Wuhan next-of-kin accuse China of blocking Covid lawsuits
Wuhan next-of-kin accuse China of blocking Covid lawsuitsMedical workers prepare to take away the body of Covid-19 victim Zhang Lifa, the father of Zhang Ha, at a hospital in Wuhan, China on Feb 1. Staff at the Wuhan court refused AFP requests for comment. - Stonewalling -The virus emerged in Wuhan last December but city authorities initially dragged their feet, pressuring whistle-blowing doctors to keep quiet. - Never give up -Zhang Hai believes his father was infected at a Wuhan hospital during treatment for an unrelated ailment. With his initial suit in Wuhan rejected, Zhang filed recently with a higher, provincial-level court.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 17, 2020 05:47 UTC
Thursday: no new Covid cases | Bangkok Post: learning
A student walks past Sanam Luang, with the Grand Palace in the background, in Bangkok on Wednesday, when Thailand logged no new Covid-19 cases. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said the number of Covid-19 cases was unchanged at 3,490 of whom 3,325 (95%) had recovered, including nine discharged on Wednesday. Meanwhile, global Covid-19 cases soared by 307,465 over the previous 24 hours to 30.03 million, and the worldwide death toll rose 6,585 to 945,072. India now ranked second with 5.11 million cases, up by 97,859 in 24 hours, and 83.23 deaths, up 1,139. Brazil was third with 4.42 million cases, up 37,387, and 134,174 deaths, up 967.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 17, 2020 05:26 UTC
New speedboat service
Phu Kradueng National Park Sombat RaksakulA speedboat service between Koh Samui in Surat Thani and Si Chon district in Nakhon Si Thammarat has been launched. Photo courtesy of Wat ChediThe speedboat service will be able to accommodate up to 45 passengers. The speedboat service is an alternative to a four-hour ferry service. Hua Hin opens Friday marketA new market has opened in Hua Hin. Called "Talat Rim Le @ Hua Hin", the market is located in the beachfront Suan Luang Rachini 19 Rai, or Hua Hin Queen's Park, and can be accessed from Hua Hin 19 or Hua Hin 35.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 17, 2020 04:41 UTC
'Just God, the water and us': risking the Channel 'death route' to Britain
'Just God, the water and us': risking the Channel 'death route' to BritainFor three weeks, two AFP teams followed two migrants -- from Kuwait and Iraq -- in their bid to cross the Channel to BritainCALAIS (FRANCE) - Britain! After years trekking through countless countries, weeks in a filthy camp on the French coast, seven gruelling hours on a small boat tossed about by the Channel, Walid has finally made it. "Even if this journey is nicknamed 'the death route', we want to cross. When it's good weather, they go and wash in the nearby canal, and clean their clothes in the murky water. On the other side of the Channel, Falah is distraught.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 17, 2020 02:48 UTC
No cheerleaders, no fans: IPL pares down glitz for Covid era
No cheerleaders, no fans: IPL pares down glitz for Covid eraThis fan in Chennai has a facemask decorated with pictures of Chennai Super Kings playersNEW DELHI - The much-delayed Indian Premier League starts Saturday without its customary glitz and glamour, but the Twenty20 tournament is expected to be a welcome relief to cricket fans during the coronavirus pandemic. - Coronavirus cases -To reduce the number of people in the grounds, there will be no dancing cheerleaders. The tournament has already been under scrutiny after two Chennai players tested positive for the coronavirus. The IPL is the most popular domestic league in the world but since its inception in 2008 has contended with corruption and match-fixing cases. A spot-fixing scandal in 2013 led to two teams -- Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals -- being suspended for two seasons.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 17, 2020 02:37 UTC
S. Africa to 'cautiously' reopen borders as lockdown eases
S. Africa to 'cautiously' reopen borders as lockdown easesCommuters in South Africa wearing face masks wait outside the Pienaarspoort Station, East of Pretoria to board a trainJOHANNESBURG - South Africa will reopen its borders to most countries next month, the president said Wednesday, part of a wider easing of anti-coronavirus measures announced as figures continue to improve. The continent's most industrialised economy shuttered its borders at the start of a strict nationwide lockdown on March 27 to limit the spread of the virus. "We have withstood the coronavirus storm," Ramaphosa said in an address to the nation. South Africa will start by reopening its three main airports in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. "We are ready to open our doors again to the world," Ramaphosa said.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 23:26 UTC
Thai gets rights-panel slot
Thai gets rights-panel slotA former Thai representative on an Asean human rights commission, Seree Nonthasoot, has been selected as the first Thai member of a United Nations committee looking into economic, social and cultural rights. Ruangsak Suwaree, director-general of the Rights and Liberties Protection Department of the Justice Ministry, yesterday congratulated Dr Seree on his appointment. Seree: Sat on Asean commissionThe committees is tasked with forming international agreements and candidates were selected from around the world. From 2015 to 2018, Dr Seree was the Thai representative on the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. He was also co-chair of a taskforce to draft and push the Asean Enabling Masterplan of rights for disabled people in 2018, which will be in effect until 2025.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 23:15 UTC
Official: Thai-EU FTA study could wrap up this month
