Thailand Live Wednesday 16 May 2012

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Thailand number 6 in the world to suffer from high fuel price

BANGKOK, 16 May 2012 (NNT) - With the unproportional relation between fuel price and average daily income, Thailand has been ranked as the sixth country in the world where people are suffering from "pain at the pump".

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BMA to Check Power Poles After Deadly Collapse in Nong Chok

BANKOK: -- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority are inspecting the condition of power poles, after a number of them were brought down by a summer storm.

After inspecting the scene of power pole collapse in Nong Chok area which blocked a half-kilometer stretch of Chalongkrung Road and left one dead, Deputy Bangkok Governor Malinee Sukavejjaworakit said she has instructed the Public Works Department to check the condition of all power poles in Bangkok, in coordination with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, or MEA, to prevent further mishaps.

She added that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will be providing necessary assistance and remedy to the family of the teacher killed in the collapse.

Meanwhile, MEA Governor Atorn Sinsawat disclosed that the power pole collapse was caused by a heavy summer storm, and that there were a total of 41 collapses reported around the same time.

Atorn said that normally the structure can withstand the wind speed of at least 100 kilometers per hour, which is the level of a strong wind, while a typical stormy wind could just tilt the pole.

It is very rare that the pole of such a size would be brought down by a storm.

Atorn added that his agency will inspect the condition of other power poles, particularly in Bangkok's outskirts, and fortify them.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-16

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Storm hits North, Southeast; one killed in Chonburi

BANGKOK, May 16 – Some northern provinces were hit by heavy downpours and gusty winds and a woman was killed in Chonburi, southeast of Bangkok.

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SET index midday down sharply

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thai composite stocks index (SET) at midday Wednesday stood at 1,160.44, down 24.11 points,or 2.04 per cent in line with most regional shares.

Blue chip SET-50 was at 812.06, down 18.35 points, or 2.21 per cent.

Top 10 most active (value) stocks: SCC, KBANK, CPF, PTT, BANPU.

-- The Nation 2012-05-16

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TAT to hold Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012

BANGKOK, 16 May 2012 (NNT) – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is set to host the 'Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012' with over 40 booths selling products from across the country in order to stimulate the country’s tourism and economy.

The Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012 will feature Thai food from four regions, popular Thai food among locals and foreigners, as well as seasonal fruit.

CNNGo has previously ranked Thai food among the 50 most delicious dishes in the world, with Massaman Curry topping the list at number 1, followed by Tom Yum Goong at number 8, Nam Tok Moo at 19 and Som Tam at number 46. Thus, the TAT will help Thai entrepreneurs in boosting the economy by promoting food which are well-known among foreigners.

The TAT expects that the organization of this event will also stimulate the country’s tourism as well as the economy. The overall spending by the event’s visitors last year stood at 30 billion baht. Meanwhile, a 10% growth has been estimated for this year.

The Miracle of Thai Food and Fruit Festival 2012 will be held during 25-27 May at Central World.

-- NNT 2012-05-16

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Police make arrests in two illicit drug cases with 65kg of ice, 40,000 meth pills; Bt5.7 million, 770 Malaysian ringgit cash seized, one Malaysian arrested /MCOT

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Land in Silom most expensive in Thailand

BANGKOK, 16 May 2012 (NNT) – The Treasury Department has released a new list of land price appraisals, citing Silom as the most expensive area in Thailand. The new price appraisals will be effective from July 1st onwards.

Deputy Finance Minister Wirun Techapaiboon said the ministry has told the Treasury Department to enforce the new price appraisals on July 1st this year until 2015. The new price was scheduled to be enforced in January this year, but was delayed by another six months due to the flood crisis in 2011. He said the ministry will no longer delay the enforcement of the new price appraisals given the situation in the nation has returned to normal now.

Silom will remain the most expensive area in the kingdom, appraised at 850,000 baht per square wa, a 31% increase from the current price of 650,000 baht.

Land prices on Ratchadamri (from Ratchaprasong Intersection to Khlong San Saeb), Rama I, and Ploenchit Roads will be appraised from around 400,000 baht to 800,000 baht per square wa.

The highest land price in the South will be in Hat Yai District of Songkhla, at 400,000 baht per square wa.

