Ford announces $11.4 bn investment for electric vehicle productionFord Motor Company's CEO Jim Farley poses next to the newly unveiled electric F-150 Lightning outside of their Dearborn, Michigan headquarters in May 2021; he said the company seeks to deliver electric vehicles "for the many rather than the few"WASHINGTON - US car manufacturer Ford said Monday it plans to invest $11.4 billion in electric vehicle production, building four new plants that will create 11,000 new jobs by 2025. Together with its South Korean partner SK Innovation, Ford will build the factories in Kentucky and Tennessee, the automaker said in a statement. Ford will invest $7 billion, part of a $30 billion investment already announced last spring, and SK Innovation will put up the remainder. Ford said it would be the "largest, most advanced, most efficient auto production complex in its 118-year history" and would place the company at the forefront of the country's shift to electric vehicles. Executive Chair Bill Ford said, "This is a transformative moment where Ford will lead America's transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing."

Iran's nuclear program has crossed 'all red lines': Israel PMIsraeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, addressing the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, accused Iran of breaching "all red lines" aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons program. UNITED NATIONS (UNITED STATES) - Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Monday Iran had breached all the "red lines" aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons program, but that Israel "will not allow" Tehran to get the bomb. "Iran's nuclear weapon program is at a critical point, all red lines have been crossed," said Bennett, who took office in June. Iran, which says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, said Friday that it expected talks to resume soon on reviving a 2015 landmark agreement scaling back its program in exchange for sanctions relief. "The current US approach of putting the Iran nuclear program back in a box, I'd accept that," Gantz told the magazine, in what was perceived by some Israeli experts as a policy shift.

New Covid cases dip below 10,000A boy reacts as a health worker tries to convince him to take a Covid-19 test in Klong Toey district, Bangkok, last Saturday. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)Thailand logged 9,489 new Covid-19 cases and 129 more fatalities during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Tuesday morning. The new cases fell from 10,288 announced on Monday when the country recorded 101 more deaths. Since the pandemic started early last year, there have been 1,581,415 Covid-19 cases, with 1,448,206 complete recoveries so far. Global Covid-19 cases rose by 371,530 in 24 hours (up from 323,764) to 233.09 million.

North Korea fires 'unidentified projectile': South's militaryNorth Korea has carried out several missile tests in September 2021, including this launch of a new type of long-range cruise missileSEOUL - Nuclear-armed North Korea fired an 'unidentified projectile' into the sea off its east coast, the South's military said Tuesday. A Japanese defence ministry spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity that the projectile "appears to be a ballistic missile". Pyongyang is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its banned nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes. Seoul also successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile for the first time, making it one of a handful of nations with the advanced technology. The administration of US President Joe Biden has repeatedly said that it is willing to meet North Korean officials anywhere, at any time, without preconditions, in its efforts to seek denuclearisation.

Operators vow to tackle SMS spamMajor mobile operators plan to tackle spam SMS messages involving gambling to safeguard members of the public. (Bangkok Post photo)Major mobile operators have vowed to tackle spam SMS messages involving gambling, obscenity and scams, in line with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)'s requests to safeguard members of the public. Last week the NBTC held talks with several major telecom operators, asking them to gear up efforts to clamp down on unlawful SMS messages through self-regulation. TUC will also seek cooperation with other telecom operators to gather information about illicit SMS messages as part of collective efforts to block them. Any customers receiving undesirable SMS messages can report them to the AIS Call Centre via *137 in order to block them.

Koeman seeks extra time as Barca get set for BenficaRonald Koeman is on thin ice ahead of Barcelona's Champions League game away at Benfica on Wednesday. MADRID: Ronald Koeman’s future as Barcelona coach may already be decided but the outcome of the next two games, starting with Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, could buy him some extra time. "The club has been on the crest of a wave for many years and we are not used to this," Pique said. After drawing with Granada, Koeman seemed both to dismiss Barcelona's possession mantra and denigrate his players in one breath. "We are Barcelona, we are going for La Liga and the Champions League and all the competitions we are in," said Fati on Sunday.

CPN, partners launch J Food FestivalFrom left Mr Nattakit, ML Kwantip Devakula (Chef Pom), and Phattaraporn Phenpraphat, head of commercialisation at Central Pattana. Central Pattana Plc (CPN), the operator of centralwOrld, CentralPlaza, CentralFestival, Central Phuket and Central Village, in tandem with affiliate Central FoodPark, is joining hands with its business partners Thaitheparos plc and Dairy Plus Co -- the manufacturer and distributor of Dna Soy milk -- to hold the 'Thailand J Food Festival 2021' at Central shopping centres nationwide, offering a variety of vegetarian food in one place from Oct 5-14. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice-president of marketing at Central Pattana, said this year the vegetarian festival is held under the concept of 'J Integrated Lifestyle', combining traditional vegetarianism with the latest trends. "We're also collaborating with world-famous restaurants to launch international vegetarian menus, including Italian-style vegetarian food from Italian Osteria, Korean-style vegetarian food from Over Seoul, and Singaporean-style vegetarian dishes from Chuan Kitchen, in addition to world-class restaurants such as Din Tai Fung, Hai Di Lao and TP Tea, which will also launch their first vegan bubble tea at CentralWorld," he said. It is anticipated that the vegetarian festival at Central shopping centres nationwide will help stimulate spending at the end of the year and cause customer traffic to increase by 15-20%.

NT strives for clear 5G investment planClarity in National Telecom (NT)'s 5G investment plan is expected to be seen by the end of this year as the company figures out ways to end uncertainty over its business outlook. The 700MHz band was obtained through CAT Telecom, which won the licence in the 5G spectrum auction in February last year. Plans for the 5G investment have yet to emerge from NT. Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, minister of Digital Economy and Society, told the Bangkok Post that NT can no longer prolong the ambiguity of its 5G business plan as it would badly affect its future business roadmap. A source on the NT board said that a feasibility proposal by NT's management for the 5G business remains unconvincing in the eyes of the board.

Mr Uthai (right) attaches a charger in the presence of Peerapatr Sirichantaropart, managing director, Sharge Management Co.SET-listed developer Sansiri Plc will spend 500 million baht to install 1,500 electric vehicle (EV) wall chargers at new housing units being launched in 2021-22 to capitalise on rising EV sales. "The wall charger is faster than a plug at home or only five hours," he said. We aim to install 1,500 units by the end of 2022." Sansiri is eyeing installation of EV wall chargers at cheaper projects with units priced between two to three million baht, but EV car prices should be lower, Mr Uthai said. Over the past 10 years, Sansiri has installed a total of 95 EV chargers in common areas at 28 residential projects in Greater Bangkok, housing around 20,000 families.

Fitbit Thailand photos courtesy of Fitbit ThailandFocusing on well-being, Hollywood actor and producer Will Smith has teamed up with Fitbit to craft exclusive content for Fitbit Premium and the upcoming YouTube Originals docuseries Best Shape Of My Life. Premium members can participate in workouts, mindfulness sessions, HIIT and strength training, yoga and meditation video sessions with Smith and his training team. Over the next several months, the programme will expand, adding to the library of over 500 exercises and mindfulness sessions now accessible to Premium members. Fitbit Thailand Fitbit ThailandLike many others, Smith has battled with the loss of a consistent routine for the past year and he's now rebuilding his regimen by recording his personal journey and improvement. Premium users can also observe how Smith plans to use all of the exciting new holistic health capabilities on his new Charge 5.

To operate under Energy For AllAbsolute Clean Energy Plc (ACE), a biomass power plant developer and operator, plans to spend 4.72 billion baht developing 18 biogas-fired power plant projects under Energy For All renewable scheme as it continues to expand its power business domestically and internationally. The company earlier proposed 29 power plant projects in an Energy for All auction, but only 18 projects, with installed capacity of 59MW in total, are qualified to join the scheme. ACE plans to develop 18 biogas power plant projects in Buri Ram, Ratchaburi, Chiang Rai and Kamphaeng Phet, said Mr Teerawut. ACE continues to seek new investment opportunities in the renewable energy segment in the country and overseas. Projects include biomass and biogas-fired power plants, waste-to-energy power plants, solar energy and hybrid fuel development.

It not only helped me develop my passion for wheelchair racing at 13 but also taught me to be independent and not a burden on society. Wheelchair racing gave me that same adrenaline-pumping excitement." "I was there for about a term because not long after joining, I was selected for the national wheelchair racing team. Like athletics, wheelchair racing is a tactical sport, so practice makes perfect. Cash prizes from the government and private sector to the tune of 21 million baht for his three gold medals have made all the hard work worthwhile.

Portalnet, IBM help firms speed up digital strategiesMs Sirilak says choosing the right system integrator is crucial. Portalnet, a leading technology solutions firm and a subsidiary of Samart Telcoms, has partnered with IBM to help large enterprises across sectors accelerate their digital transformations with IBM Cloud Pak and its latest Power10 microprocessor. "A good system integrator must study and make a deep analysis of each individual business to offer a proper solution to meet the real needs of the organisation and resolve customers' pain points. The IBM Cloud Pak cloud platform enables organisations to extend on-premise applications as well as modernise them to any cloud or IT infrastructure. Ms Sirilak added that there is a growing trend among businesses to increase efficiency and agility through digital transformation.

She was one of the most influential molam performers of her generation, and a pioneer in the recording of molam on vinyl. Phaya Kaew, better known as courting molam, became molam glawn and between male and female molam developed into a courting style with witty verbal jousting between a pair of molam, backed by the organ-like sound of the khaen (bamboo mouth organ). These days people just call this style molam gio (courtship song). We travelled to Khon Kaen province to see the trio perform with Japanese minyo (folk music) musicians at a Loy Kratong celebration. The second side of the album features molam vocal music, molam glawn gio, with Bunpheng jousting with molam Wichian.

(Royal Thai Police photo)Fifteen police stations nationwide are participating in a project that combines technology and people-centric approaches in the fight against street crime. National police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk said that police need to rethink ways of suppressing crime. Such knowledge improves work efficiency in what Pol Gen Suwat described as a constantly changing social environment. The SSZ 4.0 project combines the use of hardware installed in a special control centre with technical equipment such as smart cameras, instant crime alert equipment and a drone for crime tracking. "People must be able to walk on the streets feeling safe and secure," Pol Gen Suwat said.