Grace Your Teacup this Spring with TWG Tea Limited Edition 2022 Blend of Sakura! Sakura! Tea and Cherry Blossom Tea Time Set for Two

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31 March 2022, 10:42

Bangkok – As clouds drift by in a sky blue as glass, laden with flowers abloom in the ethereal beauty of spring, let TWG Tea delight you with the limited edition 2022 blend of Sakura! Sakura! Tea and an enchanting Cherry Blossom Teatime Set for Two.

Beautifully handcrafted with notes of wild Rainier cherry and sweet rose petals, Sakura! Sakura! Tea is a green tea blend that yields the most aromatic and elegant infusion, enveloped by soft lingering hints of floral sweetness. Encased in the soft, luxuriant hues of pink and gold in a collectable tea tin adorned with delicate florals, this marvellous blend rejuvenates and refreshes your mind and body with vitamin C, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

To celebrate the blossoming Sakura season, indulge in a Cherry Blossom Teatime Set for Two at TWG Tea Salons & Boutiques from 16 March to 30 April 2022. Enjoy the flavours of spring with two Sakura! Sakura! Tea infused mocktails, accompanied by a choice of cake and two tea-infused macarons, served with a selection of hot or iced tea including Paris-Singapore Tea, Summer Palace, and Festive Night Tea.

Sakura! Sakura! Tea retails at 1,490 THB and is available at all TWG Tea Salons & Boutiques throughout April 2022.

Cherry Blossom Teatime Set for Two, THB 590++. Available from 16 March to 30 April 2022 at TWG Tea Salon & Boutique at The Emporium (Level G), Siam Paragon (Level G) and ICONSIAM (Level G). For more information, please contact 0-2259-9510.

CP Foods strives for water-saving technologies for sustainable production

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Contributor

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30 March 2022, 16:40

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods) has applied technologies together with the 3Rs principle (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) in an effort to increase efficiency in water management throughout the production process based on the Circular Economy principle for sustainable natural resources conservation.

Peerapong Krinchai, Executive Vice President – Corporate Engineering and Chairperson of the Working Group on Climate Change Management Water and Waste of CP Foods, said, the company recognizes the importance of water resources management for continuity in the agro-industrial and food business. In 2021, CP Foods was able to reduce its average water withdrawal per unit of production by 43% compared to the base year 2015. Also, the company reused and recycled 44% of the total amount of water usage. Moreover, the performance of water withdrawal per production unit in 2021 was better than the target set in 2025 which to reduce water withdrawal per unit of production by 30 percent.

To optimize water-use efficiency, CP Foods has applied the 3Rs principles , including Reduce-Reuse-Recycle by using water from treatment system for non-production-related activities in the livestock feed business, such as watering plants, cleaning road surfaces, etc. CP Foods applied Ultrafiltration (Ultrafiltration: UF) technology to improve water quality and clean water for new uses such as tools and equipment cleaning, water in the bathroom, specifically in areas that are not in contact with humans. The company also applied Reverse osmosis technology to filter water from the water treatment process and to reuse in evaporative system in the cooling system.

The company adopts multiple new water-saving solutions and innovations such as replacing Water Chill system with Air Chill system for reducing the temperature of the chicken in the production process which can reduce water usage by about 15 percent compared to the original production.

In the company’s aquaculture business, two closed shrimp farms namely Bang Sra Kao Farm in Chanthaburi province and the Roi Petch Farm in Trat province has adopted the biofloc system. The biofloc is a group of microorganisms capable of treating waste and shrimp excreted in the pond, resulting in reduced water usage. Meanwhile, UF technology can filtered the treated water and circulated back to shrimp pond. The system reduces the need to change water in the ponds, leading to 75% reduction of the amount of water withdrawal for the shrimp farming. In conclusion, the company ‘s water withdrawal per production unit was reduced from 17.3 cubic meters per ton to 15.28. cubic meter per ton in 2021.

Peerapong added that CP Foods has announced the Sustainable Environment Goals 2020-2025, with the target of reducing energy consumption per production unit by 15%, reducing the amount of water used per production unit by 30%, reducing the amount of waste disposal to landfill and incineration per production unit 35% and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per production unit by 25%. To attain these sustainability goals, the company carried out various projects including phasing out coal fuel in its production process in Thailand by 2022 (Coal Free 2022) and promoting renewable energy in the production processes. At present, the Company has the proportion of renewable energy to 27 percent of the total energy consumption.

Moreover, CP Foods operates its business with an emphasis on sustainable environmental operations. In addition to maximizing the use of water resources, the Company has also carried out a conservation and restoration of watershed forests project of the CPF Rak Nives at Phraya Doen Thong Mountain Project, covering an area 6,971 rai, which is currently entering the second phase of the project (year 2021 – 2025).