In the North, the most expensive area will be Muang District of Chiangmai, which will go for 250,000 baht per square wa. Meanwhile, Muang District in Khon Kean Province will be worth 200,000 baht per square wa , the highest in the Northeast.

The new appraisal list will cause housing transfer and registration fees to go up in accordance with the new appraised prices.

-- NNT 2012-05-16

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Deputy PM Chalerm has promised to provide protection for actress Tuck Bongkoch if she's worried about being harassed by red-shirts /TAN_Network

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111 Club meets to prepare activities to welcome 'political freedom'

BANGKOK:-- Former Thai Rak Thai Party executives of so-called 111 Club members held a meeting at the Pheu Thai head office Wednesday to prepare special activities after the five-year ban expires at the end of this month.

About 50 former Thai Rak Thai executives arrived at the meeting room on the 10A floor of the Pheu Thai head office at 9:30 am.

Those, who turned up for the meeting, included Chaturon Chaisaeng, Pongthep Thepkanchana, Chidchai Wannasathit, Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, Bhokin Palakula, Warathep Ratanakorn, Adisorn Piangket, Virakarn Musikapong, and Phumtham Wetchayachai.

Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan and Suranan Vejjajiva did not attend the meetin. Sudarat had informed the meeting organizers that she would be busy with a foreign trip while Suranan, the personal spokesman of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, said he was busy with the government's duty.

-- The Nation 2012-05-16

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Unhygienic food causes 16 fatalities this summer

BANGKOK, 16 May 2012 (NNT) – The Public Health Ministry is set to eliminate sickness and fatalities caused by the consumption of unhygienic food, which is a growing cause of concern for the Thai society at present.

Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr. Sophon Mekthon and Department of Health Director-General Dr. Somyos Deerasamee launched a food and nutrition for health promotion project at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hospital in Ayutthaya province. The project aims to raise the people’s awareness for healthy food consumption, prevention of food-borne and water-borne diseases, as well as chronic diseases relating to the consumption of greasy, sweet and salty food.

Mr. Wittaya said that the Public Health Ministry is rushing to resolve the problem of sickness and fatalities from the consumption of unhygienic food or food which is cooked with excessive oil, sugar or salt. Two important food-borne and water-borne diseases include food poisoning and diarrhea.

During the last five months, there have been reports of over 520,000 cases of illness and 16 fatalities caused by food-borne and water-borne diseases. Meanwhile, non-contagious diseases resulting from the consumption of unhealthy food include obesity, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. Hypertension causes a daily fatality rate of 36 while diabetes causes around 7,000 deaths annually.

-- NNT 2012-05-16

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Taxi Cooperatives: Starting fare capped at 35 baht for three months to help passengers cope with rising cost of living /MCOT

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Update

Police Officer Accused of Robbing Armored Truck Pledges to Turn Himself In

BANGKOK: -- The superintendent of Sai Ngarm Police Station in Kamphaeng Phet Province has pledged to turn himself in today after missing the previous appointment.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....25#entry5305246

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Police raid Khan Na Yao district house, seize tiger carcasses imported from Malaysia enroute to China; 1 Thai, 1 Vietnamese arrested /MCOT

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Crackdown on gambling ahead of Euro 2012

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police nationwide have been instructed to reinforce prevention of gambling before and during the upcoming UEFA European Football Championship or Euro 2012, which starts next month.

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5,000 troops deployed in far South for school term security

BANGKOK, May 16 - 5,000 soldiers have been deployed in Thailand’s southern border region to ensure safety of teachers and students during the first semester of the new school year, according to Thai army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha.

The Royal Thai Army dispatched more than 5,000 soldiers to provide security at 400 schools in the southern border provinces, to escort education workers and students, at the start of the new semester.

Gen Prayuth however pointed out that uncertain schedules and routes from/to schools remained an obstacle for the protection measures as the teachers and students were susceptible to attack. Some residents, particularly teachers, preferred to travel without the protection and that also made the mission difficult.

The army chief explained that about 10 soldiers were deployed to protect teachers and students for each trip.

As a result, it was difficult for the soldiers to provide security thoroughly if the education staff travelled outside the planned routes.

