Thai Channel 3 soap opera fans will no longer get to see any kissing scenes.

The channel is now only allowing love scenes to feature kissing on the cheeks and foreheads, hugging and embracing.

Channel 3 is moving top more child-friendly programming and more children programs.

Channel 3 Executive Prawit Maleenont has banned kissing in soap operas and told soap producers to go the traditional Thai love scene route with only kisses on the forehead and cheek and hugging and embracing.

Production executive for Channel 3 Somrak Narongwichai says this year's soap will reflect social problems and will be more realistic in that characters will have occupations and careers.

But of course less realistic in that lovers will go round kissing each other on the forehead.

I spotted my first one last night.

Apparently other denomination will slowly follow in the same series.

Keeping vigilant and keeping abreast of the situation

Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office has issued teh following travel advice for Thailand:

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to media enquiries about a possible terrorist  threat in Bangkok, following a warning issued by the US government to its citizens. On 13 January they said:

The Thai Government is also aware about such a possible threat and that the authorities concerned have been in close co-ordination with each other as well as with relevant countries. In this regard, security measures have been increased as a precaution to prevent any incident that may occur. The authorities will continue to remain vigilant and monitor the situation closely

We therefore advise visitors to exercise vigilance and keep abreast of local security advice and media reports

Update: Detained

16th January 2012. Based on article from minivannews.com

Police have found more than 4,300 kilogrammes of urea based fertiliser and other materials used for making explosives in a building in Samut Sakhon's Muang district after the arrest of a middle-east terrorist suspect, national police chief Priewpan Damapong said Monday.

More than 200 police raided a three-storey commercial building in Mahachai area after Atris Hussein, a Lebanese man carrying a Swedish passport who has suspected links to the Hezbollah militant group was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday evening. He confessed that explosive ingredients were hidden there, Pol Gen Priewpan said.

He said 4,380 kilogrammes of urea based fertiliser, 260 litres of ammonium nitrate and 400 electric fans were found on the second floor of the building. The police also discovered many pairs of slippers, A4 paper and 400 table fans on the ground floor.

The terror suspect told investigators that the terrorist group had not been planning attacks in Thailand. It just wanted to hide the components in Thailand. They were then to be concealed inside table fan boxes and shipped to other countries, according to the suspect, Pol Gen Priewpan said.

Thailand's first lady boy air stewardesses have taken part in PC Air's inaugural flight from Bangkok to Surat Thani.

The new airline took on four transgender crew last year when hiring thirty in-flight staff.

PC Air boss Peter Chan told the Daily Telegraph last year: I think these people can have many careers -- not just in the entertainment business -- and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess. I just made their dream come true. Our society has changed. It's evolution. I'm a pioneer and I'm sure there will be other organisations following my idea.

Thailand is considered one of the more tolerant countries towards the wide spectrum of transgenderism. Transgender women are often referred to as the third sex, or as katoeys, which is sometimes seen as a pejorative term.

The Telegraph reports that despite differently-coloured name tags, few passengers could tell the transgender stewardesses apart from the other female crew.

Comment: Interesting to note the My Way slogan for the airline. I wonder if Frank Sinatra had a ladyboy BJ in mind for the last verse of the great song:

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!

Yes, it was my way

A Thai man who spread a disaster prophecy over the internet is facing legal action by the provincial administration organisation chief, who says the prediction has damaged Tak's economy.

Thongbai Khamsi, 73, a Chanthaburi resident, had publicised claims made by his late son 37 years ago that Bhumibol Dam in Tak would burst at 10pm on Dec 31, 2011. Needless to say that the prophecy proved to be bollox.

Thongbai's son Suthas, or Pla Bu, was said to be a psychic and made his prediction not long before he died at just seven years old of a brain tumour. His father claimed the boy had predicted his own death and had also foreseen the 2004 tsunami. His vision of the Bhumibol dam break included resultant major flooding in downstream areas, including Bangkok.

The prophecy made its way on to the internet and the rumour spread rapidly.

The prediction had generated panic among locals and badly damaged the province's economy, said Songkhram Manassa, president of the Tak provincial administration organisation. He filed a complaint with the local police against Thongbai, claiming he had made a false statement and publicised it online.

A large number of visitors flocked to the dam to either take part in the New Year countdown festivities on its banks or to take photographs of the structure while it is still standing in case the prophecy comes true. Provincial authorities arranged the official countdown event at the dam as a way to prove their confidence that the prediction is false.

Several BBC channels are starting tomorrow on the TrueVision satellite Pay TV service.

In particular BBC Entertainment is returning along with BBC Knowledge and BBC Lifestyle.

Six homemade bombs were found at three spots in eastern Bangkok early yesterday. Police have arrested a suspect who claims he laid them for political reasons.

At the first spot, a bomb was placed by the wall of Bangkok Bank's Sukhumvit 77 branch (Prawet) in Lat Krabang Soi 20.

At the second spot, two bombs were found at the mouth of Kanchanaphisek Soi 89 in Prawet.

At the third spot, another three bombs were found at a U-turn under a bridge across Khlong Nong Prue opposite Suvarnabhumi market in Lat Krabang Soi 13.

Bomb disposal experts dismantled the devices.

Police say Jirawat Chanpeng, a goat farmer and native of Sakon Nakhon province, has been arrested and charged with planting the devices. Police said the suspect admitted only that he was driven by political motivations, although he was not aligned with any particular political groups.

In a TV pool broadcast that interrupted Wednesday's prime time programming, Flood Control spokesman said that Bangkok must be prepared for floods. If in a risk area, please evacuate out of Bangkok if possible or seek shelter with temporary shelter. It is more convenient to move now than later when it is hard to navigate through the flood.

