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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015421

The Cabinet on Tuesday gave an initial nod to the Labour Ministry’s plan to amend the Social Security Act so retirees can choose between getting their pension in a lump sum or on a monthly basis.

Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said the bill drafted by his ministry also seeks to allow beneficiaries to withdraw some of their pension in advance before retirement.

The amendment will also allow them to use their savings with the Social Security Fund as a guarantee for obtaining a loan from a commercial bank, he added.

Suchart said the Labour Ministry has come up with this proposal because certain rules of the fund do not correspond to the current situation, where workers and employees are suffering from financial problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bill also seeks to extend the coverage period for people insured under Section 33, in which employers also contribute to the Social Security Fund.

The bill does not specify exactly at what age the coverage should stop, and will wait for the issue to be decided upon in a House debate.

Suchart said apart from allowing retirees to choose between receiving the pension in full or on a monthly basis, the bill also aims to extend help to beneficiaries by letting them withdraw their savings in advance or using it as a guarantee to obtain a loan.

The bill also aims to extend the compensation for women on maternity leave from 90 days to 98 days, as well as increase the compensation of workers who have been disabled on the job to 70 per cent of their salary from 50 per cent.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015420

Thailand Post temporarily suspended mail services to China from April 29 due to airline restrictions and stringent lockdown measures.

As of now, no parcels and letters can be mailed to China under either EMS World or ePacket services, the company said. Those wanting to send parcels to China can use Courier Post for delivery within seven to 10 days or Logispost World for delivery in three to five days.

Logispost World, however, will only deliver documents to Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui.

Dhanant Subhadrabandhu, Thailand Post’s chief executive officer, said China has put several areas under lockdown due to Covid-19 and many partner airlines are not able to deliver parcels normally. Hence, the company has decided to temporarily suspend these services.

He added that postal service to other countries depends on the situation in each area and that emergencies, disasters, epidemics and airline restrictions are uncontrollable factors that affect delivery.

For more details, call 1545 or visit https://www.facebook.com/thailandpost.co.th, or https://international.thailandpost.com.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015416

The Digital Economy and Society ministry has sought court orders to block access to 42 Internet addresses of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages that are sharing a controversial ad of online shopping platform Lazada.

Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn was referring to an ad that was seen as mocking the Royal Family and the disabled, which was created by influencers Nara Aniwat and Thidaporn “Nurat” Chaokuwiang to promote the platform for clothes shopping. The video depicts a woman in a wheelchair being bullied by another person of noble birth, sparking an uproar on the net.

Chaiwut said the ministry and the Technology Crime Suppression Division are working together to gather evidence and more information to take action against any online platform or site that defames the monarchy by sharing the ad.

So far, the two agencies have found 42 URLs for sharing the ads. He said the ministry will also inform the owners of the 42 addresses to remove the content or face legal action, Chaiwut added.

Asked what measures the ministry would take to prevent similar incidents, Chaiwut said advertisement agencies, influencers and PR agencies must have their own code of ethics and there should be a professional group to supervise them to make sure their ads will not be illegal and unethical.

Chaiwut said the PR agencies’ professional group must supervise to make sure that their ads would not cause people to feel bad or feel they are being bullied.

“It’s not right for government agencies to give them orders because they have their freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution,” Chaiwut said.

“But please respect the law and go by the norms acceptable to Thai society. Do not do anything that is unacceptable to Thai society. If they do it, their business will get hurt.”

Asked whether he fears Thai-Sino ties will be affected now that several Thai government agencies have announced their boycott of Lazada, an online shopping platform from China, Chaiwut replied that Lazada should care for the feelings of Thais as well.

“It’s not right for them to do anything they want without caring how Thais would feel. Chinese people also have to respect Thai law and care about Thais’ feelings,” Chaiwut said.

Chaiwut said the Thai government needed to take action and send out warning signals to Lazada or other platforms that Thailand disagrees with such a controversial ad.

“If we don’t remind them or make known our disapproval, similar actions will continue endlessly. We have to send a signal to foreign businesses and foreigners that Thais cannot accept such things and they must stop doing this to Thailand,” Chaiwut said.

He added that Lazada should come up with an AI or algorithm to check and disable such controversial ads instead of waiting for an outcry from Thais before they remove the ads.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015415

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed all provincial administrations to come up with operation plans once Covid-19 is downgraded to endemic status, the government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the premier issued the order after the Public Health Ministry downgraded the Covid-19 alert from Level 4 to Level 3 nationwide.

Thanakorn quoted the PM as saying that each province should have an operation plan ready once Covid-19 is declared endemic.

