Thailand Live Thursday 2 Dec 2010

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Thailand Live Thursday 2 December 2010

News, Bits and Tweets

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Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.

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Commentary is still open for Thailand news in the relevant thread posted in News Clippings.

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Related topic: Thailand Live Wednesday 1 Dec 2010

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City Police Gear Up for King’s Birthday Celebration

Bangkok police have prepared thousands of officers on stand by across the city to keep peace and order during the upcoming celebration of His Majesty the King’s birthday on December 5.

Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Major General Anan Srihirun said that the security plan during the annual celebration has been formulated for all seven venues across the capital.

Under coordination of various state offices and civil groups, special events are scheduled from December 1 to 9 at the Royal Plaza, Sanam Sua Pa, in front of the Supreme Court, along the Chao Phraya River, Hua Lampong Railway Station and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration headquarters.

Anan said a joint command center, comprising police, soldiers and civilians and a bomb disposal team will be in charge of the situation to ensure the public of their safety while all events are taking place.

In related news, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is scheduled to chair the official opening of a special event to commemorate His Majesty the King’s birthday at the Royal Plaza this evening.

Ahead of the opening ceremony, security officials have scoured the area to make sure nothing will go wrong.

The deputy metropolitan police chief went on to say that there has not been any intelligence report on any possible violence yet.

However, he assured that the police remain watchful.

When asked about measures to handle the red-shirt protesters during the event, Anan said related precincts will be responsible

for the situation in their own areas.

Meanwhile, Police Major General Panu Kerdlarppol from the Metropolitan Police Bureau said traffic around the Royal Plaza will be closed from 5 P.M. to 12 A.M. from December 1 to 9.

In addition, all vehicles will be barred to use Phra Pinklao Bridge and Rajdamnoen Nai area on December 5 from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M., when the candle light celebration for His Majesty’s birthday takes place.

-- Tan Network 2010-12-02

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2 Dead: Jet-ski smash turns Phuket honeymoon into tragedy

A police officer inspects the jet-ski

involved in the fatal accident.

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DEMOCRAT DISSOLUTION CASE

Second court ruling likely mid month

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PROTESTS

PM to talk to red and yellow shirts: govt spokesman

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WORLD AIDS DAY

20,000 Thai civil servants carry Aids virus

By The Nation

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Bank of Thailand (BoT) springs a surprise

Interest-rate hike worries businesses and exporters

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Reds to rally on Dec 10

The red shirts will on December 10 hold a rally at Democracy Monument coinciding with the 78th anniversary of the Constitution Day, their new leader Thida Thawornseth said on Wednesday.

"The rally will be held under the theme of Eight Months Phan Fa and 78 Years under Constitution," she said.

Thida said the rally was designed for the remembrance of red shirts killed in the May crackdown.

The activities will start f rom 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm. The highlights include the release of birds, the candle-lit ceremony and the reading of eulogy for dead victims.

Thida said the Dec 10 rally signifies the return of the red shirts in a concerted movement since the May crackdown. The red shirts plan to abide by the law in the face of emergency rule, she said.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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THAI TALK

A dangerous idea that no one wants to own up to

By Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

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Court verdict on Thai Democrat party takes the veil off public institutions

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OFF THE HOOK

EC, Judges slammed over verdict

By The Nation

Pheu Thai, Chaturon consider running signature campaign for impeachment

Condemnation and calls from anti-government groups for impeachment of Constitution Court judges and Election Commission members have increased following the court's ruling to drop the Democrat Party dissolution case on Monday.

Former caretaker leader of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, Chaturon Chaisang, called on all Constitution Court judges to resign, saying they were no longer legitimate to consider the other dissolution case against the Democrat Party relating to the Bt258-million scandal, or any other case.

He called on MPs and people to gather signatures and express their disapproval of the court's ruling by impeaching the judges.

"The public should not put pressure on the EC but on the Constitution Court for dropping the case against the Democrat Party by claiming a 15-day deadline.

[The decision] was not correct because [on the date recorded by the court] the EC did not resolve to file the party dissolution case," he said.

