4-Year ‘Smart Visas’ Available Starting Feb. 1

By

-

17 January 2018, 12:25

Chamchuri Square, where the One-Stop Service Center for Visas and Work Permits is located. Photo: William Ng / Flickr

BANGKOK — Starting Feb. 1, eligible foreigners in Thailand can apply for new, four-year visas, officials said Wednesday.

The long-awaited Smart Visa program, which will allow high-earning expats to maintain professional visas without needing to report to immigration every 90 days, received formal approval from the interim cabinet Tuesday. It’s intended to increase knowledge transfer and skill development in desirable fields such as technology and medicine.

“Smart Visas will be an important factor in pushing the country toward Thailand 4.0,” Duangjai Asawachintachit, secretary-general of the Board of Investment, said Wednesday.

Foreigners who meet the visa’s requirements can apply for them at Thai embassies in their respective countries or the One-Stop Service Center for Visas and Work Permits at Chamchuri Square in Bangkok.

Smart Visa holders must earn over 200,000 baht a month in specialized fields including automotives, electronics, medical tourism, agritech, food technology, robotics, aviation, biochem, digital technology and medical services.

They only need to check in annually rather than every 90 days and Smart Visas can be extended for four years rather than a single year at a time.

An aide who answered the phone for Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Itthipol Ithisaranachai of the Immigration Police said Wednesday that eligible foreign residents could file their applications at the start of next month.

4-Year Professional Visas Get Green Light

10-Year Visas Now Available: Thai Immigration

Tourism Minister Talks Up 5-Year Visas

Business Group Calls for 5-Year Professional Visas for Expats

Luksika Beats Bencic to Reach Round 3 of Aussie Open

By

Associated Press

-

17 January 2018, 11:00

Thailand's Luksika Kumkhum plays a return shot to Switzerland's Belinda Bencic during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in January in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Vincent Thian / Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia — Two days after her upset win over Venus Williams, Belinda Bencic is out of the Australian Open.

Bencic was on a high after beating 2017 finalist Williams on the center court in the first round, but started flatly on Hisense Arena on Wednesday and lost 6-1, 6-3 to powerful hitting Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum.

The 20-year-old Swiss, who combined with Roger Federer to win the Hopman Cup in the lead-up to the season’s first major, saved three match points on her serve before netting a backhand to give No. 124th-ranked Kumkhum a spot in the third round for the first time.

A 15-year-old qualifier and the No. 4-seeded Elina Svitolina were among three Ukrainian women who had matches starting simultaneously on Day 3 – and all progressed to the third round.

Former Australian junior champion Marta Kostyuk, who entered the season-opening major ranked No. 521, followed up her opening win over 25th-seeded Peng Shuai with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over wild-card entry Olivia Rogowska.

Kostyuk already is the youngest player since Martina Hingis in 1996 to win a main-draw match at the year’s opening major. And that came after three three-set matches in qualifying over six hours.

Kostyuk is managed by Ivan Ljubicic, who works with Federer, and so gets the benefit of some first-rate analysis.

“Ivan is always helping me … after every match, he’s telling me what’s wrong,” she said, smiling.

Kostyuk’s progress is set to become more difficult, with a meeting against Svitolina in the next round.

While Kostyuk was playing on Margaret Court Arena, Svitolina, who won a tour-leading five titles in 2017, had a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Katerina Siniakova on the adjoining Rod Laver Arena.

Their fellow Ukrainian, Kateryna Bondarenko, beat No. 15-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-3 in the day’s opening match on Melbourne Park’s third show court to reach the third round here for the third time.

On the men’s side, No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta was leading 6-2, 3-0 when Gilles Simon retired from their second-round match with a leg injury.

Andreas Seppi beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.

Charges Dropped Against Historian Over ‘Elephant Duel’

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

-

17 January 2018, 10:59

BANGKOK — All charges were dropped Wednesday morning against a renowned social critic and historian who questioned whether an ancient story of a Thai king’s elephant battle was apocryphal.

Surak Sivarak walked out of a military courtroom just before 10am after charges of royal defamation and computer crimes were dropped three years after he publicly suggested a story involving 17th century King Naresuan didn’t actually happen.

Read: 112 Case Moves Forward Against Historian For Doubting 16th Century ‘Elephant Duel’

The 84-year-old man said the military tribunal dropped the charge without explanation.

Sulak said he credited the mercy of King Rama X for the case being dropped.

