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Iran's Rouhani calls for unity, accuses Trump of exploiting rift

By Parisa Hafezi

 

FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visits the family of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, who was killed by an air strike in Baghdad, at his home in Tehran, Iran January 4, 2020. Official President Website/Handout via REUTERS

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranians should not allow U.S. President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” approach to harm national unity ahead of parliamentary elections, President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech, lashing out at hardliners over mass disqualification of candidates.

 

Iran’s clerical rulers face challenges in keeping the economy afloat under increasingly tough U.S. sanctions imposed by Washington after it withdrew in 2018 from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Vital oil exports have been slashed.

 

“We should not let Trump succeed in creating gaps between the establishment and people ... We should remain united ... Don’t turn your back on (Feb. 21) elections. Let’s have a high turn out,” said Rouhani in a speech broadcast live on his official website.

 

“We should not let Trump and those terrorists in the White House isolate Iran.”

 

Iran’s hardline Guardians Council, which vets all election candidates, has disqualified about 9,000 of the 14,000 who registered to run in the elections. Moderates say in most cities they have no candidates to enter the race.

 

“This parliamentary election is a very important election ... I have written letters to relevant authorities to resolve the issue of disqualifications,” said Rouhani.

 

“You (hardliners) claim that you will win the election. That is fine, but just let the election be a competitive one.”

 

Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, its rulers have swept aside challenges to their grip on power. But the gap between them and the people has widened since last year, when hundreds were killed in anti-government protests. Iran has yet to announce the death toll and rejects figures published by human rights organisations.

 

Tehran also risks a legitimacy crisis amid mounting public fury and international criticism over the belated admission of blame by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards for shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane by mistake.

 

Angry Iranians took to streets to protest against the delayed admission by the Guards.

 

The distrust between the rulers and the ruled, combined with economic hardship, bodes ill for the parliamentary vote in February, when Iran’s rulers typically seek a high turnout to show their legitimacy, even if the outcome will not change any major policy.

 

“I am calling on our nation to vote,” Rouhani said. “Even if you have criticism over issues and problems, please cast your vote.”

 

Meghan's father to Meghan: Would be great to see you, even in court

By Guy Faulconbridge, Elizabeth Howcroft

 

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex pose for a picture with some of Queen's Young Leaders at a Buckingham Palace reception following the final Queen's Young Leaders Awards Ceremony, in London, Britain June 26, 2018. John Stillwell/Pool via Reuters

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Meghan Markle’s estranged father Thomas said on Monday that he was prepared to face his daughter in court and that she and her husband Prince Harry had hurt Queen Elizabeth by abruptly stepping back from royal duties.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1145390-meghans-father-to-meghan-would-be-great-to-see-you-even-in-court/

 

Meghan's father to Meghan: Would be great to see you, even in court

By Guy Faulconbridge, Elizabeth Howcroft

 

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex pose for a picture with some of Queen's Young Leaders at a Buckingham Palace reception following the final Queen's Young Leaders Awards Ceremony, in London, Britain June 26, 2018. John Stillwell/Pool via Reuters

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Meghan Markle’s estranged father Thomas said on Monday that he was prepared to face his daughter in court and that she and her husband Prince Harry had hurt Queen Elizabeth by abruptly stepping back from royal duties.

 

Harry, the British monarch’s grandson, and Meghan, duchess of Sussex, agreed with the queen this month that they would no longer work as royals after their surprise announcement that they wanted to carve out “a progressive new role” which they hope to finance themselves.

 

“I think they’ve hurt the queen, I think they’ve hurt the royals, and it just doesn’t work,” Markle told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme. “I’m a little embarrassed for them and feeling really sorry for the queen.”

 

“The break from the royals is going to cause far more problems.”

 

Harry has spoken of his sadness at being forced to give up his royal duties in a deal with the queen, saying there was no other option if he his wife Meghan were to seek an independent future away from stifling media intrusion.

