Barkar Nash (Page 894)

A first group of 41 Thais, left stranded in northeastern Myanmar due to clashes between Myanmar soldiers and ethnic rebel groups, has been evacuated from Laukkaing to Kengtung in Shan state to await repatriation to Thailand.

According to a report from the Pha Muang Force of the 3rd Army Region, the 41 Thais — 23 men and 18 women — arrived in Kengtung around 10.30pm on Wednesday.

They are to be repatriated through the Myanmar border town of Tachilek into Mae Sai district in the northern province of Chiang Rai.

The Thais remained in Kengtung as of press time yesterday as a source at the Thai-Myanmar border said the planned repatriation had been delayed.

Moreover, a curfew is also imposed in Kengtung after 6pm, the source said.

Someone from the Immanuel Foundation, which coordinates the rescue of workers, speaking by phone, said the Myanmar authorities have yet to give the green light for the repatriation, though all 41 Thais are safe and hope to return home quickly.

But once the green light is given and all legal procedures are completed, they will proceed to the Mak Yang border checkpoint in Tachilek.

From Tachilek, they will be taken across the 2nd Friendship Bridge over the Mae Sai River into Mae Sai district.

They will then head to the 3rd Army Region’s Meng Rai Maharat military camp in Chiang Rai.

There, they would undergo screening for communicable diseases, complete immigration procedures and meet officials from the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.

They will also be allowed to meet with their relatives.

The army will continue collaborating with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and other relevant agencies to repatriate the remaining 246 Thais stranded in Laukkaing.

About 25 Thais in Gaza will be among the first 50 hostages released by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, likely within the next three to 10 days, according to the team of negotiators handling the situation.

Muk Sulaiman, the House speaker’s secretary who is acting as a representative of the House speaker for the negotiations in Israel, provided an update in parliament on Thursday on the progress of the talks.

“After hearing from the negotiating team, I was relieved to learn the Thai workers over there are all safe. The hostages have not been released, and they won’t be until the fighting ceases,” he said.

“Many countries and also Hamas are applying pressure on Israel to accept a [temporary] ceasefire.

“I urge all the Thai workers who are still working in Israel to revise their decision and return to Thailand for their own safety,” Mr Muk added.

Lerpong Sayed, president of the Thai-Iran Alumni Association, who is also acting as a representative of the negotiators, said the United Nations has called on Israel to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire for 72 hours to create a window during which the hostages can be given assistance.

After following up on the situation, the team received a report that Hamas was preparing to release 50 hostages.

The team called on the group to release all 25 Thai hostages, which they promised to do.

“I hope we will hear good news within three days at the earliest, or 10 days at the latest. The location where the hostages will be set free has not been confirmed yet, but the Iranian border is one option,” said Mr Lerpong.

He said the conflict keeps escalating as Israel is seemingly launching attacks on hospitals and other such venues without considering humanitarian principles.

Two US professors were named winners of this year’s Prince Mahidol Award in the fields of medicine and public health yesterday.

Among 92 candidates from 31 countries, this year’s Prince Mahidol Award in medicine went to Dr Napoleone Ferrara, a pathology professor and adjunct ophthalmology and pharmacology professor.

He is also a senior deputy director for basic science at Moores Cancer Center of the University of California San Diego.

Dr Ferrara discovered vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and made the first antibody against VEGF, which suppresses the growth of various tumours.

These findings helped develop the first clinically available angiogenesis inhibitor, bevacizumab (Avastin), which prevents the growth of new blood vessels into a solid tumour and has become part of standard treatment for various cancers.

Dr Ferrara’s work also led to the development of ranibizumab (Lucentis), a highly effective drug for preventing vision loss in intraocular neovascular disorders.

Another awardee in the field of public health is Dr Barry H Rumack, an emeritus professor in the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics of the University of Colorado. He has a keen interest in pharmacology and acetaminophen drug poisoning, which mainly causes acute liver failure.

Dr Rumack collected 64 cases of patient data who overdosed on the drug to create a graph and invented an assessment tool which has been used worldwide in the assessment of acetaminophen overdose treatment.

He also developed Poisindex, one of the first commercial databases, which could retrieve diagnosis and treatment data for various poisonous substances.

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will bestow the award on behalf of His Majesty the King at Chakri Maha Prasat on Jan 24 next year.

