Lese majeste law takes centre stage
Lese majeste law takes centre stageAn activist flashes a three-finger sign as he joins a demonstration calling for monarchy reform and charter amendments in Nonthaburi in December last year. In wake of the escalating political confrontation between opponents and proponents of the lese majeste law, the opposition Move Forward Party proposed to parliament a set of five bills, one of which is to amend the infamous law. It also seeks to make the Bureau of the Royal Household the only authority which can file lese majeste complaints with the police instead of anybody as in the case currently. The opposition party also seeks to remove the lese majeste law, or Section 112, from the chapter regarding offences against national security to a new chapter regarding offences against the honour of the king, the queen, the heir apparent and the regent. The group also accused the Move Forward Party of harbouring a hidden agenda against the monarchy.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 14, 2021 23:15 UTC
Bitcoin craze needs order
Bitcoin craze needs orderBitcoin mania, which has driven its price to a record high above 1.4 million baht, has sent signals to authorities as to whether they are ready to handle the rise of digital currency transactions. His bitcoin investment has caused many investors to believe the digital currency could become a mainstream class of asset. Previously, Paypal said it planned to launch an exchange and payment service with bitcoin and other digital currencies this year. In Thailand, bitcoin is not very popular -- just yet -- but the opaque crypto market has attracted more and more investors. However, the skyrocketing bitcoin price will fuel the greed of people who are looking for profit without sufficient knowledge and could easily become the victim of scams.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 14, 2021 23:15 UTC
Monk killed by drunk man in Chiang Mai
Monk killed by drunk man in Chiang MaiCHIANG MAI: A man was arrested after a monk was punched in the face and died in Hang Dong district of this northern province on Saturday, Chiang Mai News reported. He was arrested shortly after the monk, Phra Somboon Suriyamai, 60, was pronounced dead. Asked what led him to attack the monk, Mr Den said Phra Somboon hit him first, and he punched the monk hard on the jaw in self-defence. The neighbour said Mr Den, known as Nai Ot, confessed he had accidentally killed the monk to several people in the area and then went to tell his family. Mr Den was initially charged with physical assault causing death.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 14, 2021 10:50 UTC
Cars damaged in Deep South grenade explosion
Cars damaged in Deep South grenade explosionAn SUV parking at a resditential building is damaged by a grenade explosion in Rueso district of Narathiwat on Saturday. (Photo by Waedao Harai)NARATHIWAT: Three cars in a car park belonging to a residential building for police officers in Rueso district were damaged in a grenade explosion early on Saturday night. Pol Capt Komsan Teekhakan, deputy chief investigator of Rueso police, said the incident occurred at about 7pm when a hand grenade was hurled across the wall from Rueso Withaya School in tambon Rueso Ok. The grenade landed near a rubbish bin in the police parking area and exploded. The explosion caused damage to a Honda City, an Isuzu Mu7 and a Chevrolet belonging to Rueso police.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 14, 2021 02:15 UTC
Confidence debate a scorcher, MPs say
The opposition parties have initially assigned about 40 MPs for the grilling. If it fails to provide a good explanation, all criticism will be directed at the prime minister," Assoc Prof Yuttaporn said. He expressed confidence that information the opposition parties have obtained is a potent weapon. As a result, coalition parties may withdraw from the government leading to the government's downfall, Mr Sutin said. "It is also up to coalition parties to decide whether they will need to make any changes.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 14, 2021 00:45 UTC
PCD needs clean sweep of its own
PCD needs clean sweep of its ownThe quick compromise which the Pollution Control Department (PCD) offered a sugar mill blamed for polluting surrounding communities in Nakhon Ratchasima's Phimai district with harmful levels of dust and noise over the past few years has left many with the impression that the agency has no teeth. The PCD on Feb 2 sent a team of officials to inspect the factory's operation and found the villagers' complaints had merit. The department instructed the factory to fix the problems and submit an environmental mitigation plan by last Monday. The PCD chief later insisted charges were withdrawn after the owners pledged to improve its environmental performance. As a large province and home to much of the country's heavy industry, Nakhon Ratchasima has many environmental problems.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 14, 2021 00:45 UTC
Beware the TV bookshelf backdrop
Beware the TV bookshelf backdropSince the arrival of Covid we have been accustomed to watching television programmes with pundits, politicians and celebrities interviewed in their homes, invariably with bookcases being the backdrop of choice. But it is the toilet brushes being raised with commendable symbolic fervour that have caught the eye. It has been prompted by allegations that President Vladimir Putin owns a huge palace on the Black Sea, which reportedly includes expensive gold-plated toilet brushes. It never crossed my mind that gold-plated toilet brushes even existed and I suspect the local 7-Eleven is not exactly overflowing with them. Alas I can't recall if the toilet brushes were gold plated.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 14, 2021 00:45 UTC
VIDEO: This Week's Top Stories Feb 13 | Bangkok Post: learning
Chulalongkorn University confirmed 16 staff had been found infected with Covid-19. The director of Thepha School in Songkhla, accused of raping a student and carrying a gun in public, has resigned. The Public Health Ministry said that more than 1.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be administered by April. The roll-out would be for at-risk groups including people aged 60 and older, in 10 provinces. Activists on Wednesday gathered in Bangkok for a second consecutive day to demand the release of their leaders.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 13, 2021 05:15 UTC