Those already flooded, please be careful of electrocution if seek to stay put. More and more shelters are being prepared by the government.

Yesterday the prime minister similarly interrupted prim time programmes to tell people that all areas of Bangkok are likely to flood over the coming weekend. Bangkok workers have been given a 5 day holiday over this period.

Live Champions League matches now cannot be viewed on Thai satellite or cable TV.

Without prior notice, broadcast rights holders Channels 3 and 7 started blocking the transmission signals of two Champions League matches to satellite and cable TV including TrueVisions.

Channel 3 was scheduled to televise Manchester City v Villarreal match. But it showed an announcement just before the match kicked off saying the broadcast was only for viewers in Thailand and the live game was unavailable on satellite or cable TV. Later the Otelul Galati v Manchester United game was blocked on Channel 7.

The two matches could still be watched on terrestrial TV with a normal antenna, assuming that viewers were in a good reception area.

The move caused an uproar among fans.

An insider said the Uefa asked Thailand's broadcast rights holders of the Champions League to act after the European football governing body had received complaints from the broadcast rights holders in neighbouring countries such as Burma.

Bangkok has gone into flood preparation mode as city residents started stockpiling food supplies and moving their vehicles to safe ground.

Overnight rainfall which caused flooding in some parts of the city and a national address by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra admitting that the government was almost at its wits' end to deal with the nationwide flood disaster, has created a climate of concern in the capital.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra called an emergency meeting of concerned agencies Saturday to map out evacuation plans and set up temporary shelters.

Water released from major dams in the North is expected to arrive in Bangkok next week. The most worrying time will be between Oct 16 and 18 when the northern waterflow combined with the high tide and projected heavy rainfall could cause severe flooding in the city, Sukhumbhand said.

A Jewish campaign organization has called for Thailand's Christian leaders to condemn a parade at the Sacred Heart School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in which participating students wearing Nazi uniforms performed Sieg Heil salutes.

Parade participants carried a Swastika flag, performed Nazi salutes and donned SS uniforms, while others dressed as Adolf Hitler complete with moustache.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, based in Los Angeles, denounced the event, claiming it was glorifying Nazis. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said the images made it clear that the event could not have taken place without the knowledge and cooperation of the school administration:

It is difficult to calculate the hurt such a display inflicted on survivors of the Nazi Holocaust and the families of all victims of Nazism. There can be no justification for such an outrage to emanate from place of learning.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center urged those responsible for the school to take immediate action against the individuals who promoted and facilitated the event.

A school director apologised: We, the entire Sacred Heart School [personnel] are deeply saddened by this incident, and explained that the sports day activity involved groups being differentiated by colors, the Red group having used Nazi symbols.

Nazi Germany is not well covered in the Thai school syllabus and it is very unlikely that any of the participants understood much about the significance of their regalia.

Thai police have arrested a British man and four Thai women for running an online pornography business involving live video feeds from Isaan.

Police said that authorities, acting on a tip off, launched a raid on the residence of Ian Davies and found camera equipment and the four women dancing topless in front of a webcam along with some onlookers. A police spokesman said at least 20 Thai women had worked in shifts at the house in Nakhon Ratchasima.

The suspects were charged with violating the Computer Crime Act and distributing pornographic media.

Retail rice prices could jump by 25% or more from next month once the government launches the crop mortgage programme.

Somkiat Makcayathorn, president of the Thai Rice Packers Association, said Hom Mali rice prices could rise by 25% or 40-50 baht per 5kg bag.

The government is likely to offer high prices under the scheme which will encourage retailers to hoard stocks, at least until the government starts paying out. Exporters, meanwhile, are bracing for harder times with the rise in prices.

The crop mortgage programme will start on Oct 7, with a target price of 15,000 baht per tonne of rice paddy and 20,000 baht for Hom Mali rice. Authorities say the programme is a crucial element of broader plans to raise rural household incomes and boost the farm sector.

Arguably the sex tourism capital of the world, Thailand is now deliberately using the family tourism label to shed the sex destination tag, a Thai diplomat said here Friday.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event organised in Panaji to promote Thailand as a tourism destination, Tomwit Jarnson, the Thai consul general in Mumbai, said family tourism would eventually edge Thailand away from the slur of sex tourism in the years to come: We are trying to project Thailand as a family tourism destination. We are slowly changing the perception of Thailand to the rest of the world.

We are slowly developing facilities in Thailand which will attract family tourism. We have a lot of Indian families who travel to Thailand, Jarnson said.

He further said that the Thailand tourism authorities were trying to project Phuket - which, along with Bangkok and Pattaya, is regarded as the prime sex tourism area in Thailand - as a family tourism destination.

Prostitution is common place in the tourism districts of Thailand, which nearly 14 million tourists visit annually, a large chunk of these are single males or male groups of tourists seeking sex or sex-oriented fun.

Those with yearly visa extension have to report their address to Thai Iimmigration every 90 days.

There are several reports saying that the required documentation list has increased.

Along with the TM47 reporting form visa holders have to provide:

• Photocopies of their main passport page, Thai visa, departure card
• Photocopy of official document verifying address, eg utility bills. Maybe not so easy if they are all in a Thai partner's name

Lieutenant-general Wiboon Bangthamai, the commissioner of the immigration police, said officials at remote border posts had been known to suffer inexplicable computer troubles when people with lots of cash sought to cross the Thai border illegally. Officers at small border checkpoints would break the computers and let them in, Wiboon said. The American cables point to weak law enforcement, a country preoccupied with political problems and inconvenient geography.

