Thailand Live Wednesday 26 Dec 2012

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Thailand Live Wednesday 26 December 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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SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT

New court case over airport expansion

The Nation

Suvarnabhumi neighbours file third complaint over noise and pollution

BANGKOK: -- Dark clouds hang over plans to boost the capacity of Suvarnabhumi Airport, as residents' complaints against noise and pollution could pose a major stumbling block to the second-phase and possibly the third-phase expansion projects.

Full story:

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TSUNAMI'S 8TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Warning towers "useless"

The Nation

RANONG: -- Crippled by robberies and inadequate maintenance, tsunami warning towers in some provinces in the South may not be able to send out an alarm when needed.

Full story:

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POLITICS

Opposition to pressure govt on graft claims, performance

Khanittha Thepphajorn,

Piyanut Tumnukasetchai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The government should, without delay, look into alleged irregularities raised during last month's censure debate, senator Thaweesak Khidbanjong said yesterday.

Full story:

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Piece-by-piece charter change if referendum fails: PM

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra made it clear yesterday that the Pheu Thai-led government would push for overhauling the Constitution if the proposal for rewriting the whole charter fails to draw a 50-per-cent turnout in a public referendum.

Full story:

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SPECIAL REPORT

Living in shadow of fear

Supitcha Rattana

The Nation

NARATHIWAT: -- In the wake of repeated attacks on their peers, teachers and education officials in the deep South are getting badly demoralised.

Full story:

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EDITORIAL

Are we any better than the Indian gang-rapists?

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The shocking attack on a young female student in New Delhi should make us reflect on how poorly women are often treated in our own society

Full story:

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STOPPAGE TIME

Phew! This article can now be read

Tulsathit Taptim

BANGKOK: -- I drafted this article on what many thought might be the world's last day. Never one to believe in doomsday predictions, I'm paranoid from time to time, though. Which means that while I was 99.99 per cent sure that nothing would happen to our planet over the weekend, 0.01 per cent of me let its imagination run wild. The drafting process, therefore, was disrupted by some scary images. What if something happened and I did it all for nothing? And worse than having nobody left to read your article is having "someone" from the future read it and wonder: "They wrote this kind of stuff on their last day on earth?"

Full story:

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Banks prep for money laundering crackdown

Full story:

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Irish tourist 'bottled' within 24 hours on Phuket

Full story:

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Thai Police Abort Mail Order Abortion Drug Scheme

Full story:

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Police seize drug lord's assets

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- National police chief General Adul Saengsing-kaew said police in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai had seized Bt250 million in assets that reportedly belonged to alleged Golden Triangle drug lord Nor Kham. Nor was sentenced to death by a Chinese court in November for murdering 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River.

Adul said two houses in Chiang Mai's Nong Chom area and one house in Chiang Rai's Wiang Chai district were seized - as well as Bt7 million in cash, gold bars and ornaments, furniture and other valuables. Police said the assets were kept under the names of Nor's right-hand man Sangkham Jamsa and Nor Kham's son.

Earlier Adul, in Chiang Mai's Fang district, ordered 1,600 police and state officials in 63 teams to search target locations to crack down on drug gangs ahead of the New Year holidays. Among 177 criminals detained, police arrested two men, a Loatian and a Hmong, allegedly transporting 500,000 yaba tablets into Chiang Mai, while Chiang Rai's Mae Sai police seized 100 kilograms of vanilla leavening agent, suspected for use in yaba production.

-- The Nation 2012-12-26

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Five killed in three highway crashes

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A rear tyre blew out on a Bangkok-Phetchaburi public transport van, sending it crashing into a tree and plunging into ditch in Ratchaburi's Muang district yesterday, killing three people and injured nine others.

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No expressway toll for 8 days

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Motorists will enjoy travelling free of charge on the Burapha Withi Expressway and other expressways that connect with it from tomorrow until January 3.

The Cabinet yesterday resolved to exempt tolls for motorists from 12.01am on Thursday until midnight on January 3. The roads where the free access will be allowed are the Burapha Withi Expressway (Bang Na-Chon Buri), the southern elevated road linking Suvarnabhumi Airport with the Burapha Withi Expressway and Bang Phli-Suksawad Road, Tossaporn Serirak, spokesman of the Prime Minister's Office, said yesterday.

He added that more than 882,000 cars were expected to travel during the period and a total of more than Bt36 million in tolls would be waived.

