Thailand Live Wednesday 20 Jul 2011

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Thailand Live Wednesday 20 Jul 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 Tuesday 19 Jul 2011

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Today's Thailand weather and forecasts:

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Ais Rolls Out 3G Coverage For Phuket

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Dane Found Dead In Phuket

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UPDATE

Court shown evidence on ownership

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UPDATE

AFP: Yingluck moves step closer to becoming PM

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UPDATE

EC clears way for Yingluck

Endorsement leaves Pheu Thai No 1 poised to become country's first woman PM; Abhisit also gets nod but red shirts' fate hangs in balance

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Soft launch today of CAT's 3G service

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UPDATE

Nine feared lost in second helicopter crash

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UPDATE

Abhisit wants talks with P Penh

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Ayutthaya relic in limelight at Unesco HQ

By The Nation

An amazing sight in Thailand has been captured on film and now decorates the Paris head office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

"We are proud to have seen the picture hanging on the Unesco headquarters' fence," Somsuda Leyavanija, director-general of the Fine Arts Department, said yesterday.

The picture features the head of a Buddha statue nestled amid roots of a big tree in the compound of Mahathat Temple in the Historic City of Ayutthaya, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1991.

Somsuda said the Thai delegation to the World Heritage Committee meeting saw the picture last month.

"The picture of this Thai scene has been placed near the main gate," she said.

Unesco had chosen just 40 to 50 pictures to adorn the fences at its head office. There are 936 World Heritage Sites.

The Buddha bust attracts crowds of visitors each year. It had been left near the tree during restoration work and became entangled in the roots.

Although such a sight is very unusual, it is just one corner of the Ayutthaya historic city, and there are many other places worth seeing there.

"I'm a bit surprised but still much impressed," she said.

From October-May, more than 719,000 people viewed the Historic City of Ayutthaya.

-- The Nation 2011-07-20

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No sign of bubbles in banking sector

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EDITORIAL

This Greek tragedy has a lesson that Thailand must heed

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Google Appoints New Leader For Thailand Operations

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Thai Park Officials To Ban Entry To Resorts Built Illegally

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BURNING ISSUE

International justice and a new Thai govt

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Chaos at Bangkok's Zen after red shirt surrender, court hears

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STOPPAGE TIME

Six booby traps waiting to blow a hole in Yingluck's government

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Scavenger killed by bomb: police

By The Nation

A scavenger was killed yesterday morning after he reportedly tried to break open a metal box - which was actually a home-made bomb - that went off in Bangkok's Khanna Yao district, police said.

Bang Chan police rushed to an abandoned warehouse in Soi Ram Indra 109 following a report of an explosion at 11am. They found the body of scavenger Thongsook Nim-anong, 61, amid debris and shrapnel spread over a 10-metre radius.

The man's wife Lamyai Ruraksa, 60, said she and villagers were helping out at Wat Bang Chan, 500 metres away from the warehouse where her husband was found, when they heard the blast around 11am. She didn't think much of it as many assumed it was a transformer explosion till someone alerted her at 2pm that Thongsook was killed by an explosion.

Bomb squad head Pol Lt Col Suthat Chaiphrom said the bomb was inside a 20cm x 25cm black metal box. They suspect Thongsook found the box somewhere - as it did not appear to have a fuse - and tried to pry it open with a screwdriver, setting the bomb off, he said.

Police would try to determine the bomb type and where Thongsook found it.

-- The Nation 2011-07-20

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Democrats push for Abhisit as leader again

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Road accident

By The Nation

A Sripathum University student lost control of a car he was driving while reaching for a cell-phone and hit a street sweeper in Don Muang early yesterday, killing him, police said.

Arriving at the inbound Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road at 6.30am, they found fourth year student Worakorn Limplew and the body of city sweeper Sompong Singhawibul, 56, by Worakorn's Honda Civic.

Police say Worakorn was driving home after working on an assignment at a friend's house when he reached for his phone. The car swerved on to the left-hand footpath and crashed into Sompong, who was sweeping the road.

After interrogation, police allowed Worakorm to take the exam in the afternoon on grounds he had not fled the accident scene. The student is due to give more details to police and hear the charges he faces today, they said.

-- The Nation 2011-07-20

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Fishing bosses told to comply

By The Nation

About 950,000 migrant workers - out of an estimated two million in the country - have registered during a one-month grace period announced by the Labour Ministry, which will run for another month.

But only 5,000 workers in the fishery sector have registered to date - a number that a senior Department of Employment official said was considered low. Deputy director-general Prawit Khiangphol did not give the estimated total number of migrants in this industry. But it could be tens of thousands.

The DoE expects to see another 50,000 to 100,000 register by the time the grace period ends on August 13. "The overall number [950,000] is currently larger than expected, which was around 700,000," Prawit said.

A meeting of employers and business owners in the fishery sector was hosted yesterday by the DoE, which called them on to be more active getting foreign workers to register before the deadline.

After numerous extensions and renewals over the years, the "final registration" announced by officials began on June 15 and ended on July 14. It has been extended to August 13 mainly for workers in the fishery sector.

The DoE has received complaints from migrant workers about being overcharged with registration fees by officials of the Department of the Provincial Administration, but Prawit said the problem "had been solved", without giving details on officials' suspected corruption.

He said there would not be another registration grace period, and police would begin arresting migrants who failed to register and sending them home, while their employers would face heavy fines.

-- The Nation 2011-07-20

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Yingluck welcomes EC's endorsement of her MP status and adds she's not worried by delay in endorsement of 21 red-shirt leaders /TAN_Network

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ANALYSIS

Thailand's Preah Vihear nightmare

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Video: Mysterious death of Chile's Allende resolved http://aje.me/nkgAwH /via@AJEnglish

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Thai stock index opens on Wednesday at 1,106.48, up 9.71 points /MCOT

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Pheu Thai prodding EC to endorse red shirts

The Pheu Thai Party on Wednesday heaved a sign of relief following the endorsement of balloting outcome for its prime ministerial candidate Yingluck Shinawatra.

"The Election Commission should take a next step by endorsing Pheu Thai's 11 red shirts as MPs," party deputy leader Plodprasop Suraswadi said.

Plodprasop said the EC had no justification to delay the balloting endorsement. Unlike other red shirts, MPs-elect like Apiwan Wiriyachai and Jaruphan Kuldilok were not facing any legal proceedings, he said.

He urged the EC to speed up its work so as to fill 95 per cent of seats and achieve the quorum for convening the first session of the House of Representatives.

-- The Nation 2011-07-20

open topic:

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People's Alliance Seeks Nulififcation of Poll Outcome

The People's Alliance for Democracy has presented fresh evidence to support its petition seeking the nullification of the poll outcome.

Core leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy or PAD, Major General Chamlong Srimaung, along with group's spokesman Parnthep Puapongpan submitted an additional petition and fresh evidence with the Supreme Court's division for election cases asking for the nullification of the July 3 poll results.

The two accused the Election Commission of failing to hold the poll in accordance with the Constitution.

The petition stated that the EC's wrongfully barred Major General Chamlong and two million others from casting ballots.

Major Chamlong, long with many other voters, had previously registered for advanced voting at a different polling station in a previous poll and had assumed they would be allowed to vote at their original polling station.

The pair said they believe their new evidence will benefit the court trial.

-- Tan Network 2011-07-20

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Tesco Lotus Assures No Price Hike for Packed Rice

CEO of a leading hypermarket chain in Thailand, Tesco Lotus, has voiced support for the Pheu Thai-led government's policy to raise the daily minimum wage to 300 baht, while assuring the public there will not be a price hike for packed rice at this time.

Chris Bush, CEO of Ek-Chai Distribution System, the operator of Tesco Lotus hypermarket chains in Thailand, said after the launch of “Tesco Lotus Extra”, that the company will not increase the price of packed rice at this time, affirming its commitment to keep the price unchanged for as long as possible.

Bush noted that in order to help cut the cost of living for customers, the company has launched several campaigns such as 'Roll Back', which makes 400 products 27 percent cheaper than market prices. The company has spent 567 million on the campaign.

He has expressed support for the Pheu Thai Party's policy to raise the daily minimum wage for workers across the country to 300 baht, saying the company's current minimum wage rate is already higher than that set by the government.

However, he admitted that the wage hike will increase production costs for entrepreneurs.

Bush affirmed that the company will not allow the wage increase to have an effect on consumers, and will find other ways to effectively manage the increased costs.

Currently, the company employs 34,000 workers nationwide and recruits some 2,000 to 3,000 workers a year.

The company spent over 300 million baht to launch a new store called “Tesco Lotus Extra” on Rama IV Road.

It was constructed on a 20,000 square-meter plot, and it features a comprehensive range of products, from general goods to international fashion brands, in 120 shops.

-- Tan Network 2011-07-20

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US Embassy Bangkok calls for Americans to STEP up

Visitors wait in the lobby of the American Citizen Services unit at the

US Embassy in Bangkok, which provides emergency assistance regarding

arrests, missing persons, medical emergencies, death, crime and lost

and stolen passports.

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