News
Co-ops seek lucky draw for solar power grid plan
Agriculture cooperatives nationwide will submit a petition to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha Tuesday asking the government to use a lucky draw to select solar farm projects which will supply electricity to the national power grid, instead of bidding as proposed. Patipol Keturatanang, chairman of Na Bon Agricultural ...
Healthcare budget hit
The growing elderly population is putting pressure on the universal healthcare scheme, forcing officials to seek fresh funding. The National Health Security Office, which operates the scheme, has submitted a Bt164-billion budget request for the next fiscal year but ended up getting just Bt151 billion. “We ...
New law would reprieve political offenders
The National Legislative Assembly plans to propose a draft law to the government offering a penalty reprieved for those who committed politically-motivated criminal offences as part of the unity-building process. NLA vice- president Pirasak Porcit said the 33 section bill is being reviewed by the ...
THAI staff demand S44 graft probe
A group of THAI Airways International employees have called on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to exercise his power under Section 44 to probe the national carrier’s procurement contracts to see if any were tainted by graft. About 200 members of the so-called THAI Employees Fighting ...
Phuket awaits Russian, Chinese rebound
Russian and Chinese tourist arrivals to Phuket are expected to rebound this year thanks to improving tourism sentiment, says hospitality market researcher and consultant C9 Hotelworks Co. Managing director Bill Barnett said Russian tourists are starting to return to a normal level while Chinese travellers are ...
Cambodia’s estates look to reap benefits of Thai ‘Industry 4.0’ drive
The government’s “Thailand 4.0” development drive is seen as providing a potential windfall for Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Plc, whose industrial-estate operators hope manufacturers from Thailand and other countries with production at the Industry 1.0 or Industry 2.0 stage will shift their operations to ...
Thailand warned about neutrality as superpowers compete in Asia
Thailand’s strategy to stay neutral in world politics might prove more difficult as competition between global powers grows stronger, international relations expert Panitan Wattanayagorn said on February 8. The Indo-Pacific region, covering the area from the Middle East to the East Asia, has been targeted ...
Court ruling raises questions over status of wind farms
The Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) will hold a meeting with the Energy Ministry next week to find solutions to problems resulting from a court ruling that some farming-designated land plots were misused for wind-farm projects. Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Salikulya said he ...
Elections now promised for 2018
National elections will take place in February of next year, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Wednesday, confirming fears a vote the military had promised for 2017 will be once again postponed. “One year from today, there’ll be elections”, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam ...
Schools to subsidise textbooks in budget drive
The Education Ministry plans to change its policy, from giving away textbooks to students to lending them next academic year, to save money. At present, the ministry spends around five billion baht a year buying textbooks for eight million students at primary and secondary levels ...
