Benja chicken, CP sausage and Meat Zero products bring Thailand first Superior Taste Award 2022 by the prestigious International Institute of Taste

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22 June 2022, 15:24

Benja chicken and CP suasage become Thailand’s first chicken meat and sausage products that won Superior Taste Award 2022 by the prestigious International Institute of Taste, an annual event in Brussels, Belgium.

Mr. Prasit Boondoungprasert, Chief Executive Officer of Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CPF), said that CPF has won awards for “Benja chicken”, 3 CP sausauge products and 2 Meat Zero products. The awards bring pride to all Thais involved in the innovation of safe and quality food products that offer both traceability and tastes exceptionally rated by the world’s top chefs.

“It’s not easy to invent a quality, nutritious, safe and tasty food. The awards thus bring a great pride to the Management and employees of CPF. Today, the taste of our 6 products is guaranteed by the world’s top chefs,” Mr. Prasit said.

More than 2,000 food and beverage products from across the world were enlisted for the Superior Taste Award 2022. Benja Chicken is Thailand’s first chicken brand that won an award. The innovative meat product of CPF comes from a specially-selected breed and the chicken is raised by superfood like unpolished rice and flaxseed.

The meat consequently smells favorably and is soft and 55% more juicy than normal. The pink meat is 100% free of hormones or antibiotics, as certified by NSF.

Three CP sausauge products also brought Thailand the first Superior Taste Award in sausage category – CP Crispy Chicken, CP Chicken Frank and CP Chili Chicken Frank. All CP sausages are made of high-quality meat from CPF’s closed farms. All the farms boast the contamination-free, safe, modern and high-standard production process. The meat is stored and transported in temperature-controlled condition. The robotic technology is employed in raw material management along with Radio – Frequency Identification (RFID), to offer traceability. CP sausages come with various tastes for various consumer groups. CP sausages earlier were voted the No.1 brand in Thailand by Marketeer Magazine, reflecting the products’ cleanliness, safety, hygiene and taste that has long captivated consumers.

Two plant-based “MEAT ZERO” products – nuggets and garlic patty –are the remaining award winners.

Developing a convincing meat taste, the alternative products are a result of over 2 years of research and development under the collaboration between CPF RD Center and world-class experts from various countries like the United States, Japan and Taiwan as well as food scientists from Chulalongkorn University and Mah Fa Luang University. The “PLANT-TEC” innovation was discovered and MEAT ZERO was developed as a perfect alternative meat in terms of flavor, smell and texture. Superior Taste Award 2022 guarantees its quality in terms of flavor.

Trending and sustainable health food – with favorable flavor

The International Taste Institute reports that health and sustainable food and beverages are trending and shows continuous growth. The number of alternative products like plant-based protein as well as vegetarian and gluten-free food enlisted for the certification in 2022 doubled. But taste is the most important in the evaluation methodology. Meanwhile, the Ingredion Proprietary Research shows that in 2022, taste is the priority for 53% of plant-based meat buyers, trumping other factors like nutrition values, brands and convenience. As such, it remains a great challenge for food and beverage producers to come up with health and yet delicious products.

Superior Taste Award is granted following the evaluation and certification by a jury of professional chefs and sommeliers. The products are certified for standard production process and taste. The award is granted by the International Taste Institute, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The evaluation is conducted in cooperation with 15 European food and beverage associations. The jury is composed of more than 200 professional chefs and sommeliers. They taste more than 1,000 entries from all over the world on an annual basis and give score based on input from an array of 5 sensory experience – visual, aromatic, flavour, textural aspects, and final mouth feel. Only professional judges are involved. With their experiences and credentials, they are expected to uplift the taste of food and beverage products, eventually to strengthen the institute’s mission in filling the world with delicious and quality products.

Eastern Afghanistan Earthquake Kills At Least 255 People

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Associated Press

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22 June 2022, 15:00

In this image taken from video from Bakhtar State News Agency, Taliban fighters secure a government helicopter to evacuate injured people in Gayan district, Paktika province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Photo: Bakhtar State News Agency via AP

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing at least 255 people, authorities said.

Information remained scarce on the magnitude 6 temblor that struck Paktika province, but it comes as the international community largely has left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year amid the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military from the longest war in its history.

That likely will complicate any relief efforts for this country of 38 million people.

The state-run Bakhtar news agency reported the death toll and said rescuers were arriving by helicopter. The news agency’s director-general, Abdul Wahid Rayan, wrote on Twitter that 90 houses have been destroyed in Paktika and dozens of people are believed trapped under the rubble.

Footage from Paktika province near the Pakistan border showed victims being carried into helicopters to be airlifted from the area. Images widely circulating online from the province showed destroyed stone houses, with residents picking through clay bricks and other rubble.

Bakhtar posted footage of a resident receiving IV fluids from a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home and others sprawled on gurneys.

“A severe earthquake shook four districts of Paktika province, killing and injuring hundreds of our countrymen and destroying dozens of houses,” Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, separately wrote on Twitter. “We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe.”

In just one district of the neighboring Khost province, the earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured over 95 others, local officials said while warning the death toll would rise without urgent government help.

From Kabul, Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund convened an emergency meeting at the Presidential Palace to coordinate the relief effort for victims in Paktika and Khost.

The U.N. resident coordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, expressed condolences to the victims and said that the world body’s agencies were responding to the earthquake’s devastation.

“Response is on it’s way,” he wrote on Twitter.

Neighboring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department put the earthquake at a magnitude 6.1. Tremors were felt in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere in the eastern Punjab province. Some remote areas of Pakistan saw reports of damage to homes near the Afghan border, but it wasn’t immediately clear if that was due to rain or the earthquake, said Taimoor Khan, a disaster management spokesperson in the area.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a statement offered his condolences over the earthquake, saying his nation will provide help to the Afghan people.

The European seismological agency, EMSC, said the earthquake’s tremors were felt over 500 kilometers (310 miles) by 119 million people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Mountainous Afghanistan and the larger region of South Asia along the Hindu Kush mountains, where the Indian tectonic plate collides with the Eurasian plate to the north, has long been vulnerable to devastating earthquakes. Poor construction for homes, hospitals and other buildings put them at risk of collapse in earthquakes, while landslides remain common across the mountains of Afghanistan.

In 2015, a major earthquake that struck the country’s northeast killed over 200 people in Afghanistan and neighboring northern Pakistan. A similar 6.1 earthquake in 2002 killed about 1,000 people in northern Afghanistan. And in 1998, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tremors in Afghanistan’s remote northeast killed at least 4,500 people.

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Story: Fazel Rahman Faizi. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Jon Gambrell and Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Celebrates Birthday With Cake in Court

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Associated Press

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21 June 2022, 12:30

Pilgrims visit Myanmar famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar on Sunday, June 19, 2022. Photo: AP

BANGKOK (AP) — Although detained by Myanmar’s military government on a slew of charges, ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was able to hold a small birthday celebration during a court appearance Monday, a legal official said.

Suu Kyi, whose elected government was overthrown by the army in February last year, turned 77 on Sunday.

She is among over 11,124 people currently detained for opposing military rule, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which keeps detailed tallies of civilians jailed or killed by government forces.

The military’s seizure of power met with widespread resistance and some U.N. experts now describe Myanmar as being in a civil war.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide election victory in 2020, and she remains widely regarded by Myanmar’s people as the country’s legitimate leader. She is admired for leading a long, nonviolent struggle to restore democracy in Myanmar, for which she won a Nobel Peace Prize. But once-admiring foreign sympathizers blame her for doing little or nothing to stop atrocities committed by security forces against the Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017.

Suu Kyi is now being tried on multiple charges, including corruption, that her supporters say are politically motivated to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power. She has already been sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment after being convicted on charges of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, sedition and an initial corruption charge.

A legal official familiar with her court proceedings said Suu Kyi cut a cake to celebrate her birthday when she met with her lawyers before Monday’s court hearing on corruption charges, then gave pieces to her lawyers, police and court staff. The cake had been sent on her birthday by her lawyers via police to the secret location where she is being held, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information.

All of Suu Kyi’s trials are closed to the media and the public and her lawyers have been barred by a gag order from providing details of the proceedings.

Suu Kyi’s 77th birthday was an occasion for celebration as well as for protests demanding the release of all political prisoners.

On Sunday, scattered pro-democracy street protests were held, mostly by young people, in cities including Yangon and Mandalay.

Photos and video on social media showed the protesters carried her picture and banners that read “Freedom from Fear” — the name of a collection of her writings — and “Be in good health, Aung San’s daughter,” referring to her father, who led the struggle to free the country from British colonialism in the 1940s.

Anti-government guerrillas in border regions that the army does not control also celebrated her birthday.

Her supporters, including Buddhist monks, posted photos of themselves online showing them displaying the three-fingered salute that is a symbol of resistance.

Opposition leaders earlier released a statement urging people to mark the birthday on Sunday by going to pagodas, churches and mosques to pray for the release of political prisoners.

Some young people in Yangon went to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda amid tight security and heavy rain to pray silently for the release of Suu Kyi and other prisoners.

“I prayed for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained prisoners. I washed a Buddha statue with 77 cups of water to mark Mother Suu’s birthday,” Pone Pone, a resident of Yangon, told The Associated Press.

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Story: Grant Peck.

Cambodian Catches World’s Largest Recorded Freshwater Fish

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Associated Press

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21 June 2022, 12:00

In this photo provided by Wonders of the Mekong taken on June 14, 2022, a team of Cambodian and American scientists and researchers, along with Fisheries Administration officials prepare to release a giant freshwater stingray back into the Mekong River in the northeastern province of Stung Treng, Cambodia. Photo: Chhut Chheana / Wonders of the Mekong via AP

BANGKOK (AP) — The world’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a giant stingray, has been caught in the Mekong River in Cambodia, according to scientists from the Southeast Asian nation and the United States.

The stingray, captured on June 13, measured almost 4 meters (13 feet) from snout to tail and weighed slightly under 300 kilograms (660 pounds), according to a statement Monday by Wonders of the Mekong, a joint Cambodian-U.S. research project.

The previous record for a freshwater fish was a 293-kilogram (646-pound) Mekong giant catfish, discovered in Thailand in 2005, the group said.

The stingray was snagged by a local fisherman south of Stung Treng in northeastern Cambodia. The fisherman alerted a nearby team of scientists from the Wonders of the Mekong project, which has publicized its conservation work in communities along the river.

The scientists arrived within hours of getting a post-midnight call with the news, and were amazed at what they saw.

“Yeah, when you see a fish this size, especially in freshwater, it is hard to comprehend, so I think all of our team was stunned,” Wonders of the Mekong leader Zeb Hogan said in an online interview from the University of Nevada in Reno. The university is partnering with the Cambodian Fisheries Administration and USAID, the U.S. government’s international development agency.

Freshwater fish are defined as those that spend their entire lives in freshwater, as opposed to giant marine species such as bluefin tuna and marlin, or fish that migrate between fresh and saltwater like the huge beluga sturgeon.

The stingray’s catch was not just about setting a new record, he said.

“The fact that the fish can still get this big is a hopeful sign for the Mekong River, ” Hogan said, noting that the waterway faces many environmental challenges.

The Mekong River runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is home to several species of giant freshwater fish but environmental pressures are rising. In particular, scientists fear a major program of dam building in recent years may be seriously disrupting spawning grounds.

“Big fish globally are endangered. They’re high-value species. They take a long time to mature. So if they’re fished before they mature, they don’t have a chance to reproduce,” Hogan said. “A lot of these big fish are migratory, so they need large areas to survive. They’re impacted by things like habitat fragmentation from dams, obviously impacted by overfishing. So about 70% of giant freshwater fish globally are threatened with extinction, and all of the Mekong species.”

The team that rushed to the site inserted a tagging device near the tail of the mighty fish before releasing it. The device will send tracking information for the next year, providing unprecedented data on giant stingray behavior in Cambodia.

“The giant stingray is a very poorly understood fish. Its name, even its scientific name, has changed several times in the last 20 years,” Hogan said. “It’s found throughout Southeast Asia, but we have almost no information about it. We don’t know about its life history. We don’t know about its ecology, about its migration patters.”

Researchers say it’s the fourth giant stingray reported in the same area in the past two months, all of them females. They think this may be a spawning hotspot for the species.

Local residents nicknamed the stingray “Boramy,” or “full moon,” because of its round shape and because the moon was on the horizon when it was freed on June 14. In addition to the honor of having caught the record-breaker, the lucky fisherman was compensated at market rate, meaning he received a payment of around $600.

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Story: Jerry Harmer.

BGRIM announces new senior management line-up to drive growth, new unit created to oversee investment control, innovation and sustainability

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Contributor

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20 June 2022, 17:07

BANGKOK, 17 June 2022: B.Grimm Power PCL (BGRIM) announced a reshuffle of its senior management to support its sustainable growth plan.

The shakeup, endorsed by BGRIM’s Board of Directors on 15 June, also saw the creation of a new unit that will drive the strategy of pursuing investment, innovation and sustainability.

Nopadej Karnasuta has been entrusted to lead the new unit that was mandated with three main missions as follows:

* Accelerating investment in new businesses by exploring opportunities for cooperation with domestic and international partners including start-ups or new generation investors

* Expediting the development of integrated energy innovations such as Smart Energy, EV, Energy Trading and Smart Grid to deliver the best value and quality for customers in the whole industry and extending to users of the company’s new solutions in the future

* Continuing operations towards a sustainable organisation and achieving Net-Zero Emission by 2050 by means of investment and organisational restructuring and transformation

The management reshuffle which took effect today (16 June) saw Mr Nopadej being appointed Senior Executive Vice President – Investment, Innovation and Sustainability Division; Siriwong Borvornboonrutai, as Executive Vice President – Finance and Accounting; Cherdchai Yiwlek as Executive Vice President – Business Service and Project Development; and Saroche Arunpairojkul, First Senior Vice President – Customer Relations and Operation Management 1.

Dr. Harald Link, President of BGRIM, said the new senior management line-up will support the company’s continuous and sustainable business expansion and in line with its ‘Empowering the World Compassionately’ vision that is geared towards investing in new businesses and the development of the energy business to be modern and comprehensive.

Ms Siriwong, who succeeded Mr Nopadej as the CFO, graduated from Thammasat University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has over 25 years of experience in financial management and accounting in banking and industry sectors.

She has been instrumental in making BGRIM a company recognised by domestic and foreign investors through various investment projects and fund raising. Ms Siriwong is poised to enable BGRIM to continue to grow strongly and sustainably.

Black Americans Living Abroad Reflect on Juneteenth Holiday

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Associated Press

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20 June 2022, 13:30

About 20 people of African descent living abroad gather for dinner at a Jamaican restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand to celebrate America’s newest federal holiday, Juneteenth on Saturday, June 18, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Annika Wolters / AP

BANGKOK (AP) — As the United States marks only the second federally recognized Juneteenth, Black Americans living overseas have embraced the holiday as a day of reflection and an opportunity to educate people in their host countries on Black history.

President Joe Biden moved quickly last year to federally recognize the day Black Americans have been celebrating since the last enslaved people were told they were free in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

In Liberia, Saqar Ahhah Ahershu, 45, from Jersey City, N.J., is organizing the country’s first “Journey Home Festival.”

“Because this is part of that hidden African American history that still hasn’t been completely unpacked,” he said in Monrovia.

Liberia, Africa’s oldest independent republic, was founded by freed slaves repatriated to West Africa from the United States in 1822, exactly 200 years ago this year. This weekend’s event will include a trip to Providence Island, where former slaves settled before moving into what is now mainland Monrovia.

While there are no official statistics tracking Black Americans moving abroad, many are discussing it more openly after the police killing of George Floyd. In the aftermath, many African Americans saw the U.S. “from the outside in” and made up their minds not to return.

Tashina Ferguson, a 26-year-old debate coach, was living in New York at the time of Eric Garner’s death.

She moved to South Korea in 2019 and will celebrate Juneteenth on Sunday with a group of drag performers at a fundraising brunch for the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

She has mixed feeling about the newest federal holiday.

“The commerciality of Juneteenth has become this like whole, ‘Put it on a T-shirt, put it on ice cream tubs’ type of thing,” she said. “But as a Black person within the Black community I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s celebrate us.’”

She said that only a powerful change would make her consider returning to the U.S.

Chrishan Wright in New Jersey regularly speaks with Black Americans who plan to or already have made the move abroad.

Wright, 47, hosts a podcast “Blaxit Global” and said many of her guests are tired of the U.S.

“They’ve done all the things to achieve what is supposed to be the American dream, and that yardstick keeps moving. They don’t feel like they’re on solid ground in terms of being able to retire comfortably or pay off student debt or just cover their bills.”

Wright plans to move in 2023 to Portugal. Through her podcast, she already knows of Juneteenth celebrations this weekend in Lisbon, the capital.

In some places with larger populations of Black Americans, Juneteenth is already part of the program.

LaTonya Whitaker, from Mississippi, has lived in Japan for 17 years. She is executive director of Legacy Foundation Japan, which hosted a Juneteenth gathering of about 300 people at the ritzy Tokyo American Club on Saturday.

She and her husband David didn’t plan to live in Japan.

Like Whitaker, many Black Americans at the Juneteenth event came to Japan almost by coincidence, as Christian missionaries or Peace Corps volunteers. But they made Japan their home.

She now wants to raise their son there because she worries about gun violence in the U.S.

“I realized we really need a community,” said Whitaker.

Michael Williams teaches African American history at Temple University in Tokyo and left the U.S. when he was 22. He’s now 66 and had lived abroad for much of his adult life, but returned to the U.S. for graduate school in Boston and Baltimore.

America has changed so much, he feels like a tourist when he visits, he laughed.

Williams said he knows about Juneteenth from teaching history.

“I would always end my presentations that hopefully, someday, this would be a national holiday. And so now it is, and it feels great,” he said.

In Taipei, Toi Windham and Casey Abbott Payne are holding multiple events to celebrate Juneteenth. The two, part of Black Lives Matter Taiwan, are hosting performances by Black artists and musicians.

Both have celebrated with their families long before it was a federal holiday.

Windham has lived in Taiwan for five years, and had always celebrated Juneteenth growing up in Texas. For her, it’s an opportunity to educate people about a different part of American culture, even the darker parts.

“A lot of people tend to enjoy hip-hop culture and the attire and certain parts of our culture, but I feel like it’s important to acknowledge all parts of Black culture,” she said.

Payne, an organizer, has lived in Taiwan for 11 years and said he also celebrated Juneteenth growing up in Milwaukee, which has one of the oldest celebrations nationwide.

“As a kid, I remember the street being lined with street vendors, and there’s music going on and there’d be the Juneteenth parade rolling through,” he said.

Still for others, the day is a chance to joyfully kick back and rest.

In Bangkok, a group called Ebony Expats organized a silent movie screening, a bike ride in a nature reserve and a dinner for at a Jamaican restaurant serving jerk chicken and pumpkin soup.

Restaurant owner Collin Clifford McKoy served 20 years in the U.S. Army before eventually opening his restaurant during the pandemic in Thailand. He said the Juneteenth holiday is a chance for Black people to share their culture while being so far from home, American or not.

“Overall, it’s about coming together regardless of where we are, and it tells how much blood runs deep as a community to come together and enjoy ourselves,” he said.

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Story: Annika Wolters. Associated Press writers Huizhong Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo, Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, and Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia, contributed to this report.

Duterte’s Daughter Takes Oath as Philippine Vice President

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Associated Press

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20 June 2022, 13:00

Sara Duterte, the daughter of outgoing populist president of the Philippines, takes her oath as vice president during rites in her hometown in Davao city, southern Philippines, Sunday June 19, 2022. Photo: Manman Dejeto / AP

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing populist president of the Philippines, took her oath Sunday as vice president following a landslide electoral victory she clinched despite her father’s human rights record that saw thousands of drug suspects gunned down.

The inauguration in their southern hometown of Davao, where she’s the outgoing mayor, comes two weeks before she assumes office on June 30 as specified in the Philippine Constitution. President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Duterte’s running mate, will take his oath in Manila on June 30.

“I’m not the best or the most intelligent person in the Philippines and the world but nobody can beat the toughness of my heart as a Filipino,” Duterte, who wore a green traditional gown, said in a speech after she took her oath before a Supreme Court associate justice, her hand resting on a Bible held by her mother.

“The voice of 32.2 million Filipinos was loud and clear — with the message to serve our motherland,” Duterte said, referring to the votes she got, to an applause from thousands of supporters.

Fondly called by supporters as “Inday Sara,” the mother of three called for national unity and devotion to God and asked Filipinos to emulate the patriotism of the country’s national hero Jose Rizal. She cited longstanding social ills facing Filipino children, including poverty, broken families, illegal drugs, bullying and online misinformation and asked parents to ingrain in them the values of integrity, discipline, respect for others and compassion.

President Rodrigo Duterte, 77, led the VIPs in the heavily guarded ceremony at a public square near city hall in the port city of Davao, where he had also served as a mayor starting in the late 1980s. His family, hailing from a modest middle-class background, built a formidable political dynasty in the restive southern region long troubled by communist and Muslim insurgencies and violent political rivalries.

Duterte’s presidency has been marked by a brutal anti-drugs campaign that has left thousands of mostly petty suspects shot dead by police or vigilantes. The drug killings are being investigated by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.

The electoral triumphs of Sara Duterte and Marcos Jr. have alarmed left-wing and human rights groups because of their failure to acknowledge the massive human rights atrocities that took place under their fathers, including late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte campaigned on a vague platform of national unity without clearly addressing activists’ calls for them to take steps to prosecute the elder Duterte when he retires from politics.

One of the president’s sons, Sebastian Duterte, will succeed his sister as Davao mayor, and another son, Paolo Duterte, won a seat in the House of Representatives in the May 9 elections. The outgoing president’s late father was a former Davao governor.

Philippine elections have long been dominated by politicians belonging to the same bloodlines. At least 250 political families have monopolized power across the country, although such dynasties are prohibited under the constitution. Congress — long controlled by members of powerful clans targeted by the constitutional ban — has failed to pass the law needed to define and enforce the provision.

While Sara Duterte, 44, refused calls by her father and supporters to seek the presidency, she has not ruled out a future run. She topped pre-elections surveys for the president last year and won with a huge margin like Marcos Jr.

Aside from the vice president, she has agreed to serve as education secretary, although there were talks that her initial preference was to head the Department of National Defense, a traditional springboard to the presidency.

Still, the education portfolio would provide her first national political platform, especially with plans to resume physical classes soon after the country was hit hard by two years of coronavirus pandemic outbreaks and lockdowns.

She thanked her Davao supporters on Saturday and said she decided to hold her inauguration in one of the country’s most developed cities to show her pride as a southern provincial politician who rose to a top national post.

Duterte finished a medical course and originally wanted to become a doctor but later took up law and was prevailed upon to enter politics starting in 2007, when she was elected as Davao vice mayor and mayor three years later.

In 2011, she drew national attention when she was caught on video punching and assaulting a court sheriff who was helping lead a police demolition of a shanty community despite her plea for a brief deferment. The court official sustained a black eye and face injuries and was taken by her bodyguards to a hospital.

Despite her public feuds with her father, Sara Duterte had her hair shaved a year before the 2016 elections as a show of support for his candidacy.

He won the single six-year mandate by a huge margin on an audacious but failed promise to eradicate illegal drugs and corruption in three to six months and constant public threats to kill drug dealers.

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Story: Jim Gomez.

Opinion: A Letter to Supporters and Opponents of De Facto Recreational Use of Marijuana in Thailand

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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19 June 2022, 12:00

Customers queue up to buy cannabis at a cannabis truck on Khaosan Road on June 11, 2022.

Dear fellow citizens, expats, and those concerned about Thailand. Greetings!

Love it or loathe it, it has become apparent to many of us that the de facto use of marijuana for recreational purposes is spreading over the past 10 days since the decriminalization of marijuana for medical purposes by the government took effect on June 9.

Both Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-ocha and especially Public Health Minister Anutin Charnveerakul may have repeatedly said, like a parrot, that it is for medical purposes only, but the reality is otherwise.

The fact that young cannabis plants are now widely available, even at the weekly plant market at Chatuchak (seven sellers on Tuesday when I visited), combined with the proliferation of legal weed vendors at various spots (I counted four on Khao San Road Thursday night and many Thais and foreigners who queued up did not look sick or infirm to me) means it is no longer possible to really police the growing and using of marijuana without declaring a costly and brutal war on marijuana. Many more are now bound to use them for recreational purposes.

For those who are vehemently against it, I say relax, take a deep breath and please recognize that pushing the use of marijuana for recreational purposes underground will do more harm than good. Doing so, like sex works, which is still illegal, will open loopholes for police to extort and engage in more corruption-related activities.

Both sellers and smokers will suffer as well. (I support the decriminalization of prostitution, BTW. And I am okay with de facto use of marijuana for recreational purposes as long as it is properly regulated and hope when all the dust has settled, smoke cleared, we can talk about the decriminalization of marijuana for recreational purposes and have coffee shops like in Amsterdam welcoming people to smoke responsibly. Nevertheless, Thai society needs to have a consensus on the matter first.)

What we aspire to should be a mature society that respects freedom of choice and allows citizens to consume and smoke marijuana responsibly. There are real bad drugs out there to battle with – meth, ice, cocaine and even heroin and let us focus on battling these instead of the innocent-looking plants that is marijuana and their users.

After hearing all this, if you are still against the de facto use of marijuana for recreational purposes, then consider the positive impact on the local economy. I have seen a number of small-time weed vendors springing into the open legally selling both the weed and plants.

I hope people are now learning how to smoke responsibly as various government agencies are now trying to educate the public about the positive and negative effects of marijuana use. So chill brother. This is like a Berlin Wall falling and I know that it may feel like your moralistic world has evaporated on June 9 before your very eyes when you see de facto selling and smoking of marijuana for recreational purposes spreading.

Trust me, Thailand can emerge a more mature and responsible society if it can deal with the matter in a mature, non-knee jerk manner. If you feel your religion forbids you from being accommodating to weed, then I respect that, but Thailand is not a religious fundamentalist state, at least not according to the constitution, so please leave the matter a personal choice and a domestic affair in your household.

Now, for those who are all for the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. I say be empathetic to those who are shocked and outraged. These people have been taught at schools over the decades that marijuana is an evil plant, and it will take time for them to emerge from these decades long indoctrination and hang over.

Please understand their outrage when they realized that there is currently greater control over the advertisement of cigarettes than cannabis. Please understand the genuine fears of parents who worry that their teenage children will become potheads or seriously ill as a result of the consumption of food or cookies laced with unknown quantities of marijuana.

The truth is Thai society has no consensus on the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. It is hoped that in the months ahead we may be able to come to one that’s acceptable to most. Some compromises are inevitable, however.

Tell them we will play by ear and try to find a common ground acceptable to most if not all. Give them some space and time to adjust to the sudden shock. Reassure them that your vision for Thailand is not that of a nation of pot heads but a mature country that can deal with various substances responsibly and with reasonable level of regulations.

Remind them marijuana is better than Xanax and smoking it responsibly less harmful than cigarettes. Reassure them that after six months, the situation will calm, the hype will die down, and not everyone will be having a joint just like not everyone is a cigarette smoker simply because one can buy cigarettes at the nearest local convenience store. Then we can deliberate without getting triggered.

Both sides should not get triggered and resort to abusive words to accompany their extreme emotional outburst as I have seen over the past 10 days. You may smoke and chill. If that is not your cup of tea, then have tea or a cup of coffee instead.

Siam Piwat led by ICONSIAM and Siam Paragon welcome the world’s women leaders at “Global Summit of Women 2022,” showcasing splendid Thai ways of life to the eyes of the world

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Contributor

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17 June 2022, 17:20

Thailand is hosting the 32nd Global Summit of Women 2022 or the world’s major international forum for the world’s women leaders during June 23-25, 2022. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the country’s readiness and capabilities to host international-standard forum and the potential to become a “Global Destination” for international convention and tourism, following the recovery of Coronavirus endemic.

Siam Piwat CO., Ltd, a leading property and retail developer – the owner and operator of global retail destinations Siam Paragon, Siam Center, and Siam Discovery and a joint venture partner of ICONSIAM and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok, is honored to co-host and serve as venues to welcome the world’s women leaders attending the Global Summit of Women 2022. ICONSIAM, the global landmark on the bank of Chao Phraya River, and Siam Paragon, a world-class shopping destination, are set to welcome the delegates with majestic Thainess, rich cultural heritages of each region, to showcase Thailand to the eyes of the world.

ICONSIAM welcomes the women leaders from around the world with “PRE-SUMMIT TOUR” showcasing grandeur of Thainess to the world

ICONSIAM, the iconic global landmark on the bank of Chao Phraya River, is welcoming the women leaders from across the globe attending the Global Summit of Women 2022 by hosting PRE-SUMMIT TOUR on 22 June 2022. The grand welcome event features Thai four-region cultural performances and the showcase of “ICONIC Multimedia Water Features” at River Park, featuring the longest water performance in Southeast Asia. A splendid combination of light and sound and cutting-edge multimedia technology, highlighting Thailand cultures, identity and reinforcing the country as a global destination.

In addition, the women leaders will visit SookSiam, the town of Thai-style happiness and fun. The venue presents the wonders of Thai way of living and rich cultural heritages of the four main geographical regions of Thailand through foods, arts and handicrafts, set in the captivating local atmospheres of each region. Next stop is ICONCRAFT, on the 4-5 Floor, an inspirational platform and the largest center of Thai craftsmanship by local artisans across the country, promoting Thai artisanal excellence and glorify creativity and local wisdom that are featured in handicrafts. The delegates will also participate in the Thai fragrances and fan-shaped potpourri sachets workshops. Various craft demonstrations are also featured including floral embroidery on silk, Benjarong ware painting, miniatures sculpting, and the making of silver accessories on natural wood using ancient Japanese metalworking mokumegane technique to adorn Samurai swords in the late Meji era. These are magnificent Thainess that ICONSIAM is proud to present to the eyes of the female leaders from around the world.

