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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403036

Cool morning but hot, hazy day in some regions

NationalFeb 25. 2021

By THE NATION

A low-pressure heat system is covering upper Thailand and will bring hot weather with haze during the day, but the morning remains cool in this region and the upper Northeast due to a westerly wind from the Himalayan range, while the Gulf and the Andaman Sea will see weak wind and waves amid an easterly breeeze across the Gulf of Thailand, the Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

From February 28 to March 3, another moderate high pressure system will cover the Northeast while southerly, southeasterly winds will bring humidity from the South China Sea to the lower Northeast, the Central region, the East and Bangkok and its vicinity, the department also said. It forecast some hot days across the country though with thunderstorms and gusty winds in some areas.

Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cool weather in the morning, hot weather during the day; temperature lows of 17-24 degrees and highs of 35-38 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 6-15 degrees Celsius.

Northeast: Cool weather in the morning, hot weather with haze during the day; temperature lows of 19-23 degrees and highs of 35-38 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 11-15 degrees Celsius.

Central: Hot weather with haze during the day; temperature lows of 22-26 degrees, highs of 36-38 degrees Celsius.

East: Partly cloudy with hot weather during the day; temperature lows of 22-26 degrees, highs of 31-37 degrees Celsius; waves less than metre high and 1 metre offshore.

South (east coast): Partly cloudy; temperature lows of 20-23 degrees, highs of 31-36 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high.

South (west coast): Partly cloudy; temperature lows of 20-24 degrees, highs of 34-36 degrees Celsius; waves less than a metre high and 1 metre offshore.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Hot weather with haze during the day; temperature lows of 25-27 degrees, highs of 33-37 degrees Celsius.

Source: Thailand Meteorological Department

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403025

Swiss bank ties up with KBank to look after ultra-high net worth individuals in new normal

NationalFeb 25. 2021

By THE NATION

Private Swiss bank Lombard Odier has joined KBank Private Banking to launch a comprehensive study called “Connection, Transition, Transformation: Engaging Asia’s UHNWI in the New Normal”.

The study’s core objective is to understand the concerns of leading ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) across Asia in the Covid era and steering the industry to better address their needs.

With insightful feedback from 150 UHNWI respondents in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan, the report unveiled a wide range of findings that get to the heart of this, including technology, investment, family and sustainability.

“The disruptions and impact of the pandemic are manifold and have forced leading families and entrepreneurs in the region to rethink everything. One thing is clear – UHNWIs have reflected a strong desire for a trusted local adviser that helps them navigate and access markets they can no longer travel to easily and form relationships with banks that are aligned with their principles and convictions.

“Our alliance with KBank Private Banking encapsulates this – through KBank Private Banking, Thai UHNWIs can access opportunities via Lombard Odier’s network of alliances in the region,” said Vincent Magnenat, chief executive officer for Lombard Odier’s Asia operations.
Balancing technology and humans

Covid-19 has become a game-changer, putting the entire world on the same page. For UHNWIs, there is a greater shift towards digitalisation. The report showed that Thailand is among the top three countries in Asia where most UHNWIs believe “more digital, less physical” interactions will become the norm.

However, not everything can go digital, especially private banking and building trust. Surprisingly, 59 per cent of Asian UHNWIs and most Thai UHNWIs prefer physical meetings at or outside the bank once the Covid-19 crisis comes to an end.

Hunt for something extra

The Covid-19 fallout has led Asian UHNWIs to perceive markets as increasingly dynamic and segmented. Results, however, show that investors who have lived through the financial crisis have the ability to stay focused. Of the Thai participants, up to 70 per cent, have not changed the characteristics of their portfolio.

In terms of assets, some Asian UHNWIs have decided to adopt a conservative bias, turning to traditional safe havens such as gold, the Swiss Franc, the Japanese Yen, and sovereign bonds. Other Asian UHNWIs see this as a time of opportunity, placing more interest in private equity and private debt as a low-interest rate is expected to be part of the new norm.

With a potential reversal in globalisation, many participants expressed a strong desire for a trusted local adviser who will help them navigate, access local markets, and capitalise in this time of uncertainty.

Most Thai UHNWIs, or 87 per cent, said the availability of extra services will influence their choice of bank, listing treasury management capabilities, access to real asset opportunities and ability to be connected with entrepreneurs as the three most important services.

Urgency for family governance

For many Asian UHNWI families, the pandemic has brought to the forefront some key longer-term questions for family businesses, family values and family wealth governance.

