ALL 137 tigers at Wat Pa Luang Ta Mahabua, better known as the ‘Tiger Temple’, in Kanchanaburi’s Saiyok district will be moved to a new home tomorrow (May 30), provincial governor Sak Somboonto said yesterday.
Sak spoke after a meeting at City Hall with the officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation's Protected Area Regional Office 3 (Ban Pong) to prepare transport for the tigers.
Sak said the transfer was necessary given reports that the temple is in process of applying for a permit to build a zoo, and has asked to keep 70 tigers. He affirmed that procedures would be in line with the law, so there should be no problem.
Sak also noted the department's previous agreement to let the temple keep the tigers and claims the temple might ask for a fee for taking care of the tigers, saying all should uphold the law.
This Buddhist monastery, which has become known as an animal sanctuary and tiger-breeding facility, has long been accused by animal rights activists of mistreating tigers for commercial gain and even trafficking some of its animals.
The burnt remains of a school dormitory in Chiang Rai district in northern Thailand. Picture: AFP/Daily NewsSource:AFP
Police said another five girls were injured in the Sunday night fire, while many survived by climbing down from a second-floor window using sheets tied together to form a rope.
Some of the students were still not asleep when the fire broke out and were able to raise the alarm, said Rewat Wassana, manager of the Pithakkaiat Witthaya School, to which the dorm is attached.
Rewat said the fire broke out in the dorm’s lower level, which is used for activities. The upper level housed the sleeping quarters. It is one of the two dorms on the 20-acre school grounds. The other dorm, which is located nearby and is for boys, was untouched, Rewat said.
An 11-year-old girl identified only as Suchada said she had gotten up to go to the bathroom when she noticed the fire downstairs, and ran to tell her friends in various rooms. But some of them didn’t believe her and closed the door on her to go back to sleep, she said.
A police official said that besides the 18 dead, another five girls were injured, including two in serious condition. He said two of the bodies were so badly burned they were unidentifiable. Firefighters took three hours to extinguish the fire, and pulled survivors and bodies from the second-story window of the wooden building.
The kindergarten and primary school in Wiang Pa Pao district, just outside the city of Chiang Rai, has about 400 day students and boarders. It is about 800 kilometres north of Bangkok.
KANCHANABURI — A Japanese man taking a "selfie" on the famous River Kwai Bridge was seriously injured after being hit by a train in full view of hundreds of shocked tourists on Saturday morning.
Haruhisa Saito, 52, sustained broken ribs and head injuries after being struck by Thon Buri-Nam Tok train No 257 on the bridge in Muang district, said Pol Lt Wichai Srimuangthanachai, a deputy tourist police inspector in Kanchanaburi province. The incident was reported at 11.25am on Saturday.
Police said that Mr Saito, the president of Silvec Co in Chon Buri, had taken his employees to visit Kanchanaburi for the holiday weekend. The businessman was walking along the bridge, part of the infamous World War II Death Railway, and stopped to take some photos.
While he was taking a selfie, he did not notice the train coming behind him. The train kept whistling, but he failed to hear it. When the train struck him, the impact threw him from the bridge to the ground about five metres below. Around 1,000 Thai and foreign tourists were visiting the area and many screamed in panic.
TOKYO — Thailand's dreams of Rio came to an end on Saturday night when Japan secured the last Olympic berth in the women's volleyball qualifying tournament.
Japan finished ahead of Thailand despite losing a five-set match to Italy (23-25, 27-25, 27-25, 21-25, 15-9). The home side only needed to win two sets to punch its ticket to the Olympics for a record 12th time. Japan won the bronze medal at the 2012 Games in London.
The result was a bitter blow to Thailand, which staged a thrilling comeback earlier on Saturday from two sets down against South Korea to secure a 3-2 victory (25–19, 25–22, 27–29, 24–26,12–15).
The Koreans also booked a place in Rio on points despite the loss to Thailand, and they were followed a few hours later by the Netherlands, who defeated Peru 3-0. For the Dutch, it is their first trip to the Olympics since 1996 in Atlanta.
The Tokyo tournament is one of two events being held to decide the five remaining spots in Rio. The top three teams plus the top Asian side qualify. The second tournament, which concludes on Sunday in Puerto Rico, consists of four teams, and only the winner will take the last spot for the 2016 Olympics.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha earlier hailed the fighting spirit of the Thai team after they showed great form by clawing their way back against the Koreans.
"The prime minister praised all the players and coaches after the national team overcame the strong favourite South Korea in a nail-biting match," government spokesman Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkumnerd said.
Gen Prayut made the comment after arriving from Russia for the summit between the host and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Sochi. The meeting ended on Friday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered the country's civil aviation ministry, army-run search-and-rescue centre, navy and air force to take all necessary measures to locate the wreckage.
The French air accident investigation bureau has despatched three investigators, along with a technical adviser from Airbus, to join the Egyptian inquiry.
