Bali drug trial: British woman gets death sentence

A 56-year-old British woman has been sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking.

Full story:

RT@191Thailand: 12-year-old boy killed & his step father seriously wounded in a ride-by shooting in Pattani (Bangkok Post)

RT@191Thailand: Pattani bomb injures 2 rangers (Bangkok Post)

Finance Ministry considering helping debtors of loan sharks

BANGKOK, 22 January 2013 (NNT)- People indebted to loan sharks may no longer have to avoid paying exorbitant interest rates as the Ministry of Finance is considering a move to allow government financial institutions to refinance their obligations.

Director-General,Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) Dr.Somchai Sujjapongse has reportedly proposed to the Finance Ministry a solution to help those struggling to pay off their underground loans by asking government banks to either provide them with new loans or refinance existing ones.

According to Dr. Somchai, the goal of his proposal is to stamp out shady money lenders by helping people refinance their debts. A special lending window will be provided at every state-owned bank, he added.

As for those who are unable to find common ground with their lenders, a team of police and the Revenue Department will be set up and tasked with negotiating for lower interest rates charged, in an attempt to help debtors improve their financial situation.

He said later that the bank would only grant debtors loans to pay off their lender only after they became financially sound. The Director General said Finance Minister Mr. Kittiratt Na Ranong had agreed with his proposal although further study on the subject was needed.

The Office might ask community leaders overseeing both the community welfare and village funds to take part in the program, given they are already lending their hands to those who owed underground lenders; by requiring debtors to save their money in their savings accounts for a period of time before giving them the loans to pay off their underground debts.

-- NNT 2013-10-22

POLITICS

PM outlines Thailand's strategies

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday announced a package of national strategies to move the country forward for sustainable growth and readiness to be integrated into the Southeast Asian economic region.

Full story:

Porames: 'I wish I was the one who died'

By Coconuts Bangkok

Porames: 'I wish I was the one who died' Photo: Dailynews

Full story:

Update:

British woman sentenced to death for drug smuggling into Indonesia from Thailand

By Staff Reporter

Lindsay Sandiford, a 56 year old grandmother from the UK admitted being a drug mule for what has been described as “a heavy mob”, and carrying the drugs from Thailand to the Island of Bali

Full story:

Pork lady wins half million baht of gold from Red Cross Lucky Draw

Phuket Gazette

Ms Atcharaporn was delighted as she received the hefty amount of gold from Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- A grilled pork vendor claimed this year’s Red Cross Fair “Lucky Draw” grand prize of more than 500,000 baht's worth of gold with her ticket number 59319 yesterday.

Full story:

66-year-old Canadian man kills himself after shooting 2 people dead at a court in the Philippines

CEBU CITY: -- A Canadian man has opened fire in a Philippine court, killing two people and wounding another, reports say.

Full story:

SET index closed at 1434.09, down 6.39; Bt/USD29.60; GBP46.81; AUD30.07; EUR39.38; CAD29.72; HKD3.81; SGD24.02; JPY33.03

Lampang warned to be on alert on high level of dust from forest fire

By Digital Media

LAMPANG, Jan 22 - Four air quality monitoring stations in this northern province found high levels of dust from forest fires in the provincial seat, which will be closely monitored though the level does not exceed the standard.

Full story:

Youtube sensation drug gang nabbed

By Coconuts Bangkok

Photo: FM91

BANGKOK: -- At 11PM today, police announced the arrest of nine members of a drug gang who had become minor celebrities on YouTube. They were caught in possession of one pistol, 100 methamphetamine pills and 19 grams of crystal meth.

Full story:

SOUTH CRISIS

Boy killed in Pattani shooting

The Nation

PATTANI: -- A 12-year-old boy became the latest victim of the violence in the deep south while travelling on a motorcycle with his stepfather and mother in Pattani's Nong Chik district on Monday night.

Nawaphol Li succumbed to head injuries at Nong Chik Hospital while his stepfather, Narong Kongtong, 45, was seriously injured from gunshot wounds to his shoulder and torso. The boy's mother, Noknoi Li, survived unscathed.

The three were heading to their rented home on a motorcycle after shopping at a department store when two armed men started trailing them. Police said Narong, who was riding pillion with Nawaphol in the middle, became suspicious of the men and told Noknoi to pull away. However, the man riding pillion on the pursuing motorcycle opened fire then fled the scene.

Seeing her husband and son injured in the attack, Noknoi took them immediately to Nong Chik Hospital. The boy died shortly afterwards.

-- The Nation 2013-01-22

Thai tycoon completing F&N takeover

SINGAPORE, Jan 22, 2013 (AFP) - A Thai tycoon on Tuesday mopped up more shares of Fraser and Neave (F&N) to complete its takeover of the Singapore conglomerate after an Indonesian rival backed out of a bidding war.

Full story:

PM outlines directives for Thailand’s prosperity

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Jan 22 – Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today announced a package of national strategies to move the country forward for sustainable growth and readiness to be integrated into the Southeast Asian economic region.

Full story:

NBTC: Licensing regime promotes fairer competition

BANGKOK, 22 January 2013 (NNT) - The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has remarked that a licensing regime for the telecommunication industry in Thailand will provide a fairer competition than the current concession regime. A committee has been formed to oversee the termination of frequency concessions.

NBTC Deputy Chairman Col. Setthaphong Malisuwan said the Thai telecommunication industry is now in the process of changing into a licensing regime and the concessions of 1800 MHz frequency band operators are due to terminate in September this year. After the concessions expire, new operators will be selected to operate in the licensing regime by the NBTC committee.

Meanwhile, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Sutham U-naitham said the NBTC must urgently set up measures for the frequency re-allocation and decide on the number of operators in the licensing regime in a bid to prevent more than 17 million consumers from being affected once the frequencies are unoccupied.

-- NNT 2013-01-22

to continue:

Thailand Live Wednesday 23 Jan 2013