As a result, they are cautiously exploring and putting governance structures in place. According to the report, 35 per cent of Thai UHNWI families have already structured their family governance, and the crisis has prompted 45 per cent without a structure in place to start thinking of adopting one.

Real-estate advisory service has also become one of the fastest-growing family wealth planning service offerings for Thai UHNWI families. In 2020, KBank Private Banking studied the real-estate portfolios of 121 clients, covering 940 plots of land.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403022

Thai military announces overhaul to cut number of generals

NationalFeb 24. 2021

By THE NATION

The Thai military has announced a major overhaul of its forces aimed at cutting the number of high-ranking officers.

Thailand has a notoriously top-heavy military, with about 1,700 generals – or one general for every 212 soldiers, according to Prof Paul Chambers, a military affairs expert at Naresuan University.

On Wednesday, the Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTAF) announced that unnecessary units will be removed, while the setting up of new units under major generals, rear admirals, air vice marshals and other high-ranking officers will be suspended.
An RTAF spokesperson said the changes stemmed from high-level talks.

Some units will be assigned to cover more duties, while unnecessary units will be scrapped, he added.

Meanwhile, quotas for some posts will be reduced as post-holders resign, he said.

The new guidelines are expected to cut the number of high-ranking officers – major generals, rear admirals, and air vice marshals – by 5 to 10 per cent. The overhaul will start from this April.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403021

DDC dismisses claim that Chatuchak market could be origin of Covid

NationalFeb 24. 2021Dr Chawetsan Namwat

By The Nation

Thai health authorities on Wednesday dismissed reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is now looking at Bangkok’s Chatuchak weekend market as the possible origin of Covid-19 virus.

Danish media reported that the WHO team who visited Wuhan in January cast doubt on the theory that the virus originated in the Chinese city and are now looking at other possible sources, including wildlife vendors at Chatuchak market.

The Department of Disease Control (DDC) on Wednesday denied the claim in a press briefing.

Dr Chawetsan Namwat, director of the DDC’s emergency disease and health hazards control division, said the claim was based on research that shows Thai horseshoe bats carry a SARS virus that shares 91.5 per cent of its genetic code with the Covid-19 virus. However, the bat virus is not transmissible to humans, he added.

The DDC continues to advise people not to eat wild animals, including bats, he said.

“This is just an academic assumption, not absolute truth,” said Chawetsan of the reports.

“We are constantly monitoring the animal-trading zone in Chatuchak weekend market. Even if there is no clear evidence on the origin of this virus, we still need to be vigilant and maintain strong disease-prevention measures.”

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403019

Mother of ‘angelic’ volunteer denies ever seeking compensation

NationalFeb 24. 2021

By THE NATION

The mother of a 13-year-old volunteer – who died after sweeping up debris in a jungle near her hometown in Chiang Mai – insisted that she has not been seeking financial help as claimed by some media agencies.

Aree Kanmangmee, 38, whose daughter Natthawarun Anusornpana died from a brain-related illness in hospital on Saturday, was given a compensation of Bt50,000 from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

Ministry officials later told the press that they will look into other sources of support for the family, while provincial authorities have also said they are looking into ways of helping.

Aree, however, has insisted that she has never asked for help and does not understand why the authorities have stepped up.

She added that some comments on social media accusing her of making her daughter “work to death” were hurtful and had put undue stress on her and her husband.

Aree, who works as a local teacher, said she was proud that her daughter had sacrificed her time and energy to help the community, and hoped she was “an angel up in heaven”.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403018

Govt offers helping hand to seniors in Saraburi

NationalFeb 24. 2021Photo credit: Don Phut District Office

By The Nation

Government officials showed up in Saraburi’s Don Phut district on Monday to help senior residents register for benefits under the state’s “Rao Chana” (We Win) cash handout scheme.

Photo credit: Don Phut District Office

Photo credit: Don Phut District Office

District chief Puttapong Suriyasing said officials’ first focus was to help an 85-year-old partially paralysed woman who had lost her national ID card. She apparently lives alone and has not left her home for 16 years.

Photo credit: Don Phut District OfficePhoto credit: Don Phut District Office

“The officials carried the woman to the Don Phut District Office to make a new ID, after which she was helped to register for benefits under the Rao Chana scheme,” he said, adding that many seniors in the area have been helped in the same manner.Photo credit: Don Phut District Office

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403015

Hand-held lasers the latest weapon in Thailand’s war on drugs

NationalFeb 24. 2021

By THE NATION

Thailand was armed with a powerful new weapon for its war on drugs on Wednesday, when Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin took delivery of handheld narcotics analysers from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

“The new portable analysers utilise the Raman spectroscopy technique to identify suspicious drugs and chemicals in less than 30 seconds, and more accurately than the colour test method that we currently use,” said Somsak.

