Thailand Live Tuesday 26 Jan 2016

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Social Media Surveillance System Planned

By Sasiwan Mokkhasen

Staff Reporter

BANGKOK — The Royal Thai Police plan to spend 12 million baht on a system to monitor messages and track users on the most popular social media platforms.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889503-social-media-surveillance-system-planned-in-thailand/

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MFA spokesman: No Thais severely affected by snowstorms in Washington, D.C.

BANGKOK, 26 January 2016 (NNT) – Snowstorms have devastated several states on the East Coast of the United States, particularly Washington, D.C., caused power blackouts and severely affected residents and travelers by land and by airplane. There has been no report of casualties as yet.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee disclosed that the Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C. had gathered information and reported that no Thai nationals in the U.S. capital area had been seriously affected by the snowstorms.

-- NNT 2016-01-26

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Kamnan Sia given 5 years jail term by the Supreme Court



BANGKOK: -- The Supreme Court has sentenced former Democrat MP of Kanchanaburi Pracha Pothipipit who is better known under the name of Kamnan Sia to five years imprisonment on charges of biddings collusion, extortion, illegal detention and being a member of an illegal organization.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889584-kamnan-sia-given-5-years-jail-term-by-the-supreme-court/

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'Tiger Temple' to Sue NatGeo Over Damning Report
By Teeranai Charuvastra
Staff Reporter


Monks and volunteers block government vehicles in April 2015 from leaving a commercial wildlife center operating as a temple in Kanchanaburi province.

KANCHANABURI — Days after National Geographic published an article accusing the infamous Tiger Temple in western Thailand of trafficking some of its 147 tigers, a lawyer for the temple announced that he’s preparing a libel suit against the news agency.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889585-tiger-temple-to-sue-national-geographic-over-damning-report/

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Somkid instructs mega projects to be wrapped up and inked in 6 months



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak wants all mega projects worth altogether 900 billion baht to be inked within the first half of this year.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889586-somkid-instructs-mega-projects-to-be-wrapped-up-and-inked-in-6-months/

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Dr Wisanu believes the draft charter will sail through the referendum



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Wisanu Kruea-ngam today (Monday) praised the current draft constitution as being better than the previous one and said he believed that it will go through the referendum.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889587-dr-wisanu-believes-the-draft-charter-will-sail-through-the-referendum/

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PM asks people not to buy Look Thep dolls if they cannot afford them



BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha urged Thai people not to be carried away with the current trend of caring for the Child Angel or Look Thep dolls and should spend their money wisely.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889588-pm-prayut-asks-people-not-to-buy-look-thep-dolls-if-they-cannot-afford-them/

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Protest against election of the new president and board of Lawn Tennis Association



BANGKOK: -- The Sports Authority of Thailand was asked today (Monday) by the acting vice president of Lawn Tennis Association to declare null and void the election of the LTA’s new board on January 23.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889590-protest-against-election-of-the-new-president-and-board-of-lawn-tennis-association/

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Ja New lodges complaint to police demanding legal action against his captors

BANGKOK: -- Thammasat student activist Sirawich Seritiwat or Ja New filed a complaint with Klong Luang district police today (Monday) demanding the police to take legal action a group of unknown military personnel for illegally detaining him and depriving him of freedom.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889592-ja-new-lodges-complaint-to-thai-police-demanding-legal-action-against-his-captors/

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Ministry of Public Health: MERS patient in stable condition

BANGKOK, 26 January 2016 (NNT) - The Ministry of Public Health has announced that the second MERS patient in Thailand is in a stable condition. The Department of Disease Control said it will ask airlines to primarily screen passengers before boarding.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889593-thai-health-min-mers-patient-in-stable-condition/

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CITS forecasts Thai wholesale and retail markets to grow by one percent

BANGKOK, 26 January 2016 (NNT) – The Center for International Trade Studies (CITS) has predicted that the wholesale and retail markets in Indonesia and the Philippines will score the highest growths among the ASEAN countries in 2020.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889594-cits-forecasts-thai-wholesale-and-retail-markets-to-grow-by-one-percent/

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Monk held at knife-point in Pattaya Temple grounds



PATTAYA: -- On Monday afternoon Police rushed to a Temple in the Southern outskirts of Pattaya to assist a Monk who had just been threatened at knife-point.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889595-monk-held-at-knife-point-in-pattaya-temple-grounds/

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Every Picture Tells a Story #4
Orlando Barton

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889596-every-picture-tells-a-story-4/

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Bar patron batters police officer for closing pub
Phuket Gazette


The pub, which police declined to name, was allegedly still open at 2:30am. Photo: Phuket City Police

PHUKET: -- An allegedly drunk man attacked a Phuket police officer after learning that the bar where he was drinking was being forced to close for the night.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889597-bar-patron-batters-phuket-police-officer-for-closing-pub/

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5 Year Old Australian Girl Killed in Tragic Motorcycle Accident in Northern Thailand

NORTHERN THAILAND – A five-year-old Australian girl and her Thai grandmother were tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in Northern Thailand, the little girl was on holiday from Australia to visit family.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889598-5-year-old-australian-girl-killed-in-tragic-motorcycle-accident-in-northern-thailand/

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Thailand quarantines 32 people after second MERS case confirmed
BY PATPICHA TANAKASEMPIPAT AND PANARAT THEPGUMPANAT

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has quarantined 32 people as it seeks to prevent the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) after a second case of the virus was detected on Friday, a health ministry official said on Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889599-thailand-quarantines-32-people-after-second-mers-case-confirmed/

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Fire with 5-metre-high flames engulfs 20 rai in Kathu, no injuries reported
Eakkapop Thongtub



PHUKET: -- It took the better part of two hours for Kathu firefighters to bring under control what has been described as a 'grass fire' near the wastewater plant in Kathu.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889600-fire-with-5-metre-high-flames-engulfs-20-rai-in-kathu-no-injuries-reported/

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One crewman dies when cargo ship catches fire off Phuket
Eakkapop Thongtub


Smoke can be seen coming from the burning cargo ship. Photo: Phuket marine Police

PHUKET: -- One crew member of a cargo boat carrying supplies from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi Don died today (Jan 25) when his vessel caught fire off Dok Mai Island in Phang Nga Bay.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889601-one-crewman-dies-when-cargo-ship-catches-fire-off-phuket/

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'Brexit' could cause difficulties for Northern Ireland



LONDON: -- On a visit to London on Monday the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny told his British counterpart David Cameron, that if Britain leaves the EU it could damage trade for Northern Ireland, which remains part of the UK.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889603-brexit-could-cause-difficulties-for-northern-ireland/

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Migrant crisis: EU ministers meet for informal talks in Amsterdam
By Keith Walker | With AP, REUTERS



BRUSSELS: -- European interior and justice ministers have been meeting in Amsterdam to discuss the migrant crisis and a common EU border force.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889604-migrant-crisis-eu-ministers-meet-for-informal-talks-in-amsterdam/

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Red wristband plan for migrants dropped in UK

- Red wristbands for food plan scrapped
- Critics said it was dehumanising
- Red doors plan in Middlesborough dropped



LONDON: -- A company in South Wales in the UK plans to stop asking asylum seekers to wear a red wristband as a condition for getting food.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889607-red-wristband-plan-for-migrants-dropped-in-uk/

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Ninety year-old Auschwitz survivor performs remembrance dance



BERLIN: -- A 90-year old survivor of Auschwitz survivor took to the stage in Berlin on Sunday to perform a dance depicting her personal view of her terrifying experience in the infamous concentration camp.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889609-ninety-year-old-auschwitz-survivor-performs-remembrance-dance/

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WHO raises the alarm over spread of Zika virus through the Americas



"The circumstantial evidence is suggestive and extremely worrisome"

GENEVA: -- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the mosquito-borne Zika virus could spread to almost every country in the Americas.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889610-who-raises-the-alarm-over-spread-of-zika-virus-through-the-americas/

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ISIL horror video threatens France but Hollande extends State of Emergency
By Robert Hackwill



PARIS: -- This weekend ISIL released a slickly-edited and stuffed with special effects video; 17 minutes long, it also contains doyens of beheadings, executions, and other scenes of unspeakable horror.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889611-isil-horror-video-threatens-france-but-hollande-extends-state-of-emergency/

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Why have thousands of police taken to the streets of Tunis?



- 3000 police hold peaceful protest in Tunis
- Demanding more pay
- Curfew shortened by 2 hours, now 10pm-5am
- Tunisia rocked by weeks of protests

TUNIS: -- Several thousand Tunisian police officers have marched to the presidential palace in Tunis to demand more pay.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889612-why-have-thousands-of-police-taken-to-the-streets-of-tunis/

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Writing your way out of a Romanian prison



BUCHAREST: -- Prosecutors in Romania are trying to establish if some prisoners jailed for corruption and fraud are claiming authorship of books to get their sentences reduced.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889614-writing-your-way-out-of-a-romanian-prison/

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Greece: hundreds of migrants and refugees arrive in Lesbos from Turkey



"I don't want to stay where the war is - in my country. Because of that I will go and find another way of life"

ATHENS: -- Hundreds of migrants and refugees, including many women and children, arrived by dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos from neighbouring Turkey on Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889615-greece-hundreds-of-migrants-and-refugees-arrive-in-lesbos-from-turkey/

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Iran: why President Rouhani is in Rome and Paris



- Iran is talking business
- First trip to West since nuclear deal implemented
- Rouhani will meet Italian President, Prime Minister and the Pope.

ROME: -- All the pomp and ceremony of the Italian state has been rolled out to welcome the Iranian President to Rome.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889616-iran-why-president-rouhani-is-in-rome-and-paris/

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Who's Obama for? Clinton has reason to smile
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama hasn't endorsed a Democratic successor, but he's now revealed some personal pros and cons in the fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889619-whos-obama-for-clinton-has-reason-to-smile/

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Thai Cabinet Approves Tax Incentive for Businesses Using One Book Accounting
BY JACOB MASLOW



BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s Cabinet approved a new tax incentive under a Royal Act that was made at the end of 2015. Thailand businesses that register under the One Book accounting system will be exempt from tax audits on transactions relating to: corporate income tax, special business tax, stamp duty and VAT. All transactions must have been made before January 1, 2016.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/889621-thai-cabinet-approves-tax-incentive-for-businesses-using-one-book-accounting/