FILE - In this file photo dated Thursday, July 25, 2019, a boy jumps into the water at the beach in Barcelona, Spain. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday Aug. 15, 2019, that July was the hottest month measured on Earth since records began in 1880. Photo: Emilio Morenatti / AP File
BERLIN — July was the hottest month measured on Earth since records began in 1880, the latest in a long line of peaks that scientists say backs up predictions for man-made climate change.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that July was 0.95 degrees Celsius (1.71 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 20th century average of 15.8 C (60.4 F) for the month.
Because July is generally the warmest month on the calendar, meteorologists say this means it also set a new all-time monthly record for the past 140 years.
Last month’s temperatures narrowly topped the previous July record, set in 2016, by 0.03 C (0.05 F).
The results had been expected after several European countries including France, Belgium and Germany reported that July smashed previous national temperature records. The Swedish hamlet of Markusvinsa recorded a sizzling 34.8 C (94.6 F), the highest temperature measured north of the Arctic Circle.
According to NOAA’s records, 9 of the 10 hottest Julys on record have occurred since 2005 and last month was the 43rd consecutive July above the 20th century average.
The record temperatures notched up in July were accompanied with other major landmarks. Average Arctic sea ice, for example, was almost 20% below average in July, less even than the previous historic low of July 2012.
The July peaks came hot on the heels of a sizzling June, which ended up being the hottest June recorded over the past 140 years.
The year to date is also 0.95 C (1.71 F) above the long-term average, still slightly behind 2016 and on a par with 2017, NOAA said.
Meteorologists expect 2019 won’t beat the current record for warmest year, set in 2016.
In this video grab provided by the RU-RTR Russian television, a Russian Ural Airlines' A321 plane is seen after an emergency landing in a cornfield near Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. The Russian pilot was being hailed as a hero Thursday for safely landing his passenger jet in a corn field after it collided with a flock of gulls seconds after takeoff, causing both engines to malfunction. Photo: RU-RTR Russian Television via AP
MOSCOW — A Russian pilot whose passenger jet lost power in both engines after colliding with a flock of gulls shortly after takeoff Thursday managed to land in a cornfield smoothly enough that only one of the 233 people on board was hurt seriously enough to be hospitalized.
The quick thinking of the captain, 41-year old Damir Yusupov, drew comparisons to the 2009 “miracle on the Hudson,” when Capt. Chesley Sullenberger safely ditched his plane in New York’s Hudson River after a bird strike disabled its engines.
Experts say the two near-tragedies could force aircraft makers and regulators to rethink engine designs so they can better withstand bird strikes, although technology to do that is not yet available.
Yusupov was hailed as a hero after the feat, and Russian television stations showed passengers standing in head-high corn next to the plane, hugging Yusupov and thanking him for saving their lives.
Damir Yusupov, 41, the captain of Ural Airlines A321, walks to attend a news conference in Ramenskoye, just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. The captain of a Russian passenger jet was hailed as a hero Thursday for landing his plane in a cornfield after it collided with a flock of gulls seconds after takeoff, causing both engines to malfunction. Photo: Vladimir Shatilov / AP
The Ural Airlines Airbus A321 was carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven as it took off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky Airport en route to Simferopol in Crimea.
Russia’s Rosaviatsiya state aviation agency chief, Alexander Neradko, told reporters that the crew “made the only right decision” to immediately land the fully loaded plane with its wheels up after both of its engines malfunctioned.
“The crew has shown courage and professionalism and deserve the highest state awards,” he said, adding that the plane was fully loaded with 16 tons of fuel. “Just imagine what the consequences would be if the crew didn’t make the correct decision.”
The airline said Yusupov, the son of a helicopter pilot, is an experienced pilot who has logged over 3,000 flight hours. He worked as a lawyer before he changed course and joined a flight school when he was 32. A father of four, he has flown with Ural Airlines since his graduation in 2013. He became a captain last year.
