Thailand Live Saturday 15 Sep 2012

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Thailand Live Saturday 15 September 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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Rain, not run-off, main threat to Bangkok, says expert

Chularat Saengpassa,

Pongphon Sarnsamak,

Panya Tiewsangwarn,

Prapasri Osathanon

The Nation

Buddhist monks, novices and residents of a community in Sukhothai yesterday clean up the grounds of Wat Thai Chumpol after flood waters receded.

BANGKOK: -- Run-off water from upstream zones will raise the level of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok by just 3-4 centimetres, a prominent water expert working for the government said yesterday.

Full story:

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TRCT REPORT

Chalerm queries 'men in black' claim

The Nation

Pol Colonel Prawet Moonpramuk, deputy director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, hands out photographs of two men

Thida agrees with deputy premier, questions commission's credibility

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung yesterday questioned the final report released by the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT), which states that "men in black" provoked the Army to use weapons against red-shirt protesters in 2010.

Full story:

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All sides try to outdo each other over Thaksin

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The government and the opposition yesterday raised a raft of issues involving former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, trying to gain political mileage by outwitting each other.

Full story:

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Thai Airways To Hire Flight Attendants Up To Age 60

Full story:

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Surrender of insurgents 'genuine'

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha and Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat yesterday lashed out at suggestions that the surrender of 93 insurgents was staged, saying such criticism discouraged military operations and insisting that all the surrenders were genuine.

Full story:

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JOGGLING FOR SPECTRUM BANDWIDTH

Three major players seek 3G bid info

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Only three of the major mobile operators submitted serious requests for information on the upcoming auction of third-generation cellular bandwidth on the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum during an information session for potential bidders held by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) yesterday.

Full story:

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ECONOMY

QE3 boosts stocks, gold and bond prices

Business Reporters

The Nation

SET hits 16-year high, baht rises amid fear of huge capital inflows

BANGKOK: -- Stocks, gold, the baht and bond prices soared yesterday on the US Federal Reserve's announcement that it would continue injecting liquidity into the troubled US economy, at least until the employment situation improves. However, experts are warning that large capital inflows could create an asset-price bubble in the Kingdom.

Full story:

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Flying high with Noel's 'Birds

The Nation

DJ Seed, second left, Hugo, third left, Freddy, centre, Narongsak, third right, with representatives of Universal Music Thailand.

Noel Gallagher brings his new act to Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- Thais turned out en masse to catch British rockers Oasis when they played here back in early 2005. The band has of course split but now there's a chance to see founding member Noel Gallagher's new outfit High Flying Birds.

Full story:

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Phuket Immigration launch search for fugitive Filipino Reyes brothers

Phuket Gazette

Phuket Immigration Superintendent Col Panuwat Ruamrak. Photo: Gazette file

LEFT: Former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, likely travelling under a false passport in the name of Joseph Lim Pe, may have been in Phuket long enough to warrant a 'visa run' to Malaysia. RIGHT: Mario Tolentino Reyes Jr. Photos: Philippine National Police

PHUKET: -- Phuket Immigration officers are scouring the island for fugitive Filipino brothers Mario Joel Tolentino Reyes and Mario Tolentino Reyes Jr, despite not yet receiving any formal request to apprehend the pair.

Full story:

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Ex-policeman gets 19-plus years for two shooting sprees

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a former crowd-control policeman to 17 years in jail for a drunken shooting spree last year that injured two people and damaged six vehicles.

Full story:

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Large drop in traffic tickets in capital

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The number of tickets issued by police for traffic violations in Bangkok has dropped by 70 per cent after a new policy of issuing verbal warnings to motorists breaching non-serious rules, the Metropolitan Police Bureau's Traffic Police Division said yesterday.

The reduction has resulted in a drop in income for traffic policemen, who receive about Bt2,000-Bt5,000 each month. The new traffic policy, issued by MPB commander Pol Lt-General Khamronwit Thoppkrajang from September 1, includes a restriction preventing police from setting up road checkpoints during daylight hours.

In August, 5,000 booklets of traffic tickets were used up by traffic policemen at all 88 Bangkok-based police stations, who issued tickets to 87,187 motorists.

The number of booklets used up from September 1-13 was 1,150, with tickets issued to 13,911 violators.

-- The Nation 2012-09-15

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4 hilltribe men nabbed in drug bust

The Nation

CHIANG MAI: -- Police in Chiang Mai have arrested four men they said belonged to a drug racket, seizing 600,000 methamphetamine tablets from one of them worth Bt180 million.

