Thailand Live Monday 22 Oct 2012

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Thailand Live Monday 22 October 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 Sunday 21 Oct 2012

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Paris Hilton coming to Thailand: God help us

By Coconuts Bangkok

Photo: Paris Hilton Facebook page

BANGKOK: -- America’s (least) favorite burger-endorsing, sex-tape-making, pouty-lip-having reality TV star and hotel heiress Paris Hilton is coming to Thailand this week!

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....nd-god-help-us/

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Finance officials troubled by massive farm scheme debts call for changes

Suphannee Pootpisut

The Nation

Police is checking warehouse in Ayutthaya where rice stockpile under the government's pledging scheme are stored.

BANGKOK: -- Rice and other farm subsidy schemes have led to the loss of over Bt200 billion and must be reviewed to cap the ballooning cost for taxpayers, Finance Ministry officials said last week. "If the government can't sell more rice and other products from its stocks, it will lead to a combined loss of Bt260 billion this year," a ministry source said.

Full story:

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Show scientists the road

Chularat Saengpassa ,

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Thai successes in stem-cell research have come despite a lack of funding or a national plan

BANGKOK: -- Thailand is fascinated with "roadmaps", but when it comes to life-or-death matters like regenerative science, the country has none.

Full story:

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Asean+6 set to launch world's biggest free-trade market

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Asean and six Asian leaders will this November announce the official establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will make it the biggest free-trade market on the globe.

Full story:

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Heavens open up on PM at temple ceremony

Jeerapong Prasertpolkrang

The Nation

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, attired in white dress on the right, attended the religious ceremony and Phraboth cloth parade yesterday to pay respect to Wat Phra Mahathat Nakhon Si Thammarat pagoda during her four-day tour of the South.

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday wore the white dress of a devout Buddhist to launch a campaign to list Phra Baromathat Chedi, believed to house a relic of the Lord Buddha, as a World Heritage Site.

"I'm glad to see the smiles on your faces on this occasion when we should have the opportunity to make merit together to promote Phra Baromathat as a World Heritage Site," she said in her greetings to local residents.

Yingluck, on a three-day visit to the South, arrived by helicopter from Koh Samui to preside over the ceremony at the gold-spired chedi in Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan Temple.

She said religious patronage would bless all Nakhon Si Thammarat residents with prosperity and good health.

She then proceeded to kick off the campaign by ringing a sacred gong three times. Immediately a cloudburst dumped heavy rain on the crowd, causing wild speculation among the superstitious on whether it was a good or bad omen.

According to a report by Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome, Unesco put the temple and its chedi on its tentative world heritage list in August.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, the prime minister met two revered monks, Abbot Phra Thep Winyaporn and Phra Khru Piya Kunakorn of Khun Khao Phanom Temple.

The temple's abbot gave her reproductions of the chedi and of a Buddha Sihing statue, as well as a blessed coin from the reign of King Rama VI as souvenirs of the ceremony.

Phra Khru Piya presented her with a picture of King Taksin and asked for it to be kept at Government House as a reminder to emulate the late monarch's efforts to consolidate the country.

Along the route taken by the prime minister, red shirts showed up to form a welcoming committee. They held up banners with pro-government messages.

Police kept out some 60 residents who wanted to voice opposition to the temple listing. They fear it may open the door to foreigners managing the religious grounds.

Before concluding her trip to Nakhon Si Thammarat, Yingluck held a working lunch with tour operators and business owners at a seaside resort in Si Chon district.

A key organiser for the luncheon was Deputy Agriculture Minister Natthawut Saikua, a Surat Thani native who married into a Nakhon Si Thammarat family.

-- The Nation 2012-10-22

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Other NBTC members must answer to society: Supinya

The Nation: --

Supinya: Consumer advocate.

BANGKOK: -- Two National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission members, Supinya Klangnarong and Prawit Leesatapornwongsa, who did not support the 3G auction results, tell Krungthep Turakit TV how the regulator is facing a crisis of public faith over the controversy.

