Thailand - Public participation allowed in building of Royal Crematorium

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Fine Arts Department prepares historic royal carriages and palanquins for use

MEMBERS OF the public will be able to contribute to the construction of the royal crematorium and related accessories for the much-revered HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
“We will allow public participation,” Deputy Prime Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn said yesterday.


The King passed away at the age of 89 on October 13, plunging the nation into deep grief.
The government is now in the process of preparing the royal crematorium and related accessories for the grand royal cremation of the monarch. The process is expected to be completed in a year.

“The Fine Arts Department has already surveyed the condition of the royal carriages and royal palanquins housed in the National Museum of Bangkok, to prepare for the royal procession of the cremation ceremony of His Majesty the King,” said Ananda Chuchoti, director-general of the Fine Arts Department.

He said the department would work closely with scientists in the cleansing process of the royal carriages and royal palanquins while artisans of the Office of Traditional Arts will be in charge of restoring any damaged parts.

“We don’t know yet the details of the royal procession but our task is to prepare these royal carriages and royal palanquins for use,” he added.

Maha Phichai Ratcharot (The Royal Great Victory Carriage), three Ratcharot Noi (Small Carriages), two Phra Yannamas Sam Lamkhan (Golden Palanquin with Three Beams) and two Krirk (Mechanical Hoist) are housed at the National Museum of Bangkok.

The Royal Great Victory Carriage, built in the reign of King Rama I, is 11.20 metres high, 15.30 metres long and weighs 13.7 tonnes and requires 216 men to pull it. In the ceremonial procession, it was used to carry the Royal Urn of Their Majesties the King and the Queen and high-ranking royal families to the royal crematorium.

The Royal Great Victory Carriage was first used for King Rama I’s father in ceremonies in 1796. It was last used in 2011 during the royal cremation ceremony of Princess Phetcharat Ratchasuda, the daughter of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI).

Source: Coconuts.co

Thailand - Hollywood star Steven Seagal pays respect to late King Bhumibol

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Hollywood martial artist and director Steven Seagal met with PM Prayuth Chan-ocha and paid respect to the portrait of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Government House his morning.
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Seagal, who is planning to shoot his next action movie "Attrition" in Thailand, expressed his condolences to Thailand for its loss and said he was moved by the late HM the King's hard work, according to Bangkok Post journalist Wassana Nanuam.

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Seagal is best known for his actions movies, where he shows off a near-mastery of the Japanese martial art of Aikido, but he has also studied Muay Thai.
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He noted that he has admired the work of the late king, who worked tirelessly to bring his citizens a better life. Seagal is a longtime practicing Buddhist.
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Seagal said the movie “Attrition” was inspired by the U.S. government moving Thailand to Tier 3, the worst possible ranking for the trafficking of people in 2014. Therefore, Seagal said the lead character in his new film will hunt down a human trafficking ring with the Thai police.
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Well, that's typical Seagal.
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Thailand was moved to a Tier 2 ranking, which is slightly better, this past June.
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Thai officials will facilitate Seagal in the filming of “Attrition,” which will reportedly take place in Chiang Mai, Bangkok and some of the Southern provinces.
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Seagal is hoping to incorporate Muay Thai fighters into his movie, which will be released next year.
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Seagal has shot several movies in Southeast Asia. In 2003, his action flick “Belly of the Beast” was shot in Thailand where Thai actress Sara Malakul Lane played his daughter.
Related:
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Executive Decision: Steven Seagal plans to shoot two movies in Thailand
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Source: Coconuts.co 

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'Many more' corals die in Great Barrier Reef bleaching

This photo taken on November 20, 2014 shows an aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands, along the central coast of Queensland.

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SYDNEY - More corals are dying and others are succumbing to disease and predators after the worst-ever bleaching on Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef, scientists said Wednesday.

A swathe of corals bleached in the northern third of the 2,300-kilometre (1,429-mile) long biodiverse site off the Queensland state coast died after an unprecedented bleaching earlier this year as sea temperatures rose.
And researchers who returned to the region to survey the area this month said "many more have died more slowly".
"In March, we measured a lot of heavily bleached branching corals that were still alive, but we didn't see many survivors this week," Andrew Hoey of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University said in a statement.
"On top of that, snails that eat live coral are congregating on the survivors, and the weakened corals are more prone to disease. A lot of the survivors are in poor shape."
Researcher Greg Torda said of the reefs surveyed near Lizard Island off Cairns -- a gateway to the giant ecosystem -- the amount of live coral covering them fell from about 40 percent in March to under five percent.
It is the third time in 18 years that the World Heritage-listed site, which teems with marine life, has experienced mass bleaching after previous events in 1998 and 2002.
The researchers said even though they were still assessing the final death toll from bleaching in the north, "it is already clear that this event was much more severe than the two previous bleachings".
They expect to complete all their surveys by mid-November.
Bleaching occurs when abnormal environmental conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their colour.
The reef's northern 700-kilometre section bore the brunt of the breaching during March and April, with the southern areas "only lightly bleached and remain in good condition", the scientists added.
"As we expected from the geographic pattern of bleaching, the reefs further south are in much better shape," said Andrew Baird, who led the re-surveys of reefs in the central section.
"There is still close to 40 percent coral cover at most reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef, and the corals that were moderately bleached last summer have nearly all regained their normal colour."
The reef is already under pressure from farming run-off, development, the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish as well as the impacts of climate change, with a government report last week painting a bleak picture of the natural wonder.

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Course: The Nation (26-10)

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Thailand - Huge turnout at Sanam Luang for mass singing of Royal Anthem

Bird's Eye View of Massive people attending the heartfelt mass singing of the royal anthem in tribute to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Sanam Luang.

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Huge crowds of black-clad mourners from across the country poured into Sanam Luang on Saturday morning, hoping to join the mass singing of the Royal Anthem in the afternoon and express their love for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

People holding umbrellas in the scorching sun strolled on the huge ground, waiting for the mass singing to start at 1pm. There were long lines for free food and drinks provided by hundreds of well-wishers.

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 Thousands of mourners also waited in front of the Grand Palace's Viset Chaisri Gate, waiting for their turn to sign the condolence book in the Sala Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion inside the compound.
People coming to Sanam Luang are required to go through many security checkpoints set up around the ground.

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Source: The Nation

Thailand - Huge singing tribute today

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Hundreds of thousands expected at Sanam Luang for mass royal anthem renditions; security tightened for big day

HUNDREDS of thousands of people are expected to attend the heartfelt singing of the royal anthem in tribute to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Sanam Luang today.
Organisers have prepared a full orchestra to help provide memorable moments.
From 1pm to 5pm, there will be multiple rounds of mass singing of the royal anthem with the backing of a full orchestra, they said.
Another highlight is scheduled for 10pm, when mourners will hold white candles and sing a last round of the royal anthem.
Newly appointed Deputy Bangkok Governor Pol Lt Gen Amnuay Nimmano said the authorities expected a huge gathering – at least 100,000 Thais to join the mass singing.
In recent days, at least 50,000 people clad in black have gathered daily at Sanam Luang next to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where royal and religious ceremonies are taking place to pay tribute to the late King, according to Maj-General Pongsawat Panchit, deputy commander of the First Region Army, which is responsible for security around the area.
Security measures have been stepped up for today’s grand event, while emergency service providers are prepared to cope with the needs of the huge crowd expected to visit Sanam Luang over the three-day long weekend, according to Pongsawat, who chaired yesterday’s meeting of a joint security and safety command officials.
The operation will utilise officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the First Army Region, the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), the Ministry of Public Health, and other related state organisations. Seven checkpoints will be set up to screen visitors before they enter the inner area of Sanam Luang.
Both male and female police will operate the checkpoints, while other personnel will patrol areas around Sanam Laung, including Rajdamnoen Road.
“This is the heartland [Sanam Luang]. We have to secure it and make sure that everything here goes smooth. We are willing to work hard for this unifying and historic event,” Pongsawat said.
He urged the authorities to take preventive measures against possible crime and handle cases of missing children and the elderly properly.
More volunteer doctors and hospital staff will be ready to help any visitors needing first aid or emergency medical treatment, he said. Pongsawat also urged to the authorities to provide more wheelchairs to facilitate the elderly and handicapped. Currently, there were 250 wheelchairs available, he said.
The BMA will assign more doctors and medical personnel to provide emergency services to visitors while officials will closely monitor the quality of ready-to-eat food donated by the public in a bid to avoid cases of food poisoning.
Wattanee Wattana, deputy permanent secretary of the BMA, said ready-to-eat food, especially food with coconut milk as an ingredient, would be bad if exposed to heat for more than four hours, so authorities would check the quality before handing out food.
In regard to traffic management, no personal or public vehicles were allowed to enter the Sanam Luang area, he said. Members of the public should commute to Sanam Luang by shuttle buses or other public transport, he said.
Tents and seats will be set up at bus stops around Sanam Luang for the public.
Today, people will be allowed to enter the Sala Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion in the Grand Palace to sign the condolence book in memory of the King while the royal anthem singing is underway, the command centre said.
But certain streets around Sanam Luang, where royal motorcades regularly pass, remain closed and people joining the singing are not allowed to enter those prohibited zones, Amnuay said.
But he said the preserved routes could be used for emergency purposes during the singing event.
Tonight’s singing is being organised by a team headed by Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol. Organisers discussed the preparation plan for the singing yesterday with the command centre officials.
The major concern of authorities was emergency cases, so the number of doctors and other volunteer medics would be increased, Amnuay said.
According to the Royal Household Bureau, around 225,000 people have signed the condolence book since last Saturday – an average of 40,000 to 50,000 people per day. And last Saturday saw the highest turnout – about 70,000.
From Friday, people will be allowed to pay their respects to the King in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace, where the monarch’s body rests.

Sourse: The Nation

Thailand - Important notices during mourning period

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Following are important announcements and advice from various agencies related to the mourning period for the passing of His Majesty the King of Thailand.

Tourism to continue with curbs on entertainment
Italian Embassy updates events list
TAT issues advice for foreign tourists
Dos and don'™ts
Embassies urge respect for Thai sensitivities
Guidelines issued for all broadcast and print media
TAT advice on the Royal Religious Rites
Activities and events postponed
Roads closed during mourning period
How to reach Sanam Luang

Source: The Nation 

King lives on through his legacy, says Thai PM

 

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha Friday urged government officials to keep in mind that HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej is still with Thai people via his legacy. 

“He is still around in the air, in the land, and in the water that he has conserved for us, in the environment that he has protected for us,” Prayut said during a seminar on government budgeting.
The much-revered King passed away at the age of 89 on October 13, bringing immense grief to his people.
Prayut also urged government officials to follow in the King’s footstep in pursuing sustainable development.

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