Thailand Live Monday 14 May 2012

[webfact]

Thailand Live Monday 14 May 2012

News, Bits and Tweets

with webfact

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.

FOLLOW US:

You can also follow us on

- Twitter: http://twitter.com/georgebkk

- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ThaiVisaNews

- Google+: http://plus.google.com/116866638430460700577/

- Breaking News via SMS text messages to your mobile phone or handheld device

To subscribe dial *424010011 on AIS, One-2-Call, DTAC or True Move networks

14 days complementary subscription for Thaivisa members.

If you have questions about the Breaking News SMS service,

email: sms [at] thaivisa.com

________________________________________________________________________________

Thailand's current weather and forecasts: http://weather.thaivisa.com/

________________________________________________________________________________

Related topic: Thailand Live Sunday 13 May 2012

[webfact]

THAIVISA CONNECT

Thaivisa Forum Apps for your mobile or tablet

"Thaivisa Connect" for iPhone, iPad and iPod:

iTunes App Store:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/thaivisa-connect-thailand/id492600537

"Thaivisa Connect" for Android:

Android Market

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.quoord.tapatalkthaivisa.activity

OR

For QR code just go here with your desktop or mobile:

http://apps.thaivisa.com

[webfact]

Yellow shirt leader Karun's long haul in bid to dodge arrest

BANGKOK: -- Yellow-shirt leader Karun Saingarm sat defiantly in his pickup truck yesterday as police hauled him and his vehicle for over 300 kilometres from Buri Ram to the Crime Suppression Division in the capital.

Full story:

[webfact]

Thai govt was warned: Mae Wong dam plan violates the law

Environment Minister Preecha wrote to Cabinet that Mae Wong project would destroy over 13,000 rai of forest

BANGKOK: -- Before Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government gave the goahead to the Mae Wong Dam project on April 10, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Preecha Rengsomboonsuk warned the Cabinet in a ministerial letter the project would violate national park law and destroy over 13,000 rai of forest.

Full story:

[webfact]

PM Yingluck silent on 111 group's push to reshuffle Cabinet

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday declined to comment on whether she was under pressure from the banned 111 Thai Rak Thai executives to reshuffle the Cabinet.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....huffle-cabinet/

[webfact]

'Shocked' Tak won't sue over red-shirt protest

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Bongkoj "Tak" Khongmalai said she would not file charges against Pattaya red-shirt supporters who harassed her on Saturday night over the actress's comments on the death of Amphon "Akong" Tangnoppakul, or "Uncle SMS", a prisoner under lese majeste law.

Tak posted comments on her Facebook page claiming Akong's death brought her satisfaction because his support for the amendment of Section 112 - the lese majeste law - offended her beloved "father", referring to His Majesty the King.

On Saturday night, around 30 red-shirt supporters in Pattaya province waited for the actress at her filming location. When she arrived, they displayed offensive banners and attacked her verbally, trying to drive her out of the province.

The actress later told Thai Rath reporters on the phone she admitted she was shocked by the incident, but she was ready to accept it, as they were exercising their right of freedom of speech.

She added that she would not file charges against the protesters, and would go to the shooting location again today after she had asked for protection from Pattaya police.

Later, Kasiern Tashapeera, a lecturer at Thammasat University's faculty of political science, commented about the incident on his Facebook page.

He said that politics was about popularity. He understood that the red shirts demonstrated out of frustration - but looking at any long-term benefit, harassing her would not win her heart or that of society. Rather it would fuel their anger and fear, according to Kasiern.

If they could change Tak's and some other people's opinions towards the death of Akong, whom he saw as a victim of an "unjust system", that would be a real victory, added the lecturer. Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, spokesman for the Democrat Party, urged Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who oversees the police, to take action while urging red-shirt leaders to manage red-shirt protesters.

The violent incident indicated that the red shirts were not open to other people's opinion, even though everyone should be able to exercise their freedom of speech.

Red-shirt protesters had no right to harass other people, said the spokesman.

-- The Nation 2012-05-14

[webfact]

3G

Foreigners 'mull 3G auction bids'

BANGKOK: -- There is still a chance that foreign telecom operators will take part in the upcoming auction of 3G licences in Thailand, as the market is still attractive to foreign players looking for new business growth, Nokia Siemens Networks' head for Asia North, Krittika Mahattanakul, said recently.

