Thailand Live Tuesday 3 Apr 2012

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ICT Minister Affirms No Problems in Tablet PC Scheme

BANGKOK: -- The Information Communication and Technology Ministry affirms smooth progress on the free tablet computer project for first-grade students, saying that the Chinese government has appointed a private company to sign an agreement on its behalf.

At the Senate meeting yesterday, Information and Communication Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap clarified that the student tablet computer scheme, saying the deal will be made under a Memorandum of Understanding agreement, not a government-to-government deal.

The ICT minister added the Chinese government intends to appoint a private company as its nominee to sign the contract.

He said his ministry has checked the law and found no possible legal complications related to the policy.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Suchart Thadathamrongvech admitted that teaching through tablet computers requires teachers with appropriate knowledge.

He said 60,000 tablet PCs for teachers will be distributed in early-April and there will be experts to provide training and advice to teachers.

Regarding other applications, Suchart said the ministry will not order and specify what applications should be featured on the device to avoid non-transparency.

-- Tan Network 2012-04-03

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Defense Minister Hopes to Negotiate with Insurgency Groups

BANGKOK: -- The defense minister is willing to negotiate with southern insurgency groups to ease the situation in the Deep South.

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Army chief Gen Prayuth condemns southern insurgents for targeting innocent bystanders; orders increase in security for Songkran /TANN

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Songkhla governor offers Bt500,000 bounty for each of 2 suspects allegedly involve in Hat Yai hotel car bombing last Saturday /MCOT

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RT @RichardBarrow: Another bomb victim in Yala dies bringing the total to 11 killed & 106 wounded; 25 still in hospital (Bangkok Post)

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SET index midday up 9.46 pts, 0.79 pct

BANGKOK: -- Thai composite stocks index (SET) at midday Tuesday stood at 1,208.55, up 9.46 points, or 0.79 per cent in line with most regional shares.

Blue chip SET-50 index was at 851.24, up 7.37 points, or 0.87 per cent.

Top five active (value) stocks: BBL, SCB, PTT, KBANK, CPALL, JAS.

-- The Nation 2012-04-03

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HM the Queen bestows gifts to 30 who were injured in Yala car bombs and recuperating at Yala Hospital /TANN

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Cabinet Approves 47 Bln Baht Loan for Rail Authority

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet has approved the State Railway of Thailand to take out 47 billion baht in loans for debt obligations and new investment projects.

Deputy Government Spokesperson Pakdiharn Himathongkham has reported that the Cabinet has approved 1.1 billion baht in a development policy loan for the State Railway of Thailand's installation of fences along the railroad tracks.

The project is intended to reduce accidents and raise logistic capacity.

Moreover, the Cabinet has also approved another 714 million baht for the joint-ticketing system and the rail service management center to be implemented by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

At the same time, the Cabinet gave the green light for an additional 47 billion baht for the SRT for operating capital and debt restructuring.

Pakdiharn added that the government has decided to raise the Tourism Authority of Thailand officials' salaries by a total of 1.3 million baht per year.

Furthermore, the deputy government spokesperson has announced an event to be presided by Energy Minister Arak Chonlatanon will be held today to promote energy conservation among the public to lower Thailand's dependency on foreign generated-electricity.

From April 8 to 17, the Yetagun gas field in Myanmar will be closed for annual maintenance.

Thailand's energy consumption is expected to peak on April 10.

On that particular day, which is also the Cabinet meeting, scheduled to take place, the lights at the Government House will be switched off to signal other state agencies to follow suit.

-- Tan Network 2012-04-03

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50-meter crack found on pedestrian walkway on Rama III Road

BANGKOK, 3 April 2012 (NNT) – A 50-meter long sinkhole was found on a footpath on Rama III Road. Fortunately no one was injured during the collapse.

Part of the walkway on Rama III Road at Soi 23 has collapsed on Monday night, making a 5 meters wide, 3 meters deep, and nearly 50 meters long sinkhole.

Authorities rushed to the scene, suspecting that the sinkhole happened because soil in the area has been eroded over time as it is close to a canal. They also suspected that it could possibly be caused by a sub-standard construction.

Locals said that the pedestrian walkway had shown signs of sinking before, but people were still commuting as usual until it collapsed. The incident also caused damage to a pipeline underneath.

-- NNT 2012-04-03

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Healthy Thais asked to donate blood

BANGKOK, 3 April 2012 (NNT) - The National Blood Center, under the Thai Red Cross Society has launched a blood donation project to honor Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 57th birthday anniversary.

The center organized the blood donation event on April 2, which is Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s birthday.