Thailand's borders are long and extremely porous and the country is therefore vulnerable to international criminal elements of all kinds, the cables said.

Another reason Thailand has struggled to contain its fugitive problem is that stamping out what makes it attractive for the most wanted might curb the billion-pound business of hosting all those tourists without criminal records. Thailand's anything-goes ethos is coupled with a deep-seated hospitality that often seems blind to a foreigner's background and appearance.

Bangkok's red-light districts crawl with beady-eyed, beer-swilling foreigners who might not look out of place on most-wanted posters. But as one Thai government adviser noted, it can be hard to distinguish between the crooks and the holidaymakers.

...Read the full article

German administrators have impounded a jet used by Thailand's Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, in a dispute over an unpaid debt from 20 years ago.

The administrators say Thailand's government has refused to pay a bill of more than 30m euros (£26m; $43m) to a now-defunct German construction firm.

The Boeing 737 was seized by court order, and will remain grounded, said a spokesman for Munich airport.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry said the seizure was highly inappropriate: The Thai authorities have expressed to the German government its great concern over the incident and have requested it to resolve the problem as soon as possible, ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi told Reuters news agency.

But Walter Schneider, the administrator for the now-bankrupt construction firm, said the drastic measure was virtually the last resort. The Thai government always stalled and did not respond to our demands. The German firm was part of a consortium that helped to build a toll road between Bangkok and Don Muang airport.

Update: Returned

10th August 2011. See article from google.com

Germany has released a plane belonging to Thailand's crown prince which was seized at Munich airport as surety for an outstanding Thai government debt, a court official said Wednesday.

The plane has been released, Christoph Fellner, vice-president of the Landshut regional court in the southern state of Bavaria told AFP.

For this to have happened a surety must have been paid. I haven't yet heard from the parties concerned as to whether the whole affair has been settled and if the main proceedings can now be dropped, he added.

The Pheu Thai party allied to ousted and exiled ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra has won a major victory in Thailand's general election.

With most votes counted, outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has conceded victory to his rival, opposition leader Yingluck Shinawatra.

Ms Yingluck, who will become Thailand's first female prime minister, said there was a lot of hard work ahead. She is the younger sister of Thaksin Shinawatra. Yingluck Shinawatra is a political novice. Her popularity has largely rested on the fact that she has been selling her brother's policies.

With all but 1 seats announced Ms Yingluck's Pheu Thai party had won 263 seats, giving it a working majority in the 500-seat parliament.

It is now clear from the election results so far that the Pheu Thai party has won the election, and the Democrat Party concedes defeat, Abhisit said on national TV.

Thaksin, speaking from self-imposed exile in Dubai, has said he wants to return to Thailand but will wait for the right moment.

Any political campaigning via Facebook, Twitter and other online social networks will be banned from 6pm on election eve, Saturday until midnight on election day, Sunday.

No alcohol will be on sale or served during these hours as well.

More than 900 websites will be monitored for signs of a breach of the electoral law during those hours.

The ban covers not only political parties and their candidates but also the general public.

Police said the use of online campaigning tools such as Facebook and Twitter is of serious concern and police are stepping up efforts in making the users aware of the restriction.

Misreable Bangrak District Office director Surakiat Limcharern has lodged a complaint with police over topless female Songkran revellers whose sexy dancing near Silom Road was recorded and posted on the Internet.

It hurts the image of Thailand, in particular Silom, he ludicrously claimed: It distorts Songkran culture too. Close examination showed the topless revellers were young, so young that it dismissed my initial assumption that they might have been workers in the redlight zone of Patpong.

Lodging his complaint at the Yannawa Police Station, Surakiat urged police to track down the teenagers who he claimed carried out obscene acts in public places.

Miserable National Police Commissioner General Wichien Pojphosri vowed action against both the topless revellers and their cheering crowds.

Miserable Culture Minister Nipit Intarasombat, meanwhile, wanted action taken against those lending loudspeakers and stereo systems for the topless dancing: Apart from being fined, the topless girls should be required to do some cultural work. For example, they should be made to read books about the Songkran Festival for young students to listen to as part of the punishment.

Video clips showing the topless Songkran revellers were posted on the Internet on Saturday, provoking a nutter 'outcry'.

Culture Watch Centre director Ladda Tangsupachai has disclosed that Nipit also instructed her to officially ask the National Police Office and the ICT Ministry to ban the video clips on the Internet.

In Phichit, two transvestites were fined yesterday for exposing their breasts during the Songkran celebrations.

In Chon Buri, Pattaya City's councillor Rattanachai Suttidechanai said all entertainment venues were told not to stage pornographic shows.

Update: Oops, Thai Minstry caught 'destroying the image' of Thailand

25th April 2011.  See article from globalvoicesonline.org

Image rapidly deleted from the Thai Ministry of Culture website lest they 'destroy the image of Thailand' again!

The buzz in Thailand in the past week (before the renewed border fighting with Cambodian troops) was the scandal caused by the topless teen dancers during the Songkran Water Fighting Festival.

The photos and videos of the three girls dancing bare breasted in Silom, Bangkok immediately went viral and generated intense debates on Thai culture and morality. The girls were slapped with a 500 Baht ($17) fine while the person who uploaded the video received a 100,000 Baht ($3,320) fine and a possible prison term for up to five years in violation of the Computer Crimes Act.

The Thai Ministry of Culture ludicrously condemned the girls for 'destroying the image' of Thailand.

But embarrassingly, netizens spotted that very same accusatory ministry were themselves 'destroying the image' of Thailand.

The image [right] of three topless topless women enjoying Songkran was featured on its website and was mysteriously removed when spotted immediately after the Songkran topless dancing incident.

