Swanage backpacker Grace Taylor missing in Thailand
Kate Wilson


Grace Taylor

DORSET police have launched an international investigation to locate missing woman Grace Taylor.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897148-british-backpacker-grace-taylor-missing-in-thailand/

Thais warned not to act as nominees of alien businessmen



BANGKOK: -- Thai nationals have been warned not to act as nominees of alien businessmen operating in tourism and real estate businesses or they may face a maximum three-year imprisonment and a fine of between 100,000 and one million baht, said Ms Pongphan Jianviriyaphan, director-general of Business Development Department, on Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897152-thais-warned-not-to-act-as-nominees-of-alien-businessmen/

Government mulls tax incentive for buyers of OTOP products



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has floated the idea of giving tax incentive to buyers of community-based Otop products.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897153-thai-govt-mulls-tax-incentive-for-buyers-of-otop-products/

OAG gives a clean bill of health to Ratchapakdi park project



BANGKOK: -- The Office of the Auditor-General has cleared the Ratchapakdi park project of any corruption, Deputy Defence Minister General Udomdej Seetabutr said on Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897154-oag-gives-a-clean-bill-of-health-to-ratchapakdi-park-project/

Worawi faces three more months of ban from Fifa



BANGKOK: -- Former president of Football Association of Thailand (FAT) Worawi Makudi was banned for three more months for his failure to observe a previous ban.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897155-worawi-faces-three-more-months-of-ban-from-fifa/

Pound Heads Sharply Lower On Brexit Concerns

Sterling sinks to a near seven-year low against the US dollar after Boris Johnson fails to back David Cameron's EU reform deal.

LONDON: -- The pound has fallen sharply after a series of political heavyweights threw their weight behind a UK exit from the European Union.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897156-pound-heads-sharply-lower-on-brexit-concerns/

Special report: Security Stepped Up at Railway Stations in the Southern Border Provinces



BANGKOK, 23 February 2016 (NNT) – The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is installing x-ray scanning machines and bomb detectors at railway stations in the southern border provinces in order to step up security and ensure safety for all passengers.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897157-security-stepped-up-at-railway-stations-in-the-southern-border-provinces/

Chinese tourists injured as runaway Phuket tour bus crashes on Patong Hill
Eakkapop Thongtub


At least 10 Chinese tourists were injured in the crash, at the base of Patong Hill. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

PHUKET: -- A runaway tour bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed at the bottom Patong Hill little before 9pm, plunging the area into darkness.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897158-chinese-tourists-injured-as-runaway-phuket-tour-bus-crashes-on-patong-hill/

Newlyweds halt their honeymoon to rescue helpless stray puppy on Koh Chang
STAFF WRITER


Meet Ozzie

KOH CHANG: -- Three-month old Ozzie limped into the lives of newlyweds Nicole Marchment and Darren Budini while they were honeymooning on Koh Chang, Thailand last October.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897159-newlyweds-halt-their-honeymoon-to-rescue-helpless-stray-puppy-on-koh-chang/

Thai Airways International Posts Net Profit in Q4 2015
BY JACOB MASLOW



BANGKOK: -- Thai Airways International (THAI) struggled greatly in 2015, narrowly missing a record loss for the year. The company posted a net profit for the months of October through December, which was spurred thanks to enhanced efficiencies and massive cost cuts.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897160-thai-airways-international-posts-net-profit-in-q4-2015/

LG’s new revolutionary Android smartphone, the LG G5
BY JONATHAN FAIRFIELD



While all the talk might have been about the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S7 ahead of the start of this year’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, earlier on Sunday, LG unveiled its new flagship smartphone.

Full story: http://tech.thaivisa.com/lgs-new-revolutionary-android-smartphone-the-lg-g5/13996/

CAT S60: The world’s first thermal imaging smartphone
BY JONATHAN FAIRFIELD



Best known for making industrial machinery and clothing, CAT, has used Mobile World Congress 2016 to unveil the world’s first smartphone with an integrated thermal imaging camera.

Full story: http://tech.thaivisa.com/cat-s60-the-worlds-first-thermal-imaging-smartphone/14005/

Facebook’s Zuckerberg at crossroads in connecting the globe
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS



SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg likes to boast that his 3-year-old effort to bring the developing world online has reached millions of people in some of the world’s poorest nations.

