Thanathorn eyes half of local administration seats
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Progressive Movement, speaks at a training session for prospective candidates for local elections at the Thai Summit building in Bangkok on Saturday. (Photo from Progressive Movement)The Progressive Movement, an offshoot of the disbanded Future Forward Party led by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, aims to field candidates for more than half the seats in local administration elections. “We will field candidates to compete in local elections at all levels under the same banner, ideologies and policy frameworks,” he said at a training session for the new candidates held in Bangkok on Saturday. After that, its remaining 50 MPs joined an existing party that had no MP and rebranded it as the Move Forward Party. Mr Thanathorn and the banned executives formed the Progressive Movement to push the same agenda outside Parliament.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 12:56 UTC
Traffic moves slowly in Korat
Traffic on the Mittraphap Highway moves slowly as people begin a four-day public holiday on Saturday. Heavy traffic was reported, particularly in the outbound lanes heading to Bangkok, at kilometre markers 77 and 88-89 from tambon Khlong Phai-Lad Buakhao of Sikhiu district to Pak Chong district on Saturday afternoon. No special lanes were opened to relieve the congestion. Traffic on inbound lanes from the capital was also moving slowly from Muak Lek district in Saraburi province to tambon Don Phayayen in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima. In Sung Noen district, traffic was very heavy at the Nava Nakorn industrial promotion zone in tambon Na Klang due to the construction of a road linking a special motorway and an elevated bridge.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 12:33 UTC
Pattaya beaches quiet at start of long holiday
Crowds are thin at Pattaya beach on Saturday despite promotions intended to get people in the mood to travel after weeks of restrictions. Pattaya City and the Tourism Authority of Thailand staged a promotional campaign offering a 50% discount for hotel rooms booked via the Shopee app. Pattaya city authorities had sealed off all beaches on May 9 as part of their effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19. How many years do you have to go back to when Pattaya Beach was this clean and good looking? #Thailand pic.twitter.com/ZpbJyjtg56 — Richard Barrow (@RichardBarrow) July 4, 2020Visitors relax on Pattaya beach on Saturday.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 10:55 UTC
US army chief part of first foreign group to visit
Delegation agrees to all Covid precautions prior to meetings with Apirat and PrayutThai army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong (left) and US army chief of staff Gen James McConville shake hands during the 11th Indo-Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference held in Bangkok in September last year. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)A six-member delegation led by the US army chief of staff will be the first group of foreigners to officially visit Thailand after the easing of the ban on inbound international flights this week. US army chief of staff Gen James McConville will meet his Thai counterpart, Gen Apirat Kongsompong, and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Thursday and Friday, said Gen Somsak Rungsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council. Since the Americans are the first group to visit Thailand after the lockdown, authorities took time to write out the procedures and plans, which will be the standards for other official visits in the future. The Thai army later labelled the report as fake news.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 10:41 UTC
Nine Melbourne high-rises locked down
3,000 residents shut in as Australian city tries to contain new virus outbreakPolice vehicles park outside one of nine public housing estates that have been locked down in Melbourne on Saturday, affecting more than 3,000 residents. (AFP Photo)MELBOURNE: Around 3,000 residents in nine high-rise apartments in Melbourne went into lockdown for at least five days on Saturday, as officials struggled to control a coronavirus outbreak in Australia’s second biggest city. “There are many, many vulnerable people who live in these towers,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Saturday. Residents of another two Melbourne neighbourhoods were also told to stay at home from midnight Saturday, adding to the nearly 300,000 people put under restrictions on Tuesday. “That rising number of active cases in Victoria is the major concern at the moment,” Kelly told reporters in Canberra.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 10:07 UTC
India races to have vaccine ready by Aug 15
(Reuters Photo)MUMBAI: India has set an ambitious timeline for its first potential coronavirus vaccine — from human trials to general use in six weeks. There has been no evidence yet that Bharat Biotech’s vaccine is safe for use on humans, not to mention effective. The Aug 15 deadline for the Bharat Biotech vaccine may reflect that political pressure: that’s the day India celebrates its Independence from the British, marked by a nationwide address by Modi. Bharat Biotech plans to enroll 375 people in the first phase and 750 people in the second phase of clinical trials, said an ICMR spokesperson. A spokeswoman for Bharat Biotech declined to comment on the Aug 15 timeline in the ICMR letter.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 09:22 UTC
Jealous husband held in triple killings
Murder suspect Noppadol Nuamsamlee, wearing a crash helmet, is taken for a crime re-enactment on a road in Muang district of Nakhon Phanom on Saturday. He faces charges of shooting his wife, her sister and their mother to death. Police took the suspect for a crime re-enactment in Muang district on Saturday morning. Police said the incident began after Mr Noppadol and his wife left their rented house in Muang district to go shopping on Friday. He said he never thought Mr Noppadol, who had lived with his younger daughter for a year, could be so cruel.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 09:00 UTC
Thailand not on UK no-quarantine list
