Thailand Live Tuesday 10 May 2011

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Thailand Live Tuesday 10 May 2011

News, Bits and Tweets

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

For breaking news,national, regional and international news updates on a daily basis only, this thread is closed to commentary so that those who wish to follow the news can find it here...

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

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Related topic: Thailand Live Monday 9 May 2011

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Today's Thailand weather and forecasts:

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PM Abhisit dissolves House, but what lies beyond July 3?

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Ruling on red shirts Thursday

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Thailand to see 3G nationwide by mid-2012

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Thai-Cambodian border 'peace deal' agreed in Jakarta

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SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE

SSO will only foot 10% of losses at state

By PONGPHON SARNSAMAK,

KRITTTAPHAK PARUNGRIT

THE NATION

Labour, Public Health ministries may have trouble reaching deal to serve

Moves to allow Social Security Office subscribers to get medical services at state hospitals look to have hit a snag.

Labour Minister Somkiat Chayasriwong, who serves as chairman of the SSO, said yesterday that the office could not pay more than 10 per cent of any accumulated losses that Public Health Ministry hospitals are left with after treating SSO members.

This is believed to be less than the sum sought by ministry officials.

The SSO board will meet today to seek a resolution on compensation for any losses endured by state hospitals before it discusses the issue with the ministry.

At present, the SSO allocates Bt1,404 per person to hospitals that provide services to its subscribers.

But the SSO said it would review the budget per head allocated to state hospitals each year in a bid to improve the quality of medical services for subscribers.

Adjustment of the per head budget for SSO medical benefits would depend on the financial situation each year, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday.

The latest news follows a meeting last week between the Public Health and Labour ministries to find a way to improve services for SSO subscribers.

The SSO also is seeking a way to allow more than 3.8 million subscribers registered with the Public Health Ministry to receive medical services at any ministry hospital nationwide.

Currently, SSO subscribers are allowed to receive medical services only at hospitals they have registered with. They are allowed to receive treatment at other hospitals only in the event of emergencies.

Soon, SSO subscribers will be permitted to get medical treatment at any hospital run by the ministry.

Labour Ministry officials have teamed up with Public Health Ministry counterparts to set up a joint committee to draft a memorandum of understanding to improve the quality of SSO medical services.

Under this, the SSO will link data about its subscribers to hospitals across the country that allow SSO members to get medical service at hospitals run by the Public Health Ministry.

The SSO will also review the per head budget it provides to Public Health Ministry hospitals every year as the ministry will have funds to improve the quality of medical services for SSO subscribers.

Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit said about 10-20 per cent of ministry hospitals did not receive a per head budget from the SSO.

However, Jurin has ordered the ministry's health insurance bureau to oversee and control the per head budget allocation from the SSO to ministry hospitals.

"The ministry expects to sign the MoU with the Labour Ministry to improve medical services for SSO subscribers by next week," Jurin said.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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The future is in your hands, PM tells voters

By The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told voters last night that it was time for them to make a decision about the country's future.

"My duties are going to end soon, and it is now your duty to determine your and your country's future. I respect the decision you are going to make," he said in a live television broadcast.

Whether the country moved forward, backward or remained mired in political conflict was up to those who cast their ballot in the upcoming election, he said.

The prime minister said his decision to dissolve the House of Representatives was given royal endorsement yesterday and that dissolution would take effect from today.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Storms, floods predicted across 14 provinces

By THE NATION

Fourteen provinces across the country are at risk of flash flooding, violent storms and mudslides following anticipated heavy rain throughout this week.

People living in low-lying areas and at the foot of mountains face a special risk, while fishing trawlers based in the eastern and southern provinces are advised to stay in port.

The central provinces at risk are Kanchanaburi, Suphan Buri and Ratchaburi; Phetchaburi and Prachaup Khiri Khan in the west; Chon Buri, Trat, Chanthaburi and Rayong in the east; and Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi and Trang, in the south; and all on the Andaman Sea coast.

Stagnant flooding is now reported in urban areas in Phrae's Long district after one night of heavy rain, while 80 rai of farmland in other areas are under floodwater. Flooding has blocked two roads in Wieng Kosai national park in areas connecting Wang Chin district with Sob Prab district in Lampang province.

Many roads in Muang Lampang district are also inundated but have not yet been closed and are still open to large vehicles. A weather forecast office in Lampang said flash flooding in Koh Kha and Thern districts is possible if there is more heavy rain.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Weapons haul found outside Bangkok Siam Paragon shopping mall

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Thailand KFC faces employee lawsuit for unfair practices

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Ballots must not be cast on a whim: Thai opinion

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Lese majeste cases creating climate of fear, critics say

By PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

THE NATION

The recent spate of lese majeste charges against opponents of the government - including academics, journalists and red-shirt leaders - is creating a climate of fear that has further politicised the monarchy, critics say.

"Apart from curtailing freedom, it has created a climate of fear," Mahidol University lecturer on human rights Sriprapha Petchmeesri said. "This is not good for a society which says it is democratising."

Sriprapha said room for freedom of expression in Thailand has been eroded gradually.

Her remarks came after she learnt yesterday that Thammasat University historian Somsak Jiamteerasakul had finally been charged with lese majeste by the Thai Army.

Somsak will report to Nang Lerng police station at 10am tomorrow to hear the charges against him. He is a well-known critic of the lese majeste law and a vocal critic of the monarchy.

Sriprapha said Somsak has been critical for many years so the question was why had he been charged at this time.

"We should make the [monarchy] issue something that can be discussed openly. Anything that is part of society ought to be able to be |discussed."

Others like human rights lawyer Somchai Hom-laor said lese majeste law had been increasingly used as a tool to suppress political opponents.

"The charges have become political. This negatively impacts the monarchy itself," said Somchai, who added that a reform of lese majeste law was needed. He lamented that |he recently issued a statement critical of the increasing use of lese majeste charges, but none of the mainstream media cared to publish even part of it.

Vasant Panich, a former national human rights commissioner and a newly appointed director of Khon Kaen University's Centre for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, told The Nation the trend was that more charges could be expected in the near future.

"In cases of people like Somsak and [Red Power editor] Somyos [Prueksaka-semsuk], the law was used in order to stop their [political] activities," he said. Somyos has been detained since the beginning of this month and denied bail.

Khon Kaen-based scholar David Streckfuss, a leading authority of lese majeste law in Thailand, said the public had no information on how many people were now incarcerated under lese majeste charges as the authorities did not release details on all cases. He said the number could be more than a hundred or in the hundreds.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Police prepare for subway extension work

By The Nation

The Metropolitan Police have adjusted their traffic-direction plan to support construction of the Blue Line subway extension (Bang Sue-Hua Lamphong-Yaowarat-Sampeng-Charansanitwong) from July onwards.

Metropolitan Police Bureau Deputy Commissioner Panu Kerdlarppol, who supervises traffic affairs, said the contractor would dig mainly the tunnel and set up foundation pillars at the Hua Lamphong, Wat Mangkon Kamalawat and Wang Burapa areas, where the stations would be. The construction is to take four to five years and was expected to be complete by 2016. Besides informing motorists to avoid the routes and dispatching more traffic officers to the construction spots, traffic police will close one traffic lane in Yaowarat, Sampeng and Charoenkrung as well as the Tha Phra and Charansanitwong areas, he added.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Govt approves new stadium for Futsal World Cup

By The nation

The government has approved a budget for construction of a futsal stadium to be completed by next May, as Bangkok prepares to host the Fifa Futsal World Cup next year.

The 12,000-seat indoor stadium will be built at a new Bangkok Metropolitan Administration complex in Nong Chok district, with a Bt1.23-billion budget granted by the government to support the BMA's hosting of the seventh international tournament, which is held every four years.

The BMA has secured three indoor stadiums for use in the competition - one at the Impact Muang Thong Thani exhibition complex in Nonthaburi, one in the Nimibutr Building in the National Stadium compound in Bangkok's Pathumwan district, and one at the Indoor Stadium at the Sports Authority of Thailand's Hua Mark compound.

The Thai national team will use Keelawes Gymnasium in the Thai-Japanese Youth Sports complex in Din Daeng district as a practice ground. The Fifa Futsal World Cup is scheduled for November next year.

Stadiums in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Nakhon Ratchasima will also be used in the competition. Thailand qualified as the host after beating China, Iran, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Sri Lanka and Guatemala in the bidding.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Graduates lose diplomas in wake of 'degrees

By THE NATION

A total of 794 graduates from E-sarn University have had their teaching diplomas revoked - under an order by Kurusapa, which now administers the Khon Kaen-based institute - after finding it had sold the degrees to paying students who never attended lectures or apprenticeship courses.

Under leniency extended through another set of regulations, all the graduates can apply for teaching positions at schools after a five-year period, said Ongkorn Amornsirinant, secretary-general of Kurusapa, the Teachers' Council of Thailand.

Any graduates wishing to appeal against the revocation of their degrees, or those who graduated before the so-called degree sales and purchases were practised, can submit written statements.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will decide soon whether to launch a criminal investigation into the case.

As a result of the case, the Education Ministry has begun scrutinising educational institutions at all levels in case of similar scandals involving. The process involves the police, the Justice Ministry and the Information and Communications Technology Ministry and will systematically investigate such practices.

Asked about a similar scandal reported at a Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya University branch in Nan, in which graduates paid Bt10,000 or more to earn Buddhism-related bachelor's degrees, Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat said the Office of the Higher Education Commission would immediately look into the matter.

