Thailand Live Thursday 25 Aug 2011

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Thailand Live Thursday 25 August 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 Wednesday 24 Aug 2011

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Today's Thailand weather and forecasts:

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New Zealand Sports Head Murdered In Thailand

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ANALYSIS

Rate hike sends message Thai economy is doing well

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12 red shirts jailed over town hall burning, 9 freed

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UPDATE

Freedom and 'fighters'

Court acquits Pojaman of tax evasion on a day when 12 red shirts get lengthy jail terms for May 2010 arson

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Army chief urges govt to launch new measures in South

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Tak Bai, Krue Se crackdowns: There 'will be some compensation'

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EDITORIAL

No sign of any leadership quality from Yingluck

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Who says election promises must translate to policies?: Thai Talk

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STOPPAGE TIME

Big brother Thaksin overshadows younger sister on her big day

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Anti-corruption unit moves against former tourism chief Juthamas

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No gambling in Bangkok: Police Commissioner

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Child rescued from begging

By The Nation

Twentyone days after being kidnapped and forced to beg, a threeyearold girl was reunited with her parents yesterday thanks to a pair of good Samaritans.

Inthong Phanpraset and husband Wara, said they spotted Pompam accompanied by a 30yearold woman begging at a food shop near Muang district office in Chon Buri and asked the woman for the child's birth certificate. Inthong said the woman excused herself to confer with a man who claimed to be the child's father, before they fled.

The child told police that her kidnappers pinched and beat her up.

The child's real parents, Wiset Samang and Apphinya Sumaphan, who live in Samut Prakarn, will present the rescuers a cheque for Bt50,000 at a ceremony organised by the Democrat Party. The date for the event will be announced later.

-- The Nation 2011-08-25

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Watchdog targets shop after teen dies in drinkrelated crash

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Documents solve mystery of bodies

By The Nation

National Police spokesman Pol MajGeneral Prawut Thavornsiri said yesterday that there was valid documentation for the socalled 169 mysterious corpses found buried in two Rayong temples.

After national police chief Wichean Potephosree received this report from the chief of Provincial Police Region 8, he assigned his deputy Pol General Pansiri Prapawat to check the documents and have the corpses identified.

Meanwhile, in reaction to Deputy Transport Minister LtGeneral Chatt Kuldiloke's claim that someone saw red shirts being removed from the corpses, Democrat Party's Rayong MP Sathit Pitudecha said yesterday that he should provide evidence. He said the Sawang Pratheep Foundation and Provincial Police Region 2 had already concluded the corpses had not been claimed and a meritmaking ceremony would be held for them in November.

-- The Nation 2011-08-25

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Rows over water gates escalate

By The Nation

As Phichit continues being flooded, two groups of villagers are still feuding over the draining of flood waters in Pho Prathab Chang district, with residents in tambon Nong Jik accusing the police of siding with people in tambon Muang Kao, which is no longer flooded.

Both sides exchanged angry words yesterday as Muang Kao residents brought heavy machinery to reinforce the flood embankment. Residents in Nong Jik also hurled abuse at police officers who were trying to keep both sides separate.

At a recent negotiation session, both sides failed to reach a compromise because Nong Jik residents are demanding that the water gate be opened and the embankment dismantled. They also accused Muang Kao residents of being selfish and not caring about the old and young children being put at risk on the other side. They also said that the flooding was damaging their fruit plantations.

In Sam Ngam district, people waded through high floodwaters yesterday to attend the funeral of Bunkerd Janjaeng, who drowned recently. Also yesterday, resident Phoom Muangkerd was washed away by strong currents while trying to close a small water gate.

So far, the floods have claimed eight lives in Phichit, where nine of the 12 districts are still submerged, with 21,162 households affected and 126,383 rai of farmland damaged.

In an official update, 12 provinces are still flooded, with 42 people having drowned and one still missing.

A flashflood warning has been announced for eight provinces in the Northeast, namely Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Nong Khai, Mukdahan, Amnart Charoen, Yasothon, Ubon Ratchathani and Yasothorn.

-- The Nation 2011-08-25

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BURNING ISSUE

Is Yingluck's silence an asset?

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Thai Govt slammed for plan to provide computer tablets to pathom 1 kids

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Supreme Court to hear Bangkok firetruck case in November

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Survey on chedi's Unesco listing put on hold

By Pakamard Jaichalard

The Nation

Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome has suspended the Fine Arts Department's survey of a proposal to enter Nakhon Pathom's 127metretall Phra Pathom Chedi on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Her suspension yesterday of the data collection and opinion surveys follows protests by residents and vendors around the landmark that registration would alter their lifestyles and impact their businesses.

Saying she had consulted with the department and considered the August 20 survey result, Sukumol said the department's activities would be put on hold temporarily because of a lack of public information. There was an assumption among local people that the registration would have only a negative impact.

Sukumol said she assigned the department and the Fine Arts Office 2 in Suphan Buri to work with Nakhon Pathom province to give accurate information about the registration and its consequences - especially vendors' concern they'd be unable to sell goods or live near the area after the registration.

Sukumol hoped that by providing accurate information and explaining the situation to residents, the department would gain support for the move. Later she would discuss with the Fine Arts Department and the province on how the residents felt.