(Reuters Photo)LONDON: Travellers from Thailand arriving in England will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days, according to revised guidelines. The updated guidelines published on the UK Government website late Friday list 59 countries and territories for which no quarantine will apply, starting from July 10. The United States and China are not on the “travel corridors exemption list”, but neither is Thailand, despite earlier reports that it would be, and despite the country’s success in all but eliminating local transmission of the coronavirus. Asian countries on the UK exemption list include Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, all of which have managed to bring Covid-19 transmission under control, though there have been some scattered outbreaks of new cases in Japan and Korea. But the US and Greece, another popular travel destination, will be designated with a red light, which requires 14 days of self-isolation.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 07:52 UTC
Two feared dead, 13 missing in Japan deluge
Two feared dead, 13 missing in Japan delugeReports said 75,000 residents were ordered to evacuate their homes, with nearly 100 people stranded. (AFP photo)TOKYO: At least two people were feared dead and 13 others went missing in western Japan Saturday as record heavy rain triggered massive floods and landslides, forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 76,000 residents. The public broadcaster NHK said about 100 people had been stranded as roads were cut off by floods and landslides. "We have issued evacuation orders after record heavy rain," said Toshiaki Mizukami, another official for Kumamoto prefecture. Japan is currently in its rainy season, which often causes floods and landslides and prompts local authorities to issue evacuation orders.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 07:07 UTC
Poll: Long waiting tops Bangkok bus woes
People, wearing face masks, rush to get on a bus to work during morning rush hours at the Victory Monument on May 12. (Photo by Nutthawat Wicheanbut)Most people are not satisfied with Bangkok’s bus services due to long waiting, shabby conditions and black smoke, according to a survey by Bangkok Poll. The poll, conducted by the Bangkok University Research Centre on 1,299 people aged over 18 during June 25-29, gauged public satisfaction with city buses. The largest group, or 46.7%, said they were least satisfied with buses operating on Bangkok streets while 33% were partly satisfied and 20.3% were most satisified. Asked to identify the problems with the public bus service in the capital, more than half (61.1%) complained about the long waiting and inadequate number of the buses.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 06:33 UTC
Five new cases in state quarantine
Airports of Thailand has stepped up preventive measures at the international gateway as the country reopens for limited international arrivals. (Photos by Somchai Poomlard)Five new coronavirus cases, all quarantined Thai returnees, were reported on Saturday, marking 40 days in a row with no local transmission. Of all 3,185 cases to date, 3,066 were discharged, with 61 still in hospitals. According to the centre, Thailand ranked 97th worldwide in the number of cases. The five countries with the most cases as of 10am on Saturday were the United States (2.89 million), Brazil (1.54 million), Russia (667,883), India (649,889) and Spain (297,625).
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 06:15 UTC
Badminton superstar Lin Dan retires at 36
Badminton superstar Lin Dan retires at 36Lin, who had something of a 'bad boy' reputation during his younger days and has several tattoos, ends with 666 singles wins and a glut of medalsBEIJING: China's two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan, arguably the greatest badminton player of all time, announced his retirement on Saturday aged 36. It means that Lin, who won gold at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, will not compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to next summer because of coronavirus. As well as the double Olympic golds, Lin was also a five-time world champion and a long-time former world number one. Lin earned the nickname "Super Dan" at the peak of his career. Lin had always maintained that he would try to make it a last Olympics hurrah in Tokyo in an unlikely bid for a third Olympic gold.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 05:48 UTC
Two feared dead, 13 missing as heavy rain lashes western Japan
Two feared dead, 13 missing as heavy rain lashes western JapanReports said 75,000 residents were ordered to evacuate their homes, with nearly 100 people strandedTOKYO - At least two people were feared dead and 13 others went missing in western Japan Saturday as record heavy rain triggered massive floods and landslides, forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 76,000 residents. Public broadcaster NHK said about 100 people had been stranded as roads were cut off by floods and landslides. "We have issued evacuation orders after record heavy rain," said Toshiaki Mizukami, another official for Kumamoto prefecture. "We strongly urge people to take action to protect their lives as it's still raining quite heavily," he told AFP. Japan is currently in its rainy season, which often causes floods and landslides and prompts local authorities to issue evacuation orders.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 05:26 UTC
Monkey-picked coconut boycott spreads
Major Western retailers have begun to pull Thai coconut products from their shelves amid allegations that the coconuts were picked by inhumanely treated monkeys. “Following Peta Asia’s investigation, more than 15,000 stores will no longer purchase these brands’ products, with the majority also no longer buying any coconut products sourced from Thailand monkey labour,” the group said on its website. In the UK, Waitrose, Ocado, Co-op and Boots have vowed to stop selling some coconut products from Thailand, the BBC reported. A spokesperson for the giant retailer Tesco told the BBC: “Our own-brand coconut milk and coconut water does not use monkey labour in its production and we don’t sell any of the branded products identified by Peta. “Peta is calling on decent people never to support the use of monkey labour by shunning coconut products from Thailand.”
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 05:03 UTC
2020 Suzuki XL7: Thai price and specs
2020 Suzuki XL7: Thai price and specsSUV-style variant of Ertiga has glitzier styling and more ground clearance asking for 54k more in price. Suzuki Automobiles Thailand has introduced a more lifestyle version of the Ertiga mini-MPV with a class-beating price. The XL7 which has seven seats matching the Honda BR-V and Mitsuibishi Xpander Cross costs 779,000 baht in single GLX trim with a similarly sized 1.5-litre petrol engine. Like in both of its front-wheel-drive rivals, the XL7 has a higher clearance from their donor MPV vehicles. While the BR-V comes with E85-capable 117hp costing 835,000 baht, the Xpander Cross gets 105hp going for 899,000 baht.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 04, 2020 02:48 UTC