South to see heavy rain, flash floods on Sunday as monsoon eases in rest of Thailand: Met Dept
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022
Upper Thailand will be cool in the morning with light fog and isolated light rain, while the South will have continuous rain and isolated heavy rain on Sunday, according to the Thai Meteorological Department.
It issued a warning of flash floods and runoffs in the South, especially in foothills, near waterways and in low-lying areas.
Waves in the Andaman Sea are expected to rise to 2 metres, and higher in thundershowers, while waves in the Gulf will be around 1 metre, rising in stormy weather.
“All ships should proceed with caution and keep off thundershowers,” the department added.
The 24-hour forecast for different regions:
North: Morning cool with fog and isolated light rain; temperature lows of 21-24C and highs of 31-33C.
Northeast: Morning cool with light fog and isolated light rain; temperature lows of 20-22C and highs of 30-33C.
Central: Morning light fog and isolated thundershowers mostly in Suphanburi, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram; temperature lows of 23-25C and highs of 31-34C.
East: Morning light fog and isolated thundershowers mostly in Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat; temperature lows of 23-26C, highs of 30-34C; waves about 1 metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.
South (east coast): Fairly widespread thundershowers and isolated heavy rain in Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla; temperature lows of 23-24C, highs of 30-33C; waves about 1 metre high, rising in thundershowers.
South (west coast): Scattered thundershowers in Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun; temperature lows of 23-25C, highs of 31-33C; waves 1-2 metres high, rising in thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Morning light fog and isolated thundershowers; temperature lows of 24-25C and highs of 32-34C.
Tono completes charity swim as donations reach THB57m
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Singer-actor Phakin “Tono” Khamwilaisak successfully completed his charity swim across the Mekong River to Laos and back shortly before 5pm on Saturday.
His daring “One Man and the River” charity stunt raised funds for hospitals on either side of the Mekong — Khammouane Hospital in Laos and Nakhon Phanom Hospital in Thailand.
Donations reached 57 million baht by the time he arrived at the Thai bank of the river in Nakhon Phanom province, according to organisers.
Tono began his swim back from Khammouane province in Laos at about 4pm and reached Nakhon Phanom at 4.50pm.
The star looked weary and was helped out of the water by waiting officials.
Welcoming him on the riverbank were thousands of people, including his mother. Tono hugged his mother who washed him down with freshwater and wiped him dry with a towel.
Great Wall Motor prepares to deliver first batch of ORA Good Cat GTs, reopens reservations for 500 units
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022
Great Wall Motor (GWM) continues to advance its ambition of becoming the xEV leader by preparing to deliver the first batch of ORA Good Cat GTs on November 11 to customers who had booked the vehicles during the official launch at the end of June 2022.
To respond to Thai consumers’ overwhelming interest in environmentally friendly electric vehicles, GWM will reopen reservations for 500 units of the ORA Good Cat GT under the “Premiere Deal” campaign from October 28 to November 30.
In addition, Great Wall Motor will deliver 1,200 pending units of ORA Good Cat by the end of the year. This reiterates GWM’s commitment to becoming an xEV leader through innovative products filled with cutting-edge technologies that are safe and friendly to the environment to meet all dimensions of driving lifestyles.
Narong Sritalayon, managing director of Great Wall Motor (Thailand), said: “The first batch delivery of the ORA Good Cat GT is another major step for Great Wall Motor to contribute greatly towards a Thai EV society. Since the official launch of ORA Good Cat in Thailand in October 2021, it has exponentially excited the Thai EV industry and constantly been a much-loved electric vehicle among Thai consumers.”
“We are ready to deliver the ORA Good Cat GT onto Thailand’s roads after the spectacular achievement on its official launch – receiving 500 bookings in only 58 minutes. Great Wall Motor appreciates all customers and Thai consumers for their trust and confidence in our brand, products, and services, and we believe that the sporty ORA Good Cat GT will colour your life and create exceptional new driving experiences. This model will respond to all aspects of the new generation’s lifestyles and will win the hearts of Thai consumers, just like the ORA Good Cat.”
