Thailand Live Monday 26 Dec 2011

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Poll: Defense Ministry Most Popular among People

According to the latest opinion poll conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, most people are satisfied with the prime minister's diligence and performance.

Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry has been picked out as the most popular.

According to the latest opinion poll conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University on the government's performance during its first four months, most respondents have given Prime Minister's diligence a score of 7.08 out of ten and a score of 6.49 for her performance.

The poll result has also indicated that Defense Ministry is the most popular among the people with a score of 6.63, followed by Sports and Tourism Ministry with a score of 6.56.

Surprisingly, the Agriculture Minister which has been much criticized for its flood mismanagement got the fourth place with a score of 6.43.

At the bottom of the list is the Information and Communications Technology Ministry which has received only a score of 5.84.

-- Tan Network 2011-12-26

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SET index midday down 2.73 pts, 0.26 pct

Thai composite stocks index (SET) at midday Monday stood at 1,034.64, down 2.73 points, or 0.26 per cent amid Bt 5.47 billion turnover.

Blue chip SET-50 index was at 725.59, down 2.38 points, or 0.33 per cent.

Top five active (value) stocks: MALEE, KAMART, ITD, IVL, IRPC.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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BMA deputy governor vows flood garbage in Bangkok will be totally cleared by Wed /MCOT

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Phuket's turtle nesting sites empty of eggs this year

Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, head of the Marine Endangered Species Unit at the Phuket Marine Biological Center, fits a GPS transponder to a turtle before its release. Photo: Warisa Temram

Follow this link: http://www.thaivisa....eggs-this-year/

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Remembrance events for 2004 tsunami victims

PHANG NGA, Dec 26 – Thailand’s Andaman coastal provinces in the South held tsunami remembrance ceremonies to mark the seventh anniversary of the Dec 26, 2004 disaster that hit Thailand's six Andaman coastal provinces killing more than 5,000 persons, including foreign tourists.

In Phuket, multifaith ceremonies of Buddhists, Christians and Muslims were held at Mai Khao Cemetery where remains of tsunami victims were formerly kept, while a similar event was also held at Kamala Beach by the Japanese Association.

At 7pm today, the province is set to hold the “Light Up Phuket” event at Loma Park on Patong Beach. The candlelight ceremony will pay tribute to the dead and other victims. Candles will be placed in sand holes and airborne lanterns will be released.

In Phang Nga, merit making ceremonies were held at two locations in Takua Pa district -- at the remains of police patrol vessel Tor 813 left grounded far inland by the tidal wave and Baan Nam Kem Tsunami Memorial Park at a fishing village.

In Krabi, Governor Prasit Osathanon joined a merit-making ceremony on Phi Phi Island and laid flowers in commemoration for the dead. The multifaith ceremonies were held with about 300 Thais and foreigners joining the event. About 700 people including tourists were killed here in the 2004 tsunami.

They observed silence and gave stainless steel wreaths to an environmental conservation club to lay on the 20-metre deep sea floor, about 800 metres from Phi Phi Island.

Thailand's six Andaman coastal provinces – Phang Nga, Krabi, Phuket, Ranong, Trang and Satun -- were hit by the unprecedented tsunami of Dec 26, 2004, with over 5,000 local residents as well as Thai and foreign holidaymakers losing their lives in the tidal waves.

On the morning of Dec 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.15 earthquake off Indonesia triggered the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami which left around 226,000 persons dead or missing in Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and nine other countries. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-12-26

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Top Muay Thai kickboxer takes the stage

Kickboxer Buakaw Por Pramuk is a national hero whose performance in the ring has earned many fans overseas. Photo: The Nation

Follow this link: http://www.thaivisa....akes-the-stage/

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Electric tram fails at Chiang Mai Zoo, immobilized in mid-air 20 metres up; tourists stranded for hours /MCOT

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22 provinces declared cold-spell disaster zones

The Nation

Twenty-two provinces have been declared cold-spell disaster zones, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department announced Monday.

Wibul Sa-nguanpong, the director-general of the department, said 20,057 villages in 218 districts of the 22 provinces have been affected by cold spell.

Wubul said the provinces include 11 northern ones - Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Phrae, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Nan, Tak, Phayao, Lampang, and Laphun.

Nine northeastern provinces were also declared cold-spell disaster zones. They are Sakon Nakhon, Loei, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, Ubon Ratchathani, Mahasarakham, Mukdahan, Kalasin, and Buri Ram.

The rest are two central provinces - Suphan Buri and Ratchaburi.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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Yingluck to take New Year leave for three days

The Nation

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Monday that she will spend three-day vacation with her family from January 1 to 3.

Yingluck added that she would assign her son, Supasek Amornchat, to represent her during the National Children Day celebration at Government House on January 14.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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Cold spell kills 2 men in Lampang

BANGKOK, Dec 26 – Two Lampang men died of exposure due to the cold wave covering the northern province of Lampang, the Ministry of Public Health’s Bureau of Epidemiology reported Monday.

