Thailand Live Thursday 28 Jun 2012

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Thailand Live Thursday 28 June 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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Related topic: Thailand Live Wednesday 27 Jun 2012

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SPECIAL REPORT

Thailand remains major centre for human trafficking

CHAIYAKORN BAI-NGERN,

THACHAYAN WAHARAK

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Many locals and job-seekers from neighbouring countries continue to be ensnared in the sex industry or trapped in slave labour despite the enactment of the Anti-Human-Trafficking Act in 2008, "Thailand is still a source, transit and destination in human trade," Yanee Lertkrai, inspector-general of the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, said yesterday.

Full story:

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U-TAPAO

Surapong informs US envoy about Nasa issue

THE NATION

Kenney

BANGKOK: -- Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul has called US Ambassador Kristie Kenney to inform her personally about the Cabinet's resolution to forward Nasa's request to use U-tapao Airport for a weather-research project to Parliament for consideration.

Full story:

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GMM

Court to decide today on consumer body's plea against GMM

Watchiranont Thongtep

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Civil Court will today decide whether to accept a case filed by the Confederation of Consumer Organisations of Thailand and satellite TV viewers against GMM Grammy, the sole holder of rights to broadcast live Euro 2012 matches along with three free-TV stations.

Full story:

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BURNING ISSUE

Cabinet reshuffle: Who will call the shots?

Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- It appears that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, rather than her brother Thaksin, will have the final say in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle next month.

Full story:

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ENVIRONMENT

PCD denies it is to blame for Klity creek

PONGPHON SARNSAMAK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Pollution Control Department (PCD) insisted yesterday that it was not responsible for the lead contamination in Kanchanaburi province's Lower Klity village, which has affected residents for 14 years.

Full story:

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Separatist gets life sentence

The Nation

Photo : Charoon Thongnual

BANGKOK: -- The Appeals Court yesterday handed down a death sentence to Koseng or Useng Jeloh, a leading member of the separatist movement, Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), but then reduced it to life on grounds that his testimony was useful to the case.

Koseng was charged with rebellion and illegal assembly of weapons and men for a movement pledged to separate Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Satun and Songkhla from Thailand.

The Appeals Court verdict reversed the Criminal Court’s ruling on December 1, 2008, that dropped all charges against Koseng, but he was kept in detention pending appeal.

The lawsuit stated that from 1968 to February 10, 1998, Koseng and five Pulo members recruited members into the separatist movement and extorted protection money from businessmen in the five border provinces to buy weapons.

-- The Nation 2012-06-28

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THAI TALK

No professional leaders at state enterprises

Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

Piyasavasti Amaranand

BANGKOK: -- Several state enterprises, including Thai Airways International (THAI) and the Mass Communications Organisation of Thailand, are inviting candidates for the position of chief executive officer.

Full story:

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EDITORIAL

Pollution verdict is welcome news indeed

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A recent court decision to award compensation to a village affected by lead contamination must become a benchmark to deter corporate destruction of the environment

Full story:

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Ombudsman defends Kasit, Natthawut rulings

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Office of the Ombudsman did not have double standards in connection with its two rulings on the political ethics code, spokesman Raksagecha Chaechai said yesterday.

Full story:

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Politics 'will heat up after August 1'

THE NATION June 28, 2012 1:00 am

BANGKOK: -- Politics will heat up and big changes will be in store after Parliament reopens in August, former Thai Rak Thai Party executives said yesterday.

Full story:

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Students fight as House panel seeks solution to violence

The Nation

BANGKOK: - The story is a familiar old one - about the factors behind longstanding vocational student rivalry and violence - retold this time to a House committee on education in yesterday's session held to address the issue.

Full story:

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POLICE EXAM CHEATING

Police arrest 43 involved in cheating

KWANHATHAI MALAKAN

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Police spokesman Maj General Piya Uthayo told the press yesterday that 43 of the 49 people wanted for their role in the police entrance exam cheating case were in custody.

Meanwhile, the police is still checking to see if the body found in Saraburi is that of 29-year-old fugitive Wibulsak Saenjak, who is reportedly linked to the gang's mastermind, he said.

