Tillerson meets Turkey's Erdogan for 'open' talks after weeks of strain

By Yara Bayoumy and Tulay Karadeniz

 

U.S. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis poses with Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli during a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Virginia Mayo/Pool

 

ANKARA (Reuters) - Top U.S. diplomat Rex Tillerson and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan had a "productive and open" talk on Thursday about improving ties strained recently over their policies on Syria, in a meeting following weeks of escalating anti-American rhetoric from Ankara.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025305-tillerson-meets-turkeys-erdogan-for-open-talks-after-weeks-of-strain/

 

Australian government fractures as deputy PM calls Turnbull 'inept'

 

FILE PHOTO: Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce arrives during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, February 13, 2018. AAP/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A major rift opened up in Australia's coalition government on Friday as Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce refused to resign over an affair with a staff member, and blasted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's condemnation of his behaviour as "inept".

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025306-australian-government-fractures-as-deputy-pm-calls-turnbull-inept/

 

Boy, 3, killed in Chaiyaphum house fire, mother injured

By The Nation 

 

A three-year-old boy was killed, and his mother severely injured, in a fire that burned down their house in Chaiyaphum’s Kaset Somboon district late Thursday night, police said.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025307-boy-3-killed-in-chaiyaphum-house-fire-mother-injured/

 

New Year’s Eve fire damages Chinese shrine, shophouses in Bangkok

By The Nation

 

A fire broke out at a Chinese shrine located in a shophouse in Bangkok’s Sathorn district and spread to three other shophouses early Friday morning.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025308-new-year’s-eve-fire-damages-chinese-shrine-shophouses-in-bangkok/

 

UK PM May heads to Berlin to face tough German line on Brexit

By Andrew MacAskill and Thomas Escritt

 

Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, speaks outside Stormont House, in Belfast, Northern Ireland February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

 

LONDON/BERLIN (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Berlin on Friday to meet German leader Angela Merkel, hoping to overcome near-deadlock in her attempts to negotiate a Brexit deal with the European Union.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025309-uk-pm-may-heads-to-berlin-to-face-tough-german-line-on-brexit/

 

Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux separate

Jill Serjeant

 

FILE PHOTO: Actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux arrive at the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jennifer Aniston and husband Justin Theroux announced their separation on Thursday after less than three years of marriage, immediately sparking speculation that the former “Friends” star might reunite with her first spouse, Brad Pitt.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025310-jennifer-aniston-and-justin-theroux-separate/

 

Thailand’s some industries likely to grow impressively alongside EEC

 

BANGKOK, 16th February 2018 (NNT) – A leading high-street research agency has predicted a bright future for three industries after the new Eastern Economic Corridor bill was passed. 

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025312-thailand’s-some-industries-likely-to-grow-impressively-alongside-eec/

 

Boarding now for a flight from Tokyo to Paris that never takes off

By Kwiyeon Ha

 

Staff dressed as flight attendants, perform a safety demonstration at the "First Airlines", virtual first-class airline experience facility in Tokyo, Japan February 14, 2018. Picture taken February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - Fasten your seatbelts for a flight departing to Paris, and never leave the ground.

 

Full story:  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025313-boarding-now-for-a-flight-from-tokyo-to-paris-that-never-takes-off/

 

Transport Ministry to speed up replacement of old public buses

 

File photo

 

BANGKOK, 16th February 2018 (NNT) – The Ministry of Transport has pledged to improve the quality of public transportation and accelerate the procurement of new vehicles to replace old public buses. 

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025315-thai-transport-ministry-to-speed-up-replacement-of-old-public-buses/

 

Bangkok police reduce speed on eight roads to 50 km/h

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

Motorists will need to check their speed on eight roads in Bangkok after the Metropolitan Police Bureau published a directive to reduce their maximum speed from 80 kilometres to 50 kilometres per hour to prevent road accidents.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025317-bangkok-police-reduce-speed-on-eight-roads-to-50-kmh/

 

Woman arrested for shooting ‘abusive’ son-in-law

By The Nation

 

A Phitsanulok woman has been arrested for allegedly gunning down her son-in-law who she said liked to beat her daughter and grandson.

 

Full story:  https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025319-phitsanulok-woman-arrested-for-shooting-‘abusive’-son-in-law/

 

Pattaya adds trucks to speed removal of medical waste

 

 

PATTAYA:--Pattaya increased the number of trucks hauling medical waste out of a disputed dumpsite in Khao Maikaew in an attempt to quiet the uproar among neighbors.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025323-pattaya-adds-trucks-to-speed-removal-of-medical-waste/

 

DLT, army cracks down on meter-shunning cabbies…. for a day

PATTAYA:--The Chonburi Department of Land Transport launched a one-day “crackdown” on Pattaya metered taxis after numerous complaints about overcharging.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025324-dlt-army-cracks-down-on-meter-shunning-cabbies…-for-a-day/

 

Nongprue cop, 2 others jailed for rape, kidnapping, extortion     PATTAYA:--A Nongprue police officer and two civilians were arrested for allegedly kidnapping, raping and extorting a Nakhon Phanom woman they tried to frame for drugs.   Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025325-nongprue-cop-2-others-jailed-for-rape-kidnapping-extortion/

