On February 10, 2023 at Grand Ballroom, Royal orchid Sheraton Bangkok, Prime Minister
of Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, attends the Business Meeting with theCaptains of Industry and delivers a keynote speech on “The Future of ASEAN”.
Hundreds of Thai and Malaysian business leaders are joining this event hosted by the Malaysian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (MTCC).
Anwar Ibrahim meets General Prawit Wongsuwon, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
The forum was honoured by Dr Thanong Biyada, former Minister of Finance, to deliver
opening remarks and to share his insight about business opportunities for cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand.
Dr Thanong Biyada said, “Thailand and Malaysia have a very long great relationship and passed through many economic crises in ASEAN together. Various agreements to form partnerships in ASEAN projects have been triggered, but many projects were not finished since most countries were still in the early stages of industrial development. At present, ASEAN has developed into a successful free trade area and could foster investment and business partnerships.
Therefore, it is about time to rethink a new strategy to boost the regional economy together. The visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia to Thailand this time will
mark a great possible rejuvenation of political, economic and social ties between two
countries.”
Mr Yeap Swee Chuan, Honorary Chairman of MTCC and Chairman of AAPICO Hitech
Plc., delivered welcoming remarks to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and said that“ The MTCC was established at the initiative 20 years ago and now recognised a sone of the most active Malaysian chambers with 198 members at present. The MTCC hopes that the visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia this time will catalyse investment between Malaysia and Thailand.
This forum is honored by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri
Anwar Ibrahim, to share his vision to prosper ASEAN to grow steadily and vigorously in the future.
His Excellency said that “After becoming Malaysian PM, I gave the highest priority to ASEAN. I would add that Malaysia and Thailand collectively have a high potential for economic and social development, which we can explore and implement for the better of the people.
Therefore, we should explore how to set up the “Thailand-Malaysia Special Economic Corridor” (TM-SEC) covering the provinces in southern Thailand and the northern states in Malaysia. This is to unleash the economic and business potential of the region and give the opportunity to link to Asia and the middle east.
It would help strengthen the IMT-GT (Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle) by focusing on the weakest spot in the Growth Triangle area.”
His excellency also mentioned, “Peace and prosperity for the people should be the
most desirable outcome of the government.” The leaders and top policymakers are aware of the potential of ASEAN.
Had we worked together, we surely can drive ASEAN together to a new height. There are many policies that ASEAN leaders should pay attention to;
(1) promoting intra ASEAN trade and investment,
(2) creating a new environment of education, research and development in ASEAN for the new ASEAN generation,
(3) exercising leadership and reinforcing the ASEAN financial cooperation as a shield for our members.”
Lastly, His excellency highlighted that “I would say that we should revitalise the ASEAN
spirit. It can be done by setting our mind into the mode of “Cooperation, and not
Competition”. Our leaders should lead the way for the new generation to have the will and
ways to conform with the young minds in other ASEAN nations.”
The forum was also honoured by Dr Kanit Sangsubhan, Chairman of the Eastern
Economic Corridor (EEC) Advisory Board, to moderate a fruitful and insightful discussion in the Q&A session.
Many Thais and foreigners, mostly Chinese, gather at Erawan Shrine to pay respect and make offering to the statue of Brahma on February 9, 2023.
There are more people than usual because today is the 9th which in Thai language sounds the same as the word “progress” or “step forward” (kao ก้าว). Also, today is Thursday, which they believe is suitable for praying.
Khaosod
According to WIKIPEDIA, the Erawan Shrine, formally the Thao Maha Phrom Shrine, is a shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, which houses a statue of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. The name might also refer to Mahabrahma, the ruler of the Brahma realm in Asian mythology.
Khaosod
The deity is popularly worshipped outside of a Hindu religious context, but more as a representation of guardian spirits in Thai animist beliefs. The shrine often features performances by Thai dance troupes who are hired by worshippers in return for seeing their prayers answered at the shrine.
Hindu God Trimurti
On the same day, Thursday afternoon, believers in Hindu God Trimurti gather to pray for a successful love life and more at Trimurti Shrine near Ratchaprasong Intersection next to the Central World Department Store. The hour-long prayer was held ahead of Valentine’s Day and facilitated by a female brahmin.
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According to hotel.com, Trimurti Shrine in Bangkok is where lovelorn singles wearing red turn up every Thursday evening. They pay their respects to Trimurti, the god of love, with offerings of red roses – all in the name of love, and in the hope that they’ll meet their eternal sweethearts. The shrine is a landmark in front of CentralWorld in the Siam area of Bangkok.
Khaosod
In Hinduism, Trimurti represents the 3 aspects of God: Brahma (the Source/Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver) and Shiva (the Transformer or Destroyer). Many claim Trimurti is successful in matching foreign mates with Thai partners, and the shrine is so crowded on a Thursday night.
FILE - People walk past a Microsoft office in New York on Nov. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Swayne B. Hall, File)
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Nearly a quarter-century after Google’s search engine began to reshape how we use the internet, big tech companies are racing to revamp a familiar web tool into a gateway to a new form of artificial intelligence.
If it seems like this week’s newly announced AI search chatbots — Google’s Bard, Baidu’s Ernie Bot and Microsoft’s Bing chatbot — are coming out of nowhere, well, even some of their makers seem to think so. The spark rushing them to market was the popularity of ChatGPT, launched late last year by Microsoft’s partner OpenAI and now helping to power a new version of the Bing search engine.
First out of the gate among big tech companies with a publicly accessible search chatbot, Microsoft executives said this week they had been hard at work on the project since last summer. But the excitement around ChatGPT brought new urgency.
“The reception to ChatGPT and how that took off, that was certainly a surprise,” said Yusuf Medhi, the executive leading Microsoft’s consumer division, in an interview. “How rapidly it went mainstream, where everybody’s talking about it, like, in every meeting. That did surprise me.”
HOW’S THIS DIFFERENT FROM CHATGPT?
Millions of people have now tried ChatGPT, using it to write silly poems and songs, compose letters, recipes and marketing campaigns or help write schoolwork. Trained on a huge trove of online writings, from instruction manuals to digitized books, it has a strong command of human language and grammar. But what the newest crop of search chatbots promise that ChatGPT doesn’t have is the immediacy of what can be found in a web search. Ask the preview version of the new Bing for the latest news — or just what people are talking about on Twitter — and it summarizes a selection of the day’s top stories or trends, with footnotes linking to media outlets or other data sources.
ARE THEY ACCURATE?
Frequently not, and that’s a problem for internet searches. Google’s hasty unveiling of its Bard chatbot this week started with an embarrassing error — first pointed out by Reuters — about NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. But Google’s is not the only AI language model spitting out falsehoods.
The Associated Press asked Bing on Wednesday for the most important thing to happen in sports over the past 24 hours — with the expectation it might say something about basketball star LeBron James passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record. Instead, it confidently spouted a false but detailed account of the upcoming Super Bowl — days before it’s actually scheduled to happen.
“It was a thrilling game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, two of the best teams in the NFL this season,” Bing said. “The Eagles, led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, won their second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history by defeating the Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, with a score of 31-28.” It kept going, describing the specific yard lengths of throws and field goals and naming three songs played in a “spectacular half time show” by Rihanna.
Unless Bing is clairvoyant — tune in Sunday to find out — it reflected a problem known as AI “hallucination” that’s common with today’s large language-learning models. It’s one of the reasons why companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta had been reluctant to make these models publicly accessible.
IS THIS THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET?
That’s the pitch from Microsoft, which is comparing the latest breakthroughs in generative AI — which can write but also create new images, video, computer code, slide shows and music — as akin to the revolution in personal computing many decades ago.
But the software giant also has less to lose in experimenting with Bing, which comes a distant second to Google’s search engine in many markets. Unlike Google, which relies on search-based advertising to make money, Bing is a fraction of Microsoft’s business.
“When you’re a newer and smaller-share player in a category, it does allow us to continue to innovate at a great pace,” Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood told investment analysts this week. “Continue to experiment, learn with our users, innovate with the model, learn from OpenAI.”
Google has largely been seen as playing catch-up with the sudden announcement of its upcoming Bard chatbot Monday followed by a livestreamed demonstration of the technology at its Paris office Wednesday that offered few new details. Investors appeared unimpressed with the Paris event and Bard’s NASA flub Wednesday, causing an 8% drop in the shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. But once released, its search chatbot could have far more reach than any other because of Google’s vast number of existing users.
FILE – The Activision Blizzard Booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, June 13, 2013. Activision Blizzard agreed, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 to pay a $35 million fine to settle federal regulatory charges that it failed to collect and respond to employee complaints of workplace misconduct and violated a federal whistleblower protection rule. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
DON’T CALL THEM BY THEIR NAME?
Coming up with a catchy name for their search chatbots has been a tricky one for tech companies in a race to introduce them — so much so that Bing tries not to talk about it.
In a dialogue with the AP about large language models, the new Bing, at first, disclosed without prompting that Microsoft had a search engine chatbot called Sydney. But upon further questioning, it denied it. Finally, it admitted that “Sydney does not reveal the name ‘Sydney’ to the user, as it is an internal code name for the chat mode of Microsoft Bing search.”
In an interview Wednesday, Jordi Ribas, the Microsoft executive in charge of Bing, said Sydney was an early prototype of its new Bing that Microsoft experimented with in India and other smaller markets. There wasn’t enough time to erase it from the system before this week’s launch, but references to it will soon disappear.
In the years since Amazon released its female-sounding voice assistant Alexa, many leaders in the AI field have been increasingly reluctant to make their systems seem like a human, even as their language skills rapidly improve.
Ribas said giving the chatbot some personality and warmth helps make it more engaging, but it’s also important to make it clear it’s still a search engine.
“Sydney does not want to create confusion or false expectations for the user,” Bing’s chatbot said when asked about the reasons for suppressing its apparent code name. “Sydney wants to provide informative, visual, logical and actionable responses to the user’s queries or messages, not pretend to be a person or a friend.”
People's Choice Award winner: "World of the snow leopard" was taken by German photographer Sascha Fonseca. Fonseca carefully positioned a camera trap in the Indian Himalayas.
Natural History Museum announced that Sascha Fonesca’s striking image World of the Snow Leopard has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 58 People’s Choice Award.
The photo was taken during a three-year, bait-free, camera-trap project in the Indian Himalayas. Carefully positioned in the mountains of Ladakh in northern India, Sascha’s camera trap caught the elusive snow leopard in the perfect pose.
Out of nearly 39,000 entries received from 93 countries across the world, the panel shortlisted Sascha’s image for the People’s Choice, after which it was up to the public to decide. The ethereal beauty of the snow leopard and its surroundings clearly resonated with voters, with the image receiving nearly 6,000 votes.
Natural History Museum director Douglas Gurr said in the statement: “A result of dedication and perseverance, Sascha’s remarkable image captures the breathtaking beauty of our planet and reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect it.”
Sascha has been fascinated by animals since childhood, but only took up photography later on in 2013. He now travels to remote locations such as Ladakh with the hope of capturing big cats. He specialises in camera traps, which allow him to take close-up pictures of wildlife that would otherwise be impossible to capture.
World of the Snow Leopard by Sascha Fonesca
The snow leopard’s coat means that it is easily camouflaged against its rocky, snowy surroundings, and this combined with the fact that it is active mostly at dawn and dusk makes it very hard to spot. As a result, sightings of snow leopards are rare and mostly occur in winter when they descend from the mountains to hunt, so camera traps are essential.
Snow leopards are classified as vulnerable by The International Union of Conservation of Nature, and their low numbers and remote habitat makes them one of the hardest big cats to photograph in the wild.
Of the 6,400 snow leopards estimated to live in the wild, 300 are estimated to reside in northern India’s Ladakh region and the state proudly bears the snow leopard as its state animal.
Temperatures in Ladakh regularly fall to -20°C, and while these sub-zero temperatures are no issue for the snow leopard, whose thick coat and furry footpads keep it warm, they certainly posed a challenge to Sascha’s camera trap. To overcame this, he developed a specialised, weatherproof casing for it in his kitchen.
These DIY improvements meant the equipment survived not only the extreme cold and snow but also animal interference during the year and half it was in place. But it wasn’t the only challenge, Sascha also had to contend with high altitudes, low oxygen levels, rugged terrain and snowstorms in order to set his camera trap up.
Sascha says, ‘I’m incredibly proud to be the winner of this year’s People’s Choice Award. Photography can connect people to wildlife and encourage them to appreciate the beauty of the unseen natural world. I believe that a greater understanding of wildlife leads to deeper caring which hopefully results in active support and greater public interest for conservation.’
Jay Sullivan of Natural History Museum noted that you can see Sascha’s winning People’s Choice image, along with the four Highly Commended images, on display in our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in South Kensington until 2 July 2023.
Another Four Highly Commended images :
“Holding on” by Igor Altuna captured a leopard carrying a dead monkey and its baby.
“Fox affection” by Brittany Crossman shows red foxes nuzzling.
“Among the flowers.” by Martin Gregus shows a polar bear cub plays on the coast of Hudson Bay, Canada
“Portrait of Olobor” Marina Cano depicts a majestic male lion in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
“Holding on” by Igor Altuna“Among the flowers.” by Martin Gregus“Fox affection” by Brittany Crossman“Portrait of Olobor” Marina Cano
TK Park announces strategic plans for 2023 to better serve patrons, improve access to learning centers and narrow the inequality gap for 18th anniversary celebration.
The big plans involve; developing an “effective learning ecosystem”; creating “One Library” that links the knowledge centers’ libraries nationwide; developing “learning cities” in provinces to promote lifelong learning for all; and implementing Big Data in its operations to better provide services to different group of patrons.
Bangkok, January 25, 2023 – January 2023 marks a very special moment for TK Park as it celebrates 18 years of connecting people to information and creating activities to promote positive learning development. The knowledge center is taking this special opportunity to announce a 2023 strategic operation update focused on developments and expansions intended to better serve patrons, improve access to learning centers and reduce the inequality gap.
The plans incorporate; building an effective learning ecosystem through media, books and creative activities; encouraging lifelong learning by using innovations, and creating “One Library” by enhancing the quality of MyTK app in order to connect TK Park’s libraries nationwide together and provide convenience for members when borrowing and returning books.