-- The Nation 2012-12-26

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Talks on plans for military teachers

Panya Thiosangwan,

Olan Lertrudtanadumrongkul,

Tanatpong Kongsai

The Nation

Sukampol meets with educators in region; Senate urges new policies

NARATHIWAT: -- Defence Minister Air Chief Marshal Sukampol Suwan-nathat visited Narathiwat yesterday to talk to the Federation of Teachers in the three southernmost provinces about a plan to have soldiers and police to temporarily teach students instead of teachers.

Full story:

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Thousands hit by floods in south

The Nation

SURAT THANI: -- Homes, schools and businesses across many southern provinces have been hit by floods over the past few days, with tens of thousands of residents affected.

Surat Thani yesterday declared Kanchanadit district a disaster zone after 3,200 residents suffered flooding and 200 rai of farmland was inundated, causing an estimated Bt8 million in damage.

Locals in areas at risk from runoff, landslides and coastal erosion due to high waves were warned to prepare for worse, as the Meteorological Department has forecast continued heavy rain.

Around 3,000 households in Muang and Khaun Khanun districts in Phatthalung were hit when floods swamped their homes and 10,000 rai of farmland. People there were warned to keep a close eye on weather forecasts.

In Narathiwat, flood victims total about 13,500 people in 4,000 households across 13 districts. Sungai Padi district was been hit hardest in the province, with more than 5,000 residents affected.

Rangers from the 45th Ranger Regiment yesterday distributed royal-sponsored relief bags to residents of flood-hit areas in Rangae district. Rangers were also sent to Konae School in Rangae, which was a metre underwater, to move desks, chairs and school equipment to higher ground. Flooding also forced two other schools in the province to close.

-- The Nation 2012-12-26

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Rangsit University picks top 10 corruption cases

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Rangsit University's College of Social Innovation yesterday announced the 10 most scandalous corruption cases for fiscal 2012 (October 1, 2011, to September 30, 2012), as follows:

Full story:

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Smiles return to Baan Nam Khem

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Phang Nga

Ravaged fishing village no longer a place of death and torment

PHANG NGA: -- Children in the small Phang Nga village pulverised by the 2004 tsunami have shaken the fear of the nightmare wave from their minds and are enjoying living again.

Baan Nam Khem is a coastal fishing village that became famous after losing more than 1,400 people - at least a quarter of its population - during the disaster that rocked six provinces on the southern Andaman coast.

It has taken eight years but the sounds of laughter and children full of joy are now more common at the local primary school.

"I am not afraid of tsunamis as I know that it will not come here again," Saharat Therdthai, a nine-year-old primary student at Baan Nam Khem School, said.

"And if the massive waves come here, to my village, I can just run away to higher ground or climb a building," he said.

POWERFUL MEMORIES

Saharat claims he can remember the moment when he and his mother ran away from the powerful tsunami wave.

"At that time I was only one year old. My brother and I were in my mother’s embrace and we were running away from a big wave. I was so scared but now I know how to escape from the wave," he said.

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Ratchanon Saekhoy was laughing with his classmates while showing the famous South Korean "Gang Nam Style" dance during a school break in the afternoon.

There was no sadness and fear on his face or eyes as he lived in the moment and enjoyed life.

"A tsunami is a big wave. If it comes I just run and climb a big tree," said Ratchanon, who lost two older brothers in the tragedy.

But his friend Abhisit Singkara, a nine-year-old primary student, still fears a big wave.

"I had experience with the tsunami. It was a very big wave. I was running away with my mom. If it comes here again, I will run as fast as I can," he said.

It was this day - December 26, a Sunday morning - when the waves swept through Baan Nam Khem School, killing 26 students and destroying school buildings.

TIME CAN HEAL

Sripranee Na Nakhon, a 54-year-old teacher at the school, said most students had recovered from post traumatic stress disorder and depression.

"They are very naughty, especially when someone visits them. They are happy to have visitors," she said.

Teachers at Baan Nam Khem School have been teaching students about the massive wave and how to evacuate to higher ground to prevent further loss of life if another tsunami ever strikes.

While Sripranee did not lose anyone in her family, the monstrous wave killed one beloved student.

"He was a nice boy. He always made good things for me. He was only seven years old at that time," she said.

Every December 26, Sripranee joins a commemorative ceremony at the Tsunami Memorial at Baan Nam Khem to mourn the death of her students.

She always offers food to the monk and writes the name of her student who died on a piece of paper, as she hopes he can get food.

"I have been doing something like this for my students during the past eight years," she said.

Sripanee said she feared sea waves for a long time after the traumatic event.

She could not even walk on the beach for a few years after the disaster. But now she can return to the beach and enjoy sea waves again.

"We need time. Only time can help get you out of the nightmare," she said, adding that at present all houses that were destroyed in Baan Nam Khem have been fully repaired.

