission fees – despite 3,000 of those visitors entering free of charge, its chief Wuthichai Muangman said.

Thai zoos across the country have made entry for children free during the current four-day public holiday for His Majesty the King’s birthday on Thursday.

The most popular attractions at Chiang Mai Zoo are the aquarium and panda enclosure, which are seeing between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors per day.

The zoo’s car park was crammed with as many as 1,400 vehicles on Friday.

Chiang Mai Zoo is famously home to the giant panda Lin Hui, which is on loan from the Chinese government.

The 20-year-old female panda has been alone at the zoo since her mate Xuang Xuang died of a heart problem in his enclosure at the age of 19 in 2019.

The pair arrived at the zoo in October 2003. Five years later, Lin Hui gave birth to Lin Ping, their first baby, through artificial insemination. The baby panda was shipped to China in 2013.

Published : July 29, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018311

An online auction of the latest coveted vehicle licence plate numbers will take place next Wednesday (August 3), the Department of Land Transport said on Friday.

As many as 130 “special licence plates” with desired numbers — mostly rare and considered lucky, such as 9999, 8888, and 5555 — will be put under the hammer, the department’s director-general Jirut Wisanjit said.

Along with the coveted numbers, the plates feature auspicious Thai words that mean “lucky”, “beautiful”, “luck”, “best”, “power”, “wealthy”, and “rich”, among others.

The auction for licence plates — the second this year — is scheduled to start at 9am on August 3 at the department’s headquarters in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district.

Prospective bidders may register with the department’s Road Safety Fund or online at the website http://www.tabienrod.com.

Bidders can submit their maximum bids in writing or bid in real-time via the website. The auction will be broadcast on the fund’s Facebook page.

Starting prices range from 500,000 baht for licence plates with double numbers – such as 1122, 3434 and 5665 – to 1.5 million baht for “super premium” numbers, such as 8888 and 9999, according to Jirut.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the Road Safety Fund and partly will be spent on buying equipment for people disabled in road accidents.

Unlike ordinary licence plates, the special plates also have a background with a colourful graphic. Ownership can be transferred or inherited to be used with other registered passenger cars.

Published : July 29, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018308

The Royal Thai Navy has removed a sign banning bikinis on Chon Buri’s Samae San Island after it caused a backlash on social media. However, the bikini ban appears to still be in place.

Anew sign would be erected to create a “better understanding among visitors”, Navy spokesman Vice Adm Pokkrong Monthatphalin said on Friday.

He insisted that there was no dress code for tourists visiting the island but said the Navy asked for their cooperation in dressing “properly” according to “Thai tradition”.

“Please avoid wearing bikinis, for the sake of orderliness and respect for Thai culture and tradition,” he said.

The spokesman added that Samae San, which lies 18 kilometres off the Chon Buri coast, is an eco-tourism destination. Visitors are not allowed to stay overnight and must follow rules similar to those in other natural tourist sites, including no loud noise and no alcohol.

Samae San came under the spotlight after photos of the sign reading “No bikini. Please respect our culture” went viral on social media.

The island is mostly undeveloped, with no construction other than a small military building. Tourists visit for snorkelling, cycling and trekking.

Published : July 29, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018304

There is a 1.2 per cent chance that debris from the falling Chinese rocket booster will hit Thailand, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) said.

In a Facebook post on Friday, GISTDA said there is still a small chance that some debris may land here because Thailand is in the rocket’s orbit path.

The massive 21-tonne booster, part of the Long March 5B rocket that was launched by China on July 24, may result in masses of debris even after most of it burns in space.

GISTDA said it has been using the Space Traffic Management System or Zircon to analyse the situation and has urged people to monitor updates even though the chance of the debris hitting Thailand is quite low.

This is the third time that a rocket is falling uncontrollably back to Earth. The first was in May 2020, when a massive, out-of-control Chinese rocket fell out of the sky and hit the west coast of Africa.

The Long March 5B module took off last Sunday from China’s Hainan Island to dock at its Tiangong space station.

Published : July 29, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018302

Foreign embassies in Bangkok marked National Thai Language Day by showing off their linguistic expertise on Friday (July 29).

Embassy Facebook pages were filled with staff members displaying their Thai skills, ranging from reciting poems with difficult-to-pronounce words to tackling tongue-twisting phrases.

Sweden’s embassy declared that Thai is among languages taught in Swedish schools nationwide, as part of the country’s policy of “mother-tongue language education” introduced in the 1960s.

“In fact, one of our Facebook page administrators learnt Thai in Sweden from this [school] programme too,” the embassy added.

The Japanese embassy’s Facebook page highlighted the birth of the Thai script eight centuries ago under the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng. It made a comparison with the Japanese writing system, which has three sets of alphabets used for different purposes.

The Australian Embassy posted a video featuring three Aussie diplomats taking on “different challenges to prove how good their Thai is”.

One of them tackled a Thai tongue-twister while another recited an eight-line verse containing difficult poetic words.

The Chinese embassy followed suit by grappling with tongue-twisting Thai phrases — most of them difficult even for locals. A video posted on the embassy’s Facebook page also featured Chinese diplomats talking fluently in Thai about how difficult it was for them to learn the language.

The US embassy challenged its American staff to “speak Thai for a day.” In the accompanying video, the staff recited their favourite Thai words and also ones difficult to pronounce.

The British embassy got in on the act with a video displaying the Thai skills of the ambassador and other officials. They were asked to pronounce the official Thai term for the United Kingdom, Thai words for certain animals, and name as many Thai dishes in 30 seconds as they could.

Published : July 29, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40018300

Thais are letting their guard down against Covid-19, according to a Department of Health survey conducted between May and July.

The proportion of people who wear face masks, wash their hands frequently and undergo social distancing dropped from 82 per cent in May to 74.1 per cent in July, the survey showed.

Taking each category separately, social distancing has dropped furthest, to 78.6 per cent, followed by handwashing (88.1 per cent) and mask-wearing (94.6 per cent).

“People of all ages should protect themselves in line with the universal prevention principles to reduce risk of Covid-19 infection,” said department director-general Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai.

He urged venue operators to strictly impose Covid-19 prevention measures during the long holiday, including hand-sanitising points and improving ventilation.

He also asked people to wear face masks in crowdy or confined places, especially the elderly, pregnant women and people with underlying conditions.

On Friday, Thailand recorded 2,480 new Covid-19 cases and 37 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

Published : July 29, 2022

By : THE NATION