Thailand Live Tuesday 14 Apr 2015

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Nakhon Phanom celebrates Songkran in Thai-Lao style

BANGKOK, 14 April 2015 (NNT) - The northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom has kicked off grand Songkran celebrations on Khao Pun road. This year's event is under the theme of Thai-Lao culture and friendship.

Nakhon Phanom Governor Adisak Thepsan on Monday presided over the opening ceremony of the "Songkran Nakhon Phanom: Thai-Lao New Year" event at Khao Pun road along the Mekong river. At the opening ceremony, there were cultural performances by people from eight tribes in the province as well as artists from the neighboring country. Free local dishes were handed out to the revelers.

Nakhon Phanom is one of the 13 provinces where Songkran celebrations sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand are held. Khao Pun road is also one of the country's most popular Songkran celebration venues.


-- NNT 2015-04-14

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Thailand is the Most Religious Country in the World

Thailand has been voted the most religious country in the world. According to the Guardian, 94% of people state that they are religious in the country. China, on the other hand, has a very drastic difference. Only 6% of people in China said they were religious, and 61% state that they are atheists.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817166-thailand-is-the-most-religious-country-in-the-world/

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SURVEY:

Is it in Thailand's interest to be closely aligned with China?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/816746-is-it-in-thailands-interest-to-be-closely-aligned-with-china/

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8 Arrested in Car Rental Heist

Stock photo - Car thief using tool to break into car

Car theft is on the rise in Thailand. While not a new crime, many thieves are now targeting rental car services instead of individuals. Vehicles are often resold or have their parts removed for resale in other countries.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817156-8-arrested-in-car-rental-heist/

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French Travelers Rank Thailand Fourth on Dream Destinations List

Stock Image - dream vacation

In a recent survey by the Paris-based research company Ipsos, French travelers ranked Thailand number 4 on their top 5 dream destinations in 2015.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817157-french-travelers-rank-thailand-fourth-on-dream-destinations-list/

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Live Concert and Foaming Ban at Songkran Party Met With Protests

Protestors hit the streets on Monday to voice their concerns of banning a live concert and foam party at this year’s Songkran festival. The protestors were seen on U-Thong road and included 100 youths and vendors.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817159-live-concert-and-foaming-ban-at-songkran-party-met-with-protests/

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Phuket Continues its Search for Lost American Diver

Joshua Devine. Source: Internet

Phuket’s Marine Police are still searching for an American diver who went missing from a liveaboard [RE1] boat bound for Similans. The scuba diver has been missing since Saturday morning.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817160-phuket-continues-its-search-for-lost-american-diver/

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Songkran: Selling High-Pressure Water Guns Could Land You in Jail

Tourists celebrating Songkran in 2014

The sale of high-pressure water guns during the Songkran festival could land you in jail for up to five years. The Royal Thai Police Consumer Protection Division warned of the consequences of selling prohibited water guns, which may also lead to a fine of 500,000 baht. Those who are responsible for importing the guns face even harsher penalties of up to 10 years in jail or a fine of up to 1 million baht.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817163-songkran-selling-high-pressure-water-guns-could-land-you-in-jail/

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Thailand Fine Dining Reservations Offered With a Click of a Button

Fine dining has never been easier in Thailand. Eztable, based in Taiwan, allows Thais to quickly reserve tables online. Using partner restaurants, Eztable allows users to search and book tables in real-time. Users that reserve a table also receive a rebate of up to 5%.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817164-thailand-fine-dining-reservations-offered-with-a-click-of-a-button/

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PM suggests enhancement of farmers' markets

BANGKOK, 14 April 2015 (NNT) – Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has recommended related officials to further develop farmers’ markets in a bid to assist Thai farmers amidst economic uncertainty.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817180-pm-prayut-suggests-enhancement-of-farmers-markets/

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Evidence at guards' homes linked to Samui car bomb
THE NATION

THREE MALL GUARDS HELD AFTER GIVING CONFLICTING STATEMENTS TO POLICE; NOW IN MILITARY CUSTODY

BANGKOK: -- POLICE found evidence during a search of three homes belonging to security guards working at Central Festival on Koh Samui that they believe is linked to the car-bomb attack on the shopping mall on Friday night.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817181-evidence-at-guards-homes-linked-to-samui-car-bomb/

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Songkran starts with a sober splash
THE NATION

OFFICIALS PRESIDED OVER MERIT-MAKING EVENTS AND MARKED THAI TRADITIONS

BANGKOK: -- MOST SONGKRAN revellers yesterday celebrated the water festival in a buoyant, well-behaved manner around the country - but drunken youths gave the organiser of a Buri Ram event "headaches" and were duly sent to "hell" as punishment.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817182-songkran-starts-with-a-sober-splash/

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Premiers past and present offer Songkran wishes
THE NATION

PROMINENT POLITICIANS yesterday offered Songkran blessings and good wishes to Thai people and the country as a whole.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817183-premiers-past-and-present-offer-songkran-wishes/

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Geriatric medicine unit to be national model
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE Public Health Ministry marked National Day of Older People yesterday by vowing to speedily turn the Supreme Patriarch Nyanasanwara Geriatric Medicine Institute into a national prototype for medical treatment for the elderly.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817184-geriatric-medicine-unit-to-be-national-model/

