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by Namo Vananupong BANGKOK (NNT) - 6 large water pumps are now being deployed in certain areas of Bangkok to drain excess water from the capital city. The environment minister expects the pumps to help lower water levels in Bangkok once they are operating at full capacity. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Warawut Silpa-archa revealed Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt called him to ask for support in the form of water pumps. He thus ordered the Department of Water Resources to install six 30-inch water pumps at certain locations. One of the pumps was making its way to Phra Khanong pumping station and another was being installed in the Srinagarindra-Bang Na area. The minister said running 3-4 of the large, 30-inch pumps at full capacity will be able to help reduce water levels in Bangkok. Mr. Warawut also spoke of an impending influx of water from north of Bangkok. He said he needs to discuss the potential for drainage of each canal in Bangkok with the city’s governor. Periods of high sea level will also make water discharge difficult and necessitate the use of more water pumps. Nonetheless, the minister said the Department of Water Resources will gladly provide support to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. Source: https://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG220914085418232 -- © Copyright NNT 2022-09-14 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

By Thai Newsroom Reporters POTJAMAN NA Pombejra, former spouse of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, strongly prefers that their youngest daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, not run for head of a post-election government. During yesterday’s Care Clubhouse live podcast, Thaksin said his ex-spouse preferred that Paetongtarn only perform as head of “Pheu Thai Family” and spearhead electoral campaigns of Pheu Thai Party without practically offering herself as candidate for head of government in the next election. “Ing (Paetongtarn’s nickname) will have to win the heart of her mother who strongly preferred she not run for head of government,” said Thaksin, also known as Tony Woodsome. Full story: https://thainewsroom.com/2022/09/14/potjaman-prefers-daughter-not-run-for-pm-thaksin/ -- © Copyright THAI NEWSROOM 2022-09-14 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

While flooding has affected tourism on Koh Chang, some foreign tourists are still making the trip there. Photos: Naewna TNR Staff HIT by heavy rain, floods and landslides the tourist island Koh Chang is now focusing on reviving tourism at yearend by launching sports and entertainment activities as a draw-card, Naewna newspaper said today (Sept. 13). Mr. Saksit Mungkarn, an executive of Siam Royal View Hotel, Koh Chang and chairman of the Tourism Council of Trat province, admitted that the island’s image is currently not very good after photos of a landslide causing a road to collapse circulated last week with this deterring tourists from coming over. However, cancellations by tourists do not greatly affect tourism operators because this is the low season. Full story: https://thainewsroom.com/2022/09/13/flood-hit-koh-chang-focusing-on-reviving-tourism-at-yearend/ -- © Copyright THAI NEWSROOM 2022-09-14 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

By Thai Newsroom Reporters CARETAKER PRIME Minister-cum-Palang Pracharath Party leader Prawit Wongsuwan and Thai Economic Party leader Thammanat Prompao might possibly be kept out of politics for a number of years and the biggest coalition party might possibly as well be dissolved if found guilty of alleged involvement in last year’s handing out of kickbacks in cash to MPs of six splinter parties. Thai Liberal party leader Seripisut Temiyavej confirmed today (Sept. 13) Prawit as top leader of Palang Pracharath Party and Thammanat as former secretary-general of the largest coalition partner might possibly be punished by being legally banned from the political arena if found guilty of involvement in the alleged allocation of “bananas”, figuratively referring to hard cash, to those splinter-party MPs in exchange for their votes of support for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and other cabinet members during last year’s censure/no-confidence motion. The “bananas” were allegedly handed out at the Pa Roi Tor Foundation office located in the premises of the First Infantry Regiment which also houses the residence of the caretaker premier-cum-top leader of the Palang Pracharath Party. Full story: https://thainewsroom.com/2022/09/13/prawit-thammanat-face-ban-from-politics-over-banana-feeding-scandal/ -- © Copyright THAI NEWSROOM 2022-09-14 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

Daniel Grant wakeskating on Phaholyothin road. The Thai headline says, “Thailand is really wow!” Photo: Sanook.com TNR Staff BANGKOK-BORN World Wakeskate 2022 Champion Daniel Grant was summoned and charged with endangering vehicles and people for wakeskating on flooded Phaholyothin road, Sanook.com said this afternoon (Sept. 13). Grant, 24, posted a video clip of himself wakeskating on floodwater in front of Bangkok University in Khlong Luang district of Pathum Thani on Facebook Accompanying caption says, “September Week 1 ???? Bangkok is flooding! ????#WakeskateWednesday in the streets!” Full story: https://thainewsroom.com/2022/09/13/champion-charged-after-wakeskating-on-flooded-road/ -- © Copyright THAI NEWSROOM 2022-09-14 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

22-year-old Mr Peerapong Piakantha, the husband of the victim, told interviewing police on Tuesday he had arrived home from the South with his brother just after his wife’s body was discovered nearby by locals. He said she was 4 to 5 months pregnant and her death was also like losing a child. He told police he had spoken to 19-year-old Kritsana Saeng-arun via video chat on the evening before her death. by James Morris and Son Nguyen Hours after the murder investigation commenced on Tuesday morning when the body was removed from the scene for an autopsy and the husband of the victim was questioned by officers, the superintendent of Klaeng Police Station indicated that police were still collecting evidence and that CCTV footage could be extremely significant as part of the process in identifying those responsible for the murder of the woman. Police in Rayong have launched a murder investigation after a body was found on Tuesday morning in the Klaeng district of the province of a young woman whose 22-year-old husband, according to his testimony, engaged in a video chat with her on Monday evening before arriving home on Tuesday morning from working in the South to find her body had been discovered by locals lying face down in a local pond. Police in Rayong have opened a murder investigation after the body of a 19 year old woman was found in a local pond in the Klaeng district of the province on Tuesday morning in a place known as Nong Waen Farm. Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/09/13/murder-and-rape-19-year-old-woman-in-rayong/ -- © Copyright Thai Examiner 2022-09-14 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

Returning to Thailand – wish fulfilled for new US ambassador US Ambassador Bob Godec during his visit to the Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) over the weekend. US Ambassador-designate to Thailand Bob Godec is in town and spent his first weekend here visiting notable cultural sites in Bangkok. Full Story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1271732-returning-to-thailand-–-wish-fulfilled-for-new-us-ambassador/

By Editor As a follow-up to a Royal Coast Review article about developments towards the Hua Hin Airport being able to welcome international flights, pressure has mounted for government approval of international flights. Mr Udorn Olsson, Chairman of the Phoenix Aviation Group Thailand, has now commented about these developments. As an advisor to the government’s Tourism Committee in the House of Representatives, Mr. Olsson says an urgent agenda item for the Committee to consider was proposed after a request was made by the Hua Hin and Cha-Am Tourism Association. He says the Association sent a request to the Chairman of the Committee to urgently consider expediting the approval of international flights. The request cites the impacts of delaying any further this approval which may conflict with the government’s open country policy, impacting airline operators, the hospitality industry and regional tourism in general. The request refers to Prachuap Khiri Khan Province as a designated pilot area for tourism, and being included in phase 1 of the opening of the country to welcome tourists, mentioning the effects on the tourism industry income from restrictions on the growth of regional tourism industry with any further approval delays. Additional information to the Tourism Committee describes the huge tourism potential of the region as a destination with many five-star hotels and approximately 30,000 rooms in legally registered hotels. Other tourism attractions including golf courses, water parks, shopping centres, hospitals, entertainment venues and many other recreational facilities have been described in the region, extending to Cha-Am and Pranburi. The report to the Committee stresses that this is one of the top tourist destinations in the country. The Committee has been reminded that the Phoenix Group has signed an MOU with Hua Hin Airport including marketing plans for international airlines to fly to Hua Hin Airport. Airlines already expressing their interest include Nok Air, AirAsia, Jetstar, China Express, Greater Bay and GO First, with five airlines making MOUs with the Phoenix Group to fly to Hua Hin Airport. Coordination with the Tourism Authority of Thailand has taken place for these interested airlines to use the services of the Hua Hin Airport. Without international flights being able to fly there would be a huge loss for the regional tourism industry. Mr. Pornthep Wisutwatanasak, Member of the House of Representatives for Prachuap Khiri Khan and a special parliamentary committee, has inspected the airport to better understand any issues. It is understood that he will follow up with the Minister of Transport at the next opportunity. John Laroche, CEO of the Phoenix Group says “Hua Hin has received a bill of good health and support from the special parliamentary committee, which is the last stage for approval for international landings following a series airport upgrades. We look forward to announcements shortly.” Mr. Surasak Phancharoenvorakul, Chairman of the Tourism Committee has been requested to urgently include the issue on the Committee’s agenda. The Committee is understood to now have invited further comment from relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Transport, Department of Airports, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand and some airlines. Mrs. Wasana Srikanjana, President of Hua Hin-Cha-Am Tourism Business Association, who presented the matter for consideration says ‘’We will do our best to develop the tourism potential of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province and Phetchaburi Province for the well-being of all stakeholders involved in our tourism industry.” The previous RCR article may be seen at: https://aseannow.com/topic/1271566-rising-international-arrivals-at-thai-regional-airports-as-hua-hin-waits/ Source: https://royalcoastreview.com/2022/09/pressure-mounts-to-approve-international-flight-to-hua-hin/ -- © Copyright Royal Coast Review 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

by Tanakorn Sangiam BANGKOK (NNT) - The energy crisis is causing a widespread impact on both the household and industrial sectors. The Minister of Energy has urged businesses to adjust their operations in keeping with the current situation. At the Energy Symposium 2022 held by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), Minister of Energy Supattanapong Punmeechaow delivered a special remark on the energy crisis, where he outlined the government’s efforts to mitigate the crisis. He said the Ministry of Energy has been closely monitoring the situation to effectively manage energy resources, especially amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The ministry has so far used some 120 billion baht of funding from the Oil Fuel Fund to help maintain the fuel price, together with a temporary reduction of excise tax. The ministry has been working to allocate alternative fuel options for electricity generation that are cheaper than natural gas in order to keep the Ft tariff affordable. So far, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has absorbed up to 100 billion baht of the difference in the Ft rate, bringing the total amount of government aid to maintain fuel and electricity prices to some 200 billion baht. As natural gas prices are expected to keep rising, the Minister of Energy recommended the industrial sector keep its costs low by saving on energy consumption, upgrading its manufacturing efficiency through innovations, and adopting new business models that help improve its competitiveness and ensure sustainable growth within the sector. Members of the Cabinet are expected to consider a new round of electricity pricing aid measures for September-December 2022 at the weekly meeting tomorrow, along with the extension for diesel oil excise tax reduction. The government is also expected to introduce new tax measures to encourage households to install rooftop solar cells. Source: https://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG220913093700835 -- © Copyright NNT 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

Thailand’s new traffic laws took effect on September 5. However, police have decided to be lenient for the first three months to give motorists time to adjust their road behavior. (Photo by Robert Eklund) By Thai PBS World’s General Desk The transition to new traffic laws, which list more types of offenses and harsher penalties for offenders, has already begun. Here is what you need to know: Three-month grace period Although the new traffic laws took effect on September 5, police have decided to be lenient for the first three months to give Thais time to adjust themselves or improve their road behavior. “We will fine traffic offenders based on the rates used since 2020 for the first three months,” said Pol General Preecha Charoensahayanont, deputy director of the Royal Thai Police Traffic Management Center. “We will also promote public awareness of the new laws during this period,” he added. For example, instead of slapping a speeding driver with the new 4,000-baht maximum fine, traffic police will issue fines of 500 baht during the grace period. Harsher penalties Jumping a red light or failing to stop for pedestrians at a zebra crossing carries a maximum fine of 4,000 baht under the new laws – up from 1,000 baht. Driving against traffic and not wearing a crash helmet or safety belt, meanwhile, come with a maximum fine of 2,000 baht – a fourfold increase from 500 baht. Those found guilty of driving without care for the safety or lives of others face a fine of between 5,000 baht and 20,000 baht and/or a maximum of one year in jail. The penalties are raised from a maximum three-month sentence and a fine of 2,000 to 10,000 baht. Drunk driving is punished especially harshly under the new laws. Convicted drunk drivers face a fine of up to 20,000 baht and/or a jail term of up to one year. If they repeat the same offense in the two years after their first offense, the resulting fine will come with a mandatory jail term. The fine can be as high as 100,000 baht and the jail term as long as two years. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/a-guide-to-thailands-new-rules-of-the-road/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

Sanook Thai Caption: Mysterious steam Sanook went to visit a 66 year old man called Thanakorn Angbunreuang in Chang Khlan sub-district of Muang Chiang Mai. He gleefully showed them where steam was coming up by a wall. He said you could feel heat in the area but he was assured there was no fire. He investigated and found fluctuating electrical currents. But a qualified electrical professional had assured him the electrics were all in working order. He said the house was built there 60 years ago and additional concrete was poured 20 years ago and there had been no problems since. He doubted the electrical expert and was preparing to seek a second opinion convinced it was an electrics issue. Watch the video HERE -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Daily News Thai Caption: Has anyone experienced more (refusals)? Daily News reported on a TikTok video that touched a nerve or two. A guy went online to have a go at taxi drivers who refuse to stop and take passengers in Bangkok. He claimed on the video to have set an all comers record for rejections before the 24th cabby finally let him sit down. He recorded all the excuses and disappointments as he waiting in vain in the rain. The media went with the caption asking its readers if they had been turned down by more taxis than this? -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Picture: Siam Rath Siam Rath reported that a husband and wife couple were gunned down as they drive a motorcycle along the Ban Sakhor Road in Yala, southern Thailand. They were ambushed by probably at least two men who fired from an M-16 at least 4 or 5 times. Abdul Loh, 64, and his wife Sareeda, 63, were riddled with bullets. The motive for the attack is under investigation with police admitting that it could be a personal vendetta as much as southern terrorism. -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

video screenshot Don Mueang police have yet to arrest the assailant who poured acid on a woman outside a beauty shop in the area. A TikTok video showed the dramatic moments as the woman - an employee of the salon - rushes back inside the shop. She is currently recovering in Phra Nang Klao Hospital still unable to give investigators a lead on what happened. But Thai media Daily News is reporting that her assailant was her live-in lover. The couple have a child but are not yet legally married. Pol Col Rangsan Sornsing, chief of the Don Mueang police, said that a charge of assault occasioning harm has been prepared and this may be upgraded when doctors report the extent of the victim's injuries. The suspect remains at large in what police are treating as a domestic jealousy crime. -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

By Adam Judd Pattaya, Thailand-Viral photos, included in this article, of what appears to be a young foreign man sitting on Pattaya Beach Road with beads and signs offering to sell them for one baht to fund his travel around the world have driven fierce debate on social media. The trend, which was common before Covid-19 but has been rarer in recent times, has been called “begpacking” by many. Essentially, it means that one is looking to either beg or sell small items, like the individual seen on Pattaya Beach, to fund their travel around the globe. In this particular case, the unidentified, young, long-haired foreign man was sitting not far from Mike’s shopping mall on Pattaya Beach in the evening of September 12th, selling one baht beads and necklaces. Signs asking to help support his travel were placed near him in Thai and English. Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2022/09/13/viral-begpacker-photos-from-pattaya-beach-road-cause-polarizing-debate-on-social-media/ -- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2022-09-13 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

PrikPot is an online Cannabis dispensary in Thailand that holds the value of “choice” very dearly. Since Thailand boldly became the first Asian nation to decriminalize the plant, PrikPot has boasted a constantly rotating lineup of varied strains and products to give their customers wide ranging choice when it comes to how they enjoy their weed. Now that mindset is taking a big stride forward as the company releases Dip Trip™, a smokeless Cannabis product ideal for anyone looking for different ways to experience weed. Designed and created wholly inhouse, Dip Trip™ comes in pouches with 0.4 grams of Decarboxylated Cannabis, keeping them free of all oils and extracts but more than ready to go. Dip Trip™ can be consumed through one of two methods: 1. Placed under the upper lip like Snus 2. Brewed to make a tea Learn more about Dip Trip™ here: https://go.prikpot.com/aseannowdiptrip The high quality and organic Cannabis in each pouch contains 16-20% THC concentration that delivers a strong and long-lasting high unlike any smoking experience from start to finish. Both methods of enjoyment are exceedingly simple and relaxing, offering customers the ability to harness the results of decarboxylation by activating cannabinoids with additives such as virgin coconut oil before consumption. It is a versatile product that allows for experimentation and discovery in uncovering one’s personal tastes. PrikPot has prepared in-depth instructions and recommendations for Dip Trip™, available to everyone online and delivered in printed form to customers with every purchase. Each canister contains 24 pouches, equaling 10 grams of Cannabis in total. Dip Trip™ is available for shipping now at the introductory price of 1,495 baht, including free shipping all over Thailand. The product is developed in collaboration with Siamsnus, Thailand’s leading manufacturer of snus. Find out more at https://siamsnus.com/ PrikPot is ready and willing to see to your cannabis needs through service, free shipping and ever-evolving product deals. Enter the discount code ASEAN10 during your purchasing process to receive 10% off today. Learn more at: https://go.prikpot.com/aseannowdiptrip

