Thailand Live Wednesday 20 May 2015

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EU-based NGO produces commercial discouraging Thai fisheries imports

BANGKOK, 20 May 2015, (NNT) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) has revealed that a non-governmental organization based in the European Union (EU) has produced an advertisement discouraging Europeans from buying Thai fishery products.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826633-eu-based-ngo-produces-commercial-discouraging-thai-fisheries-imports/

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DDPM: 49 provinces affected by tropical storms

BANGKOK, 20 May 2015 (NNT)-The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has revealed that 49 provinces have been affected by tropical storms.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826634-49-thai-provinces-affected-by-tropical-storms/

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Thailand Post unveils new stamp collection for Nepal

CHIANG MAI, 20 May 2015 (NNT) – Thailand Post has unveiled a new stamp collection urging Thai philatelists to help raise funds for quake victims in Nepal.

The new collection, entitled 'Thailand Post for Nepal', consists of 20 stamps, each depicting different scenic spots and the daily life of Nepalese people, photographed before the tremors, by 2009 National Artist Woranan Chatchawantipakorn, and 1989 S.E.A. WRITE Award winner Jiranan Pitpreecha, as well as other well-known photographers.

The stamps are selling for 120 baht a set. Half of the proceeds will be donated to the disaster victims in Nepal through the Thai Red Cross Society. Those interested in acquiring this limited edition of Nepal series stamps can make a reservation at post offices across the country or order it through the website www.postemart.com or line stampinlove. For more information please call 0 2831 3856.


-- NNT 2015-05-20

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Consumer officials give Phuket condo developer 1 week to solve problem
The Phuket News

Consumer Protection boss Ampon Wongsiri: We must have something on paper.

PHUKET: -- Officials from the Consumer Protection Board (CPB) in Bangkok were in Phuket yesterday (May 19) to push for an urgent solution to problems between the developers of the Ace 1 condominium project and buyers.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826635-consumer-officials-give-phuket-condo-developer-1-week-to-solve-problem/

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Lifeguards finally back on Phuket beaches today
Tanyaluk Sakoot


One of the lifeguard stations at Kata Beach.

PHUKET: -- The island’s beach lifeguards finally went back on duty at 13 beaches around the island today (May 20) after Phuket Life Guard Service Co Ltd (PLGS) signed a contract with the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (OrBorJor) on Friday (May 15). The OrBorJor pays for the service.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826637-lifeguards-finally-back-on-phuket-beaches-today/

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PM says shunted officials are not guilty yet



BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha pleaded with members of the public not to view the Tuesday’s removal of two permanent secretaries by the cabinet as a proof that they are guilty of wrongdoings of some sort.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826638-pm-prayut-says-removed-officials-are-not-guilty-yet/

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UPDATE:

Army chief says there is no need for new shelter to house Rohingya migrants



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Defence Minister and Army Commander-in-Chief General Udomdej Seetabutr announced on Wednesday that there is no need yet for Thailand to open a new shelter to accommodate Rohingya migrants.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826630-rohingya-are-illegal-migrants-not-refugees-thai-army-chief/#entry9426461

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Chiang Mai volunteers trained in anti-drug operations

CHIANG MAI, 20 May 2015 (NNT) – Security authorities and health officials in Fang district of Chiang Mai province have joined hands in a special training exercise aimed at enhancing the skills of anti-drug campaign volunteers.

The opening ceremony was chaired by chief of the district’s Drug Prevention and Suppression Operation Center. More than 200 volunteers across the district have participated in the program.

The volunteers will be educated by security authorities and health experts on essential skills and best practice when it comes to performing duties in risk-prone areas. These include search and seizure of illegal items, entering a suspect’s home, club operations and emergency rescue.

Participating agencies included Fang district police, Volunteer Defense Corps, border patrol police and Fang Hospital. The training exercise was prompted by a report that over 100 villages in Fang district are susceptible to drug-related crimes.

Drug problems have been a major concern for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The NCPO last year declared drug prevention and suppression part of the national agenda.


-- NNT 2015-05-20

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Yellowshirt Protester Gets 3 Years in Jail for Trying to Kill Police
By Khaosod English

BANGKOK — A former Yellowshirt protester was sentenced to three years and four months in prison today for attempting to run over a group of police officers in 2008.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826642-yellowshirt-protester-gets-3-years-in-jail-for-trying-to-kill-police/

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Tiny venomous jellyfishes plague Krabi beaches



KRABI: -- Beach-goers and bathers have been warned to take extra care after the Than Bok Khorani national park reported sightings of “huge numbers” of several species of deadly small jellyfishes in the Krabi sea.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826644-tiny-venomous-jellyfishes-plague-krabi-beaches/

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Couple arrested with 216 kgs of opium in Nong Khai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A married couple were arrested in Nong Khai's Sangkhom district on Tuesday for having allegedly run an opium factory.

Acting on tips-off, police and troops raided the house of Prasong Anchalee and Ubon Anchalee and found processed and raw opium with a combined weight of 216 kilogrammes. The authorities made the raid after they learned that the two had smuggled opium from Laos.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Couple-arrested-with-216-kgs-of-opium-in-Nong-Khai-30260523.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-20

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UPDATE:

Yellow shirt protester sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for crashing truck at police in 2008



BANGKOK: -- The Supreme Court today reversed the life imprisonment sentence handed down by the Appeals Court on a yellow shirt anti government protester for crashing his vehicle into a group of anti-riot police in 2008.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826642-yellowshirt-protester-gets-3-years-in-jail-for-trying-to-kill-police/#entry9426677

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JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli prime minister overrules defense minister, cancels proposed West Bank bus segregation.

