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Upper Thailand gets cooler with gusty winds, more rain in the South

NationalFeb 19. 2021

By THE NATION

The moderate high-pressure system from China extends to the Northeast, the Central and the East of Thailand, resulting in temperature dropping by 1-2 degrees Celsius and strong winds in the areas, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the southeasterly wind prevails over the North, bringing thundershowers and gusty winds in some areas.

The department also said that the northeast monsoon over the Gulf and the South is strengthening, resulting in more rain in the South while waves in the lower Gulf rise about two metres high. All ships should proceed with caution, the department said.

The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cool weather with fog in the morning and thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas as well as gusty winds; temperature lows of 16-21 degrees Celsius, highs of 29-34°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 6-15°C.

Northeast: Cool to cold weather with gusty winds; temperature lows of 14-19°C, highs of 27-33°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 7-12°C.

Central: Cool weather in the morning and gusty winds; temperature lows of 20-21°C, highs of 32-34°C.

East: Cool weather in the morning and gusty winds; temperature lows of 20-23°C, highs of 31-34°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.

South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 20-23°C, highs of 30-33°C; waves 1-2 metres high and over two metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Partly cloudy with isolated light rain; temperature lows of 20-25°C, highs of 32-35°C; waves 1-2 metres high and over two metres offshore.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cool weather in the morning and gusty winds; temperature lows of 21-23°C, highs of 32-34°C.

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TRIS Rating maps out rocky path to Thai economic recovery

NationalFeb 19. 2021

By THE NATION

Thai businesses were coping with the sharp declines in revenue by aggressively cutting costs, stockpiling cash, and delaying capital expenditures in anticipation of a tough time ahead, according to TRIS Rating on Thursday.

For its latest economic outlook, the credit-ratings agency assessed three key aspects governing Thailand’s recovery – pace of recovery, debt levels, and liquidity.

The recovery paths for most businesses in the manufacturing sector started in the third quarter of 2020, it said.

However, the pace of recovery would likely vary significantly among industries. Recovery prospects in the service sector, especially for hospitality and aviation businesses, remain highly uncertain following the resurgence of Covid-19 in Thailand and globally, said TRIS.

Sharp declines in revenue and cash flows of rated companies would bring spikes in debt ratios, weakening of their financial profiles, said the agency.

However, it expects a recovery that started in the third quarter of 2020 to continue over the next few years, with a majority of the rated issuers projected to recover to pre-Covid levels in 2022.

It noted clear signs of reviving risk appetite for corporate credits, in particular debt issues from highly rated issuers. “However, the reviving market appetite has come with significantly higher borrowing costs for the issuers,” said TRIS.

It forecast Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 2.6 per cent in 2021, rebounding from the 6.1 per cent contraction in 2020.

However, the GDP forecast was dependent on the arrival of three to four million tourists in 2021, since revival of Thai tourism was still the key to a swift recovery in the near term.

It noted that revival of Thai exports is slow as the world’s major economies continue to struggle with sharp increases in domestic virus infections.

Public sector expenditures would continue to be an important driver for the Thai economy over the next few years. However, the pace of recovery would be largely dictated by external factors, especially vaccinations worldwide and recovery of the global economy, said TRIS.

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Just wrap up your e-waste and give it to the postman

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By The Nation

Householders can now hand their electronic waste (e-waste) to postal delivery staff, in a campaign launched by Thailand Post and Advanced Info Service (AIS) to protect the environment.

The growing mountain of e-waste is causing problems around the world, as countries struggle to dispose of it safely.

In response, Thailand Post launched the new campaign on Thursday as an extension of existing e-waste disposal points set up at post offices nationwide.

“People can drop their old smartphones, tablets, chargers, headphones, power banks, and smartphone batteries into a box and give it to postmen,” Thailand Post said, adding that the service is free of charge.

Meanwhile, AIS will be responsible for disposal of the e-waste in line with international standards.

“We would like to thank Thailand Post for cooperating in the campaign to help people dispose of e-waste [safely],” said Saichon Submakudom, AIS chief of public relations.

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Ministry hits back at MP’s claims of vaccine mismanagement, monopoly

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By The Nation

The Public Health Ministry has stepped up to deny claims made during Wednesday’s no-confidence debate that Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccination programme has been mismanaged.

The ministry held a press conference after opposition MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn (Move Forward) attacked the government over its delayed vaccine plan and Siam Bioscience’s “monopoly” in manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Kiattaphum Wongrajit

Health Ministry permanent secretary Kiattaphum Wongrajit said the effectiveness of Thailand’s efforts to contain the outbreak had been recognised by international organisations. Meanwhile, 63 million doses of vaccine had been reserved to vaccinate people this year.

National Vaccine Institute director Nakorn Premsri added that Thailand had used three methods to procure vaccine since April 2020 – supporting domestic vaccine research, helping support foreign vaccine research, and following up on research before negotiating with vaccine-makers.

Nakorn Premsri

Thailand began negotiating with foreign companies when they launched human tests for mRNA and viral vector vaccines, he said.

After developing a viral vector vaccine in July-August last year, AstraZeneca and Oxford University assessed Thai companies’ capabilities and chose Siam Bioscience as a suitable firm to receive the technology transfer for vaccine production, he added.

Partnering with another company would have meant merely taking shipment of vaccines. “But with AstraZeneca, Thailand will gain the potential to produce world-class vaccines in the country,” Nakorn said. Siam Bioscience was among 25 companies around the world selected by AstraZeneca to make the vaccine, he added.

