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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023139

Thailand commemorates International Universal Health Coverage Day 2022

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2022

On December 9, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai gave welcoming remarks at the International Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day 2022 event held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The event titled “Build the World We Want: A Healthy Future for All” aims to commemorate International Universal Health Coverage Day which falls on December 12 of each year.

The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Health, and the National Health Security Office (NHSO) and attended by over 200 participants from the Diplomatic Community, relevant agencies, and civil society. The event also marked the 20th anniversary of NHSO.

Don reiterated Thailand’s unwavering commitment to ensure universal and equitable access to health services for all, as well as people’s fundamental right to health. UHC schemes must be implemented in parallel with disease prevention and health promotion. In addition, Thailand has aspired to transform Phuket and its vicinity into an international medical hub, centre of medical excellence, and research facility for academic development by 2027, he said.

Don also highlighted UHC as an effective tool for pandemic containment and the solid foundation for re-building a safer and fairer post COVID-19 world, as well as the global health security. He urged the international community to work together to keep UHC high on the international agenda, including through the development of a new ‘pandemic treaty’ under the World Health Organization, the High-Level Meeting on UHC in September 2023 and through the efforts in putting health-related Sustainable Development Goals back on track.

In his conclusion, Don insisted that UHC will truly be universal, only when it is making health not a “privilege” for some, but a “right” for everyone.

During the panel discussion on “20-year pathway of Thailand’s UHC – challenges and the way forward”, speakers which include representatives from the Ministry of Public Health, WHO Representative to Thailand, civil society and medical students’ association, shared their perspectives on how to further advance Thai UHC in the next decade, the role of the Ministry of Public Health as a smart regulator in the UHC scheme and relevant recommendations on health financing.

In this regard, they suggested that UHC could help transform “illness” into “wellness” through measures such as preventive medicine, close engagement with youth and dissemination of information on UHC through social platforms.

The event contributed to galvanizing wider support for UHC and allowed relevant stakeholders to discuss progress and challenges, as well as sharing best practices related to the implementation of UHC, while reiterating the importance of Member States to renew their political commitments at the upcoming High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on UHC in September 2023 in New York.

Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023138

Bangkok soul-food icon Sky High to close after 46 years

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2022

Bangkokians have just six weeks to get their last taste of Sky High Restaurant, before the culinary legend disappears for good after 46 years.

The restaurant delivered the bad news to its army of loyal customers on Thursday, in a Facebook post announcing it is shutting down for good on January 31.

Sky High earned its reputation as a culinary icon with Thai soul food including rice porridge made on a charcoal brazier and spicy chicken-leg soup. After tickling tastebuds for almost half a century on Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Phra Nakhon district, the restaurant moved to The Sense shopping mall in Bangkok Noi district in 2020. Ironically, the eatery is now rooted to the ground floor though the quality of the food reportedly still soars.

The owners explained sales had fallen after Covid-19 arrived and the restaurant can no longer cover operating cost, before thanking its loyal customers for their years of patronage.

Although Covid-19 restrictions have now been lifted and the overall economy is recovering to pre-pandemic levels, not all restaurants are managing to bounce back from the crisis.

Among the obstacles to revival after Covid are rising costs for raw materials and labour, as well as the switch to food delivery services driven by the outbreak.

Related Stories

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Obscure Saphan Kwai restaurant serves authentic Thai food with a royal flavour

Japanese restaurants see record-breaking growth in Thailand

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023136

10% discount for long-distance bus passengers who avoid New Year holiday

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2022

Interprovincial bus operator Transport Company is offering a 10% discount on bus tickets for those who travel just before and after the New Year holidays, in a bid to reduce crowding over the December 30-January 3 holiday period.

Many Thais head to their hometowns to visit relatives over New Year, resulting in heavy traffic congestion and the so-called “seven dangerous days” of increased road accidents.

Passengers who book e-tickets via the app or at https://www.busticket.in.th/ for any domestic trips on December 21-27 and January 3-9 will receive 10% discount, said Transport Co’s president Sanyalux Panwattanalikit on Thursday.

“Also, holders of Transport Co membership cards will get double reward points for every booking in December,” he added.

The company is also offering free car check-ups for motorists from December 19-29 at its Rangsit service centre. The move aims to ensure that people’s vehicles are safe and roadworthy, reducing the chance of traffic accidents during New Year trips.

For more info, call (02) 901 2338

Related Stories

State transport firm eyes electric buses to cut high fuel costs

Bus company gears up for long weekends, New Year celebrations

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023127

THB337-billion plan in the pipeline to tackle Thailand’s flooding and drought issues

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan on Thursday endorsed in principle a large-scale plan to tackle flooding and drought issues across the country that would require a budget of over 337 billion baht.

The massive plan for water resource management involves 63,589 projects that require total funding of 337.7 billion baht to implement in 2024.

General Prawit, acting as caretaker prime minister while PM Prayut Chan-o-cha was on an official trip to Belgium, gave his endorsement while chairing a meeting of the government subcommittees tasked with driving the water management master plan and the development of water resources.

Prawit attended the meeting through a videoconferencing system from his office at the Five Provinces Bordering Forest Preservation Foundation.
 

