A large piece of tarpaulin weighed down with rainwater fell off an expressway construction site in Bangkok’s Bang Khunthien district and landed on a car driving by on Thursday night. The driver escaped within an inch of her life.
Thichakorn Photalay, driving down Rama II Road to her home in Samut Sakhon’s Mahachai area, said she immediately hit the brakes and got out just in time as the tarp landed on her car. The car’s roof buckled and the windscreen shattered from the weight and force of the tarp.
Nitiphan Wongraksa, 38, who had lent the car to his girlfriend Thichakorn said he believes such accidents will continue happening because many tarps weighed down with rainwater are left balanced between expressway pillars.
Representatives of the contractor Pong-Pat Enterprise and Samut Sakhon Highway Department showed up at the Samae Dam Police Station soon after the accident to acknowledge charges and promised to compensate for damages.
The officer who received the complaint from the victim will oversee compensation negotiations before concluding the case in line with the law.
The tropical storm Mulan is now an active low-pressure cell over South China, upper Myanmar and upper Laos, and is expected to hit North and Northeast on Friday.
The Thai Meteorological Department forecast heavy to very heavy rain in the North and Northeast and warned people to beware of flash floods and runoffs, especially in the foothills near waterways and lowlands.
The following provinces face the risk of flash flooding:
North: Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Lampang, Phayao, Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Tak and Phitsanulok
Northeast: Loei, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai and Udon Thani
Meanwhile, a moderate southwest monsoon is prevailing over the Andaman Sea, the South and the Gulf of Thailand, with moderate winds creating 2-metre-high waves in the upper Andaman Sea and higher in areas with thundershowers. Boats have been advised to proceed with caution.
For more information visit https://www.tmd.go.th/, call the 1182 hotline or (02) 399 4012-13.
The Public Health Ministry reported on Friday (August 12) that over the past 24 hours, 2,455 Covid-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals.
The death toll has risen by 33, while 2,142 patients have recovered and discharged from hospitals.
The number of cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022, stands at 2,393,077 with 10,065 deaths.
The country’s total caseload from Covid-19 stands at 4,616,512 – 4,563,165 of whom have recovered, 21,584 are still in hospitals and 31,763 have died.
Separately, another 4,543 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 7,762 their second shot and 30,656 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 142,099,710.
According to Worldometer, confirmed cases globally had risen to 593.41 million on Friday, 565.44 million of whom have recovered, 21.52 million are active cases (44,307 in severe condition) and 6.45 million have died (up by 1,724).
Thailand ranks 28th in the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 94.48 million, followed by India with 44.22 million, Brazil with 34.17 million, France with 34.12 million and Germany with 31.49 million.
The Bangkok administration is considering a plan to build an “ideal city” in a suburban area with its own infrastructure and facilities to reduce its dependence on the capital, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt revealed on Thursday.
“Its layouts should be designed to be a complete city by itself, to help reduce travels to the big city. This is not an easy issue. It’s an idea that can be used for large plots of land,” Chadchart said.
He was speaking after a meeting at City Hall with executives of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and senior officials from the BMA’s Department of City Planning.
An initial plan calls for the new city to be built somewhere in Bangkok’s border areas of Lat Krabang, Romklao or Bang Khunthien on vast tracts of land belonging to state agencies such as the National Housing Authority, according to the governor.
He said that such a new city should not only have residential communities but also offices, school, park, hospital and transit system.
Chadchart said he has assigned the BMA’s Department of City Planning to design the proposed city’s layout so that it is self-reliant and a complete city by itself.
The Bangkok governor also said that the BMA’s database on land and building taxes needed to be updated urgently for a fairer system of tax collection. According to him, the BMA has no updated data on more than 1.1 million land plots in the city, accounting for more than half of the total.
He suggested that about 60 regulations regarding Bangkok’s city planning, mostly in use since 1959, should be revised, reviewed or even rescinded to ensure maximum benefit for the people.
The Thai government has come up with new measures to fight the country’s economic crisis caused by high inflation rates.
The administration’s special committee tasked with managing the economic crisis, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, on Thursday approved four “Quick Win” emergency measures.
The first area involves energy savings and helping commuters cut costs by offering discounts to regular passengers.
The Energy and Transport ministries have been assigned to deal with matters involving their agencies.
The second area is tackling the higher production costs and shortage of agricultural raw materials. These measures call for increasing production and use of organic fertilisers and materials.
The third area involves the finances of households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The measures include debt moratorium, credit guarantee for SMEs, and loans for business operators.
