The video conference was arranged on Friday (November 22) at the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre, the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Nonthaburi province.

Ministry permanent secretary Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai urged the physicians to be prepared to deal with the dust particle situation, to provide information to people, especially asthma patients, the elderly, children and patients, to monitor patients, to submit reports every week, as well as open Public Health Emergency Operation Centre if the amount exceeds 75 micrograms per cubic metre over three days.

PM2.5 are atmospheric particulate matter having a diameter less than 2.5 micrometres.

“The prime minister, deputy prime minister, the Minister of Public Health and the Deputy Minister of Public Health are concerned about the PM2.5 dust particle problem and have appointed the Ministry of Public Health to cooperate with related authorities to tackle this problem,” he said.

“The Office of the Permanent Secretary is ready to open the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre at four levels — in provinces, health zones, departments, and ministries.”

The two cubs, now 4-month-old and healthy, were born on July 22 this year, said a zoo official.

The three made their public appearance for the first time on Friday.

During the upcoming New Year holidays, visitors would be allowed to hug the two cubs. Meanwhile, Zoo keepers will prepare them for the close encounter.

VDO footage on Nation website shows the mother lion and her cubs moving from their enclosure to an open area where visitors can see them closely.

The pontiff met with bishops, priests and sisters, as well as senior and novice monks on his visit.

The slain men were identified as Zorbaree Lamso, 28 and Mayako La-te, 40, suspected leaders of a shootout at a Yala province checkpoint on November 5 that left 15 people dead and 5 injured.

Power banks have reportedly exploded in flames many times. TISI has put the backup battery under the Industrial Product Standard Act of battery supply, said Secretary-General of TISI, Wanchai Phanomchai

“Currently, we are proceeding with legal procedures to enforce the standard act, which means that all Power Bank brands in the market must have TISI certification mark. Manufacturers, importers, and distributor must also adhere to the standard,” he said.

“There will be safety tests to make sure that they will not explode into flames if it is over-charged or being dropped from height. In addition, power banks should be able to withstand high temperatures even when placed in a hot spot”.

He added that entrepreneurs should apply for TISI certification now, saying that when the law is enforced, they will be able to change the licence immediately.

“Although TISI has already enforced this standard, consumers should use it correctly according to the instruction in order to avoid injuries and losses,” he said.

Prayut and his aides on Friday noon (November 22) toured Wanglang market, near Siriraj Hospital. Some people showed their support for the PM by taking photographs with him, shaking hands and hugging him.

One lady, however, taunted the premier by singing sarcastically the song, “We will fulfill our promises”. The song was written and aired after the 2014 coup. The lines of the song conveyed that military rule would not be for the long-term. However, after promises to hold elections were broken by the junta government several times, many people used to sing that song when they wanted to mock the junta government, which ruled until the general election in March this year.

Many still view the current coalition-led government as military rule in disguise after the junta-appointed senators voted for Prayut as prime minister.

Pratueng said Siamraptor Suwati, as it has been named, was discovered at the Ban Saphan Hin site of the Khok Kruat Formation, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The first word in the dinosaur’s name (Siamraptor) means hunter of Siam, while the second word (Suwati) was added to honour Suwat Liptapanlop who has supported the research work of Northeastern Research Institute of Petrified Woods and Mineral Resources for 25 years.

The researchers estimated that four Siamraptor Suwati used to hunt in the area, based on 22 pieces of fossils found – skull parts, upper and lower jawbones, neck bones, backbones, tail bones, hip bones, back leg bones, claw, and toe bones.

Siamraptor Suwati is the latest species of large carnivorous dinosaurs discovered in Thailand. It is estimated to be least 8 metres tall and shared a similar evolution as Allosaurus, carcharodontosaurian dinosaurs, a widespread species during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

The outstanding feature of Siamraptor Suwati is the shark teeth, common among predators roaming the world 115 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period.

Suwat said that the 12th dinosaur discovery marked another success of Thai-Japan cooperation and reflected the varieties of fossils in Nakhon Ratchasima. Remains of many pre-historic animals have been found there, such as ancient elephants, crocodiles, turtles, rat, and recently, the shark-toothed dinosaur.

BEM is organising the “5th December Invite All Fathers to Travel MRT Blue Line and Purple Line for Free All Day” to help families forge good relationships and save energy by using public transportation. The free travel offer is only for fathers.

Just take your father along to the ticket office to get free travel coupons for the MRT Blue and Purple lines.

Suwit Kingkaew, senior vice president of sustainable development at CP All Pcl, operator of the 7-11 chain in Thailand, said on Friday (Nov. 22) that the company was willing to support the government’s policy of reducing the use of plastic bags by joining the “Go Green, No Plastic Bag” campaign with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment earlier this month.

“Starting November 25, CP All will stop giving plastic bags to 7-11 customers at 137 pilot branches scattered nationwide,” he said. “This pilot programme will get us ready to the ‘no plastic bag’ policy to be employed at the start of next year at all branches of 7-11.”

Suwit further added that the use of plastic bags is still allowed for some products, including hot foods, wet foods, meats and fruit, which is in accordance with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s recommendation.

“The branches that will stop giving plastic bags next week will display posters to let customers know that they should bring their own bags when shopping there,” said Suwit. “If customers don’t have their own bags, 7-11 also sells high-quality fabric bags at a reasonable price.”

As part of the “Go Green, No Plastic Bag” campaign, CP All has donated money that they saved from giving fewer plastic bags at 7-11 since August to hospitals nationwide to buy medical equipments.

Related Story: Old habits die hard: Stores try to cut down on plastic bags, but shoppers remain stubborn

A search of the residences of both suspects in Pattaya City found four ATM skimmer sets that are inserted into the card slots to copy user data, two miniature cameras used to capture the user’s PIN while being input into the ATM, and 110 blank ATM cards onto which the suspects said they intended to download stolen data and then use them together with stolen PINs to withdraw the money from victims’ accounts.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that the two suspects arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport on November 17 on a visa-free entry stamp,” said Pol. Lt. Gen. Montri. “They also confessed to buying the equipment from an underground website in China and smuggling it into the kingdom in their luggage.”

Police said they received information from the Card Fraud Protection Department at Siam Commercial Bank that its ATM had detected foreign equipment being installed. This led to the arrest of two suspects, who after being charged with electronic card forgery, were sent to Pattaya City police station for processing.