He also dismissed rumours highlighted in the no-confidence debate that Thailand had rejected an offer of vaccines from India. He said India had never offered to sell the AstraZeneca shots to Thailand, but the two countries had signed an MoU for vaccine research.

Meanwhile, he dismissed another claim made during Wednesday’s no-confidence debate – that Thailand had been left out of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s COVAX vaccine procurement programme. He said the government was still negotiating with the WHO to seek conditions that were suited to Thailand.

Nakorn said that if MPs had checked details about COVAX they would have found that most of its vaccine comes from AstraZeneca with a small percentage from Pfizer. Since Thailand will soon launch production of AstraZeneca vaccine, it did not need to join the WHO programme, he added.

Opas KarnkawinpongOpas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said the ministry had also prepared a system to track the effects of vaccination. After being vaccinated, people would have to wait in the hospital/clinic for at least 30 minutes before returning home, and then receive a check-up the following month. Anyone who suffered harmful side-effects from the vaccine could claim compensation from the National Health Security Office under a new regulation (Section 41).

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Myanmar nationals in Bangkok ask US to protect families back home

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By The NationMyanmar nationals in Thailand gathered outside the US Embassy in Bangkok’s Pathumwan on Thursday, calling on the United States to protect fellow citizens from the new military regime in their home country.

They submitted a list of 5,000 vulnerable Myanmar nationals in Thailand to an embassy official, while police and Special Branch officers oversaw the demonstration.

One demonstrator, 33, said they were worried about the safety of their families’ back home.

Myanmar’s military leaders have struggled to gain control of the streets since ousting the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won a landslide victory in November elections. She has urged the country’s 55 million people to oppose the army’s February 1 coup, calling it “an attempt to bring the nation back under military dictatorship”.

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3 Koreans arrested in Bangkok over illegal gambling website

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By THE NATION

Immigration police have arrested three South Korean men at a building in Bangkok’s Yannawa district after receiving a tip-off that it was being used as a base to operate a South Korean gambling website.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the three suspects have been hired by a South Korean employer to operate the website from Thailand, each receiving a salary of Bt100,000 per month plus special overseas expenses of Bt30,000 per month,” Immigration police chief Sompong Chingduang said on Thursday. “The website, which is accessible from South Korea and targets mainly South Korean customers, has circulating cash estimated at Bt2 million-Bt3 million per day.”

“One of the suspects said that their jobs are daily system administration and answering customers’ questions and that they have been doing this for about a year,” added Sompong.

The three suspects, all aged 29-30, have initially been charged with working without work visas. Police are investigating whether they were involved in illegal acts, including money laundering.

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Mahasarakham doctor becomes first medic to die from Covid in Thailand

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By THE NATION

A doctor in Mahasarakham province succumbed to Covid-19 on Thursday morning, becoming the first medic to die from the virus in Thailand.

Dr Panya Hanphanitphan, 66, was the 18th person to be infected by the virus in Mahasarakham in the new wave. He reportedly picked up the infection from his patients.

He tested positive on February 1 and was treated in Mahasarakham Hospital before being shifted to Khon Kaen Hospital.

Though Panya’s death was announced on Thursday morning, it was not included in the daily announcement from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

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CCSA considers pulling some provinces out of red zone

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By The Nation

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration will consider lifting some restrictions on “red-zone” provinces now that the number of new cases is dropping.

The topic will be discussed at the next CCSA meeting on Monday, deputy spokesperson Apisamai Srirangsan said on Thursday.

The CCSA created colour-coded control zones based on the number of Covid-19 infections when Thailand was struck with a new wave in December.

According to the codes, red stands for maximum control, orange medium control, yellow high-surveillance area, while green stands for minimum surveillance.

Apisamai said if the CCSA agrees to ease restrictions then the number of provinces marked green will rise from 35 to 54, while those marked orange will drop from 20 to eight. However, she said, Samut Sakhon will remain a red-zone province.

She also said that though restrictions are expected to be eased, people should still maintain strict hygiene to protect themselves.

She added that the authorities aim to get everyone inoculated against Covid-19, including foreign expats and migrant workers, so infections can be curbed, the burden on state healthcare system eased and the economy revived.

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Stolen ancient lintels to make their way to Thailand soon

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By THE NATION

The Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum was returning the two ancient lintels that had been smuggled out of Thailand in the 1960s.

The lintels, depicting the Hindu deity Vishnu (Phra Narai) had been stolen from Prasat Khao Lon in Sa Kaeo and from Prasat Nong Hong in Buri Ram.

The return of the artefacts will be overseen by the US Department of Justice.

The ministry’s spokesperson Thani Saengrat thanked US authorities for their help in the years-long fight to retrieve the lintels.

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Will you buy Karon beach?

NationalFeb 18. 2021

By The Nation

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is cooperating with Winning Moves, a leading maker of board games, to come up with a Phuket edition of the classic trading game Monopoly.

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, TAT’s executive director for tourism products, said a Phuket edition of the game will make people familiar with the province’s tourist attractions.

Photo credit: Tourism Authority of Thailand

She is also inviting people to suggest their favourite beaches, activities, hotels or restaurants.

“Let’s see if the places you suggest become one of the squares in the game,” she said.

Suggestions can be made on TAT’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thaitourismnews/posts/3654275931359053