Ask public over promenade
Ask public over promenadeThe Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has been praised for two urban public park projects. These two projects have received a positive response for their creativity and the level of public participation involved. Critics have warned the flood wall and promenade structure will adversely affect the river's navigability, flood drainage, not to mention causing pollution that will hurt tourism instead of helping it. It also trashed the BMA's explanation that the public will lose out if the promenade and bicycle lane are scrapped. Otherwise, the Chao Phraya Riverside promenade will remain a pipe dream that turned into a nightmare.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 05, 2021 23:26 UTC
A puzzling lack of logic in govt vaccine strategy
A puzzling lack of logic in govt vaccine strategyThe coronavirus stays alive and continues to spread because it is constantly changing. It keeps repeating that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be produced here under a technology transfer deal by the palace-owned biopharmaceutical company Siam Bioscience, is the country's best bet. The United States has also put Johnson & Johnson in charge of the plant that mixed ingredients for the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines. He and the government are still banking on the AstraZeneca vaccine. While it is true that at this point the AstraZeneca vaccine is still approved for continued use by the WHO, the downsides are becoming apparent.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 05, 2021 23:26 UTC
35km of new Korat motorway to be open for Songkran
35km of new Korat motorway to be open for SongkranA section of the Bang Pa-in-Nakhon Ratchasima highway along scenic Lam Takong reservoir in the northeaster province. (Photo: Prasit Tangprasert)NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A 35-kilometre section of the new motorway between Bang Pa-in and Nakhon Ratchasima will be opened for trial use from April 9-19 to ease expected traffic congestion during the Songkran festival. Mr Chitpol said about 200,000 vehicles use the Friendship Highway through Nakhon Ratchasima every day, on average, during the traditional Songkran festival. Opening the 35km section of the new motorway would accommodate about 40,000 vehicles per day, relieving the traffic problem during the festival, Mr Chitpol said. It runs parallel with the Phahon Yothin and Mitraphap highways and ends at the Nakhon Ratchasima bypass in Muang district.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 05, 2021 05:01 UTC
An ounce of prevention
An ounce of preventionMahatma Gandhi once said: "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver". Approaching World Health Day, which falls on April 7 every year, we can review how we have invested in our health -- the real wealth. I guess I have bad habits to break to get back on the road to good health, otherwise, I would have to pay a price for the neglect. This is addressed in the World Health Day 2021 campaign, themed "Building a fairer, healthier world". But above all, prevention is better than cure and maintaining good health through the Gandhian way of life is a self-reliant DIY project.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 04, 2021 23:26 UTC
Thailand must lend a hand to the Karen
Thailand must lend a hand to the KarenPeople cook in a forest following an air strike in Papun district, Karen state, Myanmar on Friday. Since last week, some 3,000 people from Myanmar's southeastern Karen state fled to Thailand after the military bombarded areas held by an ethnic armed group, the Karen National Union (KNU). Thai officers told Karen people that they would get into trouble if they let them cross the border to Thailand. Thai leaders must extend help to those in agony, allocating manpower and budget. Since Thailand hasn't welcomed them, many Karen have gone into hiding in the jungle, and according to Transbordernews.in.th, their food and water supplies run out.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 04, 2021 23:15 UTC
Pension fund must proceed
Pension fund must proceedWith the elderly population rapidly increasing, social security issues have become a major concern for the country. The cabinet last week approved a law to set up a national pension fund. Despite the cabinet endorsement, questions remain as to how soon the national pension fund act will come into effect. Of course the national pension fund or mandatory provident fund, if set up, would be a burden to business operators. Above all, the long-awaited pension fund will materialise only if the government has sincerity and pushes ahead with it seriously.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 04, 2021 23:15 UTC
Misconceptions about innovation
But innovation isn’t about having the most original idea; in fact, it begins with understanding a problem and finding ways to solve it. Customers’ needs change over time and as the world around them changes; therefore there is truly no end-goal with innovation. The truth is that innovation needs to be embedded in the culture of the organisation, as part of its everyday routine. In a similar manner as the second misconception, innovation shouldn’t be looked at as a final target. Innovation, as previously mentioned, is about understanding customers’ problems and finding a way for the organisation to solve those problems.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 04, 2021 23:15 UTC
The magical world of far away places
