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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013736

South Korea’s new ambassador to Thailand on Tuesday made a courtesy call on the Foreign Ministry’s permanent secretary, the ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said in a press statement that Moon Seoung-hyun met Thani Thongphakdi on assuming his role as ambassador.

Moon and Thani expressed satisfaction with the close and comprehensive relations between Thailand and South Korea and the marking of the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries in 2022.

On this occasion, a Joint Action Plan will be drafted to set the direction for bilateral relations in the next five years (2022-27), the Foreign Ministry added.

Both sides also agreed to promote economic cooperation, trade and investment between Thailand and the Republic of Korea.

The permanent secretary invited Korean investors to expand investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in areas of South Korea’s strengths, including smart cities. Both sides also welcomed the convening of the 5th Consular Consultation on March 25 in Bangkok.

During the meeting, Thani and Moon exchanged views on regional and international situations of mutual interests.

Thani welcomed South Korea’s constructive roles in sub-regional and regional cooperation frameworks such as Mekong-ROK, Ayeyawady – Chao Phraya Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and Asean-South Korea.

Thani said he looked forward to welcoming South Korea’s president at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Week in Bangkok in November this year.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013732

The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry and National Telecom (NT) on Wednesday opened the National Environment Data Centre to enable people to check readings of particulate matter (PM) in the air via the RGuard smartphone application.

The move came after the ministry’s Digital Economy and Society Development Fund granted a budget to the NT to set up 8,000 air-quality monitoring stations across 77 provinces, focusing on areas where the population is high and at risk of air pollution.

These stations can record air-quality data, such as PM1, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure and wind direction.

The project has received cooperation from several government agencies, such as the Interior, Education, and Public Health ministries, National Office of Buddhism, Royal Thai Police and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The stations will record air-quality data every five minutes and send them to the centre’s Big Data via LoRaWAN network for analysis.

Once plenty of air-quality data is received, the centre will be able to analyse and forecast the possibility of air pollution in each area effectively.

In addition, the National Environment Data Centre is also providing an open data service to enable government and private agencies to utilise air-quality data in their research, statistics and innovation, which will help boost the value of the digital economy as well.

“Apart from complying with the government’s policy to take care of citizens’ health, this project is also a part of the DES Ministry’s pilot projects to create Big Data to enable interested people, educational institutions and private agencies to utilise and develop innovations,” the ministry said.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013735

The Department of Airports has sacked the acting director of Betong International Airport not long after it had received the prime minister on the first commercial flight.

Department director-general Parinya Saensuwan issued three orders dated March 18, including the removal of Betong airport’s acting director, Duangporn Suwanmanee.

The first order transferred Duangporn to an inactive post at the Airports Standard Control Division. Duangporn was also removed from her official post as Narathiwat International Airport director.

The second order appointed Surirat Thipyotha, a transportation specialist, as the Narathiwat airport director.

The third order appointed Kornnit Sukkarn, a transportation specialist, as acting director of the Betong Airport.

Betong airport received its first commercial flight on March 14 when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his delegation flew by Nok Air from Bangkok to the airport to preside over the opening ceremony of the airport for commercial flights.

However, on the following day, Nok Air announced cancellations of two booked flights on the grounds that the number of passengers was too low and it suspended its services to and from the airport until further notice.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013731

The US consul general on Wednesday dismissed rumours that the new US consulate in Chiang Mai would be used as a base for hiding weapons to counter China.

“It’s untrue,” US Consul General Sean O’Neill replied when Thai reporters asked him whether there would be “secret weapons” hidden at the new consulate.

O’Neill was speaking to a group of Thai reporters at the US consulate in Chiang Mai on Wednesday morning.

The new consulate is being constructed on the Chiang Mai-Lampang superhighway with a budget of US$284 million.

Because of the high budget, some Thai media have speculated that the US government might build an underground missile depot to point missiles at China.

