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.

Country seeks to ease Indonesia's limitsMr Jurin, right, explained during talks with Mr Rachmat that Thai longan exports to Indonesia have seen some difficulties over the past 3-4 years. The longan imports must also be approved by Indonesia's ministries of agriculture and trade. Thailand and Indonesia have agreed to the JTC since 2011 but have never held the JTC meeting. Thailand sold a total of 925,000 tonnes of rice under G2G contracts to Indonesia under the previous agreement from 2012-16. Meanwhile, according to Mr Jurin, the Indonesian ambassador also asked Thailand to help raise imports of fresh shrimp and investment in Indonesia, especially in the tourism sector.

Fitch says SCB rejig in line with trendSiam Commercial Bank's (SCB) reorganisation reflects the industry's rising complexity. The group restructuring announced by SCB on Sept 22 is in line with the trend for Thai banks to become more complex financial groups, Fitch Ratings says. SCB plans to set up a holding company that will own the group's operating entities, including SCB. "We expect more details to emerge on capital planning for the holding company, SCB and the other subsidiaries. There is to be a one-off 70 billion baht dividend from SCB to the holding company for business and asset transfers and new investment."

Ministry touts benefits of national shipping lineThe Ministry of Transport is planning to open a national shipping line by June next year, in a bid to reduce reliance on foreign ships and promote the export and import sector. Yesterday, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob revealed that the Port Authority of Thailand has been instructed to launch a feasibility study on a national shipping line by next month. Mr Saksayam said if all goes according to plan, the national shipping line will launch in June next year. Mr Saksayam said that the Marine Department has been instructed to work with the PAT to set-up the shipping line, which will help boost the nation's export and import capacity and bring down shipping costs. The East Co Ltd will handle regional shipping to Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan and eastern China.

Nobody was willing to say the word "China" out loud, but "containing" China is just as much the focus of the Quad as "containing" the Soviet Union was when the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) was founded 72 years ago. And like the Nato countries then, today's Quad members collectively outnumber, outgun and surround their adversary. All the Quad members except Japan still have growing and relatively young populations, whereas China's population is rapidly ageing and predicted to start falling fast by 2030. In terms of serious naval hardware, China has one-sixth of the tonnage of the Quad navies, including only two aircraft carriers to 15 for the Quad and 12 nuclear-powered submarines to 69. The United States has been the world's paramount power for the past 75 years, and China is a challenger with its own sense of manifest destiny.