Private sector undisturbed by looming energy crisis during April 4-12

BANGKOK, 19 February 2013 (NNT) – The private sector is not disturbed by reports of an upcoming energy emergency, expected during the middle of April.

Vice Chairman of Thai Chamber of Commerce Issara Vongkusolakij said on Monday the private sector has not been worried about the Energy Ministry’s plan to announce an energy emergency due to the disruption of the natural gas supply from Myanmar during April 4-12.

Mr. Issara stated that the industrial sector will not likely be affected much by the disruption, as parts of the suspension period fall on the Songkran holiday.

Still, he noted that the looming situation is a reminder for the private sector to be proactive and to look for preventive measures for the future.

The Vice Chairman of Thai Chamber of Commerce also reckoned that as the gas supply disruption will be short-lived and the government has promised to introduce accommodating measures as well as long-term energy management plan for the country, there should not be any energy crisis in Thailand anytime soon.

-- NNT 2013-02-19

100 pangolins seized in Nakhon Si Thammarat

By Digital Media

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Feb 19 – Thai authorities confiscated 112 pangolins hidden in a truck in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Police inspected the vehicle as it had raised suspicion as it moved north on the Asian Highway bound for Chumphon from the southern province of Pattani.

The pangolins were restrained in nets and covered with straw. Driver Noopadol Paenthong, 24, and Paranyoo Chiamdee, 21, were arrested and charged with possessing endangered species.

The driver said he was hired to drive the truck from Pattani to a customer in Chumphon but he denied knowing about pangolins being hidden in the vehicle.

Scales from the anteaters are in demand for Chinese traditional medicine and as exotic food in restaurants in several Asian countries. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-02-19

Bangkok tempts hubris, enters its tap water in international competition

By Shane Danaher

Photo: Berkley Springs International Water Tasting

Full story:

Mahidol: Thailand tops ASEAN with most number of senior citizens

BANGKOK, 19 February 2013 (NNT) – The Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, has indicated that Thailand has the most number of senior citizens in ASEAN, creating concerns for the economy in the future.

Full story:

Newtown shooter motivated by Norway massacre: source

BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Adam Lanza, who killed 26 people in Connecticut of the United States last year, was motivated by a Norwegian mass murderer.

Full story:

RT@BBCBreaking: Athlete and murder suspect #OscarPistorius arrives at court in Pretoria for bail hearing

Pattani village head assistant shot dead, two wounded in three incidents

By English News

PATTANI, Feb 19 - Violence in the restive South continued unabated Tuesday as a village head assistant in this southern border province was shot dead early today, while a teacher and a local villager were wounded last night in separate shootings believed to be the work of insurgents.

Police said 45-year-old village head assistant Somsak Surasit was gunned down by a passenger on a motorcycle while he was driving his motorcycle home in Khok Pho district this morning. He died instantly at the scene while the gunman fled.

The latest violence occurred after two other incidents had already taken place elsewhere in the province.

Police said Saman Eso, 55, a teacher at Ban Tupa School in the same district, was shot by a presumed insurgent while driving home. An unidentified villager also suffered a gunshot wound in another incident last night.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanchana said he believed that planned use of the Internal Security Act to replace the Emergency Decree in the region would be an effective mechanism to prevent violent incidents.

He said existing security measures are sufficient for teachers with improved coordination among educators, security agencies and local administrative authorities.

Although there might be some violent incidents in certain areas in which teachers become victims, it is different from previous incidents in which insurgents intentionally killed teachers on school premises, the minister said.

Mr Phongthep added that the teacher shortage will no longer be a problem as some graduates in the area have volunteered to teach students and it is not necessary to enlist border patrol police to teach. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-02-19

RT@veen_NT: Leonardo Dicaprio joins the elephant conservation, asking Yingluck's govt to shut down ivory market trade. #WWF #FB

https://t.co/sjyu0aim

Chalerm appoints advisory team to help resolve insurgency

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Feb 19 - Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung signed an order appointing a new team of advisers to help him quell violence in the southern border region, effective today.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/620077-chalerm-floats-new-thoughts-on-tackling-southern-insurgency/page__st__50#entry6129630

Lustful Monk Accused of Lewd Behavior By Nun

A 22-year-old female golf caddy accused a Sattahip monk of obscene behavior during a religious ritual. The victim was ordaining as a temporary nun at the temple. The arrested monk denied the charges, and has hired a lawyer who posted 50,000 THB bail for his release.