 

Under the arrangement, Harry will remain a prince and the couple will keep their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they begin a new life split between Britain and North America, where they will spend the majority of their time.

 

“This decision to make a break from the royals is very confusing, I don’t think anyone understands or can figure out how this happened or why it happened - it makes no sense,” Markle said.

 

Markle, who lives in Mexico, has given a number of TV interviews in which he has criticised his daughter, saying they were the only way he could communicate with her.

 

Meghan has not publicly commented on the situation with her father, but friends of hers told People Magazine last year Markle had not tried to get in touch with her and she was devastated by his actions.

 

He missed the couple’s glittering wedding in 2018 due to health problems and has been estranged from his daughter since then. He said he had never met Harry or his grandson, the couple’s baby son Archie.

 

The Sussexes are now in Canada as they plan their future.

 

“I REALLY MISS MY DAUGHTER”

 

However, Markle could face Meghan in court. She is suing The Mail on Sunday newspaper over its publication of a private letter she sent to him, in breach of her copyright and human rights. The paper aims to use his evidence in the legal battle.

 

“If it comes to meeting them in a courtroom, that’s great - at least I finally get to see them, but I don’t want to face off or have a battle with them,” Markle said. He added that he had asked the newspaper to publish the letter.

 

Harry has accused the tabloid press of bullying his wife, likening their treatment to that which his mother Princess Diana suffered. Supporters of the couple say some negative coverage has been fuelled by racism.

 

However, Markle said he did not think that Meghan had faced racist media coverage in Britain: “I don’t buy that.”

 

“I really miss my daughter,” Markle added, saying she had “ghosted” him.

 

“I love my daughter and I certainly would love my grandson and I’d love Harry if I met him, I’m sure,” he said, adding that the prince, sixth-in-line to the British throne, should have come to visit him to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

 

When asked what he would say now to Prince Harry, he said: “Man up and come down and see me.”

 

Trump to present Middle East plan to Israeli leaders on Monday

By Steve Holland, Dan Williams

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses U.S mayors in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to disclose details of his Middle East peace plan to Israeli leaders on Monday as Palestinian officials decried it as a bid “to finish off” the Palestinian cause.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1145389-trump-to-present-middle-east-plan-to-israeli-leaders-on-monday/

 

Trump to present Middle East plan to Israeli leaders on Monday

By Steve Holland, Dan Williams

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses U.S mayors in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to disclose details of his Middle East peace plan to Israeli leaders on Monday as Palestinian officials decried it as a bid “to finish off” the Palestinian cause.

 

Trump will meet separately with right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz in Washington over his long-delayed proposals, which have been kept secret.

 

Palestinians fear the plan will dash their hopes for an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Palestinian leaders say they were not invited to Washington and that no peace plan can work without them. Ahead of the U.S.-Israeli meetings, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Trump and Netanyahu were using the plan as a distraction from their domestic troubles.

 

Trump was impeached in the House of Representatives last month and is on trial in the Senate on abuse of power charges. Netanyahu faces corruption charges and an national election on March 2, his third in less than a year. Both men deny wrongdoing.

 

“This plan is to protect Trump against being impeached and to protect Netanyahu from going to jail, and it is not a peace plan,” Shtayyeh said on Monday at a cabinet meeting in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

 

“We reject it, and we demand the international community not be a partner to it because it contradicts the basics of international law and inalienable Palestinian rights,” he added.

“It is nothing but a plan to finish off the Palestinian cause.”

 

WASHINGTON MEETINGS

 

Trump’s initiative, whose principal author is his son-in-law Jared Kushner, follows a long line of efforts to resolve one of the world’s most intractable problems.

 

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014. The United Nations and most governments around the world back a blueprint for a two-state solution - an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel, the foundation of every peace plan for decades.

 

Trump hoped to release his own plan last year but was forced to delay as Netanyahu twice tried unsuccessfully to form a governing coalition after inconclusive elections.