O’Neill said the building of the new consulate would not be an investment for the US government to increase its power in the region as rumoured but the new consulate aims to improve services for those who contact the consulate.

O’Neill pointed out that the current consulate has already served over 12 million Thais and Americans in the northern part of Thailand.

He said the construction would generate income for local people and 400 workers have got employment.

Construction of the new consulate is scheduled to be completed in March 2024.

He said the new consulate would have an environmentally friendly building, whose design would reflect Chiang Mai’s Lanna culture. It will use modern technologies for conserving energy.

The new consulate will also use advanced wastewater treatment technology that could recycle used water and prevent their release into the surroundings.

“I hereby affirm that the consulate will not be a place for keeping weapons or armaments of the US Army as rumoured,” O’Neill added.

The consul general held the press conference to talk about the operations of the consulate throughout 2021.

He said the US consulate has been operating in Chiang Mai for 72 years and the US government has been providing good cooperation to the Chiang Mai administration through the consulate.

He said the US government had donated $100,000 to the Chiang Mai administration last year to tackle environmental issues and smog.

Apart from the cash, the US government also provided technological assistance by allowing the Chiang Mai administration access to its satellite photo system to be able to monitor forest fires and put them out in time with preciseness.

O’Neill added that the US government also donated air purifiers to many schools in Chiang Mai so that school children could breathe clean air when the province is hit by smog from forest fires.

The consul general said the US government has also provided assistance to Thailand on health issues. Recently, Washington donated 2.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Bangkok, he added.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, O’Neill said the US government understands well that Thailand has several friends. “And the US has no right to tell Thailand to side with any of the friends,” he said.

He said the US government would anyway continue to support Thailand on all issues, especially on national defence and crimes and drug suppression as well as economic cooperation.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013729

Residents in Narathiwat’s Marue Bo Tok subdistrict participated in municipality prayers on Wednesday to mark the upcoming Ramadan month of the Islamic year 1443.

Government officials and local leaders also participated to show a state of peace and boost morale among residents.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community service.

A commemoration of Muhammad’s first revelation, the annual observance of Ramadan, is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts 29 to 30 days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.

Ramadan falls in April this year.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013723

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) released a song called “Yar own” (Do not transfer) to warn people against getting scammed by call centre gangs.

The DSI held a press conference at Government House on Tuesday attended by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin as well as artists of the song.

The catchy track, with easy-to-remember lyrics, aims to teach people how to protect themselves against call centre scams.

Prayut praised the Justice Ministry, government agencies, the private sector and the artists for the song.

It gained around 127,000 views on the DSI_PR YouTube channel as of Wednesday afternoon. But the hashtag #อย่าโอน (the name of the song) became a trending topic after netizens criticised the money used to produce the song, saying they would instead have liked a more direct solution to the problem.

Call centre scams have seen several victims tricked into transferring money to gangs. Some of the victims have also been threatened into parting with their money, and the DSI has received a lot of complaints.

The department has announced basic guidelines to protect against such scams:

• Call DSI hotline 1202 to consult, report or complain
• If a criminal calls you, ask for more information but do not proceed with any transaction
• Use the information in a report/complaint to police in your area as evidence for legal action. You can also call hotline 1202 or visit https://www.dsi.go.th/ to ask the DSI to investigate
• If you have already transferred money to a criminal, immediately report to a police station in your area and quickly contact the bank from which you sent the money as well as the bank you transferred the amount to.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013715

Long Covid-19, or Post-Covid-19, conditions can occur in 15-30 per cent of patients who have recovered, with symptoms lasting from 4 to 12 weeks after infection, Siriraj Hospital dean of the Faculty of Medicine Dr Prasit Watanapa said on Tuesday.

“Long Covid could have more than 50 symptoms, but the most common are fatigue, shortness of breath, headache, muscle ache, joint ache, chest pain, coughing, diarrhoea, loss of smell and depression,” he said.

