NRC’s Tienchai is concerned about the time available to council

BANGKOK, 29 Jan 2015, (NNT) - According to the Spokesperson for the Whip Committee of the National Reform Council (NRC) Wanchai Sornsiri, the NRC President Tienchai Kiranan has expressed his concern about the time limit on the council's deliberations, saying that it might not be able to complete its task within the remaining time.

Mr. Wanchai said the President therefore instructs all council members to race against time, and work with urgency in their areas of responsibility in shaping reform, as the NRC has only 6-9 months left on the calender.

At present, there are 36 reform items on the agenda and seven issues relating to long-term projects. The key issues being corruption prevention, political party restructuring, power decentralization, restructuring of the Royal Thai Police and securing the energy sector.

The spokesperson said the guidelines for dealing with the 36 main issues will be announced by February 27th, while the solutions and reform procedures will be presented before April 10th. These proposals will then be forwarded to the National Council for Peace and Order, the Cabinet and the National Legislative Assembly for consideration at a later date.

Mr. Wanchai said if any of the resolutions require law amendments, the necessary steps should be taken before July 31st.


-- NNT 2015-01-29

PM wants Surapong to face junta summons
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that he would instruct the junta to summon former foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul over comments seen as deepening the national divide.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795728-pm-wants-surapong-to-face-junta-summons/

Protest lodged with US
The Nation


US charge d'affairs Patrick Murphy leaves the Foreign Ministry building after meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday.

ENVOY SUMMONED AND TOLD THAT OFFICIAL'S COMMENTS 'HURT' THAI SENTIMENTS AND WERE AN 'INTERFERENCE IN THAILAND'S INTERNAL AFFAIRS'

BANGKOK: -- IN A MOVE seen as an attempt to protect what Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called "national dignity", the Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned US charge d'affaires Patrick Murphy to express disappointment over the comments by a senior American official.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795729-thailand-lodges-protest-with-us-over-comments/

'Refocused' Cobra Gold to go ahead
WIRAJ SRIPONG
THE NATION


Cobra Gold 2013 (File Photo). AFP Photo

BANGKOK: -- WHILE this year's regional joint military drill - Cobra Gold - will go ahead, Washington has considered scaling down and refocusing the exercise after the military coup in Thailand, according to diplomatic sources.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795730-refocused-cobra-gold-to-go-ahead/

CDC to make NACC 'more powerful'
KRIS BHROMSUTHI
THE NATION


The Constitution Drafting Committee meets at Parliament yesterday to work on the new charter.

MEMBERS OF ANTI-GRAFT AGENCY TO GET NINE-YEAR TERM FOR COMPLETING PROBES

BANGKOK: -- THE CONSTITUTION Drafting Committee (CDC) yesterday unanimously agreed on a significant issue - that the country's anti-graft agency needs to be reformed.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795731-cdc-to-make-nacc-more-powerful/

DNA tests show one man behind rapes
NOPPADON SRITAWEEKART,
ARITACH PORN-ASAVAYOTHIN
THE NATION



POLICE OFFER BT200,000 FOR ANY TIP-OFFS THAT CAN LEAD TO ARREST OF SERIAL RAPIST

BANGKOK: -- DNA tests have confirmed that one man is responsible for 10 sexual attacks targeting elderly women.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795732-thai-police-dna-tests-show-one-man-behind-rapes/

South peace talks back on track with new guidelines
ANAPAT DEECHUAY
THE NATION


Officials inspect the site where a bomb targeting soldiers was detonated earlier yesterday in Pattani

BANGKOK: -- MOVES for a peace dialogue between security authorities and insurgents in the deep South have officially resumed. The resumption follows the military seizure of power in May last year.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795733-thai-south-peace-talks-back-on-track-with-new-guidelines/

TOURISM
Tourism forum expects bright future for SE Asia
SUCHAT SRITAMA
The Nation
Nay Pyi Taw

