Tuesday: 7 new Covid cases | Bangkok Post: learning
The death toll remained at 58. They tested positive for the disease on July 11. She was quarantined in Bangkok and tested positive on July 12 while being asymptomatic. The death toll remained unchanged at 58. Global Covid-19 cases rose by 199,818 over the past 24 hours to 13.23 million and the death toll went up by 3,954 to 575,525.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 14, 2020 05:50 UTC
Ranger killed by bomb in Pattani
Ranger killed by bomb in PattaniA member of a bomb disposal team at the spot near Ban Lapho in Pattani's Mae Lan district where a ranger was fatally injured by a bomb explosion on Tuesday morning. (Photo: Abdullah Benjakat)PATTANI: A member of a ranger patrol providing security for teachers travelling to school was fatally injured by a bomb explosion in Mae Lan district on Sunday morning. Col Vacharakorn Ongngern, deputy spokesman for the forward headquarters of the Internal Security Operation Command Region 4, said the attack occurred about 7.45am. The six-member patrol from Ranger Company 2209 was on foot patrol, providing security for teachers of Ban Khuan Plaeng Ngu School. They were on a dirt road along an irrigation canal near Ban Lapho in tambon Pa Rai when a home-made bomb planted in a roadside drain went off.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 14, 2020 03:15 UTC
Third-quarter investment strategy
As we enter the second half of 2020, Covid-19 remains a serious challenge worldwide, with more than 12.3 million cases and deaths exceeding 550,000. In our current investment strategy, we recommend stocks focused on the domestic economy with robust business portfolios that stand to gain from easing of the lockdown and domestic travel stimulus. We believe the company has passed its lowest point and is set for a big jump in profit in the second half. Although domestic demand for energy drinks has softened, this is being offset by strong demand in the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) markets as well as the company's new functional drink products. Another key factor for SCC is the resumption of government megaprojects in the second half; demand for construction materials should improve significantly, providing SCC with more substantial benefits in the second half of 2020 compared with the first half.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 14, 2020 00:00 UTC
B ratio for market ahead
SCB Securities: Lower P/B ratio for market aheadThailand's stock market has entered a new era in terms of share valuation, with a lower price-to-book (P/B) ratio predicted, says SCB Securities (SCBS). Companies use the P/B ratio to compare a firm's market capitalisation to its book value, according to Investopedia. "The share valuation during the crisis will decline because of a drop in companies' profit, except for four businesses," said SCBS managing director Sukit Udomsirikul. The four businesses shielded from the lower P/B ratio are healthcare, retail, food and ICT, according to SCBS. SCBS upgraded the P/B ratio for four businesses, covering healthcare (5.7 times from 4 times at current valuation), commerce (5.4 times from 4.1 times), ICT (3.2 times from 2.3 times) and food (2.2 times from 2.0).
Source:Bangkok Post
July 14, 2020 00:00 UTC
Durian for the heart in far South
Durian for the heart in far South'From Bannang Sata Yala," along with PromptPay details for contactless payment, read the sign at the back of a pickup truck parked across the street from the mosque next to Thong Lor Metropolitan Police Station. These are treats Thailand's best money cannot buy, only found in people's hospitality somewhere in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani while on interpreting assignments. So durian from villagers in Bannang Sata Yala (usually associated with insurgency) to Soi Thong Lor Bangkok onboard the pick-up truck is the closest ever to implementing the blueprint. It's a perfect spot because Thong Lor seems to house a sizeable community of Muslims, so they can find the appropriate food and access to prayers. Though durian from Bannang Sata in Thong Lor did not give the same effect as my pre-corona durian experience in Ton Sai, it was still uplifting in more ways than one.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 14, 2020 00:00 UTC
New rating for 'green' pesticides
New rating for 'green' pesticidesThe Ministry of Agriculture is preparing to move 13 herbs and spices local farmers use as green pesticides into a lower toxicity classification in a bid to promote green agriculture. These 13 herbs were moved to the more tightly controlled Type 2 level in 2013 from their original classification as Type 1 in 2009. Before that, local farmers had used these herbs freely as natural weed and pest control. These 13 herbs are; neem, tea/tea seed cake, galangal, ginger, turmeric, citronella grass, Siam weed, marigold, chilli, celery, ringworm bush, flame lily and Stemona collinsiae. However, the reclassification alone will not be enough to encourage green pesticide use, according to Prapat Panyachatraksa, chairperson of National Farmers Council.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 23:48 UTC
A cure for policing ills
According to my view, police reforms are the only way we can keep officers in check and ensure transparency. "Thai officers have unfortunately gained a reputation for being corrupt and self-serving," she said. In terms of just how racist Thai officers are, the veteran female officer confessed that Africans in particular have a tendency of being looked at with suspicion by Thai law enforcement. "We need to educate and develop our officers so they will be grounded on what the law book says about making arrests. It is high time we pull up our socks and incorporate international measures to strengthen our own laws in policing.''
