Thailand Live Thursday 11 Oct 2012

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RT @tulsathit: Administrative Court is almost all set to rule on Thailand's Morse code..oops..3G development.

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Supreme Court issues arrest warrant against Thaksin

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Supreme Court Thursday issued an arrest warrant against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra for failing to turn up to hear the court's decision to proceed with the Krung Thai Bank loan scandal case.

Full story:

[Lite Beer]

Pattaya Police arrest foreign auto-theft suspect

PATTAYA:--Confusion surrounds a case of auto-theft involving a foreign man, possibly of Norwegian nationality, who was arrested by Pattaya Police on Wednesday Night.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/590466-pattaya-police-arrest-foreign-auto-theft-suspect/#entry5743406

[george]

InvadeIT online computer store in Thailand adds new Home Appliance Department

Press release, full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/590489-invadeit-online-computer-store-in-thailand-adds-new-home-appliance-department/

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PM sets up Hotline 1890 for southerners to air their grievances: Government Spokeswoman Sansanee /MCOT

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RT@RichardBarrow: The next rehearsal for the Royal Barge Procession will be on Friday afternoon http://t.co/mevO8iDQ

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FLOODING

Ratchaburi latest province to suffer flooding

Ratchaburi

RATCHABURI: -- Residents of San Khu and Ban Tha Sao in Ratchaburi municipality rushed to move necessities and valuables to higher ground after the Mae Klong River overflowed, flooding their communities.

The rising level of the Mae Klong River was due to release of water from Tha Muang Dam in Kanchanaburi made to reduce the volume of water behind the dam.

Deputy Ratchaburi Governor Pititham Thitimontri expressed concern that historical sites in the province, particularly Wat Mahathat, located by the Mae Klong, and Ratchaburi's market community, could come under water.

The monastery was a royal temple and is an important historical site in the province.

In Prachin Buri, Governor Chittra Promchutima visited the site in Bang Yang subdistrict in Ban Sang district where water-pushing machines were installed to help move water to the sea. Two machines have already been installed, and another six machines will be installed later.

It is expected that already-flooded Ban Sang district will return to normal in two weeks.

-- The Nation 2012-10-11

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SOUTH CRISIS

Cabinet to consider life improvement proposal for southern Muslims

Tongthong

BANGKOK: -- A five-point proposal to improve the quality of life of Thai Muslims possibly a non-violent solution to the long-standing crisis in the deep south - is to be submitted to the cabinet for approval, said senior official of the PM's Office.

PM’s Office permanent secretary Tongthong Chandrangsu said the proposed measures would include mental and physical rehabilitation, additional welfare, better education and housing, and frequent visits to villages by provincial and national government figures to create better understanding among local people.

The proposal emerged from a meeting of the committee on rehabilitation of people affected by the southern unrest on Wednesday chaired by Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, Thai News Agency reported.

The meeting marked the first anniversary of the committee. Tongthong said the committee, though criticised by some, has also received compliments for its achievements.

He said the government would resort to negotiations and peaceful solutions to the problems in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala.

Pol Col Tawee Sodsong, secretary general of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, said many southerners have been detained without specific charges against them, adding that the authorities have already assisted 200-300 detainees in this category.

Such detainees will be compensated if they had not violated the emergency decree or martial law, he said.

-- The Nation 2012-10-11

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RT @RichardBarrow: Schedule of when it is expected to flood in #Bangkok during October 2012 http://buff.ly/QkiFQQ

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Narathiwat police officer shot dead by presumed insurgents while on motorcycle errand in Tanyongmas subdistrict; stripped of handgun /MCOT

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M&A

Thai tycoon faces mounting pressure to raise F&N bid

Jonathan Kwok

The Straits

BANGKOK: -- Thai tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi is under pressure to increase his offer for Fraser & Neave (F&N) after two developments yesterday.

Full story:

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Thai court issues arrest warrant against Thaksin

BANGKOK, Oct 11, 2012 (AFP) - Thailand's Supreme Court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, in the latest abuse of power charges brought against the controversial tycoon.

Full story:

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SET index closed at 1294.9, up 5.55; Bt/USD30.61; GBP48.87; AUD31.26; EUR39.21; CAD30.98; HKD3.94; SGD24.73; JPY38.97

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Toyota to recall 160,907 units of made-in-Thailand Camry/Altis/Vios/Yaris, to smoothen main switch of driver-side rear window /The Nation

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SOUTH CRISIS

Man arrested in connection with Yala bomb attack on rangers

YALA: -- A man was detained on Thursday in connection with the roadside bomb attack in Yala on Wednesday in which nine paramilitary rangers were injured.

He was identified as Muhammad Patae. He was arrested while allegedly taking photos of the officials investigating at the scene of the attack in Yaha district.

