Ariya, Rory return to winner's circle
LOS ANGELES: Former world No.1 Ariya Jutanagarn shot an incredible closing 63 to win the Honda LPGA Thailand beating her Thai compatriot Atthaya Thitikul by one stroke on Sunday. Ariya Jutanugarn lifts the Honda LPGA Thailand trophy at Siam Country Club in Chon Buri on Sunday. Her world ranking dropped to No.33 before the LPGA Thailand but moved up 12 places to No.21 after Sunday's win. Half a world away another former world No.1, Rory McIlroy, celebrated his first win in 553 days and a return to the top 10 on Sunday at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jordan Spieth hadn't won since the 2017 Open Championship at Birkdale when he won the Texas Open last month.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 12, 2021 00:22 UTC
Event staff can claim SSF benefits
Event staff can claim SSF benefitsThe Labour Ministry says the law does allow employees of event-organising firms forced to suspend their operations because of the Covid-19 crisis to claim compensation from the Social Security Fund (SSF). Mr Suchart said the firms were desperate as they could no longer shoulder the expenses. Mr Suchart has now confirmed employees from event-organising firms are eligible to collect compensation from the fund. The association also insisted that for employers who have had to suspend their businesses, their employees should be entitled to unemployment benefits at a rate of 50-62% from the Social Security Fund. Moreover, the SSF's unemployment benefits do not cover the business losses of event organisers.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 12, 2021 00:22 UTC
Fight the PM2.5 war for clean air now
Fight the PM2.5 war for clean air nowAn official uses a hose to wash out dirt and pollutants from a vehicle's exhaust pipe. To reduce PM2.5 emissions, Thailand has adopted European emission standards. Set up by the European Union, these standards are divided into two categories: exhaust emission standards and fuel standards. However, without supplementary measures, raising the Euro emission standards alone won't significantly reduce PM2.5 emissions. Through concerted efforts to reduce the emission of highly hazardous PM2.5 from all major sources, it is possible to bring clean air back into our lives once again.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 11, 2021 22:41 UTC
TQM posts dip in Covid insurance
Covid insurance products from TQM have generated 700 million baht in sales during the first four months of 2021. In April TQM recorded 500 million baht in premiums received for Covid-19 micro-insurance, a type of protection covering claims related to the disease. In terms of insurance for vaccine allergies, TQM has not reported any claims for this ailment. According to data from the Office of the Insurance Commission, from February 2020 to April 22 of this year Covid insurance tallied 13.8 million policies. For example, around mid-April, Southeast Insurance priced its premium package for Covid insurance at 1,037 baht for a lump-sum protection of 200,000 baht in case of Covid diagnosis and accidental death.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 11, 2021 22:41 UTC
Boost jab confidence
Boost jab confidenceThe government needs to boost public confidence in its Covid-19 vaccination rollout plan immediately and ensure that more people take part in the campaign. The government's vaccination plan did not get off to a good start. The risk is that mass inoculation could falter unless the government makes every effort to give it a boost. The reality is that confidence both in the available vaccines and government's response in the event of side-effects is low. Only a full declaration about the vaccines' efficacy and possible side-effects will fix the vaccine hesitancy syndrome gripping the population.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 11, 2021 22:41 UTC
Startups join fight against coronavirus
Startups join fight against coronavirusLocal startups have joined hands to help in the fight against Covid-19 by using digital technology to help streamline work processes at field hospitals and support a queue management system for vaccinations. At least four startups have joined forces to support automated workflows at a field hospital managed by Chulalongkorn University. Meanwhile, apartment management system provider Horganice has arranged a bed booking system at the facility. "We have combined the strength of each startup and spent two weeks deploying technology at Chula Field Hospital," said Mr Rungsun. "We plan to roll it out at Banglamung Hospital and Thammasat Field Hospital."
Source:Bangkok Post
May 11, 2021 00:22 UTC
Border control is imperative
Border control is imperativeWhile the county battles its menacing third wave of Covid-19, experts have recently come out to warn that if there is a fourth, it is likely to be the result of illegal border crossings. From Jan 1-May 9, officials arrested 15,378 illegitimate border crossers -- the majority migrant labourers from Myanmar (6,072), Cambodia (5,114) and Laos (882). There is also the unthinkable possibility that if Covid is not brought under control, variants could emerge that render vaccines ineffective before they have even been widely administered. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, with his gamut of self-given legal powers, must make border control as much of a priority as stockpiling vaccines to achieve the fabled herd immunity that is beginning to seem more like a speck on the horizon than an achievable goal. It is imperative that the government pulls itself together to prevent this and subsequent waves of Covid-19 becoming deadly tsunamis of tragic proportions.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 23:26 UTC
Thamanat 'dirt' splatters all over govt
Thamanat 'dirt' splatters all over govtThe Constitutional Court's ruling has cleared the way for Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow but cast enormous doubts over his boss Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. It's rather ironic but now that Capt Thamanat has been officially whitewashed, the "dirt" seems to have been splattered all over his supporters. Capt Thamanat categorically denied this. Capt Thamanat survived the censure debate with 269 votes of confidence from his party and coalition members. Known as the government's fixer, Capt Thamanat said himself that he is the main artery supplying blood to the government's heart.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 23:26 UTC
Thailand Post boss eyes digital shift
Mr Dhanant says his first priority at Thailand Post is to enhance service quality for both online and offline activities. He told the Bangkok Post his mission is to transform Thailand Post's management and operations into a tech-driven organisation called "Thailand Post Digital". In the past, Thailand Post was one department under the Communications Authority of Thailand, the former name of CAT Telecom. Thailand Post is at the forefront in this segment, but faces threats from foreign operators, he said. Kerry Express Thailand, a major competitor to Thailand Post, posted 18.9 billion baht in revenue and 1.4 billion in profit in 2020.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:11 UTC
Estonia offers local e-residency option
Estonia offers local e-residency optionMr Haav says Bangkok is an important centre for business and finance in Asean. E-residents can run a business from anywhere in the world, however e-residency does not provide citizenship or physical residency benefits, or the right to travel to Estonia or the EU. Over 80,000 people from more than 170 countries have applied for the e-residency programme, with 16,000 firms established in Estonia, he said. "It was clear to us when we started planning our expansion that we needed to establish an Estonian e-residency card pick-up point in Bangkok. According to Mr Kaljulaid, Estonia is ready to welcome more freelancers, entrepreneurs, business owners and location-independent workers from around the world to join its e-residency programme.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:11 UTC
Harnessing nature for the future
The goal is to enable students and parents to earn a living from the lessons they learn from the programme's activities. They said they enjoyed growing a mangrove forest in their community and helping collect rubbish at Pak Duat beach in front of the school. They also helped their parents raise mussels at Pak Duat beach, which they use to make fish sauce for sale, with the knowledge they obtained from the programme. Adul Sakolviroj, 66, head of a group of parents at the school, said the programme is beneficial to his community. Ms Oumpornrant said the majority of students in her school are from low-income families and that their parents are fishermen.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
One man alone can't solve Covid crisis
One man alone can't solve Covid crisisKlong Toey residents go about their daily lives as usual despite low testing and vaccination rates amid an active outbreak. But, alas, they went back home in hordes because the prime minister made the wrong decision, which for some has proved to be fatal. Over the weekend, the prime minister said he had just made several important decisions. Today, it is a hotbed of Covid-19 infections, posing a real challenge to the BMA and the prime minister. When will Prime Minister Prayut learn from his past mistakes?
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
Choice of jabs needed
Choice of jabs neededThere are no signs the Covid-19 pandemic will leave us any time soon. Thus, it is important for Thailand to stockpile vaccines and let the public choose their own vaccines. That's why the government is racing against time amid high global demand in Covid-19 vaccine market to build up a local stockpile. It should rope in the private sector including private hospitals and corporates, to give the public a choice of jabs. Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri last week said a committee on the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines had agreed Covid-19 vaccines would be added to the controlled goods list.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
Foreign labour poses new threat
Authorities have vowed to take tough legal action against illegal migrant workers and smugglers as new Covid-19 infection clusters were detected at workplaces employing foreign migrants. He was responding to reports on social media that migrants from neighbouring countries had sneaked across the border into Thailand. "In the next few months, the variant found in India may slip across the border into Thailand from Myanmar. Business operators are now importing illegal migrants again," Dr Thiravat said. Five recent Covid-19 imports from neighbouring countries have underscored the danger of the virus being brought into Thailand by illegal border crossers, authorities say.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 09, 2021 23:48 UTC
The eyes have it in the big cover-up
The eyes have it in the big cover-upComing from our Not Particularly Surprising News Department is a report that owing to the Covid pandemic lipstick sales have slumped quite markedly. The eyes have always played a crucial role in communicating and these days the "peepers" are even more important. Dolly Parton is another red lipstick fan, "the redder the better". During wartime, working women in Britain were encouraged by Winston Churchill to wear strong red lipstick to boost the population's morale. The reluctant flapperThe only time I ever wore lipstick was on one occasion in the mid-1960s when our church youth club performed a spoof on fashion shows.
Source:Bangkok Post
May 08, 2021 22:41 UTC