Yusupov’s wife told Rossiya state television from their home in Yekaterinburg that he called her after landing, before she had heard about the emergency.
“He called me and said: ‘Everything is fine, everyone is alive,'” she said. “I asked what was it, and he said that birds hit the engine and we landed in a field. I was horrified and in panic and burst into tears.”
Russian officials immediately rushed to shower the pilot and crew with praise. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, hailed the pilots as “heroes” and said they will receive state awards. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev opened a session of Cabinet by praising the crew and asking the transport minister to explain what happened.
The Emergencies Ministry said that 74 people asked for medical assistance after the incident. Health authorities said 23 people, including five children, were taken to the hospital, but all but one was released following check-ups.
Bird strikes on planes occur regularly around the world even though airports use bird distress signals, air cannons and other means to chase them from runways. Smaller birds are usually chopped up by turbine fan blades, but engines aren’t designed to withstand strikes from multiple birds or larger birds such as geese, said John Hansman, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Birds rarely disable both of a jet’s engines, but with two cases reported in a decade, jet makers may have to redesign future engines to better resist such a strike, Hansman said.
“That’s likely to be a discussion, just because the overall aviation system learns from incidents like this,” he said, adding that risks and probabilities will have to be weighed.
John Goglia, a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said the bird-vs- engine problem has been under study for years, with no fix available at present. If engine components are made of heavier, stronger materials, there’s a risk that they could crack and break off, striking the fuselage and injuring passengers, he said.
“As far as the engine being able to digest the larger birds, we don’t have the technology,” he said. “We don’t have the metals. They really pushed the envelope where we are today.”
Airports could also deal with the problem on the ground by monitoring birds with radar and restricting takeoffs when large flocks are in the area, Hansman said.
Some Russian media reports suggested the birds could have been drawn to Zhukovsky Airport by an unauthorized garbage dump nearby, but there was no immediate confirmation of the claim.
On Jan. 15, 2009, a US Airways Airbus A320 piloted by Sullenberger hit a flock of geese after taking off from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and both of its engines shut down. The crew made an emergency landing in the Hudson River along midtown Manhattan and all 155 people aboard survived despite landing in frigid water.
The so-called “miracle on the Hudson” was immortalized in the Hollywood movie “Sully,” based on the autobiography of Sullenberger and starring Tom Hanks.
Pilots train often to fly with one engine disabled, but it’s rare for birds to knock out both engines, experts say. Still, pilots do prepare to lose both engines and often know the safest places near an airport to land, said Goglia, who spoke often about bird strike risks when he was an NTSB member.
Another problem is that many Canada geese, which caused Sullenberger’s Hudson River emergency landing, are not migrating as often due to warmer temperatures blamed on climate change, so they’re around northern airports for longer periods, Hansman said.
With both engines down, the Russian pilot was flying what essentially is a glider that he could control for a limited time. His toughest decision, Hansman said, was where to try to land.
“When you’re in a glider, you’ve got a certain amount of altitude,” he said. “You have to make the judgment what’s the best place I can fly with the amount of energy I have left because I’m not getting any more from the engine.”
Besides a runway, a cornfield is a good place to land because it’s free of big rocks and trees that could damage the plane, Goglia said.
The lack of deaths or serious injuries is an example of how the aviation safety system worked correctly, according to Hansman.
Aircraft seats are manufactured to protect passengers in cases like this, and the fuel tanks are designed to stay intact for a rough landing to prevent fires. And the pilots seemed to be well prepared for such an emergency, Hansman said.
“The pilot did a good job, but that’s why he was there,” he said.
In this video grab provided by the RU-RTR Russian television, a Russian Ural Airlines’ A321 plane is seen after an emergency landing in a cornfield near Ramenskoye, outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Russian Ural Airlines’ A321, carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven, collided with a flock of birds while taking off Thursday rfom Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport. Russian health authorities said that 23 people, including five children, have been hospitalized with injuries. Photo: RU-RTR Russian Television via AP
Story: Vladimir Isachenkov and Tom Krisher. Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.
