Green rooftop

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The rooftops of many buildings in Bangkok are often used to house water tanks and most are not used at all. In Singapore, all building owners are encouraged by the government to grow trees on their rooftops to add the greenness to the urbanised city.

The Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square, continuing its leadership role in eco-friendly, sustainable tourism, has introduced an innovative rooftop farming project.

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Since November, the hotel has teamed up with EnerGaia Co to grow spirulina on its rooftop. With 130 square metres of previously unused roof space, this project is on pace to produce more than two tonnes of highly nutritious vegetarian protein per year utilising ambient urban carbon dioxide.

"This cooperation with EnerGaia complements our ongoing efforts to be an environmentally responsible operator, and shows that economic and sustainable goals can work hand in hand," David Baldwin, the hotel's general manager, said recently.

Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square earned the coveted ISO:9001 certification in 2000 and has followed that achievement as an enthusiastic champion of Accor's global sustainability programme, Planet 21.

-- The Nation 2013-02-10

Amnesty 'for reds, not for Thaksin'

The Nation

Panthongtae says ousted PM wants Abhisit to stop stalling efforts for reconciliation

BANGKOK: -- Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is pushing for an amnesty bill for the sake of ordinary red shirts, and not for himself, his son said yesterday.

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Bt20 million damage in Sri Racha fire

The Nation

CHON BURI: -- A fire broke out in three warehouses owned by a foam and plastic products manufacturer - Supreme Plastic Industry Co - in Chon Buri's Sri Racha district yesterday, causing damage of about Bt20 million.

Police were investigating the cause of fire. There were no injuries.

The fire occurred at 8.30am in a warehouse for melting foam beads, before spreading to two other buildings.

-- The Nation 2013-02-10

WATER MANAGEMENT

Oversight of RID yet to be decided: PM

Jeerapong Prasertpolkrung

The Nation

Officials studying whether to make the Royal Irrigation Department part of proposed new water agency

BANGKOK: -- It has not been decided whether the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) will become part of the proposed new agency to take charge of water management, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday.

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Light rail system to replace expressway near Kasetsart University

Nantida Puangthong

The Nation on Sunday

BANGKOK: -- Pongsapat Pongcharoen, the Pheu Thai candidate in the Bangkok governor election, revealed yesterday the Transport Ministry had scrapped a plan to build an expressway in front of Kasetsart University and would erect a light rail system instead.

Pongsapat, accompanied by Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat, wooed voters at the university's Bang Khen campus during the Kaset Fair yesterday. Pongsapat attracted attention from many shoppers, who asked to take photos with him.

Asked by a student what he would do with the controversial six-lane expressway (Stage 3 N1) project that would eat into some of the university's land, he said he had spoken with Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt in the morning and was told the ministry would shift to a light rail transit system instead. He said Chadchart would announce this on February 16 as the government understood and knew Kasetsart University people opposed the expressway plan.

-- The Nation 2013-02-10

Nok Air calendar "inappropriate"

Pakamard Jaisa-ard

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Culture Permanent Secretary Prisana Pongtatpitakkul on Saturday attacked Nok Air for its controversial calendar.

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Prisoner killed in Trang jail

The Nation on Sunday

TRANG: -- A 40-year-old prisoner died from multiple stab wounds after being attacked yesterday by another inmate, reportedly enraged by his cooperation with Corrections Department officials' seeking to intercept 11 cell-phones that were smuggled into Trang Prison.

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Sons disagree on Kamnan Poh's condition

The Nation on Sunday

CHON BURI: -- Somchai "Kamnan Poh" Khunpluem's health had improved so he should be out of an intensive care unit in two to three days, his son Wittaya, president of Chon Buri's Provincial Administrative Organisation, said yesterday.

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Wanted man shot dead

Pares Lohansan

The Nation on Sunday

PATTANI: -- Pattani's Sai Buri district police and the Army cooperated in an operation yesterday that led to the arrest of a suspect wanted in many cases of attacks, including the recent killing of Muslim schoolteacher Chonlathee Charoenchol on January 23.

Following a tip-off that a wanted man was lying low at a relative's house, officials at 11am yesterday surrounded the house in tambon Taluban but the suspect fled to a nearby forest and fired at the officials, leading to a brief gunfight. Soon after, officials found the body of Narathiwat native Suhaidi Taheh, 31, with several gunshots in the neck and torso with a pistol in his hand.

Suhaidi was reportedly a leading insurgent in Narathiwat's Bacho district and was wanted in nine cases of violence. He was also identified as one of the culprits by a witness in the Chonlathee murder case.

Meanwhile, a defence volunteer Sulkhiblee Ta-yeh, 28, was killed on the spot and his colleague Ibrohim Salae, 30, seriously injured in an ambush by two men on a motorcyle in Pattani's Yarang district yesterday morning, Pol Lieutenant Jirawat Thongtha from Yarang Police Station said.

The attack occurred in Ban Ton Phai, Tambon Moh Mawee, while the duo was heading home to Yala in a pickup truck.