Somyos Prueksakasem-suk, leader of the June 24 faction of the red shirts, called on EC members to resign as they had made mistakes and were being used by people in power. If they stayed in their posts, the next election would lack transparency, he said.

He also called on judges and people nationwide to wear black in protest against the EC's work. Meanwhile, the group would file a malfeasance case against the EC and then gather 20,000 signatures to seek impeachment of the Constitution Court judges and the EC members.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said it was a constitutional right to seek impeachment of members of independent organisations according to the checks-and-balances system.

Pheu Thai MP Chalerm Yoobamrung on Tuesday said he and the party's MPs would scrutinise and seek impeachment of the Constitution Court judges and the Election Commission members if they had worked unlawfully.

EC member Somchai Juengprasert said that EC chairman Apichart Sukkhagganond would not quit because he did not concede that a lapse of duty led to the Democrat Party dissolution case being dismissed.

"Apichart told me he felt hurt for being criticised about his job performance, even though he had worked with the utmost effort," Somchai said.

He said neither Apichart nor the EC members would resign or assume responsibility for the botched petition to dissolve the Democrat Party.

Despite the majority decision to dismiss the case, the EC shared the dissenting opinions of two judges that it had adhered to prescribed procedures in petitioning for the judicial review on the party dissolution case.

The verdict said the EC's petition was deemed unlawful, resulting in the case being dismissed.

Another EC member, Sodsri Satayathum, said there was no need for EC members to resign. She believed they had not done anything wrong.

The 15-day deadline should have been counted from April 12, the day Apichart, as political party registrar, brought the investigation report to the meeting and the EC resolved to file the case.

However, she accepted that the court judges' ruling was final.

Democrat chief adviser Chuan Leekpai said the court judges were well-experienced and they knew what they were doing. Criticism of the judges should only be constructive.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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Judges confirm Thai Democrat dissolution filing was unlawful

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AFP: Pakistani, Thai Nabbed Over Madrid Attack

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F1 champs to put on special show

By The Nation

Rajdamnoen Avenue will be closed on December 18 to make way for a show from the Red Bull team - this year's winners of the Formula 1 World Championships - to mark His Majesty's 83rd birthday. The event will be held at 2pm.

Metropolitan Police Area 6 deputy chief Pol Colonel Wallop Prathummuang said the avenue would be blocked from the Phan Fa intersection to the Khok Wua intersection for an hour and a half.

Chalerm Yoovidhya, chairman of Red Bull in the UK, said the team had already wowed fans in important cities across the globe. Mark Webber, a famous Australian F1 champion, and Sak "Kiki" Nana will be joining the Red Bull Drift Team Thailand for the Rajdamnoen show.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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Result of dengue vaccine trials expected soon

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Preliminary results of clinical trials on the vaccine for haemorrhagic dengue fever should be ready in the next three months, Department of Disease Control's directorgeneral Dr Manit Teeratantikanont said yesterday.

The trial is being conducted by Mahidol University's Faculty of Tropical Medicine, the Public Health Ministry, the International Paediatric Vaccine Initiative and vaccine giant Sanofi Pastuer.

The Paediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI) has given the Mahidol research team a grant to run a largescale study among 4,000 children in Ratchaburi province. Researchers have been following symptoms in the children and collecting information since February last year.

Mahidol University's dean of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Dr Pratap Singhasivanon, said the first phase showed that the vaccine was safe and satisfactorily effective. The second phase was currently being conducted among the children in Ratchaburi and the third phase will be conducted on more than 10,000 volunteers.

Manit said the Department of Disease Control, jointly with Siriraj Hospital's Faculty of Medicine, will produce the vaccine locally. He was speaking at the "Joint International Tropical Medicine Meeting 2010"organised by Mahidol's Faculty of Tropical Medicine.

Dengue, a mosquitoborne disease, can be caused by four different types of viruses and is a potential threat for almost half of the world's population.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), dengue fever usually occurs in tropical and subtropical countries and is spreading to new parts of the globe each year.

More than 60,000 people in Thailand have been hit with dengue this year - 83 per cent more than last year, with an average of 230 new cases detected every day.

