Thailand Live Monday 15 Apr 2013

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Thai team at the ICJ confident
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
The Hague



Land dispute hearing begins today with Cambodian arguments; legal counsel 'satisfied' with Thai case

THE HAGUE: -- Thailand's legal team is confident that it has a good case and strong evidence to present at the four-day hearing in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case involving the dispute with Cambodia over land near Preah Vihear Temple, which opens today.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633036-thai-team-at-the-i-c-j-confident/

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REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Can Thailand and Cambodia cooperate after ICJ?
Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Nation


Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul and Defense Minister Sukumph Suwanatat have a preparation meeting with legal counsels team Alain Pellet, James Crawford and Donald McRae in a hotel in Hague.

BANGKOK: -- For the next four gruelling days in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Thailand and Cambodia will muster all their national pride and historical imperatives to present their cases in the dispute over the Temple of Preah Vihear/Phra Viharn's surrounding area. Whatever the ICJ's decision later this year, the two countries cannot turn away from each other and their common destiny. But, can they cooperate?

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633041-can-thailand-and-cambodia-cooperate-after-i-c-j/

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ACCIDENTS
Tougher law enforcement ordered
The Nation


An accident in Sa Kaeo.

BANGKOK: -- Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan yesterday ordered all 76 provincial governors and other officials to get tougher in enforcing the law after the Songkran death toll was 29 per cent more than last year even though road accidents were lesser.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633042-songkran-death-toll-29-percent-more-than-last-year;-tougher-law-enforcement-ordered/

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AMNESTY BILL
Pheu Thai eyes Amnesty Bill reading this week
The Nation

Ruling party MPs push for draft to be placed at top of agenda; Kachit mulls new bill that would include Thaksin

BANGKOK: -- Pheu Thai MPs will ask for their amnesty bill to be moved to the top the House agenda on Thursday and they are confident it will clear the first reading on Friday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633043-pheu-thai-eyes-amnesty-bill-reading-this-week/

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SAFETY
Taxi driver sought in shooting
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Bang Sue police are seeking a taxi driver who allegedly shot and wounded a drunk passenger who was about to vomit in his vehicle, after an online post carrying details of the incident went viral on a social media network.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633044-thai-police-are-seeking-a-taxi-driver-who-shot-and-wounded-a-drunk-passenger/

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TOURISM
April to see more foreign tourists
The Nation


The annual Songkran festival has been hailed as one of major events that draw a number of foreign visitors to Thailand.

BANGKOK: -- The number of inbound travellers to Thailand is anticipated to increase by 18.6 per cent this month to about 2 million and generate Bt83.7 billion in revenue, up 20 per cent over April 2012, according to Kasikorn Research Centre.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633045-april-to-see-more-foreign-tourists-thailand/

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EDITORIAL
Don't mistake 'boredom' for a green light
The Nation



The public may have lost its appetite for TV debates, but charter change still has the potential to ignite the Kingdom's political powder keg

BANGKOK: -- Nearly 60 per cent of respondents to the latest survey by Abac Poll said they did not follow the recent televised parliamentary debate on the constitutional amendment bill. If the poll provided any surprise at all, it was that 40 per cent did follow the debate. After all, cynicism aside, 40 per cent is a substantial proportion.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633046-dont-mistake-boredom-for-a-green-light-thai-editorial/

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Poll finds 76% of Thais sceptical of govt's Bt2trillion loan plans
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Most people doubt there will be transparency in the government's plan to seek Bt2 trillion in loans for infrastructure development, and do not believe the loan spending will be optimised, an opinion survey has found.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633047-poll-finds-76-of-thais-sceptical-of-govts-bt2trillion-loan-plans/

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PM helps sister Yaowapa campaign in Chiang Mai
The Nation



Pheu Thai Party MP candidate Yaowapa Wongsawat has shown her ambition to take up more important tasks than just being a member of Parliament for Chiang Mai.

CHIANG MAI: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday helped her elder sister campaign in Doi Saket district in Constituency 3. After walking around Padungdoidaen Market greeting the throngs of voters who turned out to meet the PM's team, the pair visited Doi Saket Temple to seek blessings from Abbot Phra Photirangsi.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633049-yingluck-helps-sister-yaowapa-campaign-in-chiang-mai/

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Govt 'fully prepared' as world court opens Preah Vihear case
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will stay in Chiang Mai to closely monitor testimonies being presented before the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the ThaiCambodian border dispute. She has also urged Thais to follow the court session with calm.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633036-thai-team-at-the-i-c-j-confident/#entry6303726

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ELECTRICITY
Energy crisis has passed: Egat
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has escaped a possible energy crisis, thanks to the national energy-saving campaign and lower-than-expected temperature, according to Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632952-thailand-sails-smoothly-through-power-challenge/#entry6303733

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Cambodia, Thailand take temple dispute to top UN court

by Charles ONIANS

THE HAGUE, April 15, 2013 (AFP) - Thailand and Cambodia are to face off at the UN's highest court Monday in a dispute over land surrounding a flashpoint temple that has seen deadly clashes along their joint border.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633036-thai-team-at-the-i-c-j-confident/#entry6303813

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Swiss man drowns in Pattaya sea
The Nation

CHON BURI: -- A 66-year-old man drowned off the Pattaya beach Sunday evening, police said. The body of Hans-Peter Hermann Satamminger, 66, was washed ashore and found on the North Pattaya beach at 3 am Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633062-swiss-man-drowns-in-pattaya-sea/

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The Thai stock market is closed today for a public holiday /AFP

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Phuket Songkran: Zero road deaths through Day 3
Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- Phuket maintained its zero death toll for Day 3 of the Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign for the Songkran Thai new year holiday period, while nationwide the death toll grew to 173.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633058-phuket-songkran-zero-road-deaths-through-day-3/

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RT @191Thailand: In the first 4 days of the #Songkran holiday in #Thailand, 218 people have been killed & 2,020 injured in road accidents

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Songkran day four: Still zero road deaths in Phuket

PHUKET: -- Four days into the “Seven Days of Danger” road accident period surrounding Songkran, Phuket is still mercifully free of deaths. Yesterday (April 14) there were just three reported accidents on the island, with three people injured.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633058-phuket-songkran-zero-road-deaths-through-day-3/#entry6304064

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UPDATE
Phuket expat fined B4,000 for false robbery report
Nattha Thepbamrung

PHUKET: -- Phuket expatriate, Frenchman Marc Forestier, has been fined B4,000 by the Phuket District Court for filing a false report stating that he had been robbed.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632836-french-tourist-claims-he-was-robbed-after-phuket-spending-spree/page-3#entry6304072

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Meteorological Dep't warns of heavy rain, forest runoff in South; 30% of rain in Bangkok; very hot weather in North /MCOT

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Cork father drowns in Thailand
By Catherine Shanahan
Irish Examiner Reporter

KOH TAO: -- A Corkman has drowned in a diving accident at the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633061-irish-national-dies-in-koh-tao-diving-accident/

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Phuket: Fighting fire with fire
Jody Houton



PHUKET: -- In response to a threat issued by a Karon tuk-tuk driver that, if introduced, a public bus service from the airport to Kata and Karon would be met with public road protests, a Phuket News reader suggested that “heads should be cracked”, in order to fight the violence with even greater violence.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633064-phuket-tuk-tuk-driver-threat-fighting-fire-with-fire/

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Phuket seawalkers deny destroying corals
Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- About 200 square meters of coral have been damaged off Khai Nai island in Phang Nga, say local marine officials, in order to create a pathway for tourists to walk on the sea floor.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633065-phuket-seawalkers-deny-destroying-corals/

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Asian gecko threatened by medicine trade


Photo: Stuart McK

KUALA LUMPUR: (AFP): -- Activists warned Thursday that wild populations of Southeast Asia's striking Tokay Gecko were in danger of being over-hunted for use in traditional medicine in China and other countries.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633067-asian-gecko-threatened-by-medicine-trade/

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Maduro named victor in Venezuela election /Reuters

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RT @BreakingNews: Venezuela's Capriles says Maduro lost election;says he won't recognize result,will wait until full audit of vote- @Reuters

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Venezuela's Henrique Capriles says Maduro lost election, wants every vote recounted /Voice of Russia

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218 killed so far in road accidents in four 'dangerous' Songkran holidays
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The death toll in Songkran road accidents has risen to 218 in the first four of seven dangerous Songkran holidays, the Road Safety Centre announced Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633077-218-killed-so-far-in-road-accidents-in-four-dangerous-songkran-holidays/

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Songkran festivities on Khao San Rd enter final day

BANGKOK, 15 April 2013 (NNT) – Water splashing on Khao San Road enters its third and final day.

Vendors were seen opening their stalls since early in the morning selling such goods as water pistols, water proof bags, food and drinks as more people are expected to join the festivity on its final day.

Police and city inspectors also began their patrol early even before Khao San road is closed to vehicular traffic at 10.00 a.m. An influx of tourists and locals have already turned up at the venue.


-- NNT 2013-04-15

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65 million cash flow in Sukhothai during Songkran

SUKHOTHAI, 15 April 2013 (NNT)-Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Sukhothai Office, has revealed a higher number of tourists visiting the province during Songkran holiday, with an expected amount of 65 million baht worth of cash flow reported.

According to the TAT, the rise in the number of both Thai and foreign tourists was due to aggressive tourism campaigns by the TAT. 46,000 more tourists reportedly visited Sukhothai this year than the previous one, an increase of 12% year-on-year.

The cash flow of 65 million baht has been generated during the holiday period, which is 8% higher than last year's.

-- NNT 2013-04-15

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Power situation returns to normalcy

BANGKOK, 15 April 2013 (NNT) – The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has reported that the power situation in Thailand is normal despite the temporary suspension of gas supply by Myanmar, thanks to efforts from all sectors to help saving energy.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633106-energy-crisis-has-passed-egat/#entry6304777