Director Passakorn Akrasewi said that the two cold-related deaths were identified as a man, aged 52, with emphysema and a man, aged 53, who had drunk alcohol and died of apparent exposure to cold spell.

As temperatures in some areas in upper Thailand are dipping to 3-5 degrees Celsius and some were declared disaster zones due to the sudden cold, the director advised people to keep themselves warm, particularly those with chronic diseases, asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes in order to avoid pneumonia, not to over-exercise, to eat hot and cooked food as well as not to drink alcoholic beverages.

However, the flu-related patient toll has risen slightly, while the number of patients contracting Influenza Type A (H1N1) has decreased.

According to the Meteorological Department, an intense high pressure area still blankets upper Thailand, causing cooler weather. The westerly trough will move over the upper North and these will cause light rain and 2-4 degree temperature drops. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-12-26

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Transport Company Set for New Year Exodus

The Transport Company is confident that enough buses have been prepared to accommodate 250,000 travelers expected during the New Year holiday.

They believe that there will be no stranded passengers.

Transport Company President Wuthichart Kalayanamitr said the company is prepared to handle the high number of travelers during the New Year holiday.

He said enough buses have been prepared to accommodate up to 250,000 passengers during the period.

The Transport Company president also asked passengers to look after their own safety, especially from criminals, rather that relying on the police.

In any case, the company is planning to monitor bus terminals with surveillance cameras.

Moreover, to prevent themselves from being conned into buying fake bus tickets, passengers are strongly advised to purchase tickets directly at the company's windows at bus stations.

-- Tan Network 2011-12-26

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Fatalities in 2004 tsunami remembered

The Nation

Photo by EPA/YONGYOT PRUKSARAK

Follow this link: http://www.thaivisa....bered-thailand/

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More Dogs Rescued in Nakhon Phanom Province

A suspect has been charged by Nakhon Phanom officials from the Mekong Security Patrol for trafficking dogs, which they were prepared to transport across the Mekong River.

300 dogs have been rescued.

Yesterday morning, Nakhon Phanom's Mekong Security Patrol Commander Captain Teerakiat Thongaram brought his team in to the area to assess the situation near the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom's Ban Pang after dog trafficking across the river had been reported.

52 year-old Sukan Tanateu was arrested while loading 300 dogs that were packed into ten cages onto a boat at Ban Tah Lard in Ban Pang Subditsrict, while the other suspects escaped.

Sukan has been charged with dog trafficking, and the dogs have been sent to the Nakhon Phanom Animal Quarantine Station.

Teerakiat said trafficking dogs is illegal and many gangs of dog transporters have already been charged.

Stricter measures have been established as it has been reported that there is higher demand for dogs in neighbor countries during the winter, and that dog prices are higher, causing dog traffickers not to obey the law and continue the dog trafficking.

-- Tan Network 2011-12-26

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NAKHON SI THAMMARAT

Local residents and houses hit by unusually high waves

Follow this link: http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4935887

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RT @tulsathit: Yingluck's got the nickname "Parrot".

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RT @tulsathit: RT @Ryn_writes: BMA continue to waive BTS fee from On Nut Station to Bearing Station until the end of April 2012

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North Pattaya Beer Bar Owner accused of “pimping” underage girls

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Appeal for help as child is sent home to die in Sattahip

Follow this link: http://www.thaivisa....ie-in-sattahip/

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Police Inspect Central World Area ahead of New Year Celebration

Officers from the Crime Suppression Division inspect the area around Central World shopping mall to prepare security measures to prevent possible crime during the New Year celebration.

Commander of the Crime Suppression Division, Police Major General Supisal Pakdeenaruenart led 80 officers from the agency to help clean and adjust the landscape of the area around Central World Shopping Center in Ratchaprasong to prevent possible crime during the upcoming New Year celebration.

Officers from the division have also been deployed to provide security around the shopping mall in response to the national police chief's instruction on security measures during the Chrismas and New Year holidays.

Police officers helped collect garbage in risk-prone locations to prevent ill-intentioned people from instigating unrest.

Moreover, over 400 security cameras around Central World will be rechecked to see whether they cover all areas around the mall.

The Crime Suppression Division will work together with the Metropolitan Police Bureau in providing security on New Year's eve and 200 plainclothes and uniformed officers will be deployed.

The crime suppression police will emphasize seeking intelligence and provide extra security measures in risk-prone areas where crime usually takes place such as areas underneath the mall's service stairs and other remote locations.

-- Tan Network 2011-12-26

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SET index closed at 1032.51, down 4.86; Bt/USD31.19; GBP48.58; AUD31.57; EUR40.61; CAD30.36; HKD4.00; SGD24.02; JPY39.83

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Thaksin will not visit Cambodia during New Year holidays: Noppadon

The Nation

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will not fly to spend New Year holidays in Cambodia as earlier reported, his legal advisor, Noppadon Pattama said Monday.

