Thailand Newspapers

Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who faces a complaint of defaming the monarchy, defended his criticism of the government's Covid-19 vaccine plan, saying he is doing his job to scrutinise the government.

Upbit Thailand, a joint-venture digital asset exchange between Upbit APAC Pte and a group of Thai billionaires, launched operations on Wednesday following a rocky week for the country's leading cryptocurrency platform Bitkub, which temporarily shut down to fix some issues at the request of the regulator.

The drop in air quality across Bangkok over the past week is caused by an urban "dust dome" over the city, which formed as low atmospheric pressure and high-rise buildings trapped dust and other pollutants from the burning of agricultural waste, says Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa.

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has rejected a request to remove a tracking collar attached to a wild elephant, saying there is no evidence the device made the animal aggressive and caused it to attack and kill an 80-year-old man.

Large SET-listed commercial banks posted a decline of more than 23% in net profits last year, mainly attributed to allocation of higher amounts of expected credit losses (ECLs) to cushion against rising uncertainties amid the pandemic crisis.

Tour operators have floated the idea of luring inbound travellers with vaccination tour packages after the first batch of inoculations are distributed to high-risk groups in February.

Academics are warning the government to prepare for a new relationship with the US as the Biden administration likely focuses its trading partners more on human rights, the promotion of democracy and environmental issues.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and 50,000 doses of it will arrive in Thailand in February.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has approved the reopening of 13 kinds of premises, including game arcades and shops, from Friday, but 13 other kinds of business will remain closed, including pubs.

NAKHON PHANOM: Community testing for Covid-19 was continuing at locked down villages on Thursday after a local food vendor was found to have been infected by visitors from Bangkok over the New Year.