Dodging the real problem
Dodging the real problemAs expected, Police Commander Suwat Jangyodsuk has transferred four senior officers to inactive posts following the gambling den saga in Rayong that is being blamed for a cluster Covid-19 infection in the eastern province. Pol Maj Paphatdet previously dismissed a report which claimed at least 36 people contracted Covid-19 from the city centre den. As of Sunday, that has grown, and at least 85 infections are now said to be related to the gambling den. Had there not been a cluster infection, the gambling den might still be operating as usual. Few have any hope that the RTP will tackle this problem.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 28, 2020 21:45 UTC
Woman tests positive for Covid-19 in Chiang Mai | Bangkok Post: learning
About 5pm on Saturday, she went to a hospital in Chiang Mai for testing. The public health office stressed that Chiang Mai had measures in place to handle three different groups of people on arrival. - People who arrived from other provinces are required to follow the guidelines enforced in Chiang Mai, such as using the CM-Chana application and wearing face masks in crowded places. Chiang Mai has registered its 47th Covid-19 infection, a 46-year-old woman from Rayong. Dr Kittiphan Chalom, assistant chief of the Chiang Mai public health office, announces a new Covid-19 infection in the province on Sunday.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 28, 2020 05:15 UTC
Returnee dies at quarantine hotel | Bangkok Post: learning
They said the woman’s room was on the seventh floor of the eight-storey Patra Hotel, which is a Covid quarantine facility, on Soi Rama IX 31. The woman, 51, arrived on a repatriation flight from South Korea at 11.10pm on Thursday and checked in at the hotel at 1.52am on the same night for a 14-day quarantine. A Thai woman who recently returned to the country from South Korea fell to her death from her room at a hotel in Bang Kapi on Sunday afternoon. Disease control workers and police inspect the fatal plunge scene at The Patra Hotel in Bang Kapi district, Bangkok, on Sunday. - ทางลบrepatriation (noun): sending someone back to a country that is legally their own - การส่งกลับประเทศreturnee : someone who is "returning" to some place -tension : the feeling of being so nervous or worried that you can’t relax - ความตึงเครียด
Source:Bangkok Post
December 28, 2020 02:37 UTC
Covid situation 'more serious' | Bangkok Post: learning
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul inspects measures to handle the Covid-19 outbreak at the Central Shrimp Market in Samut Sakhon province on Sunday. (Photo: Apichit Jinakul)The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Sunday admitted the current Covid outbreak is more serious than the first wave early this year. A total of 121 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Sunday, 94 of which were local transmissions. A new cluster of Covid-19 infections was found in Rayong, which is linked to an underground casino in Muang district. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging the public to use the "Mor Chana" application to track Covid-19 cases around them.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 28, 2020 02:26 UTC
Social issues in the spotlight
Life recaps the year's biggest news stories, which once again highlighted social issues and injustices that still run rampant in Thai societyAs the end of 2020 nears, one can confidently say that Covid-19 has probably had the biggest impact on exacerbating social issues in the country. Photo: Apichit JinakulMysterious death case of Nong ChompooThe alleged murder of two-year-old toddler Nong Chompoo in Mukdahan province in May deeply disturbed the Thai public. Some of the factors that deepen the conflict, according to Prof Chaiwat, is online hate speech and fake news posted on social media. "Hate speech is nothing new to Thailand. The country has witnessed hate speech for almost a decade, albeit without always breaking into violence.''
Source:Bangkok Post
December 28, 2020 00:00 UTC
The year nature bounced back
Aiming to reduce plastic debris by 225,000 tonnes a year, 75 shopping malls and convenience stores with over 24,500 branches stopped providing customers free plastic bags as they joined the "Every Day Say No to Plastic Bags" campaign. However, its ecology is gradually recovering and now the national park is building a new nature trail and vantage point where tourists can admire beautiful views of the pristine beach and the bay from far away. Sending rubbish back to touristsTo celebrate the high season, Khao Yai National Park will send trash back to tourists as a keepsake. This was his reaction after photographs on social media showed rubbish left behind in tents in Khao Yai National Park. Following the 2019 National Park Act, lawbreakers can be fined up to 500,000 baht or jailed for up to five years for littering.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 27, 2020 23:24 UTC
Tackling poverty from the top
The agenda is a commitment to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030 worldwide. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda was a landmark achievement, providing for a shared global vision towards sustainable development for all. The agenda lists 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. In Thailand, poverty is mostly found in the farm sector, which covers 30 million people. The budget is in line with the government's three-pronged community development plan comprising product development, new job creation and tourism-based communities.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 27, 2020 23:15 UTC
No more 'turning a blind eye'
Ask any factory owner willing to talk in Samut Sakhon how much he has paid the police or labour officials to turn a blind eye to the illegal workers in his employment. Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Narongphan Chitkaewtae has given assurances that no army officers took bribes to turn a blind eye to the smuggling of illegal Myanmar migrant workers. Migrant workers, illegal ones in particular, have been exploited for years by both their employers and officials. As the superior of the Samut Sakhon governor, he must make sure the health officials have all the support they need. Yet this is the type of person trusted by the prime minister.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 27, 2020 23:03 UTC
