Thailand Live Thursday 23 Aug 2012

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Thailand Live Thursday 23 August 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 22 Aug 2012

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Beer and wine tax hike next for Excise dept

Supanee Phuttisuth,

Puangchompoo Prasert

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Excise Department is now planning to increase the tax levied on beer and wine, following Tuesday's Cabinet decision to hike duty for liquor and cigarettes.

Full story:

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Reprieve for Jatuporn complicates reshuffle

PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

THE NATION

PM in a quandary as she cannot have two red-shirt leaders in her Cabinet

BANGKOK: -- A Criminal Court decision yesterday to acquit red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan, while putting a lesser-known leader like Yoswarit Chooklom under detention, could obviously complicate the Cabinet reshuffle expected in October, because Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra cannot afford to have two red-shirt leaders in her Cabinet. Natthawut Saikua already serves as deputy agriculture minister.

Full story:

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Agricultural policies a complete failure: Dems

PRAPASRI OSATHANON

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The agricultural policies of the Pheu Thai government were a complete failure during its first year in office, and caused the prices of three main crops to drop, the opposition Democrat Party said yesterday.

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Club members sign complaints

THAMMARAT KITCHALONG

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Over 200 customers of once-popular California WOW yesterday filed complaints for the return of membership fees and being denied access to fitness services after they paid over Bt1million to exercise at various outlets, a consumer protection agency revealed yesterday.

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Severe drought looms nationwide

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- With last year's horrendous flooding still fresh in memory, coupled with almost daily rains in Bangkok and the suburbs, and reports of massive flooding in neighbouring countries, many wonder if Thailand is about to be hit by another catastrophic flood this year.

Full story:

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Heavy rains bring Phuket to standstill

YONGYOT PRUKSARAK,

CHULEEPORN ARAMNET,

JEERAPHONG PRASERTPHOLKRANG

THE NATION

PHUKET: -- There was chaos on the roads in downtown Phuket yesterday after heavy downpours on Tuesday night and high tides swamped the popular tourist island. Flooding forced nine schools to close.

Full story:

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2.1GHZ auction to take place mid-October

USANEE MONGKOLPORN

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission yesterday announced that bids in the long-awaited 2.1GHz spectrum auction would be called on one of the days from October 15-20.

It made the announcement to show that the auction would go ahead despite concern about a low level of competition in the bidding, and the possibility of collusion.

Eight of the NBTC's 11 members yesterday voted to approve the final revised draft of the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum licensing terms and conditions. Two commissioners, Supinya Klangnarong and Prawit Leesata-pornwongsa, voted against out |of concern of that there could only |be three bidders going for a combined availability of 45 megahertz of bandwidth.

It is widely expected that just Advanced Info Service, Total Access Communication and True Corp will take part in the auction.

The draft allows each bidder to grab a maximum 15MHz of bandwidth, down from 20MHz bandwidth in the original draft, out of the 45MHz available in the auction.

NBTC member Natee Sukonrat declined to vote, citing his involvement in the licensing terms and conditions drawn up by the watchdog's predecessor, the National Telecom-munications Commission (NTC), of which he was also a member.

NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasit said the agency would call for bidding any day between October 15 and 20.

The draft is expected to be published in the Royal Gazette next week, with the bidder invitation process starting next month. The watchdog has hired Power Auction as its auction consultant.

NBTC telecom committee chairman Settapong Malisuwan said the decision to allow up to 15MHz bandwidth per bid winner was aimed at ensuring that no bidder received too small an allocation, which would make it tough to compete with other successful bidders during the 15-year licence period.

COMPETITIVE

"There are likely to be only a few bidders taking part in the auction if the reserve price is too high. Our policy is to free up this spectrum bandwidth from us," he said, while acknowledging that only three bidders are likely to take part.

Settapong reaffirmed that the spectrum-assignment stage would be the mechanism for ensuring a competitive auction.

The auction will feature two phases. First, the bidders will compete for targeted spectrum-slot numbers. Then, those with the highest price offers will be the first to select the desired spectrum ranges during the assignment stage.

The change to a 15MHz bandwidth cap has attracted criticism that is paves the way for possible collusion among three potential bidders to grab 15MHz each without having to genuinely compete.

The Thailand Development Research Institute's vice president, Somkiat Tangkitvanit, recently expressed concern that in the absence of genuine competition in the bidding, the final spectrum price would not be much higher than the reserve price, which would mean the state coffers would not benefit to the desired extent.

The reserve price of Bt4.5 billion is significantly lower than the initially evaluated full price of Bt6.44 billion for 5MHz of bandwidth, he said.

The NBTC will call for bidding for nine slots of the spectrum, each containing 5MHz bandwidth. The bid winners must pay the first instalment within 90 days of the auction, up from 45 days in the original draft.

Settapong said the watchdog would move at full speed to make the auction happen. He expressed confidence that it would take place this time, as all technical and legal loopholes had been plugged.