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Those with links to pyramid scheme will face arrest: police
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- EVERYONE found to be involved in an alleged pyramid scheme that has affected more than 100,000 people and led to more than Bt10 billion in damages will be arrested and face legal action, a senior police officer said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817185-those-with-links-to-pyramid-scheme-will-face-arrest-thai-police/

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EDITORIAL
Govt still looking for solutions to problems on high seas
The Nation

Air Force planes rescuing fishermen from forced slavery is impressive, but human trafficking is not being tackled at its roots

BANGKOK: -- It was good to see the government dispatch aircraft to bring home 68 Thai fishery workers from Indonesia last week, raising to around 250 the retrieval of Thais believed to have been forced to work on trawlers, while some 150 were still waiting for a flight back to their own country.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817186-thai-govt-still-looking-for-solutions-to-problems-on-high-seas/

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Four-pronged attack against drug trafficking in region
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thailand will join China, India and South Korea in suppressing trade in drug-precursor chemicals, while the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) plans to propose Narcotics Act amendments to Justice Minister General Paiboon Khumchaya next month.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817187-four-pronged-attack-against-drug-trafficking-in-region/

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Three killed in latest attacks down South
The Nation

NARATHIWAT: -- A sub-district health official was gunned down yesterday morning in Narathiwat's Rusoh district, while a rubber farmer and his wife were shot dead in Yala's Yaha district. Police put the attacks down to the ongoing unrest in the region.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817188-three-killed-in-latest-attacks-in-thailands-deep-south/

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Former US envoy for North Korea nominated to post in Thailand

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has nominated a former U.S. envoy for North Korea policy, Glyn Davies, as ambassador to Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817189-former-us-envoy-for-north-korea-nominated-to-post-in-thailand/

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Rubio tells supporters he is running for White House
By PHILIP ELLIOTT and BRENDAN FARRINGTON

MIAMI (AP) — Sen. Marco Rubio entered the presidential race Monday by offering the nation a younger generation of leadership that breaks free of ideas "stuck in the 20th century," a jab at both Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton and his one-time Republican mentor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817191-rubio-tells-supporters-he-is-running-for-white-house/

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Ex-guards get lengthy prison sentences for Iraq shootings
By SAM HANANEL

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rejecting pleas for mercy, a federal judge on Monday sentenced former Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten to life in prison and three others to 30-year terms for their roles in a 2007 shooting that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817192-us-blackwater-guards-jailed-for-iraq-deaths/

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German mother of 13 pregnant with quadruplets at age 65

BERLIN (AP) — A 65-year-old German mother of 13 is getting ready to give birth again — this time to quadruplets.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817193-german-mother-of-13-pregnant-with-quadruplets-at-age-65/

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Russia lifts ban on delivery of S-300 missiles to Iran
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Monday sanctioned the delivery of a highly capable Russian air defense missile system to Iran, a game changer move that would significantly bolster the Islamic republic's military capability and fuel Israel's concerns.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817194-russia-lifts-ban-on-delivery-of-s-300-missiles-to-iran/

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Killer Jodi Arias gets life term with no chance for release
By JACQUES BILLEAUD and JOSH HOFFNER

PHOENIX (AP) — The nearly seven-year legal saga of Jodi Arias ended Monday as a judge sentenced her to life in prison for killing her ex-boyfriend, and the victim's sisters unleashed their pain over the 2008 murder that captivated social media with its salacious details.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817195-us-killer-jodi-arias-gets-life-term-with-no-chance-for-release/

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Clinton's second act: Her long road to 2016 decision
By JULIE PACE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Around Christmas, Hillary Rodham Clinton set off on her annual holiday vacation at Oscar de la Renta's beachfront estate in the Dominican Republic.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817196-clintons-second-act-her-long-road-to-2016-decision/

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Police On the Hunt for a ‘Man in Blue’ in Samui Bomb Case


Truck used in bombing

Police are looking to identify a man dressed in blue who is believed to be the driver of the truck used in the Samui bombing this weekend.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817161-police-on-the-hunt-for-a-man-in-blue-in-samui-bomb-case/

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800,000 children forced from homes in Boko Haram violence
MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The children's drawings show men with guns, a coffin, a car exploding. One picture has stick-like figures of eight siblings missed by their teenage sister.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817199-800000-children-forced-from-homes-in-boko-haram-violence/

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Nina Ricci heir convicted of tax fraud after HSBC leaks
PHILIPPE SOTTO, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A 73-year-old heiress of the fashion and perfume house Nina Ricci was convicted of tax fraud Monday and sentenced to a year in prison for hiding millions of euros in the Swiss accounts of the HSBC bank before getting caught in a massive leak of names.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817202-nina-ricci-heir-convicted-of-tax-fraud-after-hsbc-leaks/

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UPDATE:

Family of Western Mass. native Joshua Devine, missing from boat in Thailand, looking for answers
By Jeanette DeForge

ENFIELD, Connecticut — - Everything Joshua Devine's family has heard so far about his weekend disappearance from a dive boat in Thailand just seems wrong.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817160-phuket-continues-its-search-for-lost-american-diver/#entry9301947

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DDC: Yogurt does not reduce alcohol level in blood

BANGKOK, 14 April 2015, (NNT) - The Department of Disease Control (DDC) has indicated that eating yogurt does not help reduce the level of alcohol in blood stream.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/817211-thai-ddc-yogurt-does-not-reduce-alcohol-level-in-blood/