Tyson Big Surprise New Campaign Delicious Beyond Expectation

By

-

31 July 2023, 13:16

Tyson Launch Big Surprise with New Campaign Highlights “Delicious Beyond Expectation” – Endorsement from National Food Professional ‘Chef Pom’

Tyson, a world-class innovator of food and protein products, has launched its new campaign, “Tyson Chicken – Delicious Beyond Expectation.” Tyson currently offers 12 distinctly delicious flavors of frozen cooked chicken products which come from the constant innovation at research centers around the world, to guarantee “Delicious Beyond Expectation”.

The products have been recognized by M.L. Kwantip Devakula, better known as Chef Pom, a nationally renowned nutrition and food expert, who has become Tyson’s latest presenter in Thailand. With the launching of a new 1kg pack that has in response to consumers’ demand for bigger pack sizes, to supply families, caterers and restaurants.

Tyson International APAC Co., Ltd., a world-class leading innovator of food and protein products, has launched a new campaign “Tyson Chicken – Delicious Beyond Expectation – confirmed by Chef Pom!” Both taste and form of Tyson products have been developed to obtain an innovative 3X coat tech to make the fried chicken distinctively crispy, alongside another innovation of vacuum marinated, so every Tyson meat product is flavorful with juicy and tender texture.

The 12 flavors to choose from include Japanese-style karaage chicken, American-style buffalo wings, grilled tender chicken and chicken nuggets, etc. These recipes are guaranteed with a thumbs-up from renowned Thai cook Chef Pom, Tyson’s latest presenter. On top of this, Tyson’s ready-to-eat frozen chicken is easy and convenient to prepare, meeting modern lifestyle needs.

Talking about chefs who are currently hot property, there can hardly be anybody who has not heard of Chef Pom, who has over 20 years of experience in the food business, and whose gourmet cooking is respected nationally. Chef Pom is known for her meticulous attention to taste, quality, and ingredients in every dish, whether as a cook or as a diner.

In her role as presenter, every product must be tasted to guarantee the quality for herself. The quality of Tyson Chicken provides delicious beyond expectations. Chef Pom has given it her seal of approval, and she is spreading the word for everybody to try it out.

Tyson International APAC conducts an ongoing program of research and development to come up with food innovations that have been adapted to accommodate the palate of each local country. The company is currently investing in the construction of 13 R&D centers worldwide, to deliver flavors at the quality required by modern consumers.

Besides research, Tyson has also broadened its penetration of diverse customer segments. Surveys of consumer demand discovered that customers wanted Tyson Chicken in bigger packs. Thus the company added the 1kg size for large families and food business operators seeking deliciousness, convenience, value and cost-effectiveness. These products are currently on sale only at 40 branches of Makro (Greater Bangkok and major cities).

Tyson chicken products offer a variety of flavors to suit everyone’s taste, and their Astonishing Taste has been endorsed by Chef Pom as a product that should be a fixture in every home.

Tyson ready-to-eat frozen chicken products are available from leading supermarkets and modern trade stores nationwide, including Lotus’s, Lotus’s Express, Lotus’s Go Fresh, Big C, Mini Big C, Central Food Hall, Tops Market, Gourmet Market, Home Fresh Mart, Villa Market, Foodland, MaxValu and Rimping, as well as online from the websites www.tyson.co.th, LINE : @tysonfoods, Shopee : https://bit.ly/3EkENs5, Lazada https://bit.ly/3bf9YZC and FOOD PANDA. Keep up with the latest news about Tyson from Facebook: Tysonbrandthailand and Instagram: @tysonbrandthailand

Suicide Bomber At Political Rally In Northwest Pakistan Kills At Least 44 People, Wounds Nearly 200

By

Associated Press

-

31 July 2023, 10:06

Pakistan Bomb — An injured victim of a powerful bomb huge with his relative after upon arrival at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, July 30, 2023.(AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists.

The Bajur district near the Afghan border was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban — a close ally of Afghanistan’s Taliban government — before the Pakistani army drove the militants out of the area. Supporters of hardline Pakistani cleric and political party leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose Jamiat Ulema Islam generally supports regional Islamists, were meeting in Bajur in a hall close to a market outside the district capital. Party officials said Rehman was not at the rally but organizers added tents because so many supporters showed up, and party volunteers with batons were helping control the crowd.

