Thailand Live Thursday 25 Apr 2013

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NBC gets nod from shareholders for recapitalisation to bid for terrestrial TV
The Nation


Nation Multimedia Group chairman Suthichai Yoon, sixth from left, executives and newscasters give a thumbs up yesterday after the annual meeting of stockholders of the Nation Broadcasting Corporation.

BANGKOK: -- Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) inches closer to its plan to bid for a terrestrial digital TV licence after winning shareholders' approval for recapitalisation yesterday.

At the annual meeting yesterday, the shareholders approved the issuing of 353.74 million shares, which will be allocated to existing shareholders at Bt1 apiece. The company will also issue free warrants to subscribers of the new shares, at the ratio of two new shares to one warrant. The warrant can be exercised for one share at Bt3. The issuance of new shares, to be available for subscription between July 2 and 5 and on July 8, is expected to raise Bt1.06 billion.

"The recapitalisation is meant to primarily finance our digital TV bidding with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, which is scheduled to be held this year," NBC president Adisak Limprungpatanakij said. "The rest of the money will be used to expand our existing business and working capital."

To strengthen the company's competitiveness in the bidding, the company also nominated Nation Multimedia Group Editor-in-Chief Thepchai Yong as director. Thepchai's extensive experience, chiefly as former director of Thai PBS and his executive role at iTV, is expected to strengthen the company's future in the digital TV industry. The nomination was unanimously approved by shareholders.

NBC last year posted a net profit of Bt48 million and shareholders yesterday approved a dividend payment of Bt0.18 per share. On top of the interim dividend payment of Bt0.12, the Bt0.6 extra dividend will be paid on May 20.

The company will also issue warrants under the Employee Stock Option Programme, backed by 176.87 million shares. The shareholders also approved the issuance of bonds of up to Bt500 million, to raise its working capital and finance business expansion.


-- The Nation 2013-04-25

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BAHT
Tempers rise over BOT rate policy
Business Reporters
The Nation


Traffic at Klong Toey port is light as strong baht and weak global demand take a toll on Thai exports.

BANGKOK: -- The differences between the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) over baht management are reaching a critical point, amid growing calls from the private sector for harsh measures such as capital controls and a sharp cut in the policy rate.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635107-thai-baht-tempers-rise-over-b-o-t-rate-policy/

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CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
Reds to seek impeachment of judges
Chanikarn Phumhiran,
Prapasri Osathanon,
Patinya Iamtarn
The Nation



Group warns it will try to block their salaries as protest enters third day

BANGKOK Upset that the Constitutional Court judges have been ignoring demands for them to quit, the red shirts yesterday threatened to launch an impeachment campaign and have the Budget Bureau stop paying their salaries.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635108-reds-to-seek-impeachment-of-judges;-group-warns-it-will-try-to-block-their-salaries/

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BOMB DETECTORS
Quality certificates used by firm were fake
PIYANUT TUMNUKASETCHAI
THE NATION


A foreign firm used fake certificates of the British and Dutch defence ministries in persuading Thailand to buy its GT200 and Alpha 6 bomb detectors, which have finally turned out to be fakes.

UK invites Thai team to testify as victim in GT200, Alpha 6 scam

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has been invited to send its representatives to testify in a British court as being among the victims of Comstrac Co Ltd.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635109-u-k-invites-thai-team-to-testify-as-victim-in-gt200-alpha-6-bomb-detectors-scam/

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Japan's Fukui University opens branch in Bangkok
WANNAPA KHAOPA
THE NATION


NATION MULTIMEDIA GROUP chairman Suthichai Yoon and Dr Ken Kanai, |chairman of the Board of Trustees of Kanai Educational Institution, attend the launch of Fukui University of Technology

BANGKOK: -- Opportunities for Thais wishing to study science, engineering, design - have widened, as a private Japanese university has set up an office in the Kingdom to assist students in pursuing further education in Japan.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635110-japans-fukui-university-opens-branch-in-bangkok/

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EDITORIAL

Clamp down on transnational crime in Thailand

The Nation

Authorities need to get tougher on foreign criminals and the corrupt police officers who protect them.