BANGKOK: -- Tourism operators in Southeast Asia expect huge arrival numbers, while Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar will play a great role in this.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795734-tourism-forum-expects-bright-future-for-se-asia/

THAI
No plan for major lay-offs, says THAI president
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Reduction of staff will not be among the priority measures for financially strapped national carrier Thai Airways International under its two-year cost-cutting exercise, company president Charamporn Jotikasthira said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795735-no-plan-for-major-lay-offs-says-thai-president/

EDITORIAL
Use carrot and stick to rein in rogue cabbies
The Nation

High-profile scams at the airport are threatening Thailand's allure for tourists

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok's taxi drivers are once again in the spotlight for overcharging, after recent complaints by foreign visitors and expats garnered huge attention on the social media. Two Japanese expats, both of them long-term Thailand residents, drew much support from both the locals and foreign tourists for their separate condemnations of cab drivers who refused to use the meter and attempted to overcharge them.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795736-high-profile-scams-at-the-airport-are-threatening-thailands-allure-for-tourists/

THAI TALK
How can the charter writers curb populist policies?
Suthichai Yoon
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The charter drafters are looking for ways to put an end to populist policies among politicians. That's an uphill task. Some may even say it's Mission Impossible.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795737-thai-talk-how-can-the-charter-writers-curb-populist-policies/

Four Kuwait Tourists injured in “altercation” with staff from Pattaya Go Kart Track



PATTAYA: -- On Wednesday Night, Police were called to a Go Kart track located in South Pattaya following allegations of an assault by 20 Thai Men on 4 customers from Kuwait.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795739-four-kuwait-tourists-injured-in-altercation-with-staff-from-pattaya-go-kart-track/

Pattaya Police search for Middle-Easterners following theft of money from Russian



PATTAYA: -- Pattaya Police are currently searching for a Middle-Eastern man, woman and child, who are suspected of being involved in the theft of US Dollars from a Russian Tourist outside of a 24 hour convenience store in Naklua early on Wednesday Morning.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795740-pattaya-police-search-for-middle-easterners-following-theft-of-money-from-russian/

Firearms incident at North Pattaya Pub



PATTAYA: -- In the early hours of Wednesday Pattaya Police were made aware of a shooting which occurred in the car park of a popular Thai Pub at the Northern end of Pattaya 3rd Road.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795741-firearms-incident-at-north-pattaya-pub/

Prayut says Yingluck can't leave the country if she faces trial in court



BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the former prime minister could not leave the country if she faces court cases or have been prohibited by the court to leave the country.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795742-prayut-says-yingluck-cant-leave-thailand-if-she-faces-trial-in-court/

TELL IT AS IT IS
To Secretary Daniel Russel: Please open your mind and be fair
Pornpimol Kanchanalak
Special to The Nation

BANGKOK: -- We understand that the United States wishes to see every country in the world adopt representative democracy under the principles of liberalism whereby the rights of the individual are protected under the law. However, it is hard to comprehend how you could equate elections with liberal democracy.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795743-to-secretary-daniel-russel-please-open-your-mind-and-be-fair/

Novice on alms round killed
The Nation

KANCHANABURI: -- A 17-year-old novice on his morning round for alms was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Kanchanaburi's Tha Maka district yesterday.

Poor visibility due to thick fog was believed to have contributed to the accident, which occurred at 6.45am on Sai Saeng Chuto Road in Tambon Tha Mai.

Novice Tuntikorn Putisarn, who was ordained only a month ago, was collecting alms when he was hit, just one kilometre from Wat Dong Sak.

Eyewitnesses told police that they saw a pick-up truck of unknown licence plate number and colour driving on the opposite lane when it hit the novice and fled the scene.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Novice-on-alms-round-killed-30252909.html


-- The Nation 2015-01-29

Thailand ranks low in world talent competitiveness index
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- THAILAND IS ranked 61st out of 93 countries in the most recent Global Talent Competitiveness Index.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795744-thailand-ranks-low-in-world-talent-competitiveness-index/

BURNING ISSUE
How long will junta administer bitter pill of martial law?
ATTAYUTH BOOTSRIPOOM

BANGKOK: -- THE MAIN reason why the National Council for Peace and Order still retains public support following its seizure of power is because peace has endured since the May 22 coup.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795745-thai-politics-how-long-will-junta-administer-bitter-pill-of-martial-law/

Police seek public advice on prospective reform
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Gathering public opinion on police force reform should be done in 30 days, deputy national police chief Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakan said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795746-thai-police-seek-public-advice-on-prospective-reform/

Hezbollah fires missile salvo, killing 2 Israeli soldiers
By ARIEL SCHALIT and ZEINA KARAM

SHEAR YASHUV, Israel (AP) — The Lebanese militant Hezbollah group fired a salvo of missiles at an Israeli military convoy in a disputed border area Wednesday, killing two soldiers and triggering deadly clashes that marked the most serious escalation since the sides' 2006 war.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795747-hezbollah-fires-missile-salvo-killing-2-israeli-soldiers/

Tuk Tuk Drivers Arrested For Harassing Tourists
Published by Stickboy BKK



BANGKOK: -- Police arrested two tuk tuk drivers on Wednesday afternoon for harassing and attempting to scam tourists.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795748-bangkok-tuk-tuk-drivers-arrested-for-harassing-foreign-tourists/

Jordan offers swap to Islamic State group to save pilot
By KARIN LAUB and MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan offered a precedent-setting prisoner swap to the Islamic State group Wednesday in a desperate attempt to save a Jordanian air force pilot the militants purportedly threatened to kill, along with a Japanese hostage.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795749-jordan-offers-swap-to-islamic-state-group-to-save-pilot/

Treasure hunter who found a fortune in gold is captured
By AMANDA LEE MYERS and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A treasure hunter accused of cheating his investors out of their share of one of the richest hauls in U.S. history — $50 million in gold bars and coins from a 19th-century shipwreck — was captured at an upscale Florida hotel after more than two years on the lam.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795750-us-treasure-hunter-who-found-a-fortune-in-gold-is-captured/

Castro demands Guantanamo Bay in return for US-Cuba diplomatic deal

(BBC) Cuba has demanded the US hand back the Guantanamo Bay military base before relations with Washington are normalised.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795751-castro-demands-guantanamo-bay-in-return-for-us-cuba-diplomatic-deal/

TV star's plastic surgery disaster tests Brazil
By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

SAO PAULO (AP) — Andressa Urach went from being a single teenage mom nicknamed "Beanpole" to a reality TV bombshell in Brazil thanks to silicone implants, anabolic steroids, a nose job, and gel and botox injections, a fact she wasn't ashamed to share with fans.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795752-tv-stars-plastic-surgery-disaster-tests-brazil/

Attorney General nominee defends Obama immigration changes
By ERICA WERNER and ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting skeptical Republicans, attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch pledged a new start with Congress and independence from President Barack Obama Wednesday, even as she defended the president's unilateral protections for millions of immigrants in the country illegally.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795753-attorney-general-nominee-defends-obama-immigration-changes/

Inquest: Sydney café hostage killed by police bullet
KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) — A lawyer assisting a coroner says a hostage who died during a siege in a downtown Sydney café was killed when she was struck by fragments of a police bullet.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795758-inquest-sydney-cafe-hostage-killed-by-police-bullet/

Land Transport Dept will hold talks with taxi drivers and operators today to finalise a proposed surcharge increase, Transport Minister Prajin Juntong says. /Bangkok Post

MNRE pushes for Andaman Sea as a World Heritage Site

BANGKOK, 29 Jan 2015, (NNT) - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) is pushing for the Andaman Sea to be registered as a world heritage site.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/795838-thai-ministry-to-propose-andaman-sea-as-a-world-heritage-site/