At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday, CCSA approved the following plan:AstraZeneca:• Reduce procurement target for 2022 from 60 million doses to 35.4 million doses. The cost will reduce from 18.76 billion baht to 11.06 billion baht. • Procure 275,500 doses of long-acting antibody vaccine (LAAB) worth 7.56 billion baht. • AstraZeneca has delivered 8.3 million doses of the vaccine this year, which means 27.1 million doses are pending to meet the new quota of 35.4 million doses. Pfizer• So far, 26.4 million doses of the 30 million doses bought have been delivered.

Surat Thani expects B833m from five-day holidayVisitors taking ferry services from Koh Samui arrive at a pier on Koh Phangan in Surat Thani. (Photo supplied: Supapong Chaolan)SURAT THANI: A five-day holiday next week is expected to attract more than 70,000 visitors to this southern province and generate 833 million baht in revenue from tourist spending, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Surat Thani office. Nanthawan Siripoksapat, director of TAT’s Surat Thani office, said on Saturday that 74,182 visitors – 46,429 Thais and 27,753 foreigners – were booked to visit the southern province during the five-day holiday period, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday. Tourist arrivals were expected to generate 833.18 million baht to the local economy during this holiday period - 330.16 million baht from Thai visitors and 503.02 million baht from foreign tourists. The number of flights on Bangkok-Koh Samui route will increase to 19-24 a day, while the number of flights between Bangkok and Surat Thani will increase to 41-52 flights a day, she said.

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Japan export boost eyedThailand aims to send more agricultural exports to Japan to further shore up its bilateral trade balance of 130 billion baht, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Friday. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged related agencies to help expand foreign markets for domestically made agricultural products, especially Japan, the spokesman added. Japan ranks as Thailand's second-largest export market for agricultural goods and food products, the Ministry of Commerce reported earlier. From 2019 to 2021, it consumed 11.35% of the total value of agricultural exports from Thailand, Mr Thanakorn said. Commerce Ministry officials and other representatives recently visited Japan to meet with private companies in logistics and warehouse businesses to learn more about market trends, opportunities and customer behaviour, he said.

Indians top arrivals from overseasIndians account for the highest number of foreign arrivals in Thailand this year with 249,466 setting foot in the country from Jan 1 to July 6, said Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Meanwhile, Chiang Mai tourism entrepreneurs were asked to discuss preparations for anticipated tourist demand during a forum held by the Tourism Industry Council of Chiang Mai and the Pinkanakorn Development Agency (PDA) yesterday. The forum was aimed at encouraging local tourism entrepreneurs to discuss opportunities for welcoming more Indian tourists as the Covid-19 pandemic eases. Saisit Jetsiktat from the PDA said Chiang Mai has become popular among Indians after tourism organisations visited the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange 2022 in New Delhi earlier in the year. Indian tourists have become a target for the Chiang Mai tourism industry as international travel remains a hurdle for Chinese tourists, Mr Saisit said.

Prayut faces censure but eyes keeping power in 2023 electionPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha chairing the Police Commission meeting at the Royal Thai Police office on June 20, 2022. He is encountering another tough test as he is set to face a fourth no-confidence motion. The issues are similar to those Gen Prayut had been accused of in a 2021 no-confidence motion. Gen Prayut, a former army general who led a military coup in May 2014, assumed the premier post of the military government in August that year. In Thailand, a prime minister is elected by votes cast by members of the lower house and junta-appointed senators.

2.21 million visitors so far this yearTourists arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport. In the first six months this year there have been 2.21 million foreign visitors. (File photo: Somchai Poomlard)Thailand has welcomed 2.21 million visitors so far this year, with generated revenue of 125 billion baht, according to official figures. The total number of visitors from Jan 1 to July 6 was 2,214,132, generating 125 billion baht in revenue for the country. Bangkok had the highest number of foreign visitors, Dr Taweesilp said.

On Friday the government extended the state of emergency for two more months until Sept 30. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)The government has extended the state of emergency for another two months, until the end of September, "only to facilitate its efforts to control Covid-19 and protect people's lives", according to a spokesman. CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said after the meeting that the state of emergency would be extended from Aug 1 to Sept 30. The state of emergency was imposed by virtue of the Executive Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations. Over the past two years, they say, the emergency has been invoked mainly to deal with political protests.

At a meeting with ministry executives on Thursday, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob cited the high-speed railway project linking three key airports. The project will link Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao airports, and allow a seamless route to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Saksayam said people who have been affected by the project should be attended to as soon as possible. He said they should either be compensated or given a new residence as required by law. He also instructed SRT to survey other affected communities in the following areas to determine appropriate aid, namely:• In Bangkok’s Bang Sue and Chatuchak districts, where SRT is carrying out land-development projects• Makkasan swamp area, where SRT will develop a residential project• Along Nakhon Ratchasima-Nong Khai high-speed rail project• Along Surat Thani-Hat Yai-Songkhla dual-track rail projectThe Department of Highways, meanwhile, was instructed to survey communities in the following areas:• Samut Sakhon’s Thajin subdistrict affected by the Rama II-Wang Manao elevated expressway construction• Saphan Ruamjai community in Bangkok’s Don Mueang district affected by the construction of department’s new district officeSaksayam instructed both SRT and the highways department to send officials to talk to affected residents and coordinate with local authorities to identify the problems, so correct steps can be taken.

Published byThe Bangkok PostTwo big stars team up in The Man From Toronto, but the plot fails to impress with run-of-the-mill comedy and action published : 8 Jul 2022 at 04:00 newspaper section: [Life](http://search.bangkokpost.com/search/result_advanced?category=news&xNewsSection=Life) Patrick Hughes, the director who gave us the franchise The Hitman’s Bodyguard, has created a long-lost cousin with The Man From Toronto, an action-packed film starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson as a screw-up salesman and the world’s deadliest assassin who run into each other, form an odd friendship, and set out on an adventure for an…Read More

Just one tendril of the crypto meltdownThe Voyager Digital app is visible on an iPhone screen on July 1 in San Anselmo, California. (Photo: AFP)Voyager Digital, a major cryptocurrency investment firm, declared bankruptcy on July 6 after crypto hedge fund Three Arrow Capital (3AC) defaulted on a US$650 million loan. Voyager Digital is a crypto lender that has multiple services, such as cryptocurrency or fiat currency deposits that provide high interest rates and loans. Large funds like 3AC have filed for bankruptcy and defaulted on their loans, including the $650 million loan from Voyager. Stephen Ehrlich, chief executive of Voyager, vowed the company will continue to operate despite the bankruptcy.

Prayut vows to speed up projects if he returns as PMPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, flanked by Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, right, and Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin, pays his respect to the city pillar in Muang district of Kamphaeng Phet where he inspected water management projects on Thursday. (Government House photo)Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has vowed to accelerate government projects if he returns as prime minister after the next election. Gen Prayut was in the lower northern province to inspect a local water management programme and discuss new irrigated water sources. "Please know that the prime minister is impatient and wants to finish all the work quickly," he added. After Kamphaeng Phet, he took a trip to nearby Phichit and Nakhon Sawan where he also received a warm welcome.

Social networking sites also erupted when someone recently posted a video showing an ice cream of the Zhong Xue Gao brand remaining rock solid even after being left at room temperature (31 degrees Celsius) for an hour. Yet another video showed an ice cream of the same brand not melting even after being exposed to the flame of a lighter, triggering concerns about how safe it was for consumption. Therefore, more than 40 per cent of it is solid matter, 20 per cent higher than the national standard. Regarding carrageenan, the company reiterated what is common knowledge, that it is a natural extract from red algae and widely used as a thickening agent in ice creams and beverages. From the time it was established, China-based Zhong Xue Gao has been dubbed the "Hermes of ice cream" and holds a prime market position.

Consumer mood rises for first time in 6 months in JuneShoppers at the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok on July 2, 2022 (Bloomberg photo)Thai consumer confidence in June picked up for the first time in six months, bolstered by improved economic activity following an easing of Covid-19 curbs, but high living costs remained a worry, a survey showed on Thursday. The consumer index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce rose to 41.6 in June from 40.2 in the previous month.

The operators believe a visa exemption and longer stay would encourage more foreign tourists to visit Thailand and stay longer, and thus spend more in the kingdom. They also pointed out that the two proposals would support the government’s Visit Thailand Year 2022-2023 policy. “If the current rate of international arrivals continues, the number of foreign tourists will exceed one million per month. TAT expects about one million foreign tourists to arrive each month in the third quarter or from July to September. He said TAT expects about 9.5 million foreign tourists to visit Thailand this year – if there are enough flights for them.