The censored image was of the Nang Songkran (Thai Goddesses of Songkran) painting by Sompop Budtarad.

Thai Connoisseur observes that the three teenagers were merely embracing the more traditional, and somewhat forgotten aspects of Songkran:

...three young Thai ladies embracing the more traditional, and somewhat forgotten aspects of Songkran, by dancing in much the same way as their great grandmothers would have done back in the days of Siam. In other words, bare breasted! Who can blame them? I think it is a good thing for the young people to revive forgotten traditions of one's ancestors.

Harrison George, writing for Prachatai, comments on the hypocrisy of the authorities

Where the young women went wrong was doing it for free. Theirs was an economic sin, not a moral one. If they had done the same thing in a bar a few hundred yards away, they would never have been bothered by the law. And got paid for it.

The rail link project between central Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi airport has turned out to be a fiasco, with passengers paying up to 150 baht for what they say is a shoddy service.

There have been complaints that the terminals at the stations are badly signposted; there are no escalators; and there are no trolleys for passengers with heavy bags to use. Other complaints include the lack of a car park and no facilities linking the stations to public transport.

Passengers also complained the train looks old and the seats are uncomfortable. Many passengers are also upset by the way the doors to the train shut with heavy force.

Permanent secretary for transport Supoj Saplom admitted the problems and lack of facilities stemmed from the operation's substandard design.

The Airport Rail Link offers City Line, which runs from Phaya Thai to Suvarnabhumi with a full range of stops. The 30-minute ride costs from 15 to 45 baht. The Express Line runs non-stop from Makkasan to the airport, taking just 15 minutes and costs 100 baht, while the Express Line costs 150 baht.

Permanent secretary for transport Supoj Saplom said the recent increase in fares from 100 to 150 Baht for the Express Line has led to a sharp drop in the number of passengers to 700 a day, below the target of 2,200, although the City Line still can attract between 36,000 to 40,000 a day.

State Railway of Thailand governor Yutthana Thapcharoen said the SRT has set aside a budget of 646 million baht to improve and build facilities and signposts at all stations within this year.

Kantapa Piriyapongsa, an office employee, complained the trains do not arrive on time, resulting in passengers missing flights at Suvarnabhumi.

Thailand is expected to experience more unseasonal weather patterns this week causing more floods, rough seas, storms and cold temperatures, meteorology officials warn.

Nakhon Si Thammarat has again seen floods with the additional danger that 11 crocodiles escaped from the flooded zoo. Keepers shot dead one crocodile and caught three others. Seven remain at large.

A further drop in temperatures in most parts of the country and continued heavy rainstorms over the southern region during the next few days have been forecast.

Heavy downpours and turbulent seas have caused flash floods in at least six southern provinces, disrupting land, sea and air travel and causing devastating damage to farmland and property in many areas.

Thousands of tourists were stranded on Koh Samui after bad weather forced the closure of the island's only airport and the suspension of the ferry service to and from the mainland yesterday.

North-east Burma was hit by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake near the border with Thailand at Mae Sai.

It struck at 1355 GMT (20:55 Thai time) and was centred about 70 miles (110 km) from the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake was shallow, at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km).

It struck in a sparsely populated and remote area, but tremors could be felt as far away as Bangkok and Hanoi.

Based on article from abc.net.au

At least 75 people are now believed to have died. The death toll is still expected to rise as authorities move into remote areas that have been cut off by road closures since the 6.8 magnitude quake.

More than 240 buildings are said to have collapsed on the Burmese side of the border killing at least 74.

One woman was also killed in the Thai district of Mae Sai and more than 100 people were injured in areas close to the epicentre.

There are reports of a 10 kilometre crack in a road in Northern Thailand as a result of the quake and a number of aftershocks.

He even supports the underdogs!

Thailand's prime minister has admitted for the first time that he is also a British citize.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva publicly acknowledged his dual nationality on Thursday during a debate in parliament. He automatically holds British citizenship because he was born in Newcastle upon Tyne to parents from a well-to-do Bangkok family. He would have to specifically renounce it to lose it.

I admit I have not given up British nationality because it is understood legally that ... if the nationality laws are conflicting, Thai law must be used, Abhisit said in response to an opposition MP's question.

My intention is clear. I was born in England but I consider myself a Thai. I studied in England but I intended to return to work and live in Thailand, to work for the country's interest, and didn't think of anything else.

He also said he had never hidden his support for Newcastle United football club.

The prime minister had been evasive about the citizenship question since it was raised about a month ago. Opponents like to mock him for his upper-class education -- he attended Eton and Oxford University -- and typically refer to him in speeches by his English name, Mark.

But there are more serious undertones to the issue, with his political foes claiming that as a British citizen, Abhisit can be sued in the international criminal court for alleged abuses committed when the Thai military forcibly put down anti-government protests in Bangkok last year. About 90 people were killed during two months of demonstrations and unrest.

Fresh fighting has erupted along the Thai border with Cambodia in Si Sa Ket province.

The first shots were fired yesterday in border areas near tambon Phu Pha Mok in Kantharalak about 1.30pm. The fighting included artillery fire and shots from small firearms and lasted about 15 minutes. No deaths or injuries were reported.

A more severe exchange began at 6.30pm and lasted until about 9.40pm, with heavy artillery fire being exchanged between Cambodian and Thai troops centred on a village near Preah Vihear temple.

The Cambodian government said the 11th-century Hindu temple was damaged in the firefight. A wing of our Preah Vihear temple has collapsed as a direct result of the Thai artillery bombardment, said a military commander in a statement released by Phnom Penh last night.