Maj. Gen. Choedchai Angsusingha, chief military prosecutor, said the case lacked sufficient witnesses to prosecute Sulak for defaming the monarchy, a crime known as lese majeste, and violating the Computer Crime Act for allegedly putting false information into a computer system.

The case stems from comments Sulak made three years ago on Oct. 5, 2014, during a history discussion at Thammasat University. He questioned the historical accuracy of a story in which King Naresuan routed a Burmese army single-handedly by winning an elephant duel. The story at the time was the subject of nationalist epic period films then being promoted by the newly installed junta.

Sulak, who identifies as a royalist, previously noted that the lese majeste law only punishes insult of current royalty – the king, queen, heir apparent and regent – rather than those of the past.

A critic of the lese majeste law, he has been charged with it four times previously. The charges have been dropped each time.

Glowing Red Lava Causes More to Flee From Philippine Volcano

By

Associated Press

-

17 January 2018, 10:50

APTOPIX Philippines Volcano — Lava cascades down the slopes of Mayon volcano as seen from Legazpi city, Albay province, around 340 kilometers (210 miles) southeast of Manila, Philippines, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. More than 9,000 people have evacuated the area around the Philippines' most active volcano as lava flowed down its crater Monday in a gentle eruption that scientists warned could turn explosive. Photo: Earl Recamunda / AP

MANILA, Philippines — Glowing-red lava spurted in a fountain and flowed down the Philippines’ most active volcano on Tuesday in a stunning display of its fury that has sent more than 34,000 villagers fleeing to safety and prompted police to set up checkpoints to stop tourists from getting too close.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the lava flowed as much as 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the often cloud-shrouded crater of Mount Mayon, while ash fell on several villages in northeastern Albay province.

Officials strongly advised people not to venture into a danger zone about 6 to 7 kilometers (3.7 to 4.3 miles) around Mayon, including residents who want to check their homes, farms and animals, and tourists seeking a closer view.

“They say it’s beauty juxtaposed with danger,” Office of Civil Defense regional director Claudio Yucot said.

At least 34,038 people have been displaced by Mayon’s eruption since the weekend from two cities and six towns, many of whom took shelter in schools turned into evacuation centers, Jukes Nunez, an Albay provincial disaster response officer, said by telephone. Others took refuge in the homes of relatives.

Albay officials declared a state of calamity in the province of more than a million people to allow more rapid disbursement of disaster funds, Nunez said.

“We have witnessed lava fountaining yesterday, that’s why we have additional families who evacuated due to the threat,” said Romina Marasigan, spokeswoman of the government’s main disaster-response agency.

Renato Solidum, who heads the volcanology institute, said the flows cascading down the volcano were not generated by an explosion from the crater with superheated lava, molten rocks and steam, but were caused by lava fragments breaking off from the lava flow and crashing on the lower slopes.

Scientists have not yet detected enough volcanic earthquakes of the type that would prompt them to raise the alert level to four on a scale of five, which would indicate an explosive eruption may be imminent, Solidum said. Emergency response officials previously said they may have to undertake forced evacuations if the alert is raised to four.

In a bid to discourage villagers who insist on returning to the danger zones to check on their farm animals, officials planned to set up evacuation areas for animals, including water buffaloes, cows, pigs and poultry, Yucot said.

Temporary school sites were also being considered to ease the disruption to education after school buildings were turned into emergency shelters, he said.

Mayon is in coconut-growing Albay province, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) southeast of Manila. With its near-perfect cone, it is popular with climbers and tourists but has erupted about 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently.

In 2013, an ash eruption killed five climbers who had ventured near the summit despite warnings. Mayon’s first recorded eruption was in 1616 and the most destructive, in 1814, killed 1,200 people and buried the town of Cagsawa in volcanic mud.

The Philippines lies in the so-called “Ring of Fire,” a line of seismic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the northern Philippines exploded in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing about 800 people.

Story: Jim Gomez

Doctor: Trump Got Perfect Score on Cognitive Test

By

Associated Press

-

17 January 2018, 10:43

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump performed “exceedingly well” on a surprise cognitive screening test administered last week, his doctor said Tuesday, as the White House continued to bat back questions about the president’s mental fitness for office.

Navy doctor Ronny Jackson, who administered Trump’s first presidential physical last week, said Trump received a perfect score on a test designed to detect early signs of memory loss and other mild cognitive impairment. He also reported the 6-foot-3 president weighed in at 239 pounds — three pounds heavier than he was in September 2016, the last time Trump revealed his weight to the public. That number puts Trump on the cusp — but just under — the obesity mark.