Sanook Thai Caption: School director likes a round of golf Tweeters went atwittering on Redskullxxx after a tweet about a school director in Thailand who turned his kids' football pitch into a golf course. He claimed it was for their benefit but it emerged that many political pals were trotting up for a round. In addition damning photos have emerged of the director allegedly using child labor - students at his school - to pour cement for the golf course, reported Sanook. The school has countered the allegations saying that children who want a game of football can play at other schools - there's an ideal place 2 kilometers away. -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-12 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Daily News Thai Caption: Four dead! Daily News reported yet another mass drowning of young children in the North Eastern region of the country. It was a reminder in a country where motorcycle accidents now rival death from drowning, that in years past drowning was always the number one cause of death in children under 15. Pol Capt Kowit Thongphen of the Kap Choeng police in Surin were called after four children aged 10-12 went missing while swimming. Six children had gone swimming to celebrate after a ceremony in the village to celebrate the building of a new tarmac road into the community. Four had gone swimming while two remained on the bank. These two couldn't swim and were helpless. They rushed off on a motorcycle to alert village elders but by then it was too late. The story did not explain in any detail what exactly happened to the children. Divers fished out the bodies some while later. Picture: Daily News As relatives gathered and consoled each other on the bank there were heartfelt scenes as rescue workers helped the bereaved and administered first aid to people who fainted in grief. Such a tragedy after the happy cultural event in the village must have been traumatizing. A picture published by Daily News showed the tragic scene yesterday. -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-12 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Tony Fernandes, acting Chief Executive Officer of Thai Air Asia X by James Morris and Son Nguyen Key consideration now according to Tony Fernandes is the momentum of growing numbers which generates income for the economy including taxes for the government. Mr Fernandes felt that the fee, at this time, may hinder efforts to attract more visitors and to establish more flight links with Thailand. A top airline executive is urging the Thai government to put off further the proposed Thailand Tourism Fee (TTF) which was postponed from August to later in the year. The levy which is to be collected by airlines flying into Thailand from passengers was put on hold after a top Tourism Ministry official said it was not clear yet how it would apply to visitors arriving by sea and by land. The levy was recommended by a special panel in 2019 to provide extra resources for tourism infrastructure and to introduce automatic health and medical insurance for holidaymakers in the case of an emergency in the kingdom. A top Thai airline executive has called on the government not to go ahead with the proposed ฿300 tourism levy in the short term as the kingdom’s foreign tourism industry is beginning to gain momentum and could be sensitive to any changes at this time. Thailand is understood to have welcomed 4.3 million visitors in the opening eight months of the year although the kingdom still posted a substantial $4.1 billion current account deficit for July 2022 as its economy, like others in the world, labours under elevated energy costs and reduced export growth as national economies reel from the disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine, higher interest rates and reduced demand. Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/09/10/airline-boss-pleads-for-delay-tourism-fee-levy/ -- © Copyright Thai Examiner 2022-09-12 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

