Thailand Live Thursday 26 Jul 2012

[webfact]

Thailand Live Thursday 26 July 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 Wednesday 25 Jul 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]

THAI-MYANMAR TIES

Thais handed three and a half years

Boonleun Promprathankul

The Nation

The report about Myanmar's Koh Song Court's verdict to jail 92 Thais to a threeyearandsixmonth jail term for illegal entry and encroaching on forestland without permission, is submitted to the the ThaiMyanmar Township Border Committee (TBC) for RanongKoh

KOH SONG: -- Myanmar's Koh Song Court has sentenced 92 Thais to jail for terms of three-and-a-half years for illegal entry and encroaching on forestland without permission.

Full story:

[webfact]

Pickup bomb kills five policemen in Yala

The Nation

Five police were killed yesterday and another wounded by a car bomb attack in Yala's Raman district.

YALA: -- The sixman squad from Tha Thong Police Station, which was assigned to escort teachers at U Poh Shool, was on a mobile patrol before arriving near a bridge where a silver Isuzu pickup truck with hidden explosives was parked. The truck exploded, hitting the police vehicle.

Full story:

[webfact]

RESHUFFLE

Yingluck may take Defence

PIYANART SRIVALO

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Talk of another Cabinet reshuffle has re-emerged, as many politicians from the ruling Pheu Thai Party are meeting with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Hong Kong this week to celebrate his birthday.

Full story:

[webfact]

RICE EXPORTS

'Sector may be heading for disaster'

PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI

BANGKOK: -- Rice industry, already lost the title of world's top exporter to India, is heading for disaster in the next few years due to a lack of proper strategic management of the rice-pledging scheme and the country's exports, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said yesterday.

Full story:

[webfact]

POLITICS

Nothing wrong with Priewpan visiting Thaksin: Chalerm

THE NATION

Priewpan

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung yesterday defended the national police chief's visit to Hong Kong to meet fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Full story:

[webfact]

CRIME

Bail granted to woman's attacker

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Central Juvenile and Family Court yesterday granted bail to a 17-year-old boy who hit a woman in the face with a chair.

Full story:

[webfact]

NEW SENATE SPEAKER

Three in race for Senate speaker

THE NATION

Thiradet disqualified after being found guilty of malfeasance for giving himself a pay rise when he was Ombudsman

BANGKOK: -- Three senators have emerged as strong contenders for the position of Senate speaker, replacing Thiradet Meepien who was penalised for awarding himself a pay rise when he was the Ombudsman in 2004.

Full story:

[webfact]

Jatuporn sticks by his allegations against Abhisit

PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- In his testimony at court yesterday, red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan insisted that all the remarks he had made about former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva were truthful and had not been made with defamation in mind.

Full story:

[webfact]

Separate balcony falls kill 2

The Nation

PATHUM THANI: -- Two university students fell to their deaths in separate incidents, one in Pathum Thani and the other in Chiang Mai, yesterday at around 1am while trying to access an apartment by climbing from a nearby balcony.

Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi student, Bundit Kittisirisit, 20, was found dead at the back of sixstorey Siwaporn dormitory in Pathum Thani’s Khlong Luang district, after falling from the fourth floor apartment’s balcony. His friend Sitthichok Tripola, 22, said Bundit volunteered to climb from Sitthichok’s balcony to the other friend’s next door room, as the friend had forgetten a key. It was raining at the time and Bundit slipped and fell to his death below.

In Chiang Mai’s Muang district, Thepparit Thammadech, 20, was found dead in the Boonyamas mansion parking lot. Thepparit stopped by a friend’s room on the eighth floor to stay overnight due to heavy rain. The friend didn’t answer the door so Thapparit climbed from a fire escape and scaled along the balconies to reach the room, but it was slippery and he fell to his death below.

-- The Nation 2012-07-26

[webfact]

Flood warning

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Meteorological Department yesterday warned that Depression Vicente, downgraded from tropical storm status over China, would cause heavy rains and possible flash floods in lowland areas near waterways in the North and the Northeast until Friday.

