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36
New Visa Requirement at Jomtien Immigration
this is more 'rural': Pai -
14
Thai Driving Licence Renewal - 5 year, Visa Waiver, Chiang Mai
I now have a rental lease agreement for the whole month of August because I've paid upfront and asked for a lease/receipt. I'm happy to pay the (previously) 500 baht for a two day CofR turnaround at CM Immigration. I'll have a medical and photocopy all the documents as soon as I arrive. I'll also book an appointment at DLT online. I don't think I need to do the written test nor watch the video again as I've had my 'conversion' licence for 7 (2+5) years already ? As only one (of 3) of the 'Visa Agents' in CM replied, I think my best plan of action is to try myself at DLT and if they say "only 2 years available as you have a visa waiver" then I'll ask "is there somebody like an agent who can help me obtain 5 years?" -
178
BREAKING NEWS Trump Declares 'Complete and Total' Ceasefire Between Israel and Iran After '12 Day War'
You seem upset. Can i send you cash via PayPal so you can buy a tissue? -
9
Crime Thai Ex-Police Chief Accuses Hun Sen in Shocking Legal Move
Why both sides have to escalate this conflict? There will be no winner -
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Report Vietnam Fake Perfume Ring Exposed in Major Police Operation
Picture courtesy of VN Express Authorities have dismantled a sophisticated counterfeit goods operation in Vietnam, arresting Lu Hung Phat, 30, and Tran Thi Bich Lien, 29. The couple is suspected of trading in fake perfumes, smuggling, and tax evasion. In a decisive raid last Saturday, police uncovered over 10,000 counterfeit perfume bottles stored across a business address, packaging facility, and warehouse linked to Phat and Lien. The fake goods, if authentic, would hold an estimated value of VND10 billion (approximately US$382,000). Phat and Lien, currently under police interrogation, have admitted to sourcing the counterfeit perfumes from smuggling rings transporting them from China into Vietnam. By renting various sites to discreetly store their illicit inventory, they managed to avoid immediate detection. The couple's operation employed five individuals tasked with sorting and packaging the goods. Their distribution strategy was notably modern, utilising communications applications and online groups to reach a vast network of customers across various provinces and cities. This crackdown marks a significant win for local authorities striving to combat counterfeit trade, which continues to pose economic and safety risks in the region. The investigation remains underway, with police scrutinising digital communications to unravel the full extent of the operation's reach. Officials urge consumers to remain vigilant against counterfeit products, highlighting the potential dangers and economic consequences of supporting such illicit activities. Adapted by ASEAN Now from VN Express 2025-06-24 -
178
BREAKING NEWS Trump Declares 'Complete and Total' Ceasefire Between Israel and Iran After '12 Day War'
POTUS is counting on the mullahs being like Saddam or the Hamas leaders: preferring power and money, and all it can buy, over martyrdom. He also enters talks with a bit of Dunning Kreuger Effect in terms of his dealmaking ability, as he’s outmatched by a culture with 6000 years of carpet selling that might well run rings around him. Iran’s nuclear ambitions were halted in 2015 with the JCPOA, a 100% effective agreement that limited Iran to 3.7% U-235 enrichment. Obama had scared the bejesus---or is that beallah---out of them with the Stuxnet Virus, which destroyed many of their high speed centrifuges. This POTUS tossed the JCPOA in 2018, which then had Iran restart its enrichment. Iran is capable of 60% enrichment. That’s a lot, but a far cry from the 93% U-235 purity needed for a fissionable device. To get to that level is not an easy task. The HS centrifuges must be better, and most important the power system must be extremely high quality. Any fluctuations in current cause the centrifuges to wobble and then self-destruct. The US intel community thinks Iran is at least three years away from being able to both reach fissionable U-235 purity and construct a device. Sure, Netayahu says “Iran is 2 weeks away from a bomb”, but he’s been saying that for almost 25 years. Had POTUS wanted, there was time to negotiate, beside the fact the mullahs are aging and not long for this world. POTUS touts the effectiveness of the US strike and now claims there’s a truce and Iran is done, but that kind of sounds like a “Mission Accomplished” moment. What I have not heard yet is any indication of radiation at the Fordo site, which US satellites are capable of picking up. If there is, in fact, no radiation, then that means either Iran moved its 60% enriched U-235 before the strike, or that the bunker buster bombs did not go as deep as expected. So it seems the “truce” may well have left Iran with all the U-235 it had before. (They also seem to have already broken the “truce”, as missiles have again struck Israel.) If the mullahs are really fanatic about their faith, they might understand they could be in a death spiral, which means taking as many infidels with them as possible. Even if they are less pious, Iran plays the long game. They have many ways to strike back. Some retaliatory actions are obvious, such as attacking a ULCC in the Gulf or a Saudi GOSP. Insurers would instantly pull policies, so few oil merchants would risk a billion investment, effectively halting 25% of the world’s crude. Iran need not mine the Strait; just evidencing a willingness to strike a vessel would have insurance pulled and crude flow halted. Iran would also be likely to strike US bases in the Gulf, as they did in Qatar. Embassies, such as Iraq and Beirut, are also targets and Iran has plenty of proxies in place. Announcing yesterday’s Qatar strike beforehand is a way to make outsiders think they are just doing something for domestic consumption, but with no intent to actually harm. One would be ill advised to assume that it's one and done, as Iran is just as likely to be buying time and lulling foes into a false sense of security. Iran could also attack a ME foe. Easiest would be Dubai, as it hasn’t much of a military. Knocking down the Burj Khalifa would send a message, as well as salve hard line domestic egos. Iran is also among the best cyberhackers in the world, along with the US, Russia, North Korea, Israel and China. With the US cybercommand gutted by DOGE and POTUS’ contempt for his former Cyber Tsar declaring 2020 “the fairest election ever”, the US is vulnerable in its electric grid, air traffic control, nuclear power plants…even the banking system. That the Chief of Counterterrorism in Homeland Security is a 22 year old former landscape gardener should not calm anyone’s fears. Maybe the worst has passed, but the US should abstain from victory laps and Mission Accomplished moments until things are a lot more clear.
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