By Editor The first ‘Blue Dolphin’ ferry for a Pattaya – Samui route has been officially launched on Saturday, September 10th, with a test run. ‘The Blue Dolphin’ ferry, operated by the Seahorse Ferry, can accommodate up to 200 private cars and 586 passengers with a total of 15 rooms, with five room types. A one-way trip takes approximately about 13 hours. The ferry is described as being more like a cruise ship than a ferry boat, boasting seating options ranging from an entry level reclining seat, to a capsule bed, all the way to first class private quarters that look practically like a hotel room. Prices for the different seats, beds, and room types but it is believed that rooms will be somewhere around the 3,000 THB mark for the overnight journey. The ferry boat also does not skimp on facilities, with a restaurant, spa and massage services, and a variety of nightlife entertainment options. Like a cruise liner, the boat is fully fitted with a bar, karaoke bar, and a disco. Transporting a car or motorbike is easy as well, as the ship boasts two levels of car parking. The test run departed Pattaya on Friday late afternoon and arrived to fanfare in Koh Samui yesterday, A collection of travel industry professionals were invited to an opening night gala aboard the ferry boat featuring an open bar, impressive food spread and live music to celebrate the launch of the new route. When the regular service is launched, the ferry will run between Chon Buri province from Chuksamed Pier in Sattahip and Nathon Pier, the largest pier in Koh Samui where cruise ships have traditionally landed. Regularly scheduled trips are not yet available as the recent trip was a test run, but are expected by the end of September. Booking details will be via SPcruise.com, but the website is not yet live. Source: https://royalcoastreview.com/2022/09/pattaya-to-samui-ferry-launched/ -- © Copyright Royal Coast Review 2022-09-12 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

OPINION | by Rooster The word coming from the BBC was that Queen Elizabeth was being monitored by doctors at Balmoral and her family members were travelling to her bedside. How serious it was was soon patently obvious in comments made by reporters and commentators on foreign news media outside the UK. A royal insider on Al Jazeera said he thought the queen would die within days if not sooner. A reporter said things you’d never hear in the UK, let alone Thailand, about impending doom. Though I’m not much of a royalist my wife gave me a hug and understood. We’d shared such moments nearly 6 years ago when she too had tears in her eyes and felt it was the end of an era that marked her and her family’s lives. Waking in the morning it was still a shock to see those words in the headline we all knew we’d read someday but preferred not to think about. King Charles III…….. For the great majority of British people - and huge numbers of people around the world - the news made us stop, reflect and think. Think about our own personal histories, our own lives, our own families, our own human frailties. And yes, our own mortality. I recalled back in 1997 when I had bawled my eyes out in Bang Na while watching the funeral of Princess Diana on hearing the heartfelt speech from her brother in the pulpit at Westminster Abbey. They were not really tears for the princess herself though I appreciated her humanity. They were tears for my own mother. She died when I was just 16 but I’d suppressed the emotions wanting to be a strong teenager. Now all alone and watching the TV in Bangkok in 1997 aged 36, I finally accepted my grief. My own loss. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, aged 96, having just celebrated her Platinum Jubilee after 70 years on the throne, is one of those life marking events for us all. Like people used to tell me where they were when JFK was shot. Like we remember where we were when the twin towers fell. They may not involve us directly but we feel a part of the event. It touches us all. It touches us deeply. That’s what it is to be human. I took my young children into bed - they’re 6 and 9 - and explained what had happened. And how their many expatriate English teachers at school might feel and what they might like to say. As a dad you could see it meant something to them too. It was a day they, too, might remember forever. Not least for the fact that they are growing up in a society where monarchy plays a daily role in many peoples’ lives. Thais will understand the British people’s sense of loss perhaps more keenly than any other nation. They went through their own national heartache when HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great departed in October 2016. I remembered the tears in the street. The wearing of black for at least a year. The sense of personal loss from the lady at the noodle stand, the urgent calls from gran crying in Loei. The Queen, along with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last year, first visited Thailand in February 1972 when Elizabeth had been on the throne for around 20 years. This followed a visit to England by King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit in 1960. Elizabeth returned to Bangkok and Ayutthaya for another state visit - her last - in late October 1996. Both times she was received by the Thai king, a man who could well understand the promises that she had made as a young lady for the good of her nation, the sacrifices that were necessary. They didn’t get everything right - who does? - but they were both sincere people. I don’t begrudge monarchs their wealth, their standing. Frankly I feel a little sorry for them. I remembered doing a school project about Edward VIII who abdicated for love. It seemed to me, as a young teen, a sad story. My mother was bitter at how he was treated. She was an ordinary London lass who instilled in me a humanity to think beyond the obvious. To think about the person. That’s why this event means so much. World News in the coming days - including here in Thailand - will be dominated by the death of Britain's beloved Lilibet. Some will use it as an occasion to expound their own views of monarchy, both good and bad. That’s understandable. But for this columnist, I’m thinking about a dear old lady who was a mum, a gran and a great gran, a lady who devoted herself to her family and her country. And whose departure from this Earth marks a poignant moment of reflection for us all. Rooster -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-10 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s Camilla, Queen Consort greet the crowd upon their arrival Buckingham Palace in London, on September 9, 2022, a day after Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96. – Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, died at her Scottish Highland retreat on September 8. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) A smiling King Charles III shook hands with some of the thousands of well-wishers gathered outside Buckingham Palace Friday as he returned to London following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II. Shouting “God save the King” and with an impromptu burst of the reworded national anthem, members of the crowd greeted Charles and Queen Consort Camilla after they emerged from their car following a flight from Scotland. The royal standard was raised for the first time in Charles’s reign, as the new monarch and Camilla inspected bouquets of flowers left on the palace fence by members of the public, before entering their new London home. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/god-save-the-king-smiling-charles-greets-crowd-at-palace/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-09-10 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

