Brown out Samui

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Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presides over cremation of Maj-Gen Sanan

BANGKOK, 22 May 2013 (NNT) - Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn yesterday evening (21 May) proceeded to Debsirin Monastery in Pomprab Sattru Phai district, Bangkok, to preside over the cremation of Major General Sanan Kajornprasart, once a deputy prime minister in the incumbent administration.

Major General Sanan died on 15 February 2013 from septicemia, or severe blood infections, at the age of 78. Major General Sanan entered politics in 1979 as member of the Democrat Party and had since been entrusted with many ministerial posts such as Interior Minister, Industry Minister and Agriculture Minister. He later set up his own political party – Mahachon. He had made several contributions to the country. The highest royal decoration he had received was the Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant.


-- NNT 2013-05-22

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ANALYSIS

Chalerm backs down on reconciliation bill

Somroutai Sapsomboon,

Prapasri Osathanon

The Nation

Removes article requiring compensation, though many see this as tactical move

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung looks to have backed down from his plan to push through a controversial version of the reconciliation bill - although this may just be a tactical retreat.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641188-chalerm-backs-down-on-reconciliation-bill/

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Bangkok set for 2014 Formula E Grand Prix
The Nation May 22


The new Formula E car in front of the Grand Palace.

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok was yesterday chosen to host a race in the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E Championship for electric cars next year.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641189-bangkok-set-for-2014-formula-e-grand-prix/

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Health groups plan protest at PM's house
Puangchompoo Prasert
The Nation



Rural doctors, kidney patients seeking dialysis want minister Pradit dumped

BANGKOK: -- The Rural Doctors Society and its allies will protest in front of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's residence from June 6 onward to press for the dismissal of Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641190-health-groups-plan-protest-at-yinglucks-house/

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GOVT SPOKESPERSON
High-risk job with limited prospects
Samudcha Hoonsara
The Nation


A photograph Teerat Ratanasevi posted on his Facebook page entitled

New man on the job expected to handle tough questions gently, tactfully

BANGKOK: -- After just two years in office, the Yingluck government has already changed its government spokesperson four times.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641191-thai-govt-spokesperson-high-risk-job-with-limited-prospects/

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Fresh battle bubbling over whether to cut policy rate
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A new battle is brewing between the government and the Bank of Thailand, with one camp pushing for an interest-rate cut to help the export sector and the other doubting the case for such a move.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641192-fresh-battle-bubbling-over-whether-to-cut-policy-rate-thailand/

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Bangkok police seize 'historic' drugs cache worth 1.5 billion baht

BANGKOK, 22 May 2013 (NNT) – Bangkok police have made a historic drug bust in the capital city, in which they seized 4.5 million Meth pills and 60 kilograms of Ice, worth 1.5 billion baht.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641193-bangkok-police-seize-historic-drugs-cache-worth-15-billion-baht/

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STOPPAGE TIME
A naive leader transformed by her impatient brother
Tulsathit Taptim



BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck "Bridget Jones" Shinawatra has turned into Erin Brockovich for a reason. While many are tempted to believe that her speech in Mongolia indicated a screw loose somewhere, she appeared perfectly sane when she delivered it.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641194-a-naive-leader-transformed-by-her-impatient-brother-thai-opinion/

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EDITORIAL
Can we learn from the success of Singapore?
The Nation

The tiny city-state has outperformed its neighbours because it has vision and discipline, precisely the things we lack in fractious, divided Thailand

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641195-can-we-learn-from-the-success-of-singapore-thai-editorial/

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Brief blackout in the South causes confusion
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Most of the South was engulfed in darkness for 35 minutes from about 7.45pm Tuesday night following malfunctions at the main power station in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Kui Buri district.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641196-brief-blackout-in-the-south-causes-confusion-thailand/

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Ministry to take action against sex-trafficking in Chachoengsao
The Nation


FILE PHOTO: Laotian sex workers were rescued from a Chon Buri-based karaoke lounge in January.

BANGKOK: -- Social Development and Human Security Ministry officials have vowed action after discovering a rise in the number of immigrant workers in Chachoengsao province, especially Laotians working as prostitutes in karaoke bars.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641197-thai-ministry-to-take-action-against-sex-trafficking-in-chachoengsao/

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Serial smart-phone snatcher snared
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok police have arrested a Thon Buri man accused of stealing smart phones from some 40 people, Metropolitan Police Division 2 chief Suthee Nerakanthee said yesterday.

