Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Move Forward Party and top winner in the May's general election reacts during vote counting at the Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press — Thailand’s rocky road to naming a new prime minister took a fresh turn Saturday as the candidate who led his party to first place in May’s general election said he is open to bowing out of contention if he cannot win a second round of voting in Parliament.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old leader of the progressive Move Forward Party, said he would be willing to let a coalition partner party field its candidate. However, he indicated the political battling could continue for weeks.
A supporter of the Move Forward Party holds a paper fan of Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward Party, during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Lawmakers on Thursday failed to confirm Pita as prime minister despite his party’s surprising victory in the May polls, when it garnered 151 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. It then assembled an eight-party coalition that together holds 312 seats, a clear majority in the lower house, giving it the right to nominate a prime minister.
To be elected for prime minister, a candidate needs to win a majority of votes in a joint sitting of the lower house and the 250-seat Senate. Thursday’s vote to confirm Pita won only 324 votes, significantly short of the 376 needed, largely because he failed to bring enough members of the Senate over to his side.
Move Forward’s coalition leans liberal, with strong support from pro-democracy activists. The Senate’s members, who are not elected but appointed by a military government, represent Thailand’s conservative royalist establishment. They and other opponents of Move Forward cited the party’s proposal for minor reforms to the country’s monarchy system as the reason for rejecting Pita.
A second round of voting is expected on Wednesday.
Supporters of the Move Forward Party hold posters reading “Cancel senators” gather during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Pita, in a video posted Saturday on Facebook, said that if it becomes clear his party has no chance of getting its candidate approved, it will hand over the opportunity to the Pheu Thai Party, the second biggest in its coalition, with 141 House seats.
Pita was Move Forward’s only candidate while Pheu Thai has floated three names for a possible prime minister: real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin; Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daugther of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted by a 2006 military coup; and Chaikasem Nitsiri, the party’s chief strategist.
It remained unclear on Saturday which one Pheu Thai would nominate.
Supporters of the Move Forward Party stage a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Pita said that while Move Forward is committed to form a government as the winner of the election, its struggle goes beyond the 14 million voters who backed the party and the 27 million in all who cast votes for the eight parties in its coalition.
“This is a fight of all people in Thailand,” he said. “The voice of the people must be the voice that shapes the future of this country.”
He called for political compromise and said: “We don’t have much time left, as I’m well aware that Thailand cannot go forward for long without a government of the people.”
On Friday, Move Forward announced it is seeking to change the law to take away the Senate’s de facto veto power over who can form a new government and submitted a draft amendment to the Constitution.
Supporters of the Move Forward Party hold posters reading “Cancel senators” during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Pita said Saturday that if all fails, he will step aside to let Pheu Thai take the lead in nominating a prime minister. His coalition would remain intact, according to a memorandum of understanding its members agreed to.
In a statement released after Pita’s video, his party spelled out the next steps. If Pita fails to win outright in a second round, but gains “significantly” more votes, it will have him contest a third round of voting. At the same time, if the second vote does fall short, the party will continue to push for the amendment to get rid of the Senate’s role in selecting a prime minister.
If the amendment succeeds, Pita’s nomination for prime minister will be submitted for another vote, perhaps by September. If that fails, Move Forward will step aside — while remaining in the coalition — to let Pheu Thai submit its candidate for prime minister.
An undated photo of Stark's former chairman Chanin Yensudchai.
BANGKOK — The Department of Special Investigation, or DSI, on Friday said they are requesting the Interpol to issue a Red Notice for Stark’s former chairman Chanin Yensudchai, who is believed to have fled to Hong Kong after being accused of fraud.
DSI spokeswoman Pichaya Tarakornsanti said the agency contacted the Interpol asking for Chanin’s whereabouts after a warrant was out for his arrest. The former chairman of the electrical wire maker and nine other individuals were accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, of providing false financial statements, with damages from the company’s debts estimated at more than 38 billion baht.
The Interpol Red Notice would notify member police forces around the world to locate and detain the suspect for an extradition.
The scandal came to light after Stark failed to submit its financial statements in time, prompting the securities regulator to order a special audit of the company and the stock exchange to suspend the company from trade.
The initial report released in May found irregular sales volume and stock quantity in its books and the company had to restate its financial reports to show two consecutive years of net losses between 2021 and 2022. The company initially reported a profit of 2.79 billion baht for 2021, but the subsequent audit showed that it was actually a loss of 5.98 billion baht.