Apart from dengue, other diseases such as chikungunya, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza and Japanese encephalitis are reemerging, with infections mostly spread in urban areas due to population density.

"Diseases are now spreading faster than the past," Manit said, adding that cooperation among countries is needed to tackle with transboundary infectious diseases.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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SOUTH CRISIS

One group behind new South attacks

By The Nation

Two bomb attacks in Pattani and Songkhla's Saba Yoi district on Tuesday was possibly the work of an insurgent group behind a bomb attack on a railroad barricade in October, deputy secretary general to PM Panitarn Wattanayakorn said yesterday.

Attacks are more frequent now because the insurgents want to terrify people during the holiday season and because emergency rule has been lifted in many areas, he said.

The bomb attack on a railroad barricade in Songkhla's Chana district on October 5 took place right after emergency rule was lifted. The Internal Security Act has been put back in effect in many areas, including Saba Yoi and Chana, as well as four other districts in Songkhla province.

Police said the two teenage males caught changing their clothes near the bomb-attack site on Tuesday were possibly not the attackers, though it would be confirmed after results of residue tests on their clothes come through. Police also agreed with Panithan's statement.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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South residents warned of more flooding

By The Nation

Five districts in the Southern province of Phatthalung continue being ravaged by floods, while residents in Surat Thani, who haven't yet recovered from the flooding, have been told to brace for another onslaught.

Yesterday morning, the Meteorological Department reported that a ridge of rather intense high pressure from China continued to hover over upper Thailand and South China Sea, bringing cool and morning fog with minimum temperatures of 17 to 20 degrees Celsius in the lowlands and 913 degrees on the mountains.

The weather bureau also said that the rather active Northeast monsoon was still hovering over the South and the Gulf of Thailand. Torrential rain and isolated heavy rainfalls are expected over the South, and resident in Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla have been warned of possible flash floods. Since winds over the Gulf are expected to be strong, with two to threemetrehigh waves, ships have been warned to proceed with caution.

In Phatthalung, the districts of Khao Chaison, Bang Kaew, Khuan Khanun, Pak Phayun and Muang remained submerged. Khuan Khanun resident Samran Jantaem said floodwaters had totally blocked the entrance to his village, which is located in a lowlying area hit by outflows from the Ban Thad mountain range combined with rising tides from Songkhla Lake.

Phatthalung disaster prevention chief Thanakorn Trabanpreuk said 32 flatbottomed boats were being dispatched to help flood victims in lowlying areas along the lake. Officials were also keeping an eye out for possible landslides.

In Surat Thani, where rainfall has continued in most areas and the lowlying tambons in Muang and Phunphin districts remain submerged, provincial authorities have urged residents, especially those in Chaiya district, to brace for flash floods.

During the consideration for the allocation of rehabilitation budgets, it was concluded that 128 tambons in 19 districts had been hit, affecting 211,069 residents and killing nine. Some 261,700 rai of farmland has been damaged, with 20,628 livestock either killed or missing. The damages have been estimated at Bt2 billion.

In Narathiwat, where 13 districts were recently hit by heavy downpours, still floodwaters yesterday inundated the lowlying areas in the outskirts. Narathiwat Governor Thanon Vejjakornkanont is urging residents in risky areas to brace for flash floods and landslides, and telling fishermen to stay onshore during this threeday period.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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Dancer for HM identified in historic picture

By Pakamard Jaichalard

The Nation

Phatthalung's late Nora dance master Khun Upatham Narakorn is the first person discovered by the Culture Ministry in its quest to find nine local artists captured in nine historic pictures since 1954 as they danced in front of His Majesty the King.

Phatthalung's late Nora dance master Khun Upatham Narakorn is the first person discovered by the Culture Ministry in its quest to find nine local artists captured in nine historic pictures since 1954 as they danced in front of His Majesty the King.

Khun Upatham Narakorn (Phoom Theva) danced for His Majesty at Chitlada Palace on March 20, 1961.