Meanwhile, he said, the alert level has been downgraded because the number of Covid patients requiring ventilators and Covid-related fatalities is dropping.

He added that 23 provinces have “plateaued” with the Covid situation stabilising, while 53 provinces are showing a marked drop in infections.

The PM is also encouraging members of the public and government agencies to continue practising universal prevention measures and to get as many people as possible vaccinated so the virus can be declared endemic.

The Public Health Ministry reported 6,230 new infections over 24 hours on Tuesday, four of whom had arrived from overseas. Thailand also logged 53 deaths during the period.

Currently, 1,481 Covid patients have developed lung inflammation and require ventilators, while 18.5 per cent of hospital beds are occupied.

From February 28, 2021, to May 8 this year, 134.73 million Covid vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, with 56.4 million people getting their first jab, 51.65 million their second jab, 23.8 million their third jab and 2.85 million their fourth jab.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015410

On May 9 H.E. Georg Schmidt, Ambassador of Germany to Thailand and Varawut Silpa-Archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), together with Lioba Donner, Policy Officer for Thailand, Division International Climate Initiative (IKI), General Issues of Bilateral Cooperation, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), visited the pilot areas of the Thai Rice NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action) project in Doem Bang Nang Buat district of Suphan Buri province where innovative low-emission farming techniques have been introduced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice production while increasing production efficiency.

In an exchange with local farmers, the delegation discussed how sustainable farming can help increase rice productivity and farmers’ income while contributing to greenhouse gas mitigation and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

The visit was joined by Natthapat Suwanprateep, Suphan Buri Governor, Phirun Saiyasitpanich, the Secretary-General of the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) and Apichart Pongsrihadulchai, Advisor to the Director-General of the Rice Department.

Rice is important as it is cultivated on roughly half of all agricultural land in Thailand and accounts for nearly 55% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. Thailand is the world’s fourth-largest emitter of rice-related greenhouse gases. Therefore, the Rice Department focuses on developing a sustainable rice strategy and promoting the ‘3 Increases, 3 Decreases’ campaign. Rice smallholders and agripreneurs are encouraged to adopt farming techniques and innovations to increase rice yields, rice quality and revenue while decreasing production costs, water consumption and ultimately GHG emissions to improve quality of life and livelihoods while preserving the environment vulnerable to global warming.

The delegation visited a demonstration of the Laser Land Leveling (LLL) Technique which is one of four techniques in sustainable farming, which comprise LLL technology, Alternate Wetting and Drying, Site Specific Nutrient Management, and Straw and Stubble Management (learn more about 4 low-carbon farming techniques here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhsaQv6aptM). The LLL technology is one of the key evidence-based approaches that help farmers increase rice yields and save water while reducing soil surface depletion and GHG emissions.

The approaches of sustainable, low-emission farming are also in line with the Glasgow Climate Pact of the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP26), held in Glasgow, Scotland last year and will support Thailand’s announcement at COP26 of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 and aiming for net-zero GHG emissions by 2065.

The Thai Rice NAMA project is funded by the NAMA Facility with the Governments of Germany and United Kingdom as main donors. The project is implemented by the Rice Department (RD) on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and other partner agencies. The objective is to support Thai rice farmers in 6 provinces in Central Thailand, namely Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Suphan Buri, amounting to 100,000 farmer households, to have access to farming technology to increase the efficiency of rice production and shift to low-emission rice production. The project has a five-year period of implementation from August 2018 – August 2023.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015408

With the number of new cases dropping significantly, the Public Health Ministry decided on Monday to lower Thailand’s Covid-19 alert from Level 4 to Level 3. The downgraded level allows people to resume their daily lives with fewer restrictions. However, nightspots remain closed.

The new regulations under Level 3 are as follows:

• Risky venues: People advised against visiting entertainment venues/crowded places that are not well ventilated.
• Large gatherings: At-risk groups, partially vaccinated people are advised to stay away.
• Travel: At-risk group, partially vaccinated advised against using public transport.
• Leaving/entering Thailand: At-risk groups, partially vaccinated advised against travelling overseas.

Regulations under Level 4:

• Risky venues: People advised against eating and drinking together, visiting high-risk places.
• Large gatherings: People are advised to avoid close contact with others.
• Travel: Everyone is advised to avoid using public transport or travelling.
• Leaving/entering Thailand: Everyone advised against travelling overseas.

Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said that most provinces are seeing a continuous improvement in their situation, which indicates that the country is entering a post-pandemic stage where Covid-19 will officially be declared an endemic disease.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015405

The Agriculture Ministry has ordered the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) to prepare staff and drainage equipment for the start of the rainy season next week.