Full story:

WILDLIFE

DiCaprio calls for Thai govt and Yingluck to ban ivory trade

The Nation

File photo : DiCaprio

BANGKOK: -- Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio has called for Thailand and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to show leadership on elephant conservation by banning all ivory trade in Thailand.

Full story:

'Missing' Swiss student discovered in Ranong prison pleads guilty

Phuket Gazette

Ms Janisch pled guilty to a charge of theft in a Ranong Court and received a one-year suspended sentence. Photo: Travelfish

PHUKET: -- The Swiss student, who was thought to be missing for a month before being found in Ranong Prison, has pleaded guilty to the theft charges levied against her after she balked at an immigration overstay fine and stole an immigration officer’s camera.

Full story:

Cabinet resolution: State agencies to reduce energy consumption by 10%, otherwise face budget cut; jackets banned for cabinet members /MCOT

Education Minister rejects call for Border Patrol Police to replace teachers in deep South

BANGKOK, 19 February 2013 (NNT) - Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana rejects the call that teachers in Thailand's southernmost provinces should be replaced by Border Patrol Police, following a series of insurgent attacks on teachers.

The Education Minister said that teachers are not the insurgents' "real target". The teachers wounded or killed in recent days, Mr Phongthep said, only came into the bombing scene incidentally, without being specifically targeted. In this sense, the recent "attacks" on teachers were unlike the preceding ones in which insurgents stormed into schools and killed particularly selected teachers.

He said that teacher volunteers are now being sent into the restive area in response to the teacher shortage, and so there is currently no need for Border Patrol Police to be sent down to teach in their place.

As to the extra benefits to be granted for teachers in the deep South, the Education Minister said he had already proposed a number of them to the cabinet, but they had to be first approved by the cabinet before specific details about them can be made known.

Commenting on the government's decision to use the Internal Security Act in place of the Emergency Decree, Mr Phongthep said that both laws can be put to good use by allowing authorities to resolve minor criminal cases without having to go through the usual lengthy procedure.

-- NNT 2013-02-19

South African prosecutor says athlete Oscar Pistorius fired four shots at girlfriend, three hit her though bathroom door /BBC

RT @ChannelNewsAsia: Lawyer for Paralympic star OscarPistorius has said killing of the athlete's girlfriend Reeva Steemkamp "was not murder"

DPM Chalerm to visit Deep South on March 3

BANGKOK, 19 February 2013 (NNT) – The deputy prime minister in charge of security is set to travel to the country’s southern border region again at the beginning of next month.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Ubumrung said on Monday that he will make a trip to the violence-torn Deep South on March 3, after having cast ballot in the Bangkok gubernatorial election.

Mr. Chalerm’s plan was unveiled after his meeting with the Chief of Staff from the Royal Thai Army’s Region 4 at Government House.

The Deputy PM also stated the government will, from now, be focusing on the enforcement of the Internal Security Act in the southern border area.

He added that other measures may be introduced after related agencies have completed talks on the issue.

According to the DPM, the government will likely be pursuing negotiations and peaceful means in restoring peace in the restive South. He also noted that a success in tackling insurgent violence in the far South relies on cooperation from all sides, including the state sector and the public.

-- NNT 2013-02-19

Tour operators demand compensation from PC Air

BANGKOK, 19 February 2013 (NNT) - Tour operators have demanded a 100-million-baht compensation from private airline PC Air following a row that left 400 Thai passengers stranded at Incheon International Airport in October last year.

According to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), operators have travelled to the Ministry of Transport to file complaints against the airline after it failed to pay the amount demanded by tour groups. The agency and tour operators have been unable to reach PC Air’s executives for comments on the matter.

