Pheu Thai, prove yourself
Pheu Thai, prove yourselfAs the drum roll begins for the no-confidence debate, ironically it is not the government but the opposition Pheu Thai Party that has come under pressure. Led by Pheu Thai, the motion calling for the censure debate was backed by 208 MPs. Pheu Thai may be the largest party with the highest number of MPs but it is not the most unified one by any means. The petition was originally signed by 50 MPs but two Pheu Thai lawmakers withdrew their names. With a fortnight to go, Pheu Thai and the other opposition parties will have to work hard to prove their points.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 26, 2021 23:48 UTC
Retest senior drivers for road safety
Retest senior drivers for road safetyA licence applicant looks at traffic signs to prepare for a test. Pattanapong HirunardShould senior drivers holding lifetime driving licences have a retest to see if they are still fit to drive? But when the idea to retest senior drivers over 70 was floated, it was immediately attacked and subsequently dropped. To be fair, many questions arose when the proposal to retest senior drivers over 70 emerged. It resurfaces every time there are efforts to address the issue of senior drivers and road safety.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 26, 2021 23:48 UTC
Check your COVID infection risk with simple assessment system
Check your COVID infection risk with simple assessment systemThe new surge of COVID-19 comes closer than expected. For those who are worried of being infected or not infected with COVID-19 and don’t want your worries become anxiety, you can try “BKK COVID-19” to check infection risk by yourselves. Its problem-solving procedures can help you assess infection risk by just filling in true information with 3 simple assessment steps as following:1) Risk history assessment2) Temperature and fever history assessment3) Respiratory symptoms assessmentThe system will give knowledge and advice on how to behave for both low-risk and high-risk persons. It is pivotal to the screening of COVID-19 infected persons. Giving false information may increase the risk for COVID-19 screening and disease can be spread to other people.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 26, 2021 06:32 UTC
Motorcyclist dies in horrendous accident | Bangkok Post: learning
(Photo: Manit Sanubboon)PRACHIN BURI: A motorcyclist was hit by a pickup and then run over by two trailer trucks on a highway in Muang district on Monday night. The motorcycle fell on the road with Nonthakorn, whose left leg had been paralysed by polio, trapped underneath it. Before she was able to free him, an 18-wheel trailer truck loaded with cassava roots ran over the motorcycle with Nonthakorn still under it. The truck dragged the motorcycle, with Nonthakorn still trapped under it, along the road for about 50 metres before stopping. Another 18-wheel trailer truck, also loaded with cassava roots, then also ran over the motorcycle and Nonthakorn.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 26, 2021 03:33 UTC
914 new cases in Samut Sakhon | Bangkok Post: learning
A disease control worker sprays disinfectant on a migrant worker at a field hospital in Samut Sakhon province on Jan 10. The latest report brought the total number of confirmed cases in Samut Sakhon to 6,555, according to the province's public relations office. Earlier on Monday, assistant spokesperson for the CCSA, Apisamai Srirangsun, said the public health officials are aiming to test 10,000 people a day in Samut Sakhon until the end of the month. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday the Public Health Ministry will present its recommendations for reopening to the CCSA, with a focus on the economic impact on business operators. The safeguards, he said, will differ from province to province, depending on the severity of the Covid-19 situation in the area.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 26, 2021 01:41 UTC
South Korea's Kakao affiliates to merge
South Korea's Kakao affiliates to mergeSouth Korea's mobile content platform provider Kakao Page Corp and its entertainment affiliate Kakao M Corp have announced they will merge into a giant entity, called Kakao Entertainment, to create a digital entertainment powerhouse and gear up for global expansion, including the launch of a digital comic-reading platform in Thailand in the first half. Both companies are under Kakao Corp, the technology conglomerate behind South Korea's major messaging app Kakao Talk. "The merged firm, Kakao Entertainment, will have robust synergy in the content business and digital platforms," Jayden Kang, chief operating officer for overseas and vice-president of Kakao Page, told the Bangkok Post. Kakao Page began making inroads into Asean via Indonesia. In 2018, it acquired an Indonesian platform Web Comics and eventually rebranded this into Kakao Page Indonesia.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 22:18 UTC
Long winding road to ruin
"I do not seriously believe that the pandemic has necessarily increased the number of people gambling, or for that matter gambling disorders," said psychiatrist Dr Apichat Jariyavilas. We can also term it as gambling addiction or compulsive gambling. It was found that gambling addiction has effects that are similar to people with alcoholism. Of course, as we have often seen, compulsive gambling does eventually cause people to have financial, relationship and work problems. "Positive enforcement from loved ones goes a long way," he said, "while we realise the importance of seeking treatment and the fact that the road to recovery can be time-consuming."
