Thamanat 'dirt' splatters all over govt
Thamanat 'dirt' splatters all over govtThe Constitutional Court's ruling has cleared the way for Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow but cast enormous doubts over his boss Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. It's rather ironic but now that Capt Thamanat has been officially whitewashed, the "dirt" seems to have been splattered all over his supporters. Capt Thamanat categorically denied this. Capt Thamanat survived the censure debate with 269 votes of confidence from his party and coalition members. Known as the government's fixer, Capt Thamanat said himself that he is the main artery supplying blood to the government's heart.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 23:26 UTC
Thailand Post boss eyes digital shift
Mr Dhanant says his first priority at Thailand Post is to enhance service quality for both online and offline activities. He told the Bangkok Post his mission is to transform Thailand Post's management and operations into a tech-driven organisation called "Thailand Post Digital". In the past, Thailand Post was one department under the Communications Authority of Thailand, the former name of CAT Telecom. Thailand Post is at the forefront in this segment, but faces threats from foreign operators, he said. Kerry Express Thailand, a major competitor to Thailand Post, posted 18.9 billion baht in revenue and 1.4 billion in profit in 2020.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:11 UTC
Estonia offers local e-residency option
Estonia offers local e-residency optionMr Haav says Bangkok is an important centre for business and finance in Asean. E-residents can run a business from anywhere in the world, however e-residency does not provide citizenship or physical residency benefits, or the right to travel to Estonia or the EU. Over 80,000 people from more than 170 countries have applied for the e-residency programme, with 16,000 firms established in Estonia, he said. "It was clear to us when we started planning our expansion that we needed to establish an Estonian e-residency card pick-up point in Bangkok. According to Mr Kaljulaid, Estonia is ready to welcome more freelancers, entrepreneurs, business owners and location-independent workers from around the world to join its e-residency programme.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:11 UTC
Harnessing nature for the future
The goal is to enable students and parents to earn a living from the lessons they learn from the programme's activities. They said they enjoyed growing a mangrove forest in their community and helping collect rubbish at Pak Duat beach in front of the school. They also helped their parents raise mussels at Pak Duat beach, which they use to make fish sauce for sale, with the knowledge they obtained from the programme. Adul Sakolviroj, 66, head of a group of parents at the school, said the programme is beneficial to his community. Ms Oumpornrant said the majority of students in her school are from low-income families and that their parents are fishermen.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
One man alone can't solve Covid crisis
One man alone can't solve Covid crisisKlong Toey residents go about their daily lives as usual despite low testing and vaccination rates amid an active outbreak. But, alas, they went back home in hordes because the prime minister made the wrong decision, which for some has proved to be fatal. Over the weekend, the prime minister said he had just made several important decisions. Today, it is a hotbed of Covid-19 infections, posing a real challenge to the BMA and the prime minister. When will Prime Minister Prayut learn from his past mistakes?
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
Choice of jabs needed
Choice of jabs neededThere are no signs the Covid-19 pandemic will leave us any time soon. Thus, it is important for Thailand to stockpile vaccines and let the public choose their own vaccines. That's why the government is racing against time amid high global demand in Covid-19 vaccine market to build up a local stockpile. It should rope in the private sector including private hospitals and corporates, to give the public a choice of jabs. Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri last week said a committee on the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines had agreed Covid-19 vaccines would be added to the controlled goods list.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
Foreign labour poses new threat
Authorities have vowed to take tough legal action against illegal migrant workers and smugglers as new Covid-19 infection clusters were detected at workplaces employing foreign migrants. He was responding to reports on social media that migrants from neighbouring countries had sneaked across the border into Thailand. "In the next few months, the variant found in India may slip across the border into Thailand from Myanmar. Business operators are now importing illegal migrants again," Dr Thiravat said. Five recent Covid-19 imports from neighbouring countries have underscored the danger of the virus being brought into Thailand by illegal border crossers, authorities say.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 09, 2021 23:48 UTC
The eyes have it in the big cover-up
The eyes have it in the big cover-upComing from our Not Particularly Surprising News Department is a report that owing to the Covid pandemic lipstick sales have slumped quite markedly. The eyes have always played a crucial role in communicating and these days the "peepers" are even more important. Dolly Parton is another red lipstick fan, "the redder the better". During wartime, working women in Britain were encouraged by Winston Churchill to wear strong red lipstick to boost the population's morale. The reluctant flapperThe only time I ever wore lipstick was on one occasion in the mid-1960s when our church youth club performed a spoof on fashion shows.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 22:41 UTC
Expats fear jabs are not for them
Expats fear jabs are not for themAs Covid cases and the death toll in Thailand steeply climbs, Dr Opas Kankawinpong, head of the Disease Control Department, on Thursday came out to pacify fears of the foreign community in Thailand -- at last. The government's message about how the authority will provide the foreign community much needed Covid vaccinations has been mixed. There remains much scepticism about how the government will overcome hurdles to provide Covid vaccines to foreigners living here. The authority itself struggles to provide vaccines to its citizenry. The heat intensified this month when "Mor Prom", a mobile phone application for people to book appointments to get state Covid vaccine inoculations, opened on May 1.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 22:30 UTC
Uni hospital bears brunt
in demand: Medical personnel attend to a Covid-19 patient at the intensive medical unit at Thammasat University Hospital, which has also opened a field hospital at the university's Rangsit campus. "Thammasat University Hospital believes it is ready. "The prime minister and high-ranking public health officials told us that our field hospital was the best." in demand: Medical personnel attend to a Covid-19 patient at the intensive medical unit at Thammasat University Hospital, which has also opened a field hospital at the university's Rangsit campus. The new ICU wards at Thammasat University Hospital were inspected by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on April 30.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 22:18 UTC
EU seals deal for up to 1.8 billion Pfizer jabs
(Reuters Photo)The European Commission has approved a new Covid vaccine contract with Pfizer and BioNTech, paving the way for as many as 1.8 billion doses for 2021-23, commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday. The contract is for a guaranteed 900 million shots, with an option for a further 900 million. The new agreement includes clauses to allow the donation and reselling of doses, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg. Meanwhile, deliveries of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remain sparse as investigations continue into contaminated batches at a US plant. Still, von der Leyen said last week that she expects enough doses of all vaccines to inoculate the bulk of the bloc’s population to be available by July.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 11:03 UTC
Patty looks to leave rivals in her wake
Patty Tavatanakit, left, looks on as Atthaya Thitikul prepares to putt during the second round of the Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club yesterday. Patty, 21, and Atthaya, 18, remain in the hunt to become the first Thai to win the tournament which was launched in 2006. Conditions were hot and Patty was seen using a small hand-held fan to cool down during her round. "I'm happy with the result," said Patty, whose Thai name is Paphangkorn. Atthaya had four birdies, an eagle and a bogey in the second round.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 00:11 UTC
Sweeping powers may be PM's undoing
Sweeping powers may be PM's undoingA man walks past a tent where Klong Toey residents register for active case finding conducted by health officials of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The infection rate that surged after the Thong Lor cluster was detected in April remains in quadruple digits most days, while the death toll mounts. Without efficient handling, the Thong Lor cluster spilled over into Klong Toey, and that has proved to be a disaster. Gen Prayut may have to learn the hard way that sweeping powers come with sweeping responsibility too. The prime minister has survived his political challenges so far, but Covid-19 could prove be his undoing as what began as turbulence snowballs into a tsunami.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 00:11 UTC
Build better Covid apps
In Thailand, there are three popular apps used to help prevent Covid-19 infections: Thai Chana (Thais Win), Mor Chana (Doctors Win) and Mor Prom (Doctors Ready). Mor Chana was developed by tech-savvy volunteers before the project was handed over to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES). Meanwhile, Mor Prom, introduced earlier this month by the Public Health Ministry, allows people to book their vaccinations. The truth is, the Mor Prom app is not at all user-friendly and the vaccination booking system is confusing. People are now wondering how messy the national vaccination programme will become considering Mor Prom is so mind-boggling to use at the moment.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 00:11 UTC
WHO approves China’s CoronaVac
WHO approves China’s CoronaVacThe World Health Organization on Tuesday approved the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use — the second Chinese jab to receive the WHO’s green light. The UN health agency signed off on Sinovac’s two-dose vaccine CoronaVac, which is already being deployed in several countries around the world. “I’m happy to announce that the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine has been given WHO emergency use listing [EUL] after being found to be safe, effective, and quality-assured,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Last month Sinopharm became the first Chinese vaccine to be approved by the WHO. WHO has also given EUL status to vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and the AstraZeneca jab produced in India, South Korea and the EU, which it counts separately.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 07, 2021 15:45 UTC