Farmers should also store as much rainwater as possible and use it efficiently, said Agriculture Minister Chalermchai Sree-on on Monday.

“We cannot tell how many storms will hit Thailand this year, but we have ordered RID to prepare personnel and drainage equipment to deal with upcoming issues,” he said.

The rainy season will last from mid-May to mid-October, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. It forecast continuous rain across the country this week, with isolated heavy showers in the South.

Chalermchai said the Department of Agricultural Extension is drawing up a plan to grow crops that use less water, such as corn for animal feed. He expects to see the finished plan this week.

“The ministry also asked the Rice Department to seek effective rice species, and the Commerce Ministry to find new markets, such as in the Middle East,” he added.

He also asked farmers to cultivate crops that would keep agricultural product prices low.

Meanwhile, RID director-general Prapit Chanma said water management during the drought season went as planned. Thailand has 19.95 billion cubic metres of water reserved for the rainy season, higher than the targeted 15.55 billion cubic metres.

The rainy season is expected to bring lower rainfall between June and July and heavy rain from August and September, he said.

“The department is cooperating with provincial agencies to monitor the water situation and prepare equipment, such as water pumps, excavators and tractors,” he added.

The Thai Meteorological Department also warned people in upper Thailand to look out for thundershowers and isolated heavy rain, adding farmers should protect their crops. Meanwhile, the South will see heavy rain that may bring flash floods.

“All ships should proceed with caution and keep off thundershowers today [May 10],” the department added.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015401

Monday’s meeting of the Oil Fuel Fund executive committee agreed to fix the price of diesel at 32 baht per litre for this week, said Oil Fuel Fund Office (OFFO) director Wisak Watanasap.

He added that the fund will subsidise diesel at 11.35 baht per litre to lower the market price of 38 baht per litre and alleviate people’s cost of living. Last week, the fund subsidised diesel at the lower rate of 9.55 baht per litre.

Wisak said the Oil Fuel Fund currently has liquidity of 12.93 billion baht. He added that this should be enough to subsidise fuel prices nationwide after the government scrapped the diesel price cap, in place since October 2021, and announced gradual increases from May 1 to reflect rising global fuel prices.

“The meeting calculated that global fuel prices may start to fall when winter ends in Europe,” he said. “The OFFO will continue to monitor the Russia-Ukraine war closely and evaluate its impact on global fuel prices, before announcing the adjustment of retail fuel prices again next week on Monday.”

Meanwhile, the Government Savings Bank and Krung Thai Bank have expressed interest in lending money to the Oil Fuel Fund, which is seeking 2 billion baht to increase its liquidity. The OFFO is now studying the lending terms and expects the loan money to be distributed within June.

As of May 8, the Oil Fuel Fund was 66.68 billion baht in deficit. Its oil account is in the red by 33.258 billion baht and its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) account by 33.423 billion baht.

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015391

Ministry of Public Health reported on Tuesday (May 10) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 6,230 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 4 of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad.

Death toll increased by 53, while 11,132 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.

Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 2,114,133.
 

Published : May 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015389

Bangkok’s Talingchan district court has ordered the seizure of 413 million baht worth of assets owned by the late founder of the darknet AlphaBay website, a public prosecutor said on Monday.

Jumpol Phansamrit, foreign affairs director of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), said the court accepted the public prosecutors’ request and ordered the seizure of assets owned by late Canadian national Alexandre Cazes.

Cazes was only 25 when he committed suicide in a Thai prison in 2017.

Jumpol said the OAG foreign affairs department has yet to speak to US authorities on how funds collected from the sale of Cazes’ properties can be shared. The assets include a Lamborghini car worth 45 million baht, a Porsche worth 10 million baht, three houses valued at 308 million baht and eight bank accounts carrying 46 million baht.

Jumpol said the Thai authorities had earlier seized 911 Bitcoins from Cazes and handed them over to US authorities, but his department will ask the US to return the Bitcoins so they can be auctioned off with the remaining assets.

Cazes’ case came to light when the US authorities informed their Thai counterparts about an arrest warrant issued for him by a California court on 16 charges.

According to the charges, Cazes allegedly used his website to sell drugs, and weapons and launder money, and allegedly took payments in Bitcoins.

Cazes and his wife Sunisa Thapsuwan were arrested on July 5, 2017, and while the extradition process was ongoing, he killed himself on July 12.

Jumpol said the US authorities had asked the OAG to coordinate the seizure of Cazes’ assets in Thailand in May 2019, but the Thai court only ordered the seizure on April 27 this year.

In the next process, the OAG will auction off the assets, including the 911 Bitcoins, and discuss with the US how the money should be shared, Jumpol added.

Published : May 09, 2022

By : THE NATION