The warning was for Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Phayao, Lamphun, Lampang, Phrae, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Tak, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Loei, Nong Bua Lamphu, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Beung Kan, Sakhon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, Trat, Chanthaburi, Ranong and Phang Nga.

The strong southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand resulted in waves 23 metres high, and ships were advised to be cautious and small boats to stay ashore.

-- The Nation 2012-07-26

[webfact]

HAND, FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE

Paediatricians meet to create guidelines on HFMD

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Public Health Ministry yesterday convened a meeting with paediatricians to prepare clear guidelines on minimising fatalities from hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD).

Full story:

[webfact]

Health concerns for Thai charged with royal slur

BANGKOK, July 26, 2012 (AFP) - A Bangkok court has charged a 64-year-old Thai-born New Zealand resident for insulting the kingdom's revered monarchy, police said Wednesday, despite concerns over the woman's mental health.

Thitinant Kaewjantranont has been held for psychological assessment at a health institute in the Thai capital since July 14, according to national police spokesman Piya Utayo.

She is accused of making a disrespectful gesture towards an image of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej outside the Constitutional Court on July 13 -- the day of a tense ruling that saw the ruling party escape dissolution.

"She was placed under police custody at the institute the next day and is under going mental health checks," Piya told AFP, adding that a Bangkok court had issued the warrant for her arrest on July 16.

The royal family is an extremely sensitive subject in politically turbulent Thailand. The king, who is revered as a demi-god by many Thais, has been hospitalised since September 2009.

Under the legislation, anyone convicted of insulting the Thai king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.

Observers say lese majeste prosecutions have surged following a coup by royalist generals that removed fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006. Thaksin's sister Yingluck now leads the government, but the trend is seen as likely to continue.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-07-26

[webfact]

RT @mpoppel: PHOTO: North Korea releases two photos showing Kim Jong-Un and his new wife http://twitpic.com/abs4vt

PHOTO: Kim Jong-un in roller coaster at new amusement park: http://twitpic.com/abs5vd

RT @mpoppel: Here is a photo showing the complete ride Kim Jong-un was on: http://twitpic.com/abs8hi

PHOTO: Kim Jong-un's new wife wrapping her hand around his arm, a little more intimate http://twitpic.com/absa3l

[webfact]

Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,194.74, up 6.12 points /MCOT

[webfact]

RT @RichardBarrow: Rolls Royce Motors opens first showroom in Thailand http://buff.ly/MHdHP2 /via @AsifAAhmad

[webfact]

HM the Queen´s health condition improves

BANGKOK, 26 July 2012 (NNT) - According to the Royal Household Bureau, Her Majesty the Queen's health condition has been improving gradually.

The Bureau said in its third announcement regarding Her Majesty’s illness that there has been no complications found and Her Majesty's appetite has also improved. The royal doctors will continue to provide her with physical therapy.

Her Majesty the Queen was found last Saturday to suffer a slight shortage of blood in the right side of the cerebellum, and doctors have since then given her medication intravenously and kept her under close watch.

-- NNT 2012-07-26

[webfact]

Thai Red Cross Society acquires trucks from Australia for humanitarian missions

BANGKOK, 26 July 2012 (NNT)- Australia has on Wednesday delivered two trucks ordered by the Thai Red Cross Society to be used for transporting food and necessary items to help disaster victims and those who need assistance in case of disaster.

Australian Ambassador to Thailand His Excellency James Wise yesterday presided over the delivery ceremony of 2 trucks that the Thai Red Cross Society purchased from Australia for its humanitarian missions.

Thai Red Cross Society Secretary-General Pan Wannamethee represented the Thai Red Cross in accepting the two 22-ton trucks, which are worth altogether nearly 6 million baht.

The money used in the purchase was donation money gathered during the devastating flood in 2011 by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), who forwarded the funds to the Thai Red Cross Society.

The trucks are expected to be used when disaster strikes to help victims and people affected.

