The magical world of far away places
The magical world of far away placesEarlier this week I was chatting with friends about which places around the globe captured their imagination most when they were kids. For a start the name sounded exotic and I had no idea where it was except it was far away. Re-enforcing the mystery of the place were dictionaries which stated Timbuktu was "a metaphor for far away places" with the Oxford English Dictionary even interpreting it as "the most distant place imaginable". At least the citizens of the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye are aware of Timbuktu, the two places being twinned since 2007. So, for the people of Hay, the expression "from here to Timbuktu" may carry a little more meaning, but it is still basically a long, long way.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 04, 2021 00:56 UTC
Cops probe venues after cluster
Police at Thong Lor and Klong Tan stations in Bangkok are investigating if night entertainment venues linked to a new Covid-19 cluster have complied with disease control measures. Pol Maj Gen Piya said he has also ordered police citywide to regularly inspect night entertainment venues and strictly enforce the communicable disease control law during the Songkran holiday on April 10-16. The BMA has asked those who visited the entertainment venues during March 25-30 to evaluate their risk at http://bkkcovid19.bangkok.go.th and take Covid-19 swab tests. He said the transmission of Covid-19 linked to entertainment venues in Bangkok's Bang Phlat district is under control and public health authorities need their cooperation to keep it that way. We don't want to tighten the disease control measures," he said.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 23:26 UTC
Respect the role of journalists
Respect the role of journalistsThe government has been raising eyebrows recently with its approach to journalists. What garnered less attention was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' new guidelines for issuing media and official visas to foreign journalists and correspondents based in Thailand. The number of hoops which foreign journalists must jump through in the kingdom has increased. Not all journalists write reports -- there are also camera operators, photographers or documentary makers, to name a few. Officials here are often too defensive about media reports, fretting that only negative things get reported.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 23:26 UTC
Enforce the helmet rule
Enforce the helmet ruleSongkran, a joyful, traditional New Year festival that begins on April 13, has its own dark side. It aims to reduce road accidents and casualties by at least 5% to reduce the three-year average of 3,405 accidents and 378 deaths in 2017–2019. One of the major reasons that road safety campaigns have failed is their broad scope, and a failure to address the problem at its core. Road safety campaigns, including anti-drunk driving measures for festivals like Songkran and New Year, have primarily focused on large vehicles — public buses and private vehicles. Data released by the Interior Ministry showed that 74.4% of all road accidents involved motorcycles.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 03:00 UTC
Baseball's All-Star Game moved from Atlanta over voting laws
Baseball's All-Star Game moved from Atlanta over voting lawsMajor League Baseball is moving it's scheduled 2021 All Star Game from Atlanta over concerns over new voting laws in the state of Georgia. "The best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year's All-Star Game and MLB Draft," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. US President Joe Biden told ESPN on Wednesday he supported moving the game out of Atlanta over the voting rights law. "Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," Manfred said. "The Atlanta Braves are deeply disappointed by the decision of Major League Baseball to move its 2021 All-Star Game," the club said.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 00:56 UTC
Happy Belated April's Fool Day!
Sometimes I feel like every other day is April's Fool Day in Thailand given the sheer number of unbelievable news stories, for good or bad reasons, that happen. To belatedly celebrate April's Fool Day in a way that the authorities won't have any problems with, I present you with 10 news stories -- your job will be to discern which ones are genuine. Put T in front of the story you think is true and put F if you think it's an April's Fool Day prank, you know the drill. It's was Grab's prank for April's Fool Day back in 2016. Clever businesses will come up with a prank on April's Fool Day to get free media coverage as Wongnai did.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 02, 2021 04:07 UTC
Art festival for enthusiasts and collectors alike
Mango Art Festival. (Photos courtesy of Mango Art Festival)Art enthusiasts and collectors will be pleased to experience various forms of art such as photography, performance, drawing, painting and sculpture as well as product design and craft at "Mango Art Festival", which will be held at Lhong 1919 starting tomorrow until April 6. The festival is divided into five sections -- Bowen Hall, Wharf Hall, Chinese Mansion, Art/Craft & Handmade Accessories and Performance Art. "Mango Art Talk" is another highlight at Bowen Hall. Performance Art includes a performance by the contemporary dance artist Pavida Wachirapanyaporn.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 23:48 UTC
Referendum bill to pass 3rd reading