The suspects, paraded at a press conference at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, are Samran Saenluang, Phongsaphak Ruengkijsuwan, Somyos Laomee and Nopphorn Phanasirisomboon. The four, all Thai nationals from a hilltribe ethnic group, were travelling in two pickup trucks when they were stopped at a police checkpoint and arrested.

Speaking at the press conference, national police chief Pol General Priewpan Damapong quoted the suspects as saying they were hired by unidentified agents belonging to another hilltribe for Bt500,000 to drive both vehicles to a rendezvous in Chiang Mai.

One of the trucks carried a safe-deposit box containing an undisclosed amount of money. The four denied knowing that the box was kept in the truck before they began their journey.

-- The Nation 2012-09-15

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Police exam down to 56 candidates

The Nation

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: -- The initial round of the corruption-plagued exam at the police constabulary school in Nakhon Ratchasima has ended with 56 remaining candidates scheduled to be tested for suitability for the available positions, a senior officer said yesterday.

Full story:

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King grants relief packages to flood victims in Ayutthaya

AYUTTHAYA, Sept 15 -- His Majesty the King on Friday granted relief packages to flood victims in the old capital of Ayutthaya.

Rajaprachanukroh Foundation chairman Dissathorn Watcharothai represented His Majesty the King in distributing 2,000 bags of basic necessities to Ayutthaya residents at Wat Bandai Chang and Wat Samkor in Sena district and at Bang Ban School in Bang Ban district.

Eight subdistricts of Sena district were flooded from water overflowing from the Noi River, affecting 3,259 households, two temples, one mosque and one school.

The agricultural areas were not severely damaged by the flood as there were only 200 rai of paddy field with out of season rice awaiting harvest early next week. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-09-15

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PM, religious leaders to discuss peace

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will meet religious leaders from different sects next week to discuss peace-building solutions for the Asean region and the restive South, the organiser of an international seminar said yesterday.

Religious leaders including representatives from the Muslim World League and Religion for Peace Inter-Religious Council are scheduled to meet the premier on Monday at her office to share views and perspectives on the role religion plays in the peace-building process.

The leaders will be in Thailand next week to attend an international seminar on religion and the peace-building process in Asean, said Parichart Suwanbubbha, director of Mahidol University’s Human Rights and Peace Studies Institute, which is organising the event.

Abdullah al-Turky Muhsin, secretary-general of the Muslim World League; Dr William F Vendley, secretary-general of the World Conference of Religions for Peace; and Somdej Phramaharajmangklajarn, member of the Sangha Council, will be among the leaders attending the seminar.

On Wednesday, Dr Ismail Lutfi Japakiya, rector of the Yala Islamic University as well as president of Religions for Peace Inter-religious Council of Thailand, will escort about 50 of the 200 participants to personally see the situation in the deep South. Since 2004, insurgency has killed more than 5,000 people.

Pol Colonel Thawee Sodsong, secretary-general of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, is co-organising the seminar.

There are several on-going conflicts in the Asean region that affect believers of different religions, and the violence in the predominantly Muslim South of Thailand is one such problem.

These conflicts have created mistrust among people from different faiths and involved outsiders both nationally and internationally.

Religious leaders will issue a statement while in the South, expressing their views on the situation and possibly suggesting means to restore peace in the region, Parichart said.

-- The Nation 2012-09-15

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RT @RichardBarrow: Red Shirts out in force today at the Democracy Monument from noon-midnight to mark 6 years since the 19 September coup

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RT @191Thailand: Insurgents shot & killed 4 people & then burned their bodies in an attack in Yala this morning (Pic @idongphoto) http://thai.vi/RSOUFf

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PM, on weekly TV programme, live from Krabi, expresses satisfaction with flood response plan, dealing with forest encroachment /MCOT

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DDPM on high alert against flood-related risks and disasters

BANGKOK, 15 September 2012 (NNT) – The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) is now on high alert against flood-related risks and disasters.

DDPM Director-General Wiboon Sanguanpong said that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, on Friday, instructed the DDPM to collaborate with related agencies in coping with monsoon flooding Thailand is facing.

On its part, the DDPM has ordered all its officers on duty at the 1784 hotline call center to be on stand-by around the clock.

Mr. Wiboon said that more than 20,000 disaster warning volunteers in flood-hit provinces have also been urged to keep a close eye on the water level in their respective areas and to alert locals to evacuate, when needed.

In addition, some 400 crisis-management officers and needed equipment have been readied to assist those in need, without any delay.

For provinces that see receding water level, related provincial disaster mitigation and prevention offices have been instructed to work with respective District and Local Administrative Organizations to assess the damages in order to allow timely rehabilitation and compensation for flood victims.