"That is clear. There are people who are being radicalised in some of the trade unions etc. The authorities have their work cut out with this problem," he said.
Flight MS804 left Paris at 23:09 local time on Wednesday (21:09 GMT) and was scheduled to arrive in the Egyptian capital soon after 03:15 local time (01:15 GMT) on Thursday.
They tried to contact him again at 02:27 Cairo time, as the plane was set to enter Egyptian airspace, but "despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond". Two minutes later it vanished from radar.
Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos told reporters: "The picture we have at the moment on the accident as it emerges from the Greek air force operations centre is that the aircraft was approximately 10-15 miles inside the Egyptian FIR [flight information region] and at an altitude of 37,000 feet.
"It turned 90 degrees left and then a 360-degree turn toward the right, dropping from 37,000 to 15,000 feet and then it was lost at about 10,000 feet."
Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said: "Let's not try to jump to the side that is trying to identify this as a technical failure - on the contrary.
"If you analyse the situation properly, the possibility of having a different action, or having a terror attack, is higher than the possibility of having a technical [fault]."
In October an Airbus A321 operated by Russia's Metrojet blew up over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, with the deaths of all 224 people on board. Sinai Province, a local affiliate of the Islamic State jihadist group, said it had smuggled a bomb on board. เดือนตุลาคม สายการบินแอร์บัส A321 ของ เมโทรเจ็ท รัสเซียบินตกเหนือคาบสมุทรไซนายของอียิปต์ ทำให้มีผู้เสียชีวิตทั้งสิ้น 224 ศพ ที่จังหวัดไซนาย ตัวแทนกลุ่มมุสลิมจิฮัสอ้างว่าเป็นผู้นำระเบิดขึ้นเครื่องลำดังกล่าว
French President Francois Hollande said: "We will draw conclusions when we have the truth about what happened.
A massive search is continuing for a second day for an EgyptAir plane that disappeared over the Mediterranean.
Greek, Egyptian, French and UK military units are taking part in the operation near Greece's Karpathos island.
Flight MS804 was en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew when it vanished early on Thursday.
Greece said radar showed the Airbus A320 had made two sharp turns and dropped more than 25,000ft (7,620m) before plunging into the sea.
Egypt says the plane was more likely to have been brought down by a terrorist act than a technical fault.
Most of the people on board Flight MS804 were from Egypt and France. A Briton was also among the passengers.
So far, no wreckage or debris from the aircraft has been found.Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionEgyptian military ships, assisted by several other nations, are scouring the vast area for any signs of the plane's wreckage
Initial reports late on Thursday, based on Egyptian officials' comments that wreckage had been found, later proved unfounded.
Greece's lead air accident investigator Athanasios Binis said items including lifejackets found near Karpathos were not from the Airbus A320.
"An assessment of the finds showed that they do not belong to an aircraft," he said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered the country's civil aviation ministry, army-run search-and-rescue centre, navy and air force to take all necessary measures to locate the wreckage.
The French air accident investigation bureau has despatched three investigators, along with a technical adviser from Airbus, to join the Egyptian inquiry.
In France, the focus is on whether a possible breach of security happened at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.
Security was already tight, and under review, after last November's attacks by jihadist militants in the French capital.
Since then, some airport staff have had security clearance revoked over fears of links to Islamic extremists.
Eric Moucay, a lawyer for some of those employees, told the BBC that there had been attempts by Islamists to recruit airport staff.
"That is clear. There are people who are being radicalised in some of the trade unions etc. The authorities have their work cut out with this problem," he said.
No response
Flight MS804 left Paris at 23:09 local time on Wednesday (21:09 GMT) and was scheduled to arrive in the Egyptian capital soon after 03:15 local time (01:15 GMT) on Thursday.
On the plane were 56 passengers, seven crew members and three security personnel.
Greek aviation officials say air traffic controllers spoke to the pilot when he entered Greek airspace and everything appeared normal.
They tried to contact him again at 02:27 Cairo time, as the plane was set to enter Egyptian airspace, but "despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond". Two minutes later it vanished from radar.
Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Media captionWhat happened to flight MS804? Richard Westcott examines the evidence so far
Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos told reporters: "The picture we have at the moment on the accident as it emerges from the Greek air force operations centre is that the aircraft was approximately 10-15 miles inside the Egyptian FIR [flight information region] and at an altitude of 37,000 feet.
"It turned 90 degrees left and then a 360-degree turn toward the right, dropping from 37,000 to 15,000 feet and then it was lost at about 10,000 feet."
Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said: "Let's not try to jump to the side that is trying to identify this as a technical failure - on the contrary.
"If you analyse the situation properly, the possibility of having a different action, or having a terror attack, is higher than the possibility of having a technical [fault]."