Full story: http://tech.thaivisa.com/facebooks-zuckerberg-at-crossroads-in-connecting-the-globe/14002/

UPDATE:

Concern for woman backpacker missing in Thailand

SWANAGE, Dorset: -- A family has launched an online campaign to help find a woman who has gone missing while backpacking in Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897148-british-backpacker-grace-taylor-missing-in-thailand/#entry10452367

VIDEO

Playful baby elephant sits on woman's lap in Thailand
By Ben Hooper

BANGKOK, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A tourist visiting Thailand was treated to an especially close encounter with a baby elephant who fancied himself a lapdog.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897161-playful-baby-elephant-sits-on-womans-lap-in-thailand-video/

Thailand introduces new laws to tackle animal cruelty
Nirmal Ghosh

Indochina Bureau Chief In Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- When 22-year-old Yonlada Jampasi threw her roommate's chihuahua from their fifth-floor apartment in Bangkok last month, pictures of the little dog lying dead on a rooftop below ignited a firestorm across Thailand's social media.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897162-thailand-introduces-new-laws-to-tackle-animal-cruelty/

UPDATE:

British Pound Plummets over Fears of British Exit from the European Union

LONDON – The British pound suffered its biggest drop in more than six years on Monday, as fears that the U.K. will leave the European Union intensified after London Mayor Boris Johnson came out in favor of a “Brexit”.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897156-pound-heads-sharply-lower-on-brexit-concerns/#entry10452376

Deputy PM urges public to refrain from protesting against draft constitution

BANGKOK, 23 February 2016 (NNT) - Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn has said that the constitution drafting process is the responsibility of all, urging the public to refrain from protesting its provisions.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897164-deputy-pm-urges-public-to-refrain-from-protesting-against-draft-constitution/

CDC confirms all suggestions for draft constitution will be carefully considered

BANGKOK, 23 February 2016 (NNT) – Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) spokesman Amorn Wanitwiwat confirmed that the CDC will consider all suggestions and review the draft constitution for the sake of national interests.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897165-cdc-confirms-all-suggestions-for-draft-constitution-will-be-carefully-considered/

Minister Chatchai stresses continuous aid for farmers

BANGKOK, 23 February 2016 (NT) - Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Gen.Chatchai Sarikulya has clarified the ministry's agricultural reform policy while emphasizing continuous assistance for the drought-affected farmers.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897166-minister-chatchai-stresses-continuous-aid-for-farmers/

Department of National Parks campaigns against waste burning

CHIANG RAI, 23 February 2016 (NNT) - The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is accelerating its efforts to prevent waste burning in Chiang Rai Province while the military works to supply water to drought-affected residents.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897168-department-of-national-parks-campaigns-against-waste-burning/

Polish authorities claim papers prove Walesa's Communist ties



WARSAW: -- Poland’s state archives have released 700 pages of documents it says prove former President Lech Walesa was a paid informant of the communist-era secret police.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897170-polish-authorities-claim-papers-prove-walesas-communist-ties/

Ceasefire agreed in Syria – Washington and Moscow



DAMASCUS: --Washington and Moscow have agreed terms for a ceasefire in Syria.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897171-ceasefire-agreed-in-syria-washington-and-moscow/

Would a UN-backed government save Libya’s oilfields?



TRIPOLI: -- Oilfields in Libya are likely to come under further attack unless a United Nations-backed government is approved.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897174-would-a-un-backed-government-save-libyas-oilfields/

Ukraine's Tatar protest song Eurovision choice likely to irk Russia
By Robert Hackwill



"I can tell Europe about Ukrainian things it didn't know"

LONDON: -- Ukrainian music lovers have chosen their entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, and the television audience decided to stick two fingers in the air at their large northern neighbour by choosing a Crimean Tatar as the 2016 entrant.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897176-ukraines-tatar-protest-song-eurovision-choice-likely-to-irk-russia/

Prime Minister David Cameron tells MPs why Britain must stay in the Europe Union



LONDON: -- United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron has laid out the case for the UK to remain in the European Union to MPs in parliament.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897177-david-cameron-tells-mps-why-britain-must-stay-in-the-europe-union/

German government slams migrant attacks
By Catherine Hardy | With AP, AFP



"This is shameful"

BERLIN: -- The German government has condemned the latest outbreak of far-right, anti-migrant sentiment in the country as “shameful”.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897178-german-government-slams-migrant-attacks/

Jude Law and others push for 'Jungle' children to be protected



LONDON: -- Some of the biggest names in British film and television have made a desperate plea for the safety of unaccompanied migrant children.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897179-jude-law-and-others-push-for-jungle-children-to-be-protected/

Brexit would make fight against terror harders, says Europol chief



THE HAGUE: -- Police in Britain would struggle to prevent terror attacks and fight organised crime if the country votes to leave the EU.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897180-brexit-would-make-fight-against-terror-harders-says-europol-chief/

Dem: GOP trying to delegitimize Obama by blocking court pick
By ALAN FRAM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate's top Democrat accused Republicans Monday of trying to delegitimize Barack Obama's presidency by preventing him from filling the Supreme Court vacancy as a divided Senate convened for the first time since Antonin Scalia's death and immediately dove into election-year combat over the opening.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/897181-dem-gop-trying-to-delegitimize-obama-by-blocking-court-pick/