THAILAND LIVE Thailand Live Tuesday 23 July 2019

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Thailand's June foreign tourist arrivals rise 0.89% y/y - ministry

 

 

BANGKOK, July 22 (Reuters) -

 

* Thailand saw a rise of 0.89% in tourist arrivals in June from a year earlier, after a drop of 1.03% in May, the tourism ministry said in a statement on Monday.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113366-thailands-june-foreign-tourist-arrivals-rise-089-yy-ministry/

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Cannabis among top priorities for new Thai government

 

FILE PHOTO: Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha arrives for a photo session with the new government cabinet in Bangkok, Thailand July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Developing a medical cannabis industry is among top policy priorities for Thailand’s new government, according to a document released before the formal announcement.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113327-cannabis-among-top-priorities-for-new-thai-government/

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Khon Kaen politician pleads guilty in forced stripping case

By Krissameth Loho
The Nation

 

 

Veteran Khon Kaen politician Premsak Piayura and his secretary submitted guilty pleas with the Court of Appeals to the charges related to their roles in the alleged forced stripping of a Daily News reporter to his underwear in front of others during an interview session in 2016, the reporter’s lawyer Pakan Noppasr revealed on Monday.

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113335-khon-kaen-politician-pleads-guilty-in-forced-stripping-case/

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Thai economy in crisis: Japanese engineering firm to shut at end of the month

 

Thai caption: No more hiring

 

77kaoded reported that Sanyo Engineering in the Pin Thong Industrial Park in Sri Racha was shutting down and laying off all staff at the end of this month. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113237-thai-economy-in-crisis-japanese-engineering-firm-to-shut-at-end-of-the-month/

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IMF urges Thailand to adopt fiscal reforms, monetary easing to support growth

 

FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand should adopt an expansionary policy mix, including fiscal reforms and monetary easing to help support growth, which has slowed amid rising global trade tensions, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113382-imf-urges thailand to-adopt-fiscal-reforms-monetary-easing-to-support-growth/

 

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Thai exports could fall as much as 3.1% this year: economists

By Somluck Srimalee
The Nation

 

Photo by: The Nation

 

Thailand’s exports will drop by up to 3.1 per cent this year, economists forecast on Monday, after June figures fell on the same period last year amid a strengthening baht.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113383-thai-exports-could-fall-as-much-as-31-this-year-economists/

 

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Airbnb welcomes Thai tourism minister’s pro-growth agenda

By THE NATION

 

 

Airbnb has welcomed new Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan’s commitment to grow tourism and support short-term accommodation in Thailand.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113384-airbnb-welcomes-thai-tourism-minister’s-pro-growth-agenda/

 

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Industry minister offers Thai haven for China’s trade war victims

By The Nation

 

Suriya

 

Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit on Monday issued what he called urgent policy on four aspects of his ministerial duties.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113385-industry-minister-offers-thai-haven-for-china’s-trade-war-victims/

 

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Rights panel urged to mull transgender teacher assistant’s lament

By The Nation

 

 

An LGBT-rights group on Monday asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to determine whether a transgender teacher’s assistant in Buri Ram is the victim of discrimination affecting her welfare and career.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113386-rights-panel-urged-to-mull-transgender-teacher-assistant’s-lament/

 

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Dip in earnings growth seen for banking

By THE NATION

 

Photo: siamparagon.co.th

 

Analysts have revised downward the earnings growth forecast for Bangkok bank (BBL) from 6 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year. Despite better-than-expected results in the second quarter, the bank recorded lower profit from assets, with slow growth rate pushing down net interest margins.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113387-dip-in-earnings-growth-seen-for-banking/

 

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Minister vows to stop elephants being sent abroad

By THE NATION

 

 

Natural Resources Minister Warawuth Silpa-archa pledged on Monday to temporarily nullify a rule that allows elephants to be sent overseas.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113388-minister-vows-to-stop-elephants-being-sent-abroad/

 

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Mother’s Day bummer for lost leopard kitten

By Sitthichai Sikhawat
The Nation

 

 

A leopard kitten separated from its mother in the wild was rescued on Monday near a rubber plantation in southern Krabi province.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113389-mother’s-day-bummer-for-lost-leopard-kitten/

 

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Bomb attack injures four rangers in South

By The Nation

 

 

Four paramilitary rangers were slightly injured in a roadside bomb attack on Monday afternoon in the southern border province of Yala, prompting Fourth Army Region commander Lt-General Pornsak Poolsawat to order that those responsible be swiftly found and punished.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113390-bomb-attack-injures-four-rangers-in-south/

 

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Wild storm topples trees in Hat Yai

By The Nation

 

 

Hat Yai in southern Songkhla province was hammered by rain and hail on Monday afternoon, toppling trees and power poles onto a house and at least three cars.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113391-wild-storm-topples-trees-in-hat-yai/

 

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Ex- Deputy PM stunned by the words ‘intelligent country’ in government policy

 

(Photo) Korbsak Sabhavasu’s Facebook page

 

Former deputy prime minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said today (Monday) that he was stunned that the government dared to use the words ‘intelligent country’ in the policy statement to be presented to parliament on July 25th and 26th by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113392-ex-deputy-pm-stunned-by-the-words-‘intelligent-country’-in-government-policy/

 

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UPDATE:

 

Spanish tourist lost in Samui’s forest found alive

 

(Photo) Na Muang 2 Waterfall by Koh Samui City

 