Mikimoto welcomes the joyous season of blooms with “Spring Collection 2022” and the timeless designs of pearl masterpieces

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Contributor

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30 March 2022, 16:21

Warm, balmy breeze of March marks the beginning of spring, where flowers are in full bloom and their lively colors and fragrance set joyous mood to the atmosphere. Mikimoto, the number one pearl jewelry brand from Japan that has been revered by women around the word for more than a century, brings forth the captivating natural beauty of pearls and the exquisite craftsmanship with the Spring Collection 2022, where spring-time spirit is portrayed with Mikimoto’s unique aesthetic.

For this spring, Mikimoto draws its inspiration from cherry blossom, Japan’s national flower that symbolizes achievement and strong will power. The delicate, ethereal cherry blossom petals are transformed into precious jewelry such as matching earrings, pendant, bracelet with lustrous Akoya pearls and sparkling diamonds – a perfect gift the represents eternal love for any woman.

Spring-time cherry blossom blooms are inspiration for exceptional jewelry fit for ladies in search of timeless gracefulness. The set, which comprises earrings, ring and pendant with lustrous, perfectly round South Sea white pearl and exquisite diamond on white gold setting, brings luxurious and charming air to the wearer.

Understated elegance and stylishness are Mikimoto’s renowned authenticity. Earrings and pendant of round and lustrous white Akoya pearls that are adorned on rose gold setting make this collection exquisitely timeless and a match for sophisticated, modern women with minimal style.

Another matching set in the Spring Collection 2022 that draws inspiration from flowing lively blooms, the Dancing Lines, comprises earrings, ring and pendant constructed with white South Sea pearls on white gold setting – an analogy to strong, intertwined bond.

Another highlight is Akoya pearl brooch with diamond and pink gemstone where perfectly round white Akoya pearls are placed among delicate bee and petals of dazzling diamonds with precious prink gemstones – truly an accessory for every occasion.

Experience the refined beauty of the seasonal vibrance with the Spring Collection 2022 at Boutique Mikimoto, located at Level M of Siam Paragon. For more information, please contact 0-2129-4444.

Biden Signs Bill Making Lynching a Federal Hate Crime

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Associated Press

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30 March 2022, 12:00

President Joe Biden speaks after signing the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Washington. Photo: Patrick Semansky / AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents typically say a few words before they turn legislation into law. But Joe Biden flipped the script Tuesday when it came time to put his signature on the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act.

He signed the bill at a desk in the White House Rose Garden. Then he spoke.

“All right. It’s law,” said the president, who was surrounded by Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress and top Justice Department officials. He was also joined by a descendant of Ida B. Wells, a Black journalist who reported on lynchings, and Rev. Wheeler Parker, a cousin of Till.

Biden said it’s “a little unusual to do the bill signing, not say anything and then speak. But that’s how we set it up.”

He thanked the audience of civil rights leaders, Congressional Black Caucus members and other guests who kept pushing for the law for “never giving up, never ever giving up.”

Congress first considered anti-lynching legislation more than 120 years ago. Until March of this year, it had failed to pass such legislation nearly 200 times, beginning with a bill introduced in 1900 by North Carolina Rep. George Henry White, the only Black member of Congress at the time.

Harris was a prime sponsor of the bill when she was in the Senate.

The Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act is named for the Black teenager whose killing in Mississippi in the summer of 1955 became a galvanizing moment in the civil rights era. His grieving mother insisted on an open casket to show everyone how her son had been brutalized.

“It’s a long time coming,” said Parker, who was onstage with Biden when the president signed the bill. Parker, two years older than Till, was with his cousin at their relatives’ home in Mississippi and witnessed Till’s kidnapping.

In his remarks, Biden acknowledged the struggle to get a law on the books, and spoke about how lynchings were used to terrorize and intimidate Blacks in the United States. More than 4,400 Blacks died by lynching between 1877 and 1950, mostly in the South, he said.

“Lynching was pure terror, to enforce the lie that not everyone, not everyone belongs in America, not everyone is created equal,” he said.

Biden, who has many Black men and women in key positions throughout his administration, stressed that forms of racial terror continue in the United States, demonstrating the need for an anti-lynching statute.

“Racial hate isn’t an old problem — it’s a persistent problem,” Biden said. “Hate never goes away. It only hides.”

The new law makes it possible to prosecute a crime as a lynching when a conspiracy to commit a hate crime leads to death or serious bodily injury, according to the bill’s champion, Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. The law lays out a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and fines.

The House approved the bill 422-3 on March 7, with eight members not voting, after it cleared the Senate by unanimous consent. Rush had introduced a bill in January 2019 but it stalled in the Senate after the House passed by a vote of 410-4.

The NAACP began lobbying for anti-lynching legislation in the 1920s. A federal hate crime law was passed and signed into law in the 1990s, decades after the civil rights movement.

“Today we are gathered to do unfinished business,” Harris said, “to acknowledge the horror and this part of our history, to state unequivocally that lynching is and has always been a hate crime and to make clear that the federal government may now prosecute these crimes as such.”