The analysers will be used in drug prevention and suppression operations conducted by the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).

“UNODC has handed two machines to the ONCB, which will help increase agents’ efficiency in detecting illegal drugs and chemicals smuggled cross the border via natural channels, or at the airports, seaports, and other routes,” added the justice minister.

ONCB secretary-general Wichai Chaimongkhol said the portable Raman spectroscopy analysers can detect the drugs as well as additives such as colouring and flavouring agents, which will make it easier to track down drug smugglers and manufacturers.

“The machine can detect chemicals either in powder, crystallised, tablet, capsule or liquid form,” said Wichai. “Furthermore, its laser can penetrate transparent containers or wrapping of up to 2mm thickness and read the scattering of light to identify the substance accurately, reducing the risk of officials handling harmful chemicals while also helping preserve the evidence.”

Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of UNODC’s Southeast Asia and Pacific Office, said the UN agency was glad to help Thailand in its campaign against drugs at both the national and regional level, and is looking forward to future cooperation on a larger scale.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403014

Cabinet okays new law forcing NGOs to register with govt

NationalFeb 24. 2021Government spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek

By The Nation

A draft law that will force non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to register with the Interior Ministry was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.

Currently, only 87 of Thailand’s many NGOs are registered, said government spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek. The registered NGOs are organisations that work for the benefit of the public, she added.

However, many others claim to be non-profit organisations but are funded, and do not operate for the public interest as claimed, she said.

Some of these organisations used their funds to benefit their own members rather than the public, so the government found it necessary to create a law to ensure transparency, said the spokeswoman.

Under the draft law, NGOs must be registered with the Interior Ministry’s Department of Provincial Administration. Their actions must comply with the rules prescribed by law and administered by the Interior Ministry.

NGOs must also disclose the sources of their actions and income via an audit report submitted to the Department of Provincial Administration and published in public.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403011

Asthma-stricken Phrae resident allegedly gives up on life

NationalFeb 24. 2021

By THE NATION

A 47-year-old man in Phrae province was found dead on his bed on Tuesday evening, and it is believed he killed himself because he could no longer deal with his chronic asthma.

Sung Men district police arrived at 6pm to find the dead man, identified as Thongsian Kukong, lying on his bed under a mosquito net.

The man had shot himself by triggering the gun with his toe. There was no sign of a struggle.

Officials believe Thongsian had been dead for at least four hours. A two-day-old chicken carcass was also found in the man’s kitchen.

Neighbour Kaewma Puengpak, 71, told the press that the last time she had seen the man was on Monday. She added that she asked another neighbour to check on Thongsian as he had not joined her and other neighbours for a late-afternoon meal on Tuesday as he usually did.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30403010

93 test positive for Covid-19, mostly in Samut Sakhon

NationalFeb 24. 2021

By The Nation

The number of infections in Thailand was below 100 for the fifth consecutive day, with 93 being reported on Wednesday.

Of the 93, 22 are returnees in quarantine, while 59 had been exposed to the virus while visiting high-risk areas.

Samut Sakhon again leads the list with 51 cases, followed by five in Ayutthaya, two in Bangkok and one in Pathum Thani.

Meanwhile, proactive tests lead to the discovery of 12 cases, six of whom were in Pathum Thani, five in Samut Sakhon and one in Nonthaburi.

Of the 22 travellers found infected, 17 are Thai nationals returning from Japan, Bahrain, Germany and United Arab Emirates, while one is a Briton flying in from Pakistan. The remainder are a Japanese, an Iranian, a Kuwaiti and a Ugandan who flew in from their respective nations.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration also announced that 96 patients have recovered and discharged.

As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 25,692. Of these, 22,956 had been contracted locally, including 14,460 who were found via proactive testing, while 2,736 were returnees. So far, 24,542 have recovered and been discharged, 1,067 patients are still being treated and the death toll remains unchanged at 83.

According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 112.7 million (up by 371,151), of whom 88.24 million have recovered, 21.97 million are active cases (93,916 in severe condition) and 2.49 million have died (up by 10,297).

Thailand ranks 114th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 28.9 million, followed by India 11.03 million, Brazil 10.26 million, Russia 4.19 million and the United Kingdom 4.13 million.