Photo credit: Russian Embassy Bangkok The Russian Foreign Minister noted Thailand's active role in integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region MOSCOW /TASS/. Russia is grateful to Thailand for an objective assessment of the events in Ukraine and understanding of the true causes of the situation in the international arena, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a news conference following talks with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. "We are grateful to our Thai colleagues for a balanced, objective and responsible position on what is happening in and around Ukraine, we are grateful for understanding the true causes of the current situation in the international arena and we’ve confirmed our willingness to share in detail our assessments of everything that is happening," the minister said. In addition, Lavrov noted Thailand's active role in integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region. "Given Bangkok's chairmanship in APEC (The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation - TASS) this year, we agreed to continue substantive dialogue on the broad agenda of this forum, including preparations for the APEC summit to be held this fall in Thailand," the Russian top diplomat added. Source: TASS

BANGKOK, Sept 9 (TNA) – Acrylamide in coffee emerges naturally during bean roasting and is not harmful to consumers, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA responded to the reports that acrylamide was found in 12 brands of roasted coffee products and 15 brands of instant coffee. The compound was detected in various amounts, with the highest one at 954.47 micrograms per kilogram which breached the safe threshold of the European Union. In fact the Codex Alimentarius Commission which implements the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program and the EU have not set the maximum level of the compound in each kind of food. The safe thresholds of 400μg/kg for roasted coffee and 850 μg/kg for instant coffee are only benchmark levels used for quality control in food processing. Full story: https://tna.mcot.net/english-news-1014191 -- © Copyright Thai News Agency 2022-09-09 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

Picture: Thai Rath Thai Rath reported on a violent crime at a resort in the Phuphaman police jurisdiction in Khon Kaen, north eastern Thailand. A man called Yuthaphan Phuangnuam, 27, took a woman named only as "B", 39, to a resort in the scenic area. They rented Room 3. The husband of the woman found out on social media that they were in the area. He drove his Mercedes Benz and stayed in a resort 1 km away. He then borrowed a staff member's motorcycle and went looking for his wife and her lover at several resorts saying that he was looking for his wife who had forgotten to tell him exactly where she was staying, according to police. When he found out where they were he rented room #4 next to the couple and bided his time. When the couple were in the room - with Yuthphan in an outside jacuzzi style bath and "B" sitting in a wicker chair he burst in through a curtain. He used a 9 mm gun to shoot Yuthaphan once in the neck and twice in the torso. Police found the victim floating in the bloodied bath dressed only in a pair of black shorts. Three shell casings were at the scene. The assailant then drove his wife off with him in her Honda Civic abandoning the bike. Fearing for her life the police soon found the assailant with her in the Civic and took a 9mm gun into evidence. A 40 year old man called Rungroj Thianyoi is helping police with their inquiries. Picture: Thai Rath He was previously involved in a murder and attempted murder case in 2012 in Samut Sakhon. He had also faced gun offences in Samut Sakhon and Khon Kaen. ASEAN NOW notes that it appears the victim in the case messed with the wrong man. Friends told Thai Rath that the deceased had only just met B. His mother in tears at the scene said that he was a warehouseman in Khon Kaen and that he had earlier left the house not saying where he was going. He had never had any trouble with anyone. Until now. Investigations continue with a news conference from police expected to give more details today. -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-09-09 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more! Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information