Israeli tourist Yoram Ben-Hamo was convicted Saturday for kidnapping a baby elephant in Thailand and holding it hostage. The hostage incident arose after Ben-Hamo was chased by police following an automobile accident in which he injured a motorcyclist and crashed into three vehicles. After running from police, Ben-Hamo picked up a knife from a vendor, grabbed a baby elephant from a yard in the neighborhood and warned the police that if they did not leave him alone he would harm the animal. The police eventually offered Ben-Hamo a cigarette and he was then captured while lighting it. Ben-Hamo was ordered to pay a 500 baht fine.Ynet News
Police in Saen Suk have issued a warning to the Lan Maprao student newspaper at Burapha University in Chon Buri province for operating without proper permission and violating the 1941 Publishing Act. The newspaper claims they are being harassed following an in-depth report they published on how local police were extorting money from students. The Publishing Act requires all types of commercial printing media to register with the state before the launch of operations. Chavarong Limpattamapanee, secretary general of the National Press Council, said Lan Maprao should not be subjected to registration under the Publishing Act because it was not a commercial newspaper. "The council's initial investigation found that the newspaper's content was strictly in line with the press code," Chavarong said.
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Foreign journalists based in Thailand are planning to gather in Bangkok Tuesday for an event in support of Alan Johnston, a reporter for the BBC who was kidnapped at gun point in Gaza City seven weeks ago. Similar events are expected to take place in Beijing and Jakarta later this week. Since Johnson was seized, there has been no direct information on his fate. There have been widespread protests about the kidnapping in the UK and Israel, and in the West Bank and Gaza. Johnson had lived and worked in Gaza for three years and was the only Western reporter permanently based in the often violent and lawless territory.BBC