Thailand Live Monday 2 Jul 2012

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Commerce Ministry: May’s inflation rate as low as 2.56%

BANGKOK, 2 July 2012 (NNT) – The Commerce Ministry has revealed that the rate of inflation in June was as low as 2.56 percent thanks to the decrease in prices of oil and food.

According to Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Commerce Yanyong Phuangrach, the inflation rate in June was at 2.56 percent, increasing by 0.16 percent from that of the same period last year, but slighly decreasing from last month's figure. The decline was mainly attributed to the drop in the prices of food such as beef, vegetables, and seafood; and no less to the decrease of oil prices and the pegging of LPG price for another three months. This indicates that Thailand’s overall economy is stable in line with the Commerce Ministry's control mechanism.

The rate of inflation in the second quarter is 2.51 percent on an average, resulting in the first 6 months’ avearge inflation rtate of 2.95 percent. The third quarter's is expected to be under 3.3 percent. Mr. Yanyong was confident that Ministry of Commerce would be able to keep the inflation at no more than 3.3-3.8 percent; however, it would have to keep an eye on the global economy, natural disasters, and exchange and interest rates; all of which would have an impact on investments and the cost of living

-- NNT 2012-07-02

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Anand remains as complainant witness in charter amendment case: court spokesman

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Former prime minister Anand Panyarachun is still on the witness list of a complainant against charter amendments, the spokesman of the Constitution Court said Monday.

Pimol Thampithakpong, the chief spokesman of the court, said Senator Surachai Liangboonchai had not yet withdrawn Anand's name from this list of witnesses.

Surachai was among complainants against charter amendments, alleging that the amendments would violate Article 68 of the current Constitution.

Anand has said he knew nothing about the complaint and he wanted his name to be withdrawn.

-- The Nation 2012-07-02

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Court rejects allegations of fixed judgement

BANGKOK, July 2 – The chief spokesperson of Thailand's Constitution Court on Monday rejected allegations that the court's decision on the legality of the charter amendment bill may be predetermined.

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RT @RichardBarrow: TrueVisions aim to block owners of Dreambox from watching their channels from 16 July [Pantip] http://goo.gl/ztzQe

RT @RichardBarrow: According to Pantip, some True engineers set up illegal servers for Dreambox owners allowing them to watch ALL True channels for 100B/month

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SMOG

Facemasks sent to alleviate haze problems in the south

The Nation

Haze hits Songkhla province on Monday.//Photo: Santiparb Ramasutra

BANGKOK: -- Facemasks have been sent to some southern provinces to help people affected by the haze from Indonesia, Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri said on Monday.

He said 60,000 facemasks had already been sent to Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces to help protect peopleatrisk from inhaling the smoke from forest fires, while another 50,000 others were being as backups at the Disease Control Department, as the situation would likely linger.

After forest fires on Indonesia's Sumatra Island caused dense smoke shroud the five provinces and threatened residents' health, Wittaya instructed local hospitals to prepare medical supplies and watch out for people falling ill as a result of inhaling smoke, especially those suffering from heart disease and respiratory problems, as well as the elderly and children.

Songkhla's Disease Control and Prevention Office 12 would distribute 12,000 facemasks to each of the five provinces, Office director Dr Suwich Thampaolo said. Fineparticle dust level in the five provinces remained within safety standards. He said respiratory patients at hospitals had not been affected as yet with consultations for respiratory problems at around 50100 respiratory at each hospital per day, which was a normal rate.

-- The Nation 2012-07-02

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Seven injured as fishing boat explodes

Phuket Gazette

The crew of the 'Sor Chock Anada' fishing boat help salvage the half-sunk 'Sathaporn 7' after the explosion injured seven men on board and ripped a hole in the hull. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- Seven people were rushed to hospital after an explosion erupted on board a Phuket fishing boat queued up to take on ice at Por Pichai Company wharf, in Rassada, yesterday.

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AVIATION

THAI Smile takes delivery of first aircraft

The Nation

HAMBURG: -- THAI Smile, the new light premium regional sub-brand of Thai Airways International (THAI), has taken delivery of its first aircraft, an Airbus A320, in Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft can seat 174 passengers. The Bangkok-based carrier will start regional operations on July 7 with daily flights to Macau, before flying domestically to Krabi, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani and Phuket. These will be followed by new routes to more international destinations.

"We are delighted to take delivery of our brand new Airbus A320." said Woranate Laprabang, managing director of THAI Smile. "Thanks to the A320's cabin comfort and operational reliability, THAI Smile will be able to service the market gap between low-cost and full service airlines."