Although he died in 1983, his daughter Lamom Chaireuk, 72, will relate her father's life story and the monarch's mercy towards him at the Culture Ministry exhibition at the Royal Plaza next Thursday, Culture Minister Nipit Intarasombut said yesterday.

She was among his four surviving children, all living in Phatthalung.

Lamom said she was very happy that the ministry had recognised the importance of her father, who often used to recount to her the times when he danced for the King, who was very pleased with his performances. Upatham, taken to present Nora dancing by MR Krukrit Pramoj, danced for the King on three occasions, including His Majesty's visit to the South, she said.

He played a key role in passing on the Nora dance to students, as he taught at Songkhla Teacher Training College then, she said. Among them was outstanding Songkhla artist Saroj Nakhawiroj, 71.

Khun Upatham Narakorn, who was born on March 4, 1891, as Phhom Chuaypul-ngern in Phatthalung's Kwuan Khanoon district, lost his father at the age of seven and studied reading and writing at Wihan Beuk Temple before taking up Nora. He achieved fame as "Nora Phoom Theva" because his dance's Thevada posture was so beautiful.

At the age of 28, he married Maew Thongkhundam and retired from professional Nora dancing to work on the farm and became such an outstanding kamnan that he was bestowed the royal title of "Khun Upatham Narakorn".

He taught younger generations to preserve this traditional dance and perform at important events. In 1964, he taught Nora at normal colleges in Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat. He danced for King Rama VI in 1915 at Nawong Pavilion and in Songkhla and for HM the King (Rama IX) on several occasions as well as in front of many noble persons. A much-respected master, he presided over the worship of Thai art teachers for Krukrit and similar rituals for many art colleges' teachers and students nationwide.

Pathum Thani province is also looking for the artist captured in the ninth picture taken while His Majesty played music with his friends during a boat trip on Klong Rangsit in October 1954.

So far no local people have identified the person in the picture. Acting Culture Office chief Rasama Thareeket has contacted the National Archive in Klong Luang district for more information.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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Thai Teenagers struggle to tell partners about having HIV

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Thailand Musings Now On Thaivisa

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FUGITIVE THAI PM

Thaksin is seen in South Africa this week

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Fire at a shoe factory kills three

A fire at a shoe factory in Bangkok early Thursday morning killed three workers, including a pregnant woman.

About ten fire trucks and fire fighters rushed to Sain Sain Footwear in Soi Wat Dan Samrong 28 in Samut Prakarn province and spent hours before managing to extinguish it.

After that, police found three workers, a man and two women, trapped inside the ill-fated factory. Police said one of them was four-month-old pregnant.

Initial report said the workers were prevented from escaping from the building by iron bars at the windows.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,027.33, up 9.69 points /MCOT

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A strong earthquake struck the New Britain Region in PNG about 8 minutes ago. Appears to be around 6.5. /BNONews

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TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER SAYS NO WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT FOLLOWING PAPUA NEW GUINEA QUAKE /BNONews

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Flooding hits six Phatthalung districts, affecting 1,000 households, 22 schools forced to close /MCOT

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Madame Tussauds Bangkok Opens

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Dtac Announces Data Plans For iPad With Wi-Fi + 3G In Thailand

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Police Arrest Drug Smugglers and Robber

Police have arrested three drug dealers and one robber in Bangkok.

Klongton police said they arrested two drug dealers at Badintorn Village in Bangken district. In the arrest, authorities seized 1,000 methamphetamine pills.

The suspected dealers have been identified as Phichit Wongphothisan and Kittichai Ubonrat.

The two have been indicted on charges of drug possession for sale.

In a separate case, police caught a Nigerian native named Chuko Chibun Nathan for selling drugs in front of an African restaurant at Soi Onnut 46.

They apprehended 44 grams of cocaine, and 600 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

The suspected dealer pleaded guilty and has been indicted on a charge of drug possession for sale.

Meanwhile, Udomsuk police said they have finally managed to arrest long time robber Tirapong Posuk, suspected of involvement in as many as 20 cases.

The robber said he and his accomplices robbed victims by riding motorcycles and snatching their victims' belongings as they rode passed.

-- Tan Network 2010-12-02