Burapa Bike Week rocks Pattaya

 

 

PATTAYA:--The sound of big bikes and hard rock filled the air in Pattaya as Burapa Bike Week rolled through the city for the 21st time.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025326-burapa-bike-week-rocks-pattaya/

 

Naklua chicken wholesaler given week to fix sewage problems

 

 

PATTAYA:--A Naklua chicken wholesaler was given a week to stop dumping poultry blood and waste into the street and Pattaya’s sewers.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025327-naklua-chicken-wholesaler-given-week-to-fix-sewage-problems/

 

Pattaya neglects illegal dump on Sukhumvit Soi 12

 

 

PATTAYA:--Three months after neighbors reported illegal garbage dumping on Sukhumvit Soi 12, Pattaya City Hall has done nothing to stop it, even as the trash piles up.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025328-pattaya-neglects-illegal-dump-on-sukhumvit-soi-12/

 

Garbage bins overflow at Pattaya viewpoint

 

 

PATTAYA:--Trash bins on Pratamnak Hill have been left uncollected until the waste inside turned into a rotting mess.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025331-garbage-bins-overflow-at-pattaya-viewpoint/

 

Busy Chinese New Year weekend on tap for Pattaya

 

 

PATTAYA:--The Tourism Authority of Thailand has high hopes for this Chinese New Year weekend in Pattaya.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025332-busy-chinese-new-year-weekend-on-tap-for-pattaya/

 

North Road wire-burying project begins Monday

 

 

PATTAYA:--The Provincial Electricity Authority will begin digging up North Road on Monday as it launches the second phase of its project to bury utility wires throughout the city.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025333-north-road-wire-burying-project-begins-monday/

 

Street peddlers, homeless rousted from Pattaya Beach

 

 

PATTAYA:--A group of street vendors discovered that Pattaya hasn’t forgotten about its ban on peddlers.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025334-street-peddlers-homeless-rousted-from-pattaya-beach/

 

Sattahip fishing boats checked for IUU compliance

 

 

SATTAHIP:--Laks Wojananwach from the Agriculture Ministry and top Fisheries Department officials inspected two Sattahip ports to ensure boats are complying with the country’s regulations against potential illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025335-sattahip-fishing-boats-checked-for-iuu-compliance/

 

Security stepped up for Chinese New Year weekend

 

 

PATTAYA:--Pattaya’s tourist police joined the effort to increase security during the busy Chinese New Year weekend.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025336-security-stepped-up-for-chinese-new-year-weekend/

 

An iguana goes to the mall…

 

 

PATTAYA:--His owner’s shop has moved, but an iguana who once called Pattaya’s Avenue galleria home still likes to hang out there.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025337-an-iguana-goes-to-the-mall…/

 

Pattaya police chief warns against ‘angpao’ envelopes

 

 

PATTAYA:--Pattaya’s police chief warned officers against taking traditional “angpao” red envelopes over the Chinese New Year, saying those who do are not following tradition, as it might be seen as taking bribes.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025339-pattaya-police-chief-warns-against-‘angpao’-envelopes/

 

Officials refuse to act on vendor motorbikes on Phuket beach

The Phuket News

 

Motorbikes stand parked all day at one end of Kamala Beach. Photo: Supplied

 

PHUKET: Officials responsible for Kamala Beach say they have been “unable” to take any action against local vendors riding the motorbikes along the beachfront path – and that they will not take harsher action until a formal complaint is filed with the Provincial Ombudsman’s Office, better known locally as the Damrongdharma Centre.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025342-officials-refuse-to-act-on-vendor-motorbikes-on-phuket-beach/ 

 

Bitcoin rises above $10,000, strategist sees new high by July

Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

 

A view of Ducatus cafe, the first cashless cafe that accepts cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, on their opening day in Singapore December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin rose above $10,000 on Thursday for the first time in more than two weeks, as investors bought back the digital currency after having fallen 70 percent from its all-time peak hit in mid-December.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025345-bitcoin-rises-above-10000-strategist-sees-new-high-by-july/

 

Load of pigs burn to death in Sa Kaew truck fire

By Thanaphat Kijjakosol 
The Nation

 

About 100 pigs heading to a slaughterhouse were burned to death in a fire that engulfed a truck on a road in Sa Kaew’s Khao Chakan district on Friday morning.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025347-load-of-pigs-burn-to-death-in-sa-kaew-truck-fire/

 

Matthayom 3 student killed in knife attack in Samut Prakan 

By Thai PBS

 

 

A 15-year-old secondary school student in Samut Prakan was killed in a knife attack, and his two school friends were injured in motorcycle crash during a chase and run by two men riding in a motorcycle.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025348-matthayom-3-student-killed-in-knife-attack-in-samut-prakan/

 

Lawmakers Can Now Skip Sessions For ‘Private Business’

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter

 

  

National Legislative Assembly members chat with each other on Jan. 25.

 

BANGKOK — Junta appointees serving in the interim parliament can skip work to tend to their businesses so long as they file a leave of absence, a top lawmaker said Friday.

 

Full story: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1025350-lawmakers-can-now-skip-sessions-for-‘private-business’/