Firefighters wrestle to control massive California wildfire

By Ben Gruber

 

With Thomas wildfire flames burning behind it, a Christmas Tree stands as a lone sentinel in the front yard of an evacuated home in this social media photo by Santa Barbara County Fire Department in Carpinteria, California, U.S. on December 11, 2017. Courtesy Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department/Handout via REUTERS

 

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (Reuters) - An out-of-control California wildfire that has already destroyed nearly 700 homes in its path of destruction crept closer to the upscale hillside community of Montecito on Tuesday despite calmer winds that slowed its progress.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015669-firefighters-wrestle-to-control-massive-california-wildfire/

 

U.S. wary of Putin's declaration of military victory in Syria

By Phil Stewart

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu watch servicemen passing by as they visit the Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province, Syria December 11, 2017. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik via REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is voicing scepticism about Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a major withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria and is arguing that his declaration of victory against Islamic State was premature.

 

Full story:  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015671-us-wary-of-putins-declaration-of-military-victory-in-syria/

 

Coming to a dirty beach near you soon! Thailand's robotic trash collector

 

Picture: Daily News

 

It could be the answer to Thailand's dirty beaches - an eco-friendly robot trash cleaner made and designed by the kingdom's own bright engineers.

 

Full story:  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015673-coming-to-a-dirty-beach-near-you-soon-thailands-robotic-trash-collector/

 

Beach smoking ban falls on deaf ears as Jomtien left in a complete mess

 

Picture: Sophon Cable

 

Sophon Cable TV reported that locals and tourists alike were shaking their heads muttering "Amazing Thailand" after the much trumpeted smoking ban at Jomtien Beach failed to have any effect.

 

Full story:  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015675-beach-smoking-ban-falls-on-deaf-ears-as-jomtien-left-in-a-complete-mess/

 

Farmers paid to not grow second-crop rice next year

By Thai PBS

 

 

The cabinet on Tuesday (Dec 12) agreed to allocate a fund amounting to 1,687 million baht to pay rice farmers to not plant second-crop rice next year in a bid to reduce rice-cultivated area by 150,000 rai.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015680-farmers-paid-to-not-grow-second-crop-rice-next-year/

 

Car sales in motor expo to reach 50 billion baht 

By Thai PBS

 

 

Thailand International Motor Expo 2017, which ended on Monday (Dec 11), expects sales of automobiles to reach 50 billion baht.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015685-car-sales-in-motor-expo-to-reach-50-billion-baht /

 

Bangkok begins repair work on Ladprao intersection bridge

 

 

BANGKOK, 13th December 2017 (NNT) – The Bangkok Highways Department has begun maintenance work on the Ladprao Intersection flyover bridge after discovering damage to its metal structure and will be closing one lane each night while allowing all lanes to stay open during the day. 

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015687-bangkok-begins-repair-work-on-ladprao-intersection-bridge/

 

South Korea to hold emergency meeting on cryptocurrencies, measures expected Friday

Cynthia Kim, Dahee Kim

 

FILE PHOTO: A copy of bitcoin standing on PC motherboard is seen in this illustration picture, October 26, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s government has called an emergency meeting to discuss the trading of cryptocurrencies, and measures on the market will be announced on Friday, a central bank official said on Wednesday.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015689-south-korea-to-hold-emergency-meeting-on-cryptocurrencies-measures-expected-friday/

 

Australia central bank governor says bitcoin fascination is 'speculative mania'

Swati Pandey, Wayne Cole

 

FILE PHOTO - Australia's new Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe speaks at a parliamentary economics committee meeting in Sydney, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The fascination with virtual currencies feels more like a “speculative mania”, the head of Australia’s central bank said on Wednesday, just days after the launch of the world’s first bitcoin futures.

 

Source: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015691-australia-central-bank-governor-says-bitcoin-fascination-is-speculative-mania/

 

Democrat Jones wins U.S. Senate seat in Alabama in blow to Trump

By Rich McKay

 

Democratic Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Doug Jones speaks with the media after casting his vote at Brookwood Baptist Church in Mountain Brook, Alabama, U.S. December 12, 2017. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry

 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Reuters) - Democrat Doug Jones won a bitter fight for a U.S. Senate seat in deeply conservative Alabama on Tuesday, U.S. media projected, dealing a political blow to President Donald Trump in a race marked by accusations of sexual misconduct against Republican candidate Roy Moore.

 

Source: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015694-democrat-jones-wins-us-senate-seat-in-alabama-in-blow-to-trump/

 

Brit becomes a celebrity in Dominican Republic after being turned down by online girlfriend

 

© Glyn Thomas Bailey / Facebook

 

A British man who flew to the Dominican Republic to meet his online girlfriend only to be turned down for being cash-strapped has become the island’s new celebrity. The Welshman is now stranded in the country.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015695-brit-becomes-a-celebrity-in-dominican-republic-after-being-turned-down-by-online-girlfriend/

 

DTAC agrees to adjust up compensation for customer wrongly charged with trillions of baht

By Thai PBS

 

 

DTAC Tri-net Company has agreed to adjust up its compensation for a customer who was wrongly charged 461 trillion baht for the use of its service after the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) suggested that the earlier compensation was too little.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015696-dtac-agrees-to-adjust-up-compensation-for-customer-wrongly-charged-with-trillions-of-baht/

 

Touting elephants okay, says Phuket wildlife official

Shela Riva

 

The photos sent to The Phuket News on Monday showing tourists riding on the elephant's backs. Photo: Supplied

 

PHUKET: An official from the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office today (Dec 13) told The Phuket News that there will be no action taken against elephant touts who provide rides to tourists on the island’s beaches.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015697-touting-elephants-okay-says-phuket-wildlife-official/

 

China marks Nanjing Massacre anniversary but Xi silent

 

Children hold candles as part of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre in Nanjing December 13, 2007. China marked 70 years since Japan's Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", on Thursday, invoking memories of the atrocity to remind Tokyo that the wartime past remains a bitter backdrop to an improving relationship. REUTERS/Nir Elias (CHINA)

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - China marked the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre on Wednesday with a call to work with Japan for peace, but President Xi Jinping kept a low profile and left the public remarks to another senior official.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015698-china-marks-nanjing-massacre-anniversary-but-xi-silent/

 

New Zealand Labour government set to introduce law banning foreign homebuyers

 

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern waves to student dancers (not pictured) upon her arrival to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings in Clark, Pampanga, northern Philippines November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

 

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's housing minister said on Wednesday the new government would introduce a law banning foreigners, including students and temporary workers, from buying existing homes into the country's Parliament the following day.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015699-new-zealand-labour-government-set-to-introduce-law-banning-foreign-homebuyers/

 

We are one' - Palestinian Christians and Muslims unite against Trump's Jerusalem call

By Maayan Lubell

 

A general view of Jerusalem shows a Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in the foreground and the Dome of the Rock, located in Jerusalem's Old City on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in the background December 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Less than an hour after U.S. President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Palestinians protested by turning off the lights on the Christmas tree outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015703-we-are-one-palestinian-christians-and-muslims-unite-against-trumps-jerusalem-call/

 

PM, ministers visit Kalasin

By The Nation

 

 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and some Cabinet members headed to Kalasin province on Wednesday.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015705-pm-prayut-ministers-visit-kalasin/

 

Twitter to let users make tweet threads more easily

BY REUTERS 

 

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

 

(Reuters) – Twitter said on Tuesday it would add a pair of buttons that will allow users to more easily see and add new tweets to existing ones on the same topic.

 

Full story: https://tech.thaivisa.com/twitter-let-users-make-tweet-threads-easily/26258/

Trump signs into law U.S. government ban on Kaspersky Lab software

BY REUTERS

 

REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Files

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump signed into law on Tuesday legislation that bans the use of Kaspersky Lab within the U.S. government, capping a months-long effort to purge the Moscow-based antivirus firm from federal agencies amid concerns it was vulnerable to Kremlin influence.