BANGKOK: -- We are hearing about more criminal cases involving foreign expatriates in Thailand. Recently, the skeleton of a Hungarian billionaire was found on Samui Island. The man was believed to be a victim of a Hungarian-Israeli businessman being detained at Phuket Prison for the murder of another Hungarian earlier this year. The detained businessman, who went by another name in Hungary, is wanted in his own country, having fled after being sentenced to seven years in jail for fraud.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635111-clamp-down-on-transnational-crime-in-thailand/

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THAI TALK
Democrats can't win without major internal reform
Suthichai Yoon
The Nation


Alongkorn Polabutra

BANGKOK: -- "The Democrat Party isn't a party of the capitalists. Nor is it a party for the people. It belongs to a group of senior party executives," said a political-science academic the other day, after a small uproar erupted over the proposed revamping of Thailand's oldest political party.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635112-thai-talk-democrats-cant-win-without-major-internal-reform/

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BURNING ISSUE
Charter change conflict getting dangerous
Attayuth Bootsripoom

BANGKOK: -- You do not have to be a political guru to discern that the move to amend the Constitution will lead to severe conflicts and possible violence because the supporters and detractors will not budge from their trenches.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635113-thai-charter-change-conflict-getting-dangerous/

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Cambodia aims to develop area around Preah Vihear: Democrats
PRAPASRI OSATHANON
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said yesterday that Cambodia is planning to propose that the area around Preah Vihear Temple be developed, at the next meeting of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in June, and hence the government should launch a clear opposition campaign.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635114-cambodia-aims-to-develop-area-around-preah-vihear-thai-democrats/

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Major drug haul follows shootout
The Nation



CHIANG RAI: -- A gunfight between Thai para-military officers and a caravan of drug smugglers in Chiang Rai's Mae Chan district early yesterday resulted in a haul of about one-million yaba tablets.

A pickup truck police thought was suspicious, with some 12 men onboard, was stopped by the officers near a checkpoint on the Kew Satai-Mae Chan Road in Tambon Pa Tueng just after midnight.

The truck reportedly tried to flee and police said the men opened fire at them, leading to a five-minute gunfight.

One suspect was injured and arrested along with 120,000 yaba tablets, while 11 others managed to flee.

The wounded, later identified as Lahu hill-tribal man Jala Jalo,26, told authorities they were delivering 11 sacks of yaba to a customer in Chiang Mai’s Mae Ai district and were about to travel on foot to avoid the checkpoint’s detection when they were stopped.

Mae Chan Police later recovered another 840,000 yaba tablets in seven sacks in an abyss two kilometres from the gunfight scene.


-- The Nation 2013-04-25

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Lack of evidence stymies blast investigation
The Nation

NARATHIWAT: -- The cause of Monday's deadly explosion of a bomb whose detonator had already been removed remains unclear, with a simple accident being the latest hypothesis, joining theories of a second detonator or a crude circuit.

The blast killed three Marines and wounded six

"Even after the detonator was disarmed at the scene, the chopping up of the gas tank [containing ANFO] during dismantling may have triggered the blast," an explosive-ordnance disposal (EOD) instructor - who dismisses the second-detonator theory - said yesterday.

ANFO is a highly flammable mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.

The home-made bomb using a gas tank went off at a Navy barracks in Narathiwat.

The EOD officer also ruled out a crude mechanism, saying it was almost impossible because the bomb makers could not see inside the tank during assembly work to set the direction of the wires, which would move towards each other to make contact.

Another EOD officer said a duplicate detonator was possibly placed inside, but this could only be done by experts.

"Maybe there was just an accidental impact during the lab-based inspection and disassembly work, after the gas tank was found at the site and taken to the Marine Task Force 32 headquarters in Bacho district as evidence," the officer said.

The investigation of the explosion has hit a wall because the blast destroyed the lab, obliterating all evidence.


-- The Nation 2013-04-25

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Security in South boosted as Krue Se date nears
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Security in the deep South, especially the seven key cities, is being beefed up as the ninth anniversary of the April 28 Krue Se Mosque incident nears. The authorities are also keeping a close eye on Songkhla's Chana, Thepha, Na Thawi and Hat Yai districts after getting a tip off that Sainubase Sulongsen, a key member of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil insurgent group, and seven others were plotting to stir chaos.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635115-security-in-south-boosted-as-krue-se-date-nears/

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Democrats brush off DSI summonses
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Democrat chief adviser Chuan Leekpai yesterday postponed his meeting with investigators from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) over charges of violating the political-party donation law.