Manop Bunsonggusonjit, 22, was arrested at his Bangkok Noi home, where police seized his motorcycle and four Apple i-Phones. The arrest followed an incident on the night of May 9, when four men on two motorcycles robbed 17-year-old student Thanadech Samakthanyakit of his i-Phone in Bangkok's Chatuchak district.

Manop reportedly admitted that he and three friends set up a gang they dubbed "Wat Mali Thon Buri" to rob people of valuables, mainly in the Thon Buri area. Their modus operandi was to target lone men talking on smart phones - such as i-Phone and Samsung models - in isolated roadside areas. According to police, Manop admitted that the gang had robbed almost 40 people. They stole about five phones per week and sold them for Bt7,000 a pop to vendors at Khlong Lot Market. The proceeds were used to fund snooker sessions and nightclubbing excursions, the suspect confessed to police.

The investigation had also found that the gang stole a Samsung phone and Bt3,000 cash from a man in a separate incident on May 9.

Police were looking for the three gang members still at large, believed to be two 19-year-olds and a minor.


-- The Nation 2013-05-22

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NACC asks Thaksin to back up graft claim
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) issued a statement yesterday asking former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to reveal details of his claim, made on Sunday night, that an NACC official offered to help him win a court case in exchange for money in 1999.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641198-thailands-n-a-c-c-asks-thaksin-to-back-up-graft-claim/

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Care needed with Thai biodiversity
Tanpisit Lerdbamrungchai
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Thais take too much from their country's bio-diversity - plants, animals and micro-organisms - and ignore limits in the process, a Thailand Environment Institute adviser warned yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641199-care-needed-with-thai-biodiversity/

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OBEC to meet public over small schools
Chuleeporn Aramnet
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) Tuesday established a joint committee to handle small schools in collaboration with local communities.

The committee comprises academics, representatives from government agencies, small schools, the Council of Alternative Education, community organisations, and local administrative bodies.

Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana has agreed to set up this committee after representatives from various groups sought a meeting with him to raise their concerns last week about the controversial policy to close down small schools or those having fewer than 60 students each.

Obec secretary-general Chinnapat Bhumirat Tuesday said the joint committee would convene its first meeting soon.

"I have planned to propose that 49 small schools become community schools," he said.

He also said that his agency would compile plans on how to manage small schools in 182 educational service areas before the end of this month.

"Then, we will present the overall picture for the education minister to decide on how many small schools will need to be closed down this year," Chinnapat said.


-- The Nation 2013-05-22

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Cartoonist summoned over PM defamation case next month
By English News



BANGKOK, May 22 - Police on Tuesday issued a summons for influential daily newspaper cartoonist to acknowledge charges next month following his recent Facebook comment which landed him a defamation lawsuit filed by the prime minister.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641202-thai-rath-cartoonist-summoned-over-yingluck-defamation-case-next-month/

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Nine foreigners held on work permit charges
Naraporn Tuarob


The nine Chinese are brought into the Immigration office in Phuket Town.

PHUKET: -- Nine people, apparently Chinese and Burmese nationals, were arrested this afternoon (May 21) at Wat Kathu for working without work permits.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641203-nine-foreigners-held-on-work-permit-charges/

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Iran's Rafsanjani barred from standing for president

TEHRAN: -- Iran's electoral watchdog has barred moderate ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from standing in a June 14 presidential election, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641204-irans-rafsanjani-barred-from-standing-for-president/

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Apple faces Congress at tax hearing

WASHINGTON: -- The head of the US-based multibillion dollar computer firm Apple told a Senate panel Tuesday his company has paid “every single dollar” it owes in taxes, despite a new congressional report that says Apple shifted billions of dollars in profits away from the United States and into subsidiaries in Ireland where it gets a special tax rate of less than 2%.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641205-apple-faces-congress-at-tax-hearing/

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Thai stock index opens on Wednesday at 1,642.27, down 1.16 points /MCOT

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Army chief visits Pattani to inspect at risk areas for making security plan; power blackout unrelated to terrorism /MCOT