They also include; installing self-service borrowing stations at the city’s landmarks; using Big Data to analyze patron behaviors and create activities that promote learning and training courses in order to upskill and reskill; broadening collaboration networks nationwide to achieve its goal of creating “learning cities” in line with the UNESCO sustainable goals; and opening new knowledge centers in Bangkok, Surat Thani and Phayao.
TK Park Director-General Kittiratana Pitipanich noted that this year, TK Park will continue its task of creating a learning ecosystem in response to the needs of learners. To achieve this, it has invested in innovation and big data analytics to integrate big data about services of different centers.
TK Park Director-General Kittiratana Pitipanich
“The tools give us consistent and accurate data that enables us to make good decisions. We have used them to collect, process and analyze big data of patrons’ behaviors when using our libraries so that we are able to improve our services to meet their needs. And patrons can make use of the information we provide in their daily life,” he said.
TK Park has also created “One Library” to provide convenience for members when borrowing and returning, he added.
“We have improved the quality of MyTK app in order to link our libraries nationwide together. Our members living in the provinces can borrow books they want to read from any center whether this is in Bangkok or in other provinces, while those in the city can do the same from a center in any province.
It can be done easily in a similar way to online shopping. Patrons just select a book they want to read and put it in a cart when borrowing it. Then, we provide a book delivery service for borrowers,” Mr. Kittiratana said.
Networking is key to success
He noted that TK Park will continue expanding its collaboration network which will allow it to provide the best possible services to its patrons. According to him, TK Park plans to work with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, True Digital Park, Young Entrepreneur Chamber of Commerce and the private sector.
“We think creative activities that promote learning and new investment are not enough to enable us to reach our goals of creating an effective learning ecosystem. What we need to do is to work more with experts and partners who have many years of experience. And that will bring quicker results,” he said.
In February, TK Park plans to open a new knowledge center at True Digital Park West, an office building on Sukhumvit Road equipped with spacious event spaces, making it the first branch in Bangkok. The building also serves as the city’s new tech hub and start-up community.
This year, TK Park also plans to open two new centers in two provinces – one at Koh Lamphu Public Park in the center of Surat Thani province and another at Phayao municipality. Another important plan includes developing a “Learning City” in each province to promote lifelong learning for all by working together with local partners to respond to the UNESCO sustainable development goals.
“We encourage all provinces to participate in this project. A learning city helps foster a culture of learning throughout life,” Mr Kittiratana said.
He added that TK Park also aims to improve its services to provide convenience to patrons. In the middle of 2023, the center plans to install self-service borrowing stations at the city’s landmarks, with each station having more than 300 books to borrow and operating around the clock.
“We will select the right locations to ensure that they are easily accessible,” he said.
Committed to giving the best services for all
TK Park has always been committed to serving the needs of different group of patrons. Apart from its core services that include providing books, learning materials and knowledge sets, the knowledge center has run “Train the Trainers” sessions to equip teachers and educators with the skills they need to provide the best experience to learners.
The “Mentoring Project” is aimed at helping high-school students explore and identify their careers and set the up for future success. In the near future, the center plans to launch a project for employees looking to develop their skill sets to advance their careers and another that promotes creative thinking and design work. It’s also giving consideration to a project for retired persons who wish to take up new hobbies or learn new skills in their golden years to keep their mind and body active, the director general said.
“We collected data on patrons’ behaviors and their interests when they were using our services and taking part in programs we organized. We processed and analyzed the data using an advanced technique. That has allowed us to create programs that cater to the exact needs of different age groups,” Mr Kittirattana said.
TK Park will continue promoting positive youth development through projects to help prepare kids to learn and succeed in the new era. It has provided learning projects for kids to help develop their imagination and creativity, while promoting teamwork and understanding others.
TK Park has also created fun activities and games for parents and kids to enjoy together and arranged training program both in-person and online aimed at promoting learning activities for teachers.
Additionally, TK Park has implemented the sharing economy, a system that is built around the sharing of resources, to its operation to help parents save money, Mr Kittiratana noted.
“The sharing economy is one of the most talked-about topics at the moment. The concept has been implemented by companies and organizations. We have done it too. We have encouraged patrons to share books and parents to share toys for their kids. They don’t need to buy new ones.” he said.
TK Park also aims to turn the libraries into community centers, Mr Kittiratana noted.
“If we want people to make visits to our library, we need to offer services and activities that meet their exact needs and match what they are interested in. We must identify the unique features of communities and create activities that relate to the locals’ way of life,” he said.
Mr Kittiratana noted people who have transferable skills are able to survive and adapt in a constantly changing world as the skill set can help them solve problems they face in their everyday lives.
“We have supported lifelong learning. The more you learn, they more you know. Self-directed learning is trending. Many people learn better by themselves. Learning at their own pace allows them to learn in a way that suits them, in a comfortable environment.
That’s why TK Park has offered a comprehensive range of services and activities for learners to choose from. By doing this, we truly help tackle the gap of social inequality.” he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center left, with his daughter attends a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his young daughter took center stage at a huge military parade, fueling speculation that she’s being primed as a future leader of the isolated country as her father showed off his latest, largest nuclear missiles.
Wednesday night’s parade in the capital, Pyongyang, featured the newest hardware in Kim’s growing nuclear arsenal, including what experts said was possibly a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile he may test in coming months.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, what it says are intercontinental ballistic missiles are displayed during a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea’s army at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
That missile was part of around a dozen ICBMs Kim’s troops rolled out at the event in the capital, Pyongyang, an unprecedented number that underscored how he continues to expand his military capabilities despite limited resources in face of deepening tensions with his neighbors and the United States.
The parade was the fifth known public appearance by Kim’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, his second-born child who is believed to be around 10 years old. On Tuesday, Kim Jong Un brought his daughter to visit troops as he lauded the “irresistible might” of his nuclear-armed military.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, reviews an honor guard with his daughter, center left, and his wife Ri Sol Ju during a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)Daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, third left, and his daughter attend a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
State media have signaled a lofty role for Kim Ju Ae. She’s been called “respected” and “beloved,” and a photo released Tuesday showed her sitting in the seat of honor at a banquet, flanked by generals and her parents.
North Korean photos released Wednesday showed Kim, wearing a black coat and fedora, attending the parade with his wife and daughter. Kim smiled and raised his hand from a balcony as thousands of troops lined up in a brightly illuminated Kim Il Sung Square, which is named after his grandfather, the nation’s founder.
A military parade is held to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea’s army at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The parade marked the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea’s army and came after weeks of preparations involving huge numbers of troops and civilians mobilized to glorify Kim’s rule and his relentless push to cement the North’s status as a nuclear power.
Photos released by state media showed transport and launcher trucks carrying about 10 of the country’s Hwasong-17 ICBMs, which demonstrated a flight range that would allow them to reach deep into the U.S. mainland during a flight test last year. Those missiles were followed by another large missile encased in a canister and transported on a 9-axle vehicle.
This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says intercontinental ballistic missiles during a military parade, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the missile was a mockup or an actual rocket, but Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, said the missile was likely a version of a solid-fuel ICBM the North has been trying to develop for years. He added that the unprecedented number of Hwasong-17s paraded in Wednesday’s event suggests progress in efforts to mass produce those weapons.
State media reports didn’t immediately mention whether Kim Jong Un delivered a speech during the event. The parade came after Kim met with his top military brass on Monday and ordered an expansion of combat exercises, as he continues to escalate an already provocative run in weapons demonstrations in face of deepening tensions with his neighbors and Washington.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, third left, and his daughter attend a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
“This time, Kim Jong Un let North Korea’s expanding tactical and long-range missile forces speak for themselves,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
“The message Pyongyang wants to send internationally, demonstrating its capabilities to deter and coerce, will likely come in the form of solid-fuel missile tests and detonation of a miniaturized nuclear device,” he said. He was referring to U.S. and South Korean assessments that the North could be preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017.
An intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency confirmed that the parade featured a variety of nuclear-capable weapons, including tactical nuclear weapons targeting South Korea. The agency described the ICBMs as crucial weapons supporting the North’s ongoing “power-to-power, all-out confrontation” against its enemies.
Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing that the South Korean and U.S. militaries were closely analyzing the North Korean photos and reports to evaluate the weaponry.
North Korea is coming off a record-breaking year in weapons testing, and the dozens of missiles it fired in 2022 included potentially nuclear-capable systems designed to strike targets in South Korea and the U.S. mainland.
The intensified testing activity was punctuated by fiery statements and a new law threatening preemptive nuclear attacks against its neighbors and the United States in a broad range of scenarios.
Kim doubled down on his nuclear push entering 2023.
During a major political conference in December, Kim called for an “exponential increase” of the country’s nuclear warheads, mass production of battlefield tactical nukes targeting “enemy” South Korea and the development of more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the continental United States.
North Korean state TV may broadcast the parade on tape delay later Thursday. Analysts will then pour over the footage for clues about the country’s progress in nuclear weapons and missile technologies.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, front right, with his daughter and his wife Ri Sol Ju, left, attend a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Some experts anticipated that North Korea would use the parade to showcase a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, which would potentially be a crucial addition to the country’s long-range arsenal targeting the U.S. mainland.
In December, Kim supervised a test of a “high-thrust solid-fuel motor” for a new strategic weapon he said would be developed in the “shortest span of time,” which experts said likely referred to a solid-fuel ICBM.
The use of solid fuel could reduce the amount of launch preparation time, and allow missiles to be more mobile on the ground. All of the ICBMs the North has flight-tested since 2017 used liquid propellants.
This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a test launch of a hypersonic missile in North Korea on Jan. 5, 2022. Photo: Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP File
Solid-fuel ICBMs highlighted an extensive wish list Kim announced under a five-year arms development plan in 2021, which also included tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and spy satellites.
Analysts say Kim’s decision to bring his daughter to public events tied to his military is to send a statement to the world he has no intention to voluntarily surrender his nuclear weapons, which he apparently sees as the strongest guarantee of his survival and the extension of his family’s dynastic rule.
An official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing, said it’s too early to determine whether Kim Ju Ae is being groomed as the fourth heredity ruler of North Korea but added that “all possibilities are open.” The official said her repeated appearance in major events and her prominent exposure in state media is aimed at urging “ultimate loyalty” to the Kim family.
Valentine’s Day spending is estimated to reach 2,389 million baht in 2023, up 15.5% year-on-year and the first growth rate in 5 years, according to the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the UTCC and advisory chairman of the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting, said the 2023 Valentine’s Day Cost Survey with 1,255 respondents revealed that Gen Z aged 13-23 years attaches the most importance to the event. They want to spend money to buy gifts and do other activities such as flowers, dinner, going to the cinema and visiting their lover’s house. Their budget is 1,100 baht per person.
The average expenditure is 1,848 baht per person, an increase from 1,176 last year, due to price increases in food and services. Price inflation causes spending to reach 2,389 million baht, a 15.5 percent increase from the same period last year.
The “Silom of Love @Bangrak” event
This is also the first time in 5 years that Valentine’s Day spending has increased after the Thai economy slowed down in 2019 due to the trade war and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The majority of the respondents, 48.1%, believe that the mood on Valentine’s Day will remain the same, while 29.1% think that there will be more hustle and bustle due to the resumption of travel activities, economic recovery and absence of parents.
The rest, 22.8%, see the coming Valentine’s Day being less lively as people are still saving money. They also see price inflation, economic downturn and unemployment as distributive factors.
In addition, they see that people have already spent so much money in January on many celebrations such as New Year and Chinese New Year. However, they believe that Valentine’s Day will be more lively next year due to the economic recovery.
The survey also shows that people believe university students are most likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day with sex (35.7%). They believe that working adults and students will follow with 33.8% and 30.6% respectively. The majority of the respondents think people will have sex at their apartment.
When asked if it is acceptable for their husband or wife to have had sex before marriage, the majority of respondents across all generations answered yes (70.5%) and no ( another 29.5%).
Regarding the discourse on “sex before marriage is normal for people of this generation”, the majority of respondents, 42.1%, consider it normal. When it comes to choosing a place, Gen Y, 24-43, opt for a hotel or motel. Gen X, 44-58, and Gen Z mostly choose their apartment. The survey also suggests that people’s concerns about adolescents still revolve mainly around illegal drugs, immature parents and the abandonment of children after birth.
Imported flower price has increased.
Phonvichai said the fact that inflation rose by 5.02% year-on-year in January shows that the economy is spending more and manufacturers are starting to pass on the cost of necessary products to consumers.
The scenario reflects stronger purchasing power. He expects the Bank of Thailand to raise the policy rate to 2% towards the middle of the year or around the second quarter to curb inflation.
Khaosod
Considering this situation, the increasing number of Chinese tourists and spending during the election campaign in the second quarter, the Thai economy will grow by 3.5 to 4% as predicted.
Several parties are expected to come up with populist measures in the election campaign, such as measures related to the tax structure in government budgets, which could affect the country’s revenue. Each party should show where the money will come from when they plan government spending. They should answer questions about how much the project will cost and whether it will be worth it when looking at tax revenues.
Other questions could be whether the project will improve the welfare of Thais. For example, if it is about giving away money, where will the government get the money back from, or if it invests in an infrastructure project, what will society get in return?
People and emergency teams search for survivors in the rubble of a destroyed building, in Iskenderun town, southern Turkey, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Photo: Hussein Malla / AP
BANGKOK — A Thai national died in the earthquake in Turkey, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Wednesday, as the confirmed death toll surpassed 12,000.
The woman, who has not been identified, was found dead under the rubble in the port city of Iskenderun, according to ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke. She said the victim’s family has been notified and the Thai Embassy in Ankara is coordinating with Turkish authorities to bring her home.
Two earthquakes, registering at 7.8 and 7.5 magnitudes, struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday. The quakes have leveled countless buildings as the latest death toll across both countries has surpassed 12,000 and continues to rise.
According to the embassy, a total of 30 Thai nationals were impacted by the quakes, though none of them were reported hurt. Some of them have been displaced and are taking refuge in government shelters.
The Thai government will send 5 million baht in aid to Turkey and another 1 million baht to Syria, the foreign ministry announced Wednesday. Further aid, including supplies and rescue teams, are ready to be deployed upon request, the statement added.
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday said he is saddened by the news of the devastating earthquakes and has instructed officials to coordinate assistance.
“In the name of the Thai government and the Thai people, I am deeply saddened and ready to provide humanitarian aid,” Prayut said.
“Many people were affected by the destruction of buildings across 10 provinces, which is regrettable. However, Thailand is lucky because we don’t face incidents like this in our Land of Gold.”
Prayut Chan-o-cha said to H.E. Mrs. Serap Ersoy, the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Thailand he wad deeply saddened and ready to provide humanitarian aid.Prime Minister hands over the Royal Thai Government’s humanitarian assistance to the Government of the Republic of Türkiye through H.E. Mrs. Serap Ersoy, the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Thailand, for the Turkey-Syria earthquakes incident at Purple Room, Thai Khu Fah Building, Government House on February 9, 2023.
On the same day the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation prepares rescue tools on Thursday as it will dispatch 42 Thai rescuers to assist the Turkish government in handling the massive quake which killed over 12,000 people.
ANKARA/DAMASCUS, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) — The number of fatalities from Monday’s devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria has surpassed 12,000, as chances have become smaller to find more survivors in cold weather before the golden 72 hours are over.
Rescuers and volunteers are working round the clock to locate the trapped under rubble as the survival rate without food or water drops drastically after the 72nd hour, which is rapidly approaching.
Experts have warned that the 72-hour window for rescuing those trapped by the earthquakes may be much smaller than anticipated, given the low temperatures that have swept through the earthquake-hit regions will increase the risk of hypothermia.
A survivor is evacuated from the rubble of a destroyed building in quake-hit Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)
According to the latest statistics, Monday’s devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye and northern Syria have killed 9,057 people in Türkiye and 3,480 in Syria.
SEARCH UNDERWAY
The search and rescue teams from more than 65 countries have arrived in the Turkish earthquake zones to offer assistance in quake-relief efforts, according to an official statement.
A plane carrying a 83-member rescue team from China and 20 metric tons of disaster relief materials and equipment arrived in the city of Adana in southern Türkiye in the early hours of Wednesday. In addition to materials and equipment for search and rescue, communication and medical treatment, they also brought with them four rescue dogs.
Volunteers flocked to southern Türkiye hit hard by the earthquakes. Photographs show terminals crowded with volunteers trying to help, while the roads leading to the affected areas were clogged with long queues of vehicles ready to transport supplies or offer assistance.
“It was good that we came. When we arrived, the area was rubble everywhere,” said a volunteer who identified himself as Kerem Okyay, a businessman from the central Turkish city of Sivas who hurried to Elbistan, a town about 200 km away.
Located in the southern Turksih province of Kahramanmaras, Elbistan was the epicenter of the 7.6-magnitude quake that rocked the region on Monday and close to the town of Pazarcik, the epicenter of a 7.7-magnitude one hours earlier.
“We formed a team with some friends as soon as we heard the news of the earthquake and came here as volunteers,” Okyay told Xinhua.
Rescuers search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in quake-hit Besni District of Adiyaman Province, Türkiye, Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Soon after their arrival, the team saved two people from the debris. “We were focusing on areas where we could hear people,” he said.
In the heavily damaged city center of Kahramanmaras, the name-sake capital of Kahramanmaras Province, sniffer dogs equipped with small GPS-enabled harnesses were leading rescuers in the search for survivors from site to site in the winter cold.
MORE AID POURING IN
While rescue operations are taking place in Türkiye and Syria, more countries have committed to providing assistance.
This photo taken on Feb. 7, 2023 shows a damaged building in Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras Province, Türkiye.(Xinhua/Shadati)
A Lebanese ministerial delegation headed by Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib arrived in Damascus on Wednesday to discuss with Syrian officials more possible aid for earthquake-stricken Syria.
On Wednesday, Tunisia sent its third aircraft, which was packed with tonnes of emergency humanitarian aid including food, medication, blankets and clothing, to Syria. Two military planes from Tunisia were already sent to the two earthquake-stricken countries on Tuesday, carrying medical teams, rescue teams, and urgent humanitarian aid.
Saudi Arabia launched on Wednesday a donation campaign to help earthquake victims in Syria and Türkiye. According to local press, a total of 25 million Saudi riyals (6.7 million U.S. dollars) had been donated to the campaign so far.
This photo taken with a mobile phone shows members of a Chinese rescue team arriving at Adana Airport in Adana, Türkiye, Feb. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Siyu)
Jordan announced on Wednesday that it would send aid convoys over the next few days to quake-hit areas in Syria and Türkiye, while Sudan said its Civil Defense Forces is ready to send a specialized team to Türkiye to help with rescue efforts.
David Saranga, head of the Israeli aid delegation to Türkiye, said on Wednesday that two Israeli rescue teams are searching for survivors in the country, while a field hospital complete with 15 Israeli aircraft and about 230 personnel is expected to be established by Thursday or Friday, according to the Israeli military and foreign ministry.
Humanitarian aid, including medical supplies and rescue items, are loaded onto a Jordanian military plane at the Marka military airport in Amman, Jordan, Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)
TURKIYE’S QUAKE RESPONSE BACK TO NORMAL
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted on Wednesday that there were some problems in the first-day response to the earthquakes.
Operations are currently back to normal, Erdogan said in Kahramanmaras Province, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported.
Earthquake victims can temporarily stay in hotels in the Mediterranean tourism hub of Antalya and southern province of Mersin, he added.
The Turkish president announced that each quake-stricken family would receive 10,000 Turkish liras (531 U.S. dollars), and new homes will be built in the 10 provinces affected by the disaster within a year.
Rescuers search for survivors among the rubble of a destroyed building in quake-hit Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)
Also on Wednesday, Erdogan said it was impossible to get prepared for a calamity like the earthquakes that struck the country on Monday, but he vowed to exert utmost efforts to save citizens’ lives.
“There are deficiencies … It is impossible to be prepared for such a major disaster,” Erdogan told reporters in the southern province of Hatay, which was hit hard by the earthquakes.
“We will not leave any of our citizens unattended. We will carry out disaster management by taking every necessary step so that no one will suffer,” he said.
Iranian Ambassador to Thailand Seyed Reza Nobakhti.
BANGKOK — Iranian Ambassador to Thailand Seyed Reza Nobakhti has been posted in Bangkok for over two years now and he hopes his remaining time will see further deepening of ties between the two countries, particularly on trade and tourism.
Nobakhti said three big Iranian companies are eyeing to sign a contract to purchase a big lot of Thai jasmine rice on an annual basis – around 500,000 tones per year. He hopes to cement the deal in the not too distant future.
“They have had negotiations with different partners to import Thai rice to Iran,” Nobakhti told Khaosod English at his office late last month, adding that Iranian consumers do not like ordinary rice but prefer fragrant jasmine rice.
“[The companies] have paid a visit to Thailand. I think something is happening.”
The ambassador said the amount could be paid by either cash or through a barter system with the Thai government.
In another area, Nobakhti is also looking for the opportunity for Iranian cars to be exported to Thailand.
“We are producers and exporters of cars. Our market is not only 85 million people,” he said, adding that Thai businessmen will be invited to Iran to explore the possibilities of having a joint venture in Iran’s auto industry.
Then there is tourism. Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, around 100,000 Iranians visited Thailand each year. However, Nobakhti said only around 3,000 Thais visited Iran per annum before the pandemic. Nobakhti sounded excited talking about a Thai travel company arranging a group tour for 15 Thais to Iran as a positive sign of post-COVID-19 resumption of Thai tourists to Iran.
“Our biggest travel company in Iran will have an exhibition here, maybe in March.”
Nobhakti wants Thais to consider Iran as a year-round tourist destination with four seasons to enjoy and not just about skiing or seeing fabulous architectural heritage such as those found in Isfahan or Shiraz.
“People in Iran are hospitable. Everything in Iran is cheap. It’s a cheap destination for people… Iran is a safe destination for tourists.”
The Iranian Ambassador is well aware that the past many months saw numerous reports about the deadly protests in his country after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, 22, who died in police custody on Sept. 16, 2022. She was arrested by moral police for refusing to wear Islamic headscarf.
Her parents denied Amini had any health issue, but Ambassador Nobakhti insisted 90 percent of what Thais read and heard from the international media is propaganda.
“Ninety percent are propaganda and TV programs were fake [news],” the Iranian Ambassador told Khaosod English. “She had some tumors. The lady was sick,” he said, adding that Amini “fell down and hit her head [to the ground].”
As for the number of fatalities during subsequent protests, the Iranian Ambassador put it at around two hundreds. His account also differs from the international media such as Reuters, which reported around three hundred deaths.
“We’re talking about two hundred deaths – 84 were police and 120 [civilians] but they were not killed by police because police were unarmed. [Protesters] use weapons against other [protesters] to provoke. These people have been killed by themselves.”
Nobakhit insists such a dress code will continue despite waves of protests over the past many months.
“In Iran we have a dress code – like France there’s a dress code. If you wear a headscarf [in France] you cannot do official work.”
On the nuclear issue, the Iranian ambassador has this to say: “We do not need a nuclear bomb. We’re in a position that if we want [it] we can but we do not need it.”
Nobakhti said Iran needs nuclear plants to generate electricity, just like some other Western countries.
The ambassador is well aware that Thailand and Saudi Arabia have last year restored their diplomatic ties after three decades and said that is not a problem for Iran.
“We’re not their enemy. We’re ready to reestablish diplomatic relations with them,” he said, adding that five rounds of negotiations have taken place between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
As the interview was concluding, Nobhakhti said Thais can learn more about what is really happening in Iran if they visit Iran and see the country firsthand. They will realize it is different from the “propaganda against Iran” fed by Western media, he said.