The DSI has summoned 44 Democrat executives to testify and yesterday it was the turn of Chuan, Jurin Laksanavisit and Trairong Suwankhiri. However, the three sent representatives to tell DSI they could not make it. As a result, the DSI summoned Kraisak Chonhavan, Chamni Sakdiseth, Charoen Khanthawong, Buranat Samuttharak and Thawil Praison to acknowledge the charges instead.

Lawyer Rames Ratanachaweng, who accompanied the Democrats, said DSI did not have solid evidence against the party. He said the Democrats had done nothing wrong by donating part of their salary.

He added that the Democrats have decided to sue DSI in retaliation.


-- The Nation 2013-04-25

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Video on sacking of Ayutthaya goes viral
Budsarakham Sinlapalavan
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The second fall of Ayutthaya to invading Burmese forces in 1767 is now the subject of a popular video on social media.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635116-video-on-sacking-of-ayutthaya-goes-viral/

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UPDATE:
Director of documentary vows to fight against ban
Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The director of the latest banned Thai film about the Thai-Cambodian border dispute and rifts in Thai politics, says his documentary film is a collection of views by various sides on the ground and he will appeal to the censorship committee to reconsider its ban.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/634952-thailand-bans-film-about-thai-cambodian-border-row/?p=6335950#entry6335950

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Ministries allowed bigger budgets as independent agencies have theirs slashed
Jeerapong Prasertpolkrung,
Anapat Deechuay
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet has given the green light to most ministries' higher budget proposals for the 2014 fiscal year, but independent agencies have been given a lot less than they requested.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635118-thai-ministries-allowed-bigger-budgets-as-independent-agencies-have-theirs-slashed/

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PM, Thein Sein to talk about Dawei project
Juarawee Kittisilpa
The Nation
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will today update Myanmar President Thein Sein on the Dawei mega infrastructure project.

The briefing would take place on the sidelines of the Asean Summit here, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, said yesterday.

Yingluck uses every opportunity at international conferences to meet Thein Sein to discuss the development of the port, which Thailand wants to be a gateway to western oceans.

The Cabinet recently approved the establishment of a technical committee to oversee the project.

During their retreat today, Yingluck and the other leaders would take up various issues pertaining to community building in Asean - moving the way forward.

Regarding regional security, the disputes in the South China Sea and the tensions on the Korean Peninsula are expected to be put on the table, with the former issue getting the push for more dialogue.

Thailand is looking to see what it can do as the country coordinator between Asean and China, as the maritime territorial row has wide regional implications for stability and security.

"We want to see peace and stability prevail. It's important that all sides exercise self-restraint," Sihasak said.


-- The Nation 2013-04-25

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UPDATE:
Security guard arrested for allegedly stealing from museum
Thanapon Saengthong
The Nation
Chai Nat



CHAI NAT: -- A security guard at the Chainatmuni National Museum on Wednesday confessed to stealing many precious antiques from his workplace and implicated his former co-worker.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/634887-antiques-missing-from-museum-in-chai-nat/#entry6335985

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Thailand Seeks Israeli Security Solutions

JERUSALEM: -- A group of 33 Thai Members of Parliament are in Israel Wednesday to learn about Israeli defense systems for use in Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635119-thailand-seeks-israeli-security-solutions/

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Thieving cabbie brought to justice by lottery enthusiast



BANGKOK: -- In a case of human weakness working to undermine human weakness, this past week a thieving cabbie was brought to justice (almost by accident) through the actions of a devout, lottery enthusiast.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635131-thieving-bangkok-cabbie-brought-to-justice-by-lottery-enthusiast/

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Thai stock index opens on Thursday at 1,556.01, up 2.16 points /MCOT

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UPDATE:

DSI continues probe of fake bomb detectors as British producer convicted
By English News



BANGKOK, April 25 – The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) continues investigating Thailand’s purchase of bogus bomb detectors from a British businessman who was recently convicted by a British court.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635109-u-k-invites-thai-team-to-testify-as-victim-in-gt200-alpha-6-bomb-detectors-scam/#entry6336478

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Feature

Myanmar looks to revive abandoned 'Death Railway'

by Kelly Macnamara

THANBYUZAYAT, Myanmar, April 25, 2013 (AFP) - An elegant cemetery in strife-torn southeast Myanmar has long stood as a lonely testament to the fate of thousands of prisoners of war who died building Japan's "Death Railway".