The NTC's 2.1GHz spectrum |auction planned for September 2010 was suspended by a Central Administrative Court injunction a few days before it was due to take place, after a request by CAT Telecom. This followed CAT's court challenge to the NTC's licensing authority.

-- The Nation 2012-08-23

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Sin tax increases applauded

Puangchompoo Prasert

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Activists yesterday applauded the government's move to raise the sin tax on cigarettes and liquor as helping to reduce social ills in the country.

Full story:

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Senator's car dealership set ablaze by insurgents

THE NATION

SOME 15 CARS, two motorcycles and a bicycle were badly damaged after a warehouse for a Honda showroom was set ablaze in Pattani early yesterday. Picture by Charoon Thongnual

15 cars destroyed, damage bill put at Bt20 million; senator 'not targeted'

PATTANI: -- A Honda car dealership was set ablaze in Pattani early yesterday, destroying 15 cars and doing about Bt20 million in damage.

Full story:

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BURNING ISSUE

Shinawatras call the shots in annual jobs shake-up

PIYANART SRIVALO

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Reshuffles in the bureaucracy take place every year and there is never anything ordinary about them. Speculation about who will get what position always hits the headlines because in bureaucrat shake-ups are always politicised.

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PM to visit Myanmar and New York next month

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- September looks set to be a busy month for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is due to visit Myanmar, the United States and possibly Britain.

Full story:

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Temple fence in Chachoengsao angers vendors

The Nation

CHACHOENGSAO: -- Hundreds of vendors yesterday threatened to force the abbot of the famous Sothon Wararam Temple in Chachoengsao out of his post over the abrupt installation of an additional fence that has hurt their commercial activity.

"Why has the temple done this? If the abbot is behind this decision then he can't stay here," said Somchai Deesawas, one of the vendors.

The temple attracts a huge number of visitors, who come to pray every day and leave large donations. Stalls around the temple have also been doing brisk trade.

"Why has the temple erected the fence without consulting us first? The fence will affect us. It will destroy our livelihoods," food vendor Krissada Kosayanond said.

They were among more than 300 vendors rallying at the temple.

They also briefly blocked traffic, but agreed to move off the road after negotiation with a local politician.

-- The Nation 2012-08-23

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20 temples upgraded to 'grand' status

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The National Office of Buddhism (NOB) yesterday upgraded 20 public temples to the "grand temple" status.

Noparat Benjawattana-nant, a director of NOB, said a committee agreed to upgrade the 20 temples to grand temples, as they had all been established over 50 years ago. Other grand temples are Bangkok's Wat That Thong and Wat Samiannaree.

The move celebrates the 84th birthday of His Majesty the King, and the temples will receive robes from His Majesty for a religious ceremony.

-- The Nation 2012-08-23

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Crash cushion installed at 'risky' sites

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) officials installed a safety device yesterday to reduce the severity of car crashes at the Ratchawipha Interchange.

Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said his agency had set up a crash cushion at the interchange because many accidents occurred there.

The BMA plans to install the device at six other "risky" sites - Jaturathit bridge, the elevated Borommaratchachonnani bridge, Ekkamai Nua intersection flyover, Bang Kapi intersection flyover, Ramkhamhaeng intersection flyover and Rama II intersection flyover.

-- The Nation 2012-08-23

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Yongyuth to question Chalong about 'threats' on clip

SAMATCHA HOONSARA,

JEERAPONG PRASERTPOLKRANG

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Pheu Thai leader Yongyuth Wichaidit said he will grill MP Chalong Riewrang about a sound clip in which he is heard allegedly threatening the former chief of Khao Laem National Park before seeing if MP violated any laws.

The law prohibits MPs from interfering in a government official's work. If found guilty, the MP can be disqualified.

Chalong, a Pheu Thai MP for Nonthaburi, had earlier admitted that the clip was indeed a recording of his conversation with Charoen Jaichon, but denied that he was threatening him.

Charoen was recently transferred from his post in Kanchanaburi.

National Parks chief Damrong Phidet said yesterday that Charoen's transfer had nothing to do with the conflict with Chalong but was a regular move to prevent corruption or moves to build a network among national park officers. He said the transfer had been scheduled since late last year and that he heard about the clip in January.

House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont said he had not received a report about the matter.

Yongyuth, meanwhile, declined to say whether Chalong had damaged his party's reputation, saying he would need to hear the MP's side of the story first.

He could not say whether Chalong's behaviour had violated any laws.

At Government House yesterday, in response to reporter's questions about Chalong's case, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said: "Which Chalong? I don't know."

On Tuesday, Chalong told the press that he wanted to arbitrate a conflict between Charoen and a friend who was unfairly accused of encroaching on 70 rai of land in the national park.

-- The Nation 2012-08-23

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Excise system on cars next in line for adjustment

WICHIT CHAITRONG

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Restructuring of the excise tax on automobiles is in the pipeline after the tax hike on cigarettes and liquors, in line with global trends aiming to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, says the Finance Ministry.

Full story:

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RT @RichardBarrow: Train has derailed in Phatthalung. Services heading south will terminate at Hat Yai until about 1pm. Call 1690 for info.