The personnel stationed in the restive southern region were soldiers working on both community development and security, Gen Prayuth added.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s meeting of the strategic committee responsible for the strife-torn southern border provinces categorised and grouped approaches for security and development in line with the National Security Council’s strategy, the army chief said.

Since the unrest erupted in the restive southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat in 2004, over 5,000 people, including civilians, soldiers, government officials and insurgents were killed. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-05-16

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WEATHER

Heavy rain hits the north

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Heavy downpours and gusting winds hit some northern provinces last night, damaging houses, crops and uprooting trees.

The weather department's northern office in Chiang Mai has warned of storms and strong winds through the week.

Large trees and billboards were toppled, damaging homes and vehicles.

In Mae Hong Son's Pai district, a summer storm damaged houses and crops. Damage has not yet been assessed, and roads remain blocked by uprooted trees, but civil servants and villagers are working to clear the way to open the roads to traffic

The weather department warned of heavy rainfall and potential flash floods across much of the country.

A high pressure ridge covers the upper northeast, and a moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and on land, nationwide.

The weather system carries more rainfall over Thailand with isolated heavy to very heavy rain in the North, the Northeast, the East and the Southwest coast.

Today through Friday, residents in normally at risk areas should beware of possible flooding.

Winds are strong, and waves in the Andaman Sea are at a 2-metre level, with warnings to shipping to proceed with caution during the period.

-- The Nation 2012-05-16

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111 CLUB

Members meet to prepare activities to welcome 'political freedom'

The Nation

Sudarat

BANGKOK: -- Former Thai Rak Thai Party executives of so-called 111 Club held a meeting at the Pheu Thai head office Wednesday to prepare special activities after their five-year ban expires at the end of this month.

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Airport Link to Add 7 More Trains

BANGKOK: -- The Airport Link operator is planning to buy seven new trains while insisting that services will not be disrupted by part problems.

Pakorn Tangjetsakao, as the Deputy Governor of the State Railway of Thailand, or SRT, and acting CEO of the SRT Electrified Train Company, or SRTET, said the SRTET board will consider a plan to purchase seven four-carriage trains worth 4.2 billion baht on June 23.

Once approved by the SRTET board, the purchase plan will be submitted to the SRT and Cabinet for their considerations.

Pakorn noted that the SRTET will also seek loans to fund the purchase, and if the plan is approved by this year, the new trains will be available by 2014.

He insists that in the meantime, the Airport Link service will not be suspended, as the company will be using parts from substitute trains to fix the main ones with problems.

Some of the Airport Link trains are facing a problem with the shafts, which were found to have been broken from Siemens's factory.

Pakorn also revealed that the SRTET is considering buying parts from Chinese manufacturers, which will take less time than ordering from German suppliers.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-16

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Army chief to seek BBC's permission to publicize HM the King's interview given 30 years ago /TANN

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Police seize tiger carcasses en route to China

BANGKOK, May 16 -- The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) on Wednesday raided a rented house in Bangkok's Khan Na Yao district today, seizing the carcasses of two tigers, one panther and one fishing cat, and arrested one Thai and one Vietnamese.

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SET index closed at 1,171.23 down 13.32; Bt/USD31.40; GBP49.93; AUD30.85; EUR39.71; CAD30.87;HKD4.03; SGD25.04;JPY39.567

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BMA reveals Wireless Rd in front of Bank of Ayudhya, Phayathai Rd, Rama I Rd at risk of sinkholes developing /TANN

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SINGBURI ROBBERY

Suspected police colonel fails to give himself up

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A police colonel suspected of involvement in the March theft of Bt4 million from a bank's armoured truck in Sing Buri province has failed to surrender as promised.

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Frenchman attempts suicide at his East Pattaya home

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....t-pattaya-home/

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Phuket lifeguards likely back on duty 'by Monday'

Phuket Gazette

After two rounds of offers failed to attract a single bid to put lifeguards back on Phuket’s beaches, the Phuket Lifeguard Club has reluctantly applied to return to duty. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- The Phuket Lifeguard Club has submitted an offer to restore lifeguard services at Phuket’s key tourist beaches, an offer that is likely to be agreed to by Monday, the Phuket Gazette has learned.

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Thailand Live Thursday 17 May 2012