The Chiang Mai tourism sandbox capitalises on what the province is known best for: traditions, culture and nature, according to governor Charoenrit Sa-nguanrat. With the general outbreak situation in Chiang Mai appearing to stabilise, Oct 1 has been set as the date for the Charming Chiang Mai launch, the governor said. Success of the Charming Chiang Mai sandbox could help restart many tourism-related domestic markets desperate to return to business. The Chiang Mai sandbox will be assessed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Chiang Mai is a northern hub is closely tied to the wellbeing of the country's economy as a whole.

Students aged 12-18 to get Pfizer jabs later this monthYoung people aged 12-18 will begin receiving the Pfizer vaccine later this month, as long their parents give consent, according to the government. The first shots will be administered on Sept 21 to students with underlying illnesses in Bangkok, said Rachada Dhnadirek, deputy government spokeswoman yesterday. After the students with health conditions and underlying illnesses are inoculated, other students in the 12-18 age bracket at schools and vocational institutes nationwide will be given the shots next month. Ms Rachada said the Education Ministry, the Public Health Ministry and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration are formulating plans for the vaccine rollout for the students, including inoculation dates for various target segments. Ms Rachada said students who are 18 or older will also be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine as the Education Ministry is working to accelerate vaccination rates among the student population.

Prawit brushes off reports he will resign as PPRP leaderDeputy Prime Minister and Palang Pracharath Party leader Prawit WongsuwonDeputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has insisted he will not resign as leader of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is moving to consolidate his power within the ruling party. A PPRP source said that after Capt Thamanat Prompow, PPRP secretary-general, was sacked as deputy agriculture minister and Narumon Pinyosinwat removed as deputy labour minister last week, speculation is rife that a cabinet reshuffle may follow. He was apparently taken unaware by the campaign and wants to close the distance between him and party MPs to help ensure greater discipline in party ranks. As for reports that Mr Santi is tipped to replace Capt Thamanat as party secretary-general, the source said the change could be possible with the consent of Gen Prawit. The source also said Gen Prayut could become PPRP leader, though this would be a last resort.

Fickou shines as 'defensively sound' Racing beat La Rochelle to head up Top 14Gael Fickou has made 63 France appearances since his Test debut in 2013PARIS: France centre Gael Fickou praised his team's defence after Saturday's 23-10 home win over La Rochelle to send them to the summit of the French Top 14. Defensively we were sound against a very good La Rochelle team. The sides were level 10-10 going into the final quarter as Kevin Gourdon charged over for La Rochelle. "It's an incredible end to the game, the solidarity perfectly reflects our team spirit," Castres' veteran lock Loic Jacquet told Canal+. "It confirms not just the work since the start of this season, but the work carried over from last season.

England and India consider next moves after cancelled TestNo overs and out: A digital screen displays news of the cancellation of the fifth Test between England and India at Old TraffordMANCHESTER (UNITED KINGDOM) - What happens now? That was the question cricket fans around the world were asking after the dramatic last-minute cancellation of the deciding fifth Test between England and India in Manchester. - 'India flexed their muscles' -"I felt at the time England let South Africa down," former England captain Michael Vaughan told the BBC. But with India meant to tour England next year for a white-ball series, it could yet be slotted in at Old Trafford. "They could have done it (cancelled the match) yesterday (Thursday), We could have saved on the travel, could have cancelled the hotel.

15,191 new Covid cases, 253 more deathsBags containing dried food and everyday items are seen at the Department of Industrial Promotion in Bangkok on Friday. (Photo: Apichit Jinakul)Thailand logged 15,191 Covid-19 cases and 253 fatalities on Friday, according to the Public Health Ministry. Of the new cases, 14,465 cases were in the general population and 726 were prisoners. Since April 1, when the third wave of Covid-19 began, Thailand has treated 1,339,281 Covid-19 patients, 1,188,686 of whom have recovered. Since the pandemic started early last year, there have been 1.37 million Covid-19 cases, 1.22 million of whom have recovered.

Israeli media said police were alerted by local residents who reported seeing two men searching litter bins for food. Israel had launched a manhunt for the six prisoners who made a daring jail break Monday from the high security Gilboa prison through a tunnel dug beneath a sink in a cell. Israeli authorities had said the six jail breakers were members of armed Palestinian groups who were being held for plotting or carrying out attacks against Israelis. In Nablus, youths set tyres alight during confrontations with Israeli security forces. The prisoners' group had reported "tensions" in jails on Wednesday, and a spokeswoman for the Israeli prison authorities told AFP fires had been lit in Ktziot and Ramon jails.