The fourth area calls for financial support to improve the potential of business operators to help them with restructuring and procuring new machinery and technology.
The state-run Transport Company has prepared some 3,000 inter-provincial buses and vans to accommodate a surge in travellers during the long weekend on the occasion of Mother’s Day.
Transport Company president Sanyalak Panyawatthanalikhit said the state firm expects more people to travel back to their home provinces on the long weekend hence some 3,000 trips of the company’s buses, concessionaires’ buses and vans have been arranged.
The buses would be able to transport more than 35,000 passengers per day, Sanyalak added.
He said people would start travelling on Thursday evening as Friday is Mother’s Day and a public holiday. They are expected to return to their home provinces and return to work on Sunday evening, Sanyalak said.
He said passengers have already booked 80 per cent of tickets on normal bus routes.
The company expects passengers to travel throughout the day on short routes not longer than 300 kilometres, Sanyalak said.
Currently, the Transport Company operates 15 northern bus routes, 19 northeastern bus routes, 15 southern bus routes and nine bus routes to Laos.
He said passengers can book tickets in advance on its website www.transport.co.th, e-ticket application of the company and from counter services.
Sanyalak said the bus services would strictly follow Covid preventive measures.
He added that the Transport Company had not yet raised the fare for its buses even though the Central Land Transport Committee had allow a fare hike of five satang (0.05 baht) per kilometre distance.
Sanyalak said the current fares would be in use until September 30 to help people bear the cost and the company would also provide 5 per cent discount to passengers who register for Transport Company membership cards.
The audience at the “Music for Mom” concert this Friday and Saturday will also be treated to a light show featuring the newly renovated Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC).
The event will be held at Benchakitti Park, adjacent to the convention centre, to mark Mother’s Day tomorrow, August 12. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration teamed up with the centre to organise the grand event.
Admission is free and no reservation is required. Further information is available on the QSNCC’s Facebook page or by calling 02 229 3112.
Concerts will be performed by singers Popetorn “Two” Soonthornyanakij and Mariam Grey, backed up by an orchestra.
The renovated convention centre, which is the venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, has been decorated with colourful lights for the scintillating show.
This will be the first time the public will get to see the QSNCC after its renovation, said Sakchai Patarapreechakul, managing director of NCC Management and Development, which runs the centre.
He said events such as the “Music for Mom” concert are aimed at serving the public while improving the quality of life for communities.
“This is the first step for the QSNCC to be more than just a convention centre. We assimilate the active lifestyle of Bangkokians,” the executive added.
A TikTok video clip of a foreign man catching parrotfish somewhere in the sea off Thailand left Thai netizens outraged on Thursday.
Thai netizens were furious after the story was posted on the popular Mor Lab Panda Facebook page and demanded legal action.
Most netizens slammed the foreigner, saying that his actions were against the law and destroyed the marine ecosystem. They also called on government agencies to take legal action against the foreigner and the boatman.
Meanwhile, the Facebook page “Drama-addict” shared the data from the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation, which said that the catching of parrotfish for entertainment or cooking had caused the destruction of many coral reefs.
“The department also urged people not to purchase or consume parrotfish,” the page said, “People can inform national park officials to take legal action against anyone who hunts parrotfish in the national park area.”
The page added that anyone who harms or takes animals away from the national park area would face up to five years’ imprisonment or up to a 20,000 baht fine, or both, under Section 16(3) of the National Park Act BE 2504 (1961).
Productivity will not be affected despite the reduction in working hours that will be enforced from next month, Malaysian labour unions claim.
“It will benefit the workers for sure as they can avoid being overworked,” said Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Effendy Abdul Ghani.
“The reduction also means they have more time to rest and generally improve their condition,” he said, adding that this would enhance the quality of their work.
He refuted claims that a company’s output would be less with the reduction in working hours, and cited Singapore as an example.
“Singapore is a great example. Despite having only a 44-hour work week, it has proven itself as an economic powerhouse not only in the region but also internationally.
“Therefore, MTUC supports reducing the working hours to safeguard the welfare of Malaysian workers,” he said when contacted.
The government has announced amendments to the Employment Act, which will see weekly working hours reduced from 48 to 45 hours, with effect from September 1.
MTUC called on the public to report companies that do not comply with the new rule to the Labour Department or the Human Resources Ministry.
“The companies have been made aware of the reduction of working hours, so there should not be any issue about implementing it,” said Effendy.
National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers general secretary N Gopal Kishnam said the move was commendable and long overdue, as other countries had already reduced their working hours.