Full story:

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Rebels hit Tak Bai in lead-up to anniversary

The Nation

Officer, insurgent killed in multiple attacks in Narathiwat district

NARATHIWAT: -- Just days before the eighth anniversary of Narathiwat's Tak Bai massacre, the province erupted in violence over the weekend, with attacks continuing yesterday after five simultaneous incidents in Tak Bai district on Saturday. The violence claimed the lives of an insurgent and a soldier.

Full story:

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Wealthy 75-yr-old seeks fountain of youth

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Hoping to live longer, look young forever and enjoy his wealth, a 75-year-old billionaire has spent nearly Bt1 million on a visit to a private clinic in Luxembourg to undergo stem-cell therapy using cells from a black sheep's placenta to treat several degenerative conditions.

Full story:

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EDITORIAL

3G licence auction preserves telecom status quo

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Debate over bid levels obscures fact that competition is being obstructed

Full story:

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CHALK TALK

Migrant children need more support

JIDAPA MEEPIEN

Thailand Development Research Institute

BANGKOK: -- As a major destination country of international migration, Thailand nowadays hosts around 2.5 million migrant workers, including regular and irregular migrants.

Full story:

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ABAC POLL

Pheu Thai outshines Democrats

The Natiom

BANGKOK: -- The ruling Pheu Thai Party has beaten the opposition Democrat Party in almost all areas in a recent opinion survey on their strengths and weaknesses.

Full story:

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Raid conducted on illegal clinics

Jessada Jantarak

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police yesterday raided four illegal clinics in Bangkok and arrested four suspects.

Full story:

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Police seize Bt200m

Warattaya Chanilanka

The Nation

CHIANG MAI: -- Police yesterday busted a major drug syndicate with the arrest of its Chiang Mai operative and the seizure of its assets, including a bank account with more than Bt200 million circulating through it.

"We are investigating the case further. We believe this network must have earned up to Bt1 billion in ill-gotten gains," said Pol General Pongsapat Pongcharoen, secretary-general of the Narcotics Control Board.

In the raid led by Pongsapat, Ajong sae Lu, or Thavorn Somjit, was nabbed at his home in Muang district, where more than Bt2.5 million in cash and many land title deeds were found.

"His network's bank accounts have received deposits from various corners of Thailand but withdrawals were mainly made in Chiang Mai," Pongsapat said.

The suspect was the alleged point man of the network that smuggled illicit drugs from a neighbouring country and distributed them widely across Thailand.

He was implicated by two suspects arrested last Wednesday with 200,000 methamphetamine tablets.

Pongsapat also said many drug peddlers in Bangkok's Khlong Toei community claimed they were supplied by Thavorn's ring.

-- The Nation 2012-10-22

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Seminar on solar, electric vehicles

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A seminar on racing solar cars and electric vehicles will be held on Friday for students and people who are interested in creating such cars and vehicles.

They can learn from Japanese and Thai experts.

The Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI) in collaboration with the World Eco Car Grand Prix 2013 Organising Committee and Bira Circuit One are conducting the seminar free of charge.

The Japanese experts will talk about solar car and electric vehicle storage of electricity, plus the history of solar cars and what can be learned from racing these cars. The Thai experts will talk about the racing.

Call 0-2763-2752, 0-2763-2704 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

It will take place at TNI in soi Phatthanakan 37-39 in Bangkok.

-- The Nation 2012-10-22

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SSMS chamber music concert

The Nation

PETCHABURI: -- One of the most prestigious music camps in Thailand, the Silpakorn Summer Music School (SSMS), directed by Tasana Nagavajara, is holding its chamber music camp at Silpakorn Petchaburi campus until tomorrow.

Ten exceptional young violinists and pianists were selected to work with reputable faculty members and perform concerts during the music camp. This year, SSMS presents renowned violinist/pedagogue, Prof Roland Baldini, as a guest faculty-artist. Baldini is currently professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule fur Musik and Theatre in Leipzig.

The concert consists of both solo and chamber works by various composers by both faculties and participants who have won many prestigious prizes nationally and internationally, such as first prize in the Thailand Beethoven Competition (piano/violin), first prize at the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, third prize at the American Protege Piano Competition, winner of the Conrad Young Musician of the Year, first prize at the Thailand Steinway Young Artist Competition and winner of the SSMS Piano Concerto Competition.

