US delegation 'will have to wear masks'
US delegation 'will have to wear masks'US army chief of staff Gen James McConville (centre right) visits the Thai army's combat team which joins Exercise Lightning Forge at the Schofield Barracks army Base in Hawaii before his trip to Singapore, Thailand and Japan later this week. (Photo supplied by Wassana Nanuam)A delegation led by the United States' army chief of staff won't be quarantined at state facilities, but they will be required to wear face masks during their talks with the prime minister, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Furthermore, the delegation will not be allowed to visit public places and go on public transportation, Dr Taweesilp said. The American delegation will be the first group of foreigners to officially visit Thailand after six selected groups of foreign visitors are allowed to enter the country this week. Gen McConville is scheduled meet the commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army, Gen Apirat Kongsompong, and Prime Minister Prayut Cha-o-cha on Thursday and Friday.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 13:41 UTC
Switzerland awash with ventilators
(Reuters photo)ZURICH: Swiss authorities are trying to figure out what to do with a potential surplus of ventilators which they snapped up in the scramble for equipment to fight the coronavirus pandemic. That meant cantons could keep them, sell them to other countries or donate them, perhaps to developing countries, the paper said. As the toll of sick and dying from the Covid-19 respiratory disease mounted earlier this year, countries brawled for scarce supplies of ventilators used to help patients breathe. The defence ministry said of the 900 ventilators delivered by June 24, 261 were in storage at the army medical service and 639 were distributed to cantons. The government tasked the army medical service to buy supplies that cantons could not arrange as the pandemic spread.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 13:07 UTC
Tourists entering South Korea less than cabin crew amid virus risks
Tourists entering South Korea less than cabin crew amid virus risksDrones fly over the Han River showing messages to support the country, as measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease continue in Seoul on Saturday. (Reuters photo)Tourists remain rare in South Korea with international arrivals via air and sea hovering below the number of cabin crew. South Korea received 6,111 tourists in May, a sharp drop from nearly 1.23 million a year ago, according to the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), Pulse reported. In January, before the virus outbreak, foreign tourists entering South Korea numbered 1.03 million, compared with 79,000 attendants. South Korea enforces a two-week quarantine on all foreign arrivals, a safety measure enforced by many other countries.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 12:22 UTC
Another 5 Covid quarantine cases Monday
Another 5 Covid quarantine cases MondayA referee and Muay Thai boxers wearing face shields gather before their fight in front of empty spectator seats behind closed doors due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) at the Siam Boxing Stadium in Samut Sakhon province, on Saturday. (Reuters photo)The government on Monday reported five new imported coronavirus cases, taking the total in Thailand to 3,195. The new infections were in Thai nationals who recently returned from Kuwait and were in state quarantine, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced on its Facebook page. All arrived in Bangkok on June 29 and entered state quarantine in the capital. One person was added to the tally of recovered cases in the past 24 hours, and 65 are hospitalised.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 05:24 UTC
Woman vendor killed in Korat accident
Woman vendor killed in Korat accidentPolice at the scene where a car hit a motorcycle and sidecar in Chok Chai district of Nakhon Ratchasima on Monday. (Photo by Prasit Tangprasert)NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A food vendor was killed when her motorcycle and sidecar loaded with supplies she had bought at a market was hit from behind by a car in Chok Chai district on Monday morning. Pol Capt Pasit Jitpraser, a Chok Chai police investigator, said the accident occurred about 5.45am between kilometre markers 25-26 on the Nakhon Ratchasima-bound side of the Chok Chai-Nakhon Ratchasima road, near an entry to the Ramkhamhaeng University campus. The 63-year-old victim was a food vendor returning home to Nong Sano village after buying supplies at a market in Chok Chai district. The woman's body was taken to Chok Chai Hospital mortuary.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 04:30 UTC
Iran says damage at nuclear site 'significant'
Iran says damage at nuclear site 'significant'A photo released by the nuclear organisation showed a building with a damaged roof, walls apparently blackened by fire and doors hanging off their hinges. TEHRAN: An accident at a nuclear complex in Iran caused significant damage and could slow the production of centrifuges used to enrich uranium, the country's atomic energy spokesman said. The incident happened on Thursday at a warehouse under construction at the Natanz complex in central Iran, but caused no casualties or radioactive pollution, according to the Islamic republic's nuclear body. State TV later showed the building from a different angle with minor damage to its walls. Iran restarted enriching uranium at Natanz last September, despite having agreed under the accord to put such activities there on hold.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 04:18 UTC
Injured Russian woman detained over daughter's death
Injured Russian woman detained over daughter's deathA rescue volunteer looks inside the apartment building room where Anna Efimova stayed in Pattaya. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)CHON BURI: A Russian woman injured in a fall from the third floor of an apartment in Pattaya has been detained for questioning over the death of her 19-month-old daughter, police said. She survived and was admitted to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for treatment of her injuries. Staff at the apartment building told police the woman checked in about 7pm on Saturday and paid in advance for a three-day stay. The body of a young child was found in the bathroom, covered with a brown towel and lying face down under the handbasin.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 04:14 UTC
The cabinet calls for domestic support
The cabinet calls for domestic supportto wear and use Thai textiles to conserving local wisdom whilst generating incomes among Thai communities. On 9th June 2020, the cabinet agreed on the national campaign to promote and support Thai fabrics among domestic markets, proposed by the Community Development Department and the National Council of Women of Thailand. At Roi Et province, its provincial head takes the lead to be a role model who wears Thai fabric everyday. Wearing Thai fabric is not only conserving Thai culture but also creating job employments which leads to the stabilization of the grassroots economy in Thailand. Eat Thai foods, use Thai products, travel in Thailand and wear Thai textiles to stimulate Thai economy!