Occupy Central leader Benny Tai, center, talks to reporters outside the High court in Hong Kong Thursday, Aug.15, 2019. Tai, a top opposition leader imprisoned on public disorder charges was released on bail Thursday as Hong Kong's government attempts to quell a protest movement that has paralyzed parts of the territory, including its international airport, and led to hundreds of arrests. Photo: Vincent Yu / AP
HONG KONG — Three senior Hong Kong police officers said Thursday that they are not aware of any plans for Chinese forces to join efforts to quell mass demonstrations in the territory, as images this week showed paramilitary exercises in a neighboring mainland city.
The officers added that they are unsure whether they would be informed ahead of time if Chinese paramilitary or army forces were deployed in Hong Kong. They agreed to speak to a group of reporters for foreign media only on the condition of anonymity.
Protests that began in early June have paralyzed parts of the territory, including its international airport, and led to more than 700 arrests. The largely peaceful rallies attended by tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents have increasingly concluded in clashes between some protesters and police. While protesters have thrown bricks, gasoline bombs and other objects at law enforcement, riot police have countered with tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse crowds.
The senior police officers said the situation is “worse than Occupy Central,” a 79-day pro-democracy sit-in in 2014. While the current movement was initially a response to now-suspended extradition legislation, the focus has since shifted to democracy and demands for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality.
No officer has been disciplined for use of excessive force since the protests began, according to the senior police officers.
“It’s difficult to say if we are really losing public support,” one officer said. Another officer referred to a “silent majority” of Hong Kong residents who support the police but are afraid to publicly voice their opinions.
Residents of neighborhoods hosting the protests have taken to heckling police officers and calling them “gangsters” after media footage showed police officers swinging their batons at protesters and firing rubber bullets and tear gas at close range. The senior police officers said about 300 of their colleagues have had their personal information shared online. In some cases, people have appeared at officers’ homes at odd hours or circulated photos of their children.
China’s ambassador to the U.K. said Thursday the Beijing government will not “sit on its hands” if the situation in Hong Kong continues to deteriorate after more than two months of near-daily street protests.
Liu Xiaoming said extremists masquerading as pro-democracy activists are dragging Hong Kong “down a dangerous road.” He told a news conference in London that if unrest becomes “uncontrollable . the central government would not sit on its hands and watch.”
“We have enough solutions and enough power within the limit of the Basic Law to quell any unrest swiftly,” he said, referring to Hong Kong’s mini-constitution adopted after the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997. “We hope this will end in an orderly way. In the meantime we are fully prepared for the worst.”
Satellite photos show what appear to be armored personnel carriers and other vehicles belonging to the China’s paramilitary People’s Armed Police parked in a sports complex in the city of Shenzhen, across the border in Hong Kong, in what some have interpreted as a threat from Beijing to use increased force against protesters.
China’s Defense Ministry has pointed to a legal provision that would allow Hong Kong-based People’s Liberation Army troops to be deployed for “public order maintenance” at the request of the city government. The troops, called the Hong Kong Garrison, released a promotional video earlier this month that showed soldiers partaking in a “riot drill” in which they fired tear gas and water cannons at people who appeared to be protesters.
Hong Kong authorities, however, have maintained that they are capable of handling the situation themselves.
The senior police officials said they have 3,000 officers who are currently deployed for riot control operations and hundreds others to draw from.
Flights have mostly resumed after being halted by mass demonstrations and spasms of violence at Hong Kong’s airport on Monday and Tuesday. Police made five arrests Tuesday night and 17 more on Wednesday during clashes outside police stations in the Sham Shui Po district.