“In some cases, patients are reported to have trouble concentrating, while some athletes reported that their physical ability was not at the same level before they contracted Covid,” Prasit said.

“It is not yet conclusive what the cause of these symptoms are, but medical communities speculate it might be due to the patients’ lungs and immune system having to fully recover from Covid, or due to patients developing anxiety and depression while being treated for Covid-19, or remaining in isolation,” he said.

Prasit said a foreign study found that patients who had been fully vaccinated before contracting Covid-19 were less likely to develop Long Covid after they recovered.

“However, this study needs further research and monitoring over an extended period before we can rule that vaccines actually help,” he said.

“In Thailand, the public health ministry has set up teams to monitor Long Covid in recovered patients so that we can understand these conditions better and find appropriate treatment,” Prasit added.

Related News

Thailand must stop free testing and switch to Covid treatment: medical expert

RT-PCR tests no longer necessary for Covid-19 patients: state medical dept

Doctor seeks drastic changes in handling of new Covid-19 cases

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013714

Luk Thung singer Mike Phiromphorn graced the Thai Pavilion with his culinary skills at the World Expo 2020 Dubai.

“Iam glad, proud and honoured to be invited to join a chef in the special event to showcase Thai cooking,” he said. “I am making ‘Zab Fried Rice’ for foreigners from all over the world so they can taste Thai Pla Ra [fermented fish].”

Mike admitted he was more nervous about cooking than performing a concert. However, he said, he gave it his best to make the dish “come out well”.

He went on introduce Pla Ra to foreigners visiting the Thai Pavilion.

Some 192 countries including Thailand are participating in this World Expo, which is held every five years under the Bureau International des Expositions.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013713

The Transport Ministry has summoned Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) permanent secretary Khajit Chatchawanich for a meeting at the Traffic and Transport Department on March 31 to discuss the BTS Green Line train dispute with operator Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC), a news source revealed on Tuesday.

The BTSC had filed a lawsuit against the BMA in September last year, suing the city for 12 billion baht it claimed it is owed for operating the Green Line extension and another 20 billion baht it is owed for the train operating system.

The Interior Ministry in February proposed fixing the problem by extending the BTSC’s concession contract for another 30 years from 2029 to 2059 in exchange for the BTSC capping the maximum fare at Bt65. However, the Transport Ministry strongly objected, saying the Bt65 maximum fair is too high for low-income commuters.

The news source said the Transport Ministry had asked the BMA to submit copies of contracts that allow Krungthep Thanakom Ltd to install electricity systems on the Bearing-Samut Prakarn and Mo Chit-Ku Kot Green Line sections.

“The project was assigned to the BMA by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand [MRTA], but the BMA instead offered the job to Krungthep Thanakom,” the source said.

“It is speculated that the Transport Ministry wants to check the budget used by the BMA for this project so it could have a better idea of the origin of debt the BMA has accumulated from operating the Green Line,” the source said.

“In the end, if the BMA is not granted any government money to settle the debt, it would have no other choice but to transfer the Green Line back to the MRTA, the original owner,” the source added.

Related News

Transport vs Interior – what’s behind the battle over BTS concession extension?

BTSC may get another 40-year concession to operate BTS Green Line

BTS suing City Hall for THB12bn Green Line debt

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013712

Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang announced he would resign on Thursday.

Aswin confirmed on Wednesday that he would submit his letter of resignation to Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda on Thursday before the Election Commission officially declares a date for gubernatorial elections in Bangkok and Pattaya on Friday.

Bangkok candidate registrations are expected to be officially announced next week.

Aswin said he had three duties to perform on Wednesday before resigning.

At 9am, he would open a public health centre in Chatuchak district. At 10.30am, he would open the digital book house at Sap Sin Phatthana community in Bang Khun Thian district. And at 11.20am he would launch the “Outdoor for Activities” programme at Bang Khun Thian Sports Centre.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION