#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007112

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) proposal to allocate a budget of $4.1 million (THB135.5 million) to support the Michelin Guide Thailand 2022-2026 project, deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul said.

TAT will pay Michelin Travel Partner France Ltd $820,000 per year to publish and promote Michelin Guide Thailand, a travel guide for famous restaurants in various provinces around the country, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Phang-nga and Ayutthaya.

The company is obligated to survey restaurants in at least three more provinces, one of which will be in the northeast.

TAT will use its own budget to pay the fee in the first year and the government will allocate additional money for TAT in the following years.

“Michelin will be responsible for sending inspectors to survey and rank restaurants in Thailand based on their standards and publish the annual Michelin Guide Thailand to introduce restaurants that pass their evaluation,” she said.

“Furthermore, the company will allow TAT to present a new award called Michelin Thailand Service Award by TAT to entrepreneurs with outstanding services,” Traisulee said.

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“The Tourism and Sports Ministry said the previous project, Michelin Guide Thailand 2017-2020, has greatly helped improve the country’s image as a travel destination that is rich in food culture and meets international quality and standards,” she said.

“It has also increased the value and potential of Thai food in global markets, as well as attract world class chefs to work in Thailand and promote investment in the high-end restaurant industry,” Traisulee added.

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Published : October 06, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007109

The Cute Star Flower (Lasianthus ranongensis Sinbumroong & Napiroon) is a newly discovered plant found at Ngao Waterfall National Park in Ranong’s Muang district and was recently acknowledged by the United States’ PeerJ journal (Plant Biology Section), Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said in a facebook post on Tuesday.

“The journal gave the scientific name after the discoverers Arun Sinbumroong, Department of National Parks’ forest specialist and Dr Thiewthawat Napiroon of Biotechnology Department at Thammasart University, who collected the sample of the plant from the national park and gave it a proper taxonomy,” said the department. 

The Cute Star Flower or ‘Dara Pilas’ in Thai is of Rubiaceae family which is rich in Scopoletin, a substance usually used for rheumatic arthritis therapy in traditional medicine. The six- to seven-point star flowers give the plant a signature look that distinguishes itself from general dicotyledon which usually have four to five petals or their multiplication. The Cute Star Flower has been found exclusively in tropical forests of Thailand along the Andaman Sea.

“The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and discoverers’ research team are looking into ways of multiplying this plant in the areas, possibly by using biotechnology,” added the department.

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Covid closure brings rare wildlife back to Songkhla national park

Erawan National Park to reopen on Friday

Khao Yai draws a rush of visitors as national park reopens its doors

Published : October 06, 2021

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007106

Ministry of Public Health reported on Wednesday (October 6) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 9,866 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 45 of whom have been found in prisons.

Death toll increased by 102, while 10,115 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.

Cumulative cases in the country are at 1,667,097 with 17,305 total deaths.
 

Published : October 06, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007083

The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Wednesday (October 6) that the low-pressure trough lies across the lower Central, the East and the upper South while the southwest monsoon prevailing over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand is becoming stronger. Thundershowers are forecast over the country with isolated heavy rain the Central, the East and the South.

The department also mentioned that during October 6-11, the active low-pressure cell over the middle South China Sea will upgrade into a tropical storm and move near Hainan Island, China. People should stay tuned for weather update.

The weather forecast for the next 24 hours is as follows:

North: Thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees and highs of 33-36 degrees Celsius.

Northeast: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees and highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius.

Central: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees, highs of 31-35 degrees Celsius.

East: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 31-33 degrees Celsius; waves 1-2 meters high and over 2 meters during thundershowers.

South (east coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 29-34 degrees Celsius; waves a meter high and 1-2 meters during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 20-25 degrees, highs of 27-31 degrees Celsius; waves 1-2 meters high and over 2 meters during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rain; temperature lows of 24-25 degrees, highs of 32-34 degrees Celsius.

Source: Thailand Meteorological Department

Published : October 06, 2021

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/in-focus/40007081

The Cabinet on Tuesday earmarked 1.32 billion baht to cover tuition fees for 660,318 children enrolled in child development centres nationwide.

The remedy, which will provide 2,000 baht per child, aims to ease parents’ burden in the fallout of the Covid-19 crisis, deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said.

Published : October 05, 2021

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/in-focus/40007078

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Department of Disease Control (DDC)’s plan to purchase 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Hungary.

The DDC chief will sign a bilateral pact with Hungary and a tripartite agreement between the two countries and the drugmaker soon.

“The procurement of additional vaccines is in line with the government’s plan to administer 126.2 million doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 within this year. We are confident that at least 70 per cent of the population will be vaccinated by December,” said government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.

