Thailand English-language News For June 30

In Thailand English-language News for June 30, 2017, Newsline presenter Sandra Hanutsaha tells us about:

00:40 | Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wissanu Krea-ngam has announced that leisure activities will not be banned during the cremation ceremony of the late king Bhumibol Adulyadej in October. However, he suggested that organisers observe the Royal Cremation Day on October 26.

01:36 | National Legislative Assembly (NLA) President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai has said that disputes over draft organic laws will not delay next year’s scheduled Thailand general election.

02:51 | TheNational Legislative Assembly (NLA) committee on commerce, industry, and labor has suggested a draft law to regulate Thai herbal products and ensure their quality through promoting education, innovation, and the use of Thai herbal medicines in public healthcare facilities.

03:49 | The National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) will officially submit its work to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha at a ceremony on July 31. The NRSA’s term will end when national reform laws are enacted, which will occur by August 3 at the latest.

05:08 | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Russian Embassy in Thailand will be hosting a festival to celebrate 120 years of Russian-Thai diplomatic relations from July 14-16 at Siam Paragon. Attendees can expect a showcase on the history of cooperation between the two countries, Russian dance performances, and plenty of Russian food.

09:02 | The Royal Thai Army (RTA) has held a lecture on nationalism attended by officials, students, and members of civil groups. The event aimed to promote patriotism among different groups of Thais.

12:12 | The Ministry of Finance will raise its 2017 Thailand GDP forecast from the earlier figure of 3.6 per cent, as the export sector expanded by 12.7 per cent in May and the government is likely to make 60 per cent of expenditures from investment projects by the end of the year. Accelerated spending on government projects has led to an additional Bt4.395 billion (about US$129,379 mil) in government revenue from October 2016 to May 2017.

13:54 | The Airports of Thailand (AOT) is setting development goals for the next ten years after its six airports handled 86 million people (a 7.17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase) and 550,000 flights (a 6.21 per cent YoY increase) from October 2016 to May 2017. AOT plans to spend Bt100 billion (US$2,944 bil) to meet its goal of accommodating 30 million passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport by 2020 and 185 million passengers across all six airports by 2025.

16:18 | Smart SME Expo 2017, which aims to be a one-stop hub for SME development resources, has opened at Impact Muang Thong Thani and will run until July 2. Over 500 businesses and financial institutions are participating in the event.

18:58 | Thailand will hold an Asean-EU Senior Officials’ Meeting to celebrate 40 years of Asean-EU Dialogue Relations in Bangkok from July 5-6. Forty delegations from Asean and EU member states will attend the meeting, where they will review progress on strengthening the Asean-EU Enhanced Partnership (2013-2017) and discuss a similar plan for 2018-2022.

• 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.