Boy, 5, drowns in South flash floodThe rain-swollen Tha Ha canal passes beneath the suspension bridge at Ban Khiriwong in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Lan Saka district. (Photo: Nujaree Rakrun)NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: A five-year-old boy drowned in flash flooding as Tha Ha canal overflowed in Lan Saka district on Wednesday morning after two days of heavy rain. Nearly two hours later they found the boy dead, two kilometres from where he went missing, Pol Col Somkid Damkliang, the Lan Saka police chief, said. The body was sent to Lan Saka Hospital for post-mortem examination. Chokdee Lerttham, of Ban Khiriwong, said the flood hit there about 9am.

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Driving Indonesia's women-led weaving recoveryA worker creates batik designs at a workshop in Banda Aceh last month. (Photo: AFP)Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) suffered the most when the pandemic hit Indonesia in early 2020. Traditional fabric and weaving businesses have born witness to this hardship. Traditionally, those mostly involved in the fabrics and weaving industry are women. Hence, they provide an enabling environment to scale up the Indonesian cultural textile industry that will facilitate a swift recovery beyond the pandemic.

Pareena fights for House panel placesPareena: Suspended as an MPPareena Kraikupt, a Palang Pracharath Party MP for Ratchaburi, will seek a Constitutional Court ruling if the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) opts to formally ask the Supreme Court to order her to stop attending House committee meetings, the MP's lawyer said on Tuesday. Thiwa Krasang, made the statement during a session convened by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders. The lawyer added Ms Pareena was legally appointed by parliament to work as member of select House committees. At Tuesday's session, the court also scheduled hearings for the NACC's 12 witnesses and Ms Pareena's 10 witnesses before its ruling on April 7. The Supreme Court has thrown out a petition by Ms Pareena, accusing the NACC of taking the case against her to the court without the approval of the entire NACC board of commissioners.

(Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)Arrest warrants are being sought for smugglers of illegal migrant workers and their assets will be seized as the crackdown continues on people entering the country illegally to find work following the Nov 1 reopening. "Migrant workers should not have to wait longer than three weeks before they can enter the country legally under new memorandums of understanding," Mr Suchart said on Tuesday. Businesses and industries have since faced shortages, prompting some to hire illegal migrants, Mr Suchart said. They will be quarantined for 14 days and will be inoculated shortly before completing their quarantine, Mr Suchart said. Between 50,000-80,000 migrant workers are expected to arrive under these pacts initially, he noted.

Rice farmers nationwide to receive aidRice farmers across the country flocked to banks and automated teller machines (ATMs) to receive aid under the government's price guarantee scheme, which began yesterday. Under the project, financial aid will be offered to farmers who grow five varieties of rice, with no more than 15% moisture content. Under the programme, farmers which grew the Hom Mali variety are eligible to receive 4,135.77 baht per tonne, capped at 14 tonnes per household. While farmers who grow white rice will get 1,934.62 baht per tonne, capped at 30 tonnes per household. Those who grow Pathum Thani variety will receive 1,052.13 baht per tonne, limited to 25 tonnes per household, while farmers who grow glutinous rice will get 4,337.47 baht per tonne, limited to no more than 16 tonnes.

Sabuy makes push into ATM marketMr Chookiat says the company targets investment of 1.5-2 billion baht for business expansion in 2022, with revenue projected to grow 50% next year. In the second development, Sabuy decided to buy 4,600 vending machines from Forth Vending Co, a subsidiary of SET-listed Forth Corporation, for 340 million baht. At present, Sabuy operates 57,000 top-up machines and 5,600 vending machines, as well as food court systems for 231 locations. It also has 4,040 branches of Shipsmile shops and 170 shops of postal service Plus Express. Sabuy reported third-quarter revenue of 674.6 million baht, up 69.5% from the same period last year, with net profit reaching 56 million baht in the third quarter, a surge of 148% year-on-year.

Charter Court, surroundings off-limits for ruling in protest caseStudents take part in an anti-government rally at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus on Aug 10 last year, when they demanded changes to the constitution and the monarchy. (Photo: Apichit Jinakul)The Constitutional Court and Building A of the government office complex on Chaeng Wattana road in Nonthaburi have been declared off-limits to the public on Wednesday, when the court is scheduled to deliver its decision in a case against eight pro-democracy protesters. The case involves a petition filed with the Constitutional Court by political activist Nathaporn Toprayoon. To ensure peace and order, the court has issued an order limiting attendance at the hearing to the accused and the petitioner, or representatives with court permission, and court officials. The office of the Constitutional Court is to arrange channels for the public and media to listen to the court decision.

