Thailand English-language News For August 24

In Thailand English-language News for August 24, 2017, Newsline presenter Sandra Hanutsaha tells us about:

00:39 | Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, urged provincial governors to survey the needs of local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), to help the government to provide tailored assistance to local businesses.

04:52 | Deputy Prime Minister, Somkid Jatusripitak, has awarded 3 teachers with Bt20,000 (about US$600) and scholarships for 8 students from 3 schools at the 2017 National Science and Technology Fair, for their outstanding achievements in national and international science competitions.

06:07 | Newsline takes a closer look at the third mobile cabinet meeting, held on August 21 and 22 in Nakhon Ratchasima Province.

15:29 | Office of the Prime Minister have distributed Bt40,000 (about US$1,200) to four families who lost their relatives when floods inundated Roi Et Province. The flood submerged 20 districts in Roi Et – affecting more than 84,500 residents affected and damaging more 700,000 rai (about 112,000 hectares) of farmland.

16:39 | The director general of the Royal Department of Irrigation (RID), Sanchai Ketworrachai, said that RID plans to construct five new ‘monkey cheek’ reservoirs in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province, which is expected to prevent floods to around 25,000 households. He also announced the department’s water management programs that will be implemented across the country’s 18 northeastern provinces, to prevent floods and droughts in the future.

17:58 | The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says it will finish the restoration of Pom Mahakan and Pom Phra Sumen by September 1. However, out of the 29 homes that remains standing at the historical fort of Pom Mahakam, only 12 homes have been scheduled for demolition in September.

18:58 | The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has revised its exports growth forecast to 6 percent in 2018, due to the bullish growth observed in the first semester of 2017. Exports grew by 8.2 per cent in the first semester of 2017 amounting to US$130 billion.

18:58 | Deputy Prime Minister, Air Chief Marshall Dr. Prajin Juntong, chaired the opening of the 2017 Thailand Research Expo, which aims to promote the use of information technology (IT) in the development of Thailand. The Expo is held at Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, and is open until August 27.

22:00 | Australian Defense Minister, Marise Payne, met with Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan between August 22-24, and agreed to strengthen bilateral security cooperation through information exchanges, military exercises and peacekeeping support.

• and more.

Newsline is a daily Thailand English-language news and current affairs programme produced by the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNBT) under the Thailand Government Public Relations Department (PRD) for *NBT World, the NNBTs 24/7 English language television service delivering Thailand government news and information to the Thai, Asean, and wider Asian communities via cable and satellite. It is also available via android and iOS apps. AEC News Today publishes Thailand English-language News M-F.