This week’s clashes highlighted the hardening positions of pro-democracy protesters and the authorities, which show no sign of abating as long as the government continues to refuse calls for dialogue. Along with scrapping the extradition legislation, under which criminal suspects could be tried in mainland China, where critics say they could face torture and unfair justice, protesters are demanding electoral reforms and an investigation into alleged police abuses, with some calling also for the resignation of Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
That is also having an effect on what is already a difficult economic situation for the financial services and export hub, with the forecast for economic growth for the year downgraded to 0 to 1%, city Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced Thursday.
“Domestically, the recent social incidents have hit the retail trade, restaurants and tourism, adding a further blow to an already weak economy, and also affected the international image of Hong Kong,” Chan said.
A total of 29 countries have issued travel safety alerts for Hong Kong, while international credit rating agencies have also expressed concern about the situation in the territory, he said.
While human rights groups, foreign governments and many members of the U.S. Congress have expressed concern over the events in Hong Kong, President Donald Trump has taken an almost cavalier attitude, calling the protests “riots” and saying they were solely a Chinese affair.
On Thursday, Trump tweeted that he knew Chinese leader Xi Jinping “very well.”
“He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a ‘tough business,'” Trump tweeted. “I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?”
In a possibly hopeful sign for the opposition, a leader of an earlier protest movement imprisoned on public disorder charges was released on bail Thursday.
Benny Tai was sentenced to 16 months in April as one of nine leaders put on trial for their part in a 2014 drive for universal suffrage known as the Umbrella Movement. He was allowed to return home on $12,755 bail but was barred from leaving Hong Kong and will have his appeal heard in late February, according to the court.
Story: Yanan Wang and Christopher Bodeen. Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
Tourists and locals enjoy tea at a century-old tea house in the ancient city of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)
BEIJING — No terrorist incidents have occurred in Xinjiang for nearly three years since the education and training started, and the overall situation in society continues to be stable, according to a white paper published Friday.
Titled Vocational Education and Training in Xinjiang, the white paper said that as the infiltration of religious extremism has been curbed, public order and security have returned to society, where equality, solidarity and harmony among ethnic groups and religions have prevailed, and people are enjoying peace and stability.
The report was issued Friday by the State Council Information Office.
In 2018, tourism in Xinjiang grew rapidly, said the document. Tourists from inside and outside China totaled over 150 million, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. Foreign tourists numbered 2.6 million, a year-on-year increase of nearly 12 percent.
The education and training has won general support, according to the white paper. The trainees gain a thorough understanding of the true nature and perils of terrorism and religious extremism.
They thank education and training for turning them back from the way to terrorist crimes and helping them break free from the spiritual shackles of religious extremism.
Education and training has effectively safeguarded social stability and harmony in Xinjiang, protected the basic human rights of citizens to the maximum extent, and won the support of all ethnic groups.
The personal feeling of many people is that the positive developments in Xinjiang have been hard won, and without education and training there would have been little peace and tranquility today, the document said.
Immigration police at Don Mueang Airport on Aug. 12, 2018.
By Pravit Rojanaphruk and Teeranai Charuvastra
BANGKOK — A representative for the national police force said on Friday immigration officers who fail to process cases swiftly are liable for punishment.
Royal Thai Police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen said the immigration bureau is required to follow policies of efficient work as instructed by police commissioner Chakthip Chaijinda. He spoke amid growing uproar from foreign residents over tougher enforcement of immigration laws, in spite of the snail’s pace of immigration bureaucracy that makes following regulations difficult.
“Our job is to make sure [officers] do the work properly. We are their supervisors,” Col. Krissana said in an interview. “If they can’t do it, there is no other option than handing down punishment.”
In response to complaints from expats that they are being forced to wait weeks or even months for immigration to process simple tasks, Krissana insisted the police commissioner has enacted policies that aim at speedy procedures.
“The policies are there. They are good policies, but it depends on the people who implement them,” the spokesman said.
Krissana spoke a day after two immigration officials insisted at a panel discussion that the official channel for expats to report their residence is working as intended, even as anecdotes point otherwise.