-- NNT 2012-07-26

[webfact]

Thais flocked to wish Their Majesties timely recovery from health problems

BANGKOK, 26 July 2012 (NNT) – Thais from all walks of life have flocked to Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok to wish Their Majesties the King and Queen a timely recovery from health problems.

Members of the public along with representatives from state and private sectors, on Wednesday, traveled to the 100th Anniversary Building of Siriraj Hospital to pay respect to the pictures of His Majesty King Bhumibol and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and to sign well-wishing books for Their Majesties’ fast health recovery.

In addition to the well-wishing book signing, officials from the National Security Council, the Prime Minister’s Office, the 2nd Infantry Battalion – King’s Own Bodyguard, the National Anti-Corruption Commission and Buddhist monks have also presented the Get-Well-Wish bouquets to show their loyalty to Their Majesties.

Moreover, a group of pharmacists from Siriraj Hospital gathered in front of the statue of Prince Mahidol of Songkla, the Prince Father, to pray for Their Majesties the King and Queen.

-- NNT 2012-07-26

[webfact]

Seven CCTV units on Highway No 42 Pattani-NongChik Road torched, inner tube motorcycle tyres, empty fuel bottles at scene; insurgents believed responsible /MCOT

[webfact]

RT @tulsathit: Thaksin's doughnuts come in Valentines Day-style boxes with his face on them and a message "Let me give you love, sweetness and unity:.

[Lite Beer]

RT@191Thailand: 7 vehicle pile up at the Wireless Rd junction - RT @Mninho: ภาพรถบรรทุกชนรถ7คัน บริเวณแยกวิทยุ pic.twitter.com/RjTJAzjc

[Lite Beer]

RT@RichardBarrow: 37 Thais are competing in the London Olympics. Opening Ceremony is on Friday night at 3am (Time difference is 6 hours so 9pm in London).

[Lite Beer]

AirAsia bookings offline this weekend

Phuket Gazette –

AirAsia's system upgrade is being conducted ahead of the airline's move to Don Mueang Airport on October 1. Photo: AirAsia

PHUKET: Thai AirAsia this weekend will temporarily suspend its online booking facility for all flights to and from Bangkok after October 1.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/572701-airasia-bookings-offline-this-weekend/#entry5520147

[Lite Beer]

POLITICS

Karun denies being unusually rich

The Nation

Karun

BANGKOK: -- Pheu Thai MP Karun Hosakul Thursday denied that he has increased his wealth by Bt108 million as discovered in his assets report to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Full story:

[webfact]

Thailand tops Australian death list

By Will Jackson, ninemsn

More Australians die in Thailand than in any other foreign country.

Full story:

[webfact]

Thai embassy in Myanmar waiting for permission to vist 92 Thais in prison

BANGKOK, 26 July 2012 (NNT)-The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disclosed that the Thai embassy in Myanmar is now waiting for the Burmese authorities to grant permission to visit the 92 Thais who have just been given a jail term of 3 years and a half for trespassing.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Thani Thongpakdi said a Burmese court on Monday sentenced the Thai nationals to 3 and a half years in prison each for illegal border crossing and forest encroachment.

The officials at the Thai embassy in Myanmar are now waiting for the permission to visit the Thai inmates. According to Mr. Thani, the embassy will seek to talk with the inmates first to find out whether they wish to further the case to the appeal court, or they will request a reduction of the punishment term. However, he said any rescue effort to be undertaken must be in compliance with the Burmese law.

-- NNT 2012-07-26

[webfact]

SOUTH CRISIS

Security strengthened after Yala bomb attack

The Nation

Photo : Nakarin Shinworakomon

YALA: -- Yala authorities have strengthened security in the province following a car bomb attack in its Raman district that killed five police on Wednesday.

Full story:

[webfact]

SET index closed at 1172.92, down 15.70; Bt/USD31.54; GBP48.73; AUD32.43; EUR38.18; CAD30.89; HKD4.06; SGD24.97; JPY40.1