Inspire & Thaivisa Gala Dinner with Frank Bruno at Four Points by Sheraton

 

When - Wednesday, 17 January 2018 at 19:30–22:30

 

Where - Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok, Sukhumvit 15

More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1299211190182797/

 

 

Thais, Passports And Struggles At Immigration

By Tuptim Malakul na Ayuthaya Lane

 

Image: lifeinthailand / YouTube

 

Imagine the scene. An overweight and intimidating-looking LAX officer painfully scrutinizes the papers handed over by the tiny Asian lady. Glancing up, he matches the face to the passport. Looking down, he checks his screen’s blacklist.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016919-thais-passports-and-struggles-at-immigration/

Motorbike helmet campaign aims to make Bangkok a model city

By Kornkamon Aksorndech 
The Nation

 

 

A campaign to make Bangkok a model of a “100 per cent safety-helmet using city” was launched on Thursday.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016929-motorbike-helmet-campaign-aims-to-make-bangkok-a-model-city/

Carnage in Pathum Thani as pick-up drags couple 100 meters to their deaths

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Two people were killed but a two year old survived after a pick-up collided with a motorcycle in Pathum Thani on Thursday.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016947-carnage-in-pathum-thani-as-pick-up-drags-couple-100-meters-to-their-deaths/

 

Why do "defenders of the public" have to buy their own guns?

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

A policeman has gone on a constabulary website to complain about having to buy his own weapon.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016949-why-do-defenders-of-the-public-have-to-buy-their-own-guns/

 

More uninvited guests in Thai tinned fish - this time tapeworms

 

Picture: Daily News

 

A woman is demanding answers from a leading supplier of tinned fish after finding worms in several cans she opened for her dinner.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016950-more-uninvited-guests-in-thai-tinned-fish-this-time-tapeworms/

 

UPDATE:

 

NACC wiretapping bill comes under NLA fire

By KAS CHANWANPEN 
THE NATION 

 

File photo : NACC President Pol General Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit

 

CRUCIAL DECISION ON CONTROVERSIAL POWERS ‘ALLOWING INTRUSION OF PRIVACY’ DELAYED UNTIL TODAY

 

THE ORGANIC bill on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which would allow it to wiretap phone calls and other communications, was yesterday fiercely debated in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and seriously criticised for possible intrusions of privacy.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016930-lawmakers-warn-of-power-abuse-if-parliament-passes-spying-law/?do=findComment&comment=12556995

 

Wiretapping a threat to citizens, Meechai again warns

By The Nation

 

Meechai.

 

Charter drafter chief Meechai Ruchupan said on Thursday that citizens would have more problems than benefit by giving greater authority to the National Anti-Corruption Commission to wiretap phone calls.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016951-wiretapping-a-threat-to-citizens-meechai-again-warns/

 

Date to lift political ban to be published soon: Wissanu

By The Nation

 

Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam

 

Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Thursday that when Article 44 is invoked to help amend the political party law, it would clearly state when the junta would lift a political ban.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016952-date-to-lift-political-ban-to-be-published-soon-wissanu/

 

Lands dept to advance law to protect forests from fraudulent claims

 

 

The Lands Department has proposed amendments to its land-use laws, in regard to issuance of land deeds, which would result in more thorough scrutiny of the use of vague Sor Khor 1 documents used to claim possession over state land.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016953-lands-dept-to-advance-law-to-protect-forests-from-fraudulent-claims/

 

Construction bids for high-speed train project in coordination with China to be completed in 2018

By The Nation

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, fifth from left, yesterday joins delegates at a symbolic digging ceremony in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pakchong district to mark the beginning of the first phase of the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed rail development

 

THE government has set a new target to call for construction bids for the Bt179-billion, 252-kilometre Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed railway by the end of next year, according to Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittay-apaisith.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016957-construction-bids-for-high-speed-train-project-in-coordination-with-china-to-be-completed-in-2018/

 

Fourteen DSI officials face charges in Jomsap case but Dusadee spared

By Kawintra Jaiseu 
The Nation 

 

 