Piya added that police had decided to level three charges: public fraud culminating in asset-seizure according to the Anti-Money Laundering law; violating the Radio Communications Act by using signal-transmitting devices to cheat in the exam; and forging state-issued documents for the test.

Though a new police entrance exam will be held in early August, he said those in the administration, crime-prevention and suppression streams would be tested on a different date and at a different venue. Plus, the exams would be held at different times in different venues.

Urging all applicants to spend this month preparing for the test, which will be made more difficult, he said police will release the names of those who are not eligible for the test by mid-July, once the investigation into the cheating case has been completed.

As for the unidentified body found in an oil barrel thrown into a well in a Saraburi tapioca plantation being that of Wibulsak, Piya said forensic experts were still examining the body.

Admitting that the clothes on the body were similar to what Wibulsak was reportedly wearing, police would still summon the suspect's mother to help identify the body.

Pol General Pansiri Prapawat agreed that it could not be confirmed if the body was that of Wibulsak, adding that it was pending forensic tests. He also said that police had heard that Wibulsak was hiding in the capital.

The body is currently undergoing autopsy at Thammasat Chalermphrakiat Hospital in Pathum Thani.

In related news, police in Songkhla's Chana district announced that they had arrested Nittaya Srinuan-in and her son Panas in Sukhothai for forging documents in order to let other people take the entrance exams on behalf of the applicants. However, the suspects have denied the charges. Police have also issued arrest warrants for four other people.

-- The Nation 2012-06-28

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Nine judges selected for Thaksin corruption case

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A general meeting of the Supreme Court yesterday selected nine senior judges to try the corruption case against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and 26 others in connection with a loan scandal involving state-owned Krung Thai Bank.

The nine judges will hear the case for the court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, which has scheduled July 25 to decide whether to accept the case for judicial review.

The nine judges selected for the case are Supreme Court vice presidents Manas Luangprasert and Direk Ingkanunt, Criminal Division for Political Office Holders chief justice Chinnawat Jindatamkaew, Division of Economic and Commercial Litigation chief justice Wirawat Pawarajan, Division of Election Cases chief |justice Chaisit Trachootham, Division of Labour Litigation chief |justice Chaiwat Wiengthiratham, Division of Bankruptcy Litigation chief justice Manupong Rujikanha, Division of Environment Cases chief justice Panwasa Buathong, and Supreme Court chief justice Virapol Tangsuwan.

Thaksin and former KTB president Viroj Nualkhae are among those accused of malfeasance after the bank lent Bt8 billion to property company Krisada Mahanakorn while the ex-premier was in power.

-- The Nation 2012-06-28

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Vaccines have 'proved to be safe'

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Public Health Ministry yesterday affirmed that the 19 vaccines available in Thailand were safe to use.

It said that last year there were only 788 cases in 72 provinces in which complications developed after the vaccination.

Most such cases were in the Northeast and 81 per cent of the patients suffered mild complications (pain and swelling), recovering within three days, Public Health permanent secretary Dr Paijit Worajit said.

There were 14 deaths after vaccination, but investigation found that the fatality had nothing to do with the vaccines.

Presiding over a workshop attended by health officials from 12 disease-control zones, Paijit said children up to the age of 12 were given 10 basic vaccines on 14 occasions besides seasonal/additional vaccines. The ministry assigned 1,200 disease investigation teams to follow through post-vaccination safety, a system that leaves Thailand among the 10 countries that have received World Health Organisation’s approval, he added.

-- The Nation 2012-06-28

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DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

DSI defers decision on east water, skytrain cases

ANAPAT DEECHUAY,

SAMATCHA HOONSARA

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) board yesterday postponed making a decision on whether to take up two politically important cases. Both these cases could shake up the Democrat Party and seriously raise political tensions in the country.

Full story:

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OPINION

Avoid Phuket At All Costs: Crime Capital Of Asia

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....apital-of-asia/

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Google to release connected glasses next year

SAN FRANCISCO: -- Smartphones, tablets, laptops and ultrabooks may no longer suffice for digerati who wish to be web connected 24/7.

