Thailand Live Friday 26 Jun 2015

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BMA to host agricultural fair in July

BANGKOK, 26 June 2015 (NNT) – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will be launching a major agricultural fair in the capital city early next month.

According to BMA Deputy Governor Pusadee Tamthai, the launch of this special agricultural fair is part of the BMA’s policy to upgrade the livelihood of farmers and develop agricultural areas across the capital city. The fair is expected to give producers and consumers the opportunity to meet and do trading activities.

Agro-producers from 26 districts of Bangkok will be invited to showcase over 100 items of top-selected products such as organic vegetables, rice, seafood and processed food. Visitors will also be able to enjoy a number of interesting activities, such as the flower and farming competitions, cooking demonstrations and vocational training.

Apart from raising income of farmers, the BMA also expects the event to raise public awareness of Thai farmers. The grand agricultural fair will take place between July 3 and 5 at Central World shopping center.


-- NNT 2015-06-26

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Thai Airport Says Ex-Cop Arrested in Japan Didn't Bring Gun from Thailand
By Khaosod English


Airport staff demonstrate security protocols at Suvarnabhumi Airport on 25 June 2015.

BANGKOK — The director of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport said his staff did not detect a firearm when they inspected the luggage of a former Bangkok police chief who was arrested in Japan with a loaded gun this week.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835791-suvarnabhumi-airport-says-ex-cop-arrested-in-japan-didnt-bring-gun-from-thailand/

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Lower northeastern provinces to be served with double track railway from 2022

SURIN, 26 June 2015 (NNT) – The double track railway service to the northeastern region of Thailand is expected to commence from 2022 which will help develop Thailand as the logistics hub of ASEAN, an official was quoted in a public forum.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835792-lower-isaan-provinces-to-be-served-with-double-track-railway-from-2022/

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Burglary team targeting Foreign-owned Houses caught by Pattaya Police



PATTAYA: -- Pattaya Police arrested a team of 6 Cambodians on Thursday afternoon accused of committing burglaries around the Pattaya area, paying special attention to houses occupied by foreign nationals.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835793-burglary-team-targeting-foreign-owned-houses-caught-by-pattaya-police/

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Underground Gold Lottery Vendor caught in South Pattaya



PATTAYA: -- Regulating Lottery Vendors is a hot topic in Thailand at this time, as is the eradication of unlicensed lotteries which run alongside the National Lottery. One such vendor of illegal lottery tickets was found in South Pattaya on Thursday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835794-underground-gold-lottery-vendor-caught-in-south-pattaya/

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DROUGHT
Drought crisis could knock down growth
PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI,
ERICH PARPART
THE NATION



Sommai says spending power will be hit if govt measures aren't strong enough

BANGKOK: -- IF government measures on tackling the drought are weak, the economy could be dragged down by more than half a percentage point this year owing to dampened spending power, Finance Minister Sommai Phasee warned yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835795-thailands-drought-crisis-could-knock-down-growth/

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AVIATION
Thai aviation industry will be ready for ICAO re-audit by Sept
NOPHAKHUN LIMSAMARNPHUN
THE NATION

Thai-registered airlines avoid sanction in latest European air safety list announced yesterday

BANGKOK: -- THAILAND should be ready for a re-audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on safety standards by September or October, Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835796-thai-aviation-industry-will-be-ready-for-icao-re-audit-by-sept/

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MEDIA
TJA denies reporters 'ordered' to attack govt
THE NATION,
REUTERS


Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha meets the press yesterday after chairing the first meeting at Government House of a panel on special economic zones.

BANGKOK: -- THE THAI Journalists Association yesterday issued a statement in response to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's accusation that the media took "an order" to attack the government for money.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835797-tja-denies-reporters-ordered-to-attack-thai-govt/

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EBAY
Thai SMEs to be encouraged to trade on eBay
Asina Pornwasin
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- EBay yesterday announced a greater focus on Thailand, with the aim of cashing in on the country's high potential for e-commerce growth.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835798-thai-smes-to-be-encouraged-to-trade-on-ebay/

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TOURIST
TAT scrambles for ideas to save high season amid negative factors
SUCHAT SRITAMA
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- THE Tourism Authority of Thailand will seek additional measures to deal with the double whammy - the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak and the civil aviation crisis - to save the coming high season.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835799-tat-scrambles-for-ideas-to-save-high-season-amid-negative-factors/

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PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool line up stars for Bangkok game
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Premier League club Liverpool have announced a glittering list of big-name players for the "True Super Trophy" exhibition match in Bangkok next month, the first game of the Merseysiders' pre-season fixtures.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835800-liverpool-line-up-stars-for-bangkok-game/

