Thailand Live Sunday 8 Apr 2012

[Lite Beer]

Hat Yai tourism kicks back after bombing

SONGKHLA, 8 April 2012 (NNT) – Tourism in Hat Yai district of Songkhla province is back on track again as Malaysians and Singaporeans travel to celebrate the Songkran Festival while authorities have imposed maximum security in the area.

One week after the bombing incident at Lee Garden Hotel in Hat Yai, the local tourism situation has finally bounced back to its lively atmosphere. Malaysian and Singaporean tourists are out and about on Hat Yai's walking street to buy and enjoy meals without any concern about the bombing. Meanwhile, hotels also see a higher occupancy rate. Some tourists are even traveling to the site of the bombing in front of the Lee Garden Hotel to visit the scene of the blast.

At the same time, security measures have been stepped up to the maximum, especially for the period of the Songkran festival. Police officers, in collaboration with the military and government officials, will be stationed in Hat Yai’s commercial district and all 47 inbound routes into town in order to monitor any suspicious activities

-- NNT 2012-04-08

[Lite Beer]

Iranian bomb suspects' case referred to Thai court

BANGKOK, April 8, 2012 (AFP) - Thai prosecutors have referred a case against five Iranian bomb suspects to court for a possible trial, a senior police officer said Sunday.

Deputy national police chief Pansiri Prapawat told reporters that the case was submitted to Bangkok's Criminal Court last week.

Two of the suspects were detained in Thailand in February and charged with causing an illegal explosion while the three others fled overseas.

Thailand is seeking the extradition of one of those suspects from Malaysia, where authorities last month applied for a court's permission to send him back to Bangkok.

"The prosecutor was confident he will be handed over by Malaysia and probably we can slap more charges on this group," Pansiri said.

The two other suspects are believed to have returned to Iran.

Thai police have said that Israeli diplomats were the intended target of the plot.

Israel also blamed Iran over the Bangkok blasts, as well as attacks on its embassy staff in India and Georgia a day earlier.

But Tehran has rejected accusations that it is behind a terror campaign against the Jewish state.

The botched attack in Bangkok came to light after an apparently unintended explosion at a house in the capital on February 14.

One of the suspects -- named as 28-year-old Saeid Moradi -- had his legs blown off as he hurled a bomb at Thai police while fleeing. Another, Mohamad Khazaei, was detained trying to board a flight out of the country.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-04-08

[Lite Beer]

Opposition leader ready to disclose information on Thaksin’s alleged secret talks

BANGKOK, April 8 – The opposition is ready to disclose information on alleged talks between ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and southern insurgent leaders, said Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Sunday.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/546523-opposition-leader-ready-to-disclose-information-on-thaksins-alleged-secret-talks/page__view__findpost__p__5201594

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Thailand Live Monday 9 Apr 2012