The SSMS Chamber Music Concert will be held at 7pm on Wednesday at Siam Society, Bangkok. Tickets are priced at Bt300 (Bt50 for students with ID). For reservations, please contact 02-661-6470-7 or e-mail: [email protected].

-- The Nation 2012-10-22

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Friendly Thailand stares down the barrel of rising gun crime

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre

Browning SFS. File photo, Source wikimedia

BANGKOK: -- (Reuters) - Twenty schoolchildren surround a city bus in central Bangkok. Some get on to confront a 16-year-old from a rival school and, within moments, he is shot dead.

Full story:

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PC Air licence may be revoked if defects found: Transport Ministry

BANGKOK, Oct 22 – The licence of private low-cost airline PC Air may be revoked if an in-depth investigation into the case of hundreds of Thai tourists stranded at South Korea’s Incheon airport, determines it was the fault of the airline, according to Transport Ministry.

Full story:

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Thai stock index opens on Monday at 1,301.32, down 6.39 points /MCOT

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RT @191Thailand: Thai Met Dept reports 3.1 Richter earthquake at 07.39am today in Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai. No damage reported (Bangkok post)

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Phuket Poll: Should foreigners 'pay' for visa runs with blood?

Phuket Gazette

Phuket Regional Blood Bank Acting Director Pornthip Rattajak saw merit in the idea of foreigners making blood donations instead of doing visa runs. Photo: Phuket Blood Bank

Former Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, who retired last month, hands out awards at a 'Every Blood Donor is a HERO' recognition event earlier this year. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- Last month a contributor to the Phuket Gazette’s online forum raised a very interesting suggestion concerning blood donations in lieu of visa runs.

Full story:

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Lampang police nabbed a suspect,seized 2.48mn methamphetamine pills,5-kg of crystal amphetamines (ice) valued at Bt760mn /The Nation

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RT @RichardBarrow: Bangkok Police are looking for a black Honda Civic that was involved in a hit-and-run that killed a man. It's missing a sideview mirror.

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Green Politics leader Suriyasai petitions National Anti-Corruption Commission to probe 3G auction which may violate Price Collusion Act /MCOT

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Jennifer Lopez Dance Again World Tour Live in Bangkok

Jennifer Lopez hardly need an introduction. World famous as an actress, dancer, singer fashion mogul and most recently a former American Idol Judge.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....-bangkok-dec-4/

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Army chief urges more broad-based cooperation to solve problem in deep South

BANGKOK, Oct 22 - Army chief Gen Prayutha Chan-ocha on Monday urged 17 ministries to take part in tackling violence in the restive southern border region, reasserting that cooperation of all parties is needed to solve the problem.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/592826-army-chief-urges-more-broad-based-cooperation-to-solve-problem-in-deep-south/#entry5774267

[Lite Beer]

Healthy newborn girl abandoned at Phuket Hospital

Phuket Gazette –

Weighing in at nearly 5lbs the healthy baby remains in the care of Thalang Hospital until the mother can be traced.

Anyone with information that may identify or locate the missing mother (pictured) can call Dr Arnon Kaewbumrung on 081-3967875 or Ms Nanthiya Nilphang-nga on 085-8882534. Photo: Thalang Hospital CCTV image

PHUKET: The Phuket Public Heath Office (PPHO) has made a public appeal for any information that may locate a woman who disappeared from Thalang Hospital shortly after giving birth to a baby girl on Friday.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/592835-healthy-newborn-girl-abandoned-at-phuket-hospital/#entry5774389

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Sukhumbhand vows to stay to complete gubernatorial term

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra Monday vowed to stay in office to complete his four year term on January 10 next year.

He said he would re-contest the Bangkok governor election and he would inform the interior minister that he would not hold the post caretaker governor during the run-up to the poll.

He said he would announce his achievements during the past four years on November 10.

-- The Nation 2012-10-22

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Russian seriously injured in armed street robbery in Jomtien

PATTAYA:--A 25 year old female Russian Tourist was stabbed a total of 5 times as two men attempted to steal her handbag as she walked back to her Hotel on Jomtien Beach, early on Monday Morning.

Full story: