Myanmar Anti-Corruption Body Files Cases Against Suu Kyi

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10 June 2021, 15:13

BANGKOK (AP) — The Anti-Corruption Commission in military-ruled Myanmar has found that ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi accepted bribes and misused her authority to gain advantageous terms in real estate deals, government-controlled media reported Thursday.

Suu Kyi’s lawyers already denied the allegations when they were first raised three months ago by the military regime that toppled her elected government in a February coup. The commission’s findings come as prosecutors are set to present their case on separate charges against Suu Kyi in court on Monday.

Suu Kyi’s supporters say all of the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power. The coup has been wildly unpopular among Myanmar’s people, who voted overwhelmingly for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party in last year’s general election after a first five-year term in office.

If convicted of any of the offenses, Suu Kyi could be banned from running in the next election, should there be one. The junta has claimed it will hold new elections, within the next year or two, but the country’s military has a long history of promising elections and not following through.

The military ruled Myanmar for 50 years after a coup in 1962, and kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for 15 years after a failed 1988 popular uprising against army rule.

Since February’s coup Suu Kyi has already been charged with spreading information that could cause public alarm or unrest. She also faces two counts of violating the Natural Disaster Management Law for allegedly breaking COVID-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign; illegally importing walkie-talkies that were for her bodyguards’ use; and unlicensed use of the radios.

Another charge, breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, is being handled separately.

Thursday’s report in the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the complaints based on the Anti-Corruption Commission’s findings were filed at the relevant police stations on Wednesday. Other media, including state television MRTV, carried the same report.

The report said Suu Kyi has been charged under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law, which states that political office holders convicted for bribery face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prion and a fine. It would be the most severe penalty she faces; the Officials Secrets Act has a maximum 14 years’ prison term.

Kyi Win, a lawyer for Suu Kyi and her party, said her legal team would discuss the development with her when they meet at their next court hearing on the other outstanding charges.

Thursday’s report said the anti-corruption body had found that Suu Kyi illegally accepted $600,000 and seven gold bars from the former chief minister of Yangon Region, a political ally.

The report also said the commission had found that Suu Kyi has misused her position to obtain rental properties at lower-than-market prices for a charitable foundation named after her mother that she chaired.

The story charged that the action deprived the state of revenue it would otherwise have earned.

“These moves were not carried out in line with the procedures but with her power and authority,” said the report. “She paid lower than the reasonable prices for land lease.”

The Global New Light of Myanmar said that the former mayor of the capital Naypyitaw, Myo Aung, who also chaired its development committee, was also being charged under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law, along with former deputy mayor Ye Min Oo and former committee member Min Thu.

Belarus Opposition Leader Urges International Probe of Govt

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Associated Press

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10 June 2021, 11:05

PRAGUE (AP) — A Belarusian opposition leader called Wednesday for the creation of an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute crimes reportedly committed by her country’s government and its longtime authoritarian leader, President Alexander Lukashenko.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition candidate in Belarus’ disputed presidential election last year, spoke to the Czech Republic’s Senate in Prague. She asked the Czech Republic to organize an international conference to deal with the current situation in her country.

“We cannot allow dictators to write history,” Tsikhanouskaya said.

Lukashenko has faced months of protests fueled by his reelection to a sixth term in the August election, which was widely seen as rigged. Belarusian authorities have responded to demonstrations with a fierce crackdown. Police have arrested more than 35,000 people, and thousands of protesters were beaten by officers.

Tsikhanouskaya called the crackdown “a terror that our country has not experienced since the time of Stalinism.”

“The only solution to the crisis in Belarus can be free elections,” she said.

In audio testimony to the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee later Wednesday, Tsikhanouskaya said that although there were defections by law enforcement officers amid the protests in Belarus, the opposition thinks discontented officials will be useful by staying in their jobs.

“We changed the strategy a little bit, and we ask the people in the regime to stay in their places but to give us inside information,” she said.

In the Czech Parliament, Tsikhanouskaya also called on European countries to impose more sanctions on the Belarusian government, to halt trade in Berarusian oil products and fertilizers, and to not cooperate with the country’s state institutions and banks.

