Thailand Live Wednesday 8 Feb 2012

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Government's water discharges causes Ayutthaya flood: Thai Agriculture Ministry

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RT @tulsathit: Chalerm proposes that Cabinet should adopt a resolution that govt will not touch Article 112.

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Govt MPs to Submit Charter Change Motion

BANGKOK: -- The government bloc vows to complete the revision to the Constitution’s Article 291 before the end of the present House session so that an election can be held to fill the seats of the elected draft assembly members.

Government Chief Whip Udomdej Rattnanasathien said concerning Pheu Thai's draft amendment bill regarding the Constitution's Article 291, that it will be presented to government coalition partners so that they can make suggestions as to if, or how, it should be revised.

Udomdej stated that the House's speaker will decide if the draft amendment bills presented by Pheu Thai and a red-shirt affiliated group will be deliberated together or separately.

He went on to say the elections law can be revised in order to provide the poll panel with power to organize an election of the Constitution Drafting Assembly's members.

Udomdej remarked that the poll panel must organize the CDA election in 90 days.

He said the CDA will consist of 77 members elected by each of the 77 provinces plus 22 more that will come from parliamentary appointments.

He said the CDA will be given 180 days to complete the charter amendment bill, which will then be sent to the House speaker and finally brought to a national referendum.

Udomdej suggested that if the draft passes the national referendum, it will be put forward for royal endorsement, and if not, a new bill must be created.

The Government Whip has resolved to approve the draft amendment and will forward it to the House speaker tomorrow. However, the exact time has yet to be determined.

The amendment will also include a prohibition against MPs, Senators and Cabinet members running as CDA candidates Members of the Chart Thai Pattana have expressed their intention to join the motion.

As of now, the Government Whip has been able to gather about 200 MPs to sign the amendment motion and hopes to get enough signatures by tomorrow.

-- Tan Network 2012-02-08

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Swedes from Horror Crash on Their Way Home

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More water released from dams to handle monsoon season

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Thai Deputy PM Kittirat Orders Crackdown on Copyright Violations

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SET index closed at 1116.08, up 14.96; Bt/USD30.65; GBP48.66; AUD33.03; EUR40.57; CAD30.63; HKD3.95; SGD24.54; JPY39.55

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Phuket Update: Sea search called off for missing Australian

A Facebook photo of missing Australian Carmel Brookes, who is reported to have fallen overboard from the yacht Moondancer while en route to Phuket.

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Dep PM : Verdict on 2 Decress Can't Shake Govt

BANGKOK: -- A deputy prime minister says the two financial decrees can be converted into legislative acts through parliamentary means if they are shot down by the court and has maintained that a ruling against them would not destabilize the government.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobumrung said neither the government nor Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra needs to resign if the Constitution Court rules that the two financial decrees are illegal.

Charlerm stated that if the decrees are shot down, the government will forward them as legislative acts for the Parliament's endorsement.

He maintained that a ruling against the decrees would not hurt the government's stability or performance.

The Constitution Court decided on Febuary 6 to accept the complaint against the legality of the two decrees on the transfer of the Financial Institutions Development Fund or FIDF's debt and the government's 350 billion baht borrowing for extensive flood prevention measures.

The complaint was submitted by the House speaker as petitioned by 128 Democrat MPs led by former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij and 69 senators led by Senator Kamnoon Sitthisamarn.

-- Tan Network 2012-02-08

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RT @tulsathit: TR @satien_nna: Jatuporn claims US intelligence foresees a Thai coup within April. cc @kristiekenney

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1,400 villages hit by drought despite flood threat in Chao Phraya basin

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Drought has now hit more than 1,400 villages in seven provinces, just as floods has remained a big threat that relevant authorities are struggling to tackle.

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD) has already declared 1,436 villages in Kamphaeng Phet, Lamphun, Loei, Chanthaburi, Chachoengsao, Phetchaburi, and Sukhothai as droughthit zones.

"You can call 1784 for help round the clock," DPMD director general Wiboon Sanguanpong said Wednesday.

The drought hit all these villages despite the fact that the Chao Phraya River overflowed in Ayutthaya's Sena district and that the volume of water moving past the Nakhon Sawan monitoring station in Nakhon Sawan was at 1,200 cubic metres per second. In dry season, the amount of water passing this spot has usually been at just 700 cubic metres per second.

-- The Nation 2012-02-08

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Rising temperatures trigger concern at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant

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Phichit woman dies from pneumonia; doctors suspect she was infected with Type A (H1N1) virus, but body was cremated;authorities await results of lab tests /MCOT

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48-yr-old police senior sergeant major shoots himself on 4th floor of Bungkum Police Station in BKK on family problems /TANN

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to continue:

Thailand Live Thursday 9 Feb 2012

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