Several communities on Thai soil were also damaged by artillery shells and at least 12 people were injured, including two civilians.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has brushed aside calls for intervention by other Asean countries to help resolve the conflict.

Abhisit said during his weekly television and radio broadcast yesterday there was no need for other Asean member countries to step in, as suggested by Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan. He said he was confident the dispute could be resolved through bilateral negotiations.

However, he insisted Thailand would not withdraw its troops, as demanded by Cambodia. Thailand must protect its rights to the land, he said.

Global freedom suffered its fifth consecutive year of decline in 2010, according to Freedom in the World 2011, Freedom House's annual assessment of political rights and civil liberties around the world.

This represents the longest continuous period of decline in the nearly 40-year history of the survey. The year featured drops in the number of Free countries and the number of electoral democracies, as well as an overall deterioration for freedom in the Middle East and North Africa region.

A total of 25 countries showed significant declines in 2010, more than double the 11 countries exhibiting noteworthy gains. The number of countries designated as Free fell from 89 to 87, and the number of electoral democracies dropped to 115, below the 2005 figure of 123. In addition, authoritarian regimes like those in China, Egypt, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela continued to step up repressive measures with little significant resistance from the democratic world.

Thailand is among the 25 countries which showed significant declines in democracy last year. Thailand is now considered 'partly' free.

This should be a wake-up call for all of the world's democracies, said David J. Kramer, executive director of Freedom House. Our adversaries are not just engaging in widespread repression, they are doing so with unprecedented aggressiveness and self-confidence, and the democratic community is not rising to the challenge.

Bangkok Police will issue a directive to prohibit children under 18 years old from leaving home after 10 pm without justified reasons, the bureau spokesman said.

Metropolitan Police spokesman Pol Maj Gen Piya Uthayo said the ban was aimed preventing youths from hanging out at night and committing crime or becoming crime victims.

Piya said if police found children under 18 hanging out at night without justified reasons they would be taken to police stations and they would be have criminal records and their parents would be called to pick them up.

Update: Police reminded that there is such a thing as human rights

15th January 2011. See article from nationmultimedia.com

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is calling on the police to consult all relevant parties before enforcing a newly announced measure to prevent young people under the age of 18 from staying out late.

The measure concerns both the welfare and liberty of young people, NHRC commissioner Visa Benjamano said. Some children might have some errands to tend to or might be on their way home, she said, adding that police should first listen to the opinions of youngsters, parents and people working for children's causes before implementing the measure.

Police should also carefully consider relevant laws, Visa added.

Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Maj-General Amnuay Nimmano claimed the measure was in line with relevant laws, namely the Children Protection Act. He said that if children were found straying outside late at night, they would be taken to a police station and their parents alerted. If they are caught for a second time, their parents will be punished too, he said, adding that parents could face up to three months in jail or a maximum fine of Bt20,000.

The Thai Public Health Ministry plans to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes from 18 years old to 20 years old.

The decision was reached during the meeting of the National Cigarette Control Committee.

The meeting was chaired by Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit.

The meeting also came up with several other measures to control smoking. Cigarette vending machines and online vending will be banned. Vendors will not be allowed to divide up the cigarette pack into smaller units. Manufacturers will not be allowed to reduce the prices for marketing campaigns.

Also manufacturers will be required to change cigarette papers. The new paper type will make the cigarette automatically put out if the smokers do not smoke the cigarette for a period of time. Jurin said Thailand will be the first country that requires cigarette to use the new safety paper. This kind of paper will reduce the problem of second hand smoking and fires caused by cigarettes left burning.

Most of Thailand's 110 national parks have been declared alcohol-free zones.

Not only will there be a ban on booze sales, but visitors will also be barred from bringing alcoholic drinks into the parks. Those violating the regulation will be punished with up to one month in jail and/or a Bt1,000 fine.

Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti told a news conference.

However, some senior officials said this might not apply at national parks where the private sector rents places for business, such as at Koh Samet.

The parks used to earlier seek the cooperation of visitors to avoid alcoholic drinks.

The measure follows a knee jerk reaction to the case of an engineering student who stabbed someone to death in Khao Yai National Park during a loud drinking party among student campers on December 26 Sunday.

  The legal age at which a woman can be taken as a sex partner will increase from 15 to 20 under a new proposal, as the government seeks new ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

The Social Development and Human Security Ministry has proposed to criminalise nearly all of Thailand's youth. He proposed an amendment to Section 277 of the criminal law which states that a man who has sex with a girl aged 15 or under shall be fined between 8,000 baht and 40,000 baht, and imprisoned from four to 20 years.

The girl's age should be more than 15 because girls aged 15 to 20 have not yet reached maturity, minister Issara Somchai claimed.

The change may upset some groups, but the law is designed to punish the wrongdoer. If you observe the law, there's no reason to be afraid. Our society always blames the girl, which is wrong.

The recent discovery of 2,002 aborted foetuses at Wat Phai Ngern Chotanaram in Bang Kholaem district of Bangkok has drawn attention to unwanted pregnancies. The foetuses, the result of illegal abortions, were transported to the temple from underground clinics.

The minister said five groups of women were particularly at risk of unwanted pregnancies: primary and lower secondary school students, women who live in slum communities, who live in dormitories, young factory workers and the homeless. [sounds like the answer may lie more in raising living standards rather than sending Thai lads to jail]

Cabinet has approved six strategies for tackling the problem, including more assistance and rehabilitation for pregnant women. Issara said the strategies would be piloted in Kamphaeng Phet, which has the highest number of young mothers aged under 20.

Floods have been ravaging through 17 provinces.