“The president’s overall health is excellent,” said Jackson, who predicted Trump would remain healthy for the duration of his presidency despite a diet heavy on fast food and an exercise regime limited to weekend golf outings.

“It’s called genetics,” Jackson said. “I don’t know. … He has incredibly good genes and that’s just the way God made him.”

Presidents don’t typically sit for cognitive assessments during their periodic physical exams. But Jackson said Trump personally requested the test as he continues to face questions about his mental acuity for office. Such questions have escalated in the wake of an unflattering new book that paints Trump as a man-child who has trouble processing information and recognizing old friends.

But the 71-year-old president performed “exceedingly well” on the test Jackson said, receiving a perfect score.

“He’s very sharp. He’s very articulate when he speaks to me,” said Jackson, who works in close proximity to the president. Jackson accused doctors who have tried to diagnose Trump from afar of performing “tabloid psychiatry.”

Still, Jackson said Trump acknowledged he’d be healthier if he lost a few pounds by exercising more and eating better. Jackson said he’d be arranging to have a dietitian consult with the White House chef to cut calories and would be recommending a low-impact, aerobic exercise program for Trump, with the aim of shedding 10 to 15 pounds this year.

“I would say right now on a day-to-day basis, he doesn’t have a dedicated, defined exercise program,” said Jackson. “The good part is that, you know, we can build on that pretty easily.”

Trump’s body mass index, or BMI, of 29.9 puts him in the category of being overweight for his height. A BMI of 30 and over is considered obese. A copy of Trump’s New York driver’s license obtained by POLITICO listed Trump’s height as 6-foot-2, instead of the 6-foot-3. That height would put Trump over the obesity threshold.

Trump’s blood pressure was 122 over 74, and his total cholesterol was 223, which is higher than recommended, even though he takes a low dose of the statin drug Crestor. Jackson said he would increase that dose in an effort to get Trump’s so-called “bad” cholesterol, or LDL level, below 120; it currently is 143.

Despite the diet and cholesterol concerns, Jackson stressed that Trump’s “cardiac health is excellent.” He passed a battery of heart exams including a stress test that Jackson said showed an above-average exercise capacity for a man of his age, despite some calcium buildup in his arteries. He also takes a low-dose aspirin for heart health.

With such a bad dietary history, how can that be? Jackson said Trump has avoided some big heart risks — he’s never smoked and isn’t diabetic — and has no family history of heart problems.

Trump has experienced several recent episodes in which he appeared to slur his words, adding to concerns about his health. Jackson said he’d ruled out a list of possible causes, and that dry mouth caused by the over-the-counter decongestant Sudafed was likely to blame.

Trump last revealed details about his health two months before the November 2016 election, when he appeared on the “Dr. Oz” show to give details of a physical performed by his longtime physician, the eccentric Dr. Harold Bornstein. A year earlier, Bornstein had released a letter that predicted Trump would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” if he won.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment that Trump took includes remembering a list of spoken words; listening to a list of random numbers and repeating them backward; naming as many words in a minute that begin with, say, the letter F as possible; accurately drawing a cube; and describing concrete ways that two objects — like a train and a bicycle — are alike.

Cognitive assessments aren’t routine in standard physicals, though they recently became covered in Medicare’s annual wellness visits for seniors.

“It’s not a diagnostic test, but it’s pretty sensitive in picking up subtle changes in cognition,” things involving memory, attention and language but not mental health issues, said Dr. Ranit Mishori, professor of family medicine at Georgetown University, who performs these types of routine physicals.

Mishori said Trump’s vital signs, blood tests and physical examinations suggest “he seems to be on track, what you would want to see in a 71-year-old overweight male.”

But, Mishori cautioned that despite good results on his cardiac exams, Trump is at increased risk of cardiovascular disease because of his age, weight, sedentary lifestyle and cholesterol level.

___

Story: Jill Colvin
AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard and Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Malaysia’s Najib Criticizes Singapore Ties Under Mahathir

By

Associated Press

-

16 January 2018, 17:58

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak delivers a speech at a conference in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Joshua Paul / Associated Press

SINGAPORE — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak praised his country’s relationship with neighboring Singapore on Tuesday, but added a jibe for his closest rival in upcoming elections.

“We believe in good relations with our neighbor, with Singapore, and we’ve proven that we can bring tangible benefits to the people if we work closely together,” Najib said at a news conference in Singapore.

“The other side may have other ideas. We certainly do not want to return to the era of confrontational diplomacy and barbed rhetoric between our two countries,” he added. “It was an era that we want to forget.”

Najib’s closest rival is former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 92, who heads Malaysia’s opposition coalition.

Mahathir led Malaysia for 22 years before stepping down in 2003. During his term there were frequent sharp exchanges with neighboring Singapore and its first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.

“Talking to Lee Kuan Yew was a one-sided affair,” Mahathir wrote in his memoirs. “His style of conversation, like his manner of addressing the Malaysian Parliament when he was a member, was to lecture his listeners about what was right and what was wrong.”

Najib was speaking on the sidelines of the 8th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat. The yearly meeting is an opportunity for the neighbors to strengthen their ties.

This time, officials discussed water and education. They also signed an agreement for a new high-speed rail link to be completed in 2024. It will ease traffic at the main causeway linking the countries, which sees over 300,000 crossings a day.

“Our bilateral relations are in very good shape. Both sides have been able to work well together,” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Tuesday.

Singapore and Malaysia briefly merged in 1963, but fell apart after clashing on issues such as the rights of ethnic Malays.

Malaysia’s polls are due by August.

Najib’s United Malays National Organization is the linchpin of Malaysia’s ruling National Front coalition but its support has dwindled in the last two elections. It lost the popular vote for the first time to the opposition in 2013.

Mahathir is still influential among ethnic Malay Muslims who account for about 60 percent of Malaysia’s 32 million people.

Story: Anabelle Liang

Measles Outbreak Kills 58 Children in Indonesia’s Papua

By

Associated Press

-

16 January 2018, 17:53

JAYAPURA, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities are struggling to contain a monthslong outbreak of measles in easternmost Papua province that has killed dozens of children.

Stefanus Lange, a doctor at a state-run hospital in Papua’s Asmat district, said Tuesday that cases first were detected in September, but a lack of access to remote areas and the high mobility of villagers hampered treatment and vaccination efforts.

Lange said 36 victims died in Pulau Tiga sub-district and 22 died in Agats, the main town and capital of Asmat district.

He said other obstacles to overcoming the disease are a lack of personnel and a failure to reach all districts in the affected area.

A team of more than 50 doctors and paramedics from the Indonesian military arrived Tuesday in the province to help overcome the disease.

Nobel Laureates Petition Chula Over Headlock Incident

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

-

16 January 2018, 15:59

Chulalongkorn University professor Ruengwit Bunjongrat holds fourth-year student Supalak Damrongjit in a headlock on Aug. 4, 2017, at a university initiation ceremony held on campus. Photo: Netiwit Chotiphatchaisal

BANGKOK — Seven Nobel laureates signed their names to a petition criticizing the treatment of students who walked out of an initiation ceremony at Thailand’s oldest university.

Former Chulalongkorn University student president Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal announced that 25 international academics denounced the school’s decision to penalize students for not participating in a freshmen induction ceremony during which they were expected to prostrate to statues of past kings.

The episode became an embarrassment for the university when an agitated professor was filmed putting one of the students into a headlock.

The petition was addressed to university President Bundhit Eua-arporn.

“We see that culture is important but also that freedom of expression within a learning institution is equally important,” said the English-language petition addressed to university President Bundhit Eua-arporn. “… It is regrettable that these 8 students have had their behavioral scores deducted, preventing these students from participating in many activities … which diminishes liberty.”

Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Harvard Law School, said that the incident was an “embarrassment.”

“A university teaches with its words and deeds. This lesson is an embarrassment to the tradition of education everywhere,” he wrote in the letter. “Thailand is better than this. Its universities should be as great as its people.”

The Nobel laureates who signed on all came from the sciences: Dudley Herschbach (chemistry, 1986), Richard J. Roberts (medicine, 1993), John Mather (physics, 2006), Roy Glauber (physics, 2005), Jerome Isaac Friedman (physics, 2000), Sheldon Lee Glashow (physics, 1979) and Brian Josephson (physics, 1973).

In the wake of the altercation, the university removed Netiwit from his elected position as student body president. Seven of his friends were academically punished by having scores for behavior deducted.

The letter asks the university to reverse the latter decision, something Netiwit said he’s petitioned the university to do for months.

“I want citizens worldwide to know about this issue,” Netiwit said. “If this kind of thing keeps happening, Thailand’s freedoms will be negatively impacted.”

Bancha Chalapirom, former university vice president of student affairs, said Tuesday that the school was unaware of the petition. He said that Ruengwit Bunjongrat, the professor who assaulted senior student Supalak Damrongjit, was punished with an unspecified salary deduction.