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 22:07 UTC
Section 112 and Covid shots are not a good mix
Section 112 and Covid shots are not a good mixIs Section 112 or the lese majeste law a kill or cure for the government when it comes to its Covid-19 vaccination plan? Questions about the government's vaccine strategy and its effectiveness are likely to become more pronounced. Here, however, we are caught in a strange association between Section 112 of the criminal code and Covid-19 vaccines which shouldn't even exist. Since each charge is punishable by as many as 15 years in prison, Mr Thanathorn could be looking at 165 years in jail if convicted. He vowed to take legal action against "anything that is distorted and not factual" about the government's vaccination plan.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 21:56 UTC
Govt too quick to use S112
Govt too quick to use S112In using Section 112 against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit for raising questions about its vaccine procurement, the Prayut Chan-o-cha government could be said to have, at best, over-reacted. But the prime minister should know this is not the best way to secure public trust in the procurement plan. Then it mentioned a plan to vaccinate 13 million Thais, using 26 million doses, in May, from AstraZeneca and Oxford University. As of yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed a priority list of 19 million who will be the first to be inoculated. Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin, for instance, is among those attaching no importance to clarity.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 21:45 UTC
Longines World Racing Awards Announced Tuesday
Longines World Racing Awards Announced Tuesday#LonginesWorldRacingAwardsThe 2020 Longines World Racing Awards ceremony will be held virtually on Tuesday, 26 January, at 14:00 GMT/9:00 EST. The event, which is organized by the Swiss watch brand Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) will honour the Longines World’s Best Racehorse, the Longines World’s Best Horse Race, and the Longines World’s Best Jockey of the 2020 season. The ceremony will reveal the highest-rated horses in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings as well as the Longines World’s Best Horse Race for 2020. The full list and further information on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings will be available on the IFHA website http://www.ifhaonline.org. To watch the 2020 Longines World Racing Awards live, join us on Tuesday, 26 January, at 14:00 GMT/9:00 EST:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=519M5jiraq8&feature=youtu.be
Source:Bangkok Post
January 25, 2021 04:30 UTC
Leaving the nest
The merger sees the combination of 200 billion baht worth of telecom infrastructure assets and 36 billion in cash flow from the two enterprises. One concern is NT has more than 17,000 employees, many of whom lack actual experience in the competitive telecom service market. NT operates five businesses: hard infrastructure, international service, mobile business, digital infrastructure and service, as well as fixed line and broadband. The present structure has 20 senior executive vice-presidents (SEVPs): 10 each from TOT and CAT Telecom. Before the merger, CAT mobile service (my by CAT) had 2.5 million subscribers and TOT mobile had 180,000 users.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
DES chief seeks nod for B100 mobile aid
The Digital Economy and Society he will seek cabinet approval for 100-baht monthly assistance for two months for mobile subscribers. Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta says he will seek cabinet approval for 100-baht monthly assistance for two months for mobile subscribers of both prepaid and postpaid systems. Once successfully registered, postpaid users will be eligible for a 100-baht monthly discount provided by operators for two months. Prepaid subscribers are also allowed a 100-baht monthly credit for two months. An executive of a major mobile operator who requested anonymity said mobile operators rejected developing a central platform for assistance registration.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
Drowning in plastic
Drowning in plasticLast January, Thailand kicked off the year and a new decade with the ban on single-use plastic bags, initially adopted by department and convenience stores as well as some other retailers, who would no longer provide customers with the plastic bags in order to lessen the environmental impact. The convenience of dumping used plastic bags and other plastic items takes a toll on the environment. The ban on single-use plastic bags was the first step of the country's long-term plastic waste management plan, which will include measures to stop using other items such as cap seals, plastic cups and straws as well as polystyrene food containers. The deliveries generated piles of small ziplock plastic bags, bubble wrap, packaging tape and delivery boxes at my house. One year after the ban on single-use plastic bags, of which we thought we have made a small win in saving the environment, other forms of plastic pollution need to be further addressed.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
Vaccine buy bears up to scrutiny
In fact, Mr Thanathorn criticised the vaccine deal in a Facebook livestream talk, titled "Royally-sponsored vaccine: Who Gains, who loses", on Jan 19. Essentially, Thanathorn raised a few valid questions about the vaccine deal between Siam Bioscience and Oxford-AstraZeneca, from the perspective of someone unaware of the background of the deal. The questions asked include: Why was only Siam Bioscience allowed to procure the vaccine, and not the other pharmaceutical companies? And why was the government giving taxpayers' money, amounting to about 500 million baht, to Siam Bioscience under its vaccine development programme? Mr Thanathorn is complaining about being gagged by the lese majeste charge for speaking out about the vaccine deal.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:48 UTC
Old solutions no answer to dust menace
Old solutions no answer to dust menaceThe polluted morning skyline, as seen from Phra Pok Klao Bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Klong San district. Mr Varawut said he has "asked" provincial governors to "ask" farmers in their area to avoid burning farm waste. Yet state agencies still have no idea what to do about it, apart from "asking for cooperation". Last month, the Centre for Air Pollution Mitigation (CAPM) said state agencies are working hard to tackle pollutants at their source to reduce the fine dust pollution. The problem will persist as long as state agencies stick to the same solutions of the past.
Source:Bangkok Post
January 24, 2021 23:37 UTC