According to the Disaster Mitigation and Prevention Department, at least 11 flood related deaths were reported between October 10 and October 19.

Metres deep flood water is now threatening to overwhelm Chaiyaphum, where the heart of the town is already impassable to all types of land transport vehicles. The area is totally flooded, upsetting the lives of more than 20,000 families.

Chaiyaphum Governor Jarin Jakkapak said the torrent of flood water was fierce in many areas, making it impossible for rowboats to reach flood victims: There aren't enough boats, he said, We have been contacting the authorities for help.

Chaiyaphum Hospital, which has more than 550 inpatients, was busy yesterday moving equipment and patients from the first floor to the second floor, as flood water had started to break through despite a temporary embankment.

The flood situation in Nakhon Ratchasima remained critical.

Meanwhile, in Nakhon Sawan, about 1,000 families in Tha Tako district remained marooned by chestdeep flood water and had to wait for food provided by the authorities. Four other districts of Nakhon Sawan were also seriously inundated.

As the flood situation worsened in his province, Lampang Governor Atikhom Supanpong yesterday declared Tambon Mae Phrik a disaster zone.

In Khon Kaen, floods marooned hundreds of houses in Phu Pha Man district. Rescue workers were trying hard to reach all those affected as of press time.

In Uthai Thani, the flood level continued to rise rapidly, almost reaching the second floor of many houses.

Flooding has now spread to provinces close to Bangkok.

In Ayutthaya, many areas in Tha Ruea district were under 80centimetredeep water yesterday. Ayutthaya is about a 90minute drive from Bangkok.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is preparing to fend off the threat of flooding in the wake of three upcoming risk factors. The risks come in the form of runoff water from the upper part of the country, heavy downpours over the capital, and the hightide period.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Pornthep Techapaiboon yesterday said runoff would likely reach Bangkok at the time the seawater level peaks, on October 26-27, added to which the rainy season had not yet ended.

Pornthep said more than 200,000 sandbags had already been formed into temporary embankments in the capital along the Chao Phya River, in addition to the permanent embankment. Both types of embankment are 2.5 metres above sea level.

Sanya Cheenimit, who heads the BMA's Drainage and Sewerage Department, said all 214 water gates in the capital were now closed to prevent water from the Chao Phya from flowing into canals.

More than half of the EU's 27 countries score badly in the annual press freedom index carried out by the Paris-based NGO Reporters without Borders - a negative trend compared to previous years, even though three EU members are the freest places in the world in which to be a journalist.

It is disturbing to see several European Union member countries continuing to fall in the index. If it does not pull itself together, the EU risks losing its position as world leader in respect for human rights, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard said in a statement accompanying the study.

Thirteen of the EU's 27 members are in the world top 20. But some of the other 14 stand very low while the gap between good and bad performers continues to widen, the report says.

The poor performers include France and Italy, where events in the past year – violation of the protection of journalists' sources, concentration of media ownership, displays of contempt by government officials and judicial summonses - continue to follow a negative line.

Italy, where some 10 journalists still live under police protection, stayed in 49th place out of 178, scoring worse than Bosnia and sharing the same position as Burkina Faso.

Greece got the worst marks in the EU, plummeting a huge 35 places to 70, where it now sits alongside the bloc's other meida villain, Bulgaria.

The Greek plunge is due to political unrest and related physical attacks on journalists. Athens was also criticised for political meddling, going so far as to ask the German government to apologise for nasty headlines about the Greek economic crisis in the Stern magazine.

Romania went down two places to 52. Reporters Without Borders noted that the government now considers the media a threat to national security and plans to censor activities.

At the top end, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands share the pole position with non-EU members Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. The group-of-six has held the top score since the index was created in 2002.

Iceland won special praise for its bill, the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI), to provide a unique level of legal protection for reporters.

In Denmark, which holds 11th place, murder attempts against Mohammed cartoonists Kurt Westergaard and Lars Vilks, could create a climate of self-censorship, Reporters Without Borders warned.

The survey also pointed to serious violations on the EU's doorstep.

EU candidate Turkey was placed in 138th place, next to Ethiopia (139) and Russia (140). The NGO spoke of a frenzied proliferation of lawsuits [and] incarcerations of reporters.

EU aspirant Ukraine placed at 131. Censorship has signalled its return, particularly in the audiovisual sector, the study said on the return to power of Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukoych.

Elsewhere the Philippines, Ukraine, Greece and Kyrgyzstan all fell sharply in this year's index. In the Philippines this was due to the massacre of around 30 journalists by a local baron, in Ukraine to the slow and steady deterioration in press freedom since Viktor Yanukovych's election as president in February, in Greece to political unrest and physical attacks on several journalists, and in Kyrgyzstan to the ethnic hatred campaign that accompanied the political turmoil.

India's and Thailand's rankings drop due to a breakout of serious violence Political violence has produced some very troubling tumbles in the rankings. Thailand (153rd) – where two journalists were killed and some fifteen wounded while covering the army crackdown on the red shirts movement in Bangkok – lost 23 places, while India slipped to 122nd place (-17) mainly due to extreme violence in Kashmir.

Allegedly tired of overstaying foreigners arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport with a valid air ticket and the maximum fine of 20,000 baht in their hands, the Immigration Department is now arresting and jailing people before permitting them to leave Thailand.

Anybody who has overstayed a valid visa in Thailand beyond a period of six weeks (42 days) is no longer permitted to simply turn up with the cash and an air ticket and leave the country after filling in a few forms and handing over the wedge.

People on overstay of less than three weeks (21 days) are still able to arrive at the airport with the correct amount of folding stuff, pay the fine due of 500 Baht per day and leave Thailand.