POLICE INTEND to file charges against 14 Department of Special Investigation (DSI) officials as part of the controversial perjury investigation linked to hit-and-run convict Jomsap Saenmuangkhot’s alleged plot to exonerate herself, said Provincial Police Region 4 deputy chief Pol Maj-General Tanasak Rittidejpaiboon yesterday.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016959-fourteen-dsi-officials-face-charges-in-jomsap-case-but-dusadee-spared/

 

Acceptance and employment key to former convicts’ rehabilitation

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation 

 

 

Justice Ministry signals trend moving away from mass incarceration towards reforming and educating lawbreakers

 

SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE and employment are the major factors that determine whether prisoners will successfully reintegrate into society and not reoffend, a seminar on prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration has concluded.

 

Full story:  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016960-acceptance-and-employment-key-to-former-convicts’-rehabilitation/

 

DSI and NOB officials raid Wat Dhammakaya to look for Dhammajayo

By Thai PBS

 

 

Officials from the Department of Special Investigation and the National Office of Buddhism conducted a night raid of Wat Dhammakaya Wednesday night (Dec 20) to look for Phra Dhammajayo, the former temple abbot, who has not been seen in public for several months now.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016962-dsi-and-nob-officials-raid-wat-dhammakaya-to-look-for-dhammajayo/

 

Chinese Tourists Could Cause Years of Misery for Thai Airports

By Natnicha Chuwiruch

 

File photo

 

-- Airport, rail expansions will take years to ease congestion

-- Meanwhile visitor numbers are projected to almost double

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016963-chinese-tourists-could-cause-years-of-misery-for-thai-airports/

 

UPDATE:

 

After delays, ground broken for Thailand-China railway project

Reuters Staff

 

A train runs through, during the groundbreaking ceremony of the cooperation between Thailand and China on the Bangkok-Nong Khai high speed rail development in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (Reuters) - Construction of a long-awaited Thai-Chinese railway line that will link Thailand, Laos and China officially began on Thursday with a ground-breaking ceremony in the northeastern Thai province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016957-construction-bids-for-high-speed-train-project-in-coordination-with-china-to-be-completed-in-2018/?do=findComment&comment=12557056

 

A Pattaya hotel cashier nabbed for stealing a guest’s debit card

By Thai PBS

 

 

A Pattaya hotel cashier was arrested by police at her apartment room in Pattaya on theft charges after she allegedly stole a hotel guest’s debit card and spent almost 500,000 baht in shopping spree.

 

Full story:  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016964-a-pattaya-hotel-cashier-nabbed-for-stealing-a-guest’s-debit-card/

 

‘Phuket Brand Phuket Best Festival’ replaces annual Red Cross Fair

The Phuket News

 

Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong (right) and his wife and Phuket Red Cross President Sudarat Plodthong. Photo: PR Dept

 

PHUKET: This year’s Red Cross Fair, which normally takes place over the New Year period, will not be held and will be replaced with the ‘Phuket Brand Phuket Best Festival’ during the same period at Saphan Hin, a Phuket Red Cross official, who declined to be named, told The Phuket News today (Dec 21).

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016957-construction-bids-for-high-speed-train-project-in-coordination-with-china-to-be-completed-in-2018/

 

Catalan separatist Puigdemont to regain control in blow to Rajoy

By Sonya Dowsett and Sam Edwards

 

People react to results in Catalonia's regional elections at a gathering of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) in Barcelona, Spain December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

 

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia's separatist leader Carles Puigdemont is close to regaining leadership of the region in a blow to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who sacked him two months ago, reigniting Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016968-catalan-separatist-puigdemont-to-regain-control-in-blow-to-rajoy/

 

Defying Trump, over 120 countries at U.N. condemn Jerusalem decision

By Michelle Nichols

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley vetos an Egyptian-drafted resolution regarding recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem, during the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., December 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More than 120 countries defied President Donald Trump on Thursday and voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016969-defying-trump-over-120-countries-at-un-condemn-jerusalem-decision/

 

Exclusive - State Department tells refugee agencies to downsize U.S. operations

By Yeganeh Torbati and Mica Rosenberg

 