Pol. Col. Kritsana Pattanacharoen, deputy police spokesman, said that Spanish tourist Mr. Luis Cabello Ortega, 57, who got lost in the forest of Na Muang Mountain on Samui Island, has been found, safe and sound by villagers and has been returned to his hotel in Tambon Bor Pud.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113231-fears-grow-for-missing-spanish-tourist-after-search-called-off-in-koh-samui/?do=findComment&comment=14378612

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Thai military condemned for alleged torture of a Muslim man in Pattani

 

(Photo) Kasturi Mahkota’s Facebook page

 

The Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO) has condemned the Thai military over an incident involving a previously healthy Muslim man who was taken to a military camp in the country’s southern province of Pattani for interrogation on Sunday, only to end up in the provincial hospital’s intensive care unit with brain swelling.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113393-thai-military-condemned-for-alleged-torture-of-a-muslim-man-in-pattani/

 

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Brit expat posts B90k bail on animal cruelty charge

 

Mervyn Harding, a British expat living in Rawai, has been released on B90,000 bail while waiting for animal cruelty and trespass charges to be heard against him in court. Photo: Chalong Police (blurred at police request)

 

PHUKET: Mervyn Harding, the Brit expat living in Rawai who was charged with attacking a dog in Nai Harn last week, has been released on B90,000 bail, police have confirmed.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113394-brit-expat-posts-b90k-bail-on-animal-cruelty-charge/

 

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Thai farmers asked to delay rice planting as drought bites

By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

FILE PHOTO: A farmer plants rice in a paddy field in Thailand's Nakhonsawan province, August 16, 2015. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai government has asked farmers to delay planting rice because of drought and the pumping of water from reservoirs for irrigation threatens household supplies, an agriculture ministry official said on Monday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113395-thai-farmers-asked-to-delay-rice-planting-as-drought-bites/

 

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Trump pushes on with immigration crackdown despite legal hurdles

By Bryan Pietsch and Daina Beth Solomon

 

A man stands near the border fence between Mexico and U.S. in Tijuana, Mexico July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

 

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration pushed ahead with its attempts to crack down on migration at the southern border on Monday, defending in court a virtual ban it imposed on asylum seekers and issuing its second sweeping order within a week.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113397-trump-pushes-on-with-immigration-crackdown-despite-legal-hurdles/

 

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North Korea's Kim Jong Un inspects new submarine, points out weapons systems - KCNA

 

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reads a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump, in Pyongyang, North Korea in this picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 22, 2019. KCNA via REUTERS

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a newly built submarine and pointed out its tactical capabilities and weapons systems, North Korean state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113398-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-inspects-new-submarine-points-out-weapons-systems-kcna/

 

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Trump, U.S. Congress leaders reach deal on debt limit, spending caps

By Richard Cowan

 

FILE PHOTO: A U.S. five dollar note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and U.S. congressional leaders reached a deal on Monday on a two-year extension of the debt limit and federal spending caps that would avert a feared government default later this year but add to rising budget deficits.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113400-trump-us-congress-leaders-reach-deal-on-debt-limit-spending-caps/

 

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Sterling on back foot due to growing concern about no-deal Brexit

By Stanley White

 

FILE PHOTO: A shop assistant counts piles of British Pound Sterling banknotes at an Apple store in London, Britain November 18, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sterling was on the back foot on Tuesday as investors worried Boris Johnson, the frontrunner to become the UK's next prime minister, would trigger a "hard Brexit" from the European Union, widely seen as a major risk for the British economy.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113404-sterling-on-back-foot-due-to-growing-concern-about-no-deal brexit/

 

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Measures announced for drought-stricken farmers

By The Nation

 

 

Thammanat Prompao, deputy minister of agriculture and cooperatives, has reiterated the remedial measures for farmers affected by the drought that are to be proposed to the cabinet on July 30. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113407-measures-announced-for-drought-stricken-farmers/

 

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Ministry, Lazada join for 'Smart Village Online'

By THE NATION

 

Products of Ban Na Kha Community in Udon Thani

 

The Commerce Ministry has joined forces with Lazada, a leading e-commerce platform, in launching "Smart Village Online," targeting five communities in the country.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113408-thai-commerce-ministry-lazada-join-for-smart-village-online/

 

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Her Majesty Queen Mother admitted to hospital with fever

By The Nation

 

Photo by: The Royal Household Bureau

 

Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother has been admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital with a fever, the Royal Household Bureau announced.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113409-her-majesty-queen-mother-admitted-to-hospital-with-fever/

 

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Govt to push EEC policy into overdrive, but business demands tangible results

By The Nation

 

Suphan

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will on Thursday (July 25) unveil his government’s policy statement in Parliament, aimed at elevating Thailand to developed-nation status country via 12 urgent and 12 long-term policies focused mainly on the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113411-govt-to-push-eec-policy-into-overdrive-but-business-demands-tangible-results/

 

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One killed, two hurt in vocational school brawl

By The Nation

 

 

Police are hunting for a group of vocational school students who allegedly shot dead a student of a rival school and injured two others in Bangkok’s Bang Na district Monday evening.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113414-one-killed-two-hurt-in-vocational-school-brawl-in-bangkok/

 

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Road Rage: Can I get my key back? It's in your head.....

 

Thai caption: Can I get my key back

 

A motorcyclist was furious that the bike in front had stopped suddenly. 

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113420-road-rage-can-i-get-my-key-back-its-in-your-head/

 

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Loan sharks arrested after charging woman 300% interest 

 

Thai caption: Loan Sharks charging 300% interest

 

Authorities in Nakorn Sri Thammarat in southern Thailand conducted a sting after a woman reported she had fallen victim to a loan shark gang

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1113421-loan-sharks-arrested-after-charging-woman-300-interest/