Shares rally but stimulus questions persistRecap: European and Asian stocks rallied yesterday, albeit in a cautious mood, as global investors continue to digest moves by major central banks to end stimulus. The SET index moved in a range of 1,620.58 and 1,658.08 points this week before closing yesterday at 1,635.35, down 0.91% from the previous week, in daily turnover averaging 90.66 billion baht. Foreign investors were net buyers of 4 billion baht and retail investors bought 889.4 million. Institutional investors were net sellers of 3.66 billion baht and brokers sold 1.23 billion baht worth of shares. The Phuket Sandbox scheme generated revenue of 1.63 billion baht in its first two months, governor Narong Woonciew said, citing a report from the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

Video shows last US Afghan strike may have targeted aid worker: NYTAfghan relatives gather on August 30, 2021 next to a damaged vehicle after a US drone strike that has come under scrutinyWASHINGTON - A video analysis shows the United States may have mistakenly targeted an aid worker rather than Islamic State fighters in its final strike in Afghanistan which killed 10 civilians, The New York Times said Friday. Ezmarai Ahmadi was an electrical engineer for the California-based aid and lobbying group Nutrition and Education International and himself was among thousands of Afghans who had applied for resettlement in the United States, relatives said. US officials say that a larger blast took place after the drone strike, showing that there were explosives in the vehicle. But the New York Times investigation said there was no evidence of a second explosion, with only one dent on a nearby gate and no clear signs of an additional blast such as blown-out walls. The New York Times noted that a rocket attack the following morning, claimed by the Islamic State group, was carried out from a Toyota Corolla similar to Ahmadi's.

Remote work boon for domestic travelBooking via online travel agents stood at 23.5%, a decrease of 12 percentage points from last year. The trend among local travellers of working from anywhere will continue after the outbreak, with a rise in direct hotel bookings, according to SiteMinder, a Sydney-based distribution hospitality platform provider. Mr Haines said the ability to work from anywhere started to become embedded in corporate culture during the pandemic, allowing people to take advantage of work flexibility, combining holiday time with work. Booking via online travel agents stood at 23.5%, a decrease of 12 percentage points from last year. He said destinations near Bangkok that are popular for domestic tourism started to see more advance bookings than those faraway, as people are not confident about air travel restrictions.

KTC pins its Q4 hopes on tourism subsidiesJanejit Ladpli, KTC's vice-president for travel and leisure marketing. SET-listed Krungthai Card (KTC) hopes tourism subsidy campaigns will spur domestic trips and drive travel spending via its cards in the fourth quarter. Tourism-related expenditure via KTC cards in 2019 was 18 billion baht, before plunging to 9.3 billion last year. The slowdown of 2020-21 saw tourism spending fall out of the top 10 for KTC cards. Ms Janejit believes tourism confidence will return in 2022 along with tourism spending.

A banner of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, fourth left, and teammates is displayed at Old Trafford. (Reuters photo)London: Cristiano Ronaldo will make an eagerly anticipated second debut for Manchester United today while Arsenal aim to get themselves off the foot of the Premier League table. After winning the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 and in Serie A for Juventus last season, Ronaldo set another personal record by becoming the top goalscorer in the history of international football last week. Since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, the Red Devils have failed to seriously challenge for the Premier League title. Mikel Arteta's position as manager is under increasing threat, with the Spaniard reportedly given four more Premier League games to save his job.

Curfews to stay until end of September, says CCSAThe curfew imposed from 9pm–4am to curb coronavirus infections in some provinces, will remain in place until the end of this month at least, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has announced. He also said the CCSA discussed the kingdom's upcoming vaccination drive on Sept 27–Oct 31, which will see the distribution of 24 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to five target groups. Of the total jabs, 10 million doses are from AstraZeneca, 8 million from Pfizer and 6 million from Sinovac. The vaccine doses that will be used for this group account for 70%, or 16.8 million, of the total 24 million doses. Students aged 12-17 will receive two Pfizer doses, accounting for 20%, or 4.8 million, of the 24 million total vaccine doses.

Social media criticism erupted this week after the railway company on Monday announced its plan to hire a company to ship the donated trains from Japan to Thailand. Some Facebook users with high followings began asking why Thailand must pay the 42.5 million baht for the used trains. In a prior statement, the SRT said it received donated trains from Japan. It noted that it had earlier received a number of donated railway carriages from JR-West. Ekkarat Si-arayanphong, director of the SRT's public relations centre, said a recent inspection of the 17 donated train carriages found they were in very good condition.

Lockdown sees gyms sweatOperators of fitness centres and personal trainers have submitted a petition to a House committee on sports, urging further easing of Covid-19 restrictions to allow them to reopen. Thanpawat Thetphuwadolvithit, a representative of a gym and fitness operator group, said the industry is drafting a Covid-19 prevention plan for the sector so that they can safely resume operations. Mr Thanpawat also asked the government to assist trainers made unemployed following the preventative shutdown order. We are likely to earn only 50% of pre-pandemic income while shouldering full expenses," he said. Boonlue Prasertsopha, chairman of the House committee on sports, said the panel will see what it can do to help the group in the red zones when it meets next Wednesday.