Thailand Live Tuesday 4 Aug 2015

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WIPO
Princess Sirindhorn to be honoured for her creative works
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE WORLD Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has honoured Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn with a debut award in celebration of the sustainable development created by her creative works.

The WIPO Award for Creative Excellence will be presented by Francis Gurry, director general of WIPO, who will be granted an audience with the Princess on August 27, said Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikalya.

Gurry said in a statement that the Princess has been a champion of creativity and intellectual property across a wide domain.

"HRH is the author of 350 creative works, poetry, writings, prose and illustrations. HRH also has been a champion of the protection of traditional knowledge," he said.

She created the trademark "Phu Fa", which is very successfully displayed on products at Phu Fa shops, he said.

"She also promotes the protection of geographical indications, having encouraged the registration of Mlabri kit bags, which work in favour of the nomadic tribe in the north of Thailand to earn extra income from their crafts," he said.

Gurry said Princess Sirindhorn has been a champion of the preservation of genetic resources, having established in 1992 the Plant Genetic Conservation project.

"So, we see HRH's contribution across a very wide and diverse range of creative activities," he said.

"Her Royal Highness is a very accomplished and gifted musician, a champion of traditional music, and traditional musical instruments.

"Her Royal Highness, as I mentioned, is a gifted performer and true friend and champion of Thai musicians. It's therefore entirely fitting and, indeed, an honour for WIPO to offer this award to Her Royal Highness."

This year is also a celebration of Princess Sirindhorn's fifth-cycle birthday.

The Commerce Ministry's Intellectual Property Department has registered 354 works of the Princess, including 199 paintings, such as an orchid painting, the "Phu Fa" elephant painting and 153 literary works including poems, children books, memoirs and songs.

The department also registered a geographical indication, which is a kit bag made from the Mlabri vine in Nan that provides jobs and income for local communities.

Chatchai said Thailand has been invited to organise an exhibition on the intellectual property of His Majesty the King and the Princess at the WIPO headquarters in Geneva between October 5-14.

The exhibition will be open to the 188 WIPO member states and more than 1,000 representatives attending the 55th WIPO General Assemblies.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Princess-Sirindhorn-to-be-honoured-for-her-creativ-30265855.html


-- The Nation 2015-08-04

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Cyclist Says Helmet Saved Him From Knife-Wielding Moto Maniac
By Khaosod English


Thitiwat Rongthong, 25-year-old front man of The Darkest Romance, holds the helmet he says kept an attacker from slashing his head.

BANGKOK — A musician said a motorcyclist attacked him with a knife during a robbery attempt while he was cycling in Bangkok on Saturday night.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845591-cyclist-says-helmet-saved-him-from-knife-wielding-moto-maniac/

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Police Chief to propose name of successor soon

BANGKOK, 4 August 2015 (NNT) – The Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General has confirmed he will decide later this month as to who will replace him in the position after his retirement.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845592-thai-police-chief-to-propose-name-of-successor-soon/

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COPYRIGHT ACT
Copyright Act tough on IP protection
ASINA PORNWASIN
THE NATION

Amended copyright provisions now have 'teeth' with jail term/fine for offenders

BANGKOK: -- THAILAND'S AMENDED Copyright Act will provide stronger protection to owners of intellectual property rights, especially movies and other digital content, it is claimed.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845593-thailands-copyright-act-tough-on-ip-protection/

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POLITICS
Government will stick to the road map: ministers
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- KEY GOVERNMENT FIGURES yesterday ruled out the possibility of delaying an election in order to complete reforms, insisting that the authorities must comply with the interim charter and its "road map to democracy". However, if the new charter draft is rejected, it will delay elections until 2017.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845594-government-will-stick-to-the-road-map-thai-ministers/

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SOUTH CRISIS
Gas cylinders in deep South to be changed for security
Nakarin Chinworakomon,
Kantamanee Baingern
The Nation

Southern restaurants complain the new canister is too small for them

BANGKOK: -- RESTAURANTS and households in the three southern border provinces and four Songkhla districts have been urged to gradually change from using the 15-kilogram metal cooking-gas cylinder to the 11kg composite-plus cylinder before the October 1, 2016, deadline.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845596-gas-cylinders-in-deep-south-to-be-changed-for-security/

