Thailand's "uneven" economic recovery cannot be fixed only by adjusting interest rates, the central bank said on Monday, hitting back at the government's calls to ease monetary policy to help revive sluggish activity. "The fact that the economy has not recovered comprehensively, these are all things that monetary policy cannot easily solve as a quick fix because many things require treatment that matches the root of the problem," Mr Piti said. His comments came after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin last week met with central bank officials to urge them to cut the policy rate, which is at a decade-high of 2.50%. The central bank left its policy rate unchanged in November after raising it by 200 basis points since August 2022 to curb inflation. On Monday, Mr Piti said falling prices do not indicate deflation and that negative inflation is being driven by government subsidies.

Indonesia's Marapi volcano erupted on Sunday, with ash rising 4,300 feet (1,300 meters) from the peak six weeks after a fatal eruption, according to the country's geological agency.

Govt planning Muay Thai visa for foreignersThe government plans to introduce a special visa for foreign tourists who want to visit Thailand to practise Muay Thai. Pimol Srivikorn, an adviser to the prime minister and chairman of the government's subcommittee for driving sports-related activities, said members decided at a meeting on Friday to promote Muay Thai as one of the country's so-called soft powers. With a tourist visa, a foreigner can stay in Thailand for up to 60 days but with a special visa for learning Muay Thai, they could stay for 90 days, he said. The government will set a standard level to be attained at the classes and also certification for Muay Thai teachers so the national fighting art can be accurately disseminated around the world, he said. In addition, the government will promote Muay Thai through the Now Muay Thai (www.nowmuaythai.com) website, a platform for foreigners interested in the sport, to choose courses around Thailand.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin opened a Ministry of Education activity to mark Children's Day on Saturday. It was based on the concept of active learning anywhere, anytime. (Video by Jetjaras Na Ranong)

Democracy riddleRe: "Déjà vu as charter court weighs MFP ban", (Opinion, Jan 12). In his article, Thitinan Pongsudhirak always questions whether the sovereignty of the country really belongs to Thais. After so many elections, dissolutions of parties, jailing of opposition leaders, activists, and military coups, the answer should be clear. To an outsider, all Thai institutions follow a well-orchestrated hierarchical tradition or a ritual of becoming subservient to the new masters. Hence, we should not waste time understanding Thai democracy.

Six missing as authorities pledge to launch more safety checksAn excavator loads coal onto a train in Pingdingshan in Henan province of central China. (Reuters File Photo)SHANGHAI - At least 10 people have died and six are missing after a coal mine accident in the city of Pingdingshan in central China, the local emergency management agency said on Saturday. A safety inspection campaign in coal-rich Pingdingshan, in Henan province, could disrupt coal production there and strain coal supplies. Last November, coal prices in China jumped after the country’s cabinet vowed to ramp up safety checks as deaths from accidents in Shanxi, the top coal producing region, had risen sharply. The Pingdingshan emergency management bureau said in a statement that the accident occurred around 2.55pm local time on Friday due to a coal and gas outburst at a mine owned by Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining.

The TAT has launched the 'Thais Always Care' campaign under the concept 'Land of Care' to strengthen tourist confidence and promote tourism in the kingdom throughout 2024.

Intestinal length: The length of the human intestines is much more like that of herbivorous animals than that of carnivores. Humans tend to have intestines that are 10 to 11 times their body length. How did humans end up eating meat? Scientists believe that it was climate change that originally caused the shift towards meat eating. Even once our early ancestors began eating meat, they primarily scavenged the leftovers of larger predators instead of hunting for themselves.

Re: “No delay to digital wallet plan”, (BP, Jan 10). There has never been so much double talk on the legitimacy of the government’s proposed digital wallet plan in the media. An example of a critical problem was when Thailand was facing financial bankruptcy in 1997 and had to borrow from the IMF. Unfortunately, it is impossible for the council to define in a clear-cut way what is a critical problem. The alternative is to drop the plan, which is politically suicidal, after drumming up great hopes.

Innobic sells entire AMOLH stakeBuranin Rattanasombat, chairman of Innobic (Asia)Innobic (Asia) Co, the life sciences arm of national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc, has sold its entire stake in its pharmaceutical firm to restructure, aiming to refocus in the segment. Innobic holds shares in AMOLH through its subsidiary Alvogen Emerging Markets Holdings. It holds a 37% share in Lotus Pharmaceutical. Up to 85% of the earnings came from Lotus Pharmaceutical. Innobic is preparing to build a 1.3-billion-baht production facility of active pharmaceutical ingredients, which contain active ingredients able to relieve illnesses.

Hitoshi Imaoka, a fellow with IT and network technologies company NEC, has unveiled a new system that combines AI with facial recognition technology to take vital signs in elderly individuals, winning a CES 2024 Innovation Award in Artificial Intelligence.

(Photo: Ministry of Agriculture)Over 22 million rai covered by Sor Por Kor 4-01 documents, widely known as land rights for the poor, will be upgraded to land title deeds for agriculture within five years, according to Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow. The ministry hopes to convert the status of 22 million rai of land under its responsibility within five years. Capt Thamanat said that more than 200,000 people have registered for the land title upgrade and that the Agricultural Land Reform Office branches in each province are ready to support them. Some 22 million rai of Sor Por Kor land is now occupied by 1.6 million families. In 1995, then-agriculture minister Suthep Thaugsuban was accused of overseeing the granting of Sor Por Kor land to wealthy and connected people in Phuket.

An Ecuadorean journalist who was held hostage by gunmen during the takeover of a Guayaquil TV station and obliged to appear on camera at gunpoint told Reuters on Wednesday (January 10) the experience was "surreal."

Bitfinex, HTX and Kucoin are among eight exchanges whose apps are no longer available on the App Store in India. The move marks a significant escalation of India’s crackdown on offshore crypto platforms, which started on Dec 28 when authorities notified nine exchanges that they were suspected of misconduct. Indian crypto traders had already began moving deposits to local exchanges that abide by the country’s regulations, fearful of losing access to their funds. In 2022, authorities delivered a major blow to local crypto exchanges by introducing a tax on transactions that caused trading volumes to plummet. Local exchanges had complained that the 1% levy drove Indian crypto traders to offshore platforms that did not impose it, further hurting their revenues.

Govt gets green light to borrow to finance digital handout plan: ministerDeputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat welcomes supporters of the digital wallet scheme at the Pheu Thai Party's headquarters in October last year. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)The government’s plan to fund a 500 billion baht cash handout with special borrowing legislation got the green light from its legal adviser, clearing a key hurdle to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s controversial stimulus programme. The Council of State said it is within the government’s power to enact the borrowing bill for the cash stimulus scheme, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat told reporters on Monday. The so-called digital wallet plan could still face legal challenges from those opposed to the handout. A committee tasked to oversee the cash handout programme will meet soon to discuss the draft bill and plan the timeline of cash distribution, Mr Julapun said.