Some expats have taken to social media to complain that they have to wait several weeks to receive usernames for the immigration’s online reporting system, even though immigration officials continue to enforce a decades-old rule that foreign residents must make a report every time they leave their registered address for more than 24 hours.
Krissana wouldn’t comment directly on what was said at last night’s panel, but said the immigration police should stick to reality.
“Before they make a promise or a claim, they have to make sure that their system is working properly,” the spokesman said.
At the heart of the controversy is the TM30 form. Under the 1979 immigration law, non-immigrant foreigners must complete the form to specify a change of residence (defined as leaving the existing residence for more than 24 hours) within 48 hours, even if they leave just for a night. They must file another form when they return.
Although the law has been in place for decades, it has been strictly enforced only recently, much to the inconvenience of foreigners and their Thai landlords. Tourists are usually spared from the hassle as hotel staff file the TM30 form on their behalf.
Maj. Gen. Patipat Suban na Ayudhaya, the commander of Immigration Police Division 1 which covers Bangkok, promised to look into the issues but promised neither a timeline nor results.
“We’re gonna bring the problems to my commanders when we meet in order to change the rules for good guys like you. But we don’t know when we will be done,” Patipat said. “We will try our best to distinguish between the good guys and bad guys. I promise all of you: we try.”
Speaking at the panel organized by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, longtime British expat Richard Barrow said he wants to see consistency and clarity.
He said forcing an expat to file a TM30 report simply because they want to leave Bangkok for Pattaya for a night, and to file another when back in Bangkok, doesn’t make any sense.
“This is going to affect domestic tourism. I asked an immigration officer about it and he said: “Travel less!””
Immigration police themselves appear overwhelmed by the newly enforced measures.
Immigration superintendent Col. Thatchapong Sarawanangkul said he has to work until 10pm every day in order to cope with the number of online TM30 application forms coming into the system, even though his wife is about to deliver a baby in several weeks.
“You didn’t know if the foreigners coming to you are good guys or not. Immigration is trying to check for your safety. For the country too,” Thatchapong said.
Krissana, the police spokesman, who once worked in the immigration bureau, concluded the agency has to strike a balance between the need for security and a good service mentality.
“Of course, the top and foremost priority of immigration is to be the gatekeeper of the country, and to safeguard national security. But once they [foreigners] are already inside our country, they must be treated with good service,” Krissana said.
Passengers line up for check-in at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)
HONG KONG — The Hong Kong International Airport was bustling as usual on Thursday, but white plastic fences erected outside the terminal building and long lines of passengers waiting for check of their flight booking information and ID cards served as a reminder that protesters had disrupted operation of the airport earlier this week.
Robert Fairhead, 66, and his wife Lisa were the witnesses of the illegal, violent rallies at one of world’s busiest airport.
The Australian couple sipped coffee on a bench of the arrivals hall Thursday afternoon, waiting for their outbound flight due in the evening. Meters away, a stream of air travelers passed by while a group of uniformed pupils, led by their teachers, were heading for the airport express.
“We have been stranded for two days and can finally back home tonight,” Fairhead said. They arrived in Hong Kong from Paris on Tuesday and planned to fly to Australia to take care of Robert’s 92-year-old mother, who had been hospitalized after falling in home.
However, they came here only to find canceled flights, paralyzed traffic and isolated airport, as the demonstration of thousands of protesters turned violent.
“It is annoying as a lot of innocent people who just happened to be caught up with were pretty badly affected,” Fairhead said. “It is difficult for overseas people because it affects us in so many ways with work and family.” Because of the flight cancellation, they paid extra 10,000 Hong Kong dollars (around 1,275 U.S. dollars) for accommodation.
Recent assemblies had seriously disrupted the operation of the airport and threatened the security of both passengers and airport staff.