AP23211570270617 — People transport an injured victim of a powerful bomb upon arrival at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, July 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Officials were announcing the arrival of Abdul Rasheed, a leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, when the bomb went off in one of Pakistan’s bloodiest attacks in recent years.

Provincial police said in a statement that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives vest close to the stage where several senior leaders of the party were sitting. It said initial investigations suggested the Islamic State group — which operates in Afghanistan and is an enemy of the Afghan Taliban — could be behind the attack, and officers were still investigating.

“There was dust and smoke around, and I was under some injured people from where I could hardly stand up, only to see chaos and some scattered limbs,” said Adam Khan, 45, who was knocked to the ground by the blast around 4 p.m. and hit by splinters in his leg and both hands.

The Pakistan Taliban, or TTP, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the bombing was aimed at setting Islamists against each other. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”

The Afghan Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 emboldened the TTP. They unilaterally ended a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government in November, and have stepped up attacks across the country.

AP23211570279785 — People transport an injured victim of a powerful bomb upon arrival at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, July 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a sprawling package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.

In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. However, some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, told The Associated Press that so far 44 people had been “martyred” and nearly 200 wounded in the bombing.

The bombing was one of the four worst attacks in the northwest since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar. In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. n February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi condemned the attack and asked officials to provide all possible assistance to the wounded and the bereaved families. Sharif later, in a phone call to Rehman, the head of the JUI, conveyed his condolences to him and assured him that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also condemned the attack. In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, it expressed its condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims killed in the attack..

Maulana Ziaullah, the local chief of Rehman’s party, was among the dead. JUI leaders Rasheed and former lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin were also on the stage but escaped unhurt.

Rasheed, the regional chief of the party, said the attack was an attempt to remove JUI from the field before parliamentary elections in November, but he said such tactics would not work. The bombing drew nationwide condemnation, with the ruling and opposition parties extending condolences to the families of those who died in the attack.

Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad. Meetings are being organized across the country to mobilize supporters for the upcoming elections.

“Many of our fellows lost their lives and many more wounded in this incident. I will ask the federal and provincial administrations to fully investigate this incident and provide due compensation and medical facilities to the affected ones,” Rasheed said.

Mohammad Wali, another attendant at the rally, said he was listening to a speaker address the crowd when the huge explosion temporarily deafened him.

“I was near the water dispenser to fetch a glass of water when the bomb exploded, throwing me to the ground,” he said. “We came to the meeting with enthusiasm but ended up at the hospital seeing crying, wounded people and sobbing relatives taking the bodies of their loved ones.”

___

Riaz Khan reported from Peshawar. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad contributed from Islamabad.

An Overnight Drone Attack On Moscow Injures 1 And Temporarily Closes An Airport

By

Associated Press

-

30 July 2023, 19:47

Russia Ukraine Drone Attack — Investigators examine a damaged skyscraper in the "Moscow City" business district after a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, early Sunday, July 30, 2023. (AP Photo)

Three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow in the early hours on Sunday, Russian authorities said, injuring one person and prompting a temporary closure of traffic in and out of one of four airports around the Russian capital.

It was the fourth such attempt at a strike on the capital region this month and the third this week, fueling concerns about Moscow’s vulnerability to attacks as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags into its 18th month.

The Russian Defense Ministry referred to the incident as an “attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime” and said three drones targeted the city. One was shot down in the surrounding Moscow region by air defense systems and two others were jammed. Those two crashed into the Moscow City business district.

AP23211105862388 — An investigator examines an area next to the damaged skyscraper in the “Moscow City” business district after a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, early Sunday, July 30, 2023. (AP Photo)

Photos from the site of the crash showed the facade of a skyscraper damaged on one floor. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the attack “insignificantly damaged” the outsides of two buildings in the Moscow City district. A security guard was injured, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials.

No flights went into or out of Vnukovo airport on the southern outskirts of the city for about an hour, according to Tass, and the airspace over Moscow and the outlying regions was temporarily closed to all aircraft. Those restrictions have since been lifted.