International condemnation and isolation of Belarus has deepened since Belarusian flight controllers on May 23 told the crew of a Ryanair airliner of an alleged bomb threat. They instructed the pilots to land in the capital, Minsk, where journalist Raman Pratasevich was pulled off the plane by authorities and arrested.

“The terrorist nature of Lukashenko’s dictatorship now becomes evident to the whole world,” said Tsikhanouskaya, who received a standing ovation in the Czech Senate.

Tsikhanouskaya was in Prague at the invitation of Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil. She also met with Czech President Milos Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babis.

Sort Your Data With an Image Labeling Tool

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Khaosod English

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10 June 2021, 06:00

For anyone who has to deal with a database of hundreds of thousands of images, you know the problems that storing images effectively can cause. Maybe you’ve hoped someone could invent some magical image labeling tool that would save you from hours spent sifting through photos to find the perfect one to serve your purposes.

With the ongoing advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), the technology is now being harnessed for the organization of data that isn’t text-based, and images are the natural application for these advancements.

With the help of AI, images can be sorted automatically into categories that can be further and further refined, making the image labeling tool a reality.

Realities of Image Labeling

For magazine editors, photographers, artists, online image bank managers and graphic designers, the issue of how to best organize images so you can find a specific picture has long been one of spending countless hours manually sorting them into categories. But once you had all your pictures sorted into categories, you still had to spend time sifting through a category to find an image that had all the elements you were looking for.

The reality of image sorting was that pictures could contain a million different elements and still be within the same basic category. Let’s suppose you were laying an ad out for a company that asks for an image of a boy and his dog. The category is fairly broad, so you might have a thousand pictures or more that fit the requirement. But then the client adds a requirement that the boy has to be holding a balloon, and they have to be on a sunny beach.

You might have images that have these elements as well. Still, you’ll have to manually sort through a category that contains a thousand or more images because your database hasn’t been refined enough to search for those specific elements. You need an AI-based image labeling tool to quickly find the perfect picture for the client’s requirements.

Benefits of AI

With an AI-based image labeling tool, you get all the benefits of AI’s basic concept of constant machine learning. Once the tool has successfully found a specific image, it adds that information into its knowledge. It constantly updates itself and ‘learns’ how to tell the difference between millions of different elements.

The AI-based image labeling tool goes beyond saving you time in looking for images. It also relieves you of the need to sort your images into categories as well. It creates multiple categories built around specific keywords that you use to find the perfect picture for your uses.

Data Wow is a startup in Bangkok, Thailand, that has created an AI-based image database platform called Accurately. The Accurately platform contains a remarkable image labeling tool that puts the power of AI to work.

If you need to manage a never-ending number of images and call them up at a moment’s notice, contact Data Wow for a demonstration of the Accurately platform and see how easier your job could become.

Partner With an Experienced Malaysian SEO Agency

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Khaosod English

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10 June 2021, 06:00

The need to establish a solid online marketing strategy has been shown to be vitally important to new brands in the marketplace. And by partnering with an experienced, skilled, and versatile SEO agency in Malaysia, you can get a head start in your competitive industry.

Being the new kid on the block traditionally means that your brand should struggle to reach and establish a customer base and start communicating with your audience. But with a versatile SEO agency as your partner, your brand’s website can soon be ranking right alongside your toughest competitors.

Two Hats of Digital Marketing

In the world of digital marketing, most experienced agencies advertise as being both an SEO agency and a digital marketing company because you can’t do one without the other.

The SEO team are the ‘mechanics’ of every digital marketing company. They perform the website audit, fix any problems with the website, install ecommerce platforms and new content, and monitor all the ad campaigns and other marketing tasks. They also keep their eyes on all aspects of the marketing operations to ensure that everything is delivering positive results for the client.

Continuous Tweaks and Updates

The internet is such a dynamic entity that any time one of your competitors launches a new promotion or ad campaign, it can affect your site’s Google ranking. The SEO agency is continuously tweaking and updating various facets of your site to maintain its ranking and continue to drive traffic to your site.

These continuous adjustments could be in changing the keywords of existing content to reflect trends in the market. They could also entail a link-building exercise to reach a new and promising customer demographic and tell them about your brand’s products and services.

The SEO agency is also frequently making use of the wide variety of audiences on social media platforms to target and match the client’s products with the most likely audience of buyers.

Different Facets of a Quality SEO Agency

An experienced SEO agency is not just composed of ‘mechanics.’ There are account managers, strategists, content writers, social media managers, outreach specialists, ad operations specialists, and graphic artists in all the quality agencies.

These skilled specialists all work together to provide their clients with a continuous program of marketing activities that are all data-driven and proven to deliver results.

Importance of a Digital Presence

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the importance of having a digital presence. Those brands who stuck to the old brick and mortar business model suffered a lot more than companies who were agile, had a robust online presence and could adapt to changing times.

As more and more brands recognize the value of taking advantage of everything the internet offers in business opportunities, these brands will become the leaders in their industries. To find out how your brand can take its place among these leaders, contact Primal SEO and digital marketing agency in Malaysia, and give your brand the best chance to succeed.

China’s Wandering Elephants Becoming International Stars

By

Associated Press

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9 June 2021, 13:00

In this aerial photo taken June 7, 2021 and released by the Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade, a migrating herd of elephants rests near Xinyang Township in Jinning District of Kunming city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province. Photo: Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade via AP

BEIJING (AP) — Already famous at home, China’s wandering elephants are now becoming international stars.

Major global media are chronicling the herd’s more than yearlong, 500-kilometer (300-mile) trek from their home in a wildlife reserve in mountainous southwest Yunnan province to the outskirts of the provincial capital of Kunming.

Twitter and YouTube are full of clips of their various antics, particularly those of two calves who slipped into an irrigation ditch and had to be helped out by older members of the group.

“We should be more like the elephant and be more family oriented, take family vacations and help and care for and protect each other,” read one comment on YouTube signed MrDeterministicchaos.

The elephants have been trending for days on China’s Weibo microblogging service with photos of the group sleeping attracting 25,000 posts and 200 million views Monday night.

The 15-member herd has been caught at night trotting down urban streets by security cameras, filmed constantly from the air by more than a dozen drones and followed by those seeking to minimize damage and keep both pachyderms and people out of harm’s way.

They’ve raided farms for food and water, visited a car dealership and even showed up at a retirement home, where they poked their trunks into some of the rooms, prompting one elderly man to hide under his bed.

In this June 7, 2021 photo released by the Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade, a member of a migrating herd of elephants rests near Xinyang Township in Jinning District of Kunming city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province. Photo: Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade via AP — In this June 7, 2021 photo released by the Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade, a member of a migrating herd of elephants rests near Xinyang Township in Jinning District of Kunming city in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province. Photo: Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade via AP

While no animals or people have been hurt, reports put damage to crops at more than $1 million.

Sixteen animals were originally in the group, but the government says two returned home and a baby was born during the walk. The herd is now composed of six female and three male adults, three juveniles and three calves, according to official reports.

What exactly motivated them to make the epic journey remains a mystery, although they appear to be especially attracted to corn, tropical fruit and other crops that are tasty, plentiful and easy to obtain in the lush tropical region that is home to about 300 of the animals. Others have speculated their leader may be simply lost.

Asian elephants are loyal to their home ranges unless there have been disturbances, loss of resources or development, in which case they may move out, according to Nilanga Jayasinghe, manager for Asian species conservation at the World Wildlife Fund.

“In this case, we don’t really know why they left their home range, but do know that there has been significant habitat loss due to agriculture and conversion of forests into plantations within that range in the last few decades,” Jayasinghe wrote in an email. “What possibly happened here is that in their search for new habitat, they got lost along the way and kept going.”

Authorities have been working to avoid negative interactions and “must determine what the best next steps here are and keep human-elephant conflict at bay,” Jayasinghe wrote.

Kunming is to host the upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity’s Convention of Parties to discuss topics such as human-wildlife conflict, and “this is a real-time example of the importance of addressing the issue and its root causes for the benefit of both wildlife and people,” she wrote.

In this photo taken June 4, 2021 and released by Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade, a migrating herd of elephants roam through farmlands of Shuanghe Township, Jinning District of Kunming city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province. Photo: Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade via AP — In this photo taken June 4, 2021 and released by Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade, a migrating herd of elephants roam through farmlands of Shuanghe Township, Jinning District of Kunming city in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province. Photo: Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade via AP

Elephants are given the top level of protection in China, allowing their numbers to steadily increase even as their natural habitat shrinks, and requiring farmers and others to exercise maximum restraint when encountering them. Government orders have told people to stay inside and not to gawk at them or use firecrackers or otherwise attempt to scare them away.

So far, more passive means are being used to keep them out of urban areas, including the parking of trucks and construction equipment to block roads and the use of food drops to lure them away.

As of Tuesday, the herd remained on the outskirts of Kunming, a city of 7 million, with one of the males having moved away on his own, creating even more excitement — and worry — for those attempting to keep tabs on them.

A statement Monday from a provincial command center set up to monitor the group said the elephants appeared to be resting, while more than 410 emergency response personnel and police personnel, scores of vehicles and 14 drones were deployed to monitor them. Area residents were evacuated, temporary traffic control measures implemented, and 2 tons of elephant food put in place.

Another objective was to “maintain silence to create conditions for guiding the elephant group to migrate west and south,” the command center said.

Asian elephants, the continent’s largest land animal, are declining overall, with less than 50,000 left in the wild. Habitat loss and resulting human-wildlife conflict are their biggest threats, along with poaching and population isolation.

Global Sting Began by Creating Message Service for Crooks

By

Associated Press

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9 June 2021, 10:36

FBI App Sting — Law enforcement officials walk past an Operation Trojan Shield logo at a news conference, Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in San Diego. Photo: Denis Poroy / AP

SAN DIEGO (AP) — When the FBI dismantled an encrypted messaging service based in Canada in 2018, agents noticed users moving to other networks. Instead of following their tracks to rivals, investigators decided on a new tactic: creating their own service.

ANOM, a secure-messaging service built by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, launched in October 2019 and solidified its following after authorities took down another rival. Popularity spread by word of mouth.

When ANOM was taken down Monday, authorities had collected more than 27 million messages from about 12,000 devices in 45 languages — a vast body of evidence that fueled a global sting operation. Authorities on Tuesday revealed the operation known as Trojan Shield and announced that it had dealt an “unprecedented blow” to organized crime around the world.

“Each and every device in this case was used to further criminal activity,” said Suzanne Turner, the agent in charge of the FBI in San Diego, where the investigation began in 2016. Users were “upper-echelon, command-and-control” figures in more than 300 criminal organizations.

Unbeknown to criminals, authorities were copied on every message sent on the FBI devices, much like blind recipients of an email.

“The very devices that criminals use to hide their crimes were actually a beacon for law enforcement,” Randy Grossman, the acting U.S. attorney in San Diego, said at a news conference.

More than 800 suspects were arrested and more than 32 tons of drugs seized, including cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines and methamphetamines. Police also seized 250 guns, 55 luxury cars and more than $148 million in cash and cryptocurrencies. An indictment unsealed Tuesday in San Diego named 17 foreign distributors charged with racketeering conspiracy.

The seeds of the sting were sown when law enforcement agencies took down a company called Phantom Secure that provided customized end-to-end encrypted devices to criminals, according to court papers.

Unlike typical cellphones, the devices do not make phone calls or browse the internet — but allow for secure messaging. As an outgrowth of the operation, the FBI recruited a collaborator who was developing a next-generation secure-messaging platform for the criminal underworld called ANOM. The collaborator engineered the system to give the agency access to any messages being sent.

ANOM didn’t take off immediately. But then other secure platforms used by criminals to organize drug-trafficking hits and money laundering were taken down by police, chiefly EncroChat and Sky ECC. That put gangs in the market for a new app, and the FBI’s platform was ready. Over the past 18 months, the agency provided phones via unsuspecting middlemen to gangs in more than 100 countries.

The flow of intelligence “enabled us to prevent murders. It led to the seizure of drugs that led to the seizure of weapons. And it helped prevent a number of crimes,” Calvin Shivers, assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigative division, told a news conference in The Hague, Netherlands.

The operation was led by the FBI with the involvement of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the European Union police agency Europol and law enforcement agencies in several countries, said Dutch National Police Chief Constable Jannine van den Berg.

Australian Federal Police Commander Jennifer Hearst called it “a watershed moment in global law enforcement history.”

The ANOM app became popular in criminal circles as users told one another it was a safe platform. All the time, police were looking over their shoulders as they discussed hits, drug shipments and other crimes.

Since October 2019, the FBI cataloged more than 20 million messages from a total of 11,800 devices — with about 9,000 currently active, according to documents, which cited Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia and Serbia as the most active countries.

They say the number of active ANOM users was only 3,000 until Sky, one of the platforms previously used by criminal gangs, was dismantled in March.

While primarily focused on drug trafficking and money-laundering, the investigation also resulted in “high-level public corruption cases,” an FBI agent quoted in the documents said. A goal of Trojan Shield was to “shake the confidence in this entire industry because the FBI is willing and able to enter this space and monitor messages,” the agent said.

Swedish police prevented a dozen planned killings and believe that they arrested several “leading actors in criminal networks,” according to a statement from Linda Staaf, the head of Sweden’s national criminal intelligence unit.

Finnish police said Tuesday that nearly 100 people have been detained and more than 500 kilograms (half a ton) of drugs confiscated, along with dozens of guns and cash worth hundreds of thousands of euros (dollars). In Germany, the general prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt said that more than 70 people were arrested Monday and drugs, cash and weapons were also seized.

In Australia, authorities said they arrested 224 people and seized more than four tons of drugs and $35 million. New Zealand police said they had arrested 35 people and seized drugs and assets worth millions of dollars.

As part of a global operation, the Australian government “struck a heavy blow against organized crime,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters. “Not just in this country, but one that will echo around organized crime around the world.”

European police last year delivered a major blow to organized crime after cracking an encrypted communications network known as EncroChat, which was used by criminal gangs across the continent.

In March, Belgian police arrested dozens of people after cracking another encrypted chat system and seizing more than 17 tons of cocaine.

The latest effort went even further before authorities decided to take down the service.

The operation will likely lead criminals to wonder whether services they use are run by a government, Turner said, and it has shown that authorities have abundant technical knowledge and international cooperation.

Nick Merrill, a cybersecurity researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, said the investigation offers “a pretty good recipe” for law enforcement agencies to compromise an existing service or build one and wait “for the right time to strike.”

“Either way, these centralized services provide a central point of weakness,” Merrill said.

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Story: Mike Corder, Nick Perry and Elliot Spagat. Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, and Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Frank Bajak in Boston and Terry Chea in San Francisco contributed to this report.

China Pledges Further COVID-19 Aid to Southeast Asia

By

Associated Press

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9 June 2021, 09:00

China Southeast Asia US — In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations attended by foreign ministers from ASEAN countries, in Chongqing, southwestern China, Monday, June 7, 2021. Photo: Wang Quanchao / Xinhua via AP

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday pledged further assistance to Southeast Asian nations in battling the coronavirus pandemic as it seeks to boost influence with the region where the United States is also looking to strengthen ties.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that China had already delivered 100 million vaccine doses to ASEAN nations along with other pandemic-fighting materials and technical help.

Wang likened the challenge to earlier economic crises, the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, saying all were faced with “practical action arising from feelings of brotherly concern and the care of watchful neighbors.”

“In the process of jointly overcoming challenges, we have deepened friendship, mutual trust and common interests,” Wang told the ministers, assembled in the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing for meetings marking the 30th anniversary of formal relations between China and ASEAN.

Beijing has been building influence with ASEAN, despite frictions with some members of the bloc over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. China’s construction of islands and its military operations in the sea have brought complaints Beijing is militarizing the waterway.

China’s economic and diplomatic heft has helped override such concerns, however, while the bloc has been unable to form a unified stand in the face of opposition from Chinese allies within it, primarily Cambodia.

Wang said Tuesday that the sides should explore establishing an expert panel to strengthen cooperation throughout the vaccine process, from research to use, and work to build production and distribution centers to help make vaccines affordable and accessible in the region.

He said China would “urgently implement” the China-ASEAN Public Health Cooperation Initiative, continue to support the ASEAN Emergency Medical Materials Reserve and strengthen regional public health capacity-building.

“China will work with ASEAN to overcome the outbreak as soon as possible,” Wang said.