The Airport Authority Hong Kong started to implement new security measures on Wednesday after nearly 1,000 flights were canceled. Only airport staff and departing passengers with flight tickets or boarding passes for the coming 24 hours and valid travel documents are allowed into the terminals.
Order has been restored. Passengers queued quietly at the check-in counters and uniformed security personnel stood by on the entrance lane. There were no black-clad demonstrators at the airport.
Large display screens showed that most flights arrived and departed normally.
Fairhead and his wife also booked their flight back to Australia on Wednesday shortly after the security measures became effective.
Restaurants and shops, which had received few customers for the past days, witnessed normal business on Thursday. The airport was ranked as the world’s top-10 airport for shopping, leisure amenities, dining, airport transit, hotels and airport security, cleanliness and staff services at the annual Skytrax World Airport awards for 2019.
A shopping guide surnamed Fong at a convenience store was busy attending to customers. “Our business was affected because of the demonstration. As there were a lot of masked people out there, few customers came in and we were also a little bit scared.”
“It’s better now and I feel comfortable,” Fong said. “It should be like this.”
Luci Bakker arrived in Hong Kong with her son from Bangkok Thursday afternoon and will fly back home in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Friday after staying for a night in Hong Kong. “It’s good that the airport has resumed from the chaos.”
She and her son had just talked about recent violent protests in Hong Kong. “Everybody got the right to demonstrate, but don’t bother other people. I think that’s important. They can demonstrate in certain area, but they don’t bother other people who live there.”
“Say what you need, not with fist, but with your mouth,” Bakker said.
The Hong Kong airport, connecting to over 220 destinations worldwide, handled 74.7 million passengers and 427,700 flights last year.
In this Photoshopped collage, Lower House Speaker Chuan Leekpai inspecting a toilet inside the new Parliament building on Aug. 15.
BANGKOK — Parliamentary debate was derailed Thursday when several MPs took to the Lower House to raise concerns over the toilets in the new Parliament building.
Virat Worasasirin, a Seri Ruam Thai party-list MP, ignited the debate over fecal matter when he chose parliamentary debate as the setting to point out the building’s lack of bidet sprays, which are commonly used instead of toilet paper.
“This building cost over 10 billion baht, I don’t understand why it doesn’t have bidet sprays,” Virat said to Lower House Speaker Chuan Leekpai. “My butt hurts every time I have to use toilet paper.”
Virat then gave an unasked-for biology lesson to support his claim.
“Men’s bodies are different from women’s bodies. After doing my business, I have to walk meekly while twisting this way and that,” Virat said.
Chuan then interrupted, “Sir, we’re broadcasting live.”
But Future Forward party-list MP Niraman Sulaiman echoed the concerns of his fellow opposition MP.
“This is Thailand,” Niraman reminded. “It’s in our culture to use water to wash down our feces.”
After the session ended, Chuan took it upon himself to personally inspect the toilets.
“I admit that the venue is not 100 percent complete. It’s still under construction,” Chuan said, while examining the restroom. “However, I ask the honorable MPs not to bring up these issues as an excuse for working unproductively.”
“We are being scrutinized by citizens,” Chuan continued. “They believe this is the most comfortable place of all.”
Other dissatisfactions with the new Parliament building were also brought up during the session, from inadequate lighting in the auditorium which “causes drowsiness,” to the height of chairs in the auditorium which blocks the view of MPs in the back.
On Wednesday, Phalang Pracharat MPs brought ten portable radios to Parliament to satirize the building’s inadequate sound system. The MPs from the leading party said they lost a parliamentary vote because they couldn’t hear when voting started.
The 12 billion baht Parliament building was initially expected to be completed in 2015, but construction was repeatedly delayed due to changes in design and land ownership transfers.
Despite ongoing construction work around the auditorium, parliamentary sessions were moved from a makeshift parliament in a rented auditorium on Chaeng Wattana Road to the present riverside location on Kiak Kai Road on Aug. 5.
The Parliament building is now scheduled to be fully functional by December.