Moscow authorities have also closed a street to traffic near the site of the crash in the Moscow City area.

Without directly acknowledging that Ukraine was behind the attack on Moscow, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian airforce said that the Russian people were seeing the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“All of the people who think the war ‘doesn’t concern them,’ it’s already touching them,” spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told journalists Sunday.

“There’s already a certain mood in Russia: that something is flying in, and loudly,” he said. “There’s no discussion of peace or calm in the Russian interior any more. They got what they wanted.”

AP23211105065748 — A view of the damaged skyscraper in the “Moscow City” business district after a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, early Sunday, July 30, 2023. (AP Photo)

Ihnat also referenced a drone attack on Russian-occupied Crimea overnight. Moscow announced Sunday that it had shot down 16 Ukrainian drones and neutralized eight more with an electronic jamming system. There were no casualties, officials said.

In Ukraine, the air force reported that it had destroyed four Russian drones above the country’s Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Information on the attacks could not be independently verified.

Meanwhile, two people were killed and 20 wounded by a Russian missile strike late Saturday evening on the city of Sumy in northeast Ukraine. A four-story building belonging to a vocational college was hit, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said. Local authorities said that dormitories and teaching buildings were damaged in the blast and the fire that followed.

AP23211109165968 — A view of the damaged building in the “Moscow City” business district after a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, early Sunday, July 30, 2023. (AP Photo)

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported shooting down a Ukrainian drone outside Moscow on Friday. Four days earlier, two drones struck the Russian capital, one of them falling in the center of the city near the Defense Ministry’s headquarters along the Moscow River about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Kremlin. The other drone hit an office building in southern Moscow, gutting several upper floors.

In another attack on July 4, the Russian military said four drones were downed by air defenses on the outskirts of Moscow and a fifth was jammed by electronic warfare means and forced down.

___

Thai Food Delivery Services: Quick Entry, Quick Demise

By

Khaosod English

-

30 July 2023, 14:22

kraprao — Rice topped with stir-fried pork and basil.

The Thai food industry is a “paradise” for foodies, ranging from street food to upscale restaurants, with an estimated value of more than 4 trillion baht and continuous growth.

However, according to Yod Chinsupakul, CEO of LINE MAN Wongnai, the data collected from restaurant owners on the delivery platform reveals a somewhat sad truth. Within 12 months of opening, about 50 percent of new restaurant businesses have to close due to “lack of sales”.

In addition, about 65 percent of restaurants have to close within three years. These statistics reflect the difficult survival and competition faced by new restaurants in Thailand.

In the first half of the year, there was a 13.6 percent increase in new restaurant openings totaling more than 100,000 stores, bringing the total number of restaurants to 680,190, up from 598,693 in the same period last year. The predominant restaurant types and their shares are as follows:

– Made-to-order dishes and single-plate meals: 17.7%
– Cafes and coffee shops: 11%
– Thai cuisine: 10.9%
– Noodles: 7.1%
– Northeastern Thai cuisine (Isan): 6.4%
– Desserts: 6.2%
– Buffets, barbecues, and sukiyaki: 6.1%
– Beverages and fruit juices: 4.2%
– Others: 30%

As the COVID-19 situation eased, more people started dining out, leading to a surge in dine-in demand and a decline in delivery services. However, LINE MAN Wongnai still maintains continuous expansion due to consumer behavior of ordering popular menu items, leading to strong sales on delivery.

The top 10 most popular food categories among restaurants are:

1. Noodle
2. Hainanese chicken rice
3. Spicy papaya salad with crab and fermented fish sauce, which has grown by 40.4% due to Thais’ love for spicy and tangy flavors
4. Fried rice (pork, shrimp, crab)
5. Basil pork with crispy pork, which has grown by 45.7% (customers sometimes cry when the restaurant runs out of crispy pork)
6. Basil minced pork
7. Grilled chicken, which has grown by 167.9%, indicating Thai people’s preference for grilled chicken, possibly due to the high price of pork, leading them to opt for chicken dishes
8. Papaya salad with mix vegetables
9. Deep-fried chicken wings
10. Spicy chicken rice

Thakoon Chartsuthipol, the managing director of Restaurant Management, FoodStory POS, which is part of the LINE MAN Wongnai Group, shared that data from 1,230 restaurants surveyed in the first half of 2023 revealed the most pressing issues facing restaurant owners, including:

– 77% experienced an increase in raw material costs.
– 60% encountered higher operating costs, such as water, electricity, and rent.
– 57% faced an increase in the number of competitors.
– 47% saw a decrease in new customers.
– 45% experienced a decrease in regular customers.
– 27% faced higher labor costs.

______

Opinion: Rebranding the Pheu Thai Party and What It Means to Thailand and Thaksin

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

-

30 July 2023, 13:00

Pheu Thai Party supporters give a drawing of Thaksin Shinawatra to Pheu Thai MP Thossaporn Sereerak at the party’s headquarters on Jul. 26, 2023.

After the Pheu Thai Party failed to win the most seats, beaten by the new kid on the pro-democratic bloc, the Move Forward Party, it vowed to “rebrand” the party. Two months and a half on and we are seeing Pheu Thai shifting towards the conservative pole of the political spectrum.

As the traditional conservative royalist political party, the Democrat Party, continues to suffer heavy electoral losses, Friday saw the two main Pheu Thai PM candidates, Srettha Thavisin and Paetongtarn Shinawatra, very visible waiting in line to greet the royal vehicle of Their Majesties the King and Queen at the Grand Palace on the occasion of the King’s 71 birthday.

Srettha tweeted and wished HM a happy birthday and wrote the King’s full name, which was rarely used, taking up more than half the space on his particular tweet.

Meanwhile, key party cheerleaders like Kham Phaka and Peemai Sirikul basically claiming redshirt pro-Pheu Thai supporters are and have always been royalists. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Over the past decade and a half of the existence of the redshirt movement, they have been at odd with the army, which staged two military coups to oust their political leaders, Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006 and subsequently what was left of the Yingluck Shinawatra administration in 2014 – the coup makers partly cited the need to protect the monarchy institution from being undermined.

Members of redshirts have been prosecuted and imprisoned under the lese majeste law. Think of Ekachai Hongkangwan, who was sentenced to over two years in prison for peddling unauthorized DVD copies of a critical biography of the current king produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, who was then the heir apparent, at a redshirt gathering before the 2014 coup.

Some redshirts fled into exile such as Fai Yen music band members, who composed anti-monarchy songs and played at redshirt rallies prior to the 2014 coup, or were abducted and presumed killed such as Surachai Sae Dan, who fled to Laos after 2014, and more.

Now, with ousted and fugitive former premier Thaksin, the de facto leader of the Pheu Thai Party, vowing to return to Thailand after a decade, the Pheu Thai Party is rebranding itself as a conservative royalist party as they cannot afford to be seen as a threat to the establishment and will need to elicit support from pro-junta parties and the junta-appointed senators in order to secure the PM seat and form the new government.

(Senior Thai Sang Thai Party member Sita Tiwari recently claims it was Pheu Thai Party which insisted in adding a sentence on upholding the “democratic system with the King as Head of state” in the eight-party MOU.)

Equally important, however, is there is now a far bigger perceived threat to the establishment in the form of Move Forward Party, which is the only major political party pledging to reform the controversial lese majeste law and stop short of saying they want to reform the monarchy institution itself. (The party was the only major party which conspicuously posted no HBD message on the King’s birthday on Friday)

Move Forward also vows to break down the energy sector’s oligarchy to make it more affordable for people to consume electricity and other energies, to decentralize and introduce elected governors instead, thus undermining the power and vested interest of the Interior Ministry.

Military reform, including ending compulsory military conscription and reducing the bloated number of generals, breaking the quasi monopoly of the alcohol industry and more. It is not hard to see why the Move Forward Party is now the new and chief enemy of the status quo which is making the Pheu Thai Party look conservative by comparison.

Now, the conservative elites under the current and relatively new reign of Rama X need the Pheu Thai Party to be on its side in an attempt to isolate and stop the rise of Move Forward, which is hugely popular among young Thais. It is a classic divide and rule tactic although this time, Pheu Thai leaders and their diehard supporters believe it is time to shift towards the right in politics as they could no longer compete with Move Forward Party’s left-leaning politics.

