Phuket Video Report: More than 100 tourists rescued from sinking ferry
Phuket Gazette


The boat carrying about 100 tourists was damaged by heavy waves and started taking on water. All on board were safely rescued. Photo: Bob from Bob's Sailing Booze Cruise

PHUKET: -- More than 100 people were rescued from a tourist boat that started sinking while returning from Phi Phi Island to Phuket Tuesday afternoon after being damaged by big waves.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642699-more-than-100-tourists-rescued-from-sinking-phuket-ferry/

Phuket News:
Samui skeleton confirmed as missing millionaire's
Tanyaluk Sakoot


Missing multi-millionaire Laszlo Csapai.

PHUKET: -- The results of DNA comparisons have confirmed that the body found buried under a villa on Koh Samui on April 21 is that of missing Hungarian multi-millionaire Laszlo Csapai, who went missing two years ago.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642702-samui-skeleton-confirmed-as-missing-hungarian-millionaires/

UPDATE:
SRT offers deal to vendors at Rot Fai market
Nongnapat Maipanit,
Supachai Petchthewee
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- In a bid to end a dispute over the destruction of the Rot Fai Market in Bangkok's Chatuchak district, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said yesterday that it would allow vendors to sell their wares in a nearby area for five months.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642520-abrupt-nighttime-demolition-of-rod-fai-market-leaves-vendors-incensed/#entry6449367

Conserve Thai elephants too, activists say
TANPISIT LERDBAMRUNGCHAI
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- The Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) foundation yesterday asked if it was really worth keeping the Chiang Mai-born panda Lin Ping in Thailand for another 15 years and paying China Bt44 million per year for the privilege.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642704-conserve-thai-elephants-too-activists-say/

EDITORIAL
Yingluck should grasp this chance to upstage Angelina
The Nation

Free testing for breast and cervical cancer would be PM's greatest legacy

BANGKOK: -- The headline splashed on this month's cover of Time magazine has created waves around the globe. "The Angelina Effect" is a phrase now being repeated in the international media every day. The Hollywood star's decision to go public about her double mastectomy has raised to new heights awareness about breast and cervical cancer - the top killers of women.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642708-yingluck-should-grasp-this-chance-to-upstage-angelina-editorial/

STOPPAGE TIME
V for 'Very, very vain'
Tulsathit Taptim



BANGKOK: -- Seriously? If a government "by the people and for the people" can't tolerate netizens using a well-known movie-based mask as their avatar, we should start implementing the long-delayed idea of including "front-row Thai politics" in Thailand's tourism promotion. But I have read the news three times and each time it unequivocally quoted Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit as saying that he and party legal experts want to do something about the Guy Fawkes mask phenomenon.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642709-thai-opinion-v-for-very-very-vain/

Parliament security stepped up after blast
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Deputy House Speaker Wisut Chainarun said he had ordered a team of officers to secure nine locations, including the Parliament building, after Sunday's explosion at a market on Ramkhamhaeng Road. Police are coordinating with Parliament's security team on safety measures for everyone involved in Friday's meeting of Parliament, including searches for explosives, Wisut said.

"There will be a special meeting of Parliament on [Friday] discussing the Expenditure Budget Act for Fiscal 2014," said Wisut. "I believe that such measures are sure to improve security at the Parliament Building and the [other] areas designated earlier."

The Metropolitan Police Bureau will secure areas outside the Parliament and monitor activities of various political groups. There hadn't been any signs of activities from such groups yet, an officer said.


-- The Nation 2013-05-29

CHARTER AMENDMENT
Democrats seek to block changes
The Nation

Petition urges dissolution of 6 parties, claims MPs aiming to overthrow constitutional monarchy system

BANGKOK: -- The Democrat Party joined the anti-charter amendment bandwagon yesterday by getting its legal experts to file a petition in the Constitutional Court seeking to block changes to Article 68.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642710-thai-democrats-seek-to-block-charter-changes/

Peace talks 'behind surge in violence'
The Nation


BANGKOK: -- National Security Council secretary-general Lt-General Paradorn Pattanathabutr admitted yesterday the recent flare-up of violence in the deep South broke out because some insurgent groups disagreed with the ongoing peace dialogue.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642711-thai-south-peace-talks-behind-surge-in-violence/

Foreigner Killed in Bangkok Bar Fight

File photo

Three men were shot, and one, a foreigner, fatally wounded, in a bar fight in Bangkok this week.