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to ask the Supreme Court’s Election Division to strip a Democrat election candidate in Bangkok and her campaign assistant of their election rights for allegedly engaging in vote-buying.

In its statement, the EC said it had found Ketkanda Inchuay, a Democrat candidate for Bangkok’s Constituency 16, and her campaign assistant, Duangruedee Phansomton, were involved in vote-buying in the lead-up to the May 14 general election.

The EC said it would pursue legal action against the pair and forward the case to the Supreme Court’s Election Division to consider stripping them of their election rights.

According to the EC’s findings, between April 17-19, Ms Duangruedee contacted a complainant and asked the individual to supply a list of voters with a promise to pay them 500 baht each in exchange for their votes for Ms Ketkanda.

The complainant gave the list with four names to Ms Duangruedee via the Line chat app on April 22 and received 2,000 baht from her on April 25. The complainant had audio and video clips to back the vote-buying allegation, said the EC.

Based on Ms Ketkanda’s statement that Ms Duangruedee distributed leaflets to voters and helped her solicit votes during the campaign, the EC said the two had a close working relationship.

“The evidence suggests that Ms Ketkanda was aware that Ms Duangruedee, her campaign assistant, gave money to voters in exchange for their votes,” said the EC.

The poll agency said it decided not to pursue the charge against the complainant, who is being treated as a witness in this case.

Democrat Taenkhun Jit-issara apologised to the public and said he hoped the candidate in question would consider quitting the party.

Agriculture ministry unit reducing soil acidity in parts of Central Plains

The Land Development Department is touting its accomplishment in reducing soil acidity in the Thung Rangsit area of the Central Plains region.

The project began in Thung Rangsit and later expanded to seven provinces — Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, Prachin Buri, Chachoengsao and Bangkok — covering about 2.38 million rai of agricultural land.

The soil in these areas was poorly chosen and prone to being highly acidic. It was also damaged by drought and inundation.

The project began in 2020 following a study by Land Development Regional Office 1 to analyse conditions. A framework covering the period from 2020-29 was devised to improve acidic soil in the Thung Rangsit area to serve as a model for water management and soil and water conservation.

The department, part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, is also keen to encourage the participation of communities in land inspection, ground levelling and building infrastructure and water management.

As well, the project has served as a test bed for the efficacy of dozens of materials, such as marl and dolomite, to reduce soil acidity, and the use of plant-based fertilisers and organic substances instead of chemicals.

“Most areas of Thung Rangsit are suitable for agriculture. We need to study soil resource problems and assess soil potential to issue proper guidelines on soil and water management, as well as seek plants that are best suited to the area,” said Pramote Yajai, the director-general of the department.

This would require the support of many sectors including government agencies and businesses for policy, science and social and economic technologies, he said.

Farmers who have taken part in the project since 2020 have benefited from it. They include Namtip Chamrasthong, who earned 1,704 baht per rai from a lotus farm in Ban Na district of Nakhon Nayok; Natsinee Chareonsab, who earned 3,251 baht per rai from a farm infrastructure system; and Suwanna Putto, who earned 35,000 baht per rai from a lemongrass farm in Wang Noi district of Ayutthaya.

Nakhon Sawan centre seen as a pilot project to promote better habits among ageing population

The Department of Health is promoting its first lifestyle medicine clinic to encourage local residents to develop better living habits.

Thailand has become an ageing society where more than 20% of the population are senior citizens, said Dr Achara Nitiapinyasakul, the department’s acting director-general, on a recent visit to the regional health promotion centre in Nakhon Sawan province.

More than half of the senior population are in poor health, mainly from chronic non-communicable diseases caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, she said.

As such, the department aims to improve healthcare with a focus on lifestyle, while encouraging them to adopt sustainable and healthy routines.

Dr Achara said the mission of the lifestyle clinic is to promote health knowledge, self-care skills and family care.

It also aims to promote a healthy diet, good sleeping habits, better stress management, good relationship management, controls on smoking and drinking, and more physical activities.

Dr Sarinna Sangarun, director of the Nakhon Sawan centre, said the clinic opened in March and has been promoting health and wellness in the local community, working together with interdisciplinary experts such as doctors and nutritionists.

She said the clinic has adopted alternative forms of medicine to treat patients with stress and sleeping disorders, such as by prescribing breathing exercises.