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/634998-a-n-z-a-c-day-thursday-25-april-lest-we-forget/page-2#entry6336498

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Public encouraged to reduce plastic bag usage by 1 bag per person per day

BANGKOK, 25 April 2013 (NNT) – The Department of Environmental Quality Promotion is targeting to have the public reduce usage of plastic bags by one bag perone person per day. If successful, the number of plastic bags that go to waste will be reduced by 67 million each day.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635137-public-encouraged-to-reduce-plastic-bag-usage-by-1-bag-per-person-per-day/

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MWA & EGAT in official pact to preserve and development water sources

BANGKOK, 25 April 2013 (NNT) – The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) have entered an official agreement to help preserve and develop the country’s water resources.

MWA Governor Chareon Passara and EGAT Governor Sutat Patmasiriwat, on Wednesday, singed an MOU on water resources preservation and development, designed to enable both to exchange knowledge and information while collaborating on the management of water resources and environmental restoration.

Mr. Chareon said the latest collaboration between MWA and EGAT is hoped to help Thailand enjoy sustainable abundance of water sources and supply as well as natural resources, with focus given to areas around all major dams throughout the country.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sutat added that EGAT appreciates the support from MWA, which explicitly recognizes the significance of water resources preservation.

He also reckoned that the new MOU will be the beginning of more collaborative efforts between major state enterprises to boost public awareness on the protection of natural resources and environment for the future of Thailand.


-- NNT 2013-04-25

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PM calls meeting with NSC on budget for dealing with southern violence

Bangkok, 25 April 2013, (NNT) Prime Minister Yingluck yesterday met with national security-related agencies to discuss measures to deal with the ongoing spate of southern violence.

Attending the meeting were Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-Ocha, Royal Thai Navy Aide-De-Camp Admiral Jakkachai Phuchareonyod, Royal Air Force Aide-De-Camp Air Chief Marshal Araya Ngampramuan, Police Chief Adul Sangsignkaew, and National Security Council Secretary Lieutenant General Paradon Patanatabutr.

Prior to the meeting, Lieutenant General Paradon disclosed that the discussion would focus on the details of the budget to be used in tackling the southern violence and integrating the work of Internal Security Operations Command and Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center.

He added that 9 representatives have been selected to participate in the next round of peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional.


-- NNT 2013-04-25

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Declining gold price boosts sales of gold ornaments
By English News



BANGKOK, April 25 - The slump and volatility of the gold price has created a new phenomenon with sales of gold ornaments surging by 40 per cent in the last several days, according to a Thai gold trader.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635154-declining-gold-price-boosts-sales-of-gold-ornaments-in-thailand/

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DBD's Mom and pop store promotion campaign

Bangkok, 25 April 2013, (NNT) Department of Business Development and Thai Retailers Association has organized a Mom and Pop Shop promotion campaign, under which over 10,000 participating shops will sell quality items at a discount.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Nuttawut saikuea stated that the campaign would run until May 15, adding that quality items will be available at 20-30% dicount.

The campaign would help residents save on all products as well as benefit the SME sector. The campaign is under the Department of Business Development's project aimed at to strengthening the nation's SMEs, with the focus on improving business management, reducing cost, increasing outputs, and enhancing marketing strategies. Interested business owners can join the campaign at no cost.

For more information, please call 1570, the department's hotline; or log on its website: www.dbd.go.th


-- NNT 2013-04-25

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"Business as Usual following Korean speed-boat crash

PATTAYA:--Despite promises from local government officials and government ministers from Bangkok to introduce immediate checks on boat operators and their crews and to provide better support and policing of vessels used to transport tourists, we have determined that absolutely nothing has changed since the accident last Sunday which saw 19 Korean Tourists injured, 6 seriously.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635160-business-as-usual-following-korean-speed-boat-crash/

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Enraged Ex-Convict Terrorizes Karaoke Bar Workers

A 26-year-old man was arrested for firing guns to scare workers at a Jomtien karaoke bar. He was mad because his friends had disappeared to let him pay the liquor tab. The suspect had been convicted of murder and theft as a teen, but served only a light prison sentence because of his age.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/635161-enraged-ex-convict-terrorizes-karaoke-bar-workers/