Siam Paragon presents the grandeur of “Global Summit of Women 2022 Welcome Dinner” with magnificent world-class cultural performance

On the special night of 23 June 2022, Siam Paragon, the world-class shopping destination, will host “Global Summit of Women 2022 Welcome Dinner” for the participating women delegates. Themed the magical Thai living, the gala dinner is to promote the magnificence of Thainess to the eyes of the world.

From Siam Paragon entrance on the G floor to the dinner venue at Royal Paragon Hall on the 5th Floor, Thai identity will be showcased through decorations such as sculptures, beautiful images of tourist attractions and Thai cultural performances from regions of Thailand. In addition, the Suanplu Chorus will perform to welcome the female leaders and distinguished guests as well as traditional Thai puppets of the Joe Louis Theatre. Featured also will be four regions handicraft demonstrations including Bo Sang umbrella from the North, basketry from the Northeast, carving and floral garland from the Central Region, and shadow-puppet from the South. Impressive souvenirs will also be given to the women leaders like Bo Sang umbrella, woven carp-shape wind hangings, miniature flower garlands, and welcome gifts from Siam Piwat.

At the welcome dinner, the host will meticulously prepare Thai foods crafted from premium ingredients and the spectacular performances including the Ramayana Khon performance: the Sattayanaree (Sida Lui Faai) episode, UNESCO has listed Thai khon masked dance as intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Featured also are the traditional cultural performances of four regions themed Welcome to Thailand; Fon Tee dance from the North, Rabam Ton Worachet dance from the Central, Nora dance from the South, Pong Lang dance from the Northeast. Another highlight is the theatrical boxing Tumrub Tubjak, a Thai boxing which two competitors have to be blindfolded, set in the fun atmosphere of temple fair –to impress the women leaders and distinguished guests for the whole night.

CP Foods adopts 3R approach for sustainable egg packaging, using 100% recyclable tray eggs

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17 June 2022, 10:35

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods) applies 3R approach; Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, in packaging design for its PET plastic with 80% recycled plastic to reduce virgin plastic packaging footprint and subsequently mitigate plastic waste problem. Currently, CP Foods’s all egg packaging are 100% recyclable.

The move is in line with the company’s sustainability goal that all of CP Foods’ plastic packages worldwide must be reusable or recyclable or upcycle or compostable by 2030.

CP Foods’ Assistant Vice-President Kitti Wangwiwatsilp says the company has applies “Design for Recycling” guidelines to ensure the circular transition of its plastic packaging. He explained that CP Foods’ egg trays are thoughtfully designed based on 3R approach, “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”. 0He added that the sustainable egg tray is one of many initiatives. So far, 99.9% of CP Foods plastic food packaging can be Reusable, Recyclable, Upcyclable or Compostable.

Under this concept, CP Foods is taking an action to reduce the use of virgin plastics. This can be done by increasing the proportion of recycled materials in egg packaging without compromising on food quality and safety, Also, the company supports the reuse of packaging and making recyclability one of the key design considerations. As a result, CP Foods’ egg packages are designed to allow users ease to recycle.

“Due to continuous effort, 80% of the plastic packaging used for our egg products is made of recycled plastic. We only use 20% of virgin plastic material for food safety reasons. Our recycled materials have been tested and verified by a laboratory of a trustable third-party. This ensures that the plastic material used in the production of egg packaging is safe and does not affect the quality of the food,” Mr. Kitti said.

In 2021, the recycled content help CP Foods to reduce the use of virgin plastic for its egg tray by 373 tons, enable the company to reduce CO2 emission 583 tons CO2e per year. This can be compared to switching off 65 million of 15w LED lights for an hour. Asides, the company is switching to alternative materials such as recycled paper. Packaging of the 30-Egg Tray and premium egg products such as CP Cage Free Selection and CP Omega Egg Pack 4 and Pack 10 are made from 100% recycled paper.

In the previous year, CP Foods could reduce paper use by 889 tons and plastic materials by 672 tons. The company continues to study and collaborate with partners to develop innovative packaging that is environmentally friendly to achieve the goal of reducing the use of plastic and paper in food packaging totalling 1,000 tons in 2025.

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