Full story:

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US confirms NASA project decision all up to Thai government

BANGKOK, 28 June 2012 (NNT) – The US has affirmed that the decision to allow the NASA project to take place in Thailand is all up to the government.

Full story:

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RT @mpoppel: BNO News: U.S. military says aircraft found in Alaska this month is missing aircraft from 1952 (52 on board)

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,171.27, up 5.29 points /MCOT

[george]

The most cinematic Thailand Videos you've ever seen!

MOVING TO THAILAND (Episode 1-5)

Watch here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/560867-the-most-cinematic-thailand-videos-youve-ever-seen/

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Orphaned camera returned to rightful traveler by 56,000 Facebook users

A delightful Dutch altruist proves a lost camera is not a lost cause on Facebook

By Max Kim

"Do you know this man?" So asked 56,000 Facebook walls.

For the past two days, users of Facebook and Reddit have been on a manhunt for an unfortunate traveler whose misplaced camera wound up in the obliging hands of one Roland Van Gogh, a social-media-savvy Dutchman determined to find the camera's owner.

Van Gogh, whose father-in-law found the camera containing almost 3,000 photos at a train station in Amsterdam, uploaded a photo of the unnamed ginger-haired, bearded owner on his Facebook page on Monday.

The post on his Facebook wall read: "My father in law found a red Nikon Coolpix camera on 2012-06-20 in the train at the station Amsterdam Amstel [more...]

Full story: http://www.cnngo.com...travelers-hands

-- CNNGO 2012-06-28

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AoT reports passenger complaints due to flight delays

BANGKOK, 28 June 2012 (NNT) - Airports of Thailand (AoT) has reported a number of passenger complaints from flight delays caused by Suvarnabhumi Airport's runway maintenance.

AoT President Somchai Sawasdipol commented that passenger have been lodging complaints about flight delays of 30-50 minutes, a consequence of the partial closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport's eastern runway for maintenance purposes since 11th June. While tourists are set to file for compensation, Mr. Somchai stated that no airline operators have done so. However, if airline operators should lodge complaints, each will be individually considered according to the degree of impact sustained.

Mr. Somchai added that the runway closure has long been a pending issue, which has been postponed various times since last year. Considering this as an off-peak season with low flight volume, the AoT has, thus, decided to carry out a partial runway maintenance at Suvarnabhumi Airport. In order to avoid further inconveniences, the AoT will rush to finalize the procedure as soon as possible.

-- NNT 2012-06-28

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Weather Bureau warns Eastern and Western residents of heavy rain

BANGKOK, 28 June 2012 (NNT) - The Meteorological Department and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology are issuing a weather alert for residents in the Eastern and Western regions of Thailand.

A strong southwest monsoon is prevailing over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand, while low pressure cells are covering the Gulf of Tonkin, causing heavy rainfall and strong gusty winds.

Isolated heavy rain and scattered thundershowers can be expected in the West and East. Locals in the affected areas are told to beware of the effect of severe weather in the region.

Strong winds will generate 2-3 meter-high tidal waves in the Andaman Sea and the upper Gulf of Thailand. All ships should proceed with caution during June 28-30.

The tropical storm ‘Doksuri’ is set to make landfall over the South of China, near the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, on June 30. As of now, the storm has no large-scale effect on Thailand yet.

-- NNT 2012-06-28

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REAL ESTATE INDEX

Thailand keeps ranking in global real-estate index

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's overall ranking is unchanged in the 2012 Global Real Estate Transparency Index, a Jones Lang LaSalle survey that calculates transparency in 97 real-estate markets worldwide by weighting 83 factors.

Full story:

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NASA cancels climate studies in Thailand this year after Thai cabinet postpones granting NASA permission to use U-Tapao naval base: US Embassy spokesman /MCOT

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Radiation levels beneath Fukushima reactor 260 times higher than normal /TASS

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NASA cancels climate studies in Thailand

BANGKOK, June 28 - The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cancelled its plan to conduct atmospheric studies this year following the Thai Cabinet's decision to refer the matter for deliberation in a joint sitting of Parliament.

Full story: