#Thailand - New safety rules for public transport vans enforced.

.

The Land Transport Department has begun enforcing strict safety rules targeting public transport vans - including a 13-passenger limit.

The rules also require vans to have an emergency exit that can be opened from the inside with a visible, reflective Thai sign identifying it, a 20 centimetre-wide walking space to reach the emergency exit and at least three glass-breaking hammers on the left, the right and the back of vans.

Van operators who fail to comply with the rules face fines of Bt500 to Bt5,000 and having their license suspended for up to six months.

On the first day of enforcement of the new rules on Monday, in which fines were capped at Bt500, many vans at Bangkok's Victory Monument complied with the requirements. 

Reducing the seating capacity from 15 seat to 13 aims to ensure there is enough space for passengers to quickly reach the emergency exit.

The department will also require fixed-route vans in Bangkok and elsewhere to submit their vehicles for an inspection and registration check on June 5 or July 5. 

Chartered vans will be inspected on August 5. 

Those who fail to comply face a maximum fine, the department warned.

Source - TheNation

Ps,  13 persons exclusive luggage is anyway to much.

.

#Thailand - Detained TAO chief ‘not involved’ in Pattani bombing, released.

.

The chief of a Tambon Organisation Administration (TAO) has been released after investigation showed he had no involvement in the attack at the Big C department store in Pattani province last week, a source said on Sunday.

The identity of the TAO chief in Pattani’s Nong Chik district was never publicly revealed.

He was detained after the attack on May 9, which injured 80 people.

The source said that seven people, including a religious leader – Su-hai-mee Sama-e – and five other local residents had been detained for interrogation for alleged links to the robbery of a pickup and the killing of the vehicle’s owner.

On May 13, five youths were detained in Nong Chik district after they were found near a spot where suspect Su-hai-mee allegedly rigged a stolen pickup with explosives.

Sourse - TheNation

.

Crackdown on illegal waterway structures ‘too harsh, conflicts with Thai way of life’

.

A MARINE Department crackdown on illegal structures built over waterways across the country is too harsh and conflicts with the traditional Thai way of life, according to a leading figure in the fisheries business and an academic.

The department announced recently that all structures deemed illegal would be dismantled and removed, unless the owners obtain retrospective permission by June 22.

The move follows the passing of the latest edition of the Navigation in Thai Waters Act, which includes provision of jail terms of up to three years for offenders.

In cases where permission is granted, owners will have to pay fines at rates of between Bt1,000 and Bt20,000 per square metre. They will also have to pay annual rent based on the area covered.

.

.

 If permission is refused, the |owners will be fined and ordered to demolish their structure. If they fail to comply with this, the Marine Department will remove the structure at the owner’s expense.

Thai Fisheries Association chairman Mongkol Sukchareonkana said such “fierce” law enforcement would have a great impact on the people across the country and harm the fisheries business. 

He said Thai culture and way of life have a strong bond with water, with many traditional houses and businesses built over the waterways.

“All kind of structures over the water will be considered illegal in the eyes of the Marine Department, such as the traditional houses built over the water, piers, fish cages, fishing equipment, or waterside walkways. Many of these structures are built over public land, so the owners cannot ask for permission from the Marine Department and will be forced to dismantle them,” Mongkol said.

“The impact will be so great that, at a minimum, the damage to the economy and people’s way of life will be over Bt10 billion in each province.”

He said that in Samut Songkram alone, thousands of houses in more than 200 canals would be deemed illegal. This includes the Amphawa Floating Market, which under this law will have to be removed too.

He stressed that enforcement of the law in this issue was too harsh and did not consider the way of life and culture of Thai people. He urged the department to reconsider how the law is enforced and extend the timeframe to one year.

“I agree that construction over the waterways must be regulated, but the law should not apply |retrospectively. 

The Marine Department should strictly enforce the law to prevent current encroachment on waterways,” he said.

Marine Department director-general Sorasak Saensombat said the legislation had been in effect for a long time, but currently the government had a policy to strictly enforce the measure.

Sorasak said that if the department found violations of the act, courts could order the owners to pay retrospective fines covering six years from when the crime was discovered. 

A jail term of up to three years had been included in the new version of the law. However, Sorasak stressed that the department would not |prosecute all those in violation of |the Navigation in Thai Waters Act, as there were not enough officers to enforce it. 

It would focus on structures that have a great impact on navigation and people’s movement.

“We have to consider the public benefit first and everyone has to comply with the law. 

If people suffer difficulties from enforcement of this law, there are related agencies that ready to assist them. There are many solutions to the problems from implementation of this law,” he said.

Chulalongkorn University Urban and Regional Planning Department lecturer Nattapong Punnoi said that while he agreed that management of waterfront areas and structures over waterways was important, implementation of the policy should not be the same across the country.

“The restriction of structures over waterways is necessary in an urban area such as Bangkok, so as to improve the environment and prevent floods. But in rural areas, where people still have a strong bond with the river, they should be allowed to keep their traditional way of life on the water,” Nattapong said. He said the government should have a plan to assist people who have to move away from their homes on the water and provide them with proper housing. 

He also cautioned that it would be unacceptable if the government used the reclaimed areas on the water to build new structures that do not fit with good urban planning, such as roads or promenades.

Sorasak said that all structures over waterways including the Chao Phraya Riverside promenade would have to ask the department for |permission first, as official agencies also have to comply with this law.

. 

Source - TheNation

. 

#Vietnam - Southeast Asia's longest cross-sea bridge to open shortly

.

The 5.4-km long bridge in Hai Phong to undergo tests on May 14. 

..

 The Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Bridge, the longest cross-sea bridge in Southeast Asia, will undergo a test run to check loading capacity on May 14, according to a report from local media.
.
The 5.4-km long bridge is part of the Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Highway project, which connects developing areas in the east of the northern port city of Hai Phong with Lach Huyen Port in the island district of Cat Hai and the Hanoi - Hai Phong Highway.
.
A source from the management board was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as saying that 99.8 per cent of the work has been completed on the bridge section built by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. and Vietnam’s Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No.4 (Cienco 4). 

. 

FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS
.
Once the bridge is operational, traveling from Hai Phong city to Cat Hai Island will take about five minutes, compared to hours on ferries.
.
The Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Highway project has total investment of almost VND11.85 trillion ($525.3 million), the majority of which comes from Japanese official development assistance. Construction began in May 2014 and was scheduled to be completed this month.
.
The project is expected to form a complete transport network facilitating transportation to Lach Huyen International Port, thereby attracting investment to Hai Phong. 

.

.

Source - http://vneconomictimes.com/

#Thailand - Automated postal machines set up at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

.

Thailand Post has introduced Automated Postal Machine (APM) service at Suvarnabhumi Airport to enable air travellers to dispatch by post any items prohibited from being carried on board. 

Thailand Post president Smorn Terdthumpiboon said on Friday that the introduction of the new service by Thailand Post would allow travellers to send items to addresses in Thailand and to other countries by post. 

She said the service would help air travellers barred by airlines from carrying with them any items or those who want to mail things in rush hour and do not want to wait in a long line at post offices.

The APMs have been installed at the airport's departure hall on the fourth floor before departure for international flights in the east zone and at the end of check-in counters row D, M, T, and B. The service is available all 24 hours.

Travellers can send items weighing up to 500 grams per package, select the delivery destination, and pay for the service at the machine. 

Users must enter their citizen ID number or passport number into the machine to identify themselves. 

However, prohibited items such as sharp items with or without protection, explosives, live animals, pressurised items, and inflammable items cannot be sent using this facility. 

The delivery fee to domestic destinations is a flat Bt50 per item. Fees for overseas destinations start at Bt400 per item for Asia and Bt450 per item to the Europe, Africa, Oceania and America zones.

Sourse - TheNation

.

#Philippines - Duterte seeks drug-free Asean

.

Unperturbed by global criticism of his brutal war on drugs, President Duterte on Thursday called for an “integrated, drug-free Asean community” as his Cabinet officials sought to ease fears that the crackdown on narcotics had made the Philippines a dangerous country.

Addressing the World Economic Forum on Asean here, Mr. Duterte, this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), focused on how the regional bloc could achieve inclusive growth and economic integration.

As in most of his speeches, Mr. Duterte called attention to the “scourge of illegal drugs that threatens our youth and the future of our societies.”

Then he called for commitment to make Southeast Asia a drug-free region.

“We need to take a committed stand to dismantle and destroy the illegal drug trade apparatus,” he said, emphasizing the need to keep the youth away from drugs. “We must reaffirm our commitment to realize a drug-free Asean community.”

Earlier on Thursday, however, Mr. Duterte’s Cabinet officials found themselves answering questions from journalists about the killings of  thousands of people in his war on drugs and whether the crackdown had scared away foreign investments.