Former chief financial officer Sattha Chantrasettalert said in a televised interview on MCOT last week that he had falsified financial statements to raise Stark’s share price following a direct order from Chanin.
Authorities ordered the seizure of assets of Stark, as well as its executives and subsidiaries, for the duration of 180 days and a 15-day travel ban on five individuals including Chanin and Sattha. The order can be extended by the court.
DSI said they seized over 100 million baht in assets from the company.
More than 1,700 retail investors have registered for a class action against the company and its executives, saying they were lured into buying Stark shares by falsified financial statements. The company’s share price had surged to over 5 baht each at its peak, but plunged to 0.02 baht after the scandal surfaced.
The company said they are considering options such as filing for bankruptcy and selling assets outside of its core business to prevent it from being delisted.
A flower bud of marijuana is prepared for customers at a Dutch passion shop in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
By YUCHENG TANG Associated Press
BANGKOK (AP) — A Japanese tourist reaches into a baggie of cannabis he’s just bought in a central Bangkok weed shop, pulling out a gram of buds to chop down in a small black grinder, before rolling them neatly into a joint.
Only the slight spillage onto the smoking lounge’s table — and his cough as he lights up and inhales deeply — betray the fact that until two weeks ago, he’d never tried marijuana.
Most Asian nations have strict drug laws with harsh penalties, and Thailand’s de facto legalization of marijuana last year has brought a wave of tourists from the region like the visitor from Japan, intrigued by the lure of the forbidden leaf.
“I was curious about how I would feel after smoking,” said the 42-year-old tourist who spoke on condition that his name not be used, for fear his experimentation in Bangkok could lead to legal issues at home.
“I wonder why Japan bans it?” he pondered. “I wanted to try it.”
A Japanese tourist smokes cannabis at a Dutch passion shop in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Even as more countries around the world legalize marijuana, Thailand has been the outlier in Asia, where several countries still have the death penalty for some cannabis offenses. Singapore has already executed two people this year for trafficking marijuana and its Central Narcotics Bureau has announced plans to randomly test people returning from Thailand.
Japan does not have the death penalty for drug offenses, but has warned that its laws on cannabis use may apply to its nationals even when they are abroad.
China’s embassy in Thailand has warned that if Chinese tourists consume marijuana abroad and are “detected upon returning to China, it is considered equivalent to using drugs domestically. As a result, you will be subject to corresponding legal penalties.” It issues similar warnings for travel to other countries where marijuana is readily available, such as the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.
On a recent flight from the Chinese city of Shanghai, passengers were cautioned not to “accidentally” try marijuana in Bangkok, with an announcement that in Thailand “some food and drink can include cannabis, so please pay attention to the leaf logo on the package of food.”
Neither Chinese nor Singaporean authorities would detail how frequently they test citizens returning from countries where marijuana has been decriminalized, responding to queries from the AP simply by reiterating their previously announced policies.
It’s no wonder that weed dispensaries in Bangkok say that customers from Singapore and China are among the most cautious, asking questions about how long traces of the drug remain in the system and whether there are detox products.
But many remain undeterred, and Thailand’s cannabis industry has grown at lightning speed, with weed dispensaries now almost as common as the ubiquitous convenience stores in some parts of the capital. Through February, nearly 6,000 licenses for cannabis-related businesses have been approved, including more than 1,600 in Bangkok alone, according to official figures.
A flower bud of marijuana is prepared for customers at a Dutch passion shop in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
There are no government figures on how many tourists come specifically to smoke marijuana, but Kueakarun Thongwilai, the manager of a weed shop in central Bangkok, estimates at least 70%-80% of his customers are foreigners, primarily from Asian countries like Japan, Malaysia, China and Philippines, and some from Europe.
Most cannabis shops, including his, now only hire employees who speak English, the lingua franca of the industry.
“You don’t need to speak perfect English, but you need to communicate with foreigners,” Thongwilai said.
About half of his customers are first-time weed users and most of them are Asians, he said.
Some want to try edible cannabis products, but Thongwilai said he tries to steer them toward smoking.
“Edibles take more time to take effect, and during that time people may eat more and more, leading to an excessive experience for beginners,” he said.
Not all are new to the drug, said Thongwilai, remembering a Malaysian customer who snuck away from a meal with his wife and daughter at a nearby restaurant. The man said he smoked marijuana secretly at home, but had heard the Thai product was better quality and wanted to try it.
“He bought the cheapest weed in our shop and tried it in a mall, and then he came back and bought more,” Thongwilai recalled.
Not far from Thongwilai’s shop at Dutch Passion, a newly opened retail branch of a Netherlands seed distributor that has been in business for more than three decades, about half the customers are also first-time users, said Theo Geene, a Dutch shareholder in the business.
Cannabis has been available in coffee shops in the Netherlands since the 1970s, and Geene said he has used his experience to train his staff how to serve those unfamiliar with the drug.
“For beginners, it’s not good to use a bong,” he said. “It’s too much for them. We don’t want anyone to pass out here.”
Most customers refused to talk about their experiences, with the Japanese tourist in Geene’s shop the only one who agreed to — and only on the condition his name not be used.
Most of the shop’s Asian customers are similarly discreet, choosing to smoke their purchases inside rather than on the streets like many Westerners do, which is common but a violation of Thai regulations, Geene said.
“They are more cautious and afraid,” he said. “They don’t want to be seen when they smoke weed.”
Before he embarked on his trip to Thailand, the 42-year-old Japanese tourist said he researched extensively online and determined that while customs might randomly check bags and luggage for marijuana being smuggled into Japan, there was no testing going on in line with government policy.
Since his first puff two weeks ago, he said he’s been smoking every day, visiting different shops, comparing prices and trying different strains.
Dispensary staffers taught him how to grind buds and roll a joint and he’s been having fun perfecting the technique.
“I practice it every day,” he said, looking down at the joint he was rolling and repeating the word “practice” twice before bursting into laughter.
_____
AP journalist David Rising contributed to this story.
Thongkham Lukthongcahi displays a kissing snake head at his home in Khon Kaen province.
Thongkham Lukthongcahi, 62 years old, has announced his retirement from the King Cobra show, with which he made a name for himself worldwide for 30 years, as he no longer wants to risk his life after his senior died at the same age.
Thongkham welcomed the media at his home on Friday in Moo 6, Ban Khok Sangha, Sai Moon sub-district, Nam Phong district, Khon Kaen province. This village is the only snake village in Thailand. On July 14, he welcomed the media to announce his retirement from the snake business after 28 years, starting in 1995.
The walls of his house are decorated with newspapers, photos and even certificates, including two Guinness World Records certificates after he became famous as a snake show performer in Ban Khok Sangha. With his extraordinary ability to kiss snake heads, he became a distinctive figure. He then ventured outside his hometown to seek opportunities to earn a living in popular tourist destinations such as Surat Thani, Phuket and Bangkok.
Thongkham shows the walls of his house are decorated with newspapers, photos and two Guinness World Records certificates after he became famous as a snake show performer.
Behind his house, five king cobras are still kept in wooden cages. He seizes the opportunity and decides to put on a farewell show, this time in front of the media. He also announces that he will continue to breed the snakes for a while, but if a company contacts him, he will sell them all. The price is determined by weighing the snakes and is 1,000 baht per kilogram. The snakes currently weigh between 4 and 5 kilograms.
He expresses that he has chosen to retire because he believes that his life is complete in every way. He no longer has to make monthly installments on his car and with the post-Songkran period coming up, his wife, Mrs. Jan Dang Chai Buddi, 58, urges him to return home because she is worried and wants him to be together.
With his extraordinary ability to kiss snake heads, Thongkham became a distinctive figure.
This coincides perfectly with his own feelings of contentment. Moreover, he still remembers the warning of the doctors of Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute that there is a high risk of being bitten by a king cobra for people over 60 years old. The venom can cause damage in various nervous systems.
Earlier, four members of the King Cobra Club, all aged 60 or older, had tragically lost their lives. The King Cobra Whisperer himself was bitten by cobras on four separate occasions, narrowly surviving three of those incidents. The last incident occurred in 2014 in Phuket province, where he had to spend two days in intensive care. Considering these reasons, he believes that the time is ripe and has made the official decision to announce today the end of the legend of the King Cobra King.
There is a high risk of being bitten by a king cobra for snake handler over 60 years old.
In 2006, Guinness World Records recognized Thongkham’s remarkable feat of kissing 19 king cobras and awarded him a gold certificate at Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” Museum in Pattaya, Chonburi Province.
Later, in 2010, he confirmed his extraordinary achievement by setting another world record. In Rome, Italy, he kissed 34 king cobras in just 3 minutes, earning him the applause of international spectators and the title of “King Cobra King.”
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz VS Serbia's Novak Djokovic / AP PHOTO
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — This was the moment. If Novak Djokovic was going to be stopped in the Wimbledon semifinals, if his much younger and harder-hitting opponent, Jannik Sinner, was going to turn things around Friday, the monumental comeback required would need to start immediately.
Djokovic knew it. Sinner knew it. The 15,000 or so Centre Court spectators knew it.
After taking the first two sets, Djokovic trailed 5-4 in the third, and a flubbed forehand made the game score 15-40 as he served. Two chances for Sinner to finally break. Two chances for him to actually take a set. Djokovic hit a fault, which drew some sounds of approval from the stands. Djokovic sarcastically used his racket and the ball to applaud the noise-makers, then flashed a thumbs up.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates winning against Italy’s Jannik Sinner in their men’s singles semifinal match on day twelve of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
He can back up any such bravado. Djokovic simply does not lose at the All England Club lately. Or at any Grand Slam tournament, for that matter. So he calmly collected the next four points to claim that game, looked toward the crowd and mockingly pretended to wipe away a tear. Twenty minutes later, the match was over, and the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Sinner allowed Djokovic to close in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon and fifth in a row.
“The third set could have gone his way,” said Djokovic, who will meet No. 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz for the trophy on Sunday. “It was really, really, just a lot of pressure.”
Alcaraz showed off every bit of his many talents, including winning 17 of 20 points when he serve-and-volleyed, while beating No. 3 Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to make his way to his first final at the grass-court major tournament.
While Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, is pursuing a 24th Grand Slam singles championship, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, seeks his second after winning the U.S. Open last September.
“What can I say? Everybody knows the legend he is,” Alcaraz said about Djokovic. “It’s going to be really, really difficult. But I will fight. … I will believe in myself, I will believe that I can beat him here.”
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz reacts after winning a point against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in a men’s singles semifinal match on day twelve of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
No one has managed to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon since 2017. And no one has managed to beat him at Centre Court since 2013.
Against Sinner, Djokovic repeatedly served himself out of potential trouble, saving all six break points he faced, to reach his ninth final at the All England Club. It’s also his 35th final at all Grand Slam tournaments, more than any man or woman in tennis history.
As great as he is as a returner, as superb as his defense is — over and over, he would sprint and lean and stretch to get to a ball that extended a point until Sinner made a mistake — Djokovic possesses a serve that might be the part of his game he’s improved the most over his career.
That showed Friday, and it’s showed throughout this fortnight: In his half-dozen matches during the tournament, Djokovic has won 100 of his 103 service games and saved 16 of 19 break points.
“In the pressure moments, he was playing very good. Not missing,” Sinner said. “That’s him.”
The age gap between Djokovic and Sinner, 21, was the largest between Wimbledon men’s semifinalists in the Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic would be the oldest champion at Wimbledon since professionals were first allowed to compete that year.
“I feel 36 is the new 26, I guess,” Djokovic said. “It feels good.”
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts as he wins the first set against Italy’s Jannik Sinner in a men’s singles semifinal match on day twelve of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Sinner is the one who hit serves at up to 132 mph and pounded one fault that clanged against the speed readout board in a corner of the arena with such force it sounded as if he might have broken the thing. Of more concern to Sinner: It was followed by another fault in a service game he dropped to trail 2-1 in the second set.
In truth, talented as Sinner is, he didn’t really generate any more frustration for Djokovic than chair umpire Richard Haigh did.
In one game in which Djokovic would face — and erase — a break point, he argued to no avail after forfeiting a point because Haigh called him for hindrance for letting out a lengthy yell while the ball was still in play. Moments later, Haigh issued Djokovic a warning for letting the serve-clock expire.
“It was a very stressful game for me to survive and to kind of storm through. It was super important,” said Djokovic, who thought the hindrance call was incorrect after seeing a replay and Haigh needed to “recognize the moment a little bit more” instead of issuing the time warning. “Luckily for me, I stayed calm.”
Indeed he did, continuing his bid to join Roger Federer as the only men to have won eight singles trophies at Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova won the women’s championship nine times.
Djokovic got major title No. 22 at the Australian Open in January, and No. 23 at the French Open in June — his Wimbledon shoes have a small “23” stamped on the side — after getting past Alcaraz in the semifinals at Roland Garros.
If Djokovic wins Sunday, he will head to the U.S. Open in August with a chance at the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a man since Rod Laver in 1969.
With the main stadium’s retractable roof shut because of rain outdoors, the grass was slick and slippery during Djokovic vs. Sinner. Sinner slipped on the very first point; Djokovic on the third. And it kept happening to both. They repeatedly smacked the soles of their shoes with their rackets to try to remove grass and dirt that got stuck in there.
Taking on Djokovic represented a significant rise in the level of competition for Sinner. Until Friday, not only had he not faced a single seeded player, but he had gone up against opponents with these rankings: 79th, 85th, 98th and 111th.
No one in the half-century history of computerized tennis rankings — men’s and women’s — has spent more weeks at No. 1 than Djokovic, who currently is No. 2. But that number does not reflect his form at the moment.
This was Djokovic’s 46th major semifinal and Sinner’s first, and that seemed obvious at the most crucial junctures.
Sinner was quite close to reaching that stage a year ago at the All England Club: He took a two-set lead in the quarterfinals against Djokovic, who came all the way back to win in five.
That sort of work was not required on this afternoon. Djokovic never let it come to that.
Poster for renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's animation film "Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka" (How Do You Live?). (Copyright 2023 Studio Ghibli via Kyodo)
Renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s animation film “Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka” (How Do You Live?) was released Friday in Japan after a lack of promotion that had left fans guessing about his first feature film in 10 years.
The limited information available before the release of the latest Studio Ghibli Inc. film included a poster, revealed in December 2022, of a bird-like creature with white and blue feathers.
The 124-minute film by 82-year-old Miyazaki, who came out of retirement for it, features a boy who lost his mother in a fire in Japan during wartime.
He wanders into a mysterious world guided by a gray heron while looking for his father’s expected new partner who has gone missing.
The film’s title comes from a 1937 best-selling novel by Genzaburo Yoshino, an editor and writer of children’s literature. The novel shows up in the film as a book read by the main character.
A long queue forms at a cinema in Tokyo on the morning of July 14, 2023, as renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s animation film “Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka” (How Do You Live?) is released in Japan. (Kyodo)
Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki said at a Tokyo event in late June that the decision to eschew advertising had been taken due to concern that over-promotion of previous movies may have led audience interest to “wane a bit.”
But he also revealed that Miyazaki was worried about its lack of promotion.
Dozens lined up for the first screening at a movie theater in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
A 27-year-old company employee described the film as a “culmination” of Miyazaki’s anime world. “I can’t digest it by just watching it once and I feel like I want to watch it again immediately,” he said.
As fans tried to learn more about the mysterious film before its opening day, interest in related printed works grew. Publishers of Yoshino’s book and a comic book based on it said they had decided to issue reprints.
Miyazaki’s works are popular in Japan and overseas. His fantasy movie “Spirited Away” won the prestigious Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002 and the American Academy Award for Animated Feature Film in 2003.
His other major works include the 1988 classic hit “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Princess Mononoke” in 1997 and “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” in 1984.
The Japanese animator announced his retirement in 2013 as “The Wind Rises” was being screened, citing difficulties in making films due to his age. But he later retracted the statement.
Egg prices rise to the highest level once again as farms have increased prices from 3.80 baht to 4 baht each since July 14 due to various factors such as El Niño and electricity costs. This affected low-income households.
The Padriw Egg Cooperative Network, the Chonburi Egg Cooperative Network, the Chiang Mai-Lamphun Egg Cooperative Network, and the Noi River Egg Cooperative Network announce another price increase of 20 satang per egg or 6 baht per tray, effective immediately, raising the farm-gate price of eggs from the previous 3.80 baht to 4.00 baht per egg.
This increase is higher than the previous adjustment on May 15, 2023 when the price was raised from 3.60 baht to 3.80 baht per egg.
Arida Tachapol, the owner of Kai Khai Pamaew egg store in Chiang Mai, mentioned that egg prices have led to a change in consumer behaviour. Customers used to buy big trays of 30 eggs, but now they have reduced their purchases to only 10 or 5 eggs.
Khai Pamaew egg store in Chiang Mai
Some people, because of their low income, come in the morning to buy only 1 or 2 eggs, and I have to sell the smallest amount of eggs at 4 baht per egg. Some customers buy 2 eggs together with glutinous rice for 5 baht, totaling 13 baht, to feed their children before sending them to school. She does not want to sell at high prices or take advantage of the situation to make profit.
Suriya Chaobualuang, a seller of fried eggs with rice in Nakhon Ratchasima who sells 20 baht per pack, mentioned that the eggs he uses in his business are thin-shelled chicken eggs, which currently have a price of 95 baht per tray. He thinks it is necessary to find ways to reduce costs in other areas instead of increasing the price of his food. Since most of his buyers are his regular customers, he thinks it is necessary to maintain the price of 20 baht per pack.
Suriya Chaobualuang, a seller of fried eggs with rice in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Mongkol Pipatsatayanuwong, president of the Chicken Egg Producers, Traders and Exporters Association, said that the main factor behind the increase in egg prices is the cost of feed, which has increased significantly and continuously since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Currently, prices for feed ingredients such as corn, soybean meal and other grains remain high. These feed ingredients account for about 60-70 per cent of total production costs.
Omelet with rice
The next factor is the El Niño phenomenon, or changing weather patterns, which affect various crops around the world and lead to a decline in production volumes. Feed ingredient prices will be persistently high throughout the year for the foreseeable future.
At the same time, electricity costs have also increased significantly due to higher electricity rates. Especially during the recent hot weather, more electricity was needed to run cooling fans and alleviate the heat. This factor is another major contributor to the rising production costs of chicken eggs. In addition, labor costs have also increased as finding workers has become more difficult.
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) proceeds with the restructuring of business operation in aviation of the company and THAI Smile Airways. The fleet efficiency and aircraft utilization have effectively been enhanced.
The airline route network has also been strengthened to support increasing travel demands. THAI will utilize Airbus A320 aircraft to operate on the routes Bangkok – Yangon v.v., which was formerly operated by THAI Smile Airways, and Bangkok – Dhaka v.v., starting 16 July 2023 with details as follows:
1. Bangkok – Yangon v.v. will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft providing inflight services of Silk Class, especially offered on routes operated with A320, with variety of food and beverages to fulfill all customers’ travel experiences and comfort throughout their journey, and Economy Class together with selections of inflight entertainment such as e-Reading and short movies. The operations will be 14 flights per week:
Bangkok – Yangon
• TG301 departs from Bangkok at 09:35 hours and arrives in Yangon at 10:35 hours (local time)
• TG303 departs from Bangkok at 17:05 hours and arrives in Yangon at 18:00 hours (local time)
Yangon – Bangkok
• TG302 departs from Yangon at 11:25 hours (local time) and arrives in Bangkok at 13:25 hours
• TG304 departs from Yangon at 19:00 hours (local time) and arrives in Bangkok at 21:00 hours
2. Bangkok – Dhaka v.v. (TG339/340) will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft, an increase from three to seven flights per week, offering Economy Class service. With existing flight operations of TG321/322, THAI will totally fly double daily flights from Bangkok to Dhaka with details as follows:
Bangkok – Dhaka
• TG321, operated with B777-200ER aircraft, departs from Bangkok at 10:35 hours and arrives in Dhaka at 12:10 hours (local time)
• TG339, operated with A320 aircraft, departs from Bangkok at 23:50 hours and arrives in Dhaka at 01:25 hours (local time)
Dhaka – Bangkok
• TG322, operated with B777-200ER aircraft, departs from Dhaka at 13:35 hours (local time) and arrives in Bangkok at 17:00 hours
• TG340, operated with A320 aircraft, departs from Dhaka at 02:45 hours (local time) and arrives in Bangkok at 06:15 hours
Currently, THAI also operates flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Dhaka utilizing B777-200ER and A320 aircraft.
For further information about flight schedule, booking and ticket issuing, please visit thaiairways.com, contact THAI sales offices, or call (+66) 2-356-1111 for THAI Contact Center (24 hours a day).
27-year-old Pakistani Sharukh Karim Uddin, who has Thai citizenship, was arrested on July 12.
Following the case of Hans Peter Ralter Mack, a German businessman who was kidnapped, murdered, and dismembered in Nong Prue District, Chonburi Province, Pol. Gen. Surachet Hakpal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said on July 14 that he directed the police to wipe out foreign criminal gangs in Pattaya.
He ordered that information be gathered about all gangs in the Pattaya area and living in Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, and monitored foreigners who came to live in Thailand without a job, riding a Harley Davidson, posing in gang tattoos, and on a retirement visa. Immigration officers should revoke their visas and return them via immigration processes.
Pol. Gen. Surachet Hakpal, Deputy Commissioner of Police
“Thai officers will not allow these people to come to Pattaya as a shelter or to conduct crimes. As a result, immigration officers must investigate and eliminate all gangs, whether they are the Badidose or the Outlaws,” he said.
Pol. Gen. Surachet stated that after eliminating criminal organisations in Pattaya, their members would leave the country. These organisations will go wherever government officials are weak. As a result, the immigration service must take its responsibilities seriously.
In the Mack Murder case, he directed that investigators recognise charging the suspects with premeditated murder, which carries a death penalty.
All the German suspects
The four suspects are: 52-year-old German Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann; 47-year-old German Petra Christl Grundgreif; 27-year-old Pakistani Sharukh Karim Uddin, who has Thai citizenship; and 52-year-old German Nicole Frevel, who owns the property where the police discovered Mack’s body. The last person was charged only with hiding, disguising the body.
On July 14, police took Uddin to the Pattaya Provincial Court to request for detention. Uddin told reporters through tears. “It was not done by me. “I did not murder. I was terrified.”
Uddin is seen on surveillance cameras sitting in the back of the pickup truck and carrying the freezer into the suspect’s house, where Mack’s body was hidden. On July 13, he was arrested in a hotel in Kanchanaburi Province and charged at Nong Prue Police Station in Chonburi Province.
CCTV footage showed Sharukh Karim Uddin bring a freezer into the suspect’s home.
His brother revealed that Uddin was scared, claiming that Olaf pushed him to participate. He asserted that he had nothing to do with Mack’s death. He was terrified of meeting Olaf and was afraid he would be killed in prison.
On July 4, 2023, Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann and Petra Christl Grundgreif were seen getting into the same car on CCTV.
Nicole Frevel, the landlord who discovered Mach’s death, had previously slashed her arms during the police arrest. “I could die today; if I do not die, I must be killed,” remarked this woman, who subsequently disclosed that Olaf brought the freezer inside the house. When she asked about what was in the freezer, she was threatened with death unless she remained silent and did not speak much.
Vive la France! It’s Bastille Day, or French National Day, today and HE Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to Thailand, will hold the French National Day reception this evening in Bangkok with attendees at Swissotel Bangkok Ratchada (owned by the French hospitality conglomerate Accor) including .
The event will be attended by many personalities such as Privy Counciller Atthaniti Disatha-amnarj, Senate President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, caretaker Deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt and distinguished guests from various sectors.
The French Embassy is sharing with us Information about the French National Day and the state of Franco-Thai relations below. Happy Bastille Day!
HE Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to Thailand
14 July, a day of unity
When we think of 14 July, we generally think of the storming of the Bastille in 1789, and “Bastille Day” as many countries call it.
For the French, 14 July is an opportunity to come together and celebrate. This tradition was established in 1790 with “Federation Day”, which brought together the French people in republican banquets to celebrate concord and restored national unity. In 1880, 14 July became our “National Holiday”, with military parades, fireworks, balls and popular celebrations.
Since then, 14 July has been an opportunity for the French people across France and the world to meet and celebrate the “awakening of freedom” together.
14 July and symbols of France
Bastille Day on 14 July is an opportunity for French people, wherever they may be in the world, to celebrate the symbols and values of the Republic:
– Liberty – Equality – Fraternity
Say to any French person “Liberté, Egalité…”, and they will instantly complete the motto.
Give it a try!
Since 1880 (when 14 July was set as the French national holiday) each national holiday has been celebrated with a major military parade on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, to demonstrate the unbreakable link between the French people and their army.
The parade takes place in the presence of the President of the French Republic, the Prime Minister, members of the government, the Presidents of the Senate and National Assembly, foreign ambassadors in France and sometimes foreign Heads of State.
All sit in the VIP stand at the end of the Champs-Élysées, on Place de la Concorde. After a flypast by the Patrouille de France, various army corps march down the famous avenue in turn, saluting the Head of State and representatives from the executive and legislative branches of government.
The tricolour flag, a national emblem
The tricolour flag came about during the French Revolution by combining the colour of the king (white) with those of Paris (blue and red).
The tricolour only took on its definitive form in 1794, before being adopted in modern times by the 1958 constitution of the French republic, which stated, in its Article 2, that “The national emblem shall be the blue, white and red tricolour flag.”
The bilateral relations between France and Thailand since 2016
In 2016 and 2019, France and Thailand celebrated successively the 160th anniversary of their relations (the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Siam and France was signed on 15 August 1856), and the 333rd anniversary of the first embassy of the Kingdom of Siam to France, led by Kosa Pan in 1686.
In order to celebrate the longstanding friendship between the two countries a permanent exhibition was inaugurated in February 2022 on the outside wall of the diplomatic compound of the French Embassy in Bangkok.
In 2018 Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited France twice. On June 25 his meeting with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace marked the beginning of THEOS 2 program, the second Thai satellite made in France. On November 11, the Prime Minister visited Paris for the hundredth anniversary of the end of the First World War (Siamese troops marched through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in a victory celebration after the end of World War I, on 14 July, 1919) and the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum.
The friendship between France and Thailand was also illustrated during the dark period of the Covid-19 pandemic. France donated more than 4.2 million doses of vaccines to Thailand, a clear sign of the solidarity and the close bound existing between the two countries during this difficult period.
A major step in the development of the relations between France and Thailand was reached on 22 February 2022 with the signature in Paris by the two foreign ministers of the “Roadmap for France-Thailand bilateral relations 2022-2024”.
Both countries committed themselves to promote concrete projects in four main areas: security and defense, economy, human exchanges, and global issues, in order to upgrade their bilateral relation to the level of a strategic partnership.
The roadmap was rapidly implemented, notably in the sector of transports in which several agreements were signed between 2021 and 2023.
Defense and military cooperation has also been developing. The First Franco-Thai Joint Defense Committee took place in Bangkok on March 17-18, 2022.
President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit in Bangkok from 16 to 18 November 2022 was a major milestone in the history the franco-thai relations. Welcomed as Guest of the Chair to the APEC summit by Prime Minister Prayut o-cha, President Macron was the first European head of state or government to be invited to the APEC Summit, since the creation of the forum in 1989.
While this visit marked an important step in the development of the French Indopacific strategy, it also highlighted the growing importance France attaches to ASEAN countries, in particular to Thailand.
In 2022 HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graced with her presence at the French Residence in Bangkok the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Societé des Membres de la Légion d’Honneur (SMLH). From 12 to 19 May 2023 she made an official visit to France (Lyon and Paris) at the occasion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Princess Galyani Vadhana, founder of the Thai Association of French Teachers (ATPF).
In order to further deepen the bilateral relation between our two countries and to renew its content, 2023 was proclaimed by the two Governments, “France-Thailand Year of Innovation » (YOI).
This initiative was the occasion to showcase and promote the vibrant cooperation between France and Thailand in innovative and forward-looking sectors like air and space industry, bio-circular and green economy, healthcare, food industry and wellness, and cultural industries. The creation of a joint Franco-Thai platform for innovation will help create or strengthen long-term partnerships between researchers, companies, and start-ups from both countries.
These last few years, the French network in Thailand has been expanding. Five French schools are now established in the Kingdom, respectively in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, and Ko Samui. A new school will be opened in Chiang Mai. In 2021 the Alliance Française (French cultural institutes) of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phuket emancipated from the Alliance Française in Bangkok, which celebrated 110 years of existence in 2022.
The French Embassy has been pursuing an ambitious program of cultural events as shown by the launch in 2021 of the new Franco-Thai Animation Film festival and the development of its flagship artistic event « Galleries’ Nights » which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023 and is now organized not only in Bangkok but also in Bang Saen.
Milestones exhibitions have also been organized like TranceFiguration about sacred tattoos which took place in 2022 in partnership with the Ecole Française d’Extrême Orient (EFEO) and the Alliance Française, in Chiang Mai. The exhibition was presented in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and at the National Gallery in Bangkok.
In 2023, to better embrace and promote the wide range of activities of its cultural and cooperation department, the French Embassy also coined a new brand, “Sawasdee France” with the motto « Where France and Thailand meet ».
This new brand which replaces former concepts like “La Fête”, is meant to be a new bridge between France and Thailand in order to better communicate about the whole range of activities organized by the French Embassy in Thailand especially cultural events and initiatives to promote the French language, develop education partnerships, the mobility of students and researchers and foster cooperation on global subjects like health, the fight against climate change, and the protection of environment and biodiversity.
