Thailand Live Saturday 21 Apr 2012

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Thailand Live Saturday 21 April 2012

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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PM thanks Japanese private sector for its faith

The Nation/Agencies

TOKYO: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday that she was grateful to the Japanese private sector for maintaining confidence in Thailand and her government despite last year's flood crisis.

Full story:

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Thai govt urged to defer wage hike until 2015

BANGKOK: -- Business owners yesterday urged the government to postpone until 2015 the increase in the minimum daily wage to Bt300 in 70 provinces.

Full story:

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Pheu Thai's Chinnicha loses House seat over false asset statement

The Nation

Chinnicha

BANGKOK: -- Chinnicha Wongsawat has been stripped of her status as a Pheu Thai Party MP for Chiang Mai and faces a five-year ban from holding office after she was found guilty of filing a false asset statement.

Full story:

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Year's inflation target jointly set at 0.5-3%

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) have agreed to set a target range for core inflation of 0.5 to 3 per cent this year, the Fiscal Policy Office said yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and BOT Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul agreed that the target would apply in every quarter of this year, the office said in a press release yesterday.

The Cabinet approved the target on Tuesday. The central bank had proposed setting a target for headline inflation instead of core inflation, believing it would be more easily understood by the public. Kittiratt, however, opposed the plan, fearing it would lead people to blame the government for high inflation.

The headline inflation rate is typically higher than the core inflation rate, which does not factor in fuel and fresh-food prices.

To achieve the target inflation range of 0.5 to 3 per cent, officials from the BOT and the ministry will meet every quarter to consult on monetary policy, the Fiscal Policy Office said.

If inflation exceeds the target range, the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee will be required to explain the issue to the finance minister and draw up a plan to bring the rate back within range, the office said.

If the two sides agree that there is a good reason to change the inflation target range, they will report to the Cabinet, the office said.

-- The Nation 2012-04-21

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Bt43m earmarked for Sathorn bridge

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A budget of Bt43 million has been approved for repairs to the Thai-Belgian bridge over the SathornRama IV intersection, while an excavation of the road under the flyover began last night to determine the cause of a recent sinkhole.

The excavation, which began at 10pm last night and should have been completed by 4am this morning, was overseen by many relevant agencies, including the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, which runs the subway system. It is believed that the construction and operation of the subway system might have contributed to the sinkhole.

An opening of up to 3 metres deep and several metres wide will be made to check if there was any collapses underground or if any more sinkholes can be expected in near future.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra told the press yesterday that another 42 flyovers need immediate repairs and another 21 needed to undergo maintenance at a later stage.

-- The Nation 2012-04-21

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Showdown looms for BOT post

Chatu Mongol

Government seeks to install Virabongsa as chairman, but bank backs Chatu Mongol

BANGKOK: -- The government and monetary authorities are gearing up for another showdown, this time over whether MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul will stay on as chairman at the Bank of Thailand or be replaced by former deputy prime minister Virabongsa Ramangkura.

Full story:

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All vehicles to be closely scrutinised: Thai South

Drivers must have proper documents at all times and must allow searches

HAT YAI: -- As part of new security measures, cars without proper documentation on annual tax payment and licence plate numbers will not be allowed into parking lots in Hat Yai and key urban areas in the deep South, and the drivers of these vehicles will be closely monitored.

Full story:

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Police launch hunt for 25 drug dealers

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- In a move to fight drug abuse, the authorities have released a list of 25 drug dealers and are circulating wanted posters nationwide as well as via socialnetworking websites.

The list has been translated into five languages, including Yawi, and is posted at key government offices and border checkpoints as well as on websites of antinarcotics agencies. Tipoffs can be provided round the clock via the 1386 hotline.

Thirtysix rapid deployment teams comprised of antinarcotics agents have been set up to conduct searches or make arrests following potential tipoffs. Reward money will be shared between informants and the arresting officers at a 60:40 ratio, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said at a press conference yesterday.

-- The Nation 2012-04-21

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Crackdown: 25 resorts seized in Nakhon Ratchasima's Thap Lan national park

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: -- In a series of raids since Tuesday, forestry officials have seized 25 resorts in Nakhon Ratchasima's Thap Lan national park, including a newly renovated one on a 7.5rai plot yesterday.