Full story:

[webfact]

Rayong locals demand accident warning system

RAYONG: -- People living near Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong province are demanding that the government create an early warning system for chemical related accidents and are insisting that manufacturers reveal information about all chemical substances they use in their production processes.

Full story:

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

OIC visit continues state of denial over the South: Thai editorial

Such exercises in PR fail to grasp the insurgency's ethno-nationalist nature

BANGKOK: -- In the end it was little more than a public relations exercise by both sides. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Thai Foreign Ministry got what they wanted out of the recent visit by Ambassador Sayed Kassem El-Masry.

Full story:

[webfact]

Hospitals reportedly turn away patients

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Authorities are investigating the first two reported cases of hospitals refusing emergency patients despite last month's implementation of a ministerial policy requiring all hospitals to accept all patients for such treatment.

"Both private hospitals could possibly have their medical licences revoked if found guilty," Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said yesterday.

The policy requires all private and state hospitals to accept emergency patients regardless of their healthcare plan.

A private hospital in Min Buri district in eastern Bangkok rejected a man, 43, complaining of a severe stomachache and vomiting, despite his belonging to the government's universal healthcare scheme.

A doctor on duty questioned this man about his rights for treatment, despite a rule against such a query, and left him fainting from pain in his stomach after several hours of waiting.

In the other case, a private hospital on Chang Island off the Trat coast declined to treat a person rescued from drowning and transferred the patient to Koh Chang Hospital 20 kilometres away, citing a lack of qualified staff.

-- The Nation 2012-05-14

[webfact]

Library offers street kids a future

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Unesco Bangkok has turned an IDEACUBE into a library treehouse for street children at Ban Nok Kamin Foundation in Bangkok.

The IDEACUBE is an artistic project aimed at getting public attention and interest in social responsibility and trigger awareness and commitment.

It's the part of 'The World First Citywide Ideas Exhibition' to be showcased in different iconic locations in Bangkok in May.

With a slogan ’Supporting one child’s education’, UNESCO transformed the 1.5 metre cube frame into a library with young children's books given to the foundation recently.

"We turned the cubes into the library because we want it to be used, not just to showcase an idea," said Dieter Schlenker of UNESCO Bangkok.

"We see that education is not only necessarily happening in the classroom. It can be anywhere, and books are tools to gain knowledge," he said.

Partnering with Nanmeebooks, a major book publisher in Thailand, UNESCO is able to fill the library cube house with books at special rates. Nanmeebooks also organised book readings and recycling craft activities for children at the foundation.

It is a home for street and abandoned children from 2 to over 20 years old. All kids there are supported in school up to bachelor degree level if they wish.

The foundation also offers a nursery centre for underprivileged children aged 2 to 6, living in its nearby communities. This library house will be used for both children at the nursery centre and the foundation.

"Ban Nok Kamin is not just a foundation. It is my family. And if I were not with this family, I’m sure I would have been ending up in jail like my other street friends and also friends in my community," said Lek (his nickname), who was taken to the foundation 19 years ago.

Now, he is now 27 and graduated with a diploma doing administrative work and coaching football skills to his young siblings at Ban Nok Kamin.

To donate books to the library house or any necessities to the foundation, contact Surachai Sukkhiawon at 081 889 1501, 02 375 6497 or [email protected].

-- The Nation 2012-05-14

[webfact]

Teaching teachers is the crucial first step: English Speaking Year policy

For better English classes, they must be confident themselves

BANGKOK: -- To force teachers who haven't spoken English to speak it without giving them any assistance is not a good idea - but to help train them to speak simple sentences that can be used in their classrooms will provide them with a good start.

Full story:

[webfact]

Tipoff leads to Pattaya drug haul

The Nation

PATTAYA: -- Five teenagers were caught allegedly with a stash of methamphetamine in a Bt10million Pattaya mansion owned by a woman identified only as Yupin after police received a tipoff.

Prasit "Lek" Jittapol, one of the five, allegedly confessed to the charge of possessing illicit drugs, which he said he bought from Yupin.

Yupin admitted she was addicted to drugs and sold them because her husband, an American ship captain, gave her Bt100,000 per month and that was not enough.

However, her husband had no involvement in her underground business, she said.

Pol Lt Colonel Nited Sutcharee, an inspector at Huai Yai Police Station, said police would probe Yupin's properties and seize them if they were illegal.