The other academics to sign the petition largely came from US universities: Gerhard Casper, Grainne de Burca, Herbert C. Kelman, James McGaugh, Erica Chenoweth, Peter McLaren, Philip G. Zimbardo, Sidney Harring, Henry Giroux, Shirley R. Steinberg, Antonia Darder, Chandler Davis, John Braithwaite, Kenneth Saltman, Michael W. Apple, David Graeber, Lawrence Lessig and Diane Ravitch.

Chula Investigates Student President Over Initiation Altercation

Chula Retracts Statement Sliming Student, Yet Bad Taste Lingers

Chula Admin Apologizes for Student Put in Chokehold

Chula Professors Tackle Student Trying to Leave Initiation (Video)

Citing Trump and Prayuth, Student Activist Rejects American Invite

Prayuth Unloads on Election of Student Critic to Council

Thorn in the Pillar: Freshman Makes Enemies Upsetting Tradition. Allies Too.

Photogs Portray Powerful Plight of Refugees at ‘Exodus’ Exhibit

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

-

16 January 2018, 15:21

Syrian refugees sleep inside a train as they travel across Macedonia to Serbia. Photo: Sergey Ponomarev via Exodus-deja vu

BANGKOK — Having closely followed refugees as they fled wars and taking on perilous voyages, eight photographers will show the powerful images they captured at a Bangkok exhibition.

Having displayed in Kuala Lumpur, Ankara and Istanbul; Exodus – Deja Vu will travel next to Bangkok, where it will show stills depicting refugees’ daily lives as they flee the threat of war and persecution.

The photo exhibition will feature shots by eight photographers including Aleppo-based Issa Touma, French photojournalist Roland Neveu, Turkish correspondent Coskun Aral and Thai photojournalist Suthep Kritsanavarin, who worked on an investigative report about Rohingyas since 2008.

The latter three will be present at the exhibition’s opening ceremony on Feb. 6. The exhibition will run through Feb. 18 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. It can be reached via skywalk through BTS National Stadium.

More details on talks and a book launch is available online.

After Bangkok, the exhibition will move to Berlin, Munich, Paris, Geneva and Toronto.

Thailand to Build First Legal Weed Farm

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

-

16 January 2018, 15:01

Border patrol police show off their haul of confiscated marijuana Jan. 23, 2017, in Nakhon Phanom province.

BANGKOK — Marijuana decriminalization activists Tuesday hailed news that cannabis will be grown legally for the first time in Thailand, possibly in the northeast.

Rattapon Sanrak, founder of a group that advocates for cannabis legalization, said that although reported plans to build a plantation in Sakon Nakhon province aren’t a done deal, officials have taken positive steps by going ahead with the project.

“I think it will certainly help build a positive image,” said Rattapon, who heads a group called Highland. “Apart from image, it will help the patients. And if they can distribute it to farmers, instead of letting several corporations have a monopoly, it will also help farmers to have more revenue.”

Read: Thailand’s Drug Decriminalization Edges Forward – With Little Fanfare

Word of a possible construction of a 5,000 rai (800 hectare) facility comes months after drug authorities confirmed plans to legalize cannabis for medical purposes, though health officials said Tuesday that they were yet to be informed about it. No time frame was given for the plantation to open.

Farmer association chairman Prapat Panyachartraksa told the media that its crops would be harvested solely for medical research, adding that he had been notified about the plan by the Narcotics Control Board, the agency responsible for enforcing drug laws.

Rattapon said it’s unlikely the marijuana will be sold over-the-counter as is now legal in many US states. Instead, he said, they will likely be processed not for their THC – the substance that gets people high – but for compounds such as cannabidiol, or CBD, which is used in seizure medication and cancer treatment studies.

Any unlicensed cultivation, use or sale of marijuana remains illegal, though in October anti-drug officials said they would move toward the partial decriminalization of cannabis for medical use.

Narcotics Control Board director Sirinya Sitdhichai could not immediately be reached for comment.

But the public health ministry – which would be responsible for facilitating studies using marijuana extracts – said it has only heard about the planned plantation in Sakon Nakhon from the media.

“We have never spoken about this,” spokeswoman Sirima Teerasak said. “The ministry is only doing work with the decriminalization of hemps. But there’s no information about marijuana.”

She said the Food and Drug Administration would hold a news conference about the matter later Tuesday afternoon.

Short of an Armistice, Justice Minister Concedes Defeat in ‘War on Drugs’

At 420 Weed Fest, Heady Times for Thai Cannabis Activists (Photos)

Hot News

LATEST NEWS