China vaccine ‘arriving soon’ to kickstart Thailand’s stalled inoculation
NationalFeb 08. 2021Chinese Embassy Charge d’Affaires Yang Xin delivers a Chinese New Year gift to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday.
By The Nation
China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine will be delivered to Thailand as soon as possible, Chinese officials told Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday. The assurance was given by the Chinese Embassy’s chargé d’affaires, Yang Xin, during a meeting with Prayut at Government House ahead of Chinese New Year.
However, no date was given for the vaccine’s arrival.
China’s drug regulator last week gave conditional approval for the vaccine, called Coronavac, while the Thai Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing Sinovac’s application.
The deal for the Sinovac vaccine has come under scrutiny amid reports it is barely more than 50 per cent affective against Covid-19.
However, Thailand’s inoculation programme has stalled after shipments of its other vaccine, manufactured by AstraZeneca, were delayed by shortages in Europe.
At Monday’s meeting, Prayut also praised China for its success in containing the spread of Covid-19.
No commercial fishing will be allowed in the Gulf of Thailand until mid-June in a bid to rebuild resources, Mesak Pakdeekong, chief of the Fisheries Department, said on Monday.
The areas off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Surat Thani will be blocked for 90 days from next Monday to May 15, and then from the foot of Khao Ta Mong Lai mountain to Hua Hin for 30 days from May 16 to June 14. Data collected from samples of mackerel shows that the fish is mature and ready to breed in the area between Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Surat Thani for 90 from mid-February.
Then from mid-May to mid-June, young mackerel travel to the Khao Ta Mong Lai and Hua Hin area to grow.
Officials said the gulf is not blocked to all fishing activity, adding that villagers are allowed to catch fish, provided their boats are less than 10 gross tonnage in size and engines less than 280 horsepower.
He has called on people to follow the department’s regulations and keep in mind that everyone has to help ensure the country’s marine resources remain plentiful.
Violators will face a fine of between Bt5,000 and Bt30 million based on the size of the fishing vessel.
The principal of a school in Songkhla province has resigned after pulling out a gun in morning assembly last week and in response to allegations of having a sexual relationship with one of his students.
Sayan Chaleepol, 60, pulled out a gun in morning assembly on Thursday after learning that the mother of a Grade 9 student had filed a police complaint against him.
Sayan will initially face charges of illegal possession of a weapon and having sex with a minor if investigators can prove the man had intercourse with the student. Results of the examination are expected this week.
Secondary Educational Service Area Office 16 announced on Monday that Sayan had resigned on Friday, effective from next Monday.
The student’s mother had told the press that the alleged affair had started at the beginning of this year and that her daughter had visited the principal at his home.
She said she met Sayan earlier this week and demanded he quit and leave the area. However, the principal denied the allegation, so she had no choice but to take the issue to police.
Court revokes order to delete Thanathorn’s statement questioning vaccine programme
NationalFeb 08. 2021Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit
By The Nation
The Criminal Court on Monday revoked an order to remove Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit’s statement on Thailand’s vaccine programme from all online sources.
The statement questions the role of the royally-owned Siam Bioscience pharmaceutical company in Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccination plans. Thanathorn claimed Siam Bioscience has been unfairly handed the contract to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine.
On Monday, the court said Thanathorn’s statement did not affect the Kingdom’s security since its aim was merely to criticise the government over its Covid-19 vaccination plans.
A team from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) seized more than 100 broadcasting and streaming devices from a three-storey building in Nonthaburi’s Muang district on Monday.
No suspects have been arrested so far.
This was part of a crackdown on the “fwiptv” website, which violates copyright laws by streaming content, including films, TV series and live football matches, while collecting a monthly fee of Bt300 from viewers.
The website allegedly has more than 700,000 page views per month, said DSI chief Pol Lt-Colonel Korawat Parnpraphakorn, adding that it is the “729th most viewed website in Thailand and the value of infringed upon content may be as high as Bt2 billion.
“The case came to light when True Visions Group, Motion Picture Association and the Football Association Premier League filed complaints at DSI’s Information Technology Division that the website has been streaming their contents online without permission,” he said.
“Officials then tracked down the website operators to the building on Rattanathibet Road.”
Police believe the building has been used as a broadcasting/streaming station and will investigate further to track down those who may be involved.
“We also narrowed down other possible bases of operation to four locations in Nonthaburi and one in Nakhon Pathom,” Korawat added.
People who have information about cybercrimes are urged to contact DSI via the smartphone app “Rootan”.
A new cluster infection linked to a super-spreader in Samut Sakhon has resulted in at least 87 coronavirus cases around the country, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) warned on Monday.
The super-spreader was identified as a female pork vendor at a market in Samut Sakhon who lives in Amphawa, in the neighbouring province of Samut Songkhram.
CCSA assistant spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan said the woman travelled regularly to Ratchaburi province to buy pork.
She discovered she had Covid-19 on January 28, while her daughter-in-law tested positive on January 30.
As of February 4, the pork vendor had been linked to 86 other virus cases around the country. They include 22 people infected in Samut Sakhon, five in Phetchaburi, and one each in Bangkok, Ratchaburi, and Suphan Buri.
Police have summoned Techin Ployphet aka DJ Matoom to acknowledge charges for violating the Communicable Diseases Act and Emergency Decree by holding a party on January 9.
Metropolitan Police chief Pol Lt-General Phukphong Phongpetra said on Monday that hotel CCTV footage shows an additional 14 people attended the party.
The party was held at Banyan Tree Hotel in Bangkok’s Sathorn area.
DJ Matoom has been summoned to acknowledge the allegations on February 15 but can postpone his visit if he requires medical attention. Police said guests at the party will also be invited to testify, adding that so far no illegal objects or drugs have been found in the banquet room where the gathering was held.
Officials also found that the hotel did not serve alcohol at the party and can therefore not be held responsible. Also, people are within their right to bring alcohol from outside as hotel rooms are not listed as sites where drinking is banned.
The party was seen as a “super spreader” event as 26 persons, including DJ Matoom, were infected and 113 people were at high risk.
Police called to the pavement in front of Government House on Monday found a distraught man threatening to slash his own throat with a utility knife.
The man, named as Praset Adam, 62, told police he had been cheated out of a large sum of money by a friend. Standing by a Government House entrance surrounded by police, guards and reporters, he held the knife to his throat and threatened take his own life unless the government helped pay off his debt of Bt800,000.
He had also brought a financial contract with him, as evidence of his friend’s fraud.
After a tense stand-off, police managed to calm the man down and disarm him. He was then questioned about the reasons for his action.
IT, digital-related jobs best paying this year, JobsDB survey shows
NationalFeb 08. 2021Pornladda Dathratwibul, JobsDB country manager
By The Nation
Asia’s leading job search platform JobsDB recently released its Salary Report 2021 identifying the highest and lowest paying jobs by category.
With more people working at home due to Covid-19 related restrictions, companies have been adapting themselves to the changing environment to keep their businesses running.
Accordingly, the nature of demand in the job market has undergone a huge change, with a drastic salary increase in specific areas to attract talent.
The recent report shows that the highest paying officer-level jobs are in the IT industry, followed by those in professional services and telecommunication-related areas. At supervisor-level, e-commerce ranks highest, followed by telecommunications and IT. The top three highest-paying jobs at the manager level include insurance, IT and banking respectively.
At the top level, the highest paying fields are professional services, followed by e-commerce and banking.
The JobsDB’s salary report also shows that several sectors are likely to make a comeback with IT professionals being in the highest demand.
Pornladda Dathratwibul, JobsDB country manager, said the platform conducted a salary survey for 2021, which covers the levels of officer, supervisor, manager and top executive.
The highest and lowest paying jobs by category are as follows:
Officer level
• Information technology: Bt23,225-Bt41,122
• Professional services: Bt22,872-Bt39,331
• Telecommunication: Bt22,785-Bt38,612
• Medical services: Bt21,945-Bt37,320
• E-Commerce: Bt21,599-Bt35,283
• Engineering: Bt21,406-Bt35,571
• Banking: Bt21,036-Bt37,623
• Insurance: Bt21,025-Bt34,860
• Merchandising and purchasing: Bt20,829-Bt33,442
• Marketing and public relations: Bt20,524-Bt32,589
Supervisor level
• E-Commerce: Bt36,857-Bt64,787
• Telecommunication: Bt36,541-Bt67,134
• Information technology: Bt36,522-Bt66,920
• Professional services: Bt35,962-Bt63,888
• Insurance: Bt35,802-Bt63,790
• Accounting: Bt35,252-Bt58,403
• Banking: Bt35,124-Bt64,460
• Transportation and Logistics: Bt35,049-Bt55,624
• Marketing and public relations: Bt35,037-Bt59,943
• Administration and human resources: Bt34,919-Bt56,372
Manager level
• Insurance: Bt55,762-Bt90,716
• Information technology: Bt54,435-Bt93,324
• Banking: Bt52,993-Bt94,481
• Telecommunication: Bt52,353-Bt94,607
• Professional services: Bt52,274-Bt90,941
• Accounting: Bt52,061-Bt86,158
• Administration and human resources: Bt51,803-Bt85,079
• Science, lab and R&D: Bt51,615-Bt88,427
• Transportation and logistics: Bt51,302-Bt80,680
• Engineering: Bt51,237-Bt84,776
Top executive
• Professional services: Bt113,563-Bt164,071
• E-commerce: Bt113,271-Bt161,588
• Banking: Bt112,917-Bt165,114
• Science, lab and R&D: Bt109,726-Bt160,753
• Manufacturing: Bt109,566-Bt161,045
• Medical service: Bt106,630-Bt158,478
• Information technology: Bt105,135-Bt160,033
• Accounting: Bt104,978-Bt159,970
• Admin and HR: Bt104,714-Bt156,134
• Engineering: Bt102,298-Bt153,763
Starting salaries for IT and digital-related jobs have risen at all levels against the same period in 2019. This signifies market demand for transformation as a result of digital disruption.
In this scenario, there are two more categories to watch out: telecom and banking.
This demonstrates growth potential after banks have started focusing on digital banking services, which has also resulted in a rising demand for IT and analytics professionals who can drive new digital banking product development.
For telecom-related positions, it is found that not only larger organisations offer highly competitive salaries, but so do small and medium companies looking for talent who can help develop infrastructure needed to meet digital technology requirements and applications in the economic sector. The ongoing Covid-19 outbreak requires organisations to adjust to the new normal and shift to digital platforms.
For more information, call (02) 670 0700 for more information or visit http://bit.ly/JobsDBEN.
Thai Airways (THAI) has decided to ground three kind of aircraft in its fleet, namely Airbus A-330-300, Airbus 380 and Boeing 747, as part of its rehabilitation plan.
The national carrier explained that this decision was made based on the current and expected situation of the airline industry, which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 outbreak.
The airline also plans to bring the number of pilots in its workforce down to 905, and to achieve this it is considering laying off 395 pilots. Thai Airways said it does not plan to hire more pilots between 2021 and 2022.
The airline has also called on aircraft lessors, engine manufacturers and service companies to reduce their charges.
Chinese Embassy Charge d’Affaires Yang Xin delivers a Chinese New Year gift to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday.
Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit
Techin Ployphet
Pornladda Dathratwibul, JobsDB country manager