The grey area is for those whose overstay falls in the period between three and six weeks; that is, between 22 and 41 days. They can potentially have a problem. It is being suggested anyone whose overstay falls into this time frame should be aware that it will be up to the Immigration officer and his superiors at an airport or land border crossing to decide whether to detain the recalcitrant foreigner or permit him, or her, to leave unhindered, after payment of the overstay fine has been levied.

Law

Under the Immigration Act 2522:

Section 81 : Any alien who stay in the Kingdom without permission or with permission expired or revoked shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine not exceeding 20,000 Baht or both.

• Overstay 1 - 21 days: Pay a fine 500 Baht/day at Airport/land border
• Overstay 22 - 41 days: Pay a fine 500 Baht/day, possible arrest/detention, deportation, possible blacklisting
• Overstay 42 days or more: Pay a fine of 20,000 Baht, arrest/detention, deportation, possible blacklisting

Update: Not So Dogmatic

14th October 2010

It seems That the story hasn't really panned out and the Thai authorities aren't dogmatically imprisoning overstayers as suggested. However the law is accurate and overstayers could be imprisoned.

In the next 35 years, the temperature in Thailand will rise by 4 degrees Celsius, which will result in the eastern provinces getting inundated in 300 millimetres of rainfall every year, an expert said yesterday.

The Southeast Asia START Regional Research Centre's director Arnon Sanidwong na Ayudhaya was speaking at an academic conference.

His analysis was based on eight climate prediction models over the next 35-55 years.

The temperatures would rise in the rainy season and winter months, thus further narrowing the difference between summer and winter times, he said.

The models also showed that sea levels would rise by 14-15 centimetres, affecting the coastal areas from Bangkok to Rayong and Phetchaburi all the way to Narathiwat, he said.

Levels of rainfall would also be different from one place to another. For example, the Northeast and the West could have about 70-100mm of rain, while the East might end up with 300mm, leading to severe flooding.

The 28km Airport Rail Link began full commercial operations on 23rd August between central Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan.

The rail link will charge promotional fares until the end of the year on its city and express lines. It expects to serve up to 50,000 passengers a day.

State Railway of Thailand (SRT) governor Yutthana Thapcharoen said: It is the fastest rail system in the country. It is convenient and provides [a quality] service.

Passengers using the City Line, the all-stops line, will pay a flat rate of 15 baht for a trip during the promotion period. The line, which operates from 6am to midnight, takes 30 minutes to travel from Phaya Thai station to Suvarnabhumi airport.

Those using the Express Line will pay 100 baht for a trip. It takes 15 minutes to travel from Makkasan station to the airport non-stop. It also operates from 6am to midnight.

Fares for the City Line will range from 15 baht to 45 baht, depending on the distance travelled, after Jan 1, 2011, while the fares on the Express Line would rise to 150 baht.

Passengers would be able to check in their baggage at Makkasan station for transfer to their airline once the service was fully operational.

The Culture Ministry will hold a meeting with concerned bodies to discuss amendments to the laws on films and videos next week, Culture minister Nipit Intarasombat said Thursday.

He said the meeting would discuss the penalties for the unauthorised selling of VCDs, which are currently the same as those applied to theatres showing unauthorised films and considered unjust. Nipit said police, attorneys as well as film and videos business operators would be invited.

The law has been widely criticised after a city garbage collector was fined Bt133,000 for selling VCDs he salvaged from the trash.

Another man was arrested for selling his son's old VCD movies on a Bangkok pedestrian bridge.

Nipit said, The ministry will push for this issue to be resolved after gathering opinions from all sides. It depends on how quickly the Parliament will be able to proceed once the draft law is proposed.

A bomb exploded opposite of King Power firm in Soi Rangnam in Phaya Thai district early Friday morning, injuring a man.

Police has not yet identified the injured man who was rushed to nearby Rajvithiee Hospital.

Police and rescue workers who rushed to the scene had to wait for 20 minutes before rescuing the man out of fear that there would be hidden explosives.

Police believed that the explosive was hidden in a plastic black bag in a garbage bin. The injured man was a trash collector, his three-wheeled vehicle was left parking near the bin.

The UK Foreign Office annual report, British Behaviour Abroad, is based on cases reported to its global staff between April 2009 and March 2010.

The report shows that overall most Britons (5,283) needed consular assistance in Spain. However, as a proportion of British visitors and residents, most assistance was needed by Britons in Thailand (957), Pakistan (273) and Cyprus (736).

There were 5,930 reported deaths of UK citizens abroad, including natural causes, accidental deaths and unlawful killings, compared with 5,629 deaths the previous year. Proportionally, most Britons died in Thailand (292) Germany (563) and Cyprus (323).

According to the Foreign Office figures, there were 2,012 Britons arrested in Spain last year, significantly more than in any other country. But when taking visitor and resident numbers into consideration, proportionally Thailand is the country where the highest number of Britons were arrested (249) followed by the United Arab Emirates (265) and the US (1,367).

Bangkok authorities have announced that anyone caught handing bunches of bananas or sugar cane to street elephants — proffered by their handlers to make money — faces a $320 (10,000 baht) fine.

The ordinance is issued to prevent untidiness or danger toward properties and lives of Bangkok residents, said Manit Techa-apichoke, deputy director of the City Law Enforcement Department, adding there had been cases of elephants hurting people and falling into drains.

Friends of the Asian Elephant, a Thai non-government group which cares for injured or mistreated elephants, called the fines a good start.