-- The Nation 2012-05-14

[webfact]

Thai stock index opens on Monday at 1,192.33, up 1.32 points /MCOT

[webfact]

Thailand, Bahrain Set to Ink Tourism Deal

BANGKOK: -- The Thai prime minister and her Bahraini counterpart is scheduled to sign a deal on tourism cooperation today.

On the second day of her official visit to Bahrain, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is scheduled to have discussions with her Bahraini counterpart at 11 A.M. local time today. Thai diplomats and businesspeople will join a full meeting afterward.

Thailand and Bahrain will also sign a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation, after which the Bahraini prime minister will host a luncheon for the Thai delegation.

In the afternoon, the Prime Minister will preside over the meeting of Thai and Bahraini business leaders and visit the Alfath Grand Mosque to meet with the Gulf nation's religious leaders.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-14

[webfact]

Commerce Min Downplays High Price Concerns

BANGKOK: -- The commerce minister has reported high prices of ready meals at several locations, despite a decline in prices of crops and farm products.

During his visit to Si Mum Muang and Rangsit fresh markets to inspect goods prices, Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom has affirmed that the overall prices of meat and vegetables remain the same.

However, he admits that the prices of some vegetables such as Chinese kale and Chinese cabbage have gone up due to declining supply caused by the extremely hot weather, while long bean prices remain high at 60 to 70 baht a kilogram.

He expects vegetable prices to fall after more outputs become available to the market.

The minister also revealed that most vendors at the fresh markets are selling ready meals within the recommended price range of 25 to 30 baht, adding that he will seek the Cabinet's approval for a price control on ready meals today.

He said the new price recommendations will be announced within seven to ten days after they are approved, and that ready meals might be removed from the price control list if the situation begins to ease after two months.

Meanwhile, Boonsong noted that student uniforms have not become more expensive, as claimed by many, and that they will remain on the monitoring list, but will not be put on the price control list.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-14

[webfact]

THAI reports 3 billion Baht profit in Q1

BANGKOK, 14 May 2012 (NNT) – Thai Airways International Public Co., Ltd. has reported an increase in its first quarterly profit, which stands at 3.64 billion baht, while adjusting its strategies to deal with the rising fuel price and fierce competition.

Full story:

[george]

Six injured in grenade attack at Narathiwat Red Cross Fair /MCOT

[george]

Suspect arrested in Red Cross Fair security checkpoint grenade attack in Narathiwat /MCOT

[webfact]

Phuket Police launch manhunt for three foreigners in Bt30m jewelry heist

Full story:

[webfact]

Thailand Overtakes Japan As Top Destinations Among Chinese Tourists

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has edged Japan as the most preferred destination among Chinese travelers in a recent annual survey.

According to a report on Chinese tourists' overseas travels published by Chinese news agency Shanghai Daily released this past Saturday, the number of Chinese tourists in Thailand jumped by 69 percent last year to 190,000, overtaking Japan as the top tourist destination among the Chinese.

Previously, Japan held the position for three consecutive years

The report indicates that the increase accounts for one-fifth of the total number of Chinese people traveling overseas, while the figure of those going to Japan fell by 100,000, or nearly 48 percent compared to the previous year, as a result of the massive earthquake and tsunami in March of last year.

South Korea follows Japan with 95,000 Chinese visitors, a growth of 33 percent year on year.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-14

[webfact]

Six injured in grenade attack at Narathiwat Red Cross Fair

NARATHIWAT, May 14 - One soldier and five local residents were wounded in a grenade attack yesterday in the southern province of Narathiwat.

Two men on a motorcycle hurled two hand grenades at government security personnel manning a checkpoint at a Red Cross Fair in Narathiwat municipality.

The six were injured by the fragmentation of one grenade only, as the other failed to explode.

After the incident, the police detained and questioned one suspect.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent province of Yala, several schools began the first day of the new semester on Monday amid tight security.

Army rangers and defence volunteers provided security at schools in the municipality and guarded the routes on which teachers travelled to school to ensure their safety.

Schools in rural areas are set to reopen on May 16. The Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC) ordered all agencies to step up security measures in line with a plan laid out earlier. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-05-14

[webfact]

Suspect arrested in Red Cross Fair security checkpoint grenade attack in Narathiwat; Security stepped up as southern provincial schools begin new semester /MCOT

[webfact]

Yellow Shirt activist Karun exits vehicle after 24-hour standoff

BANGKOK, May 14 – After a bizarre 24-hour standoff and towing him in his truck from Buri Ram to Bangkok, the Thai authorities are taking Karun Sai-ngan, former senator and Yellow Shirt activist to Criminal Court this morning to ask permission to detain him, and will file terrorism and other charges against him.