-- The Nation 2013-02-10

Phuket prepared for Chinese New Year

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has prepared an extravagant celebration to ring in the Year of the Water Snake with the arrival of the Chinese New Year.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....inese-new-year/

DSI should summon Pongsapat: Dems

The Nation on Sunday

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) should summon the Pheu Thai candidate for the Bangkok governor election, Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen, plus former police chief Pol Gen Priewpan Damapong and current chief Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew for information about the police station and flats building project, Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said yesterday.

Chavanond said the Pheu Thai government approved the PCC contract extension three times, each for 60 days, so they couldn't collect Bt1.026 billion in fines from PCC. With the Royal Thai Police unable to give 30 per cent of precinct construction areas to PCC, the firm used that as excuse to get an extension and avoid a fine. Terms of reference signed in 2009 by Pongsapat also stated that the police could give a 15-per-cent advance payment to the contractor, he said.

-- The Nation 2013-02-10

Northeast U.S. in state of emergency

WASHINGTON: -- Heavy snow has led to the deaths of at least five people in the north-eastern United States.

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Public sector Anti-Corruption Commission packs in Phuket land title investigations

Phuket Gazette

The Public sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) was ordered to drop the probe into hundreds of Phuket land title deeds after Col Dusadee was transferred. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- The investigation by the Public sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) into allegedly illegally issued land titles covering more than 500 rai of land in Phuket has silently been dropped.

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Many Bangkokians To Avoid Polls As They Are Sick Of Politics

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23-Year-Old American Tourist Found Dead In Phuket Hotel

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....n-phuket-hotel/

RT @191Thailand: Car bomb killed 5 soldiers in Raman, Yala this morning - (Pic @idongphoto) http://twitpic.com/c2bkxv

Five soldiers killed, one wounded in Yala bombing and shooting attack /MCOT

RT @mpoppel: Google will soon add the Bangladeshi cities of Dhaka and Chittagong to Street View, country's state media reports

Car bomb kills five soldiers in Thai south

BANGKOK, Feb 10, 2013 (AFP) - Five soldiers were killed Sunday in a bomb attack by suspected insurgents in Thailand's violence-wracked deep south, police said.

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Pattaya's U-Tapao Airport in the News

SATTAHIP: -- Unfortunately, nowadays, it has been revealed that even deadlier aircraft are now taking off and landing at U-Tapao; namely thousands of charter flights containing Russians, some of whom are excessively pissed-up.

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RT @RichardBarrow: 11:40am Parking lot at QSNCC already full. If you're coming to the Thailand Mobile Expo, best to go by MRT.

CSR

Thailand banks on accountable CSR reporting

The Nation

Bordin Unakul, SET

BANGKOK: -- From freebies and cheap one-sided programmes, corporate social responsibility activities in Thailand are rising to the next level. Formerly a part of public relations operations, companies are now required to be more committed and accountable about the true benefits of their activities, chiefly through systematic reporting.

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Off-Duty Police Officer arrested by colleagues at South Pattaya Bar

PATTAYA:--Just after 3am on Sunday Morning Pattaya Police received a report of an off-duty Police Officer who appeared drunk and was brandishing a gun in front of tourists at a Rock Bar on Walking Street in South Pattaya.

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SOUTH

Car bomb kills five soldiers, wounds another in Yala

YALA: -- Five Thai soldiers were killed and one critically injured Sunday when suspected separatist militants detonated a car bomb, the latest in a string of attacks in the southern region.

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Phuket Deputy Honorary Consul: Russian tourists cause most problems, not expats

Phuket Gazette

Santi Udomkiratak, the Russian Federation Deputy Honorary Consul to Phuket, says that Russia should not be judged based on the actions of a few individuals. Photo: Chutharat Plerin

PHUKET: -- Santi Udomkiratak, 48, has been the Deputy Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation for the provinces of Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga since 2008. Born and raised in Phuket, Mr Santi received a degree in mechanical engineering from King Mongkut’s University of Technology in Bangkok. Here, he gives his views on Russians in Phuket.

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Haze, smog in Lampang, Phrae rise to over 100 mcg/m3, but stilll under safety threshold of 120 mcg/m3 /MCOT

“No compensation but I want to punch you”. Road Rage caught on tape in Sattahip.

SATTAHIP: -- The driver of a Luxury SUV from Bangkok was involved in a minor road accident with a local man on Saturday and stated that instead of receiving compensation for minor damage caused to his vehicle, he would rather punch the motorbike driver.

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Hat Yai lively with foreign tourists during Chinese New Year; Bt300 mln circulation expected

By Digital Media

SONGKHLA, Feb 10 - The Chinese New Year celebration in Hat Yai business district in this southern province has been lively, with throngs of Malaysian and Singaporean tourists shopping in the area, with around Bt300 million expected to circulate here.

Tourists Business Federation of Songkhla chairman Surapol Kampalanonwat said many tourists have flocked to Hat Yai during this festival because they were confident of security measures, and all hotel rooms were fully booked.

The God of Prosperity, or 'Cai Shen,' over 2.30m in height was also enshrined on Sanehanusorn Rd for people to pay homage to the deity in the heart of Hat Yai, amid tight security measures. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-02-10

RT@RichardBarrow: 4:20pm Chinatown is gridlocked due to Yaowarat Rd being partially closed. Best to avoid pic.twitter.com/VWIPieZm

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presides over Chinese New Year Festival in Bangkok's Chinatown /MCOT