BANGKOK: -- Police and emergency services were called to the Spicey Pub in the Phathumwan area of the city in response to reports of a gunfight, and treated 33 year old Esam Ali Elhamadi, and two local nationals who had also been shot.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642713-foreigner-killed-in-bangkok-bar-fight/

Manhunt on for German fugitive
Kwanhathai Malakan
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- The police are hunting for the German fugitive who managed to escape Australian police officers guarding him as they waited for a connecting flight at Suvarnabhumi International Airport early on May 17.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642714-manhunt-in-thailand-for-german-fugitive/

Police track components of bomb used in Bangkok
PATINYA IAMTAN
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- Police investigating Sunday night's bomb blast in Bangkok's Soi Ramkhamhaeng 43/1 suspect the bomb components were purchased at a local store in the past two to three days.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642715-police-track-components-of-bomb-used-in-bangkok/

Bangkok planning needs resilience to save billions
Juarawee Kittisilpa
New York

NEW YORK: -- Bangkok has been advised to be resilient in its approach to growth, while its city planning should start early to keep up with urbanisation, as well as mitigate any impact from unforeseeable incidents caused by climate change.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642716-bangkok-planning-needs-resilience-to-save-billions/

NASA's Apollo navigator found dead with rope around neck in Thailand
By Robert Stanton

BANGKOK: -- A retired NASA official who served on the Apollo Navigation Team has been found dead inside a home in Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported Tuesday in its online editions.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642717-n-a-s-as-apollo-navigator-found-dead-with-rope-around-neck-in-thailand/

PUBLIC-HEALTH ROW
Calls for PM to intervene in wrangle
PONGPHON SARNSAMAK.
PUANGCHUMPOO PRASERT
THE NATION



Experts warn Yingluck not to let 'war' between Pradit, rural doctors escalate

BANGKOK: -- Two prominent senior medical officers yesterday warned Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra not to let the "war" between Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong and the Rural Doctors Society escalate to where it becomes uncontrollable.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642722-calls-for-yingluck-to-intervene-in-wrangle-public-health-row/

Three women arrested in Ayutthaya with 1.7 million meth pills, 350 grammes of heroine with total street value of Bt500 million /MCOT

Thai sailors to join anti-piracy mission off Somalia coast
By Digital Media

BANGKOK, May 29 – More than 100 Thai sailors will be dispatched to participate in anti-piracy operations in Somalia for three months next year, according to a government spokesman.

The Defence Ministry, in seeking cabinet approval for the mission, said 126 sailors from Navy Combined Task Force 151 will be on patrol against maritime hijackings in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia between September 1-November 30 next year.

Three batches of naval personnel from the Joint Maritime Task Force will rotate to the area every six months while the navy commander’s delegation will regularly visit the sailors.

The mission will cost Thailand at least Bt33 million. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-05-29

UPDATE:

Libyan man dies, two wounded in Bangkok bar shootout
By Coconuts Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- A shootout on Tuesday night in Spicy Bar in the Phatumwan district resulted in the death of one Libyan national and the wounding of two Thais.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642713-foreigner-killed-in-bangkok-bar-fight/page-3?p=6449979#entry6449979

New financial rule to control capital inflow, outflow
By Digital Media



BANGKOK, May 29 – Thailand's Finance Ministry has announced a move to write a new regulation to control inflows and outflows of foreign capital, a senior cabinet member said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642750-thai-finance-ministry-new-financial-rule-to-control-capital-inflow-outflow/

Thai stock index opens on Wednesday at 1.618.46, down 1.11 points /MCOT

Three women arrested in Ayutthaya with 1.4 million meth pills
By English News

AYUTTHAYA, May 29 -- Thai police have arrested three women drug suspects and seized 1.4 million methamphetamine pills hidden in a roadside bush in the central province of Ayutthaya Tuesday night.

Pol Lt Gen Chaiwat Chotima, chief of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, led some 50 police to inspect the scene at Road Number 347 Pathum Thani-Bang Pahan, near the Asian Highway in Ayutthaya's Bang Pahan district.

At the scene, a pickup truck bearing a Bangkok registration plates was found and some 50 metres from the roadside, seven fertiliser sacks containing packs of meth pills totalling 1.4 million pills.

Police arrested three women, Kanisnan Charoenthangsirisuk, 23, Sunhaporn Wangjai, 32 and Rusarin Lertyosthanakan, 56 all Chiang Rai residents, on suspicion of trafficking drugs.

Gen Chaiwat said that the Narcotics Suppression Bureau received an informant report saying there would be an attempted delivery of a large lot of meth pills to Bangkok and closely monitored movements until a further report confirmed that the drugs were hidden at a roadside wooded area.

He said the police had waited for several days as they were sure that the drug dealers would definitely pick up the drug there.

The three women on the pick up truck finally showed up Tuesday night to claim the illicit drug.

The authorites detained them and said further investigation would be conducted to identify and locate the persons who left the drug there. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-05-29

50 Bangbon students hit with food poisoning

BANGKOK, 29 May 2013 (NNT) -- More than 50 students at Baan Nairien School in Bangbon District were taken to hospital after eating school lunch. Health officials initially suspected they had food poisoning.

Bangbon District Director Rassayaporn Nakonsut revealed that the 50 students shared similar symptoms such as diarrhea, throwing up, and irritating stomach after consuming school lunch. The menu comprised vegetable gourd in pork soup, spicy fried bamboo shoot with pork, and custard bread.

Most of the students fallen ill were 6-13 years old, ranging from 1st to 8th grades. Ms. Rassayaporn said the school rushed them to a nearby health center and two other hospitals, namely Luangphotweesak and Ratchapipat.

She said that the cause of the food poisoning is yet to be identified by health officials, speculating that a preliminary test would be concluded soon.

The majority of the sick students had to spend a night at hospitals, only a few were dismissed after their diagnoses.


-- NNT 2013-05-29

Russian Couple caught stealing hats from Central Pattaya Bazaar

PATTAYA:--A Russian Couple, who met earlier in the night, were caught at a Bazaar in Central Pattaya early on Wednesday Morning, rummaging through market stalls and taking items without making an attempt to pay for them. The Bazaar had closed some hours before.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642757-russian-couple-caught-stealing-hats-from-central-pattaya-bazaar/

Criminal Court rules Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi killed during Red Shirt May 2010 protest died from bullet from state authorities side; could not identify shooter /MCOT

Phuket motorbike thief blames island's lack of public transport
Phuket Gazette


Mr Koson claimed he had no option but to steal the motorbike as there were no buses in Phuket Town at night. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: A 24-year-old local handyman says Phuket’s lack of public transport is the reason he stole a motorbike to go visit a friend.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642763-phuket-motorbike-thief-blames-islands-lack-of-public-transport/

Lack Of Chicken Sauce Led To Shootout

PATTAYA: -- A customer reportedly shot a chicken rice vendor in fury after the vendor refused to give him more chicken sauce for his dish.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642765-lack-of-chicken-sauce-led-to-shootout-in-pattaya/

More than 400 water monitors captured in Samut Sakhon

SAMUT SAKHON, 29 May 2013 (NNT) -- More than 400 water monitors were captured in Samut Sakhon Province after more than 100 local residents had complained the big lizards ate fish, crabs and shrimps raised in their farms.

Director of the Protected Area Regional Office 3 Suthep Boonprakong led a team of officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to capture the invading Water Monitors in the Sub-districts of Yeesan, Praek Nam Daeng, Klong Khone, and Bang Jakreng.

Water Monitors are known to eat fish, frogs, rodents, birds, crabs, and snakes. They have also been known to eat turtles, as well as young crocodiles and crocodile eggs.

After the operation, the captured monitors are moved to Khao Son wildlife breeding center in Jom Beung District, Ratchaburi Province. Monitor lizards are protected animals under the 1992 Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act.

-- NNT 2013-05-29

Car production in April rises 17.4%

BANGKOK, 29 May 2013 (NNT) – Thailand saw a 17.4 percent year-on-year increase in its car production in April this year; production of sedans rose by 105 percent.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642772-thailands-car-production-rises-174-in-april/

Thai troops likely shot Italian journalist: inquest

BANGKOK, May 29, 2013 (AFP) - Thai soldiers are believed to have shot an Italian photographer who was killed during mass opposition street protests in Bangkok in 2010, an official inquest found on Wednesday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642782-thai-troops-likely-shot-italian-journalist-fabio-polenghi-inquest/

UPDATE:
Phuket ferry accident ‘caused by nature’ – marine office
Tanyaluk Sakoot


The ferry as the Marine Police found it, with its bows on the rocks of Koh Gai. Photo Marine Police

PHUKET: -- The director of the Marine Office has praised the captain of the sinking ferry off Phuket yesterday, and has said the accident was “caused by nature”.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/642699-more-than-100-tourists-rescued-from-sinking-phuket-ferry/page-2?p=6450708#entry6450708