Two soldiers patrolling the Doi Monta hill in Tak’s Mae Sot district slipped and fell more than a kilometre down a cliffside on Friday night. One soldier was killed immediately while the other sustained serious injuries to his leg.
Capt Chakkrit Pinprayoon, 29, and Sgt-Major Watchara Muangmee, 31, were found 1,057 metres below the cliff’s edge on Saturday afternoon and it took rescuers almost 24 hours to pull them up.
Chakkrit has been taken to Mae Sot Hospital for treatment.
The two soldiers were patrolling the area in Tak’s Mae Sot district after receiving a report of illegal items being smuggled across the border from Myanmar.
The authorities are providing aid to the families of the two soldiers as the incident occurred during duty hours.
The government’s online service platform “Thang Rud” currently covers more than 45 services, deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said on Sunday.
She added that citizens can now access their social security rights, civil records, credit bureau information, health insurance rights, electricity bill payment service, etc, via their mobile phones.
This application has been created as part of the government’s three-year Citizen Portal Roadmap (2021-2023), which has entered its second phase.
Once completed, the platform will cover more than 60 popular services, including land tax, vehicle tax, license plate requests, farmer registration, etc.
An opinion poll conducted between December 13 and 16 found that 90.57 per cent of Bangkokians believe it is time to elect a new governor.
The poll, conducted on 1,135 respondents by Suan Dusit Poll, showed that 54.55 per cent believe an election is necessary because Bangkok, as the capital, is important to the country.
Of them, 85.14 per cent said the areas that need the most urgent improvements are traffic and public transport. Also, 85.40 per cent said they wanted a governor who is qualified and can start solving problems immediately.
As for who they would choose, 65.72 per cent said they would vote for their favourite candidate regardless of the party they are running under. However, 38.65 per cent said they would choose an independent candidate, 20.52 per cent preferred a candidate from Democrat Party, 16.06 per cent Move Forward, and 13.58 per cent a candidate from Pheu Thai.
Dr Chatchart Sitthiphan came in as the top favourite with 56.72 per cent votes, followed by Dr Suchatvee Suwansawat at 29.60 per cent.
The survey also found that respondents above the age of 40 favoured Democrat Party candidates, while those younger preferred Move Forward Party, even though it has not announced a candidate yet.
In a bid to have more electric vehicles (EV) on the roads of Thailand, the National EV Policy Committee is getting ready to propose a draft to the Cabinet on Tuesday.
It aims to have the measures implemented in the first quarter of 2022.
According to the proposal, incentives offered to buyers of EVs will last for about four to five years and aims to have about 300,000 EVs on the roads within that period.
The committee is proposing a reduction in excise taxes, customs duties and government subsidies worth up to 40 billion baht.
Under the draft measure, two schemes will be offered, one for vehicles cheaper than 2 million baht, and one for those that cost more than 2 million baht.
EVs costing less than 2 million will enjoy a 40 per cent cut in customs duties, as well as a 2 per cent reduction in excise taxes and other subsidies. The benefits will be capped at 150,000 baht per vehicle.
Vehicles with 30kWh (kilowatt per hour), which fall under the 400,000 to 500,000 price category, will receive a subsidy of about 70,000.
Vehicles with larger batteries, which will fall in the 900,000 baht price range, will receive a subsidy of 150,000 baht.
Buyers of EVs that cost more than 2 million baht will not get direct benefits, but the tariff will be reduced by 40 per cent and the excise tax by 2 per cent. The reduction of import duties and excise tax will bring the cost of EVs down by 700,000 to 800,000 baht, the committee said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha applauded Thai researchers after their studies on Covid-19 vaccine combinations were accepted internationally, deputy government spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul said on Saturday.
This came after the Public Health Ministry announced that many studies conducted in Thailand have been cited in the World Health Organisation’s “Interim recommendations for heterologous Covid-19 vaccine schedules” report.
Traisulee said of the 48 studies cited in the report, five are from Thailand conducted by researchers under the auspices of the Public Health Ministry and other related agencies.
She added that Thailand is promoting a mix-and-match vaccine strategy to other countries based on its efficiency in containing the spread of Covid-19.
“This is considered important progress for Thailand,” she added.
The Department of Rural Roads on Saturday recommended eight routes to avoid traffic jams during the New Year festival.
Apirat Chaiwongnoi, the department director-general, said this move aims to facilitate motorists and ensure their safety in line with Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.
Eight recommended routes are as follow:
Route between Kanlapaphruek, Ratchaphruek and Nakhon In Roads
1. Starting from Highway No 9 road, turn right to Kalapapruek Road, continue for a distance of 7.65 kilometres, turn left to Ratchapruek Road, continue for a distance of 9.5 kilometres, turn right to Nakhon In Road, continue for a distance of 8 kilometres to take Highway No 306 to go to Tiwanon Road.
2. Starting from Highway No 9 road, turn right to Kanlapaphruek Road, continue for a distance of 7.65 kilometres, turn left to Ratchapruek Road, continue for a distance of 18 kilometres, turn right to Chaiyapruek Road, continue for 7 kilometres to take Highway No 304 to go to Chaeng Watthana Road.