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EDITORIAL
A preposterous - AND DANGEROUS - notion

THE DAMAGE WOULD BE IMMENSE IF AN ARMY LIEUTENANT GENERAL IS ALLOWED TO PUT THAI AND FOREIGN REPORTERS THROUGH "RE-EDUCATION"

BANGKOK: -- A plan by a senior Army general to round up 200 Thai and foreign journalists for a "re-education" session to encourage "more constructive, less offensive" questions strikes us as a crazy idea straight out of the TV cartoon show "Ren and Stimpy". Not exactly children's entertainment, the show features a dumb fat cat and a violently psychotic Chihuahua whose sarcastic catchphrase is "happy, happy, joy, joy".

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835801-thai-editorial-a-preposterous-and-dangerous-notion/

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Will Koh Pha Ngan remain Koh Pha Ngan without full moon party?

Koh Pha Ngan, Surat Thani:- Tourism operators Thursdays called on the Surat Thani provincial administration to fully lift the ban on the notorious full moon party on the island, saying without the party the tourism business on the island would never be the same.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835771-will-koh-pha-ngan-remain-koh-pha-ngan-without-full-moon-party/

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US upgrade not likely until after new charter passed, Surapong says
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- AN UPGRADE OF the Thai fishing industry in the US' Trafficking In Persons ranking is unlikely, as Thailand remains undemocratic, without an elected government running the country, former foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835803-us-upgrade-not-likely-until-after-new-charter-passed-surapong-says/

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Officials check Bangkok hospitals' readiness to treat MERS cases
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- TIGHTER preparation measures to tackle MERS were encouraged at private hospitals as the Health Service Support Department (HSSD) team launched an inspection yesterday at Bangkok's Vejthani Hospital.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835804-officials-check-bangkok-hospitals-readiness-to-treat-mers-cases/

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'Two influential groups back casino plan'
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- Two groups of influential business and political persons are standing behind police chief General Somyot Poompanmoung's push for the legalisation of casinos, a former Special Branch police officer said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835805-two-influential-groups-back-thai-casino-plan/

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Graft probe sees 71 senior and local officials shifted
THE NATION



Article 44 used to move Permanent Secretary of Tourism, Chonsawat Asavahame, and NHSO's Winai

BANGKOK: -- WIELDING THE powerful Article 44 of the interim charter, the government yesterday ordered the transfer and suspension of 71 high-ranking civil servants and members of several local administrative bodies, including the Tourism Ministry permanent secretary to an inactive post and influential Samut Prakan figure Chonsawat Asvahame away from his long-standing stronghold.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835806-graft-probe-sees-71-senior-and-local-thai-officials-shifted/

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Security to be boosted in South, scene of 163,00 crimes
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The deep South has seen over 163,000 criminal cases - of which some 10,000 cases were linked to national security - in the past decade, said Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Chanchao Chaiyanukij yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835807-security-to-be-boosted-in-south-scene-of-16300-crimes/

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Prawit orders action on lese majeste websites
THE NATION,
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

BANGKOK: -- DEPUTY Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed the Information and Communications Technology Ministry and related agencies to crack down on websites deemed to be violating the lese majeste law, as such messages worsen the national divide, a source said yesterday.

Prawit was responding to a report from the PM's Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, who said stringent government policies were required to control these websites, which seem to have become rampant.

The defence minister has instructed relevant officials to produce results in the next meeting.

Meanwhile, a man was sentenced to more than three years in jail yesterday over lese majeste charges.

Thanet Nonthakot, 45, from the Northeast province of Phetchabun, was found guilty of insulting the monarchy in an e-mail he sent four years ago, a Bangkok Criminal Court judge said.

Under the Criminal Code's Section 112, anybody convicted of insulting the monarchy faces up to 15 years jail on each count.

A psychologist testified that Thanet suffered from mental illness, but was fit to stand trial and was aware of his actions when the alleged offence took place.

"The defendant cannot prove that he was unable to control himself when he sent the e-mail," the judge said.

Thanet denied breaching the law, but admitted sending the e-mail. He was handed a five-year jail term, but it was cut to three years and four months thanks to his "useful" testimony.

Lese majeste prosecutions have surged since former Army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in May last year.

According to iLaw, a local rights group that monitors such cases, just two people were being prosecuted for royal defamation before the coup, but now that number has risen to 46.

Recent cases include a 58-year-old man sentenced to 25 years in prison for the content of five Facebook posts and a bookseller jailed for an alleged offence back in 2006.