The choice of former real estate tycoon and political moderate Srettha as presumptive PM candidate, who received Thaksin’s blessing, is just one of the many indications Pheu Thai may be rebranding itself to become Thailand’s new preeminent conservative party to replace the Democrat Party in its glorious days.

Thaksin meanwhile can try to become part of the establishment if he is not eventually stabbed in the back and betrayed by the established elites.

China Says US Military Aid To Taiwan Will Not Deter Its Will To Unify The Island

By

Associated Press

-

30 July 2023, 12:23

Taiwan Military Aid — FILE - Taiwan's military holds drills of the annual Han Kuang military exercises that simulate an anti-landing operations near the coast in New Taipei City, northern Taiwan, Thursday, July 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an “ammunition depot” after the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taipei, and the self-ruled island said Sunday it tracked six Chinese navy ships in waters off its shores.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late Saturday opposing the military aid to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

“No matter how much of the ordinary people’s taxpayer money the … Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many U.S. weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem. Or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland,” said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office.

AP23208207878233 — Taiwan’s military holds drills of the annual Han Kuang military exercises that simulate an anti-landing operations near the coast in New Taipei City, northern Taiwan, Thursday, July 27, 2023. Taiwan military mobilized for routine defense exercises from July 24-28. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

“Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait,” the statement said.

China’s People’s Liberation Army has increased its military maneuvers in recent years aimed at Taiwan, sending fighter jets and warships to circle the island.

On Sunday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it tracked six Chinese navy ships near the island.

Taiwan’s ruling administration, led by the Democratic Progressive Party, has stepped up its weapons purchases from the U.S. as part of a deterrence strategy against a Chinese invasion.

AP23209756853217 — FILE – The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and Taiwan has never been governed by China’s ruling Communist Party.

Unlike previous military purchases, the latest batch of aid is part of a presidential authority approved by the U.S. Congress last year to draw weapons from current U.S. military stockpiles — so Taiwan will not have to wait for military production and sales.

While Taiwan has purchased $19 billion worth of weaponry, much of it has yet to be delivered to Taiwan. Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles to Taiwan.

Two Women Arrested for Pickpocketing Tourists at Bangkok Mall

By

Khaosod English

-

29 July 2023, 22:00

Nanatsicha Torprasert, 36, and Issariyakorn Ruangdet, 33, at Phayathai Police Station after their arrests on Jul. 28, 2023.

BANGKOK — Two women were arrested Friday for allegedly pickpocketing foreign tourists at a shopping mall in the Pratunam area, police said.

Nanatsicha Torprasert, 36, and Issariyakorn Ruangdet, 33, were arrested after security guards recognized the suspects and notified the police. Deputy superintendent of Phayathai Police Station Trin Ornnim said the suspects had previously stolen valuables worth about 90,000 baht from tourists twice at the mall before being apprehended Friday night.

Pol. Lt. Col. Trin said the suspects specifically targeted foreign tourists who left their belongings while they tried on clothes before fleeing the scene.

“Tourists are warned to always watch their personal belongings, secure their bags, and check their valuables before leaving the store,” the deputy chief said.

Two Supermoons In August Mean Double The Stargazing Fun

By

Associated Press

-

29 July 2023, 21:57

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon.

Catch the first show Tuesday evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That’s because it will be closer than usual, just 222,159 miles (357,530 kilometers) away, thus the supermoon label.

The moon will be even closer the night of Aug. 30 — a scant 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) distant. Because it’s the second full moon in the same month, it will be what’s called a blue moon.

“Warm summer nights are the ideal time to watch the full moon rise in the eastern sky within minutes of sunset. And it happens twice in August,” said retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak, dubbed Mr. Eclipse for his eclipse-chasing expertise.

The last time two full supermoons graced the sky in the same month was in 2018. It won’t happen again until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.

Masi will provide a live webcast of Tuesday evening’s supermoon, as it rises over the Coliseum in Rome.

“My plans are to capture the beauty of this … hopefully bringing the emotion of the show to our viewers,” Masi said in an email.

“The supermoon offers us a great opportunity to look up and discover the sky,” he added.

AP23059584931666 — FILE – The moon rises beyond a sign in the outfield, Aug. 10, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

This year’s first supermoon was in July. The fourth and last will be in September. The two in August will be closer than either of those.

Provided clear skies, binoculars or backyard telescopes can enhance the experience, Espenak said, revealing such features as lunar maria — the dark plains formed by ancient volcanic lava flows — and rays emanating from lunar craters.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the August full moon is traditionally known as the sturgeon moon. That’s because of the abundance of that fish in the Great Lakes in August, hundreds of years ago.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Narathiwat Fireworks Warehouse Explosion Kills Nine and Injures Hundreds

By

Khaosod English

-

29 July 2023, 21:09

A large explosion of a firecracker warehouse at Muno Market, Su-ngai Kolok District, Narathiwat Province, Saturday, July 29, at 3:20 p.m., killed 9 persons and injured 115 others who were sent to Sungai Kolok Hospital for treatment. It is also expected that a number of people are still trapped beneath the debris of houses.

There are 40 households affected, including more than 100 people. The officials prepared the Muno Subdistrict Administrative Organization Sports Center as a temporary shelter for people.

Sanan Pongaksorn, the governor of Narathiwat said the blast was likely ignited by construction work that was taking place in the warehouse, with flares from metal welding causing the fireworks stored inside to catch fire and explode.

One resident stated that he was resting at home when he heard a loud boom, followed by continuous explosions reminiscent of a war. He was certain it was not a terrorist attack, so he ran outside to witness the detonation that destroyed the houses.

The calamity in the Muno Market area, which was caused by the carelessness of some operators, left him devastated. This is a significant border market in the Su-ngai Kolok District, which typically opens on Monday evenings and Fridays, with a very high market value from Malaysian tourists and other Thai people.

According to Lt. Gen. Achayon Kraithong, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, investigators were awaiting detailed results of evidence and whose negligence, as well as inspecting all areas that had been granted permission to conduct business in relation to the possession and sale of fireworks, to reduce the likelihood of further shocking incidents.

Previously, on July 24, a fireworks factory in Ban San Thung Mai, San Pu Loei Subdistrict, Doi Saket District, Chiang Mai Province, exploded. More than ten people were hurt, and 36 homes and businesses were destroyed. An 87-year-old woman who was entirely burned died on July 28.

Young Chinese Opt Out Of The Rat Race And Pressures At Home To Pursue Global Nomad Lifestyle

By

Associated Press

-

29 July 2023, 14:03

Thailand Chinese Nomads — Chinese Wanxiong Huang, a free diving instructor, practices his skills in the sea around Bohol Island in the Philippines, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Shaoxu Wang)

YUCHENG TANG, BANGKOK — Shortly after China opened its borders with the end of “zero-COVID,” Zhang Chuannan lost her job as an accountant at a cosmetic firm in Shanghai and decided to explore the world.

“The cosmetics business was bleak,” said Zhang, 34, who explained everyone wore face masks during the pandemic. After being laid off, she paid $1,400 for an online Thai course, got an education visa and moved to the scenic northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.

Zhang is among a growing number of young Chinese moving overseas not necessarily because of ideological reasons but to escape the country’s ultra-competitive work culture, family pressures and limited opportunities after living in the country under the strict pandemic policies for three years. Southeast Asia has become a popular destination given its proximity, relatively inexpensive cost of living and tropical scenery.

AP23208479483674 — Chinese Chuannan Zhang, who is studying Thai in Chiang Mai, went hiking on the Chiang Dao mountain range in northern Thailand, June 2023. (AP Photo/Syvia Wen )

There is no exact data on the number of young Chinese moving overseas since the country ended pandemic restrictions and reopened its borders. But on the popular Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, hundreds of people have discussed their decisions to relocate to Thailand. Many get a visa to study Thai while figuring out their next steps.

At Payap University in Chiang Mai, around 500 Chinese began an online Thai course early this year.

Royce Heng, owner of Duke Language School, a private language institute in Bangkok, said around 180 Chinese inquire each month about visa information and courses.

The hunt for opportunities far from home is partly motivated by China’s unemployment rate for people ages 16 to 24, which rose to a record high of 21.3% in June. The scarcity of good jobs increases pressure to work long hours.