If those opposed and those agreed were about the same number, they might hold a public forum for the whole province, she said. If a large number of people objected to the idea, they would drop plans to propose it.

-- The Nation 2011-08-25

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Thailand, Cambodia end meeting as friends

By The Nation

Nakhon Ratchasima

The ThailandCambodia Regional Border Committee (RBC) ended its oneday meeting yesterday with a mutual agreement to strengthen cooperation between the military forces on both sides in order to maintain border security, the Second Army Region Commander LtGeneral Thawatchai Samutsakorn said.

The two sides also discussed the issue of withdrawing troops in line with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling and allowing a team of observers from Indonesia to be stationed at the borders, but did not make any decisions because they are policy matters.

"We touched on the issue of troop withdrawal and the observers, but it is up to the governments to make the decision," he said.

The question of withdrawing troops from the area adjacent to Preah Vihear Temple, which the ICJ has said is a demilitarised zone, will be discussed again at a meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) due in Phnom Penh next month, he said.

The GBC, cochaired by the defence ministers of Thailand and Cambodia, has the authority to make a decision on whether or not to withdraw troops.

The RBC, on the other hand, is a joint mechanism in which commanders of the two countries can consult each other over technical issues related to border security. Yesterday, both sides discussed measures to strengthen cooperation in the trafficking of narcotics along the border, supporting police on transborder crime suppression as well as supporting development projects to boost the local standard of living, Thawatchai said.

"We have only talked about good things because the tension has eased. The previous clash had been caused by external factors and political issues, since the forces on both sides do not really have a problem," the commander told reporters after the meeting.

Cambodia's Fourth Regional Commander Chea Mon cochaired the RBC meeting with Thawatchai.

-- The Nation 2011-08-25

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Wasant named president of Constitution Court

By The Nation

Justice Wasant Soypisut was elected yesterday as Constitution Court president, replacing Chat Cholaworn, who stepped down as president on August 10.

The vote was unanimous, as Wasant was the only candidate, the court said in a press release.

He was nominated by Justice Charoon Inthacharn.

His appointment will be forwarded to the Senate speaker to seek His Majesty the King's endorsement.

Chat's resignation followed legal action against his former secretary, Pasit Sakdanarong, for allegedly posting sneak videos of.

Pasit was charged with secretly filming justices in private meetings discussing the dissolution case against the Democrat Party and posting the videos on YouTube with apparent intention to ruin the court's reputation.

Wasant said he will promote unity and try to improve the court's image by making people understand better about the court's role.

Even though he is seen as close to the Democrat Party, he said he wants everyone to look at his judgement.

And society should put righteousness before prejudice.

Wasant, 64, was a lawyer for the Seni Pramoj law firm before serving as a judge in 1973. He was a chief justice for the Supreme Court's Labour Division and retired three years ago as the chief justice of the Supreme Court's Juvenile and Family Division.

He was a defence witness when the Constitution Court sued veteran politician and columnist Prasong Soonsiri for severely criticising the majority judges who acquitted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra in the share concealment case.

As MR Seni Pramoj was a Democrat Party founder and former leader, opposition Pheu Thai Party MP Kiatudom Menasawat and party spokesman Prompong Nopparit objected to Wasant and Charan Phakdeethanakul hearing the Democrat dissolution case on grounds that they were biased.

Wasant excused himself from the cases and sued Kiatudom and Prompong for libel.

-- The Nation 2011-08-25

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Session halted over Natthawut's 'ambiguous' statement

By The Nation

House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont had to order a 10-minute break yesterday after a heated argument broke out over a so-called ambiguous statement made by Pheu Thai party-list MP Natthawut Saikua.

This was the new government's first parliamentary session during which reconciliation policies were being discussed.

The break was ordered after Democrat MPs Abhisit Vejjajiva and Suthep Thaugsuban protested loudly about Natthwut's remark referring to the crackdown ordered last May by the then-Democrat government

Somsak did not interpret Natthawut's statement or issue a ruling on it as urged by Suthep. Instead he ordered a 10-minute break to personally "read between the lines". The results of his interpretation were not known at press time late last night.

But the meetinng was suspended for about 40 minutes and resumed at 11:10 pm.

Natthawut was eventually ordered by Somsak to withdraw his words.

Somsak ordered the checking of quorum twice but the present MPs and senators did not make the quorum of 325 after the opposition staged a walk-out. The Parliament president adjourned the meeting at 11:30 pm and the policy debate is scheduled to be resumed at 1 pm Thursday.

-- The Nation 2011-08-25

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Insurgents attack ranger base in Yaha, Yala injuring 8 /TAN_Network

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Lampang elderly man kills mother-son neighbor for putting up a fence which caused flooding at his house /TAN_Network

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs resigns due to health problems

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,056.65, up 10.22 points /MCOT

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Police Chief Firm on Ridding City of Gambling Dens

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Parliament to Re-Convene at 1P.M. Today After Last Night's Abrupt Closing

The Parliament session will continue at 1 P.M. today after last night's verbal wrangling caused the House Speaker to awkwardly end the session prematurely.

After hours of verbal fights between red shirt members of the Pheu Thai Party and members of the Opposition, House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranond was forced to call for a count of members present in the chamber and ended the session when the number did not reach a quorum.

-- Tan Network 2011-08-25