 

Full story: https://tech.thaivisa.com/trump-signs-law-u-s-government-ban-kaspersky-lab-software/26260/

No, social media isn’t ripping society apart, says Facebook

BY STAFF WRITER 

 

REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

 

Facebook has hit back at claims of Chamath Palihapitiya, a former company executive, who claimed that social media was “ripping society apart”.

 

Full story: https://tech.thaivisa.com/no-social-media-isnt-ripping-society-apart-says-facebook/26264/

‘Creepy’ Netflix tweet raises serious concerns about user privacy

BY STAFF WRITER

 

 

A tweet by the Netflix US Twitter account has sparked privacy concerns amongst users after the streaming giant revealed that 53 people have watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days. 

 

Full story: https://tech.thaivisa.com/creepy-netflix-tweet-raises-serious-concerns-user-privacy/26266/

Was cash bust at Lao border part of bigger operation?

By The Nation

 

 

Suspecting that the two Lao men arrested on Tuesday trying to cross the border into Laos from Nong Khai with more than Bt98 million in undeclared Thai banknotes might be part of a larger criminal undertaking, Thai Customs officials plan to discuss the matter with their Lao counterparts.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015709-was-cash-bust-at-lao-border-part-of-bigger-operation/

 

Thais Working In Korea Are Dying In Droves

By Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

 

Seoul in December 2016. Photo: Blankicks / Flickr

 

SEOUL  — Dozens of Thai nationals have frozen to death in Korea in this year, pointing to a worrying trend, the Thai Embassy in Seoul disclosed Tuesday night.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015710-thais-working-in-korea-are-dying-in-droves/

 

Patong underground cabling works start next April

The budget will be divided between the PEA, responsible for the cost of the electric system for 160 million Baht, and the Patong Municipality, responsible for the cost of the public works and new cable underground pits for 64 million Baht.

By Kritsada Mueanhawong

  

 

Phuket’s Governor has received an update on the Patong underground cabling works during the morning meeting today (December 13).

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015712-patong-underground-cabling-works-start-next-april/

 

UPDATE:

 

Embassy warns Thais in freezing South Korea

By The Nation

 

Foreign tourists visit Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, South Korea, 09 December 2017, in temperatures of minus 5 degrees Celsius. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

 

Thais staying in South Korea have receivd a warning from the Thai Embassy in Seoul to take care of their health with the temperature dropping to minus-10 degrees Celsius.

 

Source: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015710-thais-working-in-korea-are-dying-in-droves/?do=findComment&comment=12532784

 

Qatar Airways now reaches Chiang Mai, Pattaya next

By The Nation

 

 

Qatar Airways celebrated the start of its new direct non-stop service from Doha to Chiang Mai on Wednesday (December 13), its inaugural flight greeted with a traditional water-cannon salute.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015717-qatar-airways-now-reaches-chiang-mai-pattaya-next/

 

One student killed, two hurt in Ratchaburi accident

By The Nation

 

A speeding SUV lost control and spun-out on a Ratchaburi road before it hit a pickup truck, killing one student and injuring two others, police said.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015718-one-student-killed-two-hurt-in-ratchaburi-accident/

Turkey says world must recognise East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gestures at a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/Files

 

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey appealed on Wednesday for the world to recognise East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, as it opened an Islamic summit called in response to a U.S. decision to recognise the city as Israel's capital.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015719-turkey-says-world-must-recognise-east-jerusalem-as-palestinian-capital/

 

Taxi OK service launch put off until January 

By Thai PBS

 

 

The Department of Land Transport (DLT) has put off its scheduled “Taxi OK” service from the end of this year to January next year.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015720-taxi-ok-service-launch-put-off-until-january /

 

Army to take legal action against poster of defamatory video clips  

By Thai PBS

 

 

The Fourth Army says it is in the process of taking legal action against people involved for posting two video clips showing an army officer is beating an army conscript with stick.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1015723-army-to-take-legal-action-against-poster-of-defamatory-video clips/