Noppadon said he had checked with Thaksin and found that the former prime minister would spend the period with his children in Europe.

Noppadon said Thaksin had never planned to visit Cambodia during the period so his supporters should cancel their plan to travel to Phnom Penh to meet him.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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Free Train Services for New Year Holiday

The railway authority is preparing free train service for passengers during the New Year holiday. It expects to see a ten-percent increase in the number of passengers over the festive period.

Governor of the State Railway of Thailand, or SRT, Yutthana Thapcharoen revealed that the SRT has prepared 20 regular train trips and six air-conditioned trips free of charge on three main routes to support rising demand from members of the public who wish to visit home during the New Year holiday.

The three routes are Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Hat Yai and Bangkok-Northeast.

The number of passengers during the festive period is expected to increase by 10,000 to 20,000 a day or over ten percent, from the current figure of 95,000 passengers per day.

Additional carriages will be added if the number of trips is not enough to meet demand.

Moreover, the SRT has also stepped up security to ensure safety for the large number of passengers expected to use the rail services during the New Year.

-- Tan Network 2011-12-26

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Honda to Destroy Flood-damaged Cars Tomorrow

Japanese automaker Honda Automobile has announced it will destroy cars that were damaged by floodwater tomorrow with the media to be invited to witness the event.

Senior Vice President of Honda Automobile Thailand Pitak Pruttisarikorn appealed to car buyers that there is no need to worry about the quality of the company's new cars, reaffirming the company will definitely not repair parts and cars that were damaged by floodwater at its factory in the Rojana Industrial Estate in Ayutthaya Province and pass them off as brand-new vehicles.

Pitak noted that the company will destroy its cars damaged by the floods tomorrow with members of the media invited to witness the event.

The destruction of the cars will be conducted at its factory in the Rojana Industrial Estate.

He also thanks the public for their concern following the disaster.

-- Tan Network 2011-12-26

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Eastern coast to be hit with big waves three or four more times

The Nation

The eastern coast of Thailand will likely face between three to four more rounds of big and violent waves over the next few months, according to the Meteorological Department.

The waves up to five metres high have been lashing at many southern provinces since Sunday.

"It's the monsoon surge," the department's deputy director general Somchai Baimuang said Monday.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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Phuket: Russian 'anti-Santa' behind bars

THE ANTI-SANTA? Russian national Pavel Zhuravlev at Kamala Police Station today, with Thurin Sophapol in the background hiding her face from the press. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

Police seized an undisclosed number of items believed to have been stolen by Zhuravlev. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

Follow this link: http://www.thaivisa....ta-behind-bars/

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Arisman withdraws third bail bid

A lawyer for militant red-shirt leader Arisman Pongruangrong Monday withdrew a request for his temporary release in a case connected to unrest and riots in Bangkok last year.

Suchaiwut Chaosuankluai, who acts as Arisman's lawyer, submitted his third application for bail last Friday, offering a surety of Bt4 million. However, the lawyer Monday withdrew the request in writing, saying the application put in last Friday was incomplete.

The lawyer explained in the written withdrawal the defendant needed to wait for more witnesses and to gather more evidence before a court hearing would be called on bail application.

The Criminal Court Monday gave permission to the defendant to withdraw his request for bail.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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Woravat comes out against changed semesters

Education Minister Woravat Auapinyakul Monday expressed opposition to a key decision readjusting school semesters in Thailand at undergraduate level to match regional periods, saying the change would not suit Thailand's culture and climate.

The major break in Thailand in April falls in the hot season, making travel and living conditions difficult for students to concentrate on study; while a regional break period between August and September was the flood or high tide season in Thailand, he explained. "While the break may benefit Thai students acquiring study overseas, they are the minority at about 10 per cent of all university students. What would affect most people should be avoided," he added.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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BBL offers yuan transfer service for individuals

The Nation

Bangkok Bank becomes the first Thai bank winning the Bank of China's approval for the transfer of yuan to China for individuals.

The service will help eliminate complex procedures and reduce risks from currency fluctuations. The maximum transfer per day is 80,000 CNY (approximately Bt400,000) per person.

The agreement was signed recently by Bangkok Bank President Chartsiri Sophonpanich and Bank of China General Manager Che Jun.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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Longer free ride on extended BTS part

The Nation

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has resolved that it would start collecting fare on the skytrain's extended part from On Nuj to Bearing in May.

The 5.25km extended part commenced operations on Aug 12, 2011. Commuters are allowed to take a free ride until Jan 1, 2012.

The BMA agreed that the free ride would end at the end of April, said BMA spokesman Wasant Meewong after a meeting chaired by Bangkok Governor.

-- The Nation 2011-12-26

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to continue:

Thailand Live Tuesday 27 Dec 2011

Follow this link: http://www.thaivisa....ay-27-dec-2011/