3. Starting from Highway No 9 road, turn right to Kanlapaphruek Road, continue for a distance of 7.65 kilometres, turn left to Ratchapruek Road, continue for a distance of 37 kilometres to take Highway No 345 to go to Pathum Thani.
Route from Saraburi Prachinburi
4. Starting from Highway No 2, turn right to Rural Road No 1016, continue for a distance of 27 kilometres, turn right to Rural Road No 2090, continue for a distance of 2.9 kilometres, turn left to Rural Road No 3052, continue for a distance of 70 kilometres and turn right to take Highway No 304 to go to Prachinburi’s Nadi district.
5. Starting from Highway No 32, turn left to Highway No 369, continue for a distance of 4 kilometres, turn right to Highway No 3030, continue for a distance of 9.8 kilometres to take Rural Road No 4035, continue for a distance of 7.3 kilometres to take Rural Road No 5040, continue for a distance of 4.6 kilometres to take Rural Road No 4050, turn left to Highway No 3183, continue for a distance of 1.6 kilometres, turn right to Highway No 340 to go to Chainat.
Route from Saraburi to Lopburi and Phetchabun
6. Starting from Phahonyothin Road, take a parallel route to Highway No 3226, continue for a distance of 1.5 kilometres to take Rural Road No 4051, continue for a distance of 3 kilometres to take Rural Road 3021, continue for a distance of 19 kilometres to take Highway No 362 and turn left to Lopburi and Phetchabun.
Route from Nakhon Ratchasima to Khon Kaen
7. Starting from Mittraphap Road, turn left to Highway No 201, continue for a distance of 41 kilometres, turn right to Highway No 2148, continue for a distance of 3.4 km, turn left to Rural Road No 4008, continue for a distance of 23.1 kilometres to take Highway No 2369, continue for a distance of 30.8 kilometres, turn right to Highway No 2246, continue for a distance of 65.5 kilometres to take Highway No 2, turn left to go to Khon Kaen.
Route from Samut Songkhram to Phetchaburi’s Cha-am district
8. Starting from Highway No 35, turn left to Rural Road No 2021, continue for a distance of 23.7 kilometres, turn right to Highway No 3176, continue for a distance of 12.6 kilometres to Phetchaburi. From this point, motorists can go to Cha-am district starting from Rural Road No 2021, continue for a distance of 36.3 kilometres, turn right to Highway No 3187, continue for a distance of 18.5 kilometres, turn left to Highway No 4 to go to Cha-Am district.
The second phase of the Khlong Chong Nonsi Park project is 70 per cent complete and a part of should be ready for visitors by December 23, Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Saturday.
Phase 2 runs for 200 metres from Sathorn Road to Soi Narathiwat Ratchanakarin 7. Aswin said the activity square will be opened to the public and tourists for use on December 25 and reckons this phase will be 100 per cent ready by February. He also said he expects the entire project to be completed by August 2022.
The Khlong Chong Nonsi Park project is divided into five phases, namely:
• Surawong to Sathorn road
• Sathorn Road to Soi Narathiwat Ratchanakarin 7
• Soi Narathiwat Ratchanakarin 7 to Chan Road
• Chan Road to Ratchadapisek Road
• Ratchadapisek to Rama III road.
This is one of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s five pilot projects to revive the capital. The others are Phadung Krung Kasem Canal Restoration, the improvement of Rama 1 and Silom roads Improvement and the 100 Years Lumpini Park Anniversary project.
Three Thai nationals tested positive for the Omicron variant on Friday after returning home via the Phuket sandbox scheme from their annual “Umrah” pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Dr Muhammad Labaiji, deputy director of Khok Pho Hospital in Pattani who had also joined the trip, said on Sunday that three Omicron infections were confirmed after 137 returnees underwent RT-PCR tests upon returning from Mecca last week.
The three patients have been transferred to Pattani’s Khok Pho Hospital, he said, adding that those not infected have completed their five-day quarantine in Phuket and will spend another 14 days in self-isolation when they return home.
Umrah, a “lesser pilgrimage” compared to Hajj, is not mandatory and usually takes up to 15 days in Mecca – Islam’s holiest city.
Ministry of Public Health reported on Sunday (December 19) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 2,899 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 21 of whom have been found in prisons.
Death toll increased by 22, while 4,389 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
The country’s total caseload from Covid-19 stands at 2,191,528 – 2,128,358 of whom have recovered, 41,793 are still in hospitals and 21,377 have died.
Separately, another 89,262 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 137,385 their second shot and 149,634 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 99,761,523.
According to Worldometer, confirmed cases globally had risen to 274.53 million on Sunday, 246.33 million of whom have recovered, 22.84 million are active cases (89,276 in severe condition) and 5.36 million have died (up by 5,156).
Thailand ranks 24th in the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 51.69 million, followed by India with 34.73 million, Brazil with 22.21 million, the UK with 11.27 million and Russia with 10.18 million.
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