Transport Minister Chatchart Sitthiphan is expected to summon the airline’s management to a meeting with the Consumer Protection Board and the Crime Suppression Division.

The DCA stated that it would not renew PC Air’s license until compensation is fully paid to relevant parties .

South Korea’s biggest airport last year refused permission for PC Air’s sole aircraft, an Airbus 310-222 with 200 seats, to take off. The incident is triggered by a conflict between PC Air and its South Korean sales agent, Skyjet, over unpaid bills for airport charges and jet fuel, reportedly amounting to more than 10 million baht.

-- NNT 2013-02-19

Diamonds stolen in Belgian airport heist

BRUSSELS: -- ARMED men made off with a shipment of diamonds as it was being loaded onto a plane at the Brussels airport, Belgian media report.

Full story:

Two suspected insurgents nabbed during security raid in Narathiwat

By Digital Media

NARATHIWAT, Feb 19 - Two suspected insurgents were arrested today as security forces closed in on a house in this restive southern province suspected of harbouring some of the attackers of a marine outpost who remained at large since last week.

A combined force of 60 police and military personnel found a suspicious house in Rueso district while searching the area early Tuesday morning.

As they approached the house, three men escaped, but another two surrendered to the government force.

One detained suspect was identified as Aisumal Jehama, 28, with an outstanding arrest warrant for his role in the bombing of Rueso police Sept 12, 2008 which wounded eight police officers. The other was Ali Baka, 25, who has an outstanding arrest warrant for arson at a Rueso school on March 21, 2007.

The security force seized a 9mm pistol with ammunition, four mobile phones and cash.

The two men were taken to a nearby military base for further questioning.

The security force continued searching for the three men who escaped arrest as it is believed that one of them was a leader of the insurgents who attacked the marine outpost last Wednesday which ended in the death of 16 assailants. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-02-19

Bangkok Sinking Faster

By Digital Media

BANGKOK: -- Successive Bangkok governments have invested billions of baht in building embankment systems and used several other means to ​protect the heart of Bangkok. However, surveillance results from Thaichote, the first Thai earth observation satellite has revealed interesting results which shows that Bangkok and its vicinity could be sinking even faster than earlier predicted.

Full story:

ELECTRICITY

Power campaign to involve shopping malls

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Shopping malls and large-scale supermarkets may be urged to lower air-conditioner temperature during April 4-12, to reduce their electricity consumption.

A source from the Energy Ministry said that the lower temperature by 1 degree celcius would reduce power usage by 300 megawatts.

He said that the commercial complexes may be asked to lower the temperature on alternate hours during 9am to 8pm. As this should reduce the use of diesel and bunker oil for electricity generating, the saved amount could be split among the complexes as incentives.

"This will require Provincial Electricity Generating and Metropolitan Electricity Generating enlist all the shopping malls and come up with a method to show the reduced power usage," he said.

Meanwhile, large-sized buildings will also be urged to cut power usage. He noted that industrial plants have so far avoided using power during peak hours.

"This initiative however needs the government’s endorsement. If we win the supports, the initiative could also be enforced in every summer," he said.

-- The Nation 2013-02-19

SET index closed at 1532.07, up 8.78; Bt/USD29.75; GBP45.90; AUD30.60; EUR39.59; CAD29.25; HKD3.83; SGD23.86; JPY31.56

Card-playing con artists caught in Phuket

Tanyaluk Sakoot

Wasan Chuthong, left, and Tiwalai “Su” Pasut.

PHUKET: -- Phuket police last night (February 18) arrested two members of a gang of con artists who are believed to have cheated people in Phuket and other parts of Thailand out of as much as B20 million.

Full story:

CITES

Ivory trade crackdown as CITES meeting nears

Janjira Pongrai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is trying to better regulate the ivory trade in Thailand before the high-profile CITES conference kicks off in Bangkok early next month.

Full story:

Police nail multi-million-baht real estate scam artists in Phuket

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- Patong Police yesterday arrested two con artists who allegedly made more than 16 million baht by posing as real estate agents and luring potential clients into fixed gambling matches of fantan.

Full story:

Bodies of British cyclists to be sent to UK

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A representative appointed by the British embassy Tuesday picked up the bodies of a couple killed in a road crash in Chachoengsao.

The duo was on a round-the-world bicycling journey.

Peter Root and Mary Thompson, both 34-year-old British citizens, died at 1pm last Wednesday when a pickup hit them on Kabin Buri-Phanom Sarakham Road.

The pickup driver, Worapong Sangkawat, is now facing charges of reckless driving causing deaths. If convicted, he will face up to 10 years in jail and/or a maximum fine of Bt20,000.

"Their bodies will be returned to Britain," Nopparat Khonyuen, the representative, said. He spoke to reporters while contacting the Phanom Sarakham Police Station to pick up the bodies and the couple's belongings.

-- The Nation 2013-02-19

NIDA poll: 41 percent of voters remain undecided in the Bangkok gubernatorial election

BANGKOK, 19 February 2013 (NNT) - Recent poll results suggest that a key fraction of Bangkok voters remain indecisive about their choice for the next Bangkok Governor.

The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) has released results from a poll conducted on Bangkok residents in all 50 districts. NIDA poll director Suvicha Pao-ari said voters are likely to make their decision in the final stretch before the March 3 Bangkok gubernatorial election. Nearly 4 percent of those surveyed also opted to cast a no vote on the day, a trend that is likely to grow during the upcoming week.

Full details of the poll, set to be released on Wednesday, will be the last poll to be published by NIDA before the election date. The move comes after the EC has banned the release of any poll result seven days before the Election Day.

Mr Suvicha further noted that Pheu Thai candidate Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen continues to take the lead in the final poll, closely followed by Democrat candidate MR Sukhumbhand Paripatra.

-- NNT 2013-02-19

Thailand steps up measures to prevent illegal ivory trade.

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Feb 19 - Thailand's National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department has instructed local ivory traders to beware of involvement with the illegal ivory trade.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/620378-leonardo-dicaprio-calls-for-thai-govt-and-yingluck-to-ban-ivory-trade/page__st__25#entry6130746

ISA likely to replace emergency decree in specified areas.

By Digital Media.

BANGKOK, Feb the nineteenth - Thailand's National Security Council Chief said Tuesday there is High possibility that the less-draconian Internal Security Act Will be enforced in some certain areas of the Southern Border Provinces, Replacing the existing Emergency Decree.

"It is highly Likely that the. internal Security Act Could be invoked in wider areas than Five districts of Three Southern Border Provinces now under the Emergency Decree as the situation has somewhat eased to a certain Level, "Lt.-Gen Paradorn Pattanathabutr said.

He Added that the decision Will be made ​​on. March 19 when the current emergency decree expires. Redeployment Security Will have to replace Soldiers in the areas to be considered before invoking the ISA.

The Executive Decree on Emergency situations has been imposed in the Region Since July 2005 and has been renewed Periodically Since ever. The Decree Gives State authorities special powers including the Authority to Detain any suspect without charges for up to the 30th Days.

The NSC Chief made ​​the announcement to reporters after discussions with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra as Well as Key Security Ministers and agencies. He quoted the Premier as saying it was necessary that development and Justice Must go together in Handling problems in the Troubled Region.

The foreign Ministry has been Asked to clarify to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) regarding the loss of many lives when Thai Marines. fended off a militant assault on their outpost which left 16 insurgents dead in an overnight shootout, Lt-Gen Paradorn said. (MCOT online news).

-- TNA 2013-02-19

National defense volunteer nabbed with marijuana at Phuket checkpoint

Phuket Gazette -

PHUKET: Thalang Police arrested a national defense volunteer with two bags of marijuana at a checkpoint in Thalang on Saturday.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/620442-national-defense-volunteer-nabbed-with-marijuana-at-phuket-checkpoint/