Official: Thai-EU FTA study could wrap up this monthThe Trade Negotiations Department looks set to conclude the overall study of the long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU and send the report to the commerce minister for consideration this month or early next. According to Mrs Auramon, the vetting process coincides with the selection process of a new EU trade commissioner to be appointed later this year. "As far as we've consulted the Thai private sector, all agree Thailand should revive the free trade talks with the EU," Mrs Auramon said. FTA negotiations between Thailand and the EU were put on hold after the 2014 coup. Other economic measures such as household consumption and public welfare would benefit also, Mrs Auramon said.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 20:26 UTC
'Boss' debacle damages govt
'Boss' debacle damages govtThe Prayut Chan-o-cha administration will have zero chance of restoring public trust in the justice system if it fails to prove its sincerity in solving the 2012 hit-and-run saga involving Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya by taking action against officials who mishandled the case and stepping up the long-overdue justice reform process. Mr Vicha's panel did a great job in tracing the money trail and connections that shamefully favoured the culprit. The panel also recommended an ethical probe into the delay and intentional derailment of the justice process. Most of the agencies he was referring to had a part in the wealthy scion's escape from justice. The authorities' handling (or rather, mishandling) of the Boss saga was just a knee-jerk reaction and the roots of the problem remain untouched.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 20:26 UTC
Local leaders killed in Ayutthaya car crash | Bangkok Post: learning
Rescuers with the wrecked car and its fatally injured occupants, after it collided with an 18-wheel articulated truck in Ayutthaya's Nakhon Luang district on Tuesday night. (Photo: Sunthorn Pongpao)AYUTTHAYA: Three local government officials returning home from a birthday party were killed when their car and an 18-wheel lorry crashed on Tuesday night. The driver of the lorry told police the oncoming car swerved across the centre line and hit his truck. There were three men in the car - the chief of Moo 9 village in tambon Uthai, the chief of Moo 10 village in tambon Uthai, and the secretary of Khanham TAO in Uthai district. Two of the men died in the car.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 05:38 UTC
Wednesday: 10 new Covid cases from 5 countries | Bangkok Post: learning
Visitors pack a trade fair at the Thailand Cultural Centre in Bangkok on Tuesday, when the country logged 10 new Covid-19 cases. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)The government on Wednesday reported 10 new cases of coronavirus disease, quarantined arrivals from five countries, raising the total to 3,490. They arrived from Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Yemen. From India, a year-old Thai girl and a Thai woman aged 27 arrived on Aug 31. From Myanmar, a Myanmar woman aged 42 arrived on Sept 9.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 05:26 UTC
Chinese golfer, 17, dreams big after 'astonishing' start
Chinese golfer, 17, dreams big after 'astonishing' startHat-trick of wins: China's 17-year-old Yin Ruoning, seen here competing as an amateur at the US LPGA Tour's Shanghai event last yearSHANGHAI: Yin Ruoning. Yin completed her hat-trick of triumphs, which have all come on the China LPGA Tour, with a one-stroke victory earlier this month at the Orient Masters in Xiamen. "Yes, definitely," the Shanghai-based rising star told AFP unflinchingly in English, when asked if becoming the top women's golfer on the planet is her ultimate ambition. Men's and women's golf is littered with prodigious talents who burst onto the scene as teenagers, only to disappear into obscurity. Putting Yin's achievements into further context, New Zealand's Lydia Ko became women's world number one at the same age in 2015.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 03:33 UTC
Tollway booths to be scrapped next year | Bangkok Post: learning
At Narong 1 toll plazaThe Ministry of Transport will remove tollway booths and remodel billing systems to incorporate vehicle recognition next year. He said a toll system without barriers and toll booths is being developed. All tollway and expressway gates will be modified by next year, he said. "This system has another benefit ... we can check for illegal vehicles," he said referring to the linked database and the licence detection system. Current users of M-Pass will be able to link their pass with their vehicle licence and pay the tolls automatically.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 16, 2020 02:03 UTC
CESA tackles foreign property stimulus
High-rise condominiums along Sukhumvit Road near the Asok intersection in Bangkok are popular with foreign buyers. There are two CESA agenda items focusing on the property sector: aid measures and a co-project with Thailand Elite Card to boost condo sales from foreign buyers. If the government can regain at least 20% of tourism revenue in those provinces, the property sector will also benefit. "Many neighbouring countries have tried to lure foreign buyers to boost their property sector," he said. "To boost sales from foreign buyers, developers need to offer them a leasehold contract."
Source:Bangkok Post
September 15, 2020 23:03 UTC
New licence, same saga
New licence, same sagaA move by a subsidiary of Akara Resources -- a company whose parent firm, Kingsgate, engaged in a legal tussle that led to arbitration with the Thai government -- to seek a gold exploration licence on a vast land area has infuriated environmentalists and the public. A total of 24 new exploration licence requests have been submitted by a firm named Rich Phoom. The department's Phetchabun office last week posted an announcement on the company's request for a special licence. It said if people disagreed or opposed the company's exploration licence request, they could do so with the office. And there are solid grounds for concern that the operator and the Thai state may have reached a compromise over the Chatree saga.
Source:Bangkok Post
September 15, 2020 22:41 UTC