FILE PHOTO: Retired engineer John Wider, 59, is greeted by a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump as he holds up a sign reading "Welcome Refugees" at the international arrivals terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has told refugee agencies it will sharply pare back the number of offices across the country authorized to resettle people in 2018 as President Donald Trump cuts the number of refugees allowed into the United States.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016971-exclusive-state-department-tells-refugee-agencies-to-downsize-us-operations/

 

Cuba delays historic handover from Castro to new president

By Nelson Acosta and Sarah Marsh

 

Cuba's President Raul Castro (L) and Cuba's First Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel are seen during the National Assembly in Havana, Cuba, December 21, 2017. Omara García Mederos/ACN/Handout via REUTERS

 

HAVANA (Reuters) - Communist-run Cuba extended the term of its current leadership to April on Thursday, signalling a two-month delay in the historic handover from Raul Castro to a new president, while announcing tighter regulations on the non-state sector.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016972-cuba-delays-historic-handover-from-castro-to-new-president/

 

Britain's "Madame Brexit" tells Poland: Your constitution is your own matter

By Marcin Goclowski

 

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May attends a meeting with Polish and British soldiers and veterans at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw, Poland December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

 

WARSAW (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May gave Poland a rare dose of big power support on Thursday by saying that its constitution was its own affair, a sharply different tone to that of the European Union which has scolded Warsaw over judicial reforms.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016979-britains-madame-brexit-tells-poland-your-constitution-is-your-own-matter/

 

Pence visits Afghanistan, says U.S. will 'see this through'

By Jeff Mason

 

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence poses for photos with troops in a hangar at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mandel Ngan/Pool

 

KABUL (Reuters) - Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to meet its leaders and underscore U.S. commitment to the country four months after President Donald Trump agreed to an open-ended war against insurgents here.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016981-pence-visits-afghanistan-says-us-will-see-this-through/

 

Saudi Arabia should not forfeit 'sovereign' right to enrich uranium - senior prince

By Rania El Gamal and Katie Paul

 

FILE PHOTO: Prince Turki bin Faisal al-Saud of Saudi Arabia gestures during the session "Iraq and Syria: The Strategic Context" in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

 

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia should not forfeit its "sovereign" right to one day enrich uranium under its planned civilian nuclear programme, especially as world powers have allowed Iran to do so, a senior Saudi royal told Reuters.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016983-saudi-arabia-should-not-forfeit-sovereign-right-to-enrich-uranium-senior-prince/

 

Apple slows some older iPhones because of flagging batteries

BY REUTERS 

 

REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

 

(Reuters) – Apple Inc has addressed claims from an app company that says the maker of iPhones slows down the performance of older phones.

 

Full story: https://tech.thaivisa.com/apple-slows-older-iphones-flagging-batteries/26408/

Online, but can’t ditch paper? You may be future-proofing yourself

BY REUTERS 

 

 

GENEVA (Reuters) – You’re on the web, you’re in the cloud. But don’t neglect good old-fashioned paper. That’s the advice from internet pioneer Vint Cerf, who is afraid that all our digital memories could be lost as technology moves on.

 

Full story: https://tech.thaivisa.com/online-cant-ditch-paper-may-future-proofing/26410/

Facebook, Universal Music strike multi-year licensing deal

BY REUTERS

 

REUTERS/Toby Melville

 

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc and Universal Music Group on Thursday announced a global agreement that will enable users to upload videos featuring music from Universal’s library across the social media network as well as Instagram and Oculus.

 

Full story: https://tech.thaivisa.com/facebook-universal-music-strike-multi-year-licensing-deal/26412/

PM puts wallet and belt into charity auction

 

 

BANGKOK, 22nd December 2017 (NNT) – The Prime Minister has put his personal wallet and belt up for auction as part of a charity drive for the Veterans Hospital at Khlong Padung Krung Kasem market. 

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016985-pm-prayut-puts-wallet-and-belt-into-charity-auction/

 

Toon reaches 2,000-km milestone on Day 52

By The Nation

 

Rock star Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai reached the 2,000-km mark of his 2,191-km charity run early on Friday amid chilling weather of 10 degrees Celsius.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1016987-toon-reaches-2000-km-milestone-on-day-52/