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AC MILAN
Bee finally gets a minority stake in Italian club Milan
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol has finally reached an agreement to buy a 48 per cent stake in AC Milan, arguably Italy's most glamorous club, after months of negotiations.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845597-thai-businessman-bee-finally-gets-a-minority-stake-in-italian-club-ac-milan/

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EDITORIAL
Trafficking report: The facts versus the fury
The Nation

Even die-hard supporters of the government must acknowledge that Thailand hasn't done enough

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was dignified in his response to the annual US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report last week when he said Thailand needed to solve its own problems rather than blaming the United States for keeping the country relegated to Tier 3, its most damning rating.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845598-trafficking-report-the-facts-versus-the-fury/

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Insurgents focus ire on local defence volunteers
Don Pathan
Special to The Nation
Ban Pulea, Yala

Army's 'Thung Yang Daeng Model' is under pressure after militants 'send 'warning'

BANGKOK: -- Shortly after midnight on Friday, a group of about 30 insurgents attacked a small security outpost run by a local Defence Volunteer (DV) unit in Yala's Yaha district.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845599-thai-opinion-insurgents-focus-ire-on-local-defence-volunteers/

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STREETWISE
Germany's example offers guiding light as darkness threatens to descend again
Achara Deboonme

BANGKOK: -- In its "East Asia Pacific Update" released in April, the World Bank noted: "Further economic recovery will depend on the competitiveness of Thai export products and political stability in the years to come."

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845600-germanys-example-offers-guiding-light-as-darkness-threatens-to-descend-again/

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BURNING ISSUE
Our healthcare, despite being a leader, needs an overhaul
Chularat Saengpassa

BANGKOK: -- THE GOVERNMENT'S universal healthcare scheme has won considerable praise from the international community.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845601-thai-politics-our-healthcare-despite-being-a-leader-needs-an-overhaul/

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Pressure on NRC to endorse charter draft not true: Nimit
PRAPASRI OSTHANON,
OLAN LERTRATTANADAMRONGKUL
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- NO PROOF exists of a report that some members of the National Reform Council (NRC) had been lobbied by politicians to endorse the charter draft, said NRC member Nimit Sitthitrai.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845602-pressure-on-nrc-to-endorse-charter-draft-not-true-nimit/

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Under the eyes of the law, students ponder democracy, education
KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN
THE NATION August

YOUNGSTERS SHOULD BE TREATED AS 'CIVIC PEOPLE', SEMINAR HEARS

BANGKOK: -- WHAT IS hindering the teaching of democracy in Thai schools? The answer, say authorities, is teachers who treat students as "children" rather than "civic people", and Thai history textbooks that undermine the democratic regime rather than promote it.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845603-under-the-eyes-of-the-law-thai-students-ponder-democracy-education/

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Three charged with luring Thais on to fishing boats in Indonesia
Angsuma Sridokkham
Piyanut Tumnukasetchai,
Prapasri Osathanon
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- THREE PEOPLE have been arrested for their alleged involvement in luring Thais to work on fishing boats in Indonesia, Pol General Ake Angsananont, deputy national police chief, said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845604-three-charged-with-luring-thais-on-to-fishing-boats-in-indonesia/

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Brothers shot dead at Pattani
The Nation

PATTANI: -- Former defence volunteer Mahama-sukri Musor and his paramilitary volunteer brother Muhammad-sabri Musor were shot dead at a market in Pattani's Nong Chik district on Sunday evening.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845605-brothers-shot-dead-at-pattani/

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UPDATE:

Chuwong always wore his safety belt, family insists
Pensri Gaden,
Noppadon Sritaweekart,
Supachai Phettewee
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- CONSTRUCTION tycoon Chuwong Saetang habitually wore the safety belt, which is making it difficult for his family to believe claims that he had died in a car crash because he had failed to put on his safety belt.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845441-new-evidence-surfaces-in-chuwongs-unusual-death/#entry9695727

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Tesco Lotus announces major price-cutting campaign
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- TESCO LOTUS says it has launched its biggest price-cutting campaign in 20 years.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845606-tesco-lotus-announces-major-price-cutting-campaign/

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Region 8 Police open doors in Phuket
Tanyaluk Sakoot


National police chief Gen Somyot Poompanmoung (front) inspects a display board at the new Region 8 Police headquarters in Mai Khao, as Deputy Commissioner-General Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen (left) and Region 8 Police Commander Maj Gen Decha Butnamphet (right) look on.