However, he said there were concerns that employers could push for working hours above what was stipulated by dangling the carrot of overtime.
Malaysian Employers Federation president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said the new regulation would affect companies that operate round-the-clock.
These included those in the manufacturing and services sectors such as hotels and resorts that run their business on a continuous basis, he added.
Syed Hussain said the current shift cycle was possible as the maximum hours of work were 48 hours per week.
“With the reduction to 45 hours per week, it is no longer possible to run fully per week without incurring overtime (OT) payment.
“Employers will incur the extra cost of at least three hours of OT if they run their operations for 48 hours work per week as per their current operational requirements.
“If employers are not willing to incur the cost of at least three hours of OT per week, or if they do not have the financial capacity to absorb the cost, they need to reduce [their business hours] to 45 hours,” he said.
He added that the implementation of the new rule must be done smoothly by having discussions between workers and employers.
He also suggested that companies embrace new technology to modernise their operations to reduce the impact of the new rule.
Malaysian Human Resources Association president Zarina Ismail concurred, saying employers should adopt automation to maintain their productivity.
“Employers should be ready to move into IR4.0 [the Fourth Industrial Revolution] … to deal with the lack of workers if reduced working hours may affect their companies’ output,” she said.
While the reduction of working hours would benefit the workers, she said certain sectors were bound to set daily targets, so planning was necessary.
“Businesses are still recovering from the pandemic and it is important for them to have proper financial planning and at the same time comply with the newly amended law,” added Zarina.
The Star
Asia News Network
Asia News Network: The Nation (Thailand), The Korea Herald, The Straits Times (Singapore), China Daily, Jakarta Post, The Star and Sin Chew Daily (Malaysia), The Statesman (India), Philippine Daily Inquirer, Yomiuri Shimbun and The Japan News, Gogo Mongolia, Dawn (Pakistan), The Island (Sri Lanka), Kuensel (Bhutan), Kathmandu Post (Nepal), Daily Star (Bangladesh), Eleven Media (Myanmar), The Phnom Penh Post and Rasmei Kampuchea (Cambodia), The Borneo Bulletin (Brunei), Vietnam News, and Vientiane Times (Laos).
A total of 1.02 million tonnes of goods have been transported via the Laos-China Railway since it became operational eight months ago, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
The value of these goods was about 9.14 billion yuan (47.92 billion baht).
The customs department of Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, said on Tuesday that it handled 1,996 international freight trains on the rail link during the period.
Zhang Xianzhou, manager of an international logistics company based in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, was quoted as saying that the variety of the company’s imports and exports had increased after the launch of the railway service.
The company’s business volume increased, while customs clearance time was significantly reduced, Zhang said.
Kunming customs said it had rolled out a series of efforts to guarantee the efficient operation of international freight trains on the Laos-China Railway. These measures include optimising supervision measures and improving port functions.
Being part of the China-initiated Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – a global transport infrastructure network – the Laos-China Railway is an important gateway between Southeast Asian counties and China and beyond.
Chanthone Sitthixay, the chairman of Vientiane Logistics Park Co, based in the Lao capital of Vientiane, said he was optimistic the railway’s cost-effective services would support Laos’ efforts to become a new important supply chain hub.
The logistics park and its Thanaleng Dry Port, which contain extensions of the Laos-China and Laos-Thailand rail links, have registered increases in the volume of transport services.
Over the first five months of the year, as many as 13,000 containers passed through the dry port and most of them were transported by the railways.
China, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are shipping goods through the route.
The president of Thailand’s Kaocharoen Train Transport Co, Ltd Panya Paputsaro, told the Vientiane Times recently that it now takes less time to export goods to China and costs have been cut considerably.
Through the railways and the China-Europe rail network, the cost of exporting goods from Thailand to Europe has been cut by as much as 40 per cent compared to transport by sea, Panya said.
Vientiane Times
Asia News Network
Asia News Network: The Nation (Thailand), The Korea Herald, The Straits Times (Singapore), China Daily, Jakarta Post, The Star and Sin Chew Daily (Malaysia), The Statesman (India), Philippine Daily Inquirer, Yomiuri Shimbun and The Japan News, Gogo Mongolia, Dawn (Pakistan), The Island (Sri Lanka), Kuensel (Bhutan), Kathmandu Post (Nepal), Daily Star (Bangladesh), Eleven Media (Myanmar), The Phnom Penh Post and Rasmei Kampuchea (Cambodia), The Borneo Bulletin (Brunei), Vietnam News, and Vientiane Times (Laos).
