Wednesday’s news-Aug 23 -

Pheu Thai’s Srettha wins PM post by large majority/
New government forms, but at what cost?/
Lung cancer: PM2.5 tiny particles pose threats to lungs/
Abnormal sleep behaviors may require medical intervention/
Economy: McKinsey foresees AI technology dominating Thailand’s future/
Tourism: Domestic tourism recovery in Thailand hits 93%/
Thailand Experience: Thais see ‘elixir’ as solution to human-elephant conflict/Initiative to help foster symphony of elephant-human coexistence/US vet students helping animals and their owners in Thailand/
International: Seven key questions about the Fukushima water release/Helicopters, ziplining commandos rescue 8 from Pakistan cable car/
Links: Calendar of events/Airport schedule/Bangkok airport bus schedule/Hua Hin-Pattaya bus schedule/Air pollution index map/90-day online report/driver’s license/Market Village and Bluport cinemas/Emergency numbers

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Pheu Thai’s Srettha wins PM post by large majority

Pheu Thai’s candidate Srettha Thavisin was named Thailand’s 30th prime minister on Tuesday, effectively bringing the nearly 100-day political deadlock to an end.

After hours of debate, the former real estate tycoon received 482 votes in the joint parliamentary sitting on Tuesday, far higher than the required 374 votes. Against votes stood at 165, while 81 parliamentarians abstained and 19 were absent. Continued …

New government forms, but at what cost?

Thai politics is entering a new chapter as the color-coded political divide that has polarized the country for several years is expected to end after Pheu Thai Party’s prime ministerial candidate Srettha Thavisin won parliament’s endorsement to become the country’s 30th prime minister on Tuesday.

After more than a decade of conflict between red-shirt and yellow groups, the two opposing camps now appear to have buried the hatchet and joined forces to fight against the Move Forward Party (MFP), which is perceived as their main threat, according to observers. Continued …

Lung cancer: PM2.5 tiny particles pose threats to lungs

For more than 25 years, Thailand has struggled with poor air quality, including the PM2.5 threat. The north, in particular, has borne the brunt. In 2023, the amount of dust particles has exceeded safe limits by 14 times.

Statistics show up to 1.7 million Thais came down with illnesses related to air pollution between Jan. 1 and March 19, 2023. In 2022, there were also as many as 180,000 lung-cancer patients in Thailand. The number of these patients has been rising every year. Continued …

Abnormal sleep behaviors may require medical intervention

Sleep disorders affect tens of millions of people across the globe. They include insomnia, which is the most common sleep disorder, restless leg syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy and parasomnias. REM sleep behavior disorder, also known as RBD, falls into that last category.

The term parasomnia refers to abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep. Sleep talking, sleep paralysis, bed wetting, repetitive tooth grinding, sleepwalking and nightmare disorder are also considered to be parasomnias. Continued …

McKinsey foresees AI technology dominating Thailand’s future

The Thai branch of global consultancy McKinsey & Company predicts that the three most impactful trends for Thailand over the next year will be generative artificial intelligence (AI), immersive technology, and climate technology. The prediction is a part of the company’s 2023 Tech Trends Outlook, which was published in July.

Gordon Candelin, senior expert and leader of McKinsey Design Southeast Asia at McKinsey & Company Thailand, emphasized the transformative potential of generative AI technology. Continued …

Domestic tourism recovery in Thailand hits 93%

Thailand’s domestic tourism sector has seen a significant recovery, reaching 93% of its pre Covid-19 levels, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The TAT expects to record approximately 160 million domestic trips in the country this year, a sharp contrast to the dismal figures witnessed at the onset of the pandemic in 2019.

The projected tourism-related revenue is also expected to reach 808.2 billion baht by the end of this year, marking a 75% increase from 2019. Continued …

Thais see ‘elixir’ as solution to human-elephant conflict

Hidden in the forest of Chachoengsao Province in eastern Thailand, a compound of several single-story houses is being guarded by crews of security guards. In one of these houses, Piyawan Unaha is closely watching the monitors for the appearance of Asian elephants.

Piyawan works at the Bajrasudha Gajanurak Command Center, an advance warning project to detect the activities of wild elephants in five eastern Thai provinces, namely Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Sa Kaeo. The provinces are home to nearly 600 wild elephants. Continued …

Initiative to help foster symphony of elephant-human coexistence

Thailand enjoys great animal diversity, with more than 200 protected areas of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and wildlife non-hunting areas, which cover 17% of Thailand’s total area.

The country is well known for the Asian elephant, the largest land mammal in the world, which can also be found in countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and China. Continued …

US vet students helping animals and their owners in Thailand

This summer, 14 students from the School of Veterinary Medicine traveled to Thailand to spay and neuter cats and dogs for owners who would otherwise be unable to afford the procedures.

For students at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, an annual Thailand spay and neuter trip is an opportunity to help Thai communities that lack veterinary resources while honing their clinical skills. Continued …

Seven key questions about the Fukushima water release

Japan’s plan to release nuclear wastewater from its Fukushima reactor has sparked many questions. Japan is set to discharge millions of tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear reactor, which was damaged in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, into the Pacific Ocean. Continued …

Helicopters, ziplining commandos rescue 8 from Pakistan cable car

Military helicopters and ziplining commandos rescued eight people, including six schoolboys, who were trapped for hours on Tuesday in a stricken cable car high above a remote Pakistani valley. Continued …

Hua Hin-Suvarnabhumi bus schedule

Leaving Hua Hin: 6am, 8am, 10am, 11am, 12:00, 2pm, 4pm, 5:10pm, and 6pm
Leaving Suvarnabhumi: 7:30am, 9:30am, 10:30am, 12:00, 1pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, 5pm, and 6:30pm

The one-way fare is 325 baht.

The VIP bus service from Hua Hin to Suvarnabhumi Airport has a new Cha Am boarding location in front of Government Savings Bank.

Hua Hin-Pattaya bus service twice a day

Hua Hin now has once-daily bus service to Pattaya, leaving Hua Hin at 9am and departing from Pattaya at 8am. Tickets are 473 THB.

Tickets can be bought in person at the Hua Hin bus station or online. Buses depart from the Hua Hin bus station and in front of Government Savings Bank, Cha Am.. Tickets