Canada refugee claims spike in first two months of 2017

By Anna Mehler Paperny

REUTERS

 

A man who claimed to be from Sudan climbs over a pile of snow as he and his family illegally cross the U.S.-Canada border leading into Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada, March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

 

TORONTO (Reuters) - A spike in refugee claims for the first two months of 2017 put Canada on track for the highest number since at least 2011. A fifth of those claimants were caught crossing the border illegally.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974538-canada-refugee-claims-spike-in-first-two-months-of-2017/

 

Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April - sources

By Arshad Mohammed and John Walcott

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks in Washington, U.S. on March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip an April 5-6 meeting of NATO foreign ministers for a U.S. visit by the Chinese president and will travel to Russia later in the month, U.S. officials said on Monday, a step allies may see as putting Moscow's concerns ahead of theirs.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974539-exclusive-tillerson-plans-to-skip-nato-meeting-visit-russia-in-april-sources/

 

Turkey uses 'Nazi' metaphors out of worry for European friends - deputy PM

REUTERS
 

Turkey's ruling Ak Party (AKP) Deputy Chairman responsible for Economic Affairs Numan Kurtulmus talks to foreign media in Ankara January 21, 2014. Picture taken January 21. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

 

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey uses metaphors about Nazism with respect to its European friends as it is worried about them falling again into the trap of the ideology, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974540-turkey-uses-nazi-metaphors-out-of-worry-for-european-friends-deputy-pm/

 

PM calls for overhaul of farming sector

 

BANGKOK, 21 March 2017 (NNT) – The Prime Minister has called for an overhaul of the nation’s farming sector to remedy its long standing issues. 

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974551-pm-prayut-calls-for-overhaul-of-farming-sector/

 

Tropical storms wreak havoc on at least 18 provinces

 

YASOTHON, 21 March 2017 (NNT) – Tropical storms across the country have resulted in damage to up to 18 provinces with over 300 trees felled in Yasothon alone. 

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974552-tropical-storms-wreak-havoc-on-at-least-18-thai-provinces/

 

The myth of melting ice and rising seas
By Sam Khoury
Special to The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- This month The Nation along with every other news source in the world reported on a massive winter blizzard that struck the US northeast one week before the start of spring.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974553-the-myth-of-melting-ice-and-rising-seas/

 

Duterte visits Bangkok
By The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Bangkok Monday night and will start his official visit at the invitation of Thai government Tuesday. 

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974555-duterte-visits-bangkok/

 

Training programmes for laid-off bus fare collectors 
By The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The Labour Ministry plans to provide training programmes for Bangkok Mass Transit Authority fare collectors laid-off due to the introduction of an electronic payment system on BMTA buses.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974556-training-programmes-for-laid-off-bmta-bus-fare-collectors/

 

Drought sets off fires across north

 

LAMPANG, 21 March 2017 (NNT) – Drought conditions have undercut water supplies for residents of the north while also spurring multiple forest fires. 

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974557-drought-sets-off-fires-across-north/

 

SET opens up 1.95 to 1,565.49 /Bangkok Post

Phuket's Soi Dog Foundation wins ‘People’s Choice’ at British Charity Film Awards

The Phuket News

 

Soi Dog Foundation lead UK volunteers Donna Freelove and Suzanne Woodhead (centre) were on hand at the ceremony to receive the award from presenters James Sutton and Sally Phillips.

 

PHUKET: -- Soi Dog Foundation, the Phuket-based street dog and cat welfare organisation responsible for fighting the Asian dog meat trade, has won the “People’s Choice” award at the inaugural British Charity Film Awards in London.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974558-phukets-soi-dog-foundation-wins-‘people’s-choice’-at-british-charity-film-awards/

 

Knife man in Hua Hin station rampage - all because he had the wrong ticket

 

Picture: video screenshot

 

HUA HIN: -- A Thai man with mental health issues went on a rampage at Hua Hin railway station yesterday. And later it emerged that he had tried to board with the wrong ticket.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974560-knife-man-in-hua-hin-station-rampage-all-because-he-had-the-wrong-ticket/

 

Vets to give update on Ormsin the turtle 
By The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- A veterinary team from Chulalongkorn University on Tuesday will hold a press conference to discuss the condition of Ormsin, the sea turtle in a coma since last weekend after undergoing surgery to remove hundreds of coins from its stomach.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974561-vets-to-give-update-on-ormsin-the-turtle/

 

More drugs party monks defrocked - this time in Krabi temple

 

Picture: Thairath

 

KRABI: -- Police and navy personnel raided a well known temple in the Ao Luk area of Krabi yesterday and arrested the abbot and most of the monks.