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Malaysia, Indonesia to scrap policy of turning away asylum seeker boats

KUALA LUMPUR: -- Malaysia and Indonesia say they will no longer turn away migrant boats, responding to world pressure by offering to take in a wave of asylum seekers provided they can be resettled or repatriated within a year.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826648-malaysia-indonesia-to-scrap-policy-of-turning-away-asylum-seeker-boats/

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Soldiers to Reform Student Gangs, Thai Official Says
By Khaosod English


Soldiers board a bus in Pathum Thani that was attacked by students in an incident of suspected gang violence, 18 May 2015.

BANGKOK — Thai education officials may institute an army-run "prep camp" aimed at diffusing long-running gang rivalries between students at polytechnic colleges in Bangkok.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826658-soldiers-to-reform-student-gangs-thai-official-says/

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Fast, drunk man sprints 1K after punching cop in court
By Coconuts Bangkok



BANGKOK: -- Three drunk, fast runners went to Ratchada Court this morning where a friend was on trial for drug charges and proceeded to cause mischief, punch a cop and then somehow run away.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826659-fast-drunk-man-sprints-1k-after-punching-cop-in-thai-court/

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SET index closed 1,520.11 down 5.85; Bt/USD33.43; GBP51.56; AUD25.99; EUR36.88; CAD27.10; HKD4.29; SGD24.78; JPY27.47

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Help pour in for 10-year-old girl who lives alone with blind dad
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Help poured in for a ten-year-old girl who had to drop out from a school to take care of her 70-year-old blind father in Ratchaburi's Suan Phueng district after her plight was reported by the media.

The girl was identified as Manaswee Taptim. The father lives only on elderly allowance of Bt700 a month.

Local officials and many visited the father and daughter Wednesday and gave them dried foods and cash and the officials are planning a long-term measure to help them.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Help-pour-in-for-10-year-old-girl-who-lives-alone--30260525.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-20

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Foreign Man injured in Chinese-led Road Rage incident in Central Pattaya



PATTAYA: -- A foreign man, thought to be German and aged in his fifties, was injured during a road rage incident which occurred in Central Pattaya early on Wednesday Morning.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826668-foreign-man-injured-in-chinese-led-road-rage-incident-in-central-pattaya/

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Arsonists burn Phuket restaurant
Eakkapop Thongtub


Police examine the damage at the restaurant.

PHUKET: -- A woman and her partner escaped serious injury after the front of their restaurant was set ablaze in Srisoonthorn this morning (May 20).

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826671-arsonists-burn-phuket-restaurant/

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Suthep has 'no plan to leave monkhood' at the moment

BANGKOK: -- Monk Suthep Paphakaro, or former People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban - has no plan to leave the monkhood anytime soon, PDRC spokesman Akanat Promphan said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826673-suthep-has-no-plan-to-leave-monkhood-at-the-moment/

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AVIATION
Civil Aviation Department to be restructured

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet has given the green light for the restructuring of the Civil Aviation Department, which would see two new organisations replacing the department, Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said on Wednesday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826676-civil-aviation-department-to-be-restructured/

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Postage stamp to help Nepal
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A new stamp collection was produced by Thailand Post to raise funds for earthquake victims in Nepal.

The "Thailand Post for Nepal' collection consists of 20 stamps and will be sold for Bt120 a set. Each stamp depicts scenic spots and the daily life of Nepalese people, photographed before the quake, by 2009 National Artist Woranan Chatchawanti-pakorn, and 1989 SEA WRITE Award winner Jiranan Pitpreecha, as well as other well-known photographers.

Half of the proceeds will be donated to quake victims via the Thai Red Cross Society. Those interested can make a reservation at post offices or order it through the website www.postemart.com.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Postage-stamp-to-help-Nepal-30260546.html

-- The Nation 2015-05-20

[Lite Beer]

Yala bomb victims compensated
The Nation

The province of Yala Wednesday presented compensation totalling Bt4.86 million to 26 people affected by the series of bombings in the Yala Municipality from May 14-16.

The initial compensation, handed over by deputy governor Kukiat Wongkrapan, was according to the May 19 deliberation by a committee tasked to assess property damage from the deep South unrest.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Yala-bomb-victims-compensated-30260545.html

-- The Nation 2015-05-20

[Lite Beer]

Prayut says he happy with works, not proud in position
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Wednesday that he is happy with the works of his interim government during the past year.

He said the government has carried out several urgent tasks. But he said he was not proud that he had to take the position.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Prayut-says-he-happy-with-works-not-proud-in-posit-30260532.html

[Lite Beer]

NBTC to decide Thursday on whether to postpone digital TV licence fee payments
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will meet urgently Thursday to make a final decision on whether to postpone the second instalment of the licence fee for terrestrial-based digital TV channels.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826718-nbtc-to-decide-thursday-on-whether-to-postpone-digital-tv-licence-fee-payments/

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to continue:

Thailand Live Thursday 21 May 2015

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826765-thailand-live-thursday-21-may-2015/