Full story:

[Lite Beer]

Gas leak factory apologizes to community

RAYONG, 14 May 2012 (NNT) – The Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) has apologized to the local community and said that it would take responsibility for the effects from the gas leakage, which occurred on May 6th.

Executives and employees of Aditya Birla Chemicals have expressed their deep regret over last week's accident, saying they will not ignore the impacts the leaked chemicals has created.

The company indicated that the leakage was caused by a valve switch. It has also listened to the residents' problems to assess the situation for further assistance if needed.

The Aditya Birla Chemicals has distributed 50 chemical protection masks to locals directly affected by the accident. The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has ordered a temporary halt of the company’s operation for inspections to find the root cause of the incident.

The explosion and fire on May 5th at the Bangkok Synthetics Co (BST) petrochemical factory at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate killed 11 people. Just one day later, chlorine leaked from the Aditya Birla Chemicals factory in the nearby Hemaraj industrial estate after an emergency shutdown of the plant's operations.

-- NNT 2012-05-14

[Lite Beer]

16 para rangers wounded Sunday in Pattani

Photo : Charoon Thongnual

PATTANI:-- Sixteen paramilitary rangers were injured late Sunday night when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb to ambush them while they were returning to their base in Pattani.

The attack occurred about 50 minutes after midnight when 20 paramilitary rangers were returning from guarding the annual Pattani Red Cross Fair. They were travelling in a pick-up truck and a six-wheel truck, heading to their base in Nongchik district.

The two trucks stopped at the stop sign of the Don Rak intersection, which links to the Pattani-Hat Yai highway.

Police said the two trucks were waiting to turn on to the highway when insurgents detonated the bomb with a walkie-talkie.

The insurgents, who were hiding in bushes at the roadside, opened fire at the paramilitary rangers and the two sides exchanged gunfire for about five minutes before the insurgents retreated.

The two trucks were slightly damaged by the bomb shrapnel. The 16 paramilitary rangers, 10 of whom were women, were slightly injured and sent to the Pattani Hospital.

Security agencies had earlier learned that insurgents would try to attack the Red Cross fair and had thus beefed up security at the fair. Police believe insurgents changed their target to ambush the security officials on the way from the fair instead.

-- The Nation 2012-05-14

[Lite Beer]

SOUTH CRISIS

Teachers in the south ask for tightening of security

File Photo : Narathiwat

Teachers in deep south call for increased security as school gets underway.

With the new semester starting this week, teachers in the deep south provinces on Monday called on authorities to tighten security measures.

Boonsom Thongsriplai, president of Federation of Teachers in three Southern provinces, said that most of the schools in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat would re-open on Thursday and that many teachers have already returned to their schools to prepare for their classes.

"We have asked the security authorities to strengthen security measures for education personnel including teachers and students, as insurgents have increased attacks and the degree of violence has surged during the past months," Boonsom said.

Teachers in the south should be careful and not negligent when travelling to and from schools, even though it appeared that the insurgents' targets were government officials.

The insurgents usually instigated chaos during the opening of the new semester, Boonsom said, with the aim of destroying the spirit of educational personnel.

-- NNT 2012-05-14

[Lite Beer]

RT@veen_NT: (1pm) About 200 villagers protest against the red shirts' plan to set up a red village in Chana district in Songkhla. via @7_preysor

[Lite Beer]

RT@Aim_NT: Parliament voted 342:93 not to include the clause that prohibits charter change to affect the work of the court or ppl's rights n freedom .

[Lite Beer]

Muslim man arrested for alleged bomb attack in Narathiwat

NARATHIWAT:-- A Muslim man was arrested Monday for allegedly lobbing a grenade at a police road checkpoint Sunday night, injuring five civilians, a policeman and a paramilitary ranger.

Police said Hanafi Sedmahamad was arrested after witnesses identified him at the bomb attacker.

Feeds from a security camera showed that a grenade was hurled from inside a mosque to the security checkpoint at the Clock Tower in Muang district.

The seven were slightly injured and discharged after receiving treatment at the Narathiwat Hospital.

-- The Nation 2012-05-14