Full story:

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Mae Wong will be blocked until EIA approved: agencies

BANGKOK: -- Many agencies yesterday vowed to block the construction of Mae Wong Dam as long as its environmental impact assessment (EIA) fails to get the green light.

Full story:

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Charter change draft passes second reading

Kittipong Thavevong,

Somroutai Sapsomboon

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament has retained most of the Cabinet's original draft bill on constitutional amendment in its second reading of the legislation.

Most MPs and senators voted to support charter changes to allow the establishment of a Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) consisting of 99 members - 77 elected and 22 appointed. They also backed the original amendment draft spelling out required qualifications for and prohibitions on CDA candidates, with a slight change.

Late on Thursday night, the parliamentarians voted 346-134, with seven abstentions, not to change the wording in Article 291/1 of the original draft, which passed its first reading in late February.

Opposition MPs - mostly from the Democrat Party - and a number of senators failed to convince a majority in Parliament to increase the number of elected CDA members from 77 in the original draft. They said that a higher number, such as 150, would better represent the different groups of people in the country and prevent attempts to influence the election results.

In the Cabinet draft, each of the country's 77 provinces is to elect one CDA member, regardless of the province's size. Opposition MPs and some senators said this is unfair to provinces with larger populations, such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ubon Ratchathani, which deserve to have more representatives in the CDA.

The 22 other CDA members will be experts in law, political science and related fields appointed by the Parliament.

Thursday's meeting was adjourned shortly before 1am yesterday and was resumed in the morning.

Parliamentarians voted 340-124 yesterday - the third day of the second reading - to retain the original version of Article 291/2, which concerns the qualifications of CDA candidates.

Most parliamentarians agreed with a proposal from the majority members of the vetting committee that the original version be retained. In the original version, CDA members are required to be Thai nationals by birth, at least 35 years old on election day, and to have been born in the province they are contesting in, or to have lived there for at least five years.

Opposition MPs and some senators suggested that Constitution drafters should be required to hold a bachelor's degree, and that the minimum age should be reduced to 25 to allow younger people to take part in the charter writing. However, they failed to convince a majority in Parliament.

Regarding Article 291/3, the majority on the vetting committee agreed to a proposal by minority panel members that another prohibition should be added, barring anyone from running as a CDA candidate who has been discharged for less than five years as of election day after being sentenced to imprisonment, excepting those sentenced for petty offences or offences committed through negligence.

-- The Nation 2012-04-21

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Pheu Thai MPs want Nutt to quit over girlie photos

The Nation

Nutt

BANGKOK: -- About 10 Pheu Thai MPs stood up to demand Democrat MP Nutt Bantadtan's resignation, accusing him of misconduct after he used his smart phone to view girlie pictures during the charter amendment debate on Wednesday.

Full story:

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Car importers face post-audit: Thai Customs Department

BANGKOK: -- The Customs Department has implemented a post-audit system as authorities campaign against tax evasion on imported luxury cars, wine, liquor and cigarettes, director-general Somchai Poonsawat said yesterday.

Full story:

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RT @mpoppel: BREAKING -- 6.8-magnitude earthquake s trikes off the north coast of Papua, Indonesia

RT @mpoppel: Indonesian seismological agency says no tsunami warning issued following 6.8 quake

RT @mpoppel: 5.7-magnitude aftershock hits after quake in eastern Indonesia

RT @mpoppel: USGS puts magnitude of quake in eastern Indonesia at 6.6; Indonesian center puts magnitude at 6.8

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Interior Min Yongyuth on PM's show assuring Phuket won't be submerged,officials on alert about tremors /TANN

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Protesters against charter amendment gather in front of Thai Army Club but are forbidden entrance with barb wire placed around compound /TANN

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Thai flag-carrier reported further passenger & cargo growth in March

BANGKOK, 21 April 2012 – Thai flag-carrier has revealed a continued passenger and cargo growth during the month of March.

Thai Airways International Chairman Ampon Kittiampon said that the flag-carrier's Board of Directors meeting has been updated with the company's performance in March, during which passenger number carried on with the rising trend from the preceding month.

When compared with the same time of last year, March 2012 passenger rose 7.1 percent to 1.76 million, while the Revenue Passenger-Kilometer (RPK) rose 7.5 percent on-year as well.

At the same time, the airlines' Available Seat-Kilometer (ASK) in March was similar to that of the same month of last year, at less than 0.1 percent, with the Cabin Factor at an average of 78.4 percent, which is higher than the 72.9-percent recorded in March 2011.