Ensuring good idea doesn't go to waste
Season-dependent operations, the engineering design of machines and public opposition to polluting power plants are often considered obstacles that block newcomers from starting in the business. WASTE CHALLENGEACE's first challenge was farm waste, which kept rolling in for years as the company's manufacturing output increased. At that time, there was no technology for garbage-fired power generation, she said. "We want to be a global model for clean power plants," said Mr Tanachai. ACE targets expanding renewable power generation capacity, including that from biomass, to one gigawatt by 2025, up from 449MW presently.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 12, 2021 23:42 UTC
In our politics, time really can stand still
In our politics, time really can stand stillIn this photo from Tuesday, the Palang Pracharath party's motion to have the charter court rule if parliament can form a charter drafting panel sails through with 366 votes for and 316 against. Instead, the ruling party should be aware that the movement -- given the fact that their campaign issues like charter rewrite and political reform remain valid -- may rebound. The government's U-turn on a charter rewrite gives the movement justification to hit the streets once again. And this is unfortunate since the charter rewrite process seemed to be going well within the planned timelines. The time-buying tactic is ironic given the support the ruling party threw behind a national reconciliation committee set up as a solution to a national crisis.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 12, 2021 23:37 UTC
City trains not just for rich
City trains not just for richWith pressure from the cabinet, Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang on Tuesday decided to delay the controversial Green Line fare hike that entailed a 104-baht ceiling which was due to take effect next week. This is because train fares in the capital city are unaffordable. That may explain why the ridership of city trains accounts for 10% of total travel, even though the BTS came into service some 20 years ago and the MRT 17 years ago. However, studies by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) demonstrate that urban train fares are lower in Paris (5% of daily expenses), Tokyo (9%) and Chinese cities (3.1%). The big question is: How many people will use these electric trains when it is cheaper to ride individual cars, motorcycles and public vans?
Source:Bangkok Post
February 12, 2021 23:37 UTC
Samui tourism firms suggest faster vaccination scheme
Samui tourism firms suggest faster vaccination schemeHealth screening procedures and thermal scans are mandatory for tourists upon arrival at Samui airport following the outbreak. Tourism operators in Koh Samui are urging the government to speed up mass vaccination programmes to improve hopes for a tourism recovery by the third quarter. "Even though domestic cases are not that numerous, the slow start of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Thailand will affect the confidence of tourists," said Ratchaporn Poolsawadee, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui. Last year Koh Samui welcomed 400,000 tourists, with the number pre-pandemic peaking in 2019 at 2.5 million, of which 17% were locals. Koh Samui has worked on health and safety measures for international travellers, including additional screening points run by officials of sub-district hospitals and provincial public health offices.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 12, 2021 23:37 UTC
Drugmakers Look for New Ways to Test Covid-19 Vaccines
Over time, such knowledge could also help determine how long protection from the vaccines lasts. Covid-19 vaccines are designed to work by inducing a person's immune system to produce antibody proteins that can neutralize the coronavirus. They plan to conduct similar analyses for other Covid-19 vaccines from J&J, AstraZeneca PLC and Novavax, which are being tested in trials run by the researchers' network. Pfizer and BioNTech are conducting their own analysis to determine the correlate of protection for their Covid-19 vaccine. There were relatively few cases of symptomatic Covid-19 in people who received the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in the large studies at the time they were authorized, making statistically significant comparisons difficult.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 12, 2021 23:26 UTC
Open Days and Scholarship Day in March 2021
Open Days and Scholarship Day in March 2021Mr. John Rolfe, Principal, of St. Stephen’s International School warmly invites you to our Open Days in the week of 01-05 March 2021, to find out how our outstanding learning programme and caring school community embraces the best of Eastern and Western cultures. For the Early Years (ages 2-5 years), please join us for a guided tour of the school on Wednesday 03 March, 09:00-12:00. For Primary (ages 5-11 years) and Secondary (ages 11-18 years), tours are available on request during 01-05 March. For your reservation visit: http://bit.ly/3psWtL3St. Stephen's is also pleased to offer substantial scholarships to English-speaking students from International and Thai schools wishing to enter the Sixth Form (ages 16-18 years) in August 2021. So if you would like to find out more about joining our outstanding Sixth Form to study for AS and A Levels, we look forward to welcoming you to our Scholarship Day on Saturday 13 March.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 12, 2021 08:15 UTC
Two million jabs by April | Bangkok Post: learning
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) said two million doses of two-jab vaccines would arrive this month. Of those, 1,934,000 doses would be administered to 967,000 people by April in 10 provinces designated as strict and maximum control zones, maximum control zones and areas where the number of infections continues to increase. The remaining 66,000 doses would be reserved for 33,000 people in provinces adjacent to the outbreak areas, said Mr Sopon. The priority 10 provinces are as follows: Samut Sakhon, Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Rayong, Chon Buri, Chanthaburi, Trat and Tak. The Public Health Ministry on Thursday said that more than 1.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be administered to more than 960,000 people in 10 provinces by April.
Source:Bangkok Post
February 12, 2021 02:26 UTC