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 03:56 UTC
When coronavirus robs you of your sense of smell
When coronavirus robs you of your sense of smellLosing the ability to do something we take for granted, like smelling a rose, can leave people depressed. PARIS: "What I miss most is the smell of my son when I kiss him, the smell of my wife's body," said Jean-Michel Maillard. Anosmia -- the loss of one's sense of smell -- may be an invisible handicap, but is psychologically difficult to live with and has no real treatment, he says. You only truly become aware of your sense of smell when you lose it, said Maillard, who lost his own following an accident. "To be deprived of your sense of smell for a month, it's not serious.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 03:47 UTC
Australia to seal off virus-hit state as outbreak worsens
Australia to seal off virus-hit state as outbreak worsensAustralian authorities are rushing to contain a worsening coronavirus outbreak in Victoria stateMELBOURNE - Australia will effectively seal off the state of Victoria from the rest of the country, authorities said Monday, announcing unprecedented measures to tackle a worrying surge in coronavirus cases. Victoria -- home to more than 6.6 million people -- announced a record 127 new cases Monday, as the virus spread through Melbourne, including a cluster in several densely populated apartment blocks. Plans to reopen Victoria's border with South Australia have already been put on ice. Australia has recorded more than 8,500 cases of COVID-19 and 105 deaths from the virus. The bulk of new daily cases are now being detected in Melbourne, while most other regions are enjoying relaxed restrictions after largely curbing the virus spread.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 03:00 UTC
German restaurants still hungry for customers post-lockdown
Two months after Germany lifted its lockdowns, the small Asian restaurant, like so many others, is struggling to attract customers as coronavirus fears linger. Restaurants, bars and hotels have adapted to the new normal with face masks, physical distancing and by asking customers to share contact information so they can be alerted to any fresh outbreak. "Sure, customers are coming back but very, very slowly," said Sahin Ciftci, the owner of Zeus pizzeria in Berlin's trendy Friedrichshain district. But DEHOGA president Guido Zoellick told AFP more targeted help was needed that is "available to all restaurants". "The tourists will come back soon for sure," she told AFP sitting outside her health food cafe Zur Alten Zicke.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 03:00 UTC
Looters target Myanmar temple treasures in tourist slump
Looters target Myanmar temple treasures in tourist slumpA squad of gun-toting police patrol Myanmar's sacred site of Bagan under the cover of night, taking on plunderers snatching relics from temples forsaken by tourists due to coronavirus restrictions. BAGAN, Myanmar: A squad of armed police patrol Myanmar's sacred site of Bagan under the cover of night, taking on plunderers snatching relics from temples forsaken by tourists due to coronavirus restrictions. "When there were tourists here, there were no burglaries," he explains, adding he believes this is the work of outsiders. Even if locals' livelihoods have been devastated by the tourist downturn, he says he does not believe they would "betray their heritage". "The Bagan temples will not tolerate it," she says.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 02:15 UTC
Dozens feared dead in Japan floods
Dozens feared dead in Japan floodsA street is covered by debris and mud in a flooded area of Ashikita, Kumamoto prefecture, on Monday morning. Record rains lashed areas of western Japan, causing rivers to break banks and flooding low-lying regions. At least 36 people are feared dead after record rains lashed areas of western Japan in the early hours of Saturday, causing rivers to break banks and flooding low-lying regions. "Rescue workers are tirelessly continuing the search this morning," a spokesman for the western Kumamoto prefecture told AFP, with at least 11 people still unaccounted for. At a nursing home for the elderly, 14 people were feared dead when water from a nearby river inundated the ground floor, leaving those in wheelchairs unable to reach higher ground.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 01:52 UTC
Land Rover Defender: past and present showcased
Land Rover Defender: past and present showcasedWhile the modern-day replacement is set to move forward appealing to urbanites, the predecessor has been revived for old die-hard fans. Inchcape Thailand has finally launched the all-new replacement for the legendary Defender. The cheapest Defender is the 90 D200 priced from 5.4 million baht, while the dearest 110 P400 from 8.9 million baht. The Grenadier takes the form the classic Defender with its boxy styling, round head lights and spacious five-door body. Apart from the new six-pot Defender, there’s another classic 4x4 off-roader that costs similarly in Thailand: Mercedes-Benz G350d at 9.39-9.69 million baht.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 06, 2020 01:30 UTC
Voices from the mountains
Unfortunately, the Pakakeryors' centuries-old farming method has been cast as a culprit. According to Suwichan Phatthanaphraiwan, the Kla Kla Chi Klu Ngu song was originally composed by the Pakakeryors over 100 years ago. "Old forests turn into rice fields, [harvested] rice fields into young forests, and young forests mature into old forests. In his free time, Suwichan composes and translate songs from the mountains into Thai. Bancha Muhae has launched several initiatives to protect the 20,000-rai community forest and the Pakakeryor's practice of rotation farming.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 23:37 UTC