Nine paramilitary rangers on patrol were injured while completed their patrol Wednesday on the Yaha-Patae Road. They were travelling by pickup truck to their base at Ban Ya Soop at the end of their patrol duty. As the vehicle arrived at Ban Baro in Yaha district, a sidecar motorcycle parked at the roadside exploded, with the blast hitting the military truck as it passed by.

Police said explosives were built into the sidecar and were triggered by presumed insurgents. The rangers wounded in the attack were sent to hospital for treatment.

As of Thursday, six of them were able to return home. The condition of the other three was still serious.

Police investigators said a second bomb exploded about one kilometre down the road, apparently targeting the responding security team, but no one was hurt.

-- The Nation 2012-10-11

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Thailand mulls government-to-government employment of foreign labour

BANGKOK, Oct 11 – The Thai government will soon introduce foreign labour job placement on a government-to-government basis, starting with the employment of workers from Myanmar, a senior Labour Ministry official said today.

Prawit Kiangpol, director general of the Labour Placement Department, said foreign workers, hired on government-to-government agreements, will enter Thailand by air, a means that will save cost and travel time.

The number of foreign workers recruited or placed by governments will correspond with the number of applications from the private sector, he said, adding that the measure will also solve the problem of illegal hiring of ethnic minority people along the border.

Referring to the import of a labour force for the fishing industry, Mr Prawit said the Fishery Association had applied to import 50,000 foreign workers.

The committee in charge of foreign workers has agreed in principle to an import of Bangladeshi workers but the Fishery Association was instructed to draft employment regulations for the sector--including the number of fishing boats and required workers, employment contracts and measures to prevent foreign workers from switching to new employers.

He said the Labour Placement Department must submit the draft regulations to the committee on foreign workers which, if approved, will forward them to the cabinet for final endorsement. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-10-11

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Army chief proposes ‘durable campaign’ against threats

BANGKOK, Oct 11 – Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha today called on southern authorities and the public to launch sustainable campaigns to boost the civilians’ morale in light of anxiety over threats of violence against businesses that remain open Fridays.

The joint attempt should not be sporadic, he said, admitting that the authorities will have to work twice as hard if people lose their morale.

He said the army has proposed to the government wider use of closed circuit cameras since risk areas under the authorities’ supervision are vast and spread out.

Meanwhile, police reported that Pol Sgt Thamrong Kongram, 33, was shot dead in an ambush by two men on a motorcycle in Tanyong Limor village of Narathiwat province.

Police said the assailants fired shots at Pol Sgt Thamrong who was riding his motorcycle, and then took the victim’s 9mm revolver.

Narathiwat and two other southernmost provinces of Yala and Pattani have been plagued by insurgency for years and the situation has worsened. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-10-11

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RT@tulsathit: Khao Sod: Rice price pledging scheme clears Constitution Court hurdles.

RT@tulsathit: Foreign media slams Yingluck for being worried more about rating than rice scheme repercussions.

[Lite Beer]

Ratchaburi reeling from Gaemi low-pressure cell

Ratchaburi is still reeling from the impacts from the low-pressure cell that was downgraded from the Gaemi storm.

Hundreds of families living along the Mae Klong River in the province had to move to higher ground in the wake of flooding. The low-pressure cell caused heavy downpours in Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi and many other provinces.

The effects in Ratchaburi were big because the Kanchanaburibased Tha Muang Dam released a huge volume of water to the downstream Ratchaburi too.

Local officials Thursday erected tents to provide temporary shelters to the flood victims.

-- TNA 2012-10-11

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Illuminated boat procession eagerly awaited

NAKHON PHANOM, Oct 11 – The mighty Mekong River in this Thai-Lao border province will become a spectacular venue for an illuminated boat procession later this month, the highlight of an annual festival to mark the end of the Buddhist Lent or rains retreat.

The nine-day traditional festival, starting Oct 23, is expected to attract Thai and foreign tourists alike.

Nakhon Phanom governor Anukul Tangkananuchaikul said the provincial administration’s 90-metre-long boat, to be brightly lit with over 20,000 lamps, will be decorated with special designs to mark His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 85th birthday and 2,600 years of the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment.

Villagers in 12 districts along the Mekong River are busily decorating their illuminated boats for the eagerly-awaited contest. Competing rivercraft will glide along the river during the festival before the Oct 30 judgement.

A Thai Red Cross fair, another highlight of the festival, is held throughout the nine-day event.

The governor said more than 500 women from seven ethnic groups will dance en masse as homage to the elaborate Phra That Phanom, the province’s most revered pagoda.

More than 10,000 fireballs will rise above the Mekong River every night during the festival, he said.

Other northeastern provinces on the Mekong River are also celebrating the end of the religious rains retreat. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-10-11

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to continue:

Thailand Live Friday 12 Oct 2012