The magical world of far away placesEarlier this week I was chatting with friends about which places around the globe captured their imagination most when they were kids. For a start the name sounded exotic and I had no idea where it was except it was far away. Re-enforcing the mystery of the place were dictionaries which stated Timbuktu was "a metaphor for far away places" with the Oxford English Dictionary even interpreting it as "the most distant place imaginable". At least the citizens of the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye are aware of Timbuktu, the two places being twinned since 2007. So, for the people of Hay, the expression "from here to Timbuktu" may carry a little more meaning, but it is still basically a long, long way.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 04, 2021 00:56 UTC
Cops probe venues after cluster
Police at Thong Lor and Klong Tan stations in Bangkok are investigating if night entertainment venues linked to a new Covid-19 cluster have complied with disease control measures. Pol Maj Gen Piya said he has also ordered police citywide to regularly inspect night entertainment venues and strictly enforce the communicable disease control law during the Songkran holiday on April 10-16. The BMA has asked those who visited the entertainment venues during March 25-30 to evaluate their risk at http://bkkcovid19.bangkok.go.th and take Covid-19 swab tests. He said the transmission of Covid-19 linked to entertainment venues in Bangkok's Bang Phlat district is under control and public health authorities need their cooperation to keep it that way. We don't want to tighten the disease control measures," he said.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 23:26 UTC
Respect the role of journalists
Respect the role of journalistsThe government has been raising eyebrows recently with its approach to journalists. What garnered less attention was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' new guidelines for issuing media and official visas to foreign journalists and correspondents based in Thailand. The number of hoops which foreign journalists must jump through in the kingdom has increased. Not all journalists write reports -- there are also camera operators, photographers or documentary makers, to name a few. Officials here are often too defensive about media reports, fretting that only negative things get reported.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 23:26 UTC
Enforce the helmet rule
Enforce the helmet ruleSongkran, a joyful, traditional New Year festival that begins on April 13, has its own dark side. It aims to reduce road accidents and casualties by at least 5% to reduce the three-year average of 3,405 accidents and 378 deaths in 2017–2019. One of the major reasons that road safety campaigns have failed is their broad scope, and a failure to address the problem at its core. Road safety campaigns, including anti-drunk driving measures for festivals like Songkran and New Year, have primarily focused on large vehicles — public buses and private vehicles. Data released by the Interior Ministry showed that 74.4% of all road accidents involved motorcycles.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 03:00 UTC
Baseball's All-Star Game moved from Atlanta over voting laws
Baseball's All-Star Game moved from Atlanta over voting lawsMajor League Baseball is moving it's scheduled 2021 All Star Game from Atlanta over concerns over new voting laws in the state of Georgia. "The best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year's All-Star Game and MLB Draft," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. US President Joe Biden told ESPN on Wednesday he supported moving the game out of Atlanta over the voting rights law. "Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," Manfred said. "The Atlanta Braves are deeply disappointed by the decision of Major League Baseball to move its 2021 All-Star Game," the club said.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 03, 2021 00:56 UTC
Happy Belated April's Fool Day!
Sometimes I feel like every other day is April's Fool Day in Thailand given the sheer number of unbelievable news stories, for good or bad reasons, that happen. To belatedly celebrate April's Fool Day in a way that the authorities won't have any problems with, I present you with 10 news stories -- your job will be to discern which ones are genuine. Put T in front of the story you think is true and put F if you think it's an April's Fool Day prank, you know the drill. It's was Grab's prank for April's Fool Day back in 2016. Clever businesses will come up with a prank on April's Fool Day to get free media coverage as Wongnai did.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 02, 2021 04:07 UTC
Art festival for enthusiasts and collectors alike
Mango Art Festival. (Photos courtesy of Mango Art Festival)Art enthusiasts and collectors will be pleased to experience various forms of art such as photography, performance, drawing, painting and sculpture as well as product design and craft at "Mango Art Festival", which will be held at Lhong 1919 starting tomorrow until April 6. The festival is divided into five sections -- Bowen Hall, Wharf Hall, Chinese Mansion, Art/Craft & Handmade Accessories and Performance Art. "Mango Art Talk" is another highlight at Bowen Hall. Performance Art includes a performance by the contemporary dance artist Pavida Wachirapanyaporn.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 23:48 UTC
Referendum bill to pass 3rd reading
The referendum bill is expected to sail through the third reading in parliament, said Senator Wanchai Sornsiri, spokesman of a parliamentary committee vetting the bill. The committee on Thursday met to discuss changes made to Sections 10 and 11 of the bill by the Council of State, the government's legal advisory body. There has been concern that the referendum bill, now at the second reading stage, may not see the light of day. That is because the changes made to Section 9 of the bill are feared to be unconstitutional, since the constitution stipulates that only the cabinet can initiate a referendum. The changes put forth by the opposition and approved by the panel, however, authorise MPs and the public to initiate a referendum campaign.
Source:Bangkok Post
April 01, 2021 23:03 UTC