Govt wants more Covid medicinePeople arrive at the Bang Sue Grand Station in Bangkok on Monday for their second jab of Covid-19 vaccination on a walk-in basis. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)The Ministry of Public Health wants to buy two types of oral antiviral medicines to fight Covid-19. Dr Atthasit said the ministry will also talk with Pfizer on Friday over procurement of another Covid-19 antiviral medicine, Paxlovid. About 50% of those who received Molnupiravir did not require hospitalisation and none of them died. There were no deaths in the group that received Paxlovid and Ritonavir.

Bitcoin, Ether hit records amid broad rally in cryptocurrenciesFILE PHOTO: The exchange rates and logos of Bitcoin (BTH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR) are seen on the display of a cryptocurrency ATM of blockchain payment service provider Bity at the House of Satoshi bitcoin and blockchain shop in Zurich, Switzerland June 25, 2021. (Reuters)Bitcoin and Ether hit all-time highs Tuesday in an ongoing cryptocurrency rally that some analysts attributed partly to the search for investments to hedge risks from inflation. Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital token, jumped as much as 3.6% to $68,513, while Ether posted a more modest advance to about $4,840. The total value of digital tokens tracked by CoinGecko reached some $3.1 trillion. “Strength in Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other altcoins looks likely in the weeks to come.”Another theory for the Bitcoin rally is the seemingly ubiquitous Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.

Tourism operators in resort cities near Bangkok are urging the government to adjust a hotel subsidy scheme called We Travel Together to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain more benefits. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), 890,781 rooms were booked at 3,797 hotels by 323,353 Thais under the stimulus scheme as of Nov 7. Besides hotel subsidies, she said demand from Tour Teaw Thai, which subsidises 40% of tour packages of up to 5,000 baht to 1 million Thais, is still sluggish. As of Nov 7, 3,091 tour packages were sold, while just 299 tourists had already travelled, generating 2 million baht. She said the local market prefers independent travel, so new tourism stimulus measures via tour packages might not effectively boost domestic trips.

Military top brass sworn in on first day as senatorsThe defence permanent secretary and chiefs of the navy and the air force reported for duty as newly appointed senators on Monday. Under the constitution, six of the Senate seats are reserved for the supreme commander, the army, navy and air force chiefs, the defence permanent secretary and the national police chief. However, Gen Chaichan and Mr Jarungvith are required to step down from their current posts if they want to serve as senators, according to the source. PPRP leader Prawit Wongsuwon yesterday refused to answer reporters' questions about speculation involving Mr Anumat joining the ruling party. He also declined to comment about reports that former police chief Chakthip Chaijinda and former permanent secretary for interior Chatchai Phromlert would apply to become members.

Representatives of people affected by gold mining in Phichit and Phitsanulok provinces file their complaint near Government House in Bangkok in 2016. (File photo)A civil society group has threatened to file legal action against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha if the government loses a legal battle against Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd and agrees to the company's terms of reopening its gold mine. Lertsak Kamkongsak, Commoners Party Leader and the network's representative, said the government would be trading the environment and people's health by allowing the company to resume its gold mining operations. Mr Kobchai insisted this does not mean that the Thai government will lose in court. He also assured that the government's legal team will negotiate while having the country's interests as its first priority.

Energy Minister says diesel price crisis is nearly overThe high retail price of diesel is set to fall soon, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said yesterday. "From about 25 baht per litre late last year, the average retail price of diesel has already surpassed 30 baht, which last month prompted the government's committee on energy policy management to begin subsidising the diesel price in a bid to keep it no higher than 30 baht per litre," Mr Supattanapong said. Aside from using Oil Fund mechanisms to keep the diesel price low, the government has also asked for cooperation from oil retailers to reduce their margins, he said. The diesel price subsidy using the Oil Fund will initially last no later than next year, he said. As for distorted information regarding the government's handling of diesel prices being spread online against the government, Mr Supattanapong said the Energy Ministry is considering taking legal action against those moving behind these malicious rumours.

October TISI hits five-month highPassengers arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport have their documents checked under the Thailand Pass scheme. The reopening of the country to fully vaccinated tourists was one of the reasons cited for the improvement in October's TISI. The reopening of the tourism industry to welcome back fully vaccinated tourists without quarantine also drove the TISI. "But the government should not only hope for the return of Chinese visitors because it remains unclear when the Chinese government will ease rules to allow its people to travel abroad," said Mr Supant. "We're worried the Ft will increase because of the global oil price surge," said Mr Supant.