Tuesday: 3 foreign arrivals test positive | Bangkok Post: learning
(AFP photo)The government on Tuesday recorded three new cases of the novel coronavirus, all foreigners who recently flew into Thailand from overseas, raising the accumulated total to 3,878. One of the new cases is an Indian man, 20, who worked as a crew member on a cargo ship. One of the men, aged 51, arrived on Nov 9 and tested positive on day 5. The other man, a 70-year-old, flew into Thailand on Nov 15 and tested positive on arrival. Of the 3,878 total cases, 3,724 have recovered -- including three discharged over the past 24 hours -- and 94 were being treated in hospitals.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 17, 2020 04:41 UTC
Bomb comment lands airline passenger in trouble | Bangkok Post: learning
Mike Wims, seated centre, in the Phuket airport security office for questioning by police. The incident occurred about 12.10pm as Mike Wims, 26, a Thai from Ayutthaya, was boarding a Thai Vietjet flight to Suvarnabhumi. As she was handing it back to him Mr Mike allegedly said, "I think this airline should be bombed." Ms Jitpisut was frightened by the comment and asked her colleague to inform airport security. Mr Mike was held by airport security and charged with making a false remark which may cause panic.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 17, 2020 04:18 UTC
BTS wants financial help | Bangkok Post: learning
Passengers are on board the BTS Green Line extension at Wat Phra Sri Mahathat station. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)The Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) has asked the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to pay for the operation of the Green Line extension and warned there might be disruption to the service if it doesn't. Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang says the BMA does not have the eight billion baht the BTS wants and would have to ask the government to help out since the BMA was told to provide the train service free of charge. The governor on Monday chaired a meeting between BMA executives on preparations for the new Green Line service from Mo Chit to Khu Khot. Meanwhile, the governor said the privately invested Gold Line route from Krung Thon Buri to Khlong San District Office would definitely open on Dec 16.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 17, 2020 02:42 UTC
Yellow shirts, royal banner not a licence to kill
Yellow shirts, royal banner not a licence to killDespite the ongoing political frenzy, one thing must be clear. A yellow shirt and the royalist banner are not a licence to kill. Last Wednesday's incident occurred after a group of yellow-clad royalists gathered to protest against Mr Thanathorn near a hotel where he was staying in Muang district. Holding portraits of His Majesty the King and carrying yellow flags with the monarch's insignia, the royalist mob heckled the driver. A government MP recently asked why Mr Thanathorn didn't avoid the route if he knew the protesters were there.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 16, 2020 23:15 UTC
Colliding epidemics
"My patients are mostly pre-schoolers and infants between six months to two years of age. "RSV is highly contagious and those most at risk are infants and children under the age of six. The infection is also more common in young infants who are about two years old." Yet, since the DFA is more cost-effective than molecular testing (eg PCR), it is favoured over RADTs among infants and young children. HISTORY OF RSVRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was first discovered in 1955 after an unknown respiratory illness spread in a colony of chimpanzees in a medical laboratory.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 16, 2020 23:15 UTC
Give 'people's draft' a chance
A civil group, the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw), proposed its own draft constitution to parliament, which has been branded as the "people's draft" as it garnered the support of at least 100,000 people. Meanwhile, iLaw's draft proposes that all panel members should be elected. One point which made the powers-that-be uncomfortable with iLaw's draft is that their proposal has no reservations when it comes to revising provisions relating to the monarchy. At this stage, only the Move Forward Party has endorsed the people's draft. To pressure MPs into accepting iLaw's draft, pro-democracy activists are planning to gather in front of the parliament building.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 16, 2020 23:15 UTC
y in Q3, less than expected
Economy shrinks 6.4% y/y in Q3, less than expectedPeople shop at a market in Bangkok's Yaowarat district as recovering domestic demand boosts the economy. The figure was better than the median estimate of 8.8% contraction in a Bloomberg survey of 19 economists. The council also raised its full-year forecast to a 6% contraction, from an earlier estimate of a 7.3% to 7.8% drop. A strengthening baht and high level of unemployment remain risks for growth next year, he said. It also forecast a growth of 3.5% to 4.5% in 2021.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 16, 2020 03:00 UTC
Bangkok PM2.5 levels hit danger zone | Bangkok Post: learning
A hazy day on 10 NovemberPM2.5 pollution rose to moderate and high-risk levels in 21 areas of Bangkok and Samut Prakan province yesterday, according to the Pollution Control Department. The worst-hit area was Samut Sakhon's tambon Mahachai where PM2.5 topped out at 74 µg/m³, followed by Krathum Baen district and Samut Prakan's Muang district. PM10, another harmful pollutant, also reached 132 µg/m³ in tambon Mahachai, surpassing the safe threshold of 120 µg/m³. The department director warned this sharp rise in pollutants could have an impact on public health, particularly in the areas of Bangkok and Samut Prakan with the highest readings. The Health Department, he said, has opened an emergency centre to provide air quality warnings as well as provide health care assistance to vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly, who are most likely to be affected.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 15, 2020 22:18 UTC