On November 11, Great Wall Motor will deliver the first batch of ORA Good Cat GTs to the first group of customers who paid a deposit after the official price announcement on June 29. The company will continue to deliver the remainder of the 500 units to customers by January 2023, earlier than the previously announced schedule.
For those interested in buying the sporty ORA Good Cat GT, Great Wall Motor will reopen bookings for another 500 units of this model at the price of 1.286 million baht (after government subsidy and a reduction of excise tax), from 7pm on Friday October 28 until 11.59pm on Sunday November 30, or until all 500 units have been reserved via the GWM app or www.gwm.co.th.
Special offers available in the Premiere Deal campaign include:
◆ Special 1.79 per cent interest rate for up to 48-month financing when 25 per cent of the down payment is made: maximum value not exceeding 23,000 baht (please refer to additional terms and conditions from participating banks and financial institutions)
◆ Free one-year comprehensive car insurance, with a maximum value of not more than 25,000 baht
◆ Free GWM home charger and installation within 20 metres (from main circuit breaker) one time (excluding charger station), with a maximum value of not more than 60,000 baht
◆ Free labour and spare parts for maintenance work according to distance (GWM Pro Service Inclusive: GPSI) up to five times in five years, or 75,000 kilometres (whichever is reached first), with a maximum value of not more than 11,000 baht
◆ Free 24-hour roadside assistance for a period of five years, valued at 10,000 baht
◆ Free GWM carpet and licence plate base worth a total of 1,650 baht
The total value of special offers under the Premiere Deal campaign is 130,000 baht.
Additionally, the ORA Good Cat GT also offers a factory warranty for five years or 150,000 kilometres – whichever is reached first – along with a battery warranty for eight years or 180,000 kilometres (whichever is reached first). The additional 500 units of ORA Good Cat GT available for reordering from October 28 to November 30 are planned to be delivered by April 2023.
ORA Good Cat orders were suspended in April with a lot of accumulated bookings. However, Great Wall Motor has accelerated its deliveries to customers as quickly as possible over the past year. Currently, there are more than 1,200 ORA Good Cats awaiting delivery, and the company will deliver these vehicles to all customers by December 2022.
Customers who have booked an ORA Good Cat must take delivery of their car this year to receive the special offers related to the campaign they received, otherwise it will be deemed that the benefits have been ceded. As of now, Great Wall Motor has delivered a total of 3,427 ORA Good Cats to Thai consumers – 2,965 units have been delivered so far in 2022 (January to September).
Great Wall Motor, as a Global Intelligent Technology Company, is committed to inventing and developing quality products and services through high-technology production processes to meet the diverse driving needs of Thai consumers, while continuing to build a complete ecosystem as well as driving the growth of the EV industry in a steady and sustainable manner.
Megabangna is haunting Bangkok with “Mega Halloween: A Celebration of Souls” at its main entrance until October 31. Customers can rattle their bones to the tunes of a “Music of the Dead” concert performed by a skeleton crew of talented musicians.
The landmark at MEGA HALLOWEEN: A CELEBRATION OF SOULS drew inspiration from Day of the Dead festival, where Mexicans commemorate the deceased family members or relatives.
These souls are believed to visit their homes for 24 hours to spend time with their loved ones. Megabangna conveys the happy and reuniting moment by creating a concert stage under the “Music of the Dead” concept.
On that stage, the characters and musicians will arise from death to play music for audiences.
Furthermore, customers can join fun-filled activities from October 22nd to 24th and from October 29th to 31st as below:
• After applying for a Mega Smile Rewards membership, they can play a game to win a prize. All they need to do is to use a receipt with 3,000 baht spending or more per receipt or redeem three Mega Smile Rewards Points.
• Mega Smile Kids members get free trick-or-treat candies.
• After applying for a Mega Smile Rewards membership, the customers can redeem a receipt (with no minimum spending per receipt required) for a colourful Stripe Tote.
• Special! Only from October 29 – 31, the customers can apply for a Mega Smile Rewards membership or spend 3,000 baht or more per receipt to take a picture at the photo booth or receive a Halloween Tattoo for free.
Customers should not miss activities between October 29 – 31, such as “Parade of the Dead”, where actors and musicians will perform on stage.
Children will also receive free candies in the Trick and Treat Candy activity. Lastly, the customers will keep their precious memories by taking photos at the booth.
