Grattan on Friday: Asking questions about Gladys Liu is not racist The Conversation12 Sep 2019, 22:17 GMT+10 What’s the betting that when Scott Morrison and Donald Trump are exchanging views on China in Washington in a week or so, the President might be curious about Gladys Liu?If he is, the Prime Minister will no doubt […]
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BANGKOK, 13 September 2019(NNT) – The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has presented the annual Environmentally Sustainable City Awards to 107 provincial, district and subdistrict municipalities nationwide at the Environmentally Sustainable City workshop.
The 107 qualified municipalities have all met four essential requirements and 34 indicators, such as the people’s well-being and happiness, sustainable environment, learning activities and the quality of management, with the objective of being on par with ASEAN and the international community. The environmental impact has become more concerning due to urbanization and climate change. Exceptional awards were given to 52 municipalities, outstanding awards to 40 municipalities and respectable awards to 15 municipalities. In addition, nine cities received awards under the Green City project.
All 107 municipalities will jointly step up their environmental conservation efforts, encourage children to help protect the nation’s natural resources and environment, and deal with situations, such as flooding and threats to marine biodiversity.
The event also featured an exhibition on environmentally sustainable cities and innovations for environmental management presented by 25 local administrative organizations.
YALA, 11 September 2019(NNT) – Many people arrived at a railway station in Yala province today to transport boxes of longkong to their friends and relatives in various provinces. Railway officers helped the people by sorting the boxes according to their destination and loading them into cargo carriages.
Arma Lateh, the station master in Yala, said today many people have brought boxes of longkong to the station as the harvesting period has started. To ensure that there is enough space to hold the many boxes of fruit, additional third-class carriages have been prepared. The situation is being assessed on a day-to-day basis.
A majority of the people want the longkong to be delivered to their relatives in Bangkok. However, other top destinations include the Hua Hin district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province, Nakhon Pathom and Surat Thani provinces. The station is not offering any discount on fares at this time. This year, the amount of longkong is higher than the previous year. The quantity is also expected to increase, so additional measures will be implemented to help the longkong farmers distribute their produce.
People are advised to store the longkong in durable and compact containers or boxes to prevent damage to the fruit.
A total of 4,546 tons of longkong have entered the market in Yala. Most longkong is grown in Than To district, followed by Bannang Sata.
Bangkok, 10 September 2019 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to share that the latest Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index has ranked Bangkok as the No. 1 destination for the fourth consecutive year, with more than 22 million international overnight visitors.
The Thai capital also placed at No. 3 in top cities by Dollars spent while Phuket has been ranked in the 10th place for the second consecutive year.
TAT Governor, Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, said: “Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index ranks 200 cities based on proprietary analysis of publicly available visitor volume and spending data. That Bangkok has been in the No. 1 spot for the fourth year in a row certainly helps strengthen the positive image of the Thai capital as the preferred destination for global travellers.”
Marking a decade of insights, the Index also listed Bangkok as being in the top 3 global cities since 2010, as well as being in the No. 1 spot six of the past seven years.
“Now, the four new MRT subway stations in Bangkok’s old quarter makes exploring the city’s landmark sites even easier. Bangkok’s culinary scene has also been strengthened over the years, especially with many restaurants and street food eateries making it into the Michelin Guide. These developments are just a few of the rich history and culture as well as variety of business and leisure experiences Bangkok has to offer,” Mr. Yuthasak added.
| The Global Top 10 Destination Cities in 2018 | ||||
| 2018 International Overnight Visitors | Growth Forecast for 2019 | Average Length of Stay | Average Spend Per Day (USD) | |
| Bangkok | 22.78 million | 3.34% | 4.8 nights | $184 |
| Paris | 19.10 million | 2.24% | 2.5 nights | $296 |
| London | 19.09 million | 3.47% | 5.8 nights | $148 |
| Dubai | 15.93 million | 1.68% | 3.5 nights | $553 |
| Singapore | 14.67 million | 4.0% | 4.2 nights | $272 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 13.79 million | 9.87% | 5.7 nights | $142 |
| New York | 13.60 million | 2.94% | 7.9 nights | $152 |
| Istanbul | 13.40 million | 8.14% | 5.8 nights | $106 |
| Tokyo | 12.93 million | 10.02% | 5.4 nights | $196 |
| Antalya | 12.41 million | 8.14% | 14.0 nights | $44 |
| Top Cities by Dollars Spent in 2018 | |||
| 2018 International Overnight Visitor Spend (USD) | Forecast for 2019 | Average Spend by Day (USD) | |
| Dubai | $30.82 billion | 4.18% | $553 |
| Makkah | $20.09 billion | 7.94% | $135 |
| Bangkok | $20.03 billion | 8.67% | $184 |
| Singapore | $16.56 billion | 2.66% | $272 |
| London | $16.47 billion | 4.64% | $148 |
| New York | $16.43 billion | 2.93% | $152 |
| Paris | $14.06 billion | -0.78% | $296 |
| Tokyo | $13.77 billion | 12.74% | $196 |
| Palma de Mallorca | $12.69 billion | 3.17% | $233 |
| Phuket | $12.01 billion | 9.16% | $247 |
The Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index ranks 200 cities based on third-party research and proprietary analysis in terms of the number of their total international overnight visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities in 2018, and gives visitor and expenditure growth forecasts.
The official press release of the latest Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index can be found here.
BANGKOK, 11 September 2019 – Economic ministers from countries participating in negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) gathered in Bangkok on 8 September determined to conclude the world’s largest trading bloc by the end of the year.
RCEP includes all ASEAN economies, plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. After seven years, negotiations have reached a critical milestone as the ministers are resolved to address the outstanding issues and conclude the pact.
“Negotiators should exercise maximum flexibility to close the negotiations,” said Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi.
Given today’s developments, concluding RCEP negotiations this year would provide the much-needed stability and certainty to benefit regional supply chains as well as the global markets for trade and investment. Dato Lim said that failure to do so will undermine the region’s trade and investment potential, putting market integration at risk.
Once concluded, RCEP would create a market of over 3.5 billion people accounting for about 30% of global trade. Its next negotiating round will be held in Da Nang, Viet Nam on 19-27 September.
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Discover Thailand’s Astronaut Scholarship Program, which offers an opportunity for selected Thai children to witness operations at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (USSRC), is now accepting applications from Thai youths aged 13-19, who wish to join the program. Applications are open from now until 20th October this year.
A Thai ambassador at the USSRC, Krit Kunplin, has announced that the Discover Thailand’s Astronaut Scholarship Program will continue in Thailand this year for a third year, offering scholarships to three Thai children to experience real space operations at the USSRC.
Applicants will have to take a 100-question test on general knowledge and space history, from which 21 applicants will be selected for further competition in a 3-day, 2-night STEM Camp at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL). Three winners will be selected in a vote by fellow contestants under the supervision of the organizing body.
The program is designed to grant scholarships to well-rounded applicants who are able to demonstrate good knowledge and skills, good relations with colleagues, and leadership qualities.
The three scholarship winners will later experience real operations at the USSRC in Huntsville, Atlanta, USA, particularly rocket building, aircraft and spacecraft navigation, and robot operations in space missions during a 10-day training program in which they will participate in real operations using real equipment. After the program, they will be granted the opportunity to study at the KMITL in any Bachelor’s Degree program according to their interests.
The Discover Thailand’s Astronaut Scholarship Program is financed by the U.S. Department of State, in cooperation with the KMITL. The program received some 1,000 applications last year.
KMITL’s Dean of the International Academy of Aviation Industry (IAAI) Soemsak Yooyen said today the KMITL and USSRC have mutually designed the test, with questions and correct answers from previous year’s examinations available on www.spacecampthailand.com for interested persons to study and practice. The test questions each year have to be approved by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) before being published.
He said the program is open to Thai children and youths aged 13-19 years who are interested in aerospace, and is open to children who are not school students.
Each school in Thailand can send two students to take part in the application stage of the program free of charge, while other applicants not nominated by a school are subject to a 590 baht fee per person.
The program is now accepting applications online until 20th October 2019. The paper test will be taking place on 27th October, with the results announced 20 days after the examination.
BANGKOK, 9 September 2019(NNT)-The 51st ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting has agreed that the final round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) talks in Vietnam should reach their conclusion by the end of this month.
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister/Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, who chaired the 7th RCEP meeting, said the final round of RCEP talks in Danang, Vietnam, is scheduled from September 19 to September 27 for senior officials to prepare various agenda pertaining to goods, services and investments which are to be submitted to an ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in November.
Then, the signing of RCEP agreements will take place next year.
The deputy prime minister commented that all the 16 ASEAN and trade partner countries should compromise in negotiations pertaining to goods, services and investments for the improved well-being of the people in each of those countries.
He said RCEP agreements will strengthen the economic and investment stability and cooperation among the 16 ASEAN and trade partner countries, which are to make common resolutions and compromises over the next three months so that a conclusion will be reached and submitted to the ASEAN Summit as planned.
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China is opening the door to soybean meal shipments from Argentina, the world’s biggest exporter of the animal feed, as Beijing looks to pivot away from US agricultural products amid a trade war with Washington.The Asian giant is finally allowing soy meal imports from the South American nation after two decades of talks, Argentina’s Agriculture […]
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