 

After Monday’s meetings with Netanyahu and Gantz, Trump will on Tuesday deliver joint remarks with Netanyahu at the White House, where the president may reveal details of his proposal.

But whether it truly will jumpstart the long-stalled effort to bring Israelis and Palestinians together is far from certain.

 

Palestinians have refused to engage the Trump administration and denounced its first stage - a $50-billion economic revival plan announced last June.

 

The White House hope was that if Trump could get the support of both Netanyahu and Gantz for the plan, it would help provide some momentum. A U.S. official said Trump wants to know they are both on board with the plan before announcing it.

 

Gantz, Netanyahu’s principal domestic political rival, last week lifted his objection to having the plan published before Israel’s March election.

 

“I am looking forward to meeting the president - a president of utmost friendliness to the State of Israel - on a matter that is very important for the State of Israel - with national, strategic and security ramifications,” Gantz said as he landed in Washington on Sunday.

 

But Trump, preoccupied with November’s re-election bid, can ill afford to wait months for Israel to decide its next prime minister, a U.S. official said.

 

HONEST MEDIATOR?

 

Palestinians have called Trump’s proposal dead in the water even before its publication.

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said Washington can no longer be regarded as an honest mediator, accusing it of pro-Israel bias. This followed a series of Trump decisions that delighted Israel but dismayed and infuriated Palestinians.

 

These included recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and slashing hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to

the Palestinians.

 

Palestinian and Arab sources who were briefed on the draft fear it seeks to bribe Palestinians into accepting Israeli occupation, in what could be a prelude to Israel annexing about half of the West Bank including most of the Jordan Valley, the strategic and fertile easternmost strip of the territory.

 

Continuing obstacles to a peace settlement include the expansion of Israeli settlements on occupied land and the rise to power in Gaza of the Islamist movement Hamas, which is formally committed to Israel’s destruction.

 

The Trump administration in November reversed decades of U.S. policy when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington no longer regarded Israeli settlements on West Bank land as inconsistent with international law.

 

Palestinians and most of the international community view the settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this.

 

Irish PM says EU has upper hand in Brexit trade talks with UK

 

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar greets European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier at Government Buildings in Dublin, Ireland January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Lorraine O'Sullivan

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the European Union will have the upper hand in post-Brexit trade talks with the United Kingdom and questioned Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s timetable of striking a deal by the end of the year, the BBC reported.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1145388-irish-pm-says-eu-has-upper-hand-in-brexit-trade-talks-with-uk/

 

Trash problem chokes tourist attraction – again

By The Nation

 

 

The viewpoint at Ekkachai Bridge connecting Phatthalung’s Khuan Khanun district and Songkhla’s Ranod district has become a garbage dump as trash left by travellers piles up – yet again.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1145387-trash-problem-chokes-tourist-attraction-–-again/

 

Trash problem chokes tourist attraction – again

By The Nation

 

 

The viewpoint at Ekkachai Bridge connecting Phatthalung’s Khuan Khanun district and Songkhla’s Ranod district has become a garbage dump as trash left by travellers piles up – yet again.

 

Tourists from other provinces have been drawn to the area’s beautiful scenery of forest, farms and a lake along the two sides of the 6-kilometre bridge. 

 

The trash problem has hit this tourist attraction several times. 

 

Clean-up campaigns have been held to solve the problem but the area always turns dirty again as more and more tourists visit.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/travel/30381125

 

Police crack down on vehicles polluting the air as part of slew of measures

By THE NATION

 

 

The Royal Thai Police has enforced numerous measures to reduce PM2.5 dust particles in the air, and one of them was to arrest owners of vehicles that emitted black smoke, deputy chief of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, Jirasan Kaewsangeak, said on Monday (January 27).

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1145301-police-announce-measures-in-bid-to-tackle-air-pollution/?do=findComment&comment=14997499

 

Police crack down on vehicles polluting the air as part of slew of measures

By THE NATION

 

 

The Royal Thai Police has enforced numerous measures to reduce PM2.5 dust particles in the air, and one of them was to arrest owners of vehicles that emitted black smoke, deputy chief of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, Jirasan Kaewsangeak, said on Monday (January 27).