Though COVID-19 was first detected in China in late 2019, the nation has largely stamped out domestic transmission, although it has been accused of insufficient transparency or even seeking to conceal the origins of the pandemic.

Wang made no direct reference to Myanmar, an ASEAN member where the military seized power Feb. 1 and has cracked down on widespread opposition to the coup. On Monday, he said China supported ASEAN’s non-interventionist approach.

China has also been criticized for building dams upstream on the Mekong River, affecting water levels and fisheries downstream on a waterway that is crucial to the economies of several Southeast Asian nations.

Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian defended China’s policies on management of the river, known as the Lancang in China. Beijing attached “great importance to the concerns of downstream countries,” had released water to help countries dealing with drought and was willing to work with them on how best to promote sustainable use of water resources, Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing later Tuesday.

“There are numerous hydraulic and hydropower facilities in various countries along the river. Its water volume is affected by multiple factors,” Zhao said.

Wongnai & Chef Cares Invite 17 Top Chefs To Deliver Signature Dishes at Discounted Prices Under the #HelpChefsSaveRestaurants Campaign

By

Khaosod English

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9 June 2021, 06:00

Foodies around the world have witnessed the boom of gastronomy in Thailand over the past decade. Fine-dining restaurants, many of which are recognised with international accolades, have made Thailand the destination not only for Thai food but also for innovative cuisine.

This simply would not have happened if it had not been for our chefs – Thai and foreign – who have been working imaginatively and tirelessly transforming premium quality local produce and cultural wisdom into tasty and thoughtful bites.

Since 2020, due to COVID-19, Thailand has been put into stages of national and regional lockdowns. Restaurants are forced to close their doors to customers, jeopardising not only the businesses but also the livelihood of those in the food and beverage sector and beyond. Chefs, however, do not just sit still and cry for support. They band themselves together and use their culinary arts to help our society steer through the global health crises.

Chef Cares Foundation was also born under this premise – as a platform that empowers chefs to contribute to the betterment of our society. Under Chef Cares Foundation, 75 high-calibre chefs cooked and donated to the front line medical workers. This is an expression of our “care” and our collective effort to help Thailand fight COVID-19.

As the economic impact from the lockdown deepens, and restaurants in Thailand need to remain shut or have their capacity severely capped, the once-booming industry is now in crisis. Our chefs are at risk of losing their businesses, especially those in the fine dining sector. The chefs who have contributed so much to our society are in need of our help right now.

In our urgent response to the struggling restaurant industry, Chef Cares Foundation has launched a focus-group study on challenges fine-dining restaurants are facing, especially, while being forced to switch their dine-in business model to that of takeaway and delivery services. Our study shows challenges related to fierce online competitions and lack of human resources or marketing know-hows.

To help our chefs overcome these challenges, Chef Cares Foundation joins forces with Wongnai to launch #HelpChefsSaveRestaurants campaign, focusing on fine-dining restaurants from renowned chefs. As a way to show our gratitude to the chefs who have supported us so selflessly.

Chef Cares Foundation would like to invite all foodies to log on to our platform via Wongnai website and order from #HelpChefSaveRestaurants, not only knowing that your meals will be prepared and sent to homes by Thailand’s finest chefs at an affordable price, but also that your money will go directly to supporting the restaurant sector that is in dire need of help. Chef Cares Foundation would also like to extend our thanks to Wongnai who has supported us graciously and unconditionally to make this campaign happen.

Mr. Yod Chinsupakul, CEO of LINE MAN Wongnai, says, “Wongnai, as a long-time partner of restaurants from all categories, introduced #HelpChefsSaveRestaurants campaign under the major campaign of #SaveRestaurants to add selling platforms and attract Wongnai foodies for premium restaurants. Featuring special deals, this campaign aims at increasing the cash flow of premium eateries so as to ensure they can pull through the ongoing crisis.”

You can fill your stomach with great food and your heart with delight through #HelpChefsSaveRestaurants campaign. More than 17 of Thailand’s leading chefs such as Chef David Thompson from Aksorn, Chef Garima Arora from Gaa, Chef Dan Bark from Caper by Dan Bark, Chef Francesco Lenzi from Nonna Nella by Lenzi, Chef Toshi Onishi from Sushi Zo, Chef Nooror Somany Steppe from Blue Elephant, Chef Kenji Shindo from Wagyu Shin, Chef Deepanker Khosla from Haoma, Chef Saki Hoshino from Samlor and Chef Pan Siripornlertkul from 99 Chicken Pot have joined this campaign.

Signature dishes in the campaign are made from premium ingredients through dazzling cooking techniques. Each set is sold at a special price starting from either Bt599 or Bt999. Check the full list of the participating famous chefs and buy the special deals today from Wongnai application or https://www.wongnai.com/evouchers?domain=1&tags=Chefcares&ref=home

CP Foods Supports Ministry of Labour To Roll Out the Mass Vaccination for Insured Workers

By

Khaosod English

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9 June 2021, 06:00

Charoen Pokphand Pokphand Foods PCL (CP Foods) supports Ministry of Labour healthy foods and drinks for distributing to 46 of covid-19 vaccination centers across Bangkok metropolitan in the support of the government’s scheme of inoculating for Section 33 insured persons.

On June 4, 2021, Mr. Suchart Chomklin, Minister of Labour, received 6 million baht worth ready-to-eat meals and healthy beverages under “CPF’s food from the heart against Covid-19” project from Mr. Prasit Boondoungprasert, chief executive officer of CP Foods, accompanied by Ms. Pimonrat Reephattanavijitkul, Chief People Officer of CP Foods, to support medical personnel and staffs of Social Security Office who working at 46 vaccination facilities.

The Labour Minister said, The Social Security Office, Ministry of Labour, has worked together with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Ministry of Public Health and hospitals in the social security office network to offer vaccines to Section 33 insured persons at 46 sites throughout Bangkok.

Mr Suchart added that the Ministry of Labour wanted workers to be promptly vaccinated against COVID-19. Therefore, the Ministry of Labour has established 46 vaccination facilities to accommodate a large number of insured employees. CP Foods will use its expertise in food production to lighten the burden of the government’s staffs, helping the national vaccination plan to run smoothly.

CP Foods’s CEO Prasit said that the implementation of mass vaccination for employees is essential for the country’s herd immunity and economic recovery. The company aims the donation of food will help facilitate the on-site staff who are on duty to provide vaccination service for workers.

CP Foods has initiated the “CPF’s food from the heart against Covid-19” program since the beginning of the outbreak in 2020. So far, CP Foods has supported millions of meals and drinks to over 300 hospitals, migrant workers, communities in need and other vulnerable groups across the country.

The company also supplies food for vaccination point in various locations such as the Bang Sue Grand Station and the Emporium. This Covid-19 relief effort is in line with the policy of Dhanin Chearavanont, senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), to support society amid the COVID-19 crisis.

CP Group and CP Foods Give Away Foods and Drinks for People at COVID-19 Vaccination Starts at Bang Sue Grand Station

By

Khaosod English

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9 June 2021, 06:00

Charoen Pokphand Group joins forces with Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods) and CP Intertrade Company Limited (CPI) to support Thailand’s mass vaccination campaign, distributing foods and drinks for people who received COVID-19 vaccines at the Bang Sue Railway Central Station.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, together with Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, visited CP Foods and CPI’s food booths at Bang Sue Railway Central Station as Thailand kicks start the national’s mass vaccination today (June 7) to build group immunity.

CP Group and CP Foods distribute free meals, sausages, snacks and healthy drinks, including newly launched plant-based meat products, “MEAT ZERO”, to facilitate the people who received vaccines.

The PM expressed his thanks to CP Group and Dhanin Chearavanont, senior chairman, for the contribution to the country battling against Covid-19 pandemic.

CP Foods has been providing food products for on-site medical staffs at Bang Sue Grand Station since May 24. Moreover, the company and CP Group have supplied foods and drinks for medical staffs at 46 vaccination sites across Bangkok for the inoculation of workers under Section 33 of the Social Security Act as well as a vaccination center for general public in the Emporium Department Store on Sukhumvit Road.

Since beginning of the outbreak, over million packs of foods and drinks have been distributed to over 400 locations, including hospitals, field hospitals, vulnerable communities, and government agencies. This effort aligns with CP Group’s policy made by Senior Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont to support the country during the COVID-19 crisis.

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