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 23:26 UTC
Closed borders pose tourism risk
The Tourism Authority of Thailand predicted international arrivals will nosedive by 80% to 8.2 million, generating only 396 billion baht this year. He said the tourism industry will contribute only 6-7% of GDP this year, compared with 18% in 2019. "If the travel bubble scheme can take shape during September until December, tourism is expected to generate 200 billion baht, which can support our tourism goal of 1.23 trillion earned this year," said Mr Phiphat. Domestic tourism may generate 700 billion baht this year with the support of government stimulus packages scheduled to kick off tomorrow. For domestic market stimulus, the ministry expects only half of the 18-billion-baht budget for the "Let's Travel" scheme will be used.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 23:15 UTC
Monkeying around with Peta won't work
Monkeying around with Peta won't workMaybe the controversy is not just about the monkey business and coconuts. News broke last week that major Western retailers including Waitrose, Co-op and Boots have started to ban Thai coconut products. Peta also said the monkeys are kept in cages barely large enough for them to turn themselves around in. Peta's allegations are that Thai coconut producers perpetuate animal cruelty to earn millions of dollars from products sold around the world. The reality, however, is that we seem stuck in the monkey business.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 23:03 UTC
Thai-US alliance comes with new twists
Thai-US alliance comes with new twistsBefore General James C McConville, the Chief of Staff of the US army, was able to sign the Joint Vision Statement 2020 for the Thai-US Defence Alliance last Friday, he had to go through the stringent Covid-19 measures required under Thai law for foreign visitors. It would be Gen Apirat's last major activity in Thailand and would seal his position as a great believer in the strong Thai-US alliance before his retirement at the end of September. As such, the signing ceremony of the Strategic Joint Vision Statement 2020 was specifically aimed at "energising and enhancing" the bilateral army-to-army relationship and the readiness to deepen the 65-year-old Thai-US alliance and prepare it for the future. The joint statement also envisaged the Thai-US defence treaty alliance working together towards "stability, prosperity and sustainability in the Indo-Pacific region in support of an inclusive and rules-based international order". The Mekong region has recently been included in the list and thus become a new US-China battleground.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 22:41 UTC
Covid-19 cases trigger inquiry
(Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has been taking urgent measures after an Egyptian soldier confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 was found to have visited shopping malls in Rayong province. Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha will visit Rayong today while a deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control will visit a condominium in Bangkok. Mr Sathit said later on Monday he would visit Rayong and check locations including Central department store, Laem Thong shopping mall and D Varee Diva Central Rayong Hotel. The group returned to Egypt on Saturday, the day before the lab confirmed the positive result. The group visited other places during their stay in the province, including a shopping centre, he said, but he would not name the locations.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 22:41 UTC
Crime reports 'ignore real causes'
The sensationalistic coverage of the death of a three-year-old girl in Mukdahan has come under fire by academics and activists for repeating gratuitous violence and failing to shed light on structural injustice. "Don't stand on the tip of the iceberg when you cover crime," Ms Chanettee told a forum yesterday. "Dig deep until you find out how gaping holes in the justice system victimise marginal people, for example, this three-year-old girl. She was the subject of media coverage because she was young and born to parents who are low-income farmers in the country." "I conducted research on newspaper coverage of crime since Dr [Dan Beach Bradley [in the nineteenth century]," she went on.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 22:41 UTC
Meth floods back at end of lockdown
So far for the 2020 fiscal year, 11 tonnes of crystal meth have been seized by authorities in 17 separate operations. According to the ONCB's operation centre, only 10.8 tonnes of the drug were seized in the whole of the 2019 fiscal year. During the Covid-19 lockdown easing from May–July, the Thai authorities made eight arrests in relation to the smuggling of over 100kg of crystal methamphetamine, accounting for 4.3 tonnes of the year's total so far. On July 11, Surat Thani police arrested three men for smuggling over one tonne of the drug hidden in cow dung. Over the past two weeks alone, officers made two consecutive arrests for drug trafficking in Surat Thani and Narathiwat and seized amounts of crystal methamphetamine weighing 2.44 tonnes in total.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 22:41 UTC
Temporary immigration hub opens doors
Temporary immigration hub opens doorsSocial-distancing measures are put in place at a temporary centre for immigration services in Nonthaburi's Pak Kret district that is now open to foreign visitors seeking short-stay extensions. (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)A temporary immigration service centre is now up and running at Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi province to alleviate congestion at the Immigration Bureau as foreigners flock to seek short-stay extensions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Pol Col Pakkapong Sai-ubon, deputy commander of Immigration Division 1, said the new office at the Central Investigation Bureau in Muang Thong Thani housing estate in Pak Kret district is open for three services only including short-stay extensions. The other two types of services are 90-day place of residence reports and 24-hour reports on accommodation, he said. Pol Maj Gen Piti Nithinonthaset, commander of Immigration Division 1, said the opening of the Muang Thong Thani centre is in line with the disease control policy of Immigration Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 22:41 UTC
US turns focus to South China Sea
Then the US carried out military exercises in the waterway showing support for the free and open Indo-Pacific, as the South China Sea has been subject to overlapping claims by many countries, including China. "That is what we have done in the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. The ambassador said the US is now focusing attention on the South China Sea to make sure that Beijing does not illegally extend its control over the waterway. He voiced support for Asean's position on the South China Sea in the 36th Asean Summit on June 26 and stressed that it comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). Thai-US military allianceWhen asked his view on the future role of the military, Ambassador DeSombre said nobody wants conflict, but we are in a period of great power competition.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 13, 2020 22:41 UTC