In early May, a mentally ill 65-year-old woman was also jailed for allegedly insulting a portrait of His Majesty.

Earlier this month the junta banned the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand from holding a planned debate on the law.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Prawit-orders-action-on-lese-majeste-websites-30263153.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-26

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Mother's anguish over son's drowning death in Thailand after he had stopped taking his bipolar medication
Helen Palin, whose son Sebastian drowned while in Phuket said 'he should still be here'

MILFORD HAVEN: -- The mother of a mentally unstable man told an inquest their family was ‘let down by police’ and the Foreign Office who she said, despite their pleas, failed to prevent him boarding a flight to Thailand where he later drowned.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835808-british-mothers-anguish-over-sons-drowning-death-in-phuket/

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Chinese guides questioned over private Phuket blessing tours
Eakkapop Thongtub


Complaints that the Chinese tourists may be paying inflated prices for images and amulets were also filed. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

PHUKET: -- Two Phuket tour guides have had their guide licenses seized and a shop on temple grounds at Wat Kathu is under investigation following complaints about Chinese tourists maing donations for – and receiving – special blessings from a monk.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835809-chinese-guides-questioned-over-private-phuket-blessing-tours/

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Patrick Macnee, star of 1960s TV series 'The Avengers,' dies

LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer

Patrick Macnee. File photo, source Internet

LOS ANGELES (AP) Patrick Macnee, the British-born actor best known as dapper secret agent John Steed in the long-running 1960s TV series "The Avengers," has died. He was 93.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835811-patrick-macnee-star-of-1960s-tv-series-the-avengers-dies/

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Obama health care law survives second Supreme Court fight
By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sent a clear message Thursday that President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is here to stay, rejecting a major challenge that would have imperiled the landmark law and health insurance for millions of Americans.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835812-obama-health-care-law-survives-second-supreme-court-fight/

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Univision dropping Miss USA pageant over Trump comments
By FRAZIER MOORE

NEW YORK (AP) — A Univision network is dropping the Miss USA pageant and the company says it will cut all business ties with Donald Trump in a spiraling controversy over comments the Republican presidential candidate made recently about Mexican immigrants.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835813-univision-dropping-miss-usa-pageant-over-trump-comments/

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US State Dept.: 15 emails missing from Clinton cache
BRADLEY KLAPPER, Associated Press
MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department has been unable to find in its records all or part of 15 work-related emails from Hillary Rodham Clinton's private server that were released this week by a House of Representatives panel investigating the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, officials said Thursday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835814-us-state-dept-15-emails-missing-from-clinton-cache/

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Greek debt talks go into weekend as default deadline looms
DEREK GATOPOULOS, Associated Press
RAF CASERT, Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The bitter standoff between Greece and its international creditors was extended into the weekend, just days before Athens has to meet a crucial debt deadline which could decide whether it goes bankrupt and gets kicked out of the euro currency club.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835815-greek-debt-talks-go-into-weekend-as-default-deadline-looms/

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South African president details police killings of strikers
CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday described the police killings of 34 striking miners near Marikana in 2012 as a "horrendous tragedy," saying investigators found that officers followed a flawed plan to control the protesters and there was "a complete lack of command and control" among some police at the scene.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835816-south-africa-police-accused-over-marikana-mine-deaths/

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Irate French taxi drivers smash cars in strike against Uber
ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press
LORI HINNANT, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French taxi drivers pulled out the throttle in an all-out confrontation with the ultra-cheap Uber car service Thursday, smashing livery cars, setting tires ablaze and blocking traffic during a nationwide strike that caught tourists and celebrities alike in the mayhem.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835817-irate-french-taxi-drivers-smash-cars-in-strike-against-uber/

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French woman goes on trial for deaths of 8 of her babies
PHILIPPE SOTTO, Associated Press

DOUAI, France (AP) — One day in the summer of 2010, a man was digging in his garden in northern France when he discovered a trash bag containing the remains of an infant. When he summoned the police, they found the body of another newborn. A few days later, they found more bags in the garage — with six additional small corpses.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835818-french-woman-goes-on-trial-for-deaths-of-8-of-her-babies/

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Thai United Power aims to boost electricity capacity in Myanmar's Dawei

DAWEI:-- Thailand's United Power of Asia Pcl said it plans to increase electricity generating capacity in Myanmar's Dawei Special Economic Zone after the first 20 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant started commercial operations last week.

Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835820-thai-united-power-aims-to-boost-electricity-capacity-in-myanmars-dawei/