Meanwhile, Rajamangala Univer-sity of Technology Tawan-ok is considering a defamation lawsuit against Assistant Professor Chatchai Supphajareerak, a former head of lecturers and staff council, who recently claimed that a number of graduates had earned degrees without basic qualifications - and the university had been aware of it.

Deputy rector Nopphakant Sukhantharun said a three-tier investigation had found that only two graduates had their names wrongly recorded and they had already been withdrawn from a royally granted graduation ceremony. He said 11 graduates cited as informants by Chatchai did not exist.

Nopphakant said the matter had nothing to do with corruption and resulted from a normal situation to be expected through the registration process.

"The university's legal counsellors have been assigned to consider lodging a defamation lawsuit against Chatchai, for bringing a bad name to the RUT Tawan-ok," she said.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Lower North, Ranong, Phangnga warned of flash flood from heavy rain /TAN_Network

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Thai stock index opens on Tuesday at 1,076.94, up 4.47 points /MCOT

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4.6-magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar, felt in Chiang Rai; no report of damages or casualties /MCOT

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Tentative timetable for balloting

By The Nation

The Election Commission has set a tentative timetable for the July 3 voting, EC secretary general Suthiphon Taveechaiyagarn said on Tuesday.

The Royal Decree for House Dissolution will take effect as of Tuesday following its publication in the Royal Gazette.

After yesterday's Constitution Court ruling on constitutionality, the three organic laws on the revamped electoral system will take about a week for the issuing of the royal command and the publication in the Royal Gazette.

The registration of party-list candidates is slated to take place from May 19 to May 23.

The consitutuency candidates will be registered from May 24 to May 28, It will take 10 days to complete the checks on candidacy qualification. disqualified candidates are entiled to petition the Supreme Court for a judicial review within seven days.

The early balloting for absentee voters is scheduled for June 26.

The EC has yet to schedule a meeting with political parties to set the cap on campaign spending. In past elections, the spending cap was set at Bt1.5 million per candidate. Although the voting zones were scaled down from multi-seat to single-seat constituencies, the EC might not adjust the spending cap due to rising cost.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Former CA Governor Schwarzenegger and former CA First Lady Shriver have separated after 25 years of marriage #I'llBeBack @BNONews

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Phuket roads undergoing B140mn overhaul

Major roads across Phuket are finally getting a makeover.

Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

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Pairote Suwanchawee dies of cancer

Pairote Suwanchawee, a leading member of the Chart Pattana Pua Pandin Party, has died of cancer, the party spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

The spokesman, Alongkot Maneekart, said the Suwanchawee will hold a press conference in the afternoon.

-- The Nation 2011-05-10

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Thailand Confident of 2020 World Expo Bid

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Insurgents' bombing in Yala injures 3 police officers; 8 RKK suspects arrested in Narathiwat, 5 motorcycles confiscated /TAN_Network

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Party-List MP Applications to be Taken on May 19 to 23

The Election Commission has appointed 11 working teams to organize a party-list election. Candidate applications will be accepted from May 19 to 23.

Election Commission Secretary-General Sutthipol Thaweechaikan said after yesterday's meeting that the EC has appointed 11 working teams to oversee party-list elections and has urged all officials to ensure a smooth application process. Submissions party list candidates have been tentatively scheduled for May 19 to 23 at the Bangkok Youth Center (Thai-Japan).

Sutthipol added that his agency will invite the media to a seminar on May 11 to keep them abreast of election preparations and discuss their coverage of the election.

He went on to explain that the budget to organize the upcoming election is higher than the previous one because there are more voters and constituencies.

The EC secretary-general said the number of eligible voters increased from 44 million to 48 million and the number of election constituencies rose from 157 to 375, bringing the number of ballot booths to 94,000 units nationwide.

He added that staff payment also increased from 250 baht to 300 baht per day per person.

Sutthipol said an additional budget has been allocated to investigative functions, as extensive vote-buying and fraud allegations are expected as in previous elections.

Use of online social media in election campaigns are allowed as long as it does not violate the law or electoral regulations.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-10

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Thai-Cambodian border dispute: Cambodia Unveils Trilateral Meeting Results

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Burmese Quake Felt in Chiang Rai

A 4.6-magnitude quake hit Myanmar this morning and could be felt in 5 districts in Chiang Rai Province.

A 5.8-magnitude quake was also seen in the Philippines and in Japan.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-10

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Flash Flood Warning

The Meteorological Department has warned of flash floods in Phangnga, Ranong and the Lower North due to heavy rain.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-10

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Phuket Live Wire: How Twitter is changing the way news breaks

Twitter hit its heaviest use ever in the build-up to President Obama’s

speech – more than 5,000 messages per second. Typical volume is

about 600 messages per second.

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