Published : October 05, 2021

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007072

The Public Health Ministry is negotiating the purchase of 200,000 courses of the experimental antiviral drug Molnupiravir with US drugmaker Merck & Co.

“The ministry expects the drug to be registered under the Thai Food and Drug Administration [FDA] by November and the first batch of Molnupiravir to be delivered to Thailand by late next month or early December,” Medical Services Department chief Dr Somsak Ankasil said on Tuesday.

“We cannot reveal the price at the moment due to contract restrictions,” he said. “This contract will only be valid once Molnupiravir is approved by the US FDA, which should be soon.”

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Molnupiravir is among several anti-coronavirus drugs currently undergoing Phase 2 and 3 trials overseas. Results of the Phase 3 trial for Molnupiravir – the first antiviral drug specifically developed to fight Covid-19 – are expected by the end of October.

If the drug proves to be effective, it will be used in place of Favipiravir. Both drugs act in the same way – stopping the Covid-19 virus from entering the body’s cells. Patients with mild symptoms will be given 40 tablets of Molnupiravir to take over five days.

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Published : October 05, 2021

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007069

A big biker who was practising precarious stunts near Khao Yai’s Toscana Valley hotel was arrested and hit with a 3,000 baht fine.

The 45-year-old Uten (last name withheld) was also slapped with a month in prison and has had his bike confiscated in the bargain.

Provincial police showed up at Uten’s bike repair shop in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district on Monday after photographs of him doing stunts in front of a cheering audience went viral on social media.

Boasting big biker lands himself in big troubleBoasting big biker lands himself in big trouble

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He was hit with two charges – reckless driving that may cause harm to persons or property and driving without regard to the safety of others.

The suspect is reportedly part of a big bike gang that frequently organises stunts for its large social media following. The gang has also been frequently slammed on social media for paying no heed to safety.

Related news:

• Three held for allegedly lobbing bomb at police car
• Tak police seize over 9,000 smuggled turtles worth up to THB1.5m
• National Police ex-chief under investigation in ‘Boss’ case

Boasting big biker lands himself in big trouble​​​​​​​

Published : October 05, 2021

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007068

“Locanation”, the first online travel agency that does not collect commissions from hotels, was launched this month to offer Thai travellers more choices.

This platform, which is like other online travel agencies like Agoda or Traveloka, was launched on October 1 as part of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s “TAT Travel Tech Startup Season 2” campaign.

The platform can be reached at www.locanation.com.

Locanation founder Pepe Arunanondchai said this website is better than the booking platforms he had developed before.

He said Locanation is the first online travel agency that does not collect commissions from hotels and helps them communicate directly with potential guests.

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Pepe said hotels generally pay a 30 per cent commission to travel platforms and most hotels are unable to communicate directly with potential customers.

This platform is available in three languages – Thai, English and Chinese.

Pepe said, initially, the focus will be on local travellers, but expects 20 per cent to be foreigners. He added that by next year he expects 20,000 hotels to have joined the platform.

Locanation also supports the government’s Phase 3 of the “We Travel Together” or “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” travel stimulus scheme, he added.

Published : October 05, 2021

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40007067

Investigators looking into the “Joe Ferrari” case have learned that most of the luxury cars the former Nakhon Sawan police station chief had confiscated were stolen overseas.

Records show some of these cars had been “confiscated” even before they crossed the border.

Of the 410 luxury cars seized by ex-police station chief Pol Colonel Thitisan Uthanapol, 270 had been reported stolen overseas, deputy National Police chief Pol General Suchart Theerasawat told the press on Monday.

“Of the 270, 101 had been reported stolen before being seized and 169 were reported after being confiscated,” he said. “We also have evidence showing that other officers were also involved in this scam.

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“We believe Thitisan and his gang have been confiscating smuggled luxury cars and submitting them to the Customs Department for auction after pocketing 5 per cent of the estimated price as finder’s fee,” Suchart said. “We are investigating to see if the buyers of these cars are also related to the gang. The investigation team should be able to file charges within November.”

Suchart said most of these cars had been smuggled from Singapore and Malaysia.

Thitisan was arrested on August 26 for allegedly demanding 2 million baht from two drug suspects on August 5 before suffocating the male suspect to death with plastic bags. He then allegedly ordered the doctor to attribute the death to a drug overdose and told the other suspect to remain quiet.

After the station chief’s arrest, the National Anti-Corruption Commission launched a probe into his finances, especially since Thitisan, who is known on social media as “Joe Ferrari” for his lavish lifestyle and collection of sports cars, became unusually wealthy. Thitisan reportedly owns a mansion, several sports cars and assets worth millions of baht.

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Published : October 05, 2021