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UPDATE:
All 14 provinces of southern region hit by historic blackout
By English News

BANGKOK, May 22 -- All 14 provinces in Thailand's southern region were hit by a historic power outage Tuesday night after a transmission cable failure in Prachuap Khiri Khan cut off the electricity supply from the Central Region.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641196-brief-blackout-in-the-south-causes-confusion-thailand/#entry6426488

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Airport Link's new CEO boasts reform in 3 months

BANGKOK, 22 May 2013 (NNT) -- SRT Electrified Train Company Limited CEO Peerakan Kaeowongwattana (พีรกันต์ แก้ววงศ์วัฒนา) has boasted smooth sailing and prosperous operations of Airport Rail Link within 3 months.

The comment came after his recent inspection of the 28-km Airport Rail Link.

He said that his first priorities are raising the standard of the system's various facilities, improving the company's image on services and reforming the organization's internal structure. Mr. Peerakan added the results should be tangible within 3 months.

The CEO elaborated that he intends to increase train frequency on the City Train, running between Suvarnabhumi Airport and central Bangkok, during peak hours, as well as improve an access to various stations along the Airport Rail Link by installing more escalators, for example. According to him, after the escalator at Phaya Thai station is put to use, it has boosted the station’s revenue by 30%.

Mr. Peerakan said that the company also has plans to provide an easier access to Makkasan station by building Sky Walk to the station and a road linking the station to the Ratchadaphisek toll way. He said talks will start soon with the Airport of Thailand and the Thai Hotel Association to promote the use of Makkasan station among tourists. Toward that goal, the company will arrange parking space for tour buses that will transfer tourists from hotels to the electric rail facility.

The new Airport Link CEO hoped the plans would raise the number of passengers by 150,000 within the next 5 years, enabling the company to earn more than one billion baht a year.


-- NNT 2013-05-22

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UPDATE:
EGAT determines cause of Southern blackout

BANGKOK, 22 May 2013 (NNT) - The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand stated that last night’s large-scale blackout in the South was caused by the overloading of main transmission lines.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641196-brief-blackout-in-the-south-causes-confusion-thailand/#entry6426611

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Phuket illegal taxi drivers stalk Governor, demand resolution
Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- A sortie of about 30 illegal taxi drivers from the Mook Andaman co-operative staged an all-night vigil in front of the Governor’s Residence last night, finally causing the governor to agree to meet with them today to seek a resolution to their demand to serve passengers at Phuket International Airport.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641262-phuket-illegal-taxi-drivers-stalk-governor-demand-resolution/

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Update: Foreigner found drowned in Phuket identified

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/640967-foreigner-found-dead-on-phuket-beach/?p=6426775#entry6426775

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Southern power blackout jeopardises investor sentiment
By English News



BANGKOK, May 22 – Last night's massive power blackout in Thailand’s 14 southern provinces has shaken foreign investor confidence in the country, industrialists said today.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/641267-southern-thailand-power-blackout-jeopardises-investor-sentiment/

[Lite Beer]

Suspected insurgent shoots at grocery store in Narathiwat's Sungai Padi disrict, at least one killed /MCOT

[Lite Beer]

RT@RichardBarrow:Water monitor lizard found inside Parliament in #Bangkok (Pic @Teachawat) pic.twitter.com/18obV8fSGR

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WHO praises Thailand for its good governance for medicines

BANGKOK, 22 May 2013 (NNT) – The World Health Organization (WHO) says Thailand is the world’s fastest growing country in the field of good governance for medicines (GGM).

According to Dr. Pradit Sintavanarong, Minister of Public Health, during the 66th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, the WHO praised Thailand for its improvement in good governance for medicines, terming Thailand the role model in this approach.

The Public Health Minister said the Thai government had been placing its emphasis on transparency and good governance for medicines so that the people would receive the maximum health benefit they are entitled to.

The WHO revealed in its recent report that at present, around 4.4 trillion US dollars is being spent on the health industry, of which 10-25 percent falls to corruption. The WHO has, therefore, created the GGM system to reduce the risk of corruption. At this stage, 36 countries including Thailand are joining the program.

At the Geneva conference, the WHO also asked Thailand to present its experience in combating corruption in the pharmaceutical sector to a WHO side meeting.


-- NNT 2013-05-22