The plan calls for increasing the capacity of reservoirs by 1,400 million cubic metres to cover an area of 6.23 million rai (about 1 million hectares) to benefit 5.64 million households while protecting 5.37 million rai of residential and agricultural areas from severe flooding.

The plan is aimed at ensuring sufficient supplies of water for consumption and industrial production, dealing with flooding, and preserving and restoring the water resource ecosystems.

During the meeting, General Prawit instructed the Royal Irrigation Department and relevant state agencies to carefully study potential risk factors to prevent a delay in the plan’s implementation and an increase in funding needs.

The meeting also approved a project to improve the irrigation system along the lower section of the Chao Phraya River from Ayutthaya to Samut Prakan province on the eastern side, and from Ayutthaya to Samut Sakhon province on the western side. The goal is to speed up the release of water runoff into the sea to help alleviate severe inundations in flood-prone areas.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023123

Princess Bajrakitiyabha being treated for heart-related issue: Royal Household Bureau

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati fainted on Wednesday evening while training her dog for a contest in Nakhon Ratchasima, the Royal Household Bureau said on Thursday.

The agency said in a statement that the Princess, His Majesty the King’s daughter with HRH Princess Soamsawali, obtained first aid treatment for her heart-related health issue at Pak Chong Nana Hospital in the northeastern province.

She was later taken by helicopter to King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok for further examination and treatment.

According to the statement, Princess Bajrakitiyabha fainted while she was preparing to take part in the Thailand Working Dog Championship by Royal Thai Army 2022. The event is being held at the Military Dog Battalion in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district from December 10 to 19.

Their Majesties the King and Queen went to Chulalongkorn Hospital on Thursday afternoon as many well-wishers were gathering following news of the Princess’s illness.

Jirawat Prem-udomkit, one of the well-wishers, said that the Royal couple stopped to talk with them on their departure from the hospital shortly before 3pm. The man said he told the King and Queen that the well-wishers simply wanted to offer their moral support.

The Queen accepted his bouquet of flowers and told him that she would give it to Princess Bajrakitiyabha, Jirawat said.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023122

Prayut calls for constructive cooperation as Asean-EU summit wraps up in Brussels

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called for countries to use constructive cooperation to bring about positive change as the 45th Asean-EU summit wrapped up in Brussels yesterday.

Prayut told leaders attending the summit that cooperation between countries should focus on issues related to security, the economy, society, and the environment.

Regarding security, countries should work together to avoid confrontations and the risk of conflict while boosting cooperation on humanitarian and economic assistance, Prayut said.

Regarding economic, social and environmental issues, it is the responsibility of all countries to unite in a battle against such problems as climate change and global warming, he said. He said the economic model known as the BCG (bio, circular and green) — which was promoted by Thailand during the recent Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok — was a way to bring positive changes to mitigate climate change and reduce global warming.

“I believe that the power of constructive cooperation can serve as a driving force for sustainable development. This will benefit peoples of Asean, the European Union and the world as a whole,” PM Prayut wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.

“During this transitional period, we need global unity. The benefits of our efforts will happen for our generation and our children and grandchildren in the future. We have to start immediately today,” he said.

The Thai prime minister was in Brussels, where leaders from 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with their counterparts from the European Union on Wednesday to celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations between the two regional groupings.

Prayut also wrote that the Asean-EU leaders discussed strategic partnerships between the groupings and exchanged views on global challenges, including post-Covid economic recovery, and changes brought about by the green and digital economies.

He noted that the meeting had economic significance as the EU is Asean’s third-largest trade partner, after China and the United States.

Last year’s trade volume between member countries of the two regional groupings totalled 215.9 billion euros (7.98 trillion baht), accounting for 10.6% of Asean’s total trade. The EU is Asean’s top source of foreign direct investment, with 144 billion euros (5.32 trillion baht) in cumulative FDI from the EU in Asean.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023121

Thailand signs partnership and cooperation deal with the EU

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022

Thailand has signed a comprehensive partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA) with the European Union (EU).

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Asean-EU Commemorative Summit in Brussels.

Leaders from 10 member countries of Asean, including Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, on Wednesday met with their EU counterparts at the conference held to celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations between the two regional groupings.

On the same day, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai signed the draft Thai-EU PCA with Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Petr Fiala, in his capacity as president of the Council of the European Union, and Josep Borrell Fontelles, vice president of the European Commission and high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy.

General Prayut, European Council president Charles Michel, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also attended the event as witnesses.

The PCA signing ceremony marked an important milestone in the 44 year-long diplomatic relationship between Thailand and the EU, which began when the first European Community mission in Southeast Asia was founded in Bangkok in 1978, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website on Thursday.

“The PCA opens up a new era in Thailand-EU relations, reinvigorating and deepening the partnership on all fronts,” the ministry said in its press release.

The PCA covers various cooperation areas, including political, economic, social and environment. “It provides a forward-looking framework for advancing cooperation in a more concrete and orderly manner,” the ministry said.

Thailand is expected to benefit from knowledge-sharing sessions, policy consultations, capacity-building activities as well as the exchange of experts.

