The draft, labelled simply “marijuana and hemp” bill, was proposed by the Public Health Ministry which is under the Bhumjaithai Party. The bill was sent back to an ad hoc House panel for review after Democrat Party joined the opposition in voting against it. Democrat MPs voiced concerns that the bill would promote the recreational use of marijuana. It is not clear if those who said “no” to “do you agree with the free ganja bill or not?” actually disagree with the bill or recreational use of marijuana. Meanwhile, 10.92 per cent chose “yes”, while 1.81 per cent chose “no comment”.

Stephane Coum, Central Retail Food Group CEO, said Tops Club will be the first store of its kind in Southeast Asia when it opens on Wednesday (September 28). Tops CLUB will be an exclusive source of premier brands from all over the world, with new additions weekly, he said. The stores will sell five categories of products: dried groceries and beverages, fresh food and ingredients, alcohol, general goods including sports equipment and pet products, and household goods. Of the 3,500-plus items on shelves, 75 per cent will be imported while the remainder – including chicken, eggs, and some local fruit – will be sourced from domestic producers.

Thai anti-Covid nasal spray ready for commercial saleThe press conference at Samyan Mitrtown Hall where a team of doctors and researchers introduced an anti-Covid nasal spray produced for commercial sale. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)A nasal spray to prevent Covid-19 infection developed by Thai medical researchers will be available for commercial sale from Oct 1, Worawan Chaikamnerd, chief executive officer of Hibiocy Co and Rojukiss International Public Company Ltd announced on Monday. Ms Worawan said it would be sold under the brandname "VAILL COVITRAP Anti-Cov Nasal Spray" and was produced by Hibiocy Co, a subsidiary of Rojukiss International. Developed by a team of doctors and researchers from the faculty of medicine, Chulalongkorn University, the spray is truly a Thai innovation for Thai people, she said. VAILL COVITRAP Anti-Cov Nasal Spray will be available for commercial sale from Oct 1.

It was sweet revenge for the Thai-Aussie duo who had lost to Selby and Kenna in the round-robin stage before suffering another loss — 3-1 to England’s Ronnie O'Sullivan and Reanne Evans. However, Nutcharut and Robertson beat England's Judd Trump and Hong Kong's Ng On Yee 4-0 to make the final. Nutcharut and Robertson earned 60,000 pounds (about 2.4 million baht) prize money. This is Nutcharut's second world title, having earlier won the World Women's Snooker Championship.

Typhoon Noru became a super typhoon "after a period of explosive intensification," with sustained winds increasing to 185 km (115 miles) per hour from 120 kph on Saturday evening, the disaster agency said in an advisory. It will continue intensifying and may make landfall on Sunday evening with 195kph winds and gusts to up to 240 kph (121 to 150 mph), it said.

The central bank is working to keep the public alert on forex trading scams to prevent them from falling victim, she said. According to the central bank, youth can open bank accounts if they meet the banks' age criteria. The regulator has asked all banks to closely monitor the financial transactions of youth customers because they are viewed as a group susceptible to scammers. If banks find any suspicious transactions in the accounts, they are requested to take swift action, said the central bank. He said the ministry will forward this list to the central bank and SEC to check if they are licensed operators.

The stone, made of black Belgian marble, sits in the King George VI Memorial Chapel which Queen Elizabeth commissioned in 1962 as a burial place for George VI, her father. The queen was interred there on Monday after a state funeral in Westminister Abbey. The brass lettering on the stone reads "George VI 1895-1952 / Elizabeth 1900-2002" on the top two lines, followed by a garter star and then "Elizabeth II 1926-2022 / Philip 1921-2021" on the bottom two lines. Queen Elizabeth's sister, Princess Margaret, is also interred at the chapel, at Windsor Castle west of London.

Betong's tourist prospects are now looking upTourists take photos in downtown Betong, Yala, on March 18, 20222. (Bangkok Post photo)Businesses in the tourism sector of Betong district in Yala have made more than 200 million baht in revenue since the country re-opened in May. Betong district chief Ake Yang-apai Na Songkhla said tourists had increased over the past months. The low-cost carrier flies three time a week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Don Mueang airport to Betong. The Don Mueang-Betong flight was costly to operate with the route twice as long as the Bangkok-Chiang Mai flight, he said.

