It's now time to scrutinise govt 'aid' packages
It's now time to scrutinise govt 'aid' packagesThe severe economic downturn caused by state lockdown measures seems to give the Prayut Chan-o-cha government a mandate for a quick spending spree on myriad rehabilitation programmes and economic stimulus packages aimed at accelerating the post-pandemic recovery. I'm not against the stimulus packages. Moreover, the public has little chance to monitor and scrutinise those project proposals. The opposition bloc has pushed for a House committee to scrutinise the spending of the stimulus packages. The government must involve opposition parties and the public, enabling them to scrutinise its aid packages and procurement systems and assess the results.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Turning scale to value is essential post-Covid-19
Turning scale to value is essential post-Covid-19As Asia grapples with the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, the region's top corporate executives are deeply concerned about the impact on business performance and livelihoods in a volatile post-pandemic environment. For many of Asia's largest companies, this complicates the challenges they were already facing. Between 2005-2007 and 2015-2017, profits generated by Asia's largest companies fell from US$150 billion (4.63 trillion baht) to a loss of $207 billion. Even before Covid-19, Asian companies operate in a hyper-competitive environment, and it is hard even for leading companies to maintain their pre-eminence. The Asian financial crisis, for example, hit Thailand hard but the country returned to positive GDP growth within a year or two.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
On guard against contagion
"We need to keep our guard up to prepare for uncertainties," said Ronadol Numnonda, deputy governor for financial institution stability. "The central bank will not sit idly by and let the situation deteriorate to the point where it needs to raise capital. According to central bank data, commercial banks' total CAR stood at 18.7% at the end of March and the NPL ratio was 3.05%. "The key concern of the central bank is uncertainties, so the regulator has implemented pre-emptive measures," he said. The measure will build up confidence that local banks' capital buffers will remain solid, Mr Pisit said.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Microsoft to Close Its Retail Stores
In some cases, like with Microsoft, companies have permanently closed retail locations. Through the pandemic Microsoft has been heavily investing in its group conferencing and collaboration software, seeing the technology as critical to its future. Microsoft has used its retail presence to promote its growing hardware business, which is expanding to include gear like foldable tablets to wireless earbuds. Microsoft has more than 80 Microsoft Store locations, most of which are in the U.S., according to its website. The company has 271 U.S. retail locations though it has temporarily closed 32 of those stores since last week amid rising coronavirus case counts in several states.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Facebook Tightens Controls on Speech as Ad Boycott Grows
The Facebook advertising boycott came after civil-rights groups including the Anti-Defamation League and NAACP called on brands to pull ad spending from Facebook for July. The groups said the social-media giant hadn't made enough progress battling hate speech and misinformation. It said artificial intelligence helps it find nearly 90% of hate speech before anyone flags it. The company spent $42.3 million on Facebook ads in the U.S. last year, research company Pathmatics Inc. estimates. The Anti-Defamation League, for example, has long pushed Facebook to view Holocaust denial as a form of hate speech.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Travel bubble scheme 'asking for trouble'
Travel bubble scheme 'asking for trouble'The government would be "asking for trouble" if it adopted the travel bubbles and re-introduced medical tourism too soon, warned Thira Woratanarat, an epidemiologist at Chulalongkorn University. "So, the talk of travel bubble agreements and welcoming foreign patients under medical and wellness tourism to generate revenue would be asking for trouble," he said. Those who would arrive for medical and wellness tourism and agreed to undergo quarantine could also arrive immediately. Tourists who would arrive under the travel bubble scheme could be allowed in on Aug 1 on condition they undergo "Villa Quarantine", meaning they stay at their accommodation and do not travel. Supakit Sirilak, deputy permanent secretary for public health, confirmed plans for travel bubble schemes, with countries such as China and Japan.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Sweet dis-harmony
As the music industry grapples with challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, insiders wonder who'll be standing when the music restartsWhile the future of the music industry remains shrouded in lockdown mystery, industry insiders believe these difficult times could spark harmony by bringing people together in support of artists and others affected by disruptions caused by Covid-19. has no plans to organise a live concert in the immediate future since the company's main focus is on international acts. online store where music fans can purchase their favourite bands' exclusive merchandise such as music, T-shirts, tour posters as well as concert tickets." "As everybody has been affected by the pandemic, I have a good feeling that this could be a turning point for the music industry," she said. As for concerts and live music performances, main control measures and supplementary measures have been issued by the government.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Reshuffle needs thought
Reshuffle needs thoughtThe rise of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon as the new leader of the coalition's core Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) has sent a clear signal that a cabinet reshuffle is pending. Such gloomy prospects as the country struggles for post-pandemic recovery mean any change in economic ministries must be carefully made. Obviously, the cabinet posts held by those close to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, the government's economic guru, are also no longer deemed stable. Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has insisted he would not execute a reshuffle for the time being but, like it or not, he will have to in the near future. But such a scenario would be possible only if the prime minister puts the right man in the right job.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Feeling the pulse of the land
Israel's Ambassador to Thailand Meir ShlomoTourists come and go, but those who stay long enough can feel the pulse of the new land. "Of course, [in Israel] we are trying to collect our history, but here in Bangkok you don't have to wait for it. Mr Shlomo said agriculture has been key to cooperation between Israel and Thailand, citing the Hup Kraphong Royal Project as an example. Mr Shlomo said Israel offers 100 scholarships to Thai university students for one-year programmes, but language remains a huge barrier. "Living here is different from being a tourist because you really can feel the pulse of its people," he added.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 21:11 UTC
Low turnout expected as France votes in local polls
Low turnout expected as France votes in local pollsAnalysts expect the elections to confirm that President Emmanuel Macron's party has not gained a strong foothold at local levelPARIS - French people went to the polls wearing face masks Sunday in the final round of municipal elections expected to yield a rebuke for President Emmanuel Macron's party. The opening round was held just as the COVID-19 pandemic was gaining deadly momentum, but the second phase, scheduled for March 22, was put off after France went into lockdown. The party made lacklustre showings in March -- notably in Paris where Macron's candidate, former health minister Agnes Buzyn, came third. The country went into lockdown on March 17, just two days after the first election round that critics say should not have been held. With just 22 months to the next presidential election, Macron's main challenger is far-right leader Marine Le Pen of the National Rally.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 15:00 UTC
Global infections top 10 million: Virus update
Global infections top 10 million: Virus updatePeople attend the Pope's weekly Angelus prayer at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican, on Sunday as the city-state eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. (AFP photo)Global infections from the novel coronavirus on Sunday surpassed 10 million as the rate of new cases surges. The United States, the hardest hit country, has surpassed 2.5 million cases alone, as efforts to reopen the world's economic powerhouse were set back by a jump in new infections in states such as Florida. Infections are also up in some other parts of the world that have reopened, with Europe now registering over 2.6 million, according to the AFP tally based on official sources. In the Middle East, the governor of Bethlehem announced that the Palestinian city would temporarily close due to rising infections.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 12:22 UTC
Hey, You! Rolling Stones warn Trump of legal action over song use
Rolling Stones warn Trump of legal action over song useMick Jagger and his Rolling Stones bandmates have enlisted performing rights organisation BMI to stop Donald Trump using their song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" at campaign events. LONDON: British rock legends The Rolling Stones have threatened legal action against Donald Trump for the US president's use of their song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" at campaign rallies. "The BMI have notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorised use of their songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement," read the statement, which was retweeted by the Rolling Stones official Twitter account. The letter is the latest in a campaign to stop Trump using the song at rallies which dates back to 2016. The Stones are not the first major act to call on the president to stop using their songs.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 10:30 UTC
Malawi opposition leader sworn in as president after vote re-run
Malawi opposition leader sworn in as president after vote re-runLazarus Chakwera won the re-run election with almost 59 percent of the voteLILONGWE (MALAWI) - Malawi's opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera was sworn in Sunday as the southern African country's new president after winning the re-run of a hotly disputed election. And it is the first time in the region that a vote re-run has led to the defeat of an incumbent leader. On Saturday, he had argued that the election re-run had been flawed, citing violence and intimidation against monitors. Political analysts told AFP they highly doubted the possibility of a second re-run. Kenya's former prime minister Raila Odinga -- who lost to the incumbent in the country's 2017 vote re-run -- was among several politicians to congratulate Chakwera.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 10:30 UTC
China puts half a million in lockdown to fight new cluster
China puts half a million in lockdown to fight new clusterA worker wears a protective suit at a Covid-19 coronavirus testing station in Beijing on Sunday. Businesses in Anxin county had supplied freshwater fish to the Xinfadi market, state news agency Xinhua reported. The capital has mass-tested wholesale market workers, restaurant workers, residents of medium and high-risk neighbourhoods and delivery couriers over the past two weeks. At a press conference on Sunday, officials said 8.3 million samples have been collected so far, of which 7.7 million have already been tested. City officials have urged people not to leave Beijing, closed schools again and locked down dozens of residential compounds to stamp out the virus.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 10:07 UTC
Man arrested for killing wild elephant in national park
Man arrested for killing wild elephant in national parkRangers look at the body of a wild elephant found dead in Kui Buri National Park in Kui Buri district of Prachuap Khiri Khan on Saturday. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: A villager has been arrested for shooting to death a wild elephant in the Kui Buri National Park in Kui Buri district of this lower central province. Rakpong Boonyoi, chief of the Kui Buri National Park, said the incident occurred on Saturday while park rangers were driving the wild elephant out of a rubber plantation back into the forest. He said he acted in self-defence after encountering the wild elephant at close range. He estimated there are now about 300 wild elephants and 400 gaurs in the Kui Buri National Park.
Source:Bangkok Post
June 28, 2020 09:56 UTC