According to the ministry, the PCA can also be instrumental for Thailand in bringing about better management and higher standards. The cooperation under the PCA will also serve as a basis for and create an environment conducive to the resumption of Thai-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023119

ID will be required for purchase of marijuana buds next month: official

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022

Thais will have to start flashing their citizen identification cards next month to buy ganja buds from 5,000 registered shops nationwide, a senior official said on Thursday.

Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, director-general of the Thai Traditional and Complementary Medicine Department, said that after his department issued a directive to declare marijuana buds a controlled herb it began developing an online system to monitor their sale in registered shops.

Thongchai said owners of the registered shops must inform the department what they are doing with the dried marijuana buds, where they bought them and who they are selling them to.

The online system will require buyers to insert their ID cards into card readers so that the department can identify them in real time. Buyers must be at least 20 years old.

Thongchai said the online sales-record system will help the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) feel confident about the sale of ganja buds in Thailand.

“The system can create reports for the INCB and [this will] create confidence at the INCB over the sale of ganja buds,” Thongchai said.

He said the system is expected to be ready for use next month.

About 5,000 registered shops have received approval to sell ganja buds, with about 2,000 of them located in Bangkok – mostly in tourist destinations, such as Thong Lor and Khao San Road.

Thongchai added that although the directive of his department can control the sale and use of ganja buds, it would be better to have a specific law to prevent abuses. For example, such a law could prohibit smoking ganja in public areas, he said.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023118

31 arrested in World Cup gambling crackdown, police say

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022

Thirty-one people were arrested during a crackdown on illegal gambling websites on Wednesday, police told a press conference on Thurdsay.

The raids coincide with an increase of gambling during the 2022 World Cup.

The police searched two locations in Bangkok and six in Chanthaburi on Wednesday. They found 20 gambling websites were being operated from the locations.

Police seized nine computers, 19 laptops, 31 computer monitors, 19 mobile phones, a camera, a whiteboard with a message promoting gambling, 21 bankbooks, a banknote counter, and three cars.

Police also seized 70 million baht. At Thursday’s press conference they said that 1.2 billion baht was circulating in the 20 gambling websites, which use pop-up ads to attract users.

Maj Gen Teeradej Thumsutee, commander of the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said that the operators of the gambling websites advertise during the World Cup and that the websites are easily accessible.

He said one 13-year-old child gambled on one of the 20 websites.

Teeradej admitted that he might not be able to eliminate gambling websites but said he would investigate further and make their owners “unhappy”.

Teeradej said that the evidence gathered from Wednesday’s raids could identify those who control them.

At least 20 arrest warrants were issued for gambling and money-laundering related crimes.

Teeradej said gambling is illegal and no one ever got rich from it. He also called on parents to monitor their children’s online behaviour to ensure they did not fall victim to illegal gambling websites.

Related stories

• Cops bust THB3bn online gambling network as Thais bet ‘billions’ on World Cup
• Thai police bust nationwide gambling franchise with 500 websites
• Can Thai police stop multibillion-baht World Cup gambling? Don’t bet on it

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023108

FDA chief insists ganja no longer narcotic regardless of cannabis control law

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration chief insisted on Thursday that all parts of ganja plants, including the buds, will remain legal no matter what the new cannabis and hemp control bill states.

FDA secretary-general Paisarn Dunkum was commenting as the House of Representatives resumed its second reading of the bill on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the House panel vetting the bill had agreed to remove Section 3, which stated that marijuana, hemp and their extracts will not be regarded as narcotics under the law. Paisarn is a member of the vetting panel.

The bill’s second reading was suspended in September when the House voted to send it back to the panel for revision. The coalition Democrat Party joined forces with the opposition and voted to send the draft back, citing a lack of protection for children. The Bhumjaithai Party, which engineered cannabis legalization, accused the Democrats of playing political games over the draft bill.

On Wednesday, MPs raised objections to Section 3 leading to its withdrawal.

However, its removal would not affect other sections of the bill, meaning ganja will remain legal, Paisarn said.

“If you ask whether ganja is still a narcotic, the answer is that it doesn’t depend on this bill. I hereby affirm that ganja is now not a narcotic under the Public Health Ministry’s directive.

“Simply put, neither the buds, flowers, stems, leaves nor roots of ganja plants are narcotics. Only extracts with THC levels higher than 0.2% are considered narcotics,” Paisarn said.

Asked what steps would need to be taken if the government wanted to relist ganja as a narcotic, Paisarn said the Narcotics Control Committee must first propose the recategorisation to the Narcotics Control Board. The board would then ask the public health minister to issue a directive relisting ganja as a narcotic, Paisarn said.

So far, the Narcotics Control Committee had not discussed returning ganja to the narcotics list, he said, adding that he was not aware of any government attempts to reverse legalisation. The new bill was merely aimed at controlling the use of cannabis and hemp for business and health purposes, he said.

Although the bill faces delays, ganja products are still regulated by other laws, he noted. If cannabis was eventually relisted as a narcotic, the whole industry manufacturing food, cosmetics and other products from ganja and hemp would have to be scrapped,” Paisarn said.

He said the FDA has so far registered 2,200 products with ganja or hemp as ingredients.