The referendum bill is expected to sail through the third reading in parliament, said Senator Wanchai Sornsiri, spokesman of a parliamentary committee vetting the bill. The committee on Thursday met to discuss changes made to Sections 10 and 11 of the bill by the Council of State, the government's legal advisory body. There has been concern that the referendum bill, now at the second reading stage, may not see the light of day. That is because the changes made to Section 9 of the bill are feared to be unconstitutional, since the constitution stipulates that only the cabinet can initiate a referendum. The changes put forth by the opposition and approved by the panel, however, authorise MPs and the public to initiate a referendum campaign.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 23:03 UTC
Seating flap is bizarre
Seating flap is bizarreIt's no secret that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and newshounds at Government House have a love-hate relationship. He sometimes even behaves physically inappropriately such as flinging a banana peel at a reporter or reporters. If Ms Natthriya read carefully, she would find her tweets were just satire, as the woman was making fun of herself and her job. It's safe to presume that Ms Natthriya made such a bizarre decision out of a wish to please the government leader. Little does she realise that the suspension order is nonsense and only portrays her boss in a bad light.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 22:52 UTC
TEST YOURSELF: Where the wild beasts roam
TEST YOURSELF: Where the wild beasts roamPhoto by Stephen SteeleFarmers in Prachuap Khiri Khan are learning to live with elephantsTest Yourself is where you can improve your reading skills. Thanasit Phiboonwatthanakorn points to the border of his farmland, where wild elephants often sneak in and out of the forest in search of food at night. Thanasit noticed elephants ignored his kaffir lime trees while destroying pineapple crops. We feel like we have to do everything possible to keep elephants there,” Owen said. While two were for pineapples, 10 others were for galangal, turmeric, citronella, lemongrass, chilli, lime, kaffir lime and mulberry.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 09:00 UTC
Dr. Puttipong Phumsuwan – the investment doctor
Dr. Puttipong Phumsuwan – the investment doctorAn investment medic. The three are financial investment, health investment, and social Investment. When asking about how similar beauty and investment are, Dr. Puttipong said “In my opinion, beauty is part of social investment. In addition, consulting with a beauty doctor for facial and body treatments is considered a good social investment. He noted that his medical knowledge mostly comes from medical textbooks and he is always opened to new knowledge.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 08:10 UTC
Chiang Mai, Bangkok make veggie list
A staff is disinfecting a passenger wagon at Maha Chai train station. (Photo © The State Railway of Thailand)Chiang Mai and Bangkok are among the top 75 vegetarian-friendly cities in the world, according to the Vegetarian Cities Index 2021. Chiang Mai came in at 36th position and Bangkok is 73rd. The study also found that Chiang Mai is the city with the most affordable vegetarian restaurants, followed by Ubud, Bangkok, Istanbul and Prague. AIRLINES UPDATE- Chiang Mai Night Safari has joined hands with five airlines to offer 20% discounts on zoo tickets.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 03:11 UTC
The evolution of an artist
He never tries to turn a ballet dancer into a tap dancer, a ballroom dancer into a khon dancer, a magician into a glass harpist. As a director and choreographer working with khon dancers, Jitti had up until now been more of a collage artist than a deep diver: he cut and pasted dance forms, disciplines and images together. In Melancholy Of Demon, Jitti hasn't broken some of his worst habits or parted with his signature elements. That was when we got to witness khon dancer Anucha execute a dance sequence while singing. The moment beautifully underlined how music, words and stories live inside a khon dancer's body.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 01:18 UTC
Checkpoints need checking
Checkpoints need checkingAfter months of suspension, police checkpoints are to resume across the country today as approved by police commander Suwat Jangyodsuk. Before setting up a checkpoint, officers will be required to seek permission from senior officers who oversee the areas. In any case, the police chief must guarantee there will be no illegal checkpoints with officers found to be setting up structures on a whim, without approval from their commanders. Undeniably, illegal checkpoints are associated with low salaries among rank and file police and poor welfare payments in the system. It's an open secret that such checkpoints are a source of extra income for the officers who mainly target truck drivers.
Source:Bangkok Post
March 31, 2021 23:37 UTC
Thainess and surf-skating, a safe match?
Thainess and surf-skating, a safe match? The MP boasted how the Thai costumes were part of an effort to promote Thai culture. This is not the first time the government has tried to promote Thai culture in a superficial way. A month later, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) followed suit, asking its officials to wear silk or Thai fabrics on Tuesdays and Fridays. In my opinion, one can't maintain Thai tradition by wearing Thai costume.
Source:Bangkok Post
March 31, 2021 23:37 UTC