 

“We confiscated 9,033 vehicles from January 1 to 25, and around 7,000 vehicles in late December,” he said.

 

Previously, the police had ordered 17 operational teams to monitor the emission of black smoke from vehicles at 17 points in Bangkok.

 

Also, it created 16 teams of officials to support this operation from January 23-25, with the collaboration of the Department of Land Transport.

 

“About 30-40 per cent of vehicles were prohibited temporarily from use, 60 per cent of them trucks and 40 per cent small vehicles,” he added. “Police confiscated around 130,000 vehicles in 2018, and 140,000 in 2019.”

 

In addition to the confiscation of vehicles, police distributed medical masks to people as a part of measures to tackle PM2.5. They were given as gifts by Bangkok Metropolitan Police chief Pakkapong Pongpetra during the Chinese New Year festival.

 

The masks were given to students in 25 schools as well.

 

Police also are using high pressure water trucks to spray water in the air to reduce the dust particles. The truck operation is performed from 3am to 4am along the routes with high levels of PM2.5.

 

Furthermore, police have asked constructors of the MRT (Metropolitan Rapid Transit)’s Blue Line to spray a water curtain or use a sun shade net to prevent the particles from scattering in the air.

 

“The Royal Thai Police will collaborate with the Marine Department to monitor boats emitting black smoke while travelling on Chao Phraya River,” the deputy chief added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30381130

 

Surachet resigns, heading to India to be ordained

By The Nation

 

 

Police Lt-General Surachet Hakpal, special adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office, left the office on Sunday (January 26) to become ordained as a Buddhist monk in India for nine days, saying his decision was not political.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1145386-surachet-resigns-heading-to-india-to-be-ordained/

 

Athletics body to tighten rules after Nike's Vaporfly helps records tumble - sources

By Mitch Phillips, Kate Kelland

 

Athletics - Dubai Marathon - Dubai, United Arab Emirates - January 24, 2020 General view of athletes wearing the Nike Vaporfly shoe during the race REUTERS/Christopher Pike

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Athletics’ ruling body will tighten regulations governing shoe technology, two sources familiar with the matter said, after Nike’s popular Vaporfly brand helped re-write running records and sparked debate about whether it was “technological doping.”

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1145004-athletics-body-to-tighten-rules-after-nikes-vaporfly-helps-records-tumble-sources/

 

Athletics body to tighten rules after Nike's Vaporfly helps records tumble - sources

By Mitch Phillips, Kate Kelland

 

Athletics - Dubai Marathon - Dubai, United Arab Emirates - January 24, 2020 General view of athletes wearing the Nike Vaporfly shoe during the race REUTERS/Christopher Pike

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Athletics’ ruling body will tighten regulations governing shoe technology, two sources familiar with the matter said, after Nike’s popular Vaporfly brand helped re-write running records and sparked debate about whether it was “technological doping.”

 

World Athletics expects to announce the findings of a review into technology used in road and track shoes by the end of January.

 

Recreational runners’ use of the flourescent footwear will be unaffected, World Athletics said. Vaporfly combines carbon plate and ultra-springy compressed foam and is now a familiar sight at starting lines across the world.

 

“World Athletics definitely agrees that there needs to be greater clarity on what is permissible in elite sport and in our competitions,” it said in a statement to Reuters, adding that any change would need to be ratified by its council.

 

“It is not our job to determine the shoe running market for everybody. If people want to run a marathon in Vaporflys or any other shoe, it’s not our job to stop them. But if you want a ratified record, then you are classified as elite and have to abide by the rules.”

 

When asked about the review and a possible change of rules, Nike said: “We respect the IAAF (now World Athletics) and the spirit of their rules, and we do not create any running shoes that return more energy than the runner expends.”