With fewer people donating blood during summer, the National Blood Center is urging people to do so in April. It has also asked all healthy Thais to donate blood every three months at the National Blood Center on the Henry-Dunant Road.

Her Royal Highness has been supporting the works on blood donation service since 1977 when she became the Executive Vice-President of the Thai Red Cross Society.

-- NNT 2012-04-03

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Democrats seek Parliamentary session to debate southern unrest /TAN_Network

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RT@Aim_NT: Start today, packages to be transported at Moh Chit bus station must be opened and inspected. Via @Pat_ThaiPBS http://t.co/OEU1gyeK

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Energy Ministry: no oil found after drilling in BKK's Taweewattana District; drilling site to be vacated on April 9-10 /TAN_Network

Commerce Ministry: March inflation at 3.45% on 7% rise in food prices; 2012 inflation pegged at 3.3-3.8% /TAN_Network

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Songkhla governor: Bt500,000 bounty for each of 2 suspects in Hat Yai car bomb; TAT reports 40% room cancellation for Songkran in Hat Yai /TAN_Network

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King Prachadhipok's Institute asks House committee on reconciliation to review study before submitting to Parliament or it'll withdraw study /TAN_Network

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Russian tourist found hanged in Phuket

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Bt500,000 bounty set for each of two suspects in Hat Yai bombing

SONGKHLA, April 3 - A Bt500,000 bounty has been set for each of two suspects in last Saturday's hotel car bombing in Hat Yai, the commercial district of the southern border province of Songkhla, Governor Kritsada Boonrat said on Tuesday.

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UK Embassy launches 'priority visas' for Thai nationals

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Thailand congratulates Myanmar on historic vote

PHNOM PENH, April 3, 2012 (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday congratulated neighbouring Myanmar for holding by-elections which saw pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi win a seat in parliament.

"We also congratulate" Myanmar, she told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cambodia.

"The election has been very clear and peaceful so I think that is good for ASEAN."

She said Thailand supported democratic reform in Myanmar, where the military has eased its grip on power over the past two years and allowed the opposition to participate in politics.

Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner, will enter parliament for the first time after winning a seat in Sunday's by-elections.

Her National League for Democracy party secured 40 of the 44 seats it contested, according to partial official results.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-04-03

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SOUTH CRISIS

Southern MPs call for debate on southern insurgency

The Nation

THAILAND: -- Democrat Party MPs from five southern border provinces Tuesday called on the government to open a special parliamentary debate to discuss the violence in the deep South.

The MPs called on the government to invoke Article 179 of the Constitution to open a debate on insurgency in the southern provinces.

The Democrat MPs made the call after holding a meeting that lasted for more than an hour. The meeting was chaired by Songkhla MP Thavorn Senniem.

Thavorn said the group of Democrat MPs would submit a letter to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra later on Tuesday to ask her to convene a special joint House-Senate meeting to discuss the situation in the deep South.

Thavorn said the meeting also resolved to submit an interpolation to the prime minister on Thursday to ask her about the situation in the troubled region.

Thavorn also called on Yingluck to use the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre more to try to return peace and order to the region.

Thavorn said the prime minister is the ex-officio director of the Internal Security Operations Command so she should charge of efforts to tackle the southern insurgency.

Thavorn said the prime minister should invoke the SBPAC Act to convene a meeting of the centre once or twice a month to closely monitor the situation. He said the prime minister should also assign a Cabinet member to be directly in charge of efforts to solve the problems.

-- The Nation 2012-04-03

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AFTERMATH

Songkhla stores, hotels increase security measures

The Nation

SONGKHLA: -- Many department stores, hotels and high rise buildings in Songkhla province have intensified their security measures in the wake of the deadly bomb attack at the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel on March 31.

Some buildings have banned entry to vehicles fitted with LPG and NPG fuels after last weekend's bomb attacks in which three were killed and hundreds of others injured when cars exploded in the parking lot of the hotel.

Meanwhile Suthinart Laksanajan, manager of Central Department Store's Hat Yai branch, said the store re-opened on Monday after closing shortly after the attack.

Her company has lost more than Bt10 million from the two-day closure, as it happened over the weekend and at a period when the store had schedule its midnight sales, which usually generated high income, she said.

Since the re-opening, the department store has increased the number of security staff to provide greater safety for customers.

"They are ordered to search the bags and jackets of every customer wishing to enter our buildings. If a customer refuses to be checked, he or she will not be allowed to enter," she said.

-- The Nation 2012-04-03

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Village protection unit member shot dead in Yala while returning home; Pattani deputy police superintendent wounded in gun attack /MCOT

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SET closes on Monday April 9 for HRH Princess Bejaratana's cremation; free public bus and ferry into Sanam Luang area for event /TANN

Tropical storm warning for Wednesday-Friday; Upper Thailand to face strong wind and rain, Gulf of Thailand and South to see scattered rain /TANN

Dusit Poll: 57.43% of respondents say southern violence has dampened their confidence in govt; 58.54% worry about bombing during Songkran /TANN

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Wall instability may have caused footpath collapse : engineers

Photo: Suphakit Khumkun

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Rama III Road footpath that collapsed on Monday was probably a combination of two factors: the collapse of a soil-holding wall and water erosion.

The section of footpath that collapsed was almost three metres in depth, five metres in width and 22metres long and stretches from Soi 21 to 23 in Bang Kho Laem district.

The City's deputy governor, Theerachon Manomaipibul, who inspected the site this morning, said an initial inspection had revealed that the subsidence resulted from the collapse of soil holding wall combined with water erosion, as the site was next to the Bang Khlo Drainage Canal.

He said the footpath in the area had been constantly improved and had thus been subject to weight pressures, which affected the soilholding wall.

Theerachon said officials would first retrieve the materials that had fallen into the roadside canal. The Engineering Institute of Thailand and related agencies had been contacted to inspect the subsidence and would jointly redesign the infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Engineering Institute of Thailand will on Wednesday morning announce the result of the investigation into the sinkhole that appeared on March 18 on Rama IV Road.

The institute's secretary general Thanes Veerasiri said that early findings indicated that the sinkhole resulted from water that had originally leaked into an underground void then run out, leaving a big hole underground.

-- The Nation 2012-04-03

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Thailand says no talks with southern insurgents

Bangkok, April 3, 2012 (AFP) - The Thai government on Tuesday ruled out peace talks with militants in the deep south following the deadliest bomb attacks to rock the region in recent years.

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SET index closed at 1211.07, up 11.98; Bt/USD30.68; GBP49.12; AUD31.88; EUR40.85; CAD30.82; HKD3.94; SGD24.38; JPY37.28

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Bomb-hit Hotel Sustains No Serious Structural Damage

HAT YAI: -- The authorities have reopened the road in front of Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel, the target of a recent car bomb attack in Hat Yai District.

Owners of motorcycles parked in the hotel's underground parking lot have also been allowed to reclaim their vehicles.

The authorities have reopened the road in front of the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel in Hat Yai.

At 11 A.M. this morning, owners of cars and motorcycle were allowed to reclaim their vehicles from the hotel's underground parking.

They were required to present the authorities with proof of ownership.

The hotel was declared as a no-entry zone following the weekend's car bomb attack that killed five and injured over a hundred people.

Hat Yai's Department of Public Works along with engineers from the University of Prince of Songkhla inspected the structure of the hotel after the bombing.

They found that the structure of the building remains sound.

However, the building will continue to be off-limits to visitors as experts will conduct a more thorough inspection of the parking area.

Areas of the hotel's parking lot suffered some structural damage from the force of the blast.

Meanwhile, an adviser of the Malaysian prime minister visited the area today to help his compatriots return to the country.

Two Malaysian tourists were killed in the blast. One was identified as Lo Hok Thien.

His family has already sought to bring his body back to Malaysia.

Another victim remained unidentified pending the result of the victim's DNA test.

The test is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.

Five other Malaysians are being treated at local hospitals. One of them is still in critical condition.

The Malaysian government has already started the procedure to transfer the victims to be treated in Malaysia.

So far the authorities have been able to identify the type of the explosive used in the attack.

The bomb was believed to be cased in a cooking gas tank.

Explosive made with diesel and ammonium nitrate was used in the attack.

-- Tan Network 2012-04-03

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NBTC master plans set for 'Royal Gazette' publication

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The spectrum management and telecom and broadcasting master plans are expected to be published in the Royal Gazette Wednesday, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission secretary-general Takorn Tantasit said Tuesday.

NBTC chairman ACM Thares Punsri approved the final drafts of the three plans and put his signature to them Wednesday.

The regulator needs the master plans to be in effect in order to legally enable it to auction new spectrum licences and further develop plans to liberalise the broadcasting and telecoms industries.

-- The Nation 2012-04-03

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Shakespeare must be banned

The Film Board has banned "Shakespeare Must Die" by director Ing K, saying the movie’s political content would cause divisions in the country.

"Shakespeare Must Die" is the second Thai movie banned from commercial release under the Film Act of 2008. The first is "Insects in the Backyard" by director Thanwarin Sukkhapisit, which was banned in 2010.

-- The Nation 2012-04-03

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RT@Aim_NT: Only 18 out of 30 security guards remain at TCIF Tower's (formerly Nation Tower) parking building: result of Bt300 daily wage.