“Lynching is not a relic of the past,” she added. “Racial acts of terror still occur in our nation, and when they do, we must all have the courage to name them and hold the perpetrators to account.”

Till, 14, had traveled from his Chicago home to visit relatives in Mississippi in 1955 when it was alleged that he whistled at a white woman. He was kidnapped, beaten and shot in the head. A large metal fan was tied to his neck with barbed wire and his body was thrown into a river. His mother, Mamie Till, insisted on an open casket at the funeral to show the brutality he had suffered.

Two white men, Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, were accused, but acquitted by an all-white-male jury. Bryant and Milam later told a reporter that they kidnapped and killed Till.

During a video interview after the bill signing, Parker credited current events for helping the anti-lynching bill move through Congress and to Biden’s desk. Parker specifically mentioned the police killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, which sparked months of protests in the United States and other countries after videotape of the officer’s actions circulated.

He drew a connection between Floyd and Till, saying, “That’s what caused Rosa Parks to not give her seat up and that sparked the civil rights movement, because she thought about Emmett Till.”

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Story: Darlene Superville.

Russian Pledge To Scale Back in Ukraine Draws Skepticism

By

Associated Press

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30 March 2022, 11:30

A man walks with his dog near an apartment building damaged by shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, in territory under control of the separatist government of the Donetsk People's Republic, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Photo: Alexei Alexandrov / AP

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s pledge to scale back some military operations in Ukraine drew skepticism even as the two nations planned to return Wednesday to talks that could produce a framework for ending the war that has imposed an increasingly punishing toll.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was no reason to believe Russia’s announcement that it would reduce military activity near Kyiv, the capital, as well as in the northern city of Chernihiv, given what’s still happening on the ground.

“We can call those signals that we hear at the negotiations positive,” he said in his nightly video address to the Ukrainian people. “But those signals don’t silence the explosions of Russian shells.”

It was a bitter reality check in a rare moment of optimism five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.

Earlier Tuesday, Ukraine’s delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations.

Moscow’s public reaction was positive, and the negotiations were expected to resume Wednesday in Istanbul.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Moscow has decided to “fundamentally … cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv” to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.”

He did not spell out what that would mean in practical terms.

Zelenskyy said it was Ukrainian troops who forced Russia’s hand, adding that “we shouldn’t let down our guard” because the invading army can still carry out attacks.

“Ukrainians are not naïve people,” he said. “Ukrainians have already learned during the 34 days of the invasion and during the past eight years of war in the Donbas that you can trust only concrete results.”

The U.S. and others also expressed doubts about Russia’s intentions.

While Moscow portrayed it as a goodwill gesture, its ground troops have become bogged down and taken heavy losses in their bid to seize Kyiv and other cities. Last week and again on Tuesday, the Kremlin seemed to lower its war aims, saying its “main goal” now is gaining control of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden, asked whether the Russian announcement was a sign of progress in the talks or an attempt by Moscow to buy time to continue its assault, said: “We’ll see. I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Russian indications of a pullback could be an attempt by Moscow to “deceive people and deflect attention.”

It wouldn’t be the first time. In the tense buildup to the invasion, the Russian military announced that some units were loading equipment onto rail cars and preparing to return to their home bases after completing exercises. At the time, Putin was signaling interest in diplomacy. But 10 days later, Russia launched its invasion.

Western officials say Moscow is now reinforcing troops in the Donbas in a bid to encircle Ukraine’s forces. And Russia’s deadly siege in the south continues, with civilians trapped in the ruins of Mariupol and other bombarded cities. The latest satellite imagery from commercial provider Maxar Technologies showed hundreds of people waiting outside a grocery store amid reports of food and water shortages.

“There is what Russia says and there is what Russia does, and we’re focused on the latter,” Blinken said in Morocco. “And what Russia is doing is the continued brutalization of Ukraine.”

Even as negotiators gathered, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces blasted a gaping hole in a nine-story government administration building in a strike on the southern port city of Mykolaiv, killing at least 12 people, emergency authorities said. The search for more bodies in the rubble continued.

“It’s terrible. They waited for people to go to work” before striking the building, said regional governor Vitaliy Kim. “I overslept. I’m lucky.”

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has detected small numbers of Russian ground forces moving away from the Kyiv area, but it appeared to be a repositioning of forces, “not a real withdrawal.”

He said it was too soon to say how extensive the Russian movements may be or where the troops will be repositioned.

“It does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over,” Kirby said. “They can still inflict massive brutality on the country, including on Kyiv.” He said Russian airstrikes against Kyiv continued.

Rob Lee, a military expert at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, tweeted of the Russian announcement: “This sounds like more of an acknowledgment of the situation around Kyiv where Russia’s advance has been stalled for weeks and Ukrainian forces have had recent successes. Russia doesn’t have the forces to encircle the city.”