Previously, mahouts — as elephant handlers are known — and their accomplices were fined for bringing an elephant into Bangkok, but those feeding the animal escaped punishment. Typically a tourist would pay 20 baht ($0.62) for the privilege of handing a bunch of fruit or vegetables into the elephant's trunk.

Manit said those caught feeding the animals would be fined, though they may be warned first.

He said authorities had caught 30 elephants in Bangkok the past four months, but none since the new ordinance took effect July 1, although handlers were finding ways to circumvent the crackdown. Mahouts have adopted a new tactic of using baby elephants and taking them from place to place on a pickup truck, he said. They now work in the suburbs, instead of camping right in the heart of the city as they used to.

The Thai government has extended a state of emergency in 19 provinces, including the capital Bangkok, because of fears of renewed violence.

The emergency decree was revoked in five other provinces, after a three-month deadline expired.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the BBC that there would be a gradual lifting of emergency law.

Under emergency rule, public gatherings of more than five people are banned and security forces have the right to detain suspects for 30 days without charge.

More than 400 people have been arrested.

There have been calls by human rights organisations to lift what they describe as a draconian law, saying it risks driving opposition underground.

The five provinces where emergency rule has been lifted are Si Sa Ket, Kalasin, Nan, Nakhon Sawan and Nakhon Pathom, located in north, north-east and central Thailand.

 We have been informed there are people who continue to try to spread false information to spur hatred and instigate unrest, said Ongart Klampaiboon, minister to the prime minister's office, after the ruling.

The Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations (Cres) had recommended that emergency rule be extended across all affected provinces. The Cres is made up of representatives from the armed forces, police and government ministries; key roles are held by military nominees.

The violent outburst in Bangkok in April and May this year has cast a shadow on the Kingdom's image of a gentle harmonious society.

The Thai government has decided to move forward with a tourism recovery plan and to move quickly.

Thailand's Government has extended a range of measures to promote tourism, including a waiver of tourist visa fees until 31 March, 2011 and approved a relief package for the tourism industry including loans of US$ 153 million.

Hotels are exempted until 2011 from operating fees. Airports of Thailand has introduced discount schemes for landing fees by 15%.

Tourist Authority, TAT, is also rolling up its sleeves to attract again tourists from overseas and regional markets. According to TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni, TAT concentrates for now at luring travelers from South Asia, ASEAN countries as well as Northeast Asia.

A huge marketing push will take place with 500 tour operators and media invited into the country from July 12 to 15 with an overwhelming majority being from neighbouring countries.

The most effective way to attract for now travelers to Bangkok is most probably the bargains offered by hotels. Despite the fact that most hoteliers have rejected deep discounts to stimulate the market, the price war is going on for at least a month time now with some good offers.

Some good news came out recently from the air transport industry. Thai Airways International has seen its average occupancy rise from 50% in April and May to 70% in June. The airline indicates that advance booking for July and August look favorable.

According to figures provided by TAT international passengers arriving at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport totalled 540,788 in the period of 1-27 June, 2010, a decline of 6.8% over the same period of 2009. It shows that the rate of decline has slowed significantly from May, where visitors arrivals dropped by 19%.

Smokers looking for somewhere to light up will supposedly have to look that little bit harder as of Monday.

More measures have been put in place to protect non-smokers from tobacco-related health hazards at workplaces and in public areas.

Smoking is now prohibited at health-related venues, primary and secondary schools, public transport outlets and religious centres.

Smoking will be allowed at government offices, universities, petrol stations and international airports, but Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said smoking areas must be located outside.

All public places are required to carry signs with the message smoke-free area.

Operators of public places will have 180 days to prepare smoking areas in compliance with the legislation, said Churit Tengtrisorn, director of the Public Health Ministry's Office of Tobacco Control Committee.

Derrick Bird, the Cumbria shootings gunman, has been making the newspapers with connection sto Thailand and Pattaya.

He has been partaking in twice yearly trips to Thailand's fleshpots in a group nicknamed The Bad Boys.

One of the Bad Boys was Chris Bulmer who owned one of the trio's favourite haunts at Pattaya Beach - Spicy Girls A Go-Go. (Which has now been closed for 18 months)

Bulmer said: I knew a fair bit about him and when I heard a cabbie had gone berserk with a gun in Cumbria I stared at the telly. His picture came up and I recognised him instantly. I felt sick.

He told how Bird not only sent a bargirl a fortune from Britain, but bombarded her with messages promising to return to Thailand so they could be together.

Careful who you tease about being a Cheap Charlie

Based on article from telegraph.co.uk

Derrick Bird, the Cumbria shootings gunman, was deported back to Britain after he was involved in a drunken row at a Middle Eastern airport, friends said.

The 52 year-old taxi driver become involved in the drunken rage with a friend at Doha airport in Qatar after being teased about money.

Security at the airport refused to allow him to board his connecting plane to the Thailand capital Bangkok amid fears he was a flight risk.

He had been travelling to the east coast city of Pattaya with several friends for a pre-christmas holiday last year.

The group of divorced taxi drivers, aged in the late 40s and 50s who travelled to the country several times a year, started drinking heavily during their short stopover in Doha.

One unnamed member then started teasing Bird about money who then lashed out at the departure gate and was then restrained by security.

Police then deemed him too drunk to board the flight and took him to a secure location to sober up before deporting him back to Britain.

A friend, who asked not to be named, reportedly said: It all kicked off though when Birdy mentioned that he loved Thailand because it was cheap and someone made a joke about him being cheap. Birdy saw red. He went mad and went for him and officials had to step in. They'd never seen him flip before and it really shocked them. He must have had a lot of stress just bottled up. He was taken off and the next thing they knew was he wasn't allowed on the flight and was flown back to England.