The aircraft is the first of 11 A320s which will be delivered by mid-2015. The first six aircraft are being leased from SMBC Aviation Capital. The company's CEO, Peter Barrett, said "This is our first transaction with THAI Smile, and we look forward to building a close relationship with them in the coming years. The fact that we now own and manage 69 A320s and have a further 45 on order is a clear reflection of the high regard in which we and our customers hold this outstanding aircraft."

The remaining five aircraft are directly purchased from Airbus andwill be equipped with new "Sharklet" wing tip devices, which will deliver up to 3.5 percent in fuel savings.

THAI is one of Airbus' longest standing customers. The A320 joins an Airbus fleet at THAI which currently includes the A300, A330 and A340, with the A380 set to enter service with the carrier later this year. THAI will also be an operator of the all-new A350 XWB.

The A320 Family is the world's best-selling single aisle product line. To date, more than 8,400 aircraft have already been ordered and some 5,100 delivered to more than 360 customers and operators worldwide. With proven reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single-aisle aircraft.

-- The Nation 2012-07-02

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Phuket police arrest Cherng Talay burglar

Phuket Gazette

Wittawat Maneesri, who has confessed to burglarizing foreigners homes in Cherng Talay, hides his face at the press conference held by Col Jirasak (right) Lt Col Pongnarin (left). Photo: Orawin Narabal

Police estimate over one million baht's worth of goods was seized. Photo: Orawin Narabal

PHUKET: -- A member of a gang of burglars who target high-end homes of foreigners living in the Cherng Talay area was arrested over the weekend and presented to the Phuket press today.

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The enema within

Ian Belcher took some persuading to go on a colonic irrigation holiday, even at a Thai beach resort. It is, he discovered, quite astonishing what gets flushed out in the course of a week's treatment. But did he feel the better for it?

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Dragonair launches inaugural flight from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai

CHIANG MAI, 2 July 2012 (NNT) – The Chiang Mai governor and Dragonair executives yesterday welcomed passengers from Dragonair’s inaugural flight from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai province at Chiang Mai International Airport.

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Phuket tuk-tuk driver gets suspended sentence for attack on tourist

Phuket Gazette

Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Kittipong Klaikaew. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- A Phuket tuk-tuk driver who confessed to assaulting an Egyptian tourist in Patong last week has been sentenced to a three-month suspended prison term and fined 3,000 baht.

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SET index closed at 1188.74, up 16.63; Bt/USD31.45; GBP49.23; AUD32.15; EUR39.71; CAD30.76; HKD4.05; SGD24.71; JPY39.21

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Lamphun hospital director to be charged with buying 1.6 million cold pills for drug gang

The Nation

LAMPHUN: -- The Department of Special Investigation will charge the director of Siriwej Lamphun Hospital for having abused the hospital name to buy 1.6 milliion pseudoephedrine pills allegedly to resell to methamphetamine making gangs.

DSI Director-General Tharit Pengdit said Assoc Prof Doctor Chote Nisung would face the charge for having allegedly faked purchase of the controlled medicine.

Tharit said Chote ordered the pseudoephedrine pills in the name of his hospital 37 times from Asian Pharmaceutical but the medicine had never been used for treating patients in his hospital.

As a result, the DSI believed Chote bought the drug to resell. Pseudoephedrine pills are believed to have been used by methamphetamine makers as main precursor chemicals to make the narcotics.

-- The Nation 2012-07-02

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Pathum Thani red-shirt leader says Pheu Thai not behind protest against Abhisit

The Nation

PATHUM THANI: -- A leader of a red-shirt group in Pathum Thani said Monday that no politician was behind his group holding a protest against Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva last week.

Putthipong Kotthamkhun said the red-shirt people turned up to disrupt the rally of the Democrat in Friday night on their own because the people were still anger at the Abhisit government

Putthipong said red-shirt people in Pathum Thani were still angry that the Abhisit government spent about Bt6 billion to deploy troops to crack down on red-shirt protesters, leading to 98 deaths and injuries of over 2,000 people.

-- The Nation 2012-07-02

[Lite Beer]

Phuket Police chief calls for integrated, island-wide CCTV

Phuket Gazette –

Maj Gen Chonasit did not elaborate on whether his plan to connect all CCTV in Phuket to a single server included use of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization CCTV control room in Rassada (pictured). Photo: Phuket OrBorJor

Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul reveals his plan to have all CCTV cameras in Phuket – both government and private – feed into a single server. Photo: Chutharat Plerin

PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul this morning revealed plans to ask the central government to fund a project that will see all CCTV cameras across Phuket feed live footage into a single server.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/566956-phuket-police-chief-calls-for-integrated-island-wide-cctv/#entry5448123

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RT@ChadapornLin: HM the King to visit Koh Kred, Pathum Thani via boat on Saturday at 4.30pm

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to continue:

Thailand Live Tuesday 3 Jul 2012