The meeting in Istanbul was the first time negotiators from Russia and Ukraine talked face-to-face in two weeks. Earlier talks were held in person in Belarus or by video.

Among other things, the Kremlin has demanded all along that Ukraine drop any hope of joining NATO.

Ukraine’s delegation offered a detailed framework for a peace deal under which a neutral Ukraine’s security would be guaranteed by a group of third countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland, in an arrangement similar to NATO’s “an attack on one is an attack on all” principle.

Ukraine said it would also be willing to hold talks over a 15-year period on the future of the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014.

Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said on Russian TV that the Ukrainian proposals are a “step to meet us halfway, a clearly positive fact.”

He cautioned that the parties are still far from reaching an agreement, but said: “We know now how to move further toward compromise. We aren’t just marking time in talks.”

In other developments:

— In what appeared to be a coordinated action to tackle Russian espionage, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland and North Macedonia expelled scores of Russian diplomats.

— The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency arrived in Ukraine to try to ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities. Russian forces have taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, site in 1986 of the world’s worst nuclear accident, and of the active Zaporizhzhia plant, where a building was damaged in fighting.

— Russia has destroyed more than 60 religious buildings across the country in just over a month of war, with most of the damage concentrated near Kyiv and in the east, Ukraine’s military said.

— In the room at the Istanbul talks was Roman Abramovich, a longtime Putin ally who has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Chelsea soccer team owner has been serving as an unofficial mediator approved by both countries. But the mystery surrounding his role has been deepened by news reports that he may have been poisoned during an earlier round of talks.

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Story: Nebi Qena and Yuras Karmanau. Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.

BGRIM and True Group join forces in developing digital innovations for energy sector

By

Contributor

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29 March 2022, 14:44

Seek to spur digital infrastructure with smart energy, smart grid as well as encourage Thai start-ups to drive new economic ecosystem
and develop energy management solutions

B.Grimm Power Public Co Ltd (BGRIM) and True Corporation Plc. clinched an accord to pursue cooperation in digital innovation development for the energy business.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed today by the two leading firms in their respective fields will prepare digital transformation to create a new economic ecosystem that aims at promote production potential and increase competitiveness for the private sector and new-era start-ups. The works involved also call for uplifting the energy industry in the digital age along with taking care of society and the environment in a sustainable manner.

Dr. Harald Link, President of BGRIM, said it is an honour to collaborate with the True Group, a robust partner in telecommunication infrastructure and digital ecosystem to tap the benefits of the True 5G intelligent network and digital technology to create cutting-edge innovations to boost efficiency in the management of electric power and clean energy that is not only beneficial in driving the Thai economy but also creating value for society and the environment.

This cooperation conforms to one of BGRIM’s strategies that strive to develop various business models to support digital transformation with cooperation with leading local and international partners undertaken by a new generation of personnel to create long-term growth and create value for society as well as elevating BGRIM to become a world-class energy producer, he noted.

Mr.Natwut Amornvivat, President (Co) of True Corporation Plc., said that this collaboration with BGRIM offers a great opportunity for the firm to expedite the transformation of Thailand’s energy business into a truly digital age and enhancing the Thai energy industry to grow strongly and sustainably. The cooperation will see BGRIM and True working together in an integrated manner to exploit the potential of True Group’s comprehensive telecommunication and digital infrastructure, and the intelligence of the True 5G network to develop digital innovations.

These forthcoming innovations will bring about business opportunities and meeting the needs of energy consumption in the household, business and industrial sectors to meet the rising energy demand while taking care of society and the environment. The innovations are meant to achieve energy conservation, promoting clean energy, mitigating environmental impacts from generation and usage of electric power for a better quality of life for Thai people, thus fulfilling BGRIM’s mission to create energy security that will drive the economy and industry nationally and regionally, he noted.

The BGRIM-True collaboration comes in four key areas as follows:

Development of Digital Infrastructure with Smart Energy

The two parties will jointly study and develop digital infrastructure, connecting the process of electricity trading in all sectors together in a drive to realise the Smart City and Smart Energy-Smart Building concepts. BGRIM’s smart and energy-saving buildings are to serve as prototypes for system testing which will be extended to serve external customers in the future.

In addition, a complete solution for energy-saving buildings will be developed, starting from power generation derived from renewable clean energy, applying optimum energy efficiency management technologies such as the Property Integration System and True Smart Energy solutions that connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices via True 5G smart networks. Also covered in the work programme is designing the buildings’ interior systems to be user-friendly, convenient and safe, while reducing the carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions from various activities.

Development of 5G technology innovation projects and Smart Grid

This development is aimed at creating a knowledge base, study and exchanging new technologies, and Smart Grid innovations through the True 5G network that will enhance the quality of the Thai power plants under the concept of Industrial 4.0, Facility 4.0 and Smart Industrial Estate. The mission is to provide quality and stable energy supplies within offices and industrial estates under the supervision of BGRIM.

The Smart Grid System combines communication technology and digital technology with a circuit power system in stages from production to transmission and distribution of electricity to household, business and industrial sectors. The IoT technology is applied in the production, installation and maintenance phases. There is also a digital platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to analyse predictive analytics to provide early warning.

Meanwhile, the Machine Learning technology helps preventing parts or equipment from being damaged and raising production efficiency. This will lead to good management, in terms of convenience and speed, and can also be applied to suit the needs and benefiting the people, the government, and the industrial sectors effectively.

Developing a new economic ecosystem and promoting start-ups in Thailand

True Digital Park, billed as the largest tech and start-up hub in ASEAN, will be instrumental in promoting start-ups through hackathon activities that promote innovations in the fields of energy, environment and sustainability. True Digital Park will facilitate knowledge sharing events and seminars. Its ecosystem also opens up investment opportunities for start-ups in a drive to turn Thailand into a digital innovation hub to uplift the Thai energy industry for sustainable development.

Infrastructure development and energy management solutions

This collaboration is aimed at developing infrastructure and solutions to provide primary or backup power, an efficient cooling system for True IDC’s data centers. The two sides will create solutions to support energy management technologies, raising the proportion of renewable or clean energy, increasing energy consumption efficiency, while curtailing carbon footprint in various activities related to the businesses. This reinforces True IDC’s commitment to be the leader in providing green data centers and cloud services in Thailand with sustainability in delivering services to customers in public and private sectors.

This BGRIM-True cooperation is not only beneficial to driving the economy and society but also promotes environmental stewardship. This is in line with BGRIM’s goal of becoming a Net-Zero carbon emissions organisation by 2050, in consistent the company’s vision of conducting its businesses with compassion to create sustainable benefits for the Thai society.

Mexico to Rent Out Presidential Jet for Weddings, Parties

By

Associated Press

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29 March 2022, 12:00

FILE - In this July 27, 2020 file photo, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, center left, waves to the press as he arrives to give his daily, morning press conference in front of the former presidential plane at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City. Photo: Marco Ugarte / AP File

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday he has now essentially given up on his quixotic bid to sell off the presidential jet, and will rent it out for weddings or parties.

López Obrador admitted the government has not been able to sell the Boeing 787 jet, which he calls too luxurious and refuses to use.

Instead, the president said he will simply give the jet to a military-led company that will operate the new Mexico City Felipe Angeles airport. The plane will be parked there and will be available for people to rent to hold in-flight parties aboard.

“The rental fees will pay for its expenses and maintenance,” López Obrador said. “It will be open to the public if anyone wants it, because they’re getting married … and they want to bring their friends and family … or coming of age parties, birthdays.”

Mexican families frequently throw elaborate parties for their daughters when they turn 15.

Since 2018, López Obrador has tried to lure corporations and business executives to buy the jet, and even held a symbolic raffle for it.

López Obrador prides himself on his austerity, flies commercial flights and has made only one trip abroad.

He has said the jet is hard to sell because it is too specialized and made-to-order. He said the government would still be open to offers for the plane, but after almost 3 1/2 years, that possibility seems remote.

The plane was purchased for $200 million and was used by the previous president, Enrique Peña Nieto. It has been difficult to sell because it is configured to carry only 80 people and has a full presidential suite with a private bath. Experts say it would be costly to reconfigure into a typical passenger jet that would carry up to 300 passengers.

New Round of Talks Aims To Stop the Fighting in Ukraine

By

Associated Press

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29 March 2022, 11:30

A soldier stands on a bridge destroyed by the Ukrainian army to prevent the passage of Russian tanks near Brovary, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 28, 2022. Photo: Rodrigo Abd / AP

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Another round of talks aimed at stopping the war in Ukraine is scheduled for Tuesday as the fighting looks increasingly like a stalemate on the ground, with the two sides trading control of a town in the east and a suburb of the capital.

Ukrainian forces retook Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, from Russian troops, who were regrouping to take the area back, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday as he sought to rally the country.

“We still have to fight, we have to endure,” Zelenskyy said in his nighttime video address to the nation. “We can’t express our emotions now. We can’t raise expectations, simply so that we don’t burn out.”

Ahead of the talks, to be held in Istanbul, the Ukrainian president said his country is prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded, and is open to compromise on the fate of the Donbas, the contested region in the country’s east.

As fighting raged throughout the country, the mayor of Irpin, which has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting, said that the city had been “liberated” from Russian forces.

A senior U.S. defense official said the U.S. believes the Ukrainians have also retaken the town of Trostyanets, south of Sumy, in the east.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence assessments, said Russian forces largely remained in defensive positions near the capital, Kyiv, and were making little forward progress elsewhere in the country.

The official said Russia appeared to be de-emphasizing ground operations near Kyiv and concentrating more on the Donbas, the predominantly Russian-speaking region where Moscow-backed rebels have been waging a separatist war for the past eight years.

Late last week, with its forces bogged down in parts of the country, Russia seemed to scale back its war aims, saying its main goal was gaining control of the Donbas.

While that suggested a possible face-saving exit strategy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, it also raised Ukrainian fears that the Kremlin intends to split the country in two and force it to surrender a swath of its territory.

Meanwhile, a cyberattack knocked Ukraine’s national telecommunications provider Ukrtelecom almost completely offline. The chief of Ukraine’s state service for special communication, Yurii Shchyhol, blamed “the enemy” without specifically naming Russia and said most customers were cut off from telephone, internet and mobile service so that coverage could continue for Ukraine’s military.

Also Monday, an oil depot in western Ukraine’s Rivne region was hit by a missile attack, the governor said. It was the second attack on oil facilities in the region near the Polish border.

In recent days, Ukrainian troops have pushed the Russians back in other sectors.

In the city of Makariv, near a strategic highway west of the capital, Associated Press reporters saw the carcass of a Russian rocket launcher, a burned Russian truck, the body of a Russian soldier and a destroyed Ukrainian tank after fighting there a few days ago.

In the nearby village of Yasnohorodka, the AP witnessed positions abandoned by Ukrainian soldiers who had moved farther west, but no sign of Russian troops.

And on Friday, the U.S. defense official said the Russians were no longer in full control of Kherson, the first major city to fall to Moscow’s forces. The Kremlin denied it had lost full control of the southern city.

Russia has long demanded that Ukraine drop any hope of joining NATO, which Moscow sees as a threat. Zelenskyy, for his part, has stressed that Ukraine needs security guarantees of its own as part of any deal.

Over the weekend, Zelenskyy said he is ready to agree to neutrality. He also said that “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are beyond doubt,” while suggesting at the same time that compromise might be possible over “the complex issue of Donbas.”

The Ukrainian leader has suggested as much before but rarely commented so extensively. That could create momentum for the talks, for which the Russian delegates arrived in Istanbul on Monday, Turkish media reported.

Still, it was not clear how a compromise on the Donbas would square with maintaining Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

In other developments:

— President Joe Biden made no apologies for calling for Putin’s ouster, saying he was expressing his “moral outrage,” not a new U.S. policy. Over the weekend, Biden said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” On Monday, the president said: “I’m not walking anything back.”

— U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he has launched an effort to achieve a humanitarian cease-fire that would allow aid to be brought in and people to move around safely.

— Russia’s invasion has most Americans at least somewhat worried that the U.S. will be drawn directly into the conflict and could be targeted with nuclear weapons, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

— The Group of Seven major economies rejected a Kremlin demand that some countries pay in rubles for Russia’s natural gas. That demand appeared designed to support the Russian currency, which is under pressure from Western sanctions.

Earlier talks, both by video and in person, have failed to make progress on ending the more than month-old war that has killed thousands and driven more than 10 million Ukrainians from their homes. That includes almost 4 million who have fled the country.

In the besieged southern port of Mariupol, the mayor said half the pre-war population of more than 400,000 has fled, often under fire, during weeks of shooting and shelling.

Alina Beskrovna, who escaped the city in a convoy of cars and made it to Poland, said desperate people are melting snow for water and cooking on open fires despite the risk of bombardment, “because if you don’t, you will have nothing to eat.”

“A lot of people are just, I think, starving to death in their apartments right now with no help,” she said. “It’s a mass murder that’s happening at the hands of the Russians.”

Putin’s ground forces have become bogged down because of stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance, combined with what Western officials say are Russian tactical missteps, poor morale, shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, and other problems. Moscow has resorted to pummeling Ukrainian cities with artillery and airstrikes.

In Stoyanka village near Kyiv, Ukrainian soldier Serhiy Udod said Russian troops had taken up defensive positions and suffered heavy losses.

The Russians probably “thought it would be like Crimea,” which the Kremlin annexed in 2014. “But here it’s not like in Crimea. We are not happy to see them. Here they suffer and get killed.”

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Story: Yuras Karmanau. Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Nebi Qena in Kyiv, Cara Anna in Lviv and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.

CP Foods sends the historic shipment of chicken products to Saudi Arabia

By

Contributor

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28 March 2022, 17:17

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods) says it has sent the first shipment of chicken products to Saudi Arabia since 2004 after five CP Foods’ chicken plants have been given permission by Saudi Food & Drug Authority to export chilled, frozen and processed chicken.

The historic shipment took place just two weeks after Saudi Arabia lifted a 18-year ban on Thai chicken and egg imports.

