Similan, Surin, Lanta parks to close for regeneration
Tourists pose for photos at Mu Ko Surin National Park in Phangnga province. (Photo: Surin National Park)Mu Ko Similan, Mu Ko Surin and Mu Ko Lanta national parks will close on Monday in an annual tradition to let nature rehabilitate itself during the monsoon season. An announcement on the Facebook account dedicated to the three marine parks said visitors will not be admitted from Monday until Oct 14. The temporary closure follows the policy of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department to give all the flora and fauna in all parks time to regenerate during the off-peak season for tourists. Similan and Surin are popular destinations in Phangnga, while Lata in Krabi is also famous for its clear water and white sand.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 15, 2022 10:47 UTC
Saudi Arabia set to use Thailand as Southeast Asian investment hub
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana quoted Prayut as telling the PIF chief that relaxed travel restrictions in Thailand will help boost cooperation between the two kingdoms. He also told the fund chief that Thailand was ready to further develop bilateral ties, which are already improving. Thanakorn quoted the PIF chief as saying that he was meeting Prayut under the instructions of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is also deputy PM and defence minister of Saudi Arabia. Yasir said he had been instructed to discuss cooperation between the two countries, especially on trade and investment in energy businesses such as petroleum and gas surveys.
Source:The Nation Bangkok
May 15, 2022 08:32 UTC
WEH to pay THB2.7bn in dividends after court rules against Kasem
On May 11, the Bangkok South Civil Court dismissed Kasem's request, ruling that he did not own the shares. As a result, WEH will pay 2.7 billion baht in dividends to shareholders, including Golden Music and WEH chairman Pradej Kitti-Itsaranon. "The company is allocating cash and expects to pay the dividends this week," a source from WEH said. WEH has made six dividend payments in the past two years, worth 41.9 baht per share.
Source:The Nation Bangkok
May 15, 2022 04:39 UTC
Tourist falls to death from Samui waterfall
Na Muang waterfall is a popular attraction near the centre of Koh Samui. (Photo supplied)SURAT THANI: A 23-year-old Romanian tourist fell to her death from Na Muang waterfall on Koh Samui after she slipped while taking a photo on Saturday. Rescuers were sent to the scene and checked the woman’s pulse but she was unresponsive, said Chayapon Intarasupa, the mayor of Koh Samui district. Her body was sent to Koh Samui Hospital for a post-mortem examination. There are signs warning people of the dangers of Na Muang waterfall.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 15, 2022 01:20 UTC
Homegrown weed gets OK despite glitch
Homegrown weed gets OK despite glitchThe Public Health Ministry has assured people they can grow cannabis plants at home from June 9, even though the Cannabis and Hemp Act may not be finalised in time. Mr Anutin stressed the ministry's policy is purely aimed at promoting cannabis for medical purposes to boost people's health care. Wrongly used cannabis will violate public health regulations," said Mr Anutin. Dr Paisarn said the FDA views cannabis as a cash crop that might help to stimulate the economy alongside its medicinal uses. Dr Paisarn said the advertising of cannabis-based products will be vetted by the FDA, with cosmetics being the sole exception.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 15, 2022 01:12 UTC
Quadruple still possible as Liverpool edge Chelsea in FA Cup final
Saturday's win means Liverpool have won 50% of their target for the season. They are three points behind Manchester City in the Premier League race with two games to go and meet Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28. "Like in the last final, the League Cup, no regrets. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was handed the Cup by Prince William to roars from the Liverpool fans while the Chelsea end had largely emptied. The win was Liverpool's eighth in the 150-year history of the FA Cup, drawing them level with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Source:The Nation Bangkok
May 15, 2022 00:46 UTC
Myanmar junta organises huge religious event
Some monks have joined street protests opposing the power grab, while other religious leaders have defended the military junta. Ahead of the religious observance, a group of Mandalay monks opposed to the coup urged other holy men not to participate in the junta-organised event. “They are ogres, but they pretend to be human beings,” the Sangha Mandalay monk group said in a Facebook post. Government officials and representatives from a military-linked political party hosted the religious ceremony near a former royal palace on Saturday — the day coinciding with a full moon. Mandalay monk Ugga Nyana insisted participation in ceremony was not a political statement, and the clergymen came in the name of love.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 14, 2022 23:31 UTC
China withdraws as Asian Cup host due to pandemic
China withdraws as Asian Cup host due to pandemicA woman takes a rapid antigen test for Covid-19 while holding a smartphone at a community centre in Beijing on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)China has withdrawn as the 2023 Asian Cup host due to the coronavirus, football officials said Saturday, with Beijing's strict zero-Covid strategy dealing another blow to the country's sporting ambitions. The Olympic-sized Asian Games, due to be staged in September in Hangzhou, had already been postponed earlier this month, and on Saturday the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said China would not host the Asian Cup. The Asian Cup is staged every four years. It would have been the second time that China had staged the Asian Cup.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 14, 2022 18:14 UTC
27 killed in fire in Indian capital
