News from Thailand – March 14, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Thailand backs down for the second time: Siamese crocodile remains protected
• Rural doctors protest against performance pay
• Former finance minister: Thailand's credit rating in danger
News from Thailand – March 13, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Governor election: Government party Pheu Thai is a bad loser
• Suvarnabhumi has the most beautiful toilets in Thailand
• Dutch company under fire after working hours change
Mandatory travel and health insurance for tourists?
The Ministry of Health is considering requiring foreign tourists to purchase travel and health insurance before traveling to Thailand. The measure is intended to ease the financial burden on hospitals.
News from Thailand – March 12, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Teenagers with machetes and swords storm school
• Former Prime Minister Thaksin: Make haste with amnesty law
• Bangkok-Pattaya will get first high-speed line (in 2018)
Shark fishing curtailed, but no total ban
The trade in five shark species is being restricted. Most of the 178 member countries of CITES decided this yesterday in Bangkok.
News from Thailand – March 11, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• South peace talks: politicians and government services distrust each other
• Dossier: Is Thai rice the best rice in the world?
• Teenagers buy dangerous beauty cream over the internet
Thai tour operators in Phuket clamor for competition from Russian rivals. The Department of Special Investigation (the Thai FBI) is investigating.
News from Thailand – March 10, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Dossier: Is the mortgage system for rice a bad system?
• Minister wants to rename grocery store in 'show-suay'
• Governor Bangkok gets a dream team of four deputies
Ivory sellers fear for their hachie
Thailand is under international pressure to end the illegal ivory trade. Now that stricter measures are looming, ivory sellers fear for the survival of the beautiful craft of ivory carving.
Students devise smart solutions for traffic bottlenecks
Bangkok is one big traffic jam. The municipality will ask residents for solutions. Students from local universities are the first to come up with suggestions. A good example of a bottom-up approach.
Dutch woman withdraws rape report on Thai beach
A Dutch tourist has withdrawn a report of rape after she could not remember anything about the crime.
News from Thailand – March 9, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Sukhumbhand needs to get on the mat at DSI
• Credit rating Thailand point up
• New section: Dossier
• Thailand crocodile proposal fails
Big words when refusing gay blood donors
'Discrimination' and 'violation of human rights' are what two Thai organizations call the Red Cross's policy of excluding gays from donating blood. But that is international policy.
News from Thailand – March 8, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Woman (86) receives 1 million baht compensation for salinization of a field
• Another amnesty proposal; the ninth
• Dubious disinfectant threatens Thai food chain
Government admits: we are losing money on rice sales
Thailand will have to sell its huge rice stocks, bought up under the controversial rice mortgage scheme, at a huge loss. Minister Nawatthamrong Boonsongpaisan was reluctant to admit that on Thursday.
News from Thailand – March 7, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Police investigation into hit-and-run Red Bull heir completed
• Yingluck admires Belgian parliament
• Peace negotiations in the South begin on March 28
• Sunday Times: CP Food is destroying maritime ecosystem
Organized crime active in ivory trade
Confiscated ivory in Africa and Asia disappears and the smugglers can go about their business quite undisturbed. Eight countries, including Thailand, are not doing enough about it. Trade sanctions loom.