Mr. Areepong Poo-Chaum, Deputy Permanent
Secretary of Ministry of Finance, said the import tax for these goods would be reduced from 30% to
5%.

The Ministry is aiming to impose the new tax rate at the beginning of high travelling
seasons, during which the tourism industry expects to welcome large numbers of high-spending
shoppers to purchase luxury goods in the kingdom.

The deputy secretary explained that the
current 30% tax topping on price of luxury goods have caused Thai tourists to travel to destinations
like Hong Kong and Singapore to seek for the relatively cheaper 0%-taxed luxury
goods.

He also expressed confidence that cutting tax on
imported luxury goods, which are worth around tens millions of baht per year, will not cause the
government to lose large a amount of money and face an imbalanced import deficit, as the Ministry
also planned to increase value added tax (VAT) and corporate tax to create a balance in the
country′s fact sheets.

Previously,
Mr. Terdsak Chomtohsuwan, a lecturer on economics at Rangsit University, said the government should
tax unmarried individuals in order to increase the nation′s fertility rate which currently sits at
1.66 child per woman.

Data shows that Thailand′s total fertility rate (TFR) is relatively
lower than its neighbours. The Philippines – a Catholic-dominant country – have the highest TFR in
the Southeast Asian region: 3.10.

However, many Netizens somehow mistook it for an actual
government′s plan, sparking much criticism against the government of Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra over the weekend. Anti-government groups helped fan the issue.

Sarunyu Ice
Winaipanich, a famous single, is one of the Netizens who vented his anger about the tax plan at the
government on his Facebook page.

The reaction led some in the social network to lament that
it is another example of the Thais? inability to read the news properly before making
judgement.

The discussion – and its misplaced criticism against the government
– is so viral that Mr. Anusorn Eiamsa-ad, deputy spokesman of Pheu Thai, declared in a press
conference that the plan was not raised by his party, and it is not being considered by the
government.

President of the airline said the situation is currently under investigation. But
it is reported that the plane′s malfunctioned wheels might have caused the plane to slide off the
runway as it touched the ground.

Some passengers were reportedly injured as they were being
evacuated out of the plane.

The airline staff were seen blackening out the logo of Thai
Airways and Star Alliance, the global airline group to which the airways belong, from the doomed
plane.

It is not clear who ordered the blurring, but a Thai Airways official has been quoted
in some media outlets as saying the action follows the guidelines provided by Star Alliance to
protect the company′s reputation in crisis incidents.

Ms. Rawewan Netrakavesna, Suvarnabhumi
Airport General Manager, said that the airport will close the runway and repair it.

The
maintenance of the runway will cause Suvarnabhumi airport to rely on its other runway parallel to
the damaged one, which may cause delay to several flights. The runway is due to reopen on 10
September.

A team from Department of Civil Aviation has been dispatched to investigate the
incident at the scene. The Department is also forming an inquiry committee which will not include
officials from Thai Airways in order to maintain its impartiality, officials said.

Preventing unplanned pregnancy is a crucial issue said Mr.
Pradith, Apart from creating sex education lessons in the country, the authority must support the
use of contraception and condoms

Reportedly, each day, 370 young women under the age of 20
encounter unplanned pregnancies, including 10 people aged under 15.

The Minister also
commented about Single Individual Tax, after, Mr. Terdsak Chomtohsuwan, Economics professor at
Rangsit University suggested the government to increase tax on single people.

She also gave a speech at the event, which was
organised at Impact Arena exhibition centre in north of Bangkok.

For the 2 years that she has
served as the Prime Minister, Ms. Yingluck said, she has been supporting ?Women Development Fund? to
encourage creative-minded women to actively develop the country, particularly in political and
economic aspects.

So far, more than 500,000 women have benefit from over 40,000
government-led campaigns, Ms. Yingluck told the audience, including the ?OSCC 1300? (One Stop Crisis
Centre), a hotline created to support women who suffer from domestic violence and to uphold their
universal human rights.

The Prime Minister said that Smart Lady Thailand would encourage
Thai women to develop their specialities and their own minds.

Women should learn to
understand that their ideas could enhance their ability, so they can use their ability to develop
the country Ms. Yingluck said.

Ms. Yingluck also expressed her impression from meeting with
Ms. Ladda Tammy Duckworth, the first Thai-American Congresswoman. The Prime Minister said the life
of Ms. Duckworth – an injured Iraq War veteran – inspired her to see that physical disability does
not always obstruct people from living a fulfilled life.

The photo touched a storm of criticism when it was posted on the Thai social
network.

The Senator was later identified as Mr. Pinyo Sai-Nui, a representative of Krabi
Province. He initially said he was not entirely sure he was the man in the photo, but later admitted
looking at his iPhone during the meeting.

But I was looking at my nephew′s pictures Mr.
Pinyo explained (However, ASTV Manager quoted him as saying it was his niece).

Previously, a report has been circulated on the social network that a group of taxi
business representatives have asked the Ministry of Transport for a fare hike, from 35 baht at the
start to 50 baht, and aim to charge the passengers 100 baht instead of the current rate of 50 baht
if they hail the cab from the airports.

Mr. Chatchart said the Ministry is not considering
such increase, and would try to fix the current rate as long as possible.

The minister
also revealed his plan to establish taxi stops throughout Bangkok so that the drivers can park their
cars and wait for the passengers, instead of having to drive around, burning fuel, in order to seek
the passengers on the roads.

Around 40% of the taxis on the roads at any moment are running
without passengers, Mr. Chatchart said. He told our correspondent he hopes that the new policy would
help taxi drivers to cut fuel cost. 

Meanwhile, the minister has ordered Department of
Land Transport (DLT) to survey numbers of minivans running on inter-regional routes, which links
between Bangkok and other regions.

Mr. Chatchart said that the research should allow the
ministry to speculate real demands for each route.

We must study if we have enough supply in
response to the demand said Mr. Chatchart, if necessary, the ministry will arrange registration
system to bring illegal vans into the system.

In October 2012, 4
female students at Bansomdejchaopraya Ratchapat University (BSRU) filed a complaint to the police in
Bangkok Noi District, alleging that their lecturer, Mr. Krisada Suksumniang, had sexually harassed
them in different occasions.

The students then put up posters complaining of Mr. Krisada′s behaviour and
misconduct around the university campus. A number of media outlets – Khaosod, Thai Rath, and Channel 7
– gave the incident extensive coverage.

Mr. Krisada, who taught classes on traditional
Thai music at the time of the incident, later sued the 3 news agencies along with the 4 students in
defamation lawsuits.

Yesterday (5 September) the Thonburi Criminal Court delivered its
verdict on the charges. The judges noted that Mr. Krisada was eventually investigated and found
guilty of his alleged actions by the university′s disciplinary committee. The committee also
discharged Mr. Krisada from his position.

Therefore, the court concluded, the allegation put
forth by the 4 students concurred with Mr. Krisada′s actions, and did not amount to a conspired
attempt to defame the former lecturer.

The court also praised the 4 students for their
sacrifice in speaking out about the matter in order to warn other students of Mr. Krisada′s
inappropriate behaviour and to prevent others from being sexually harassed by Mr.
Krisada.

As for the media′s coverage of the event, the court ruled that the 3 news agencies
named as defendants by Mr. Krisada were lawfully reporting the news and expressing their criticism.