27 killed in fire in Indian capitalFirefighters in New Delhi said 27 bodies were found at the scene of the blaze. NEW DELHI: At least 27 people died and dozens more were injured in a massive fire in a building in the Indian capital New Delhi on Friday, emergency services said. A police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity that one of the office owners has been detained for questioning. The Indian capital of 20 million people is currently suffering through a heatwave, with temperatures of up to 46 Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) recorded in some places. Sixteen 16 Covid-19 patients and two nurses were killed in a fire at a hospital in Gujarat state in May 2021.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 14, 2022 10:12 UTC
School still smoulders a week after being hit in razed Ukraine village
School still smoulders a week after being hit in razed Ukraine villageThe outlines of a wall are all that remain of a grade school in which Ukraine says 60 sheltering civilians died in a Russian aerial bombing attackBILOGORIVKA (UKRAINE) - The charred basement at the bottom of a heap of rubble that was once a two-storey grade school was still hot a week after a military strike Ukraine says killed 60 people sheltering from Russian bombs. "The world has turned upside down," the 70-year-old said while staring at the remains of a school the Soviets built for the coal mining village after World War II. - No signs of life -Local governor Sergiy Gaidai says 60 people sheltering in the school's basement "likely" died in a Russian aerial bombing attack on May 7. Yet the ruins on School Street in Bilogorivka revealed few secrets about what exactly happened on that fateful night. Both cities and the ruined village now stand completely deserted and deprived of water and other basic services.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 14, 2022 10:02 UTC
Prisons must not force released inmates to quarantine: minister
Somsak said he had received complaints from inmates’ relatives that prisons were placing convicts in Covid-19 quarantine convicts for 15-21 days before releasing them. He added that the Corrections Department had no policy to quarantine released prisoners, so any prisons found doing so would face disciplinary punishment. He also ensured prisoners’ relatives that he would make sure that such violations do not happen again. Cumulative cases of Covid-19 reported among prisoners nationwide stand at 95,101, with 206 total deaths and 404 still undergoing treatment. On Saturday, Thailand recorded 6,736 new Covid-19 cases and 54 deaths.
Source:The Nation Bangkok
May 14, 2022 08:11 UTC
AMLO seizes THB92m in assets from temple embezzlement suspects
Apirat, a former special project manager of the Crown Property Bureau, is accused of embezzling over THB200 million from Wat Bowonniwet after befriending Somdet Phra Wannarat, the late abbot of the temple. According to police, Apirat repeatedly transferred money from the temple’s account into his own between November 2021 to January 2022, using it to buy luxury items including cars and condominium units. On the list of 14 items seized by AMLO are two condo units in Chatuchak district, a building in Prawet district, Bentley, Porsche and Tesla cars, two Volvo cars, two vanity licence plates, and four saving accounts. Apart from Apirat, other individuals listed as co-owners of the assets are his mother Suwarat, his father Aphichai, his brother Chalermporn, and Karin Kittiamphon. AMLO and the police said they will gather additional evidence of Apirat’s money trail before filing charges against him and his alleged accomplices.
Source:The Nation Bangkok
May 14, 2022 03:30 UTC
PTT teams up with THAI to develop cargo services
PTT teams up with THAI to develop cargo servicesNational oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc is joining hands with national flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) to develop cargo services, with the ultimate aim of becoming a regional logistics leader. The national airline has decades of experience in providing cargo services for the industrial and agricultural sectors, as well as transporting products that require special care, notably vaccines and medicines. Despite the Covid-19 lockdown periods, THAI continued to operate its cargo services, using passenger aircraft as there were no commercial flights to help the company with its transport of goods, said Mr Suvadhana. In April this year, THAI saw its goods transport flights, including those transporting fruit, rise by 123% to 87, up from 39 flights in March. Mr Auttapol said PTT can integrate its experience in land transport and warehouse operation in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen with THAI's business.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 13, 2022 21:38 UTC
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa dies aged 73
Under the constitution, vice-president and premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, will act as president until the federal council which groups the rulers of the seven emirates meets within 30 days to elect a new president. Khalifa, who was born in 1948, came to power in 2004 in the richest emirate Abu Dhabi and became the head of state. He is expected to be succeeded as ruler of Abu Dhabi by his half-brother Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Source:The Nation Bangkok
May 13, 2022 14:41 UTC
Local entrepreneurs look to Japan for tips on local tourism
In his opening address, Kalin Sarasin, the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s chairman, noted that Thailand was a multi-cultural country with a wide variety of the landscapes yet tourists still tended to visit the major centres like Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. There was thus a need to encourage interest in smaller and less-known destinations and online media was the ideal channel for such promotion. However, in addition to online promotion, many local organization need better tourism management and unique packaging that will attract tourists to enjoy what their towns or communities have to offer. “We invited the lecturers from Mie province, Japan, to share experiences and example of product improvement using storytelling to lure travellers to visit and revisit,” Kalin said.
Source:The Nation Bangkok
May 13, 2022 11:29 UTC