 

Regulations state that any shoe “must be reasonably available to all in the spirit of the universality of athletics and must not be constructed so as to give athletes any unfair assistance or advantage.”

 

The governing body, which has longstanding restrictions on midsole thickness for high jump and long jump shoes but has given free rein to running shoes, says more research is needed to determine exactly what benefits are provided by the Vaporfly.

 

The sources did not specify what changes World Athletics is planning. Industry experts have suggested the organisation might impose limits on the depth of foam, for example, or the amount of carbon used in elite competition.

 

TIMES COMING DOWN

 

Nike, the world’s largest athletics clothing company, says Vaporfly shoes, which cost around $250 and have a lifespan of only around 200 miles, have “a built-in secret weapon that provides a propulsive sensation”.

 

Other manufacturers have also released, or are developing, their own carbon-insoled shoes, but they are playing catch-up.

 

Some athletes, including Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan who wore the Alphafly version of the shoes when he became the first man to run a sub-two hour marathon in Vienna last year, celebrate the leap in efficiency the shoes provide, and say they are fair.

 

Others would welcome rule changes that aim to put the brakes on the arms race for feet.

 

Yannis Pitsiladis, a professor of sport and exercise science at Britain’s Brighton University, described the advanced footwear as “technological doping”.

 

He said if World Athletics did nothing to halt such advances, “the consequence is going to be a race between the manufacturers rather than a race between the athletes.”

 

The day after Kipchoge’s unofficial sub-two hour run, 25-year-old compatriot Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14.04 in Chicago, taking an astonishing 81 seconds off Briton Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old women’s marathon world record.

 

Kosgei was wearing a modified version of the Vaporfly shoe, featuring three carbon plates, and Vaporflys have featured in several other records in the last three years.

 

The distinctive pink and green footwear is now widespread at every major race, recreational and professional.

 

Strava, the global social network for athletes, said in its 2019 review that the median marathon finish time for runners in the Vaporfly model Next% was 8.7% faster than runners wearing the next fastest shoe, the Adidas Boston.

 

EFFICIENCY OR ENHANCEMENT?

 

Sports scientists writing in the British Medical Journal said the Vaporfly deviates from conventional running shoes in three ways: it has embedded carbon-fibre plates, its midsole is made of super-condensed foam and its midsole is particularly thick.

 

“Each of these components has design features that reduce energy loss in isolation and, perhaps more so, in combination,” they said.

 

Kerry McCarthy, editor of Runner’s World UK magazine, said the sensation was “almost like a mini pogo stick. The carbon fibre plates effectively push against the ground and help to push your foot off the floor quicker.”

 

Amateur runner Holly Grundon, who switched to the Vaporfly to target a new personal best for a half-marathon, describes them as “a bit like running with marshmallows under your feet”.

 

According to Bryce Dyer, a sports technologist and specialist in product design at Britain’s Bournemouth University, benefits like this are “the equivalent of bringing a gun to a knife fight”.

 

But he rejects the suggestion that it is unfair.

 

“If they produced more than 100% energy return, then I’d agree they are enhancing. But from the studies we’ve seen, these shoes don’t appear to be doing that, so I’d say it’s purely a question of efficiency,” he told Reuters.

 

In 2008, Speedo delivered its LZR speed suit which helped swimmers claim a host of world records before it was banned.

 

Other technological leaps, such as skinsuits in skiing, hinged blades in speed skating and aero bars and disc wheels in cycling, survived to become standard equipment.

 

Three suffer smoke inhalation in Phuket condo fire

By Eakkapop Thongtub

 

Firefighters took almost an hour and 45 minutes to extinguish the fire, but the fire was contained and no other units were directly affected, police confirmed. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET:-- Three people suffering from smoke inhalation were taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital today after a fire broke out in a seventh-floor condo at the Phanason City Condo complex in Wichit today (Jan 24).