Panipak stretches taekwondo winning streak with World Grand Prix gold
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Olympic taekwondo champion Panipak “Tennis” Wongpattanakit retained her four-year winning streak by taking gold in the 2022 World Grand Prix in Manchester on Friday.
Panipak has now gone undefeated in the 49kg category for three years, 10 months and 29 days.
In Manchester, she beat Shahd Samy Elhosseiny of Egypt (2-0), Israel’s Avishag Semberg (2-0) and China’s Guo Qing (2-1) to earn a place in the final against her old foe Merve Dinçel of Turkey.
Panipak, who beat Dinçel 1-0 in the final of the previous Grand Prix event, scored a second win over the Turk with a 2-0 victory in the Manchester final.
The Thai has won all four tournaments she has entered this year.
Panipak’s last defeat came against South Korea’s Kim So-hui almost four years ago.
Guardiola unsurprised by Klopp’s comments about the financial difference
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
THE NATION
Pep Guardiola said he was unsurprised by Jurgen Klopp’s comments about the difference in financial muscle between Manchester City and Liverpool.
Klopp made the comments regarding City and Newcastle United’s ‘ceilings’ in comparison to his own club, Liverpool.
“This is not the first time he (Jurgen Klopp) say that in the last five, six years,” said Guardiola.
When asked if he thought there was a difference in potential between Manchester City and Liverpool, Guardiola responded “I don’t know.”
“It’s (the season so far) just ten fixtures. World Cup in the middle. A lot of games to play. Europe involved and cup competitions involved. Injuries involved. I said before. So when they have seven, eight games left, yeah. But one is just ten games, thousand million things can happen. So, the only I’m concerned that is the future is (the game against) Brighton.” said Guardiola.
The Coca-Cola Company unveiled on Friday (October 21) its campaign song for the FIFA World Cup 2022 tournament, a new multicultural take on Queen’s famed 1986 hit “A Kind of Magic”.
The anthem, released in collaboration with Universal Music Group (UMG), features three female artists: Mexican singer Danna Paola, Egyptian neo-soul and rap star Felukah and Saudi Arabian singer-songwriter Tamtam.
The music video for the song, released as part of Coca-Cola’s Believing is Magic campaign, was filmed in Mexico City and “encapsulates the excitement for one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, fusing a flavour of Latin and Arabic culture with the impassioned world of the FIFA World Cup”, the beverage company said in a statement.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup takes places in Qatar from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18.
The Coca Cola Company has been an official sponsor of FIFA World Cup since 1978.
Other songs for the tournament have been released in the last few months, including “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)”, the first single of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Soundtrack, which came out in April.
Infantino says centralised clearing house will bring “transparency and accountability” to transfer market
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Reuters
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the creation of a centralised clearing house will bring “transparency and accountability” as the sport’s governing body looks to crack down on the multi-billion dollar global transfer market.
Infantino, speaking after Saturday’s FIFA Council meeting in Auckland Saturday (October 22), said the new Paris-based entity would focus on ensuring smaller clubs receive compensation owed for developing players before tackling the broader market.
“This will change the lives of these small clubs because it’s big, big money and it’s due and we’re very proud to do this,” said Infantino.
“This will bring finally some transparency and accountability in the whole transfer market.”
Infantino said only $60 million to $70 million of the estimated $400 million owed to clubs who have developed players for the professional game reaches the relevant parties.
The creation of the clearing house is the latest step in FIFA’s effort to reform the way transfers are conducted and ensure money is not redirected outside the sport.
“Whenever you deal with transfers of players, whenever some police authorities go and dig into transfers they find some strange payments to some strange places linked and connected with transfers,” said Infantino.
“Well, this is not going to happen any more as far as training compensation is concerned but also, as a next step, as far as all transfer payments are concerned.
“Payments to the agents and payments from one club to another club, all this will be processed through this FIFA clearing house.
“Payments to strange places will not be allowed any more. Payments to strange bank accounts, strange countries will not be tolerated any more.”
Infantino said the global transfer market is worth between $6 billion and $7 billion annually and projected the value would increase to about $10 billion, with money circulating “a bit like in the Wild West”.
