Harris Voices Outrage in Interview with Howard Stern

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Diplomatic missions from 31 CITES countries to witness Thailand's first burning of smuggled ivory



BANGKOK, 23 August 2015 (NNT) - Diplomatic missions from thirty-one member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) have accepted the Thai government’s invitation to witness the first burning event of African ivory tusks seized from smugglers on 26 August 2015.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850691-31-cites-countries-to-witness-thailands-first-burning-of-smuggled-ivory/

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SKorea president says propaganda broadcasts will continue unless NKorea apologizes for attack.

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CMU introduces polymer development for medical purposes



CHIANG MAI, 24 August 2015 (NNT) – Chiang Mai University (CMU) has begun the operation of its bio-plastic polymer laboratory for medical purposes and faster treatment, alleviating the demand of bio-plastic polymer imports.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850692-chiang-mai-university-introduces-polymer-development-for-medical-purposes/

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Khon Kaen Zoo debuts its 5th white wallaby

KHON KAEN, 24 August 2015, (NNT) - Khon Kaen Zoo has officially introduced its newest member, a fifth white wallaby, and has invited the public to name the little mammal and win a cash prize.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850693-khon-kaen-zoo-debuts-its-5th-white-wallaby/

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1,800 rai of encroached land in Sukhothai reclaimed

SUKHOTHAI, 24 August 2015, (NNT) - The Sukhothai Administrative Office has reclaimed about 1,800 rai of encroached land.

About 200 administrative and military officials, led by Deputy Sukhothai Governor Thanupong Charoensurapirom and Deputy Commander of the province's Peacekeeping Forces Colonel Kong-ake Kayankij, inspected Mae Sin National Park, Mae San forest, and Mae Soong forest in Si Satchanalai District, which covered a combined area of 1,745 rai.

The governor said rubber trees aged between 4 - 10 years had been found in the area. The group also discovered rubber tapping tools, indicating recent activities. Mr. Thanupong said those who masterminded the encroachment were entrepreneurs from other provinces.

He said the provincial administrative office would become more vigilant in enforcing the law related to forest protection against those who encroach on national forests, and drives to promote forest preservation among the locals would be held regularly.

Officials will talk to the locals who have encroached on the land to make them understand that what they are doing is illegal. Unlike what they plan to do with the entrepreneurs, the authorities said they would not resort to legal means to address the issue.


-- NNT 2015-08-24

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SET down 34.45 points at opening /Bangkok Post

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Police looking for clues after man found dead in Phuket motorbike accident
Eakkapop Thongtub


Rescue workers recover the body of Chatchai Somwang from the roadside canal. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

PHUKET: -- Police are looking for anyone who can provide information about a single-vehicle motorbike accident in which a man died in Pa Khlok this morning (August 24).

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850699-police-looking-for-clues-after-man-found-dead-in-phuket-motorbike-accident/

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Abbas to resign, briefly, from PLO post, but tighten grip

JERUSALEM (AP) — The official Palestinian news agency is quoting President Mahmoud Abbas as saying he is resigning from the Palestine Liberation Organization's top leadership body — a move seen as an attempt to tighten his grip on power.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850700-abbas-to-resign-briefly-from-plo-post-but-tighten-grip/

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Frustration mounts as talks between the rival Koreas drag on
ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press
FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — As marathon negotiations by senior officials from the rival Koreas stretched into a third day, South Korea's president said Monday that anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts will continue unless North Korea apologizes for planting land mines that maimed two South Korean soldiers.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850704-frustration-mounts-as-talks-between-the-rival-koreas-drag-on/

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Typhoon Goni leaves 14 dead in Philippines



MANILA: -- A total of 14 people were declared dead since typhoon Goni, (locally call “Ineng”) unleashed its fury over the northern part of Luzon, according to Manila Bulletin.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850708-typhoon-goni-leaves-14-dead-in-philippines/

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Security levels raised at shopping malls and bus terminal in Chatuchak

BANGKOK, 24 August 2015 (NNT) - Security levels have been heightened in Bangkok’s bus terminal and shopping malls in Chatuchak district, following the bomb attack last Monday.

Chatuchak District Office have been coordinating with security agencies to ensure public safety in one of Bangkok’s most crowded areas.

Security officers have been patrolling the bus terminal, shopping malls, government buildings, communities and homes of high-ranking officials.

CCTV cameras have undergone maintenance to make sure they are functional, especially in underlit alleyways. People are urged to report to the authorities anything unusual within their communities.


-- NNT 2015-08-24

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Thailand continues to experience rainfall

BANGKOK, 24 August 2015 (NNT) - The Meteorological Department has issued severe weather warnings for southern residents, due to a southwesterly wind in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea.

According to the weather forecast, a monsoon trough in Myanmar will continue to bring rain to Thailand during this time.

Fishermen have been urged to exercise caution when leaving the shore. Waves could reach a maximum height of three meters.

Those planning to visit Japan should consult the weather forecast before departure, as Typhoon Goni is leaving Taiwan and expected to make landfall in Japan tomorrow.


-- NNT 2015-08-24

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NIDA Poll says Prayut's performance well and outstanding

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has performed outstandingly during the past one year in office and even better than the elected prime minister, according to the latest survey conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) or NIDA Poll.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850714-nida-poll-says-prayuts-performance-well-and-outstanding/

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Security levels raised at shopping malls and bus terminal in Chatuchak

BANGKOK, 24 August 2015 (NNT) - Security levels have been heightened in Bangkok’s bus terminal and shopping malls in Chatuchak district, following the bomb attack last Monday.

Chatuchak District Office have been coordinating with security agencies to ensure public safety in one of Bangkok’s most crowded areas.

Security officers have been patrolling the bus terminal, shopping malls, government buildings, communities and homes of high-ranking officials.

CCTV cameras have undergone maintenance to make sure they are functional, especially in underlit alleyways. People are urged to report to the authorities anything unusual within their communities.

-- NNT 2015-08-24

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NLA voted to pass amended Money Laundering Act into use

BANGKOK, 23 April 2015 (NNT) - The National Legislative Assembly has put to use the amended law on anti-money laundering.

The NLA on Friday completed the third reading of the amendment to the Money Laundering Act before reaching a unanimous vote, with three abstentions, to put it into effect.

Before the endorsement, some NLA members have proposed an amendment of the law concerning the duration of the term of the Secretary General of the Anti-Money Laundering Office from six years to four years.

The legislature also agreed to amend the part related to the end of the term of the incumbent Secretary-General in order to allow him to stay in office even after the amended law is put to use and to take up the position of an advisor to the AMLO or similar posts after completion of his tenure.


-- NNT 2015-08-24

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The kids will drink: Thailand's booze crackdown could do more harm than good
By Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voice
ByJames Austin

BANGKOK: -- It’s uncertain at the moment how the military junta intends to enforce its ban of alcohol sales within 300 metres (500 metres has also been talked about) of educational institutions.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850724-the-kids-will-drink-thailands-booze-crackdown-could-do-more-harm-than-good/

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National police chief says external and internal affairs aren't ruled out yet in Ratchaprasong bombing



BANGKOK: -- Royal Thai Police commissioner Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuong said the police investigating the Ratchaprasong deadly bomb explosion have not ruled out either internal or external affairs as a motive to the bomb attack.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850726-police-chief-says-external-and-internal-affairs-arent-ruled-out-yet-in-ratchaprasong-bombing/

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Mel Gibson denies pushing and spitting at female photographer in Sydney
Actor and director allegedly verbally abused female News Corp photographer outside cinema, but his publicist calls account a ‘fabrication’
Nancy Groves

LONDON: -- Mel Gibson did not push a female photographer outside a Sydney cinema on Sunday night, his US publicist has said, calling the story “a complete fabrication”.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850728-mel-gibson-denies-pushing-and-spitting-at-female-photographer-in-sydney/

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Hong Kong Photographer Arrested On Way Home For Carrying Body Armour

BANGKOK, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) has urged the Thai authorities to work with the media community in Thailand to decriminalise the legitimate use of body armour and other relevant and purely protective items.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850746-hong-kong-photographer-arrested-in-bangkok-for-trying-to-carry-bulletproof-vest-onto-flight/

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UPDATE:

FCCT issues statement on detention of Hong Kong journalist by Thai security officials



BANGKOK: -- The Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand (FCCT) today issued a statement asking the Thai security to drop criminal charge against a Hong Kong journalist for wearing life protective gears in covering Ratchaprasong bombing incident they described as prohibitive and illegal.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850746-hong-kong-photographer-arrested-in-bangkok-for-trying-to-carry-bulletproof-vest-onto-flight/#entry9770704

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Foreigner robbed and beaten on Asoke Montri
By Coconuts Bangkok


Photo: Koa Andaman

BANGKOK: -- A Thai man is seeking justice for the foreigner who was allegedly robbed and beaten by three men on Asok Montri road Saturday night.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850756-foreigner-robbed-and-beaten-on-asoke-montri-in-bangkok/

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Phi Phi park chief moved amid B30mn national park fee fraud probe
Eakkapop Thongtub


An estimated B500k a day in park entry fees was allegedly stolen. Photo: Jason Bagely

PHUKET: -- The chief of the national park at Phi Phi Island has been transferred pending an investigation into a possible B30 million a month being stolen from park entry fees collected from tourists.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850757-phi-phi-park-chief-moved-amid-b30mn-national-park-fee-fraud-probe/

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UPDATE:

Thai police arrest HK photographer for bulletproof vest

By Coconuts Bangkok

Anthony Kwan Hok-chun. Photo: South China Morning Post

BANGKOK: -- A Hong Kong photographer Monday said he had been detained in Thailand for carrying a bulletproof vest and helmet while covering the aftermath of last week's deadly shrine bombing.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850746-hong-kong-photographer-arrested-in-bangkok-for-trying-to-carry-bulletproof-vest-onto-flight/page-2#entry9770780

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UPDATE:

HK media photographer arrested

BANGKOK: -- A Hong Kong photographer was arrested yesterday while he was about to leave on a flight back home at Suvarnabhumi airport.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850746-hong-kong-photographer-arrested-in-bangkok-for-trying-to-carry-bulletproof-vest-onto-flight/page-2#entry9770794

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Policeman, wife, two sons found dead in Nan house
The Nation

Nan - A policeman, his wife and their twin sons were found dead with gun wound on their head Sunday night, police said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850758-policeman-wife-two-sons-found-dead-in-nan-house/

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STOCK MARKETS
New economic team fails to lift market sentiment
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thai shares plummeted by as much as 3.84 cent on Monday morning trade, as the market and other bourses across the globe fall under huge external pressure.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850759-new-economic-team-fails-to-lift-market-sentiment/

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Latest round of talks meant to defuse crisis between rival Koreas hits 24 hours.

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OBEC: Survey shows lower illiteracy among children



BANGKOK, 24 August 2015 (NNT) – A survey has shown a decrease in number of illiteracy among children, signifying the effectiveness of the nation's illiteracy reduction measures, the OBEC Secretary-General says.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850760-thai-obec-survey-shows-lower-illiteracy-among-children/

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UPDATE:

COURT
HK photographer facing Thai jail for ballistic vest

BANGKOK: -- A Hong Kong photographer faces jail after he was detained for carrying a ballistic vest and helmet while covering the aftermath of last week's deadly shrine bombing, police said Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850746-hong-kong-photographer-arrested-in-bangkok-for-trying-to-carry-bulletproof-vest-onto-flight/page-2#entry9770903

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TOKYO (AP) - China's Shanghai composite index drops 8.5 percent in sell-off that wipes out 2015 gains.