Thailand Live Wednesday 8 Jun 2011

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Pop Singers Join Election Promotion

A throng of pop singers march at a shopping center to urge voters to exercise their rights in the forthcoming July 3 poll.

Musical artists from the RS label, in collaboration with the Election Commission, campaigned at Siam Square to call on voters to cast ballots on July 3.

Teen singers like Four Mod, Jack Jarupong and Wai participated in the event.

They handed out campaign posters and leaflets at the Siam BTS station, drawing a lot of attention from train commuters.

The campaign was aimed at encouraging new voters, totalling around three million, to exercise their voting rights.

A song, titled Three Million Thai Young-blood Teenagers was launched for the campaign.

Wai from Kamikaze band said she will be eligible to vote for the first time in the July 3 election, so she is very excited.

She added that she has a favorite politician who she will vote for.

-- Tan Network 2011-06-08

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One killed, one severely wounded in Narathiwat shooting

NARATHIWAT, June 8 – One villager was gunned down while his wife was seriously wounded by gunshots Wednesday morning in Sungai Padi district in this southern border province, according to local police.

Monthon Samthitabdee, 50, was shot dead and his wife Boonsri Tonkam, 44, was badly hurt after the couple was attacked by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle.

Sungai Padi police investigators said the incident occurred when two gunmen riding a motorcycle fired five shots at Mr Monthon who was riding a motorcycle with his wife on their way to a construction site in the neighbouring district of Sungai Kolok. The assailants then fled the scene.

The man was shot in his back and chest and died at the scene. His body was found lying near his motorcycle.

Meanwhile, Mrs Boonsri was shot in torso and shoulder. She was taken to Sungai Kolok Hospital for medical treatment.

Investigators initially found five spent cartridge cases from an 11mm pistol at the scene. Police believed that the latest violence in the deep South was carried out by insurgents intending to worsen the violence in the region.

The violence has escalated to an almost daily basis in Thailand's insurgency-plagued southern border region of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, following a string of bomb and gun attacks, since the insurgencies erupted in 2004. So far, the violence claimed more than 4,300 lives of civilians and officials. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-06-08

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Campaign billboards to depict buffalo-headed candidates in blue and red suits

By The Nation

The People's Alliance for Democracy and the Heaven and Earth Party on Wednesday unveiled a second batch of 5,000 billboards designed to promote the "no vote" campaign in Bangkok.

The billboards will feature four depictions - buffalo-headed, crocodile-headed, tiger-headed candidates and two facial caricatures of Democrat Abhisit Vejjajiva and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"The billboards have been sponsored and used for campaigning by the Heaven and Earth Party," PAD spokesman Panthep Pourpongpan said.

The party is a PAD's ally and has joined the race in order to encourage the people to cast blank ballots.

Party candidate Samdin lertbut said his party had already affixed its logo and ballot No 18 on every billboard in compliance with the campaigning rules.

Samdin said his party would take legal action against vandalism or any attempts to remove the billboards.

The first billboard will highlight the message of running from a tger into a crocodile. The depiction will show the tiger-headed in blue, the colour of the Democrat Party and the crocodile-headed in red, signifying the red shirts.

The second billboard will depiect two buffalo-headed candidates dressed in blue and red suits respectively.

The third billboard will highlight two facial caricatures depicting Abhisit and Thaksin with the message - "July 3, the day to knock politicians in the head."

The fourth billboard will highlight the message - "Join in protest against politicians without having to rally.

-- The Nation 2011-06-08

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Thaksin's Sister Case Rests with Anti-graft Body

The deputy attorney general has pointed out that the National Anti-Corruption Commission is responsible for indicting Yingluck Shinawatra for having allegedly committed perjury to help her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in the assets seizure case.

Deputy Attorney General Waiyawut Lotrakul commented on the petition filed by a civic network for the Department of Special Investigation to investigate Yingluck Shinawatra, the Pheu Thai Party's number one party-list MP candidate, for having allegedly committed perjury to help her brother, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in the assets seizure case.

Waiyawut said it is outside state prosecutors' responsibility to bring charges over such a case.

He pointed out that the assets seizure case file has already been transferred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, or NACC, adding any matter related to the case should be directly referred to the anti-graft body.

However as the civic network that filed the complaint is not the plaintiff, the case details must be reviewed to determine whether the DSI is authorized to launch an investigation into the perjury case.

Waiyawut said that the Attorney General Office could only bring charges against a certain person once it receives the case file from the investigation authority.

He refused to make any further comment as the NACC has yet to complete its investigation into the corruption allegations against Thaksin.

-- Tan Network 2011-06-08

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Ethanol Demand Expected to Rise

The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency said ethanol demand in Thailand this year will rise.

Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Director General Krairit Nilkuha said that the demand for ethanol will rise from 1.37 million liters per day to rwo million liters within this year.

He said the rising demand was partly due to the increase in number of ethanol-compatible vehicles capable of running on E20 and E85 fuel.

He said there will be plans to encourage the use to E85 on cars as the number of automobiles in Thailand is as large as 17 million.

The department will also corporate with the Suranaree University of Technology to develop more E85-powered motorcycles.

Those interested can pay 350 baht to have the engine of their motorbikes modified for the purpose.

Krairit affirmed that there is adequate supply of ethanol as Thailand currently has 19 ethanol plants capable of producing 2.9 to three million liters of ethanol per day.

Moreover, five more factories are under construction and will be able to produce 1.8 million liters of ethanol in the future.

He added there are currently 75 million liters of ethanol in stock.

-- Tan Network 2011-06-08

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Tourists on Ko Chang decline due to monsoon

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Army chief willing to meet Yingluck after election day

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Suthep calls for Sondhi's justification to support Yingluck

By The Nation

People's Alliance for Democracy Sondhi Limthongkul has yet to explain to the people why he made an about-face to support Yingluck Shinawatra despite his campaign against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Somdhi led the street protests to oust Thaksin but today he appears to have taken the Yingluck side," Democrat Party secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban said.

Suthep was reacting the PAD's "no vote" campaign which he claims designed to encourage blank ballots, hence undermining the votes that should have been destined for the Democrats.

He said he did not want to engage in a war of words with Sondhi who blamed the Democrats for engineering the litigations against Yingluck.

The Democrats had no involvement in Yingluck's legal issues as raised by two activists, Kaewsun Atibodhi and Tul Sitthisomwong, he said.

Kaewsun, former member of the Asset Examination Committee, and Tul, leader of the multi-colour shirts, have jointly targetted Yingluck for legal hurdles aimed at blocking the amnesty for Thaksin and probing her involvement in the Thaksin's graft case.

-- The Nation 2011-06-08

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Vote-buying frame-up for Chalerm?

By The Nation

Police have been investigating a vote-buying complaint filed by the electoral campaign of Pheu Thai candidate Chalerm Yoobamrung, police legal adviser General Pongsapat Pongcharoen said on Wednesday.

Pongsapat said campaign workers spotted a number of individuals distributing Chalerm's campaign leaflets, each of which attached with Bt100, in Bangkok's Bang Bon district.

They alerted police on suspicion about a frame-up to disqualify Chalerm for campaign violations, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-06-08

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Body of missing deckhand found off southern Phuket

Nati Tavorn (pictured) was a trusted deckhand, said his boss Martin Eleveld

of the fishing charter company Phuket Fish Boat.

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World Bank optimistic on Thailand's growth

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Chuwit's poster with the baby says "Politics is like a diaper, the more you change it the better." /via@danwaites

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Working legally in Thailand - Immigration and Labour Departments speaks out

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Yingluck's femininity not enough to ensure victory: Kalaya

By The Nation

Pheu Thai candidate Yingluck Shinawatra should not try to sway votes by her femininity because campaigning is the race to do good deeds for the people regardless of the gender, Democrat Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich said on Wednesday.

"Yingluck shed tears in her first few campaign appearances but this would not resolve anything," she said.

Kalaya was reacting to Yingluck's attempt to woo sympathy votes by reminding supporters about the plight of her brother Thaksin Shinawatra.

She denied her party's involvement in targetting Yingluck for the legal proceedings in connection with her involvement in the Thaksin graft case. She said male and female candidates were equally accountable for scrutiny, dismissing concern about Pheu Thai gaining on sympathy votes.

-- The Nation 2011-06-08

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Swiss lawmakers vote to approve government-backed proposal to phase out the use of nuclear power - AP /via@BreakingNews

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SET index closed at 1014.58, down 20.17; Bt/USD30.17; GBP49.45; AUD32.08; EUR44.14; CAD30.85; HKD3.87; SGD24.40; JPY37.5

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The Expat Who Started "Monk For A Month" In Thailand Now Does 'Muslim For A Month'

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Army Proposal for a Thai Homeland Security Ministry: opinion

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SOUTH CRISIS

Three killed, six injured in Narathiwat Wednesday

By The Nation

Two shopkeepers were killed and five state officers were injured in two separate attacks by suspected insurgents in Narathiwat's Joh Irong district Wednesday.

In the first incident at a Tambon Bukit grocery store, suspected separatists shot the shopkeeper Sompong Saeoui, 54, around noon and, when the sixstrong officer team arrived at the scene to investigate, detonated a hidden 10kg bomb by cell phone. Five officers were wounded by shrapnel.

Beside the onefoot hole caused by the bomb and debris, police collected three spent 11mm cartridges. The shopkeeper was pronounced dead at hospital. The police investigation revealed that two men on a motorcycle went to the store and shot Sompong three times before hiding the bomb on a shelf and fleeing.

At the second scene, police found the body of shopkeeper Narong Banjongkhachathan, 72, who had been shot in the ribs and head, and collected three 9mm spent cartridges from the scene. The investigation found that two men on a motorcycle had pretended to buy something from his shop then shot him.

A five-strong team of soldiers travelling along Jarusathien Road in an armoured truck to inspect the two abovementioned scenes was hit by a bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle, but the bomb exploded after the truck had travelled five metres past it, so no one was injured.

Meanwhile, a Thai Buddhist man was shot dead and his wife seriously wounded in a driveby shooting in Narathiwat's Sungai Padi district Wednesday morning. Police blamed separatist militants for launching the attack to create chaos in the region.

Sungai Padi police station chief Pol Col Peerapol Na Patthalung said that Monthon Samathithabdee, 50, and wife Boonsri Thongkam, 44, were riding a motorcycle to do construction work in Sungai Kolok district at about 8am, when two men on another motorbike tailed them and opened fire, shooting at them five times. Monthon, who sustained two gunshots in the back and chest, was killed instantly. His wife, who was hit in the ribs and right shoulder, was rushed to Sungai Padi Hospital and then transferred to Sungai Kolok Hospital.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban commented that the government's tackling of the unrest in three southernmost provinces has gradually improved but the separatists still tried to create violence to make people fearful and feel that they still had influence. It was thus important that state officials work to prevent violent incidents.

-- The Nation 2011-06-08

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Thailand Live Thursday 9 Jun 2011

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