'Post' clarifies article from 1950
'Post' clarifies article from 1950The Post would like to clarify an article it published in 1950, after a doctoral dissertation titled "Thai Politics in Phibun's Government under the US World Order (1948–1957)" by Nattapol Chaiching, referred to its contents. The dissertation referred to the Bangkok Post article published on Dec 18 for the part saying the Regent had been expanding his political role by frequently attending cabinet meetings led by prime minister Field Marshal Plaek Phibulsonggram. This move was said to have made Field Marshal Plaek dissatisfied and he responded by demanding that he be allowed to sit in meetings of the Privy Council as well if the Regent was to interfere with the administrative and legislative branches. The Post wants to clarify that the paper never reported such information which has been cited and disseminated in several other channels, including a book titled Khor Funfai Nai Fun An Lueachuea written by the same author Nattapol, and a political seminar. In fact, the article "Premier May Sit In with Privy Council" merely reported that several cabinet members had voiced their concern about the appointment of 50 senators by the Privy Council without consulting the government as stated in the full article below.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 27, 2020 21:33 UTC
Time to self-reflect
While most of us have gotten accustomed to living under the new normal, the ride has been anything but easy. In so doing, I have noticed that every one of us has been handed an opportunity to reshape our new normal. Living through a pandemic, I noticed that most of us come across self-care and reflection. I have thought about the words kindness and grace and asked myself: how can I show more kindness and grace to myself? When I got the answer to that, my follow up question was: How can I extend this kindness and grace to others?
Source:Bangkok Post
December 27, 2020 21:33 UTC
Fewer tests, more change
Fewer tests, more changeEducation Minister Nathapol Teepsuwan's recent decision to call off the Ordinary National Education Test (O-Net) for Prathom 6 (Grade 6) and Mathayom 3 (Grade 9) in the 2020 academic year was noteworthy. However, more needs to be done if the minister truly wants to improve the education system. But no matter what, Thai students shouldn't be used as guinea pigs in this experiment. It found Thai students consistently performed below the international average in three core subjects, namely reading, mathematics and science. There have been frequent policy changes in Thai education system.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 27, 2020 21:33 UTC
Well, after that things can only get better
Well, after that things can only get betterWhat a dreadful year. It wasn't long before the most commonly used words in this newspaper were "postponed" and "cancelled". Masking the language: Wearing a face mask does not help those of us with linguistic shortcomings. Anything I say in Thai comes out sounding like "wrrrgh wrrrgh wrrrgh wrrrgh", met with blank looks. Wrap Star: At the early White House coronavirus briefings the silk scarves worn by Dr Deborah Birx stole the show.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 26, 2020 22:18 UTC
Finally, a win for villagers
Finally, a win for villagersAfter years of fighting for environmental justice, the efforts of Ratchaburi villagers who suffered contamination from a waste recycling firm have finally paid off. For villagers, class-action suits mean huge leverage. That explains why filing an environmental lawsuit was time-consuming -- possibly taking 10 years or longer -- and involved complicated court procedures. The class-action lawsuit against Wax Garbage Recycle Co took only two years to conclude. After the victory in this first class-action pollution lawsuit, other villagers who are suffering from industrial pollution will certainly follow in their footsteps.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 25, 2020 23:26 UTC
81 new Covid cases | Bangkok Post: learning
A disease control worker sprays disinfectant inside a Chiang Mai-bound train before passengers board, part of Covid-19 control measures, at Hua Lamhong station in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)The government on Friday reported 81 new Covid-19 cases - 37 local infections, 35 migrant workers and nine quarantined arrivals - raising the total to 5,910. So far, the outbreak that started at the Central Shrimp Market of Samut Sakhon province had spread to 31 provinces. Of the total 5,910 local cases, 4,130 had recovered, including 21 discharged over the past 24 hours, and 1,713 were in hospitals. Since the pandemic started early this year, local Covid-19 cases have consisted of 3,967 local infections, 1,943 arrivals and 1,308 migrant workers, the CCSA said.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 25, 2020 07:07 UTC
Seafood sales drop after Covid-19 outbreak
Seafood sales drop after Covid-19 outbreakA sign announcing, "Seafood at this stall is from Trat province" in front of a seafood stall seeks to reassure customers at Bua Yai municipal market in Nakhon Ratchasima, following the Covid-19 outbreak at a wholesale shrimp market in Samut Sakhon province. (Photo: Prasit Tangprasert)NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Seafood vendors in Bua Yai district say sales have dropped sharply following the outbreak of Covid-19 at a wholesale shrimp market in Samut Sakhon province. The atmosphere at Bua Yai municipal market was muted on Friday, particularly at seafood stalls. Other seafood vendors reported a similar lack of buyers. On Wednesday, health authorities in Nakhon Ratchasima reported three local people who recently visited Samut Sakhon were diagnosed with Covid-19 -- two seafood vendors and a tambon official in Bua Yai district.
Source:Bangkok Post
December 25, 2020 06:00 UTC