In October an Airbus A321 operated by Russia's Metrojet blew up over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, with the deaths of all 224 people on board. Sinai Province, a local affiliate of the Islamic State jihadist group, said it had smuggled a bomb on board.
French President Francois Hollande said: "We will draw conclusions when we have the truth about what happened.
"Whether it was an accident, or whether it was - and it's something that is on our minds - terrorism."
Cairo (CNN) -- The search for EgyptAir Flight 804 entered a second day Friday after the jetliner vanished over the Mediterranean with 66 people aboard.
อ่านแหล่งข่าว Cairo (CNN)-- The search for EgyptAir Flight 804 entered a second day Friday after the jetliner vanished over the Mediterranean with 66 people aboard.
The plane was carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew members when it left Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport for Cairo on Wednesday night.
The Airbus A320 disappeared early Thursday as it flew to Cairo -- what should have been about a 3½-hour flight.
Authorities said it likely crashed into the ocean, but the reason why remains unclear. Weather conditions were clear at the time.
The airplane "swerved and then plunged" before descending into the Mediterranean, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said.
The two-minute video, recorded from a distance, showed a man at a durian stall, believed to be in Sri Gombak in Kuala Lumpur, wrapping individual packets of the fruit which he placed on his lap.
Did he spit on the durians or was he blowing away dust from the fruit that he was wrapping? Or maybe he was “casting a spell” to improve his sales?
เขาถ่มน้ำลายใส่พูทุเรียนหรือว่าเขาเป่าฝุ่นที่ติดอยู่บนทุเรียนก่อนห่อด้วยฟิล์มกันแน่ หรือเขาเพียงร่ายเวทมนต์สานกล่าวเพื่อให้ขายของดีเท่านั้น When asked on The Star Online’s Facebook page yesterday what the man was doing, comments were split.
“I don’t think he did it out of spite or anger, maybe he was reciting mantra to improve his sales and be popular. At least now he is well known,” he said.
ฉันไม่คิดว่าเขาทำไปเพราะความโกรธหรือว่าแกล้งใคร
Omar Idris said there was no reason for the seller to spit on the durians.
Omar Idris กล่าวว่า ไม่มีเหตุผลอะไรที่คนขายทุเรียจะมาบ้วนน้ำลายใส่บนทุเรียน “The problem is we always tend to look at the negative before even finding the truth,” he said.
The stall is said to have remained closed yesterday.
ว่ากันว่าแผงยังคงปิดอยู่ตั้งแต่เมื่อวานนี้
“We have to determine what actually happened and will look into the matter from all angles. We need to determine whether he was actually spitting,” said ACP Ali.
“เราต้องมาดูว่าข้อเท็จจริงคืออะไรจากหลายๆด้าน เราต้องการค้นหาความจริงว่าจริงๆแล้วเขาบ้วนน้ำลาย(ใส่บนพูทุเรียน)หรือจริงไม่” Ali กล่าว
He confirmed that the stall workers were Indonesian, as per claims on social media.
อ่านแหล่งข่าว PETALING JAYA: Durian lovers are up in arms when a video of a seller seen spitting on the fruit made its rounds online.
The two-minute video, recorded from a distance, showed a man at a durian stall, believed to be in Sri Gombak in Kuala Lumpur, wrapping individual packets of the fruit which he placed on his lap.
However, before he covers each packet with cling-wrap, he brings the packet to his face briefly before putting the packet down.
The video has been shared extensively on Whatsapp and Facebook since Wednesday night.
A video had also surfaced online showing what appears to be another person confronting and berating the durian seller.
Did he spit on the durians or was he blowing away dust from the fruit that he was wrapping? Or maybe he was “casting a spell” to improve his sales?
When asked on The Star Online’s Facebook page yesterday what the man was doing, comments were split.
Noonsod Rawaulam said the man was spitting “maybe to improve his sales”.
“I don’t think he did it out of spite or anger, maybe he was reciting mantra to improve his sales and be popular. At least now he is well known,” he said.
Omar Idris said there was no reason for the seller to spit on the durians.
“The problem is we always tend to look at the negative before even finding the truth,” he said.
Other commentators were less forgiving.
Selvin Thor called on authorities to punish the man for selling “unhygienic durians”.
For Joanne Tan, penalties should be imposed on the man and his employer.
“This type of malice should not be taken lightly,” said Tan.
Gombak OCPD Asst Comm Ali Ahmad told The Star Online that the police would take action if it was determined that the man did something wrong.
Police patrol cars were sent to the durian vendor’s stall on Wednesday night but he was not there.
The stall is said to have remained closed yesterday.
“We have to determine what actually happened and will look into the matter from all angles. We need to determine whether he was actually spitting,” said ACP Ali.
He confirmed that the stall workers were Indonesian, as per claims on social media. PETALING JAYA: Durian lovers are up in arms when a video of a seller seen spitting on the fruit made its rounds online.