CP Foods held a launch ceremony today (March 28, 2022). The event at CP Foods’ Minburi Chicken Processing Plant 2 was joined by Commerce Minister, Jurin Laksanawisit, Department of International Trade Promotion Director-General Phusit Rattanakul Sereroengrit, Department of Internal Trade Director-General Wattanasak Sur-iam, Maj.Gen. Surin Palaree, Secretary-General of the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, CP Foods’ CEO Prasit Boondoungprasert, and the company’s management members.

Mr. Jurin said that Thailand’s chicken industry has made a monumental step in the Middle East today. This is thanks to the Prime Minister’s historic visit to Saudi Arabia and the continuous efforts to restore diplomatic ties by the Ministry of Commerce Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Minister also thanks to the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand for helping the government to develop Thai chicken production in accordance with Halal standards.

“Congratulations to CP Foods for being the first company to export chicken products to Saudi Arabia. It is a new era for Thai and Saudi trade. Thailand aims to export 10,000 tons of chicken to Saudi Arabia this year, which will help increase the value of Thai broiler exports abroad,” he said adding Thailand aims to export broiler to the world totalling 9.8 hundred thousand tons, an increase of 7% from the previous year. The Saudis will be one of the most important and largest markets in the Middle East, especially for Halal products.

Mr. Prasit added that CP Foods will export 600 tons of chicken products, worth 47 million baht, to Saudi Arabia within March this year. He also thanks to the Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha, Minister of Commerce, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and all relevant agencies for coordinating with the Saudi authorities, helping Thai chicken exports to grow strongly.

“CP Foods will export 6,000 tons of chicken meat products with a total export value of 473 million baht in this year. CP Foods is eyeing chicken export of 60,000 tons in the next five years, which is about 4,200 million baht,” Mr. Prasit said.

The chicken products are certified internationally recognized standards such as GMP, HACCP, ISO 9001, IFS (International Food Standard), BRC (British Retail Consortium), ISO 14001(Environment Management System), Thai Labor Standard TLS 8001, ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) and, most importantly, Halal certification. Mr. Prasit explained that the products use halal-certified ingredients and are free from any prohibited procedures by Islamic dietary guidelines. As a result, CP Foods’ products are recognized by customers all over the world. Especially, including highly competitive markets such as the United Kingdom, Japan, European Union countries.

With a population of 36.5 million people, Saudi Arabia is the country with the highest proportion of food imports among the Gulf Corporation Council and will be the largest importer of chicken from Thailand in the Middle East. The Thai broiler industry expects to gain a 10% to 15% of total market share in the country.

Siam Piwat joins forces with Kantana Group to strengthen business ecosystem, leveraging ‘Collaboration to Win’ strategy

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28 March 2022, 16:42

Reinforcing Siam Piwat’s vision, The Visionary ICON with expansion of a premium world-class business ecosystem and adoption of ‘Collaboration to Win’ strategy through a strategic partnership with entertainment business leader Kantana Group to create ‘The Universe of Co-Creation.’

Aim to become top-of-mind among digitally-driven new generations and expand to content-and-entertainment consumer segment, to deliver unprecedented customer experience

(Bangkok, March 28 ,2022) Leading real estate developer Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., the owner and operator of prestigious retail development including Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery and a joint-venture partner of ICONSIAM and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok, optimizes the premium world-class business ecosystem by announcing its strategic partnership with Thailand’s leading entertainment company Kantana Group, emphasizing its vision as The Visionary Icon. The collaborative partnership marks a major milestone to create ‘The Universe of Co-Creation,’ that aligns with the company’s business strategies to cultivate a value-sharing ecosystem for a thriving and sustainable success for all entities.

Mrs.Mayuree Chaipromprasith, President – Corporate Affairs and Communications, Siam Piwat Co., Ltd. Said “Fundamentally, Siam Piwat’s key foresight is to create a premium world-class business ecosystem. We have transcended domestic competition and geared towards new business opportunities that can expand beyond all boundaries. Our establishments are positioned as global destinations and we have cultivated strong communities of both local and international customers.

At Siam Piwat, our business goes beyond retail offering that relies simply on products and services, instead, we strategically position our business as the place to discover new and multi-dimensional customer experiences, both in physical and digital realm. We aspire to be the top-of-mind for local and international clients. This goal undoubtedly contributes to a strong network of local and international business alliances. Aligning with Siam Piwat’s ‘Collaboration to Win’ strategy, this interconnection have seen enriched and long-standing relationship, together with commitment to together thrive forward and create revolutionary and innovative values. This integrated ecosystem dynamically spans over 13 industries and successfully leveraged into a global framework – empowering a ‘Universe of Co-Creation’ that is powerful, efficient and boundless.

The key success factors of the innovative premium business ecosystem, that evolves from the “Collaboration to Win” strategies are;

1. Accelerate Innovation

Collaborate with the robust partners to strengthen technology and innovation capabilities while complimenting each other and forge to business of future. This enhancement will help all parties efficiently evolve in this fast-paced world and together achieve the compatible goals more efficiently.