PHUKET: -- Region 8 Police officially began working from their new Phuket headquarters at the northern end of the island today (August 3) following a formal visit to the opening by national police chief Gen Somyot Poompanmoung.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845608-region-8-police-open-doors-in-phuket/

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Former President Jimmy Carter undergoes liver operation

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter is expected to make a full recovery after having an operation Monday to remove a small mass in his liver, according to a spokeswoman.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845609-former-president-jimmy-carter-undergoes-liver-operation/

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Faith holds at New Mexico churches targeted by small blasts
By PAUL DAVENPORT and FELICIA FONSECA

LAS CRUCES: -- A New Mexico church service was set to start when the mailbox exploded near the office entrance.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845610-us-faith-holds-at-new-mexico-churches-targeted-by-small-blasts/

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Moroccan dies while being smuggled into Spain in suitcase

MADRID (AP) — A Moroccan man died from suffocation while being smuggled into Spain by his brother inside a suitcase that was in the trunk of a car on a ferry crossing, authorities said Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845611-moroccan-dies-while-being-smuggled-into-spain-in-suitcase/

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Cranes fall on houses in Netherlands, 1 man rescued
MIKE CORDER, Associated Press

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Rescuers pulled a survivor from under the wreckage of apartments and shops flattened on Monday shortly after two cranes being used in the restoration of a bridge in a central Dutch city toppled onto a row of buildings, a fire department spokesman said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845612-cranes-fall-on-houses-in-netherlands-1-man-rescued/

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Amnesty report blasts police killings in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro's police force operates with "total impunity," targeting mostly young, mostly black and mostly poor people in the Olympic city's violent slums for extrajudicial executions, Amnesty International alleged in a report Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845613-amnesty-report-blasts-police-killings-in-rio-de-janeiro/

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Report: US-led strikes in Iraq, Syria killed 459 civilians
VIVIAN SALAMA, Associated Press
ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S.-led airstrikes targeting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria have likely killed at least 459 civilians over the past year, a report by an independent monitoring group said Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845614-us-led-strikes-in-iraq-syria-killed-459-civilians-report/

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Voluntary manslaughter trial starts for white police officer
JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — A white Charlotte police officer on trial for the on-duty killing of a black man panicked and didn't identify himself or give any commands before shooting 12 times at the agitated man seeking help in an unfamiliar neighborhood after a car crash, a prosecutor said during opening statements Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845615-voluntary-manslaughter-trial-starts-for-white-us-police-officer/

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UK says it will extend air strikes by RAF Tornados against the Islamic State group by extra year, to March 2017 /BBC

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Former trader given 14 years prison for market manipulation
DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A British judge sentenced a former Citibank and UBS trader to 14 years in prison Monday after a jury found him guilty of masterminding the manipulation of a key interest rate, the London Interbank Lending Rate, or Libor.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845616-uk-trader-tom-hayes-jailed-for-14-years-over-libor-rate-rigging/

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Holmes jury keeps execution as option as sentencing advances
By SADIE GURMAN

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Jurors on Monday moved one step closer toward sentencing James Holmes to death for his Colorado movie theater attack, taking less than three hours to reject arguments that the former neuroscience student's mental illness means he should not die.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845618-colorado-gunman-james-holmes-nears-death-sentence/

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UK police watchdog to probe abuse claim against ex-PM Heath

LONDON (AP) — Britain's police watchdog said Monday that it will investigate whether police failed to pursue an allegation of child sexual abuse against the late Prime Minister Edward Heath in the 1990s.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845627-uk-police-watchdog-to-probe-abuse-claim-against-ex-pm-heath/

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Sex Slaves Sold by Islamic State, the Younger the Better
by Sangwon Yoon

NEW YORK: -- A senior United Nations official says Islamic State is circulating a slave price list for captured women and children, and that the group’s ongoing appeal and barbarity pose an unprecedented challenge.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/845632-sex-slaves-sold-by-islamic-state-the-younger-the-better/