The forum came four days after 45 of the 47 member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) demanded an end to extrajudicial killings in Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs during a review of the Philippines’ human rights record in Geneva.

Many of the council members sought an international investigation of the killings.

The Cabinet officials who attended the briefing on Dutertenomics—or the administration’s Build, Build, Build program— were Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Presidential  Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, incoming Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella and Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Vince Dizon.

War on drugs

After their brief presentation on how the Duterte administration planned to achieve a high middle-income status for the Philippines in the next six years, a German journalist asked them  how the war on drugs “might lead to lesser foreign direct investments.”

Frederic Spohr, a Thailand-based correspondent for the German newspaper Handelsblatt, said German businessmen were worried about the war on drugs and the rule of law in the Philippines.

Spohr later told the Inquirer that he had written a report  about how chambers of commerce in Germany cautioned businessmen about investing in the Philippines because of the perception of instability.

Repeating his remarks in the UNHRC review in Geneva on Monday, Cayetano gave assurance that “the protection of human rights is paramount” for the Philippine government and that “the campaign against drugs is a campaign to protect the human rights” of the Filipinos.

He accused the international media of not showing the full picture in their reports on Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs.

“They only show the rhetoric of the President when he is mad at certain criticisms against the Philippines,” Cayetano said. “They don’t show the statements where he says, ‘Police cannot abuse and that they are worse than criminality.’”

He said only close to 3,000 people had been killed in drug-related police operations and that the higher numbers reported by the media referred to “homicides.”

“For those of you who are hearing that there are 7,000 deaths in the Philippines, that’s not true,” he said.

Come to the Philippines

Cayetano invited the foreign journalists to visit the Philippines to see things for themselves.

Lopez claimed that the crackdown on narcotics had resulted in a sense of safety in Philippine communities.

He also claimed that business and consumer confidence had gone up.

Moderator Adrian Monck asked the Philippine officials about how Mr. Duterte had been “incredibly outspoken” and how such “rhetoric” had drawn support from some investors but also resulted in the “alienation” of others.

Cusi responded, but did not answer the question directly, instead saying that the Philippines was “a nation  in a hurry to improve the lives of Filipinos.”

Lopez said the Duterte administration was not focusing on drugs.

“That’s why we are having Dutertenomics,” he said. “Peace and order has to be the basic foundation.”

Pernia said Dutertenomics was about “building fast, on schedule and getting things done quickly because the President is impatient and so are the ministers.”

$160-B investment needed

The Philippine officials said an investment of $160 billion would enable the Philippines to achieve a high middle income status by the end of Mr. Duterte’s term.

They said the Philippines could eliminate poverty and become one of the 30 largest economies in the world “within a generation.”

The World Bank considers the Philippines a lower middle income country.

“We expect clarity on the part of the international community to banish misconceptions,” Pernia told the Inquirer later.

Asked how the briefing for investors went, he said, “Nothing is perfect and no briefing or examination is perfect.”

Source - TheNation

#Thailand - A land that time forgot

.

Surin province in Thailand's lower northeast delights with its high mountains and Khmer ruins

“RICH in castles, aromatic rice and extremely beautiful culture” reads the blurb on the promotional literature describing the province of Surin, encouraging visitors to explore its seven wondrous attractions. 

.

Located in the southern Isaan region, the area that now makes up Surin has a history of human settlement that stretches back more than 2,000 years. Straddling Cambodia’s Oddar Meancheay province to its south, it was once part of the Khmer Empire and has largely retained the Khmer culture. 

. 

.

It is also famous for its elephants and its people are recognised for their skills in capturing and taming the beasts. The provincial capital underscores that fame with the annual Elephant Round Up and both the festival and Ban Ta Klang Elephant Village draw in tens of thousands of tourists every year. 
.
  FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.

I start my trip by shopping in the Green Market where villagers, local farmers and artisans decorate their stalls with green fabric to show that their products are organic and contain no toxins. 

.

Organised in the heart of Surin town since 2008, the market is open every Saturday and offers a wide selection of organic agricultural products and top-class OTOP handicrafts, ranging from riceberry, jasmine rice and vegetables to hand-woven silk, cotton and silverware. Visitors can try some local food and sweet treats, or check out the fresh seasonal ingredients like ant eggs, fresh fish, frogs and field crab.

.

READ CONTINUE