Opting out is an increasingly popular way for younger workers to cope with a time of downward mobility, said Beverly Yuen Thompson, a sociology professor at Siena College in Albany, New York.

“In their 20s and early 30s, they can go to Thailand, take selfies and work on the beach for a few years and feel like they have a great quality of life,” Thomson said. “If those nomads had the same opportunities they hoped for in their home countries, they could just travel on vacation.”

During the pandemic in China, Zhang was cooped up in her Shanghai apartment for weeks at a time. Even when lockdowns were lifted, she feared another COVID-19 outbreak would prevent her from moving around within the country.

“I now value freedom more,” Zhang said.

AP23208478888497 — Chinese Chuannan Zhang, who is attending language courses in Chiang Mai, traveled to Hua Hin of Prachub Kirikhant province, southern Thailand, Wednesday March 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Chuannan Zhang )

A generous severance package helped finance her time in Thailand and she is seeking ways to stay abroad long-term, perhaps by teaching Chinese language online.

Moving to Chiang Mai means waking up in the mornings to bird songs and a more relaxed pace of life. Unlike in China, she has time to practice yoga and meditation, shop for vintage clothes and attend dance classes.

Armonio Liang left the western Chinese city of Chengdu in landlocked Sichuan province for the Indonesian island of Bali, a popular digital nomad destination. His Web3 social media startup was limited by Chinese government restrictions while his use of cryptocurrency exchange apps drew police harassment.

AP23208479930129 — Chinese Armonio Liang sits on a beach as he works on his computer in Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, June 22, 2023. AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Moving to Bali gave the 38-year-old greater freedom and a middle-class lifestyle with what might be barely enough money to live on back home.

“This is what I cannot get in China,” said Liang, referring to working on his laptop on the beach and brainstorming with expatriates from around the world. “Thousands of ideas just sprouted up in my mind. I had never been so creative before.”

He also has enjoyed being greeted with smiles.

“In Chengdu, everyone is so stressed. If I smiled at a stranger, they would think I am an idiot,” he said.

Life overseas is not all beach chats and friendly neighbors, though. For most young workers, such stays will be interludes in their lives, Thompson said.

“They can’t have kids, because kids have to go to school,” Thompson said. “They cannot fulfill their responsibilities to their parents. What if their aging parents need help? They eventually will get a full-time job back home and get called back home because of one of those things.”

AP23208479927296 — Chinese Armonio Liang works on his computer at his apartment in Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Zhang said she faces pressure to get married. Liang wants his parents to move to Bali with him.

“It’s a big problem,” Liang said. “They worry they will be lonely after moving out of China and worry about medical resources here.”

Huang Wanxiong, 32, was stranded on Bohol Island in the Philippines for seven months in 2020 when air travel halted during the pandemic, and he spent his time learning free diving, which involves diving to great depths without oxygen tanks.

He eventually flew home to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, but lost his job at a private tutoring company after the government cracked down on the industry in 2021. His next gig was driving more than 16 hours a day for a ride-hailing business.

“I felt like a machine during those days,” Huang said. “I can accept a stable and unchanging life but I cannot accept not having any hope, not trying to improve the situation and surrendering to fate.”

Huang returned to the Philippines in February, escaping family pressures to get a better job and find a girlfriend in China. He renewed his Bohol Island friendships and qualified as a dive instructor.

But without Chinese tourists to teach and no income, he flew home again in June.

AP23208479607670 — Chinese Wanxiong Huang, a free diving instructor, practices his skills in the sea around Bohol Island in the Philippines, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Shaoxu Wang)

He still hopes to make a living as a diver, possibly back in Southeast Asia, though he also may agree to his parents’ proposal to emigrate to Peru to work in a family-run supermarket.

Huang recalled he once surfaced too quickly from a 40-meter (131-foot) dive and his hands trembled from a dangerous lack of oxygen, known as hypoxia. The lesson he took was to avoid rushing and maintain a steady climb. Until his next move, he plans to use that free diver discipline to counter the anxieties of living in China.

“I will apply the calm I learned from the sea surrounding that island to my real life,” Huang said. “I will maintain my own pace.”

Hot News

LATEST NEWS