Chuan pointing at a toilet during a hygiene inspection of bathrooms inside the new Parliament building on Aug. 15.Chuan looking into a toilet cubicle during a hygiene inspection of bathrooms inside the new Parliament building on Aug. 15.
File photo of passengers queuing up at Don Muang Airport immigration. Photo: Matichon
BANGKOK — Soon visitors from China and India may no longer need to queue up for a visa on arrival at airports, as cabinet is set to approve a visa exemption scheme this August.
The proposed scheme would allow tourists from both countries to stay in Thailand for up to 15 days without a visa. Tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Wednesday that he will present the visa exemption plan to cabinet this month.
Phiphat hopes that the new scheme will reverse declining tourist numbers from both countries under the appreciating baht.
“I believe [the scheme] can push Chinese tourist numbers to the target growth rate of 7-8 percent, or around 11.2 million visitors, by the end of next year,” Phiphat said.
The minister said that both the Prime Minister and deputy prime minister Somkid Jatusripitak have given an initial approval to the scheme. The scheme is expected to be effective for a period of one year starting Nov. 1 until Oct. 31, 2020.
Currently, tourists from China and India, as well as 17 other countries, are required to apply for a visa upon arriving at immigration checkpoints. A 2,000 baht visa fee that was previously levied is due to end on Oct. 31. Phiphat has said he will also propose to extend the fee exemption for one more year.
In 2018, more than 38 million tourists visited Thailand. Chinese tourists ranked first at 10.5 million, while Indian tourists came fourth at 1.5 million.
Visitors from 56 countries are already entitled to a 30-day visa exemption. The full list of eligible countries can be found here.
BANGKOK — Starting Thursday, Tesco Lotus Express and Tesco Lotus Talad will stop automatically giving plastic bags to customers who purchase two items or less.
The convenience store chain under the retail conglomerate Tesco Lotus is the latest retailer to attempt to reduce plastic bag use. From Aug. 15, customers purchasing two items or less will not be given plastic bags across all 1,800 Express and Talad stores.
Tesco Lotus members who participate in the scheme will receive extra points towards their Clubcards, according to the store’s campaign manager Patikorn Lukkanavej. On Aug. 15-16, a free apple will be given to the first 60 Clubcard members who refuse plastic bags.
The green scheme does not affect Tesco Lotus hypermarkets, where plastic bags will continue to be provided. Tesco representatives have said they hope to encourage customers at the hypermarkets to bring their own bags through a bonus membership point campaign and bag-free days.
Patikorn said eight of its Express stores have already imposed a total ban on plastic bags, including I’m Park, Chamchuri Square, and Koh Chang branches where customers are given Western-style paper bags instead.
However, in a reporter’s recent visit to an Express store, it seemed that the scheme was not being strictly enforced. Plastic bags were still given to customers who purchased a single item.
The bag ban comes hot on the heels of initiates from rival retail chains like The Mall group, HomePro, and Central group, who either charge one baht a bag or impose a complete ban on plastic bags on certain days.
A notice posted inside the store informing customers of the scheme on Aug. 15.
Celebrity Taksaorn “Aff” Paksukcharern poses for photographs Aug. 14, 2019 in a three-bedroom unit on the 35th floor of the Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.
Photos by Tappanai Boonbandit
BANGKOK — Nine months after the swanky Iconsiam mall opened on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the ultra-loaded are ready to move into the penthouses towering over it.
By the press opening day on Wednesday, almost all of the 146 rooms at the 52-storey Residences at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok were already purchased, with tenants set to move into the ultra-luxury condos Thursday.
“There’s very few rooms left. They’re for people with an eye for quality,” Keerin Chutumstid, president of real estate developer Magnolia Quality Development, said. “Their value will only go up and up.”
In what was probably the first and last time that middle-class people stepped into the residence, press were taken on a tour of the common areas and one of the 222.21 square meter, three-bedroom units.