2. New Opportunity, New Growth Engine

Incorporating with collective key players that together will optimize business opportunities and enable innovative partnership that broadens capabilities. In addition, the orchestrated network contributes to knowledge and know-how sharing, while accelerating business growth, cross-reaching and expanding customer database as well as reaching new potential consumers. Siam Piwat also plans to operate customer for its ecosystem entities.

3. Unlimited Experiences

The partnership will bring together the parallel worlds the offline and online, the universe of unlimited experiences to strengthen the functionality and efficiency of OneSiam SuperApp and Siam Piwat’s business units and connects new platforms into the ecosystem, not only in term of shopping, but also the experiences that meet the demands of customer at the highest level.

In 2022, Siam Piwat and Kantana Group PCL, a leading content provider and entertainment revolution, join forces to leverage the strengths of both organizations with a shared value to become the top-of-mind among digital-driven generations and broaden the content & entertainment consumer segment.

Mrs.Sasikorn Chansate, Chief Executive Officer, Kantana Group, PCL said “Kantana Group is a leading integrated content provider that include television, series, movies, animation, E-Sport and KOL management. We provide new contents in terms of productions and capture new audiences in all segments through integrated business strategy framework that connects customers, media and fanclub network. In addition, we build a network of partnership in varieties of OTT (over-the-top) platforms to offer the right contents to the right target groups.

Kantana’s business strategy for 2022 is to focus on fashion and E-sport. We are actively growing the two communities to communicate, exchange and enhance benefit.

For the fashion community, this year Kanatana Group has generated varieties of fashion programs such as Face2Face Thailand, Sexy Mama and Dress My Love. Thanks to the support from Siam Piwat, the leading developer of global retail destinations, the collaboration truly empowers our capability to offer new experiences for consumers through a paralleled online and offline experiences.

E-Sport contents feature King of Gamer Club, E-Sport player management for Free Fire, ROV, PUBG Mobile and LOL Wild Rift. Kantana also produces E-Sport TV program and TVC as part of its marketing campaigns. The contents perfectly align with Siam Piwat’s target segments. The up and coming The Up Rank movie will also mark a major campaign that will attract new generation customers that mutually benefits both Siam Piwat and Kantana.

Mr.Piyarat Kaljaruek, Vice President of Kantana Group PCL, said “Producing lifestyle and fashion content for the Thai market is in fact a very challenging task. A synchronized marketing communication with other key players is crucial, most importantly, we partner with key players who nurture robust customer database, have high credibility and share similar brand image with our shows. The cooperative work with Siam Piwat is the testament of a strong partnership. Siam Piwat is the leader in luxury fashion and the key to success for all Kantana’s contents. Our strategy efficiently combines online and offline communications that attract new target groups and audiences, especially those digital-native GenY and GenZ, Contents to the shared target groups, the fruit of the collaboration between Kantana Group and Siam Piwat’s retail premises have been continuously released. Face2Face Thailand, a TV program that has become an online buzz, features luxury fashion and lifestyle that aligns with ICONSIAM’s target group who support the filming location.

While Sexy Mama seeks smart and stylish women regardless of their age, body shape or profession. The program’s purpose aligns with Siam Center’s vision statement to support diversity and inclusiveness. Siam Center has earlier announced its collaboration with UNDP (The United Nation Development Program) to be a DiverCity Building, reinforcing its Ideaopolis vision.

Mrs.Saruntorn Asaves, Division Head – Shopping Center Business of Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., said “The collaboration between Siam Piwat and Kantana will definitely bring our retail premises closer to target customers, with no time-bound or geographical location limit. These are in line with the strategy to connects O2O customers with attractive and exciting contents and create communities based on interest of target segments such as Style for fashion, Glow for beauty, Fun for activities, entertainment, sports, games and gadgets.

The partnership presents both offline and online collaborations; in the shopping centers and on OneSiam SuperApp platform. Offline benefits will bring in more quality customers, generate more traffic, raise awareness, increase brand reach, emphasize brand image and add value to customer’s experience. Whereas Onesiam SuperApp online content will broaden customer database, present attractive contents, offer varieties of privileges to customers and contribute to new market opportunities.

For the up and coming Kantana’s The Up Rank project, OneSiam’s shopping centers has spent over 10 million baht on offering special privileges to Kantana’s The Up Rank participants that spans to online shopping at OneSiam SuperApp. Participants will also receive discount coupons from leading stores located in the shopping centers such as LOFT, ALAND, Absolute Siam Store, Ecotopia and ICONCRAFT. This is Digital Lifestyle Marketing merged with Customer Experience Program to capture new generation customers and other potential communities.

The varieties of collaborations between Siam Piwat and Kanatana Group showcase the boundless potentials of both industry leaders and, importantly, both companies have strategically planned to incorporate more partnership with the country’s leading organizations for phenomenal outcome that will reshape the retail industry within this year.

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