Thailand Live Friday 20 Mar 2015

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Five dead babies found in house in southern France
PARIS

(Reuters) - Police have found the corpses of four babies in the freezer at a house in southern France, after a man reported finding a dead baby in a cooler bag in his family's home, a police source told Reuters on Thursday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810331-french-police-discovers-bodies-of-5-babies-in-house/

[thai tech]

Big in Asia, Line app hopes cute factor will win worldwide



SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty: Move over. And make way for laidback Brown bear and his irrepressible girlfriend Cony the bunny.

Once just digital stickers that users of mobile messaging app Line send to each other like emoticons, the bear, the bunny and their seven friends will soon be unleashed through stores, virtual reality and possibly an animated film.

For smartphone users in Asia where most of Line’s 181 million monthly users are located, the characters are as familiar as old school icons such as Hello Kitty and Disney’s animated stars. They are not well known in America or Europe but owner Line Corp. hopes to change that.

Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/big-in-asia-line-app-hopes-cute-factor-will-win-worldwide/7303/

[thai tech]

Thousands of iOS and Android apps remain vulnerable to FREAK

Almost 2,000 iOS and Android apps remain vulnerable to the FREAK security flaw, according to online security company FireEye.

Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/thousands-of-ios-and-android-apps-remain-vulnerable-to-freak/7310/

[thai tech]

US turns to rewards in hunt for overseas cyber criminals

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI considers Evgeniy Bogachev one of the world’s most prolific and brilliant cyber criminals, slapping his photos — bald, beefy-faced and smiling faintly — on “Wanted” fliers posted online. The Russian would be an ideal target for prosecution — if only the Justice Department could find him.

Unable to bring him into custody in the 10 months since his indictment, the government has turned to a time-honored technique long used for more conventional crime: putting a bounty on Bogachev’s head.

Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/us-turns-to-rewards-in-hunt-for-overseas-cyber-criminals/7318/

[thai tech]

Older generation slow to adopt smartphones

We all live increasingly with our smartphones, computers and other gadgets. In the US, where more than 171 million people (71%) own a smartphone, they have become the staple of every day life and the device of choice for anyone that wants to catch up on their emails, check their social networks, or simply send a Tweet about a sports result.

In the US at least, millennials are one of the largest population segments, and these young consumers are the largest segment of smartphone owners. Last year, more than 85% of millennials between 18 and 24 owned devices and 86% aged 25 to 45 owned them.

It seems that age still plays a role in the ownership of so-called ‘smart’ devices, as shown in the above chart by Nielson. Unsurprisingly, people over 65 represent the lowest adoption rate for smartphones, at just 46.3%, as of 2014.

Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/stubborn-people-refuse-smartphone/7291/

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Hawaii property where 'Magnum, P.I.' filmed sold

HONOLULU (AP) — A sprawling beachfront home used in the filming of the 1980s television show "Magnum, P.I." has been sold for $8.7 million.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810360-hawaii-property-where-magnum-pi-filmed-sold/

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SET up 1.72 points at opening /Bangkok Post

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Gen Prawit: Thailand committed to tackling human trafficking in fishing industry

BANGKOK, 20 March 2015 (NNT) – Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan is poised to reiterate to the international community that Thailand has been putting its best efforts into the fight against human trafficking in the fishery sector.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810368-gen-prawit-thailand-committed-to-tackling-human-trafficking-in-fishing-industry/

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Suspect in the murder of a local businessman reenacts his crime for police investigation



KOH SAMUI: -- Yesterday (March 19th) police and army officers cordoned off the area in Bophut where a local businessman known as Tak was gunned down on March 6th.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810371-suspect-in-the-murder-of-a-local-businessman-reenacts-his-crime-for-police-investigation/

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Haze does not cloud Chiang Mai tourism outlook



CHIANG MAI: -- Hazardous fire haze now blanketing several northern provinces does not cloud tourism outlook of Chiang Mai and other northern cities with hotel bookings now over 90% for the upcoming Songkran festival next month.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810374-haze-does-not-cloud-chiang-mai-tourism-outlook/

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GENEVA (AP) - Emails show UN health agency resisted declaring Ebola emergency on economic, political grounds.

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Songkhla prison chief moved
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Corrections Department chief Wittaya Suriyawong has approved the transfer of Songkhla Prison director Suchin Damkraden after a recent raid led by the Army uncovered illicit drugs and mobile phones in the prison as well as several inmates testing positive for drug use.

Suchin has been moved to the post of inspector-general at the Corrections Department.

Amnat Prachyapan, chief of the Bureau of Penology, will replace Suchin, while the department's inspector-general Sorasit Chongcharoen will take over as bureau chief. Wittaya also signed the transfer of 32 senior officials from prisons nationwide.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Songkhla-prison-chief-moved-30256381.html


-- The Nation 2015-03-20

[thai tech]

PrimeTime video streaming service launches in Thailand

PrimeTime has more than a thousand blockbuster movies and two thousand TV episodes on offer each year, from some of the major studios like Walt Disney, Paramount, Fox, Sony Pictures and more. The videos are streamed in full HD (1080p) and come with DTS Surround 5.1 audio.

Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/primetime-video-streaming-thailand/7356/

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Haze may linger till end of April



BANGKOK: -- The haze in Northern Thailand may last longer till end of April unless fire hotspots across the border are put under control, warned Dr Anond Snidvongs, executive director of the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810389-haze-in-northern-thailand-may-linger-till-end-of-april/

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Grammy drops IP threats after public threatens to drop GMM
By Coconuts Bangkok



BANGKOK: -- Record label GMM Grammy has stepped back from threats to prosecute venues for unauthorized use of its music.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810390-grammy-drops-ip-threats-after-public-threatens-to-drop-gmm/

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Elderly Thai man jailed for 'royal insult' graffiti
AFP

BANGKOK: -- An elderly Thai man was jailed by a military court Friday for scrawling graffiti in a shopping mall toilet critical of the country's junta leaders and its revered king.

Thailand's monarch Bhumibol Adulyadej, 87, is protected by one of the world's toughest royal defamation rules under which anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.

Ophas Chansuksei, a 67-year-old pin-badge vendor, received a year and a half sentence for writing anti-monarchy and anti-government messages in an eastern Bangkok mall last October.

The judge described the comments as "false" and said they "lowered the value of the king". His sentence was cut from three years because he pleaded guilty, the judge added.

An AFP reporter inside the military court said Ophas, grey-haired and dressed in rose coloured prison clothes, remained impassive as the sentence was read out.

But his wife struggled to hold back her tears.

Speaking after sentencing, Ophas said he was relieved that the sentence had been reduced for his guilty plea.

"Soldiers told me when I was detained that if I didn't like someone I should keep it in my heart. I shouldn't have done it," he told AFP.

During the brief hearing the judge read out what Ophas had written on the wall. The majority of his comments were critical of Thailand's junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who imposed martial law and then seized power in a coup last May.

But one sentence made reference to King Bhumibol.

Reporting lese majeste cases is fraught with difficulty and media must heavily self-censor. Even repeating details of the charges could mean breaking the law under section 112.

Rights groups say basic freedoms have fallen off a cliff since last May's military takeover, following the ousting of Yingluck's democratically elected government, and that draconian lese majeste legislation is increasingly being used as a tool to stifle political opposition.

Under martial law, political gatherings of more than five people are banned, criticism of the junta is outlawed and civilians can be tried in military courts for national security or lese majeste offences.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-03-20

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SET down 9.65 to 1,522.48 at noon /Bangkok Post

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Court orders Klongchan Credit Union enters rehabilitation scheme

BANGKOK: -- The Central Bankruptcy Court today ordered the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative to enter rehabilitation plan to recover its financial trouble with instruction that the plan be completed in three months.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810401-court-orders-klongchan-credit-union-enters-rehabilitation-scheme/

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Assistant mayor ambushed but maid seriously injured

TRANG: -- A female assistant mayor of Trang City narrowly escaped death but her Maid was seriously injured when she was ambushed by gunmen wielding M16 assault rifles.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810403-assistant-mayor-ambushed-but-maid-seriously-injured/

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Junta Open to Amnesty for Political Prisoners
By Khaosod English

BANGKOK — A top leader in Thailand's military junta says the regime is open to granting amnesty to political prisoners in Thailand if the move will help bring about national reconciliation between the country's divided factions.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810407-thai-govt-open-to-amnesty-for-political-prisoners/

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Labor Ministry lays foundation stone for a new skill development building

BANGKOK, 20 March 2015 (NNT) – Labor Minister General Surasak Karnjanarat has laid a foundation stone for a new skill development building.

The new building, which belongs to the Department of Skill Development, serves as a comprehensive center for people wishing to improve their vocational skills. It will provide such services as vocational training, skill enhancement training and certification.

Once completed, the building will house different agencies under the Department of Skill Development to enable those bodies to work more closely and systematically. The top floor will function as the meeting hall with a fully-equipped audio visual room. The ground floor will consist of a large parking lot and a multi-purpose area.

General Surasak said that the launch of this building was aimed at boosting Thai laborers’ skills in preparation for the emergence of ASEAN Economic Community, adding that development of productivity and quality of Thai laborers would be the key to the country’s competitiveness in the global arena.


-- NNT 2015-03-20

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Emails: UN health agency resisted declaring Ebola emergency
By MARIA CHENG and RAPHAEL SATTER

GENEVA (AP) — In a delay that some say may have cost lives, the World Health Organization resisted calling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a public health emergency until last summer, two months after staff raised the possibility and long after a senior manager called for a drastic change in strategy, The Associated Press has learned.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810412-emails-un-health-agency-resisted-declaring-ebola-emergency/

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Thailand outsources visa application service to VFS Global in Kolkata

KOLKATA, India: -- The Royal Thai Consulate-General, Kolkata today officially launched visa application service at a VFS Global centre in the city, stated a release. For the first time, applicants in Kolkata will be able to submit their visa applications at a modern facility with five dedicated counters.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810413-thai-consulate-in-kolkata-outsources-visa-application-service-to-vfs-global/

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Dawn raids in Koh Samui by 700 police and soldiers

KOH SAMUI: -- This morning at 6am 700 police and army officers carried out a dawn raid in Koh Samui. During the raid 26 individuals were targeted.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810415-dawn-raids-in-koh-samui-by-700-police-and-soldiers/

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Air Force plane skids off runway at Chiang Mai



CHIANG MAI: -- A Royal Thai Air Force plane skidded off the runway after one of its tyres blew up shortly after landing at Chiang Mai airport today.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810416-air-force-plane-skids-off-runway-at-chiang-mai/

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Rude farang flips off locals and vehicles in Udon road giving locals the finger (VIDEO)
By Coconuts Bangkok



BANGKOK: -- It’s important to remember rude guests can come from all places, East and West.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810420-rude-farang-flips-off-locals-and-vehicles-in-udon-road-giving-locals-the-finger/

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Prayut wants heart from media as birthday gift



Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said he wanted "heart" from media representatives as birthday gift.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810423-prayut-wants-heart-from-media-as-birthday-gift/

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Public referendum hinges on NCPO's discretion

BANGKOK, 20 March 2015 (NNT) - The spokesperson of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has stated that the decision whether to hold a public referendum on the new constitution rests with the government and the National Council for Peace and Order.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810431-thai-constitution-public-referendum-hinges-on-ncpos-discretion/

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Pridiyathorn foresees delay for VAT hike

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said on Friday that the government may postpone an increase in value-added tax (VAT) by another year, due to sagging economic condition.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810432-pridiyathorn-foresees-delay-for-vat-hike/

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ECONOMY
Stronger economic headwinds anticipated
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Weaker-than-expected domestic spending is highlighted as the key factor that slow the Thai economic recovery, said the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/810434-stronger-economic-headwinds-anticipated/