 

Source: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974563-more-drugs-party-monks-defrocked-this-time-in-krabi-temple/

 

Villager killed by wild elephants in Chachoengsao
By The Nation

 

CHACHOENGSAO: -- A villager collecting food in a forest reserve near a wildlife sanctuary in Chachoengsao province was killed by wild elephants on Monday afternoon, police said.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974568-villager-killed-by-wild-elephants-in-chachoengsao/

 

UPDATE:

 

Probe into Provincial Waterworks head office blaze
By The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- Forensic investigators on Tuesday morning inspected the Provincial Waterworks Authority’s head office in Bangkok's Lak Si district after a fire there on Monday evening.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974512-second-big-fire-in-a-day-hits-bangkok/?do=findComment&comment=11728807

 

Birthday boy Prayut tells media "I am what I am"
By The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday thanked Government House reporters for giving him a birthday card and their good wishes to mark his 63rd birthday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974569-birthday-boy-prayut-tells-media-i-am-what-i-am/

 

More arrests as Pattaya police chief speaks of returning happiness to the resort

 

Picture: Pattaya News

 

PATTAYA: -- Police announced the arrest of gun hoodlums, a drug dealer and a lady boy thief as the local chief spoke of the ongoing crackdown to make Pattaya a safe place for tourists.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974572-more-arrests-as-pattaya-police-chief-speaks-of-returning-happiness-to-the-resort/

 

Phuket Chinese tour group seized assets sell-off raises B200mn

Eakkapop Thongtub

 

The auction yesterday saw 15 buses sold, some with “T L Better Way” emblazoned in Thai script on their sides. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET: -- The last of the assets seized by Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) from the now-defunct Phuket-based 'zero-baht' Chinese tour operator Tranlee Travel Co Ltd went under the hammer yesterday (Mar 20), bringing the total raised to state coffers to more than B200 million.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974574-phuket-chinese-tour-group-seized-assets-sell-off-raises-b200mn/

 

EXCLUSIVE: Trump administration weighing broad sanctions on North Korea - U.S. official

By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at a rocket warhead tip after a simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile, at an unidentified location in this undated file photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on March 15, 2016. KCNA/via Reuters/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is considering sweeping sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system as part of a broad review of measures to counter Pyongyang's nuclear and missile threat, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974576-exclusive-trump-administration-weighing-broad-sanctions-on-north-korea-us-official/

 

DSI to probe weapons cache seizure as a M16 assault rifle linked to terrorism case in 2010

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The Royal Thai Police will transfer the weapons seizure case at a house linked to Ko Tee to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to handle after one of assault rifles seized was linked to a terrorism case in 2010.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974580-dsi-to-probe weapons-cache-seizure-as-a-m16-assault-rifle linked-to-terrorism-case-in-2010/

 

UPDATE:

 

Prawit says weapon seizure linked to Ko Tee not a set-up

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Deputy prime minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon yesterday dismissed as groundless a suggestion that the seizure of a weapon  cache from a house linked to Wuthipong Kochthammakun, alias Ko Tee, a hard-core red-shirt in Pathum Thani on Saturday, was a set-up.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974580-dsi-to-probe weapons-cache-seizure-as-a-m16-assault-rifle linked-to-terrorism-case-in-2010/?do=findComment&comment=11728943

 

3.6 million tons of degraded rice put on auction

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The Ministry of Commerce yesterday opened its latest bidding for more than 3.6 million tons of degraded rice stocks with 19 buyers taking part.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974583-36-million-tons-of-degraded-rice-put-on-auction/

 

Phuket flash floods cut off roads, fell power lines

Eakkapop Thongtub

 

Heavy rain across Phuket yesterday afternoon (Mar 21) cut off several roads and downed power lines, causing power outages across large areas of Phuket. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET: -- Heavy rain across the island yesterday afternoon (Mar 21) cut off several roads and downed power lines, causing power outages across large areas of Phuket.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974586-phuket-flash-floods-cut-off-roads-fell-power-lines/

 

Rajanukul Institute marks World Down Syndrome Day
By The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- Parents of a child with Down syndrome should take the child for treatment and rehabilitation as early as possible to boost their development, a senior official at the Department of Mental Health’s Bangkok-based Rajanukul Institute said on Tuesday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974591-rajanukul-institute-marks-world-down-syndrome-day/

 

Forestry official sacked for allegedly killing endangered animals, posting photos of carcasses on Facebook

By Coconuts Bangkok 

 

Photo: MThai

 

BANGKOK: -- An official of the Royal Forest Department in Tak province was immediately fired after it was learned that he allegedly killed endangered animals and posted photos of their carcasses on Facebook, inviting his friends to eat the animals.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974593-forestry-official-sacked-for-allegedly-killing-endangered-animals-posting-photos-of-carcasses-on-facebook/

 

Lufthansa to operate Airbus A380 between Bangkok-Frankfurt
By The Natiom

 

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has once again proven to be one of the most important growing markets within the Lufthansa Group network.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974596-lufthansa-to-operate-airbus-a380-between-bangkok-frankfurt/

 

UPDATE:

 

DSI to take over ‘Ko Tee’ weapons investigation 
By The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The case concerning ongoing raids for weapons linked to red-shirt figure Wuthipong Kothhamakhun, or “Ko Tee”, will be transferred to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), said Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana on Tuesday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974580-dsi-to-probe weapons-cache-seizure-as-a-m16-assault-rifle linked-to-terrorism-case-in-2010/?do=findComment&comment=11729139

 

Two month later, no explanation for Gripen crash

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter

  

BANGKOK — The Royal Thai Air Force said it has yet to figure out why one of its jet fighters went down during a Children’s Day airshow two months ago.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974601-video-two-month-later-no-explanation-for-gripen-crash/

 

Authorities confident Dhammachayo does not have passport
By The Nation

 

File photo: Phra Dhammachayo.

 

BANGKOK: -- There is a high possibility that Phra Dhammachayo, the fugitive honorary abbot of Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani province, is still in Thailand given there is no record of him being issued a passport, said Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana on Tuesday.

 

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/974603-authorities-confident-dhammachayo-does-not-have-passport/