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Forbes ranks PM Yingluck 30th among World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2012 list, topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel /MCOT

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Eight southern train carriages derail in Phatthalung, many passengers slightly injured /MCOT

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Rural Roads Dept affirms completion of road repairs by end of Oct

BANGKOK, 23 August 2012 (NNT) - The Department Of Rural Roads assured that the repair works on all road damages, caused by last year's severe flooding, will be completed as scheduled.

Deputy Director-General of Department of Rural Roads Pisak Jitviriyavasin said on Wednesday that the repairs of 530 roads, which have been damaged in the 2011 flood crisis, are almost completed.

Mr. Pisak said that, to date, the work on 419 routes has been wrapped, while the remaining 111 road repairs are expected to finish by the end of October.

The country's road repair project has been commenced with the state budget of 4.9 billion baht.

Mr. Pisak added that even though some works are complete, more repairs will have to be done under the surface, due to accumulated damages after years of uses and previous flooding.

He said that the Department of Rural Roads has also inspected and identified routes that are at risk of floods. Appropriate actions have been launched to prompt these routes for future inundation while a new maintenance center has also been set up to oversee any problems, which may occur to the roads.

Mr. Pisak also asked motorists to be extra-cautious while driving in rainy season and pledged to keep on with the repair and maintenance service for the safety of the public.

-- NNT 2012-08-23

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Train derails in Phatthalung; passengers slightly injured

PHATTHALUNG, Aug 23 - Eight carriages on a southern train derailed in Phatthalung this morning, with many passengers slightly injured. State Railway of Thailand (SRT) workers are urgently trying to reopen services.

The Malaysia-originated Butterworth train had picked up passengers at Narathiwat's Su-ngai Kolok station en route to Bangkok's Hua Lamphong station, but derailed in Phatthalung.

Eight train carriages have slipped from the rail track 200 metres from Ban Khuan Kiam station in Falami subdistrict, Pak Phayun district. There were some 300 passengers on the train and many of them were slightly injured.

SRT staff helped passengers to move their luggage to Ban Khuan Kiam station to transfer them by other transport to their destinations.

According to the initial investigation, the railways sleepers were damaged and could not hold the tracks when the train passed, causing the train to derail.

Ban Khuan Kiam station staff informed the maintenance centre at Hat Yai Junction asking for more engineers and staff to bring in heavy machinery to retrieve the carriages and repair the track to reopen the services. (MCOT online news).

-- TNA 2012-08-23

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,237.16, up 3.02 points /MCOT

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Govt expects OTOP Midyear sales to hit target of THB650mil

BANGKOK, 23 August 2012 (NNT) – The government is confident that its OTOP extravaganza will hit its sales target.

Deputy Director-General of the Community Development Department Pison Prathanchawano said on Wednesday that the OTOP Midyear 2012 event has been planned to help Thai OTOP producers and entrepreneurs get ready for a liberal Southeast Asian community in the near future.

Mr. Pison said that the event is also aiming to promote local products and to encourage OTOP business operators to find more channels to make their items meet buyers as well as to make Thailand’s local creations widely-accepted on the world market.

He went on to say that more than 2,000 shops have been showcasing their best products at the event, while various interesting activities related to OTOP from all over the country have also been presented to visitors until the end of the event on August 26th.

Mr. Pison said that, since the start of the event on August 18th, an average of 100,000 visitors showed up each day at OTOP Midyear 2012 at Challenger Hall 1-3, Muang Thong Thani, bringing in more than 300 million baht in revenue to date.

He is confident that total sales will exceed the 650-million-baht target by the time the curtain falls on the OTOP Midyear 2012.

-- NNT 2012-08-23

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Indian Tourist attacked and robbed by 4-man gang in Central Pattaya

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27 year old woman assaulted and robbed in her Central Pattaya apartment

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Defence Minister urges residents of southernmost provinces not to rely only on authorities but to cooperate with govt in tackling southern border problems /MCOT

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Top police brass calls for public help in making Phuket safer

Phuket Gazette

Royal Thai Police Assistant Commissioner-General Chalermkiat Srivorakan appealed for all walks of life to assist police in making the streets of Phuket safer. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

Members of the ‘Patong Taxi Club’ look on as national deputy police chief Lt Gen Chalermkiat makes his plea. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- ROYAL Thai Police Assistant Commissioner-General Chalermkiat Srivorakan has appealed to the people of Phuket to help police in maintaining public safety.

Full story:

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Forensics experts: 30 days to identify cause of Phuket's Tiger Disco blaze

Phuket Gazette

Phuket Forensic Office chief Lt Col Sirilak Kuntaro (left) inspects the fire gutted Tiger Discotheque. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

National police forensics chief Col Nattapol Samsen said it would take 30 days to determine the cause of the Tiger Disco fire, which killed four people. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- The top forensics police officer in the country yesterday announced it will take 30 days to determine what started the fire that engulfed the Tiger Discotheque last Friday.

Full story: