Thailand English-language News For August 14

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In Thailand English-language News for August 14, 2017, Newsline presenter Cholaphansa Narula tells us about:

00:46 | Adolescents and teenagers from the Thai-Japanese Bangkok Youth Center will perform in a musical show titled ‘In the Footsteps of the Supreme Artist ‘ on August 20th in honor of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Queen dowager Sirikit of the IX reign, as a part of a project to encourage young adults to participate in beneficial activities.

01:36 | Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed his gratitude over the British Broadcasting Center (BBC) and ABC coverage of Mrs Kimlan Jinakul — a 91-year-old Thai woman from Phayao, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human and Family Development from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) after ten years of studying. The Prime Minister also said his government intended to raise the standard of Thailand’s educational system in order to improve the quality of education and reduce social divisions.

02:23 | Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said that the government of Saudi Arabia has commended Thailand for its efforts in facilitating Hajj-pilgrims in 2017, adding that Thailand treats all religions equally.

02:37 | Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs, Dr Wissanu Krea-ngam, has said that a new committee whose task is to overhaul the country’s justice system will be formed in the next seven days. The Committee will first examine the pros and cons of having attorneys take charge of investigations relating to their cases. Dr Wissanu refused to comment on the draft organic law governing the origin of the Senate, saying he hadn’t seen the content, but expressed confidence that the law is in compliance with the 2017 Constitution.

At its meeting last week the Constitutional Drafting Commission (CDC) agreed that for the first five years of the transition to democracy Senators will be elected from 20 professional groups. Each group will have ten candidates representing their district. Each candidate will cast two votes to select members within their groups, reducing the number of candidates to five. The five winning candidates from each group will cross elect winners from the other groups nationwide, which will reduce the number of candidates in each group to three. The remaining candidates will cross vote again at the provincial and national levels to determine the final winners of the Senate seats.

For the first five years after the Thailand general election the Senate will be hand picked by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

4:31 | Constitutional Drafting Commission (CDC) chairman, Meechai Ruchuphan, has commended the initiative of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to ask the Constitutional Court (CC) to rule on the legality of the draft Ombudsman act, adding that the decision will not set a negative precedent for other independent agencies. Mr Ruchuphan also said that the drafting team responsible for the draft law on Members of Parliament act is still accepting ideas and suggestions to prevent electoral fraud.

5:27 | National Legislative Assembly (NLA) President, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, said the enforcement of the draft political party act does not automatically revoke the ban set out by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) which outlaws unauthorised political activities, adding that the decision to reverse the order solely depends on the NCPO.

8:25 | With flooding in Nakhon Phanom Province subsiding Governor Somchai Witdamrong has joined the Royal Thai Army’s Mobile Development Unit 22, local government officials, and residents in a ‘Big Cleaning’ event to revive the city by repairing  damage caused by the floods and to ensure that local marketplace’s meet the hygiene code.

9:22 | A temporary Bailey bridge linking Buriram and Maha Sarakham has been opened by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Region 6, to restore road links between the provinces. The permanent bridge was destroyed by recent floods. The temporary bridge took ten days to be constructed and a permanent bridge will be built once weather conditions permit.

10:18 | More than 3,000 people in northeastern provinces have reportedly registered for financial aid programmes designed by the Government Housing Bank (GHB) to give soft loans of up to Bt100,000 (about US$3,011) to flood-hit residents to restore their homes. GHB president, Chatchai Sirilai, has encouraged people to apply for the loans following a recent survey which found that in Sakon Nakhon Povince only 100 out of its 50,000 customers have requested loans for house repairs.

11:11 | Deputy Bangkok Governor, Chakkapan Phewngam and City Hall officials have inspected the construction of the Charan Sanit Wong Road-Kanchanaphisek Road tunnel. The inbound lane is set to be completed by the end of this month, while the outbound lane will be open to commuters no later than October this year. The tunnel is expected to reduce traffic in the vicinity of Phran Nok Road. Governor Phewngam said that construction of a separate underground link between Charan Sanit Wong Road and Phran Nok Road is 60 per cent complete, although construction have been temporarily suspended due to a problem with expropriation.

12:12 | The 6th One Tambon One Product (OTOP) fair is currently held at the IMPACT Muang Thong Thani commercial complex, in honor of the Queen dowager Sirikit. Featuring more than 2,000 exhibitors, a wide array of products such as food and beverages, handicrafts, accessories, and basketry products, are available at a discounted price. The fair is aimed at keeping Thais and foreigners informed about the culture, traditions, and the heritage of Thailand, and will conclude on August 20. Doors open between 10 am to 9 pm daily.

13:30 | Sukhothai deputy governor, Paiboon Nabutrchom, has met with local officials and established a subcommittee to conduct a feasibility study relating to the plan of turning the historic city of Sukhothai (Eng. Dawn of Happiness)  into an Asean hub for heritage tourism.

14:39 | NBT World takes a look at China-Thailand tourism from and to Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province.

• and more.

Newsline is a daily Thailand English-language news and current affairs programme produced by the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNBT) under the Thailand Government Public Relations Department (PRD) for *NBT World, the NNBTs 24/7 English language television service delivering Thailand government news and information to the Thai, Asean, and wider Asian communities via cable and satellite. It is also available via android and iOS apps. AEC News Today publishes Thailand English-language News M-F.  

 

 

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