-- NNT 2012-09-15

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Internal Trade Dept confident goods supply will be sufficient in the face of flooding

BANGKOK, 15 September 2012 (NNT) – The Internal Trade Department is confident that there will not be any shortage of goods in the market while the country is being hit by monsoon flooding.

The Internal Trade Department’s Deputy Director-General Somchart Sroythong said that the department has dispatched officers to visit all flood-hit provinces to check on the locals, who might have been facing shortage of goods, while the inundation remains unresolved.

Mr. Somchart added that the Internal Trade Department is working hard to boost farm product prices and to offer more effective protection to consumers, as called for by the government.

He said that, so far, all projects have served their purpose as farmers have seen their household revenue increased and their quality of life improved while there has been more cash circulation in the market.

Regarding the consumer protection, Mr. Somchart stated that the Internal Trade Department has been trying to make sure that goods prices are in line with their capital costs in order to prevent consumers from being ripped off.

-- NNT 2012-09-15

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Health offices in flood-hit provinces to watch out for health impact

BANGKOK, 15 September 2012 (NNT) – The Public Health Ministry has instructed all health offices in flood-hit areas to stay on high alert due to worries over health problems.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said that all public health offices in 13 flood-hit provinces have already been instructed to stay vigilant against possible flood-induced diseases and to continue the mobile clinic service to help those hit by the inundation until the situation resolves.

The Health Minister added that around 4,939 patients have been registered with the mobile healthcare service during September 9th and 13th. Most of the patients suffered athletes’ foot, flu, muscle ache, stress, insomnia and headache.

He said that health officials in areas where flood has receded, including Uttaradit, Phichit, Kamphaeng Phet and Uthai Thani, have been instructed to help locals with post-flood hygiene issues to prevent any possible spread of dengue, diarrhea and leptospirosis.

For other at-risk provinces, particularly in the lower Chao Phraya Basin, the Health Ministry is asking residents to stay alert and follow news closely in order to best escape the flood disaster when it occurs.

-- NNT 2012-09-15

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Department of Internal Trade sets pig and pork sale prices

BANGKOK, 15 September 2012 (INN) – Ms. Watcharee Wimuktayon, Director-General of the Department of Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce, made known that in order to ensure fairness in the sales of pigs and pork, the department has announced selling prices. These prices will take effect from September 15 to 22.

The price of living pigs bought directly at farms in Bangkok and its vicinities, the central region, the western region, and the northeastern region will be at no less than 54 THB per kilogram. Pigs that have been butchered will be sold at no less than 64 THB per kilogram, while retail prices for red meat will be at no less than 106 THB per kilogram. The prices in the southern, northern, and eastern regions will be slightly higher by 2 to 6 THB per kilogram. This will be in accordance with the transport distance.

The Department of Internal Trade is closely monitoring the situation, to ensure fairness of sales. Complaints about people being taken advantage of can be made to the department’s hotline at 1569.

-- NNT 2012-09-15

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No memorial service for victims of One-Two-Go flight crash

Phuket Gazette

Eighty-nine people died in the crash five years ago. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- There will be no official memorial service this Sunday, September 16, to remember the 89 people who died in the crash landing of One-Two-Go Flight OG269 five years ago.

Full story:

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Four shot dead and burnt in Thai south unrest

YALA, Thailand, Sept 15, 2012 (AFP) - Three paramilitary soldiers and a woman were shot dead by militants who then torched their bodies in an early morning ambush in Thailand's restive south, police said Saturday.

The victims were attacked as they drove to a market in Yala, one of the hotbeds of the eight-year insurgency which has claimed around 5,300 lives in Thailand's Muslim-majority border provinces.

"I think that they had already died before the gunmen set fire to their pick-up truck," said Lieutenant Colonel Charas Chinapong, of Muang district police, adding that the bodies were found inside the truck.

Hundreds of bullet cases were found at the scene, he said.

A lattice of militant groups who want greater autonomy carry out near-daily attacks in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces.

In response to an uptick in the violence over the summer Thai authorities have said they are stepping up efforts to talk with militant leaders but analysts are skeptical of the likelihood of peace in the near future.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-09-15

[george]

Thai Channel 3 reports of a foreigner dead after been runned over by a taxi in Sathorn, Bangkok.

source: manager.co.th

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RT @Porpich: Muang Chiang Mai is already flooded from torrent.

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Pattaya - just now 11:30am

Images: Thaivisa member

Railway Rd, Pattaya

soi khao noi area

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RT @RichardBarrow: Update on the hit & run in Suan Phlu last night. A French woman was killed & her companion seriously injured. Police hunting taxi driver.