Mr. Ampon added that Thai Airway's Cabin Factor in major routs has also enjoyed further growth, including the European route that expanded from 78.3 to 85.3 percent, the Australian-New Zealand route which rose from 53.6 to 67.9 percent, and all domestic routes which also increased from 70.9 to 77.8 percent.

The Thai Airways Chairman went on to say that the company's cargo transport via the plane's Belly recorded an average increase of 1.9 percent in March 2012, when compared with March 2011, while its Freight Load Factor was 59.8 percent, or around 0.3 percent higher than the same month of last year.

-- NNT 2012-04-21

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Thai Experts Confirm Phuket Will Never Sink Even If It Is Hit By A Strong Earthquake

Full story:

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Phuket pickup crash: Thalang trembles

The wreckage of the Hilux in front of Muang Thalang School in Phuket. Photo: Wichai Witthawat.

The wreckage of the Phuket pickup truck as viewed from the concrete bridge support where it crashed in Thalang. Photo: Wichai Witthawat

PHUKET: -- A speeding pickuptruck crashed into a pedestrian footbridge in Phuket last night, spreading fearof yet another earthquake tremor and causing a one-hour traffic tailback.

Full story:

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Google to Drop Sync Support for Blackberry

Alex Williams

Can you smell blood in the water? It looks like Google does. In a blog post released today, the company announced that on June 1, it will drop support for Google Sync for BlackBerry.

Full story:

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Thai govt declares success in its 'Zero Songkran Holiday Death' campaign

Full story:

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Thai govt well prepared for earthquakes, urges public not to panic

BANGKOK, April 21 - In the aftermath of major quakes last week which struck Indonesia and recent minor quakes centered at Thailand's southern resort island of Phuket, Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Vichaidit on Saturday affirmed that the Thai government is well prepared to handle earthquakes with clear emergency plans.

Full story:

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National Disaster Warning Center: Slim chance of major quake in Thailand

BANGKOK, 21 April 2012 (NNT) – The National Disaster Warning Center has affirmed that there is a slim chance for Thailand to experience a major earthquake while assuring that the country's warning system is of high efficiency.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/549493-thai-govt-well-prepared-for-earthquakes-urges-public-not-to-panic/#entry5237901

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Japan promises 7.4-billion-dollar aid to Mekong region through 2015

Tokyo - Japan pledged Saturday to provide some 600 billion yen (7.36 billion dollars) in official development assistance to five Mekong River nations through 2015.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced the commitment during a summit meeting with the premiers of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Japan intends to boost its presence in the region to counter China’s growing investment and influence.

"Development and progress of the Mekong region is the key to development and stability in East Asia," Noda said at the fourth annual meeting, Kyodo News reported.

Tokyo pledged the assistance with "expectation that this will be accompanied with the transmission of Japanese expertise," a joint statement said.

-- The Nation 2012-04-21

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Flash floods hit 5 flood-prone villages in Krabi's Muang district. Nearby villagers advised to take refuge on higher grounds. /The Nation

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Baby abandoned in a box in Lardprao Soi 126, now in stable condition at hospital; mother seen fleeing in a taxi /TANN

Parliament to extend charter amendment debate to Apr 24-25; House speaker expects vote on 3rd reading on May 11 /TANN

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Metropolitan Police arrest drug dealer with 30,000 speed pills, 500g of crystallized meth to be distributed in Pathum Thani /TANN

Pheu Thai to meet on Monday to find candidate in by-election for Chiang Mai's Constituency 3 as MP Chinnicha's been disqualified /TANN

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Renowned scientist forecasts Tsunamis in South

BANGKOK, 21 April 2012 (NNT) – Phuket may be spared from dangerous quakes but the South is still at Tsunami risks, according to renowned scientist Smith Thammasaroj.

Mr. Smith, also chairman of the Natural Disaster Warning Council Foundation, disclosed that Ranong could be the next province to witness an earthquake as the fault there was long and remained active. An earthquake in another area could impact on the fault in this Andaman province, resulting in a strong quake.

Mr. Smith also predicted that a strong earthquake on Sumatra or nearby areas might bring Tsunamis on somewhere between the Andaman archipelago and the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar as well as in the Gulf of Thailand.

The natural disaster expert cautioned that the effects of Tsunamis could be widespread and severe.

-- NNT 2012-04-21