Some villagers still stay at the same homes but others had had to move to other places because they could not face the dreadful memories of the event, which saw huge fishing boats tossed among homes through the village.

Surappong Chaicheu, 46, also lost his wife in the tsunami. He lives with his 10-year-old daughter. It was very tough for him to stop thinking about the death of his wife and the tragic moment but he realises he has to look forward and continue his life for his daughter. "I have to stop drinking and thinking about what happened. I have to live for my daughter," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-12-26

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Migrant workers left in limbo as meeting delayed

Thamarat Kitchalong

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The fate of more than 260,000 migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia hung in the balance for another day after a committee on migrant worker management delayed a meeting yesterday to consider whether to grant a three-month "grace" period for them to complete verification procedures.

A delay would give migrant workers who failed to verify their nationality by the December 14 deadline an opportunity to process their requests to have work permits within three months, said Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsap.

The committee and Cabinet have yet to consider the proposal to relax the deadline as Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who chaired the committee, was too busy to meet yesterday. He said that the meeting would be held this afternoon.

If the committee backs the move in its meeting today, the Labour Ministry will forward the proposal to Cabinet for endorsement, and Phadermchai expected it would be announced within a few weeks.

Authorities said earlier migrant workers from the three countries would be deported unless they were able to verify their nationality and obtain work permits before the deadline. However, the process has been criticised for being slow, inconvenient, and expensive for both migrants and Thai employers.

Phadermchai said the idea was to grant a relaxation and not extend the nationality verification process, adding that the government aimed to be "flexible" to save migrants being arrested for illegal entry.

A statement reportedly made by Premier Yingluck Shinawatra to Myanmar President Thein Sein in Dawei last week that the deadline would be extended had been misinterpreted, he said.

"The prime minister simply told the Myanmar leader that the measures of relaxation would enable Myanmar workers to have more time to collect their legal documents from home," he said.

"But if the prime minister has a policy to extend the deadline or promised Myanmar's leader to extend the deadline, she was supposed to inform the Labour Ministry," he said. "But there has been no new instruction, so far."

-- The Nation 2012-12-26

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BOT WORRY

Debit card cash withdrawals worry BOT

Sarun Kijvasin

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A sharp increase in debit-card spending in the third quarter has the Bank of Thailand concerned, as most people used the cards for cash withdrawals, not for merchandise purchases.

Full story:

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Phuket Governor calls for public transport to resolve traffic jams

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Sydictive Element New Year 'mega-beach party' is on in Patong

Phuket Gazette

Sydictive Element's 'mega beach party' for New Year's Eve will be held at the southern end of Phuket's Patong Beach. Photo: Courtesy of AbovePhuket.com

PHUKET: -- The Sydictive Element New Year’s Eve “mega beach party” will be held at the southern end of Patong Beach from December 30 through to daybreak on January 1.

Full story:

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RT @RichardBarrow: The US Embassy in Bangkok has re-opened today. The British Embassy is closed for Boxing Day & will re-open tomorrow.

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Fire at Phuket resort leaves Aussie travellers with nothing

PHUKET: -- A BOXING Day fire at a Thailand resort has left many Australian tourists with nothing.

Full story:

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RT @RichardBarrow: With 42% of the vote, Gangnam-style is voted Thailand’s Top Song of the Year (Thai Rath) /via @StephenCleary6

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Thailand’s southeastern coast on alert for storm

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Dec 26 – Several provinces on the southeastern coast near the Gulf of Thailand are warned of heavy rainfall, flash floods, landslides and strong offshore wind until next week, the Meteorological Department announced.

Meteorological department deputy director general Somchai Baimuang said tropical storm Wukong forecast to strike the Philippines from Friday through Monday will cause downpours from Surat Thani to Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala.

Residents are instructed to be on alert for flash floods and landslides, and winds over the Gulf of Thailand will be extremely strong, he said.

Group Captain Somsak Kaosuwan, director of the National Disaster Warning Centre, called on residents to check weather reports before travelling during the New Year’s holidays.

The Interior Ministry was instructed by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to closely monitor flood-prone provinces and immediately dispatch rescue workers to assist the public if needed. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-12-26

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Thai stock index opens on Wednesday at 1,380.87, gains 2.55 points /MCOT

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RT @TweetSmarter: #Warning —"<deleted> Justin Bieber died" is a FAKE msg trying to hijack your account. Do NOT click!

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Phuket tsunami memorial services to shine on

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- The Phuket community today will honor those who died in the devastating tsunami that struck the island eight years ago, with a ceremony at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao followed by the traditional “Light Up Phuket” candle-lighting ceremony on Patong Beach.

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