Most of them were incinerated at the Map Ta Phut Eco-Energy Power Plant in Rayong province while the products with incombustible materials were used for road paving. Among the substandard products destroyed on Friday were crash helmets, motorcycle exhaust pipes, toys, LED bulbs, extension plugs, power banks, grill stoves, microwave ovens, convection ovens, electric fans, speakers and amplifiers, pressing irons, and hair dryers. Senior officials from the Ministry of Industry, the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI), and Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) attended a ceremony at SCG Cement’s power plant in Rayong before the incineration began.

Prayut invokes epic myth to hammer oppositionPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stands to speak during a general debate in Parliament on Thursday. "We all know how Thotsakan met his fate," Gen Prayut told parliament. Gen Prayut said the government is working with other agencies to address numerous problems. Before the session started Gen Prayut had downplayed a warning sent by ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who mentioned in a ClubHouse session that Gen Prayut's premiership would be "hijacked" in a future House session. Observers noted that after several years in politics, Gen Prayut, who is known to have a short fuse, appeared more composed.

Thai workers would also need to study English and pass a test before being employed in Saudi Arabia. Workers have who registered their interest in working in Saudi Arabia would be informed about job opportunities by the department, Prapas added. He warned Thais not to fall prey to websites that claimed they could secure employment in Saudi Arabia because most of those offers con the workers into paying job placement fees for nothing. Department director-general Pairoj Chotsathian had said earlier that more than 300 Thai workers had already registered to work in Saudi Arabia with the Department of Employment.

Beauty Community prepares for revivalMr Peerapong, centre, expressed optimism in terms of business growth this year. Beauty Community Plc, the cosmetics and skincare product retailer, is restructuring its business and brand to jump-start revenue growth after feeling the pinch for two years amid the pandemic. Beauty Buffet shops will be redesigned to become more modern for all customer groups, he said. The number of Beauty Buffet retail shops was reduced to 100 and then 50 in 2020 and 2021, respectively, from 274 prior to the pandemic. Regarding the overseas market, the company will set up its representatives abroad to handle marketing, logistics and product copyright.

Several countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom, have already declared the spread of Covid-19 as an endemic and cancelled almost all of their coronavirus curbs, the letter said. In this region, the Philippines, for instance, on Feb 10 cancelled post-arrival Covid-19 tests previously imposed on international visitors, it said. The letter calls on the government to cancel its policy to conduct repeated RT-PCR Covid-19 tests on foreign tourists during the first and fifth days of their stay in the country. However, to enter Thailand under this scheme, tourists must book a hotel room for their fifth-day testing ahead of their travel. All foreign tourists who tested positive for Covid-19 either showed mild or no symptoms, according to the letter.

"In this regard, the company has to send over 82.5 billion baht to the government apart from the corporate social responsibility budget of over 1.64 billion baht," he said. He explained that 31 per cent of total net profit in 2021 came from PTT business operations, while the other 69 per cent was from the company's subsidiaries here and overseas. He added that as a state enterprise, PTT had launched various schemes to mitigate Covid-19 impacts on people, including an NGV price cap at 15.59 baht per kilo and discounts on LPG for state welfare cardholders.

Published byThe Bangkok PostThe Privilege suffers from the sum of its partspublished : 18 Feb 2022 at 04:00 newspaper section: [Life](http://search.bangkokpost.com/search/result_advanced?category=news&xNewsSection=Life) German Netflix original The Privilege (Das Privileg) is another example of a horror-type film that could not make up its mind on what it wants to be. Even though the film seems to have an interesting concept with many obvious influences in its style, The Privilege feels like a confusing mix of sci-fi and supernatural with some mystery and even sexy teen romantic genre thrown into the mix. As the title sug…Read More

Currently, there are two verified applications -- Hello Phuket Service, whose main service area is Phuket, and Bonku, which operates in Bangkok and its vicinity. Both companies must have insurance ​for the driver and passenger within 30 days and must bring all vehicles that are in the system to be registered by July 2022.​The application under consideration, Grab, still needs to discuss how to improve the system in line with legal requirements, he said. Any other applications that are in service but have not yet filed for legal certification must apply for certification by March 31, he said. The department said it would enforce strict laws on both drivers who provide services through the app and system service providers as sponsors.

The lighter atmosphere was an initiative of the Ministry of Public Health to ease the children’s fear of syringes. The temple abbot also came to cheer up the children and medical personnel.

With most of the government's debt portfolio dominated by long-term bonds with fixed interest rates, there is less risk from the trend of rising interest rates globally, according to the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO). However, as 82% of PDMO's debt portfolio is made up of long-term bonds with fixed interest rates, this reduces the risk for public debt management, said Mrs Patricia. The office is expected to restructure short-term debt to become long-term bonds with fixed interest rates, she said. Under the office's medium-term strategy for public debt management, at least 80% of its debt portfolio will have to comprise long-term bonds with fixed interest rates in order to reduce risk in public debt management, she said. The government's total borrowing of 1.5 trillion baht led to a spike in the public debt to 9.64 trillion baht in December 2021, accounting for 59.6% of GDP.

Surrogacy law to be easedThe Department of Health Service Support (DHSS) is seeking to amend the law to allow commercial surrogacy which can help curb the illegal trading of babies. The amendment would also enable foreigners to obtain legal surrogacy services in Thailand, he said. Proposed criteria for women seeking to be legal surrogate mothers include them having been pregnant before. The current law also says that a couple seeking surrogacy must absorb the entire cost. The DHSS will also work to change a related law concerning the freezing of eggs, sperm or embryos, said the doctor.

(Photo: Patipat Janthong)The cabinet approved on Tuesday a package of incentives including tax cuts and subsidies to promote electric vehicle (EV) consumption and production between 2022-2023. In addition, the cabinet agreed in principle to provide a budget of 40 billion baht between fiscal 2023-2025 to promote EV consumption. "EVAT is happy with the government's move to promote the EV industry through this package," he said. "The launch of the EV incentive package will bring good feelings to all car manufacturers as everyone enjoys the same advantages from the package," said Mr Krisda. According to EVAT, Thailand registered 5,781 new EVs for use last year, including 3,673 electric motorcycles.

PTT-Egat co-invest in LNG depotConstruction of the new LNG receiving terminal in Rayong is scheduled to be completed this year. State-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has signed a joint venture agreement with PTT Plc to co-invest in the second liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal project in Rayong as part of the government plan to develop a regional LNG trade hub. The second receiving terminal is designed to have carrying capacity of 7.5 million tonnes a year. Egat along with six other firms were granted LNG shipping licences to support the state policy to deregulate the LNG market. "We may seek a new opportunity to work with Egat in developing another LNG receiving terminal located in southern Thailand," said Mr Auttapol.

Govt sets Covid treatment payment ratesThe field hospital for Covid-19 patients at the Air Force Sports Stadium in Pathum Thani, at its opening in October. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)The government has set maximum lump sum payments for the treatment of Covid-19 patients with no or mild symptoms. Dr Jadet Thammathat-aree, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office, said on Tuesday that payment was set at 6,000 baht per case for treatment lasting 1-6 days and 12,000 baht for a treatment period of seven days and longer. If meals were excluded, payment would be 4,000 and 8,000 baht respectively. From March 1, the rates would apply to green-coded Covid-19 patients who do home or community isolation, or are admitted to hospitels and hospitals, including field hospitals, he said.

Last year, the population increased by 544,570, bringing the country's total fertility rate (TFR) down to 1.3 -- way below the global average of 2.5. The shrinking working-age population will also mean less tax revenue for the government, which may lead to a shortfall of funds for caring for the elderly. Combined with the low success rate of about 30%, many simply cannot afford to go through with the treatment, he said. If the current trend continues, the country's population may plunge from the current 66 million to 40 million soon, he warned. Ladda Sae Lee, deputy secretary-general of the Social Security Office, said the office has increased a childbirth subsidy to 15,000 baht per birth.