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1144999-three-suffer-smoke-inhalation-in-phuket-condo-fire/

 

Three suffer smoke inhalation in Phuket condo fire

By Eakkapop Thongtub

 

Firefighters took almost an hour and 45 minutes to extinguish the fire, but the fire was contained and no other units were directly affected, police confirmed. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET:-- Three people suffering from smoke inhalation were taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital today after a fire broke out in a seventh-floor condo at the Phanason City Condo complex in Wichit today (Jan 24).

 

Capt Chatri Chuwichian of the Wichit Police told The Phuket News that he was notified of the fire at 2pm.

 

Firefighters from the Wichit Municipality Fire Department arrived to find black smoke billowing out of a unit on the seventh floor of the eight-story building, located behind the Makro store on Wichit Songkram Rd.

 

Full Story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/three-suffer-smoke-inhalation-in-phuket-condo-fire-74526.php

 

Turtle tracks at Koh Phra Thong spur hopes of new nest

By Khunanya Wanchawet

 

Hopes are high that turtle tracks found on Koh Phra Thong today (Jan 24) will lead to the eight nest laid on beaches in the region in recent weeks. Image: via DMCR

 

PHUKET:-- Officers at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) are hoping that confirmed reports of leatherback turtles tracks on a beach on Koh Phra Thong island, off the coast off Phang Nga, north of Phuket, will lead to the eighth turtle nest to be found in the region in recent weeks.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1144997-turtle-tracks-at-koh-phra-thong-spur-hopes-of-new-nest/

 

Turtle tracks at Koh Phra Thong spur hopes of new nest

By Khunanya Wanchawet

 

Hopes are high that turtle tracks found on Koh Phra Thong today (Jan 24) will lead to the eight nest laid on beaches in the region in recent weeks. Image: via DMCR

 

PHUKET:-- Officers at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) are hoping that confirmed reports of leatherback turtles tracks on a beach on Koh Phra Thong island, off the coast off Phang Nga, north of Phuket, will lead to the eighth turtle nest to be found in the region in recent weeks.

 

A sea turtle conservation volunteer found the tracks earlier today (Jan 24), and reported them to the DMCR this afternoon.

 

The tracks were found on a beach at the southern end of the island, Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, Chief of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC), told The Phuket News this afternoon.

 

Full Story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/turtle-tracks-at-koh-phra-thong-spur-hopes-of-new-nest-74524.php

 

Air purifiers installed around Victory Monument

By THE NATION

 

 

The Rajaprajanukron Foundation, under Royal Patronage, installed four air- purifiers on Friday (January 24) in the vincinites of Victory Monument in a trial of their effectiveness in filtering out PM2.5 dust particles, said Silpasuay Raweesaengsoon, permanent secretary of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), on Friday (January 24).

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1144996-air-purifiers-installed-around-victory-monument/

 

94,000 meth pills found hidden behind bumper of a car

By The Nation

 

 

Chiang Mai police held a press conference on Friday (January 24) on the discovery of 94,000 methamphetamine pills hidden behind the rear bumper of a Honda HRV.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1144995-94000-meth-pills-found-hidden-behind-bumper-of-a-car/

 

94,000 meth pills found hidden behind bumper of a car

By The Nation

 

 

Chiang Mai police held a press conference on Friday (January 24) on the discovery of 94,000 methamphetamine pills hidden behind the rear bumper of a Honda HRV.

 

The car was put on auction on January 15, after which the new owner took it to a shop for a new coat of paint on the bumpers.

 

The stash, hidden in 11 wrapped boxes, was found by a worker who then notified the new owner and the police. 

 

The previous owner of the car was arrested on April 10, 2019 for possessing 100,000 methamphetamine pills while some of his properties and the vehicle were confiscated. 

 

Police have taken temporary possession of the vehicle.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30381024

 

Masks handy for New Year incense smoke too

By THE NATION

 

 

Protective facemasks were much in evidence at Chinese shrines in Bangkok on Friday (January 24) as people marked the beginning of another Lunar New Year.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1144994-masks-handy-for-new-year-incense-smoke-too/