Time flies
Other Oris limited editions have honoured the Swiss Air-Rescue Rega and the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. They shared a new vision when moving to Botswana to set up the Okavango Air Rescue in 2011. Founders of Okavango Air Rescue Dr Misha S. Kruck and Christian Gross. Initially operating emergencies and airborne evacuations, Okavango Air Rescue has grown into a provider of general medicine. Lush grassland inspires the green dial of Okavango Air Rescue Limited Edition with an engraved caseback.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 23:26 UTC
New programme hones in on cybersecurity skills
New programme hones in on cybersecurity skillsThe National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) is gearing up to develop the cybersecurity skills of personnel working in seven sectors of critical information infrastructure (CII) through an intensive capacity-building programme, as cybercrimes have intensified around the globe. According to the 2019 Cybersecurity Act, NCSA is responsible for developing necessary skills and competence in relation to cybersecurity for personnel in the state and private sectors, making sure they are up to international standards. The development of cybersecurity skills among experts and executives is the most important factor in helping to fend off cyber-attacks, he said. NCSA secretary-general Lt Gen Prachya Chalermwat said the first phase of the cybersecurity capacity-building programme will see 2,250 personnel of CII-associated organisations undergo fundamental cybersecurity training. Thailand has only 250 cybersecurity personnel who have obtained the Certified Information Systems Security Professional, an information security certification for security analysts, compared with around 300 personnel in Malaysia and more than 3,000 in Singapore.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 23:15 UTC
SCB Abacus growth lures tech investors
SCB Abacus, an alternative digital lending platform under Siam Commercial Bank, has raised US$12 million (396 million baht) in a Series A funding round and targets digital loan growth of 10 times this year. SCB Abacus is the first fintech spin-off in the Thai banking industry and received personal loan and nanofinance licences from the Bank of Thailand. SCB Abacus is scheduled to offer a new digital loan product under its personal loan licence next year. SCB Abacus' non-performing loans are in the low single digits, she said. "Given this strong level of growth, SCB Abacus plans to raise funds for a Series B round next year.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 23:15 UTC
Methods sought to ease airlines' liquidity crunch
Methods sought to ease airlines' liquidity crunchFinance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has instructed the Fiscal Policy Office and the Bank of Thailand to jointly seek ways to relax some of the criteria for state banks to lend to domestic airlines to improve their liquidity. He said both offices should speed up their decisions to help the airlines improve their liquidity during the prolonged Covid-19 outbreak. Mr Arkhom said some government rules might make it difficult for state banks to provide financial assistance to airlines. A ministry source who requested anonymity said the ministry assigned the Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Bank) as the main state bank to provide liquidity to the airline industry. The bank has two lending options for airlines, with the first a provision of one of its own loans.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 23:15 UTC
Agency urges reworking
Agency urges reworkingThe government is being advised to speed up developing infrastructure for science, technology and digital as well as promote private investment in R&D next year to spur the economy and upgrade Thailand's competitiveness. Wanchat Suwankitti, the NESDC deputy secretary-general, said infrastructure development needs to be accelerated. "Thailand needs to speed up infrastructure development in 2022 if the country wants to help the economy and upgrade its competitiveness ranking, said Mr Wanchat. He said the government is maintaining its development targets under the 20-year national strategic plan (2018-37) despite the drastic impact on social and economic development caused by the spread of Covid-19. The strategy comprises 23 master plans, of which 15 are deemed urgent flagship projects that must be implemented during 2019-23.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 23:15 UTC
Direct sales sector forecast to slip just 1-2% this year
Direct sales sector forecast to slip just 1-2% this yearThailand's direct sales industry is expected to contract by 1-2% this year as consumer purchasing power remains weak due to the spread of Covid-19. Thailand's direct sales shrank by 1% to 70 billion baht in 2020. He said the direct sales business is expected to recover in the very near future because the goods and items marketed by direct sales channels are mostly daily-use consumer products that gain high brand loyalty. The direct sales business provides people with opportunities to fulfil their needs in the current economic climate. In every crisis, it always has an opportunity for direct sales.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 23:15 UTC
Duterte will not cooperate with ICC drug war probe, says lawyer
Duterte will not cooperate with ICC drug war probe, says lawyerPhilippines President Rodrigo Duterte will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court's probe into his drug war, his lawyer has said. MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court's probe into the government's war on drugs, his lawyer said on Thursday, insisting the tribunal does not have jurisdiction in the country. Duterte "will not cooperate since first of all, the Philippines has left the Rome statute, so the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the country," chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo told local radio DZBB. "The government will not let in any ICC member to collect information and evidence here in the Philippines, they will be barred entry." Duterte has repeatedly attacked the world's only permanent war crimes court, calling it "bullshit" and vowing not to cooperate with its probe.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 02:26 UTC
French forces kill IS Sahel jihadist leader wanted by US
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi was "neutralised by French forces", President Emmanuel Macron tweeted early Thursday. "This is another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel," Macron said, without giving the location or details of the operation. The jihadist leader was behind the killing of French aid workers in 2020 and was also wanted by the United States over a deadly 2017 attack on US troops in Niger. Islamic State in the Greater Sahara is blamed for most of the jihadist attacks in the Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso region. The French military has killed several high-ranking members of ISGS under its strategy of targeting jihadist leaders since the start of its military intervention in Mali in 2013.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 02:15 UTC
First all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit aboard SpaceX Dragon
First all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit aboard SpaceX DragonThe Inspiration 4 civilian crew aboard a Crew Dragon capsule and SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo: Reuters)CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: A SpaceX rocket ship blasted off from Florida on Wednesday carrying a billionaire e-commerce executive and three less-wealthy private citizens he chose to join him in the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit. A SpaceX webcast of the launch showed Isaacman, 38, and his crewmates - Sian Proctor, 51, Hayley Arceneaux, 29, and Chris Sembroski, 42 - strapped into the pressurized cabin of their gleaming white SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed Resilience, wearing their helmeted black-and-white flight suits. The Crew Dragon, fitted with a special observation dome in place of its usual docking hatch, reached orbit almost 10 minutes after the 8.03pm blastoff (7.03am Thursday in Bangkok). At that height, which the spacecraft was expected to reach later on Wednesday night, the Crew Dragon will circle the globe once every 90 minutes at a speed of some 27,360kph, or roughly 22 times the speed of sound.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 01:52 UTC
13,897 new Covid cases, 188 more deaths
13,897 new Covid cases, 188 more deathsEmployees of shops at Siam Paragon queue for a temperature check when returning from lunch on Wednesday. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)There were 13,897 new Covid-19 cases and 188 more fatalities recorded during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported on Thursday morning. Since the pandemic started early last year, there have been 1,434,237 Covid-19 cases, with 1,290,775 complete recoveries so far. Global Covid-19 cases rose by 562,484 in 24 hours to 227,253,177. The United States had the most cases at 42,479,780, up 164,509 and the most deaths at 685,023, up 2,282.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 01:31 UTC
Mexican lottery winners scoop drug lord homes
Mexican lottery winners scoop drug lord homesThis house that belonged to Mexican cartel boss Amado Carrillo Fuentes was among the prizes in a special Mexican lottery. MEXICO CITY: A house where drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman narrowly avoided arrest was scooped by a mystery winner in a special lottery held by the Mexican government on Wednesday. Guzman escaped a manhunt in 2014 through the underground drainage system of the house, worth an estimated $184,000, but was captured six days later. The other prizes included a Mexico City mansion that belonged to former Juarez cartel leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes said to be worth about $3.8 million. Known as "The Lord of the Skies," he was considered one of Latin America's biggest drug traffickers until he died during plastic surgery in Mexico City in 1997.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 01:07 UTC
Head of IS in Greater Sahara killed by French forces: Macron
Head of IS in Greater Sahara killed by French forces: MacronIn June this year, President Emmanuel Macron announced a reduction in France's anti-jihadist Barkhane force in the Sahel after more than eight years of military presencePARIS - The head of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, has been killed by French forces, President Emmanuel Macron tweeted early Thursday. Islamic State in the Greater Sahara is blamed for most of the jihadist attacks in the Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso region. "This is another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel," Macron said. On August 9, 2020, in Niger, the head of ISGS personally ordered the killing of six French aid workers and their Niger guides and drivers. The French military has killed several high-ranking members of ISGS under its strategy of targeting jihadist leaders.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 00:56 UTC
Messi restricted in PSG draw as Man City, Liverpool win thrillers
Messi restricted in PSG draw as Man City, Liverpool win thrillersLionel Messi and PSG were held in check by Club Brugge. PARIS: Lionel Messi made his first Paris Saint-Germain start in a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, while last season's runners-up Manchester City and Liverpool won high-scoring thrillers. "We need time for them to get to know each other," PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said of his all-star attack. I'm happy with how Messi played, his desire and his attitude, and the way he's adjusting." Steven Berghuis added the other goal for the four-time European champions with Paulinho grabbing a consolation for the hosts.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2021 00:45 UTC
Harnessing the Sun
Thai-American designer Angelys Balek's new autumn/winter collection takes inspiration from the symbol of new beginningsTwo years ago Thai-American designer Angelys Balek was ebulliently "Above The Sun" -- the title of her autumn/winter collection. Angelys Balek once again salutes the luminous celestial body. Since 2017, her eponymous label has focused on swimwear inspired by her childhood in Phuket and various disciplines such as art and architecture. Lastly, cool tones such as purple-blue and vivid prints characterise the Serene By The Sea pieces. (Photos courtesy of Angelys Balek)
Source:Bangkok Post
September 15, 2021 23:57 UTC
Emerging markets face taper test
Returning to the US, the Fed QE taper will be the key financial market event in the last quarter of 2021. Emerging markets in 2013 saw large corrections in their currency, bond and equity markets as well as much slower recovery period. The next question is how ready emerging markets are for tapering today. Similar to many of their peers, Asean emerging markets have a weak growth outlook. How emerging markets, including Thailand, will weather tapering this time around thus depends on how well they can convince investors about their growth and recovery outlooks.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 15, 2021 23:37 UTC