To get to the condo itself, one walks through the Alexander McQueen and Patek Phillipe shops on the ground floor of Iconsiam. Then, a golf cart driven by a man in Thai costume with white gloves ferries tenants an arduous few hundred meters past another luxury condo, Magnolias Waterfront Residences, to the lobby.
The fourth and fifth floors of Residences at Mandarin Oriental are a “river clubhouse”: picture a man dressed in Ralph Lauren and Hermes putting balls in a golf simulator, while a pool party is held at the infinity pool overlooking the river.
Tenants will also enjoy mind-boggling services: personal shoppers when impulse-shopping for luxury goods at Iconsiam, automated parking in a glass elevator, elite membership to bump you up to VIP rooms when checking into Mandarin Oriental Hotels around the globe, and more.
The mall-side condo is the first residence run by luxury hotel brand Mandarin Oriental in Southeast Asia, and the seventh in the world, following branches in the likes of Hyde Park and Macau. Keerin said that 85 percent of the 146 rooms, or 124 rooms, have already sold.
Another staff member said that most buyers were frequent patrons of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel just across the river, mostly Hong Kongers and Thais.
The bedrooms themselves are marbled, arguably narrow, and with small balconies. Decor is modern and inoffensive to the point of being forgettable. From some angles, tenants will have to glare down at the neighboring Millenium Hilton’s helipad and at the grubby river barges below. Ask your crazy richest friend’s crazy richest friend if we’re accurate in imagining life at Residences at Mandarin Oriental as similar to occupying a kinda-small, kinda-bare, five-star hotel forever.
A three-bedroom unit at the Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.
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The project in total takes up only 4.9 rai (0.784 hectares), and it showed – nothing was impressively spacious, despite all the Italian marble and river views from every room. Still, staff boasted that construction for the 11-billion-baht project started in 2013 under the Iconsiam Superlux Residence corp.
Prices range from 550,000 baht per square meter for a two-bedroom residence, to 750,000 per square meter for a penthouse. That means the cheapest available room, a furnished 127.87-square-meter two-bedroom apartment, is already more than 70 million baht. The most expensive penthouse costs at least 530.46 million.
In comparison, the average selling price for a condo in Bangkok in 2018 was 140,600 baht per square meter, according to real estate trend analysis website Propholic. City center condos average about 231,000 baht per square meter, while condos in the suburbs average around 113,200 baht per square meter. The price dips to 73,500 per square meter in the greater Bangkok area.
Around half of existing condos cost 75,000 baht to 110,000 baht per square meter, a mid-range price. The study shows that almost 20 percent of condos are categorized as carrying a high-end price: from 110,000 baht to 190,000 baht per square meter. Only 6 percent of condos, or luxury condos, cost more than that.
Yet the Residences at Mandarin Oriental-Iconsiam amalgam won’t be the last ultra-luxury mixed-used space taking over the city. Another is set to open in 2025next to Lumpini Park, on the site of the old Suan Lum Night Bazaar.
The lobby at the Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.
The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, like Iconsiam, are reachable by BTS Krung Thonburi and BTS Wongwian Yai. Free shuttle boats also depart from Sathorn Pier at BTS Saphan Taksin’s Exit 1, the CAT Tower Pier, the Si Phraya Pier and Ratchawong Pier. The BTS Golden Line will eventually stop directly at the mall, but remains under construction.
Tenants will also enjoy mind-boggling services: personal shoppers when impulse-shopping for luxury goods at Iconsiam, automated parking in a glass elevator, elite membership to bump you up to VIP rooms when checking into Mandarin Oriental Hotels around the globe, and more.
In comparison, the average selling price for a condo in Bangkok in 2018 was 140,600 baht per square meter, according to real estate trend analysis website Propholic. City center condos average about 231,000 baht per square meter, while condos in the suburbs average around 113,200 baht per square meter. The price dips to 73,500 per square meter in the greater Bangkok area.