Industry chiefs applaud staged return to business as usualSanan: 'Weak baht also a factor'Business operators have welcomed the government's further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, particularly the downgrading of the virus' status, saying they will attract more tourists and help boost the economy. It was announced in the Royal Gazette last Tuesday that the government will further downgrade Covid-19 from a dangerous communicable disease to a communicable disease under surveillance starting from Oct 1. In lieu of the CCSA chaired by the prime minister, the Public Health Minister will oversee disease control efforts under the Communicable Disease Act, with an action plan designed to respond to the varying degrees of severity of Covid-19. Businesses on Khao San Road are surging back to life as more foreign and Thai visitors are returning, following the relaxations of restrictions, he said. He said Bangkok is now ready to fully reopen to foreign visitors.

The Spaniard has had persistent problems since he broke his arm at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix and has had multiple operations since then. He missed six rounds of the championship following the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello in May, but made his return at last week's Aragon Grand Prix after recovering from surgery on his right arm. It's true that it's a pole position, it's only a pole position, it's in wet conditions but at the moment when we come, we are coming from a difficult moment. At the moment we have now with the bike with all the team, with me, it's really important to have these small motivations, small achievement." Said MARC MARQUEZ

“Trusted media is the most valuable asset for the journalistic profession,” affirmed Adisak, executive committee vice chairman at Nation Group (Thailand). “However, it is also the asset that is hardest to maintain.”During a “Lightning Talks” seminar, Adisak revealed the core mission to “bring The Nation back to earth” as well as outlining changes and challenges that have shaken up Nation Group and Thai society over the past few years. “What severely damaged our credibility as journalists was allowing Nation TV news anchors and moderators to influence the editorial team,” said Adisak. “There was no filtering whatsoever on what was presented on Nation TV programmes during 2019-2020. Anchors and moderators selected whatever they liked, including one-sided information and fake news, and then persuaded the audience to agree with them.”“It is as though Nation TV audiences were being hypnotised during those two years,” he added.

Like a growing number of digital nomads in China, he’s turned his back on big-city living and moved to the tourist hub in Yunnan province, famed for its snowcapped mountains, ancient temples and pagodas. (Story continues below)The Dali Hub offers accommodation, co-working spaces and other amenities for digital nomads in the city long known as a backpackers’ paradise in Yunnan province. Digital nomadism will take on a “bigger part of the future of work”, said Rachael Woldoff, a professor of sociology at West Virginia University and co-author of Digital Nomads: In Search of Freedom, Community and Meaningful Work in the New Economy. Jingdezhen, a city in southeastern Jiangxi province known for its porcelain making, also hosts a digital nomad hub. “Ideally we hope to build a self-sustained economy here,” said a former English tutor who identified himself as Glitch Boy, as he’s known in the local group of digital nomads.

A solid field of players spearheaded by red-hot Patcharajutar Kongkraphan, who won the last five domestic events (three on the TWT Tour) she entered and Arpichaya Yubol who just won the season-ending Thailand Mixed event in Lumphun on Sunday will strut their stuff next week. Joining the two favourites are 2018 LET Thailand Championships winner Kanyalak Preedasuttijit and two rookies Cholcheva Wongras and Kornkamol Sukaree. The SAT-TWT Open Road to World Ranking is sponsored by the Sports Authority of Thailand, National Sports Development Fund, Siam Commercial Bank, P Overseas Steal (Public Company Limited) and the Panorama Golf and Country Club in Nakhon Ratchasima. Fans can catch up with news updates on ThaiWPGA Facebook Fanpage or at www.thaiwpga.com.

Isuzu said that under the Asean Industrial Cooperation (AICO) scheme, it was entitled to an import duty of 5 per cent. Hence, Isuzu will only be required to pay the 5 per cent import duty. The court also dismissed the two departments’ appeal, which claimed that the automaker had imported fewer transmission sets than the approved number. They also claimed that its subsidiary, Isuzu Engine Manufacturing (Thailand), also did not meet the requirements to export car engines under the AICO scheme. The court, however, said the appeal was based on new facts that had not been raised when evaluating the import tax.

He said the system features a global trade analytics option which predicts export trends in the short term (three months) and long term (12 months). The system can also analyse news reports related to international trade to evaluate the business sentiment, while its market insight option can analyse buyers’ demands via e-commerce platforms. “DITP Business AI can also evaluate situations that may have an impact on international trade and offers guidelines on evaluating trade partners’ potential,” he explained. “The system can also analyse competitors to evaluate risks that may trigger Thailand’s loss of market share.”