Thailand pushes back 200 Rohingya boat people: navy

BANGKOK, Jan 30, 2013 (AFP) - Thailand's navy blocked more than 200 Rohingya boat people from entering the kingdom as part of a new crackdown on refugees from violence-hit western Myanmar, officials said Wednesday.

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BREAKING:

Somchai "Kamnan Poh" Khunplome, 73, arrested by Police /The Nation

Photo: Kamnan Poh arrested in Pattanakarn-Motorway area via @NarisKinimarn https://t.co/i130Lsaa

Cabinet approves budget for police to keep price-pledging scheme transparent

BANGKOK, 30 January 2013 (NNT)-The Cabinet has approved a budget of 157 million baht to be paid to police officials who are hired to watch for dodgy dealers taking part in the government’s rice pledging scheme.

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Thailand's retail business this year set to grow 12%

By English News

BANGKOK, Jan 30 - The Thai Retailers Association estimates that the country's retail business this year will grow 12 per cent, according to the organisation's president.

Busaba Chirathivat said the rise will be due to government stimulus packages encouraging the public to spend more from their higher income, such as from the Bt300 minimum wage rise, the 'first-time car buyers' tax rebate, the rice -pledging scheme.

The projected 12 per cent growth in the retail industry will partly result from more convenience stores opening upcountry, particularly along Thailand's borders with other countries, in order to welcome the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Meanwhile, Ms Busaba said the association is ready to cooperate with the Commerce Minister to peg commodity prices to help consumers although retail operators have been negatively affected by the Bt300 minimum wage. Methods to increase higher sales volumes will be applied to compensate for higher production costs, the president said.

Thai Retailers Association also asked the government to consider lower import taxes on some merchandise such as garments, jewellery, and cosmetics. Ms Busaba said the import duties for these types of goods are levied at 30-40 per cent, causing their prices in Thailand to be higher than those in neighbouring countries.

She said the lower taxes would attract foreign tourists to spend more money in Thailand, another means to generate revenues. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-01-30

Fugitive 'Kamnan Poh' arrested at Bangkok tollbooth

By Shane Danaher

Somchai "Kamnon Poh" Kheunploem

BANGKOK: -- Somchai Khunploem, a longstanding political and underworld figure who has been wanted for several months by the police, was arrested today at an expressway tollbooth in Bangkok.

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Thai rice exporter predicts another declining year for Thailand

By English News

BANGKOK, Jan 30 – The future of Thai rice exports remains dim this year while last year’s export volume at 6.94 million tonnes was 35 per cent lower than the preceding year, a leading rice exporter said today.

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KAMNAN POH

Fugitive Somchai Khunpluem arrested following tip off

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police were able to arrest fugitive Somchai Khunpluem after receiving a tip-off about two months ago that he was visiting Samitivej Hospital for medical treatment, an informed source claimed Wednesday.

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Thailand tourism: hitting record highs

by Gwen Robinson

BANGKOK: -- The hoardes of tourists flocking to Bangkok’s temples and bars and to island resorts beyond tell the story of Thailand’s remarkable comeback from the impact of devastating floods in 2011 and violent street clashes in 2010.

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DPM Chalerm to meet former Malaysian premier Mahathir in Langkawi Feb 4-5 seeking advice for ending southern problems in Thailand /MCOT

PHOTO GALLERY

Arrest of Somchai Khunpluem

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Dog survives firecracker explosion in its mouth

By Coconuts Bangkok

Snow's lower jaw was destroyed after kids shoved firecrackers in his mouth.

NAKHON PATHOM: -- Snow, a stray dog in Nakhon Pathom, has reportedly moved to a new shelter in Bangkok after suffering a serious wound to his mouth as the result of firecracker explosion.

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Phuket tourists injured as waves swamp Phi Phi tour boat

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- Six tourists were injured when a tour boat heading to the Phi Phi Islands (view here) was struck by large waves as it crossed Phang Nga Bay this morning.

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Teachers seek transfer from Yala active insurgent zone

By English News

YALA, Jan 30 – Eight schoolteachers have requested transfers from Yala’s Bunnang Sata district following continuing deadly attacks on educators there.

The move follows half of Ban Tanyong School’s 14 teachers submitting official transfer requests after one of their colleagues was killed last week.

Pitsanu Direkkul, acting director of the Office of Yala Primary Education Area Zone2, said that security measures implemented to protect teachers is satisfactory, but continuing attacks on teachers dampen teachers’ morale, particularly in insurgent active zones.

He said eight teachers requested transfers from Yala’s Bunnang Sata district as they are not confident of their personal safety. Their requests have been approved.

The latest attack on a teacher occurred last week when a gunman who falsely presented himself as a student's father entered the school premises in Narathiwat and killed a Muslim teacher there, bringing the death toll of teachers from insurgency-related incidents to 158 since the renewed separatist violence erupted in early 2004. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-01-30

Ayutthaya hit by more riverbank collapses

AYUTTHAYA, 30 January 2013 (NNT) - Over 200-meter long section of Lop Buri riverbank in the central province of Ayutthaya has collapsed, damaging houses in the area.

Two houses situated on the riverbank in Bang Pahan district have already collapsed into the Lop Buri River, with four more on the verge of caving in.

Ayutthaya Governor Witthaya Pewpong made known that since the province received reports of soil subsidence in a number of districts, related agencies have been instructed to carry out inspection and provide assistance to those affected.

On Monday, another collapse occurred on a 300-meter long section of the Pasak riverbank in Nakhon Luang district of Ayutthaya province, prompting mass evacuation by nearby residents.

Several instances of riverbank erosion were reported late last year, with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment looking into building more dykes to solve the erosion problem.

-- NNT 2013-01-30

Agriculture Minister assures enough water this drought

BANGKOK, 30 January 2013 (NNT) - Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Yokol Limlaenthong has assured that there will be enough water for consumption throughout the dry season this year.

The minister said after a meeting with the ministry’s executives on Wednesday that at present there were around 55 billion cubic meters of water stored at all reservoirs nationwide. 31 billion cubic meters of the total amount were usable, decreasing from the volume in December last year. The ministry has a plan to use 23.5 billion cubic meters of water during the dry season with more than 10 billion cubic meters already used, Mr Yokol said.

The minister confirmed there would be sufficient water for consumption until the beginning of the rainy season and for the annual rice cultivation after drought.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director-General of the Royal Irrigation Department Sanchai Ketworachai said the department had asked farmers in the Northeast whose fields were using irrigated water from eight reservoirs, to stop planting crops during the dry season. The request is in line with department’s water distribution plan aimed at maintaining enough water for local consumption until the rainy season.

-- NNT 2013-01-30

Chalerm to meet former Malaysian PM on insurgency

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Jan 30 -- Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubumrung will travel to Malaysia's Langkawi early next month to meet former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad to seek his advice on dealing with Thailand’s nine year insurgency in the far South.

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Thai shippers foresee export growth missing target

By English News

BANGKOK, Jan 30 – Thailand’s appreciating baht currency in the past month has affected exports despite a 2-3 per cent growth as targeted, according to the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC).

TNSC Chairman Paiboon Polsuwanna said today that exporters continue to received purchase orders but the total export value has been lower and some exporters are earning less profit.

He said Thailand’s exports this year may not reach the projected nine per cent growth if the baht continues appreciating.

The Commerce Ministry predicted the country’s monthly export value at US$20.5 billion but the combined value this month is only $19 billion, Mr Paiboon said.

He said January is normally a slow month for exports and the TNSC will wait for the first quarter performance before it forecasts Thailand’s exports year.

Thai exports last year reached $229.5 billion, representing a 3.12 per cent increase, lower than the predicted growth of 4.6-5.9 per cent, the shipping council executive said.

The private sector looks forward to seeing the central bank’s response to preventing profit-taking from a local interest rate at 2.75 per cent, as interest is almost zero per cent in western countries.

Mr Paiboon also called on the Bank of Thailand to see that the baht does not fluctuate or becomes too strong compared to the currencies of the country’s trading competitors.

The Labour Ministry has announced reduced contributions by employers and employees to the Social Security Fund from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent until the end of this year in an attempt to cool down the negative impact of the Bt300 daily minimum wage.

Regarding the reprieve, the TNSC chairman said the ministry was barking up the wrong tree since the private sector’s financial gains from the measure is insignificant.

It may give a psychological advantage to the government, which is seen as taking prompt action to alleviate the entrepreneurs’ plight, he said, calling on the government to seriously upgrade the efficiency of Thai labour force and promote the use of technology in the industrial sector to enhance Thailand’s competitive edge in the global market. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-01-30

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Thailand Live Thursday 31 Jan 2013