Thailand Live Monday 29 Feb 2016

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Lampang organizes orchid tree festival to stimulate tourism



LAMPANG, 29 February 2016 (NNT) - Lampang province has organized the 15th Ban Pameang Orchid Tree Festival in the Chae Son national park, Mueang district. Deputy Governor Somchai Kamonthepthewin and executives of provincial government units attended the opening ceremony of the event on Sunday.

The festival is the province’s major annual tourism event held by four provincial organizations, including the Mueang pan district office, Lampang provincial administrative organization, Chae Son local administrative organization and Chae Son National Park. Apart from promoting tourism of the district, the festival seeks to raise awareness on environmental protection.

The festival is considered as an activity to encourage the locals, including hill tribe people, to join hands in sustainably managing natural resources in their communities. The festival is also part of Lampang’s provincial development plan aimed at developing the province as a livable city of happiness.


-- NNT 2016-02-29

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General Prawit hopes Thaksin will not speak anything bad against Thailand



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said he hopes fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will not speak anything in public which will hurts his own home country “because he is a Thai and must love the country”.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898756-general-prawit-hopes-thaksin-will-not-speak-anything-bad-against-thailand/

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Poll says people are worried there may not be enough water for consumption



BANGKOK: -- More than half of the people are worried that there may not be enough water for consumption to last through the dry season giving rise to water fight incidence and environmental degradation, according to Suan Dusit Poll.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898757-poll-says-people-are-worried-there-may-not-be-enough-water-for-consumption/

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A mahout was killed as he tried to give a shower to a rogue elephant



KRABI: -- A mahout was fatally trampled at an elephant camp in Krabi province on Saturday as he was taking a rogue elephant for a shower out of his sympathy.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898759-mahout-killed-as-he-tried-to-give-a-shower-to-a-rogue-elephant-in-krabi/

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Public Health Minister scrambles to study TPP's impacts on health products and services

BANGKOK, 29 February 2016 (NNT) – The nation's public health policy will be determined after examining the impacts of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, says the Public Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898760-thai-health-min-scrambles-to-study-tpps-impacts-on-health-products-and-services/

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PM thanks Education Min for reducing number of subjects in O-NET exam



BANGKOK, 29 February 2016 (NNT) - Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has thanked the Ministry of Education and the National Institute of Educational Testing Service (NIETS) for reducing the number of subject areas included in the Ordinary National Education Test (O-NET).

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898761-prayut-thanks-education-min-for-reducing-number-of-subjects-in-o-net-exam/

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Govt joins hands with THAI to sell OTOP products on plane



BANGKOK, 29 February 2016 (NNT) – Community Development Department (CDD) Director General Aphichart Todilokwet disclosed that during the past 15 years, the CDD has been promoting OTOP projects by focusing on strengthening communities and raising manufacturers' and entrepreneurs' managing capability.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898762-govt-joins-hands-with-thai-to-sell-otop-products-on-plane/

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Thailand appointed ASEAN’s Sustainable Development Coordinator



VIENTIANE, 29 February 2016 (NNT) – Thailand has been appointed as a coordinating nation to the United Nations, on sustainable development in the ASEAN region, as confirmed from the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898763-thailand-appointed-aseans-sustainable-development-coordinator/

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Thailand strictly following ICAO’s regulations



BANGKOK, 29 February 2016 (NNT) – The Command Center for Resolving Civil Aviation Issues (CRCA) has instructed responsible units to make sure that the country’s aviation system is up to standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898764-thailand-strictly-following-icaos-regulations/

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British man found dead inside his East Pattaya Home



PATTAYA: -- On Sunday afternoon the body of a British National was recovered from a house in East Pattaya.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898765-british-man-found-dead-inside-his-east-pattaya-home/

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Police, hotels seek to identify dead Asian man found floating off Karon Beach
Darawan Naknakhon


Police, hotels seek to identify dead Asian man found floating off Karon Beach

PHUKET: -- Authorities are speaking with staff at Karon hotels in hopes of identifying an Asian man whose floating lifeless body was retrieved from off Phuket's west coast this afternoon.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898766-police-hotels-seek-to-identify-dead-asian-man-found-floating-off-karon-beach/

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Migrants Still Deported En Masse from Thailand
Khmer Times / By Taing Vida

PHNOM PENH: -- Almost 70,000 Cambodian migrant workers were deported from Thailand through the Poipet international checkpoint in Banteay Meanchey province last year, with the daily average being about 200, Poipet checkpoint Immigration police chief Sim Sam Ath said yesterday, citing an annual report.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898767-migrants-still-deported-en-masse-from-thailand/

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Thai police: 5 arrested in rape, assault of French tourists


File photo

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in eastern Thailand said Sunday that they have arrested several Cambodian sailors suspected of attacking four French tourists on a resort island, raping the two women in the group.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898768-thai-police-5-cambodian-sailors-arrested-in-rape-assault-of-french-tourists/

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Thai tobacco maker plans cheap cigarettes to offset new tax
NATTASUDA ANUSONADISAI, Associated Press
GRANT PECK, Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's state tobacco company said Saturday that it would launch a new, cheaper brand of cigarettes to keep smokers from rolling their own or buying illegally imported untaxed ones due to higher prices from a recently imposed tax hike.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898769-thai-tobacco-maker-plans-cheap-cigarettes-to-offset-new-tax/

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Swiss reject deportation of foreign criminals in referendum



BERN: -- Swiss voters have rejected a right-wing proposal to deport foreign law-breakers in a referendum.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898770-swiss-reject-deportation-of-foreign-criminals-in-referendum/

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Turkey: Erdogan says he won't 'accept' or 'respect' court decision to free journalists



"I don't have to accept it, let me be clear about that. I don't agree with the decision and I don't respect it."

ANKARA: -- The controversial case of two Turkish journalists, who were freed from detention on Friday, has again provoked the wrath of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898771-turkey-erdogan-says-he-wont-accept-or-respect-court-decision-to-free-journalists/

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30 years since the death of Olof Palme
By Catherine Hardy



STOCKHOLM: -- Sweden is marking 30 years since the death of its Prime Minister Olof Palme.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898773-30-years-since-the-death-of-olof-palme/

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DiCaprio gets a silver Oscar in Siberia
By Catherine Hardy



YAKUTIA: -- Siberian fans of Leonardo DiCaprio have made a symbolic 1.5 kilo silver statue for their favorite actor.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898774-dicaprio-gets-a-silver-oscar-in-siberia/

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Fragile ceasefire is holding in Syria
By Catherine Hardy | With REUTERS, AFP



"We feel glad that nothing has happened today"

DAMASCUS: -- US and Russian monitors insist the fragile truce in Syria is holding, despite a number of violations.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898776-fifty-shades-of-grey-officially-the-worst-film-of-2015/

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Fifty shades of Grey officially the worst film of 2015
By Catherine Hardy | With DEADLINE MAGAZINE, RAZZIES.COM, RE

It’s official.

LOS ANGELES: -- “Fifty shades of Grey” and “Fantastic Four” are the worst films to have hit the screen in 2015.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898776-fifty-shades-of-grey-officially-the-worst-film-of-2015/

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Former Klan leader at center of latest GOP campaign joust
By BILL BARROW and THOMAS BEAUMONT

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is drawing criticism for refusing to denounce an implicit endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, with Marco Rubio using the matter to hammer the billionaire businessman ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898777-former-klan-leader-at-center-of-latest-gop-campaign-joust/

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Clinton allies preparing for Trump nomination, fall campaign
By KEN THOMAS and LISA LERER

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Emboldened by her South Carolina landslide, Hillary Clinton is shifting her focus to Republican front-runner Donald Trump as her party seeks consensus on the best ways to challenge the billionaire's unpredictable nature in a general election.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898778-clinton-allies-preparing-for-trump-nomination-fall-campaign/

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First Iran vote after nuclear deal gives reformists momentum
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and NASSER KARIMI

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian reformists appear have won all 30 seats representing the nation's capital in parliament, a definitive rebuke to the hard-liners opposing President Hassan Rouhani's efforts to open the economy and cooperate with the West.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898779-first-iran-vote-after-nuclear-deal-gives-reformists-momentum/

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3 stabbed when violence erupts at KKK rally in California
By AMANDA MEYERS

ANAHEIM, California (AP) — The home of Disneyland, the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth, is also the town where the Ku Klux Klan once ran the City Council, patrolled city streets and rallied 10,000 people in a city park.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898780-3-stabbed-when-violence-erupts-at-kkk-rally-in-california/

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Trump: Judge's ethnicity matters in Trump University suit
By JILL COLVIN and JEFF HORWITZ

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is trying to deflect attention from a class-action civil lawsuit involving the former Trump University by pointing to the ethnic background of the judge in the case.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898781-trump-judges-ethnicity-matters-in-trump-university-suit/

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Merkel calls mob that screamed at migrants 'repulsive'

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday called the actions of protesters who shouted abuse at a bus full of migrants "repulsive" and "unjustifiable."

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898784-merkel-calls-mob-that-screamed-at-migrants-repulsive/

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Indian police say man fatally stabs 14 relatives, hangs self
MUNEEZA NAQVI, Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — A man in western India fatally stabbed 14 members of his family, including seven children, early Sunday before hanging himself, police said.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898788-indian-police-say-man-fatally-stabs-14-relatives-hangs-self/

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Trump retweets quote attributed to fascist leader Mussolini

NEW YORK: -- Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has retweeted a quote widely attributed to Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898790-trump-retweets-quote-attributed-to-fascist-leader-mussolini/

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A breeze to get into Thailand but Malaysia tightens up

PADANG BESAR: Entry into Malaysia from Thailand via the Wang Kelian checkpoint in Perlis has been tightened, especially after the gruesome discovery of mass graves and campsites last year.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898792-a-breeze-to-get-into-thailand-but-malaysia-tightens-up/

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British Muslim Girls Forced to Marriage via Skype to Men Wishing UK Entry

Skype helps minor Muslim girls to get married online and…break UK law

LONDON: -- Many Muslim girls living in the United Kingdom have been marrying via Skype to foreigners hoping to get a spousal visa to England.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/898796-british-muslim-girls-forced-to-marriage-via-skype-to-men-wishing-uk-entry/