Covid-19: As lab execs sell shares worth millions, questions arise
Covid-19: As lab execs sell shares worth millions, questions ariseThis combination of file pictures shows signs for the Pfizer and Moderna pharmaceutical companies, both in Cambridge, Massachusetts; executives at both, as well as at Novavax, have raised questions by selling shares worth millions amid the pandemic. On the very day that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced preliminary data showing its vaccine was 90% effective against the coronavirus, its chief executive Albert Bourla sold shares worth $5.6 million. Under the same rules, several Moderna officials have sold shares worth more than $100 million in recent months. Moderna shares have soared from $19 at the beginning of the year to a current level of $90. When a top executive needs to sell shares to pay for a yacht, a new house or his children's education, the public rarely is aware of it.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 15, 2020 05:26 UTC
Traffic resumes at truck stop that sparked WSahara tensions
But the pro-independence movement, which Friday declared the end of an almost three-decade ceasefire in Western Sahara, said fighting continued in the disputed territory. But on Saturday, a Mauritanian security official and a senior Moroccan official said separately that truck traffic between Mauritania and the Western Sahara had resumed. The unrest in Western Sahara sparked a flurry of calls for restraint. Rabat controls 80 percent of the Western Sahara -- a vast swathe of desert on the Atlantic coast -- including its phosphate deposits and its lucrative ocean fisheries. Morocco maintains that Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom and has offered autonomy for the disputed territory, but insists it will retain sovereignty.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 14, 2020 23:37 UTC
France's failings a lesson for Thailand
France's failings a lesson for ThailandFive years on after the Bataclan massacre, France is once again facing a resurgent Islamist threat. Surely in such a climate, French Muslims must feel cornered. The failings of the French model have lessons for everyone, including Thailand. Last week, The Central Islamic Council of Thailand organised a rally to show their support for one government faction over another. Like France, Thailand must ensure that it continues to embrace disparate opinions and foster religious diversity so that new divisions do not form, a threat highlighted numerous times by the ongoing protests.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 14, 2020 23:37 UTC
Never underestimate the dog lovers' vote
Never underestimate the dog lovers' voteIt was Harry Truman who famously advised would-be presidents: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." With America being a nation of dog lovers, the absence of a furry thing with a wet nose running around the White House may have been a key factor in the final vote. Admittedly Mr Trump doesn't look like someone who would be comfortable cuddling a dog. Pet soundsThe White House pet doesn't have to be a dog. It is hardly a secret that CNN anchors are not exactly enamoured with Mr Trump, and the feeling is mutual.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 14, 2020 23:37 UTC
Monument wrapped to cap dramatic day of rallies
Protesters show the three-finger salute atop Democracy Monument after wrapping it with a banner during a rally for reform on Saturday evening. (Reuters Photo)Three pro-democracy rally groups came together on Saturday to wrap Democracy Monument in a huge cloth banner bearing messages denouncing the government and calling for reform. The cloth, it turned out, was the one that would be used to wrap Democracy Monument later in the day, after demonstrators had been invited to write messages on it. Mob Fest gathered at Democracy Monument at 2pm. (AFP Photo)At Democracy Monument, Thai media reported that more than 5,000 police officers were on hand to keep the situation under control at strategic locations.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 14, 2020 13:47 UTC
Bride-to-be puts off wedding to enter PAO race
(Supplied photo via Chinnawat Singha)PHITSANULOK: Bride-to-be Yonlada Changpinit had a decision to make. Should she get married on Saturday as planned, or campaign for the chairmanship of her provincial administration organisation (PAO)? Ms Yonlada, 41, posted a message on her Facebook page two days ago to apologise to everyone who had received invitations to her wedding party. “When the time came to decide the most important thing in my life, between cancelling my PAO chairmanship post application and the wedding party, I chose to postpone my wedding,” she wrote. This drove me to contest even though my wedding party was already scheduled for Nov 14.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 14, 2020 08:26 UTC
War Elephants 'intent to beat' rivals
War Elephants 'intent to beat' rivalsAll Stars coach Mano Polking, left, and Thailand boss Akira Nishino bump fists at Friday's press conference. Thailand coach Akira Nishino hopes the War Elephants will beat a Thai League All Stars side in a friendly match on Saturday. The game, which will take place at Rajamangala National Stadium at 4pm, will be televised live on Thai Rath TV (32). "Although this is just a friendly match, our intention is to beat them," Nishino told a press conference yesterday. "The Thai League All Stars side have several good players so we must be well-prepared."
Source:Bangkok Post
November 14, 2020 00:33 UTC