“We want to control that,” he said. “To clean that and make sure the money goes where it’s has to go with clear rules and the FIFA clearing house … will guarantee this is going to happen.”
Ten Hag confirms Ronaldo refused to come on as sub against Spurs
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022
Reuters
Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday (October 19) and that he is now training away from the first-team squad.
Ronaldo was an unused substitute in Wednesday’s 2-0 home win and walked down the tunnel with a few minutes of the match remaining after being left on the bench again by Ten Hag. The Portuguese striker was left out of the squad that will face Chelsea on Saturday.
“Yes,” Ten Hag told reporters on Friday (October 21) when asked if the 37-year-old had refused to come on.
“I am the manager, I am responsible for the culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them. In the team, we have values and standards and I have to control that.
“It will (be) a (time for) reflection for him, but also for everyone else. Football is a team sport and you have to fulfil certain standards. And I have to control it.”
Wednesday was not the first time Ronaldo has left the stadium early before a United match had finished this term, having departed ahead of the final whistle during a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
Ten Hag insisted, however, it is not the end for Ronaldo at United.
“After Vallecano, I told him it was unacceptable… this is the second time, there are consequences. We miss him tomorrow.
“It’s a miss for the squad but it’s important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea as that is important.
“The statement is also clear. He remains an important player in the squad.”
The two sides meet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as Chelsea, unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions under new coach Graham Potter, host a United side who have won four of their last five encounters.
Ten Hag confirmed Frenchman Anthony Martial will also be absent as he is still injured.
Bangkok World Film Festival returns with a rich menu of 60+ flicks
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022
THE NATION
The 15th World Film Festival of Bangkok is set to showcase more than 60 award-winning films from 30 countries, making this the longest repertoire the fest has ever featured.
The concept of this year’s festival is “Return to Cinema” and the aim is to welcome film lovers back to theatres now that the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided.
The festival’s new director Donsaron Kovitvanitcha said the press conference on Thursday at SF World Cinema in Bangkok’s CentralWorld shopping centre won overwhelming interest from both Thai and foreign film buffs.
Donsaron, an internationally acclaimed independent film producer who took the baton from his predecessor and World Film Festival of Bangkok founder Kriengsak “Victor” Silakong, said the festival’s spirit lives on and all presentations will be nothing but “great”. Kriengsak succumbed to a heart attack earlier this year.
“Every film featured in the festival has been carefully selected to represent various issues from diverse origins and cultures,” Donsaron said.
“Some may like them, others may hate them, but I can guarantee that everyone will go home with some good thoughts about these films.
“The World Film Festival of Bangkok has been absent for five years. We have brought it back this time, so film lovers can return to the place they love, meet international directors, make new friends, as well as share ideas and views about the films,” he added.
At the press event, Donsaron highlighted 12 films that will be showcased at the fest, namely:
• Aftersun (UK and the US)
• Alcarràs (Spain)
• In Viaggio (Italy)
• EO (Poland and France)
• No Bears (Iran)
• A Man (Japan)
• Tori and Lokita (Belgium)
• A Hundred Flowers (Japan)
• Rule 34 (Brazil and France)
• Return to Seoul (several countries)
• Tchaikovsky’s Wife (Russia, France, Switzerland)
• Close (Belgium)
These films have already won international recognition and shown at film festivals in Cannes, Venice, Toronto and Busan.
Nirodha “Earth” Ruencharoen, a renowned film influencer and special guest in the press event said: “I am happy that the World Film Festival is returning to Bangkok, allowing us to witness international films and experience important issues from different cultures around the world.
“Diversity is the key that makes us open to new techniques in movie making and storytelling, preventing Thai films from becoming too monotonous.”
Also attending the press event on Thursday were representatives of the two key partners, Nation Group’s special adviser Adisak Limparungpattanakij and SF Corporation’s chief operation officer Suvannee Chinchiewchan, Assistant To Chief Executive Officer of SF Supat Ngamwongpaiboon, Marketing Department Manager of SF Arm Chareonsiri and host Varundusa Karunayadhaj.
The World Film Festival of Bangkok runs from December 2 to 11 at SF World Cinema, CentralWorld, Bangkok.
