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Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha addresses the 'Better Thailand: Open Dialogue' forum at Siam Paragon on Thursday. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut) Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha defended his administration's performance over the past eight years, saying he has managed to lead the country through one crisis after another and that he is trying his best to move the nation forward. Gen Prayut was speaking at the "Better Thailand: Open Dialogue" seminar on Thursday, initiated by the government at Siam Paragon. He recounted the day when he decided to seize power almost eight years ago, saying the country was deeply divided, with society polarised over political lines for over a decade. He said the country was bogged down in conflict, leaving the people in distress while Thailand was becoming the "sick man of Asia". "Some people may have forgotten this. When the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) was formed, we were aware that [restoring order] would come at a price ... … [Read more...] about Prayut defends performance

Nepal has appointed local firm Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd to develop and install air navigation systems for Gautam Buddha Airport, the nation's second international airport. The company yesterday said it is expected to supply, deliver, install and commission the airport's communication, navigation and surveillance and air traffic management systems, meteorological equipment plus other related goods and services to meet international standards. It said its engineering team has been setting up various flight and navigation systems at the airport, located in Nepal's Lumbini province. The company's involvement is being supported by the Foreign Ministry, it said. … [Read more...] about Local firm to develop Nepal airport

Scam gang suspects, mostly illegal Chinese, cover their faces as they are rounded up at a hotel in Fang district of Chiang Mai yesterday morning. police photo Chiang Mai: Twenty-four suspected "hybrid" scammers, most of them Chinese nationals, were arrested yesterday in Fang district, said police inspector-general Pol Gen Wissanu Prasartthong-osod. The suspects were busted at a resort in tambon Mae Soon, said Pol Gen Wissanu, who also heads the Royal Thai Police's Combating Transnational Criminals and Illegal Immigrants Centre (CTIC). Of them, 20 were Chinese nationals, one Thai and three stateless people. They were allegedly hired to run a romance-cum-investment scam preying on Thais and foreign nationals, particularly Japanese. Seized from them were 10 computer notebooks, 20 computer screens, 10 central processing units (CPUs), 244 mobile phones ready for use, six SIM cards and two thumb drives. Pol Gen Wissanu said the police were tipped off that the suspects were … [Read more...] about Police bust gang of online romance scammers

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, centre, and leaders from the public and private sectors pose for a photograph at the Better Thailand Open Dialogue seminar. The two-day seminar on May 19-20 presents an opportunity to address key issues for Thailand's economic development. Nutthawat Wicheanbut Thailand's economic recovery is relatively slower than that of its Asean peers because the domestic economic structure in the country is reliant on conventional industries. Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council, was speaking on Thursday at the opening of the two-day Better Thailand Open Dialogue. The event is co-hosted by the Chulalongkorn University Engineering Alumni Association, Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy Alumni Association, and Economics Alumni Association, in collaboration with the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry, and Banking. The forum allows leaders from the public and private sectors to share ideas … [Read more...] about Shift in economic structure urged

Thailand's Weerathep Pomphan reacts after scoring against Indonesia. Weerathep Pomphan's extra-time goal on Thursday gave Thailand a 1-0 victory over Indonesia and a place in the men's football final of the SEA Games in Vietnam. The Muang Thong United midfielder struck in the 95th minute after a goalless stalemate at full time to prevent a spirited Indonesian side from taking the keenly contested semi-final to a penalty shoot-out. The Young Elephants will play the winners of last night's second semi-final between hosts Vietnam or Malaysia. The title match will be played on Sunday at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi. The match took an ugly turn towards the end as four players -- one Thai and three Indonesians -- were handed red cards by the match referee. The Indonesians went on the attack from the word go and saw Marc Anthony Klok's free-kick miss the target by a whisker early in the match. As the Thais were pinned to their own half in the beginning, the Indonesians had another … [Read more...] about Young Elephants earn title shot

National Telecom (NT) has picked Advanced Info Service (AIS), the country's biggest mobile operator by subscriber base, as its 700-megahertz spectrum business partner, with an agreement expected to be signed in August, according to a source close to the state telecom enterprise's board. The move is expected to help ease NT's concerns over how it can capitalise on its 700MHz spectrum range and prevent spending huge amounts to utilise the spectrum. NT was founded on Jan 7 last year through the merger of state telecom enterprises CAT Telecom and TOT. NT holds 20MHz of bandwidth on the 700MHz spectrum range worth 34 billion baht via a 2020 auction won by CAT Telecom, but NT has yet to capitalise on the frequency. Under the deal, AIS will buy 10MHz of bandwidth on the 700MHz spectrum from NT, half of the 20MHz of bandwidth on the range held by NT. The telecom regulator obliges the spectrum's bidding winner to pay in 10 instalments with 10% of the bid price each time. NT has already … [Read more...] about AIS to buy spectrum from NT

Veteran One fighter Shinya Aoki of Japan faces Kade Ruotolo tomorrow. Dux Carvajal Shinya Aoki has faced some of the best competitors in the world over the last 20 years, but at One 157: Petchmorakot vs Vienot tomorrow, the Japanese veteran will welcome the next generation to the One Championship circle. Aoki will take on teen Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Kade Ruotolo in a submission grappling match at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It will undoubtedly be an intriguing battle of youth and experience, and "Tobikan Judan," who competed in One's first-ever submission grappling match against Garry "The Lion Killer" Tonon in 2017, is well aware that anything can happen after the opening bell rings. "[I'm] just going to fight as usual. I think Kade's an amazing athlete. He's strong in every aspect. [But] people see that I'm the underdog and a lot of people favour Kade. You never know what's going to happen until you actually fight on the mat. So, we'll see," Aoki said. The Tokyo … [Read more...] about Ageing Aoki vows to surprise Ruotolo

From left are Mr Nishioka, Mr Zhu and Mr Pongthep. According to Mr Zhu, the overall TV market in Thailand has reached saturation with an annual growth of only 3%. TVS REGZA Corporation, the operator of Toshiba TV, has resumed its active expansion in Thailand's 30-billion-baht television market, in an attempt to substantially raise its market share. Jason Zhu, assistant general manager of the company's global operation division, said that the recent reopening of the borders to overseas visitors and the imminent reclassification of Covid-19 as an endemic disease are both positive factors for economic recovery. The forecast growth in exports due to the recovering global economy, an accelerating real estate market and expanding urbanisation all contribute positively to Toshiba TV in driving consumer demand for televisions once again, he said. Chinese electronics maker Hisense Group, the parent company of TVS REGZA Corporation, took over TV and other visual products of a subsidiary … [Read more...] about TV manufacturer eyes growth in Thai market

Tourists and locals shop at Cicada market in Hua Hin on May 14. Varuth Hirunyatheb The Covid situation in China, which has some 40 cities under full or partial lockdown, bodes ill for the return of Chinese visitors to Thailand this year. As a result, the UK, India and Germany are the top source markets in 2022 and Thailand is being urged to focus more on domestic and high-spending tourists. "Before the pandemic, China was the driving force for the global outbound tourism industry and the No.1 source market for Thailand and other destinations in Southeast Asia," said Mr Paul Pruangkarn, chief of staff at Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). "I would assume China will only slowly reopen, most likely starting with domestic interprovincial travel as the first step. Most industry stakeholders agree that Chinese travellers will most likely resume overseas trips in 2023. However, the situation is always evolving," he said. Thailand's tourism industry is showing signs of … [Read more...] about UK, India, Germany top source markets