Thailand Live Tuesday 25 Jun 2013

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Ensuring Peace during the Holy Month of Ramadan

BANGKOK, 25 June 2013 (NNT) - Ramadan is an important occasion for Islam, so, in order to ensure peace in the southern border provinces of Thailand, representatives of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), or National Revolutionary Front, agreed to the request by representatives of the Thai government to suspend its violent attacks during the holy month of Ramadan.

The agreement was reached in their third round of peace dialogues in Malaysia on 13 June 2013, when they issued a statement seeking an “expression of sincerity, goodwill, and trust” during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Ramadan is a month of faith when all Muslims, for one month, wholeheartedly devote themselves in accordance with the principles of the Prophet Muhammad, including the diligent practice of fasting, as well as refraining from eating and drinking from the first light of dawn until sunset and from any act that might adversely affect oneself and society.

The act of fasting is a practice of perseverance and self-restraint, which gives strength to both body and mind. This is intended to foster one’s awareness and understanding of the hardship of less fortunate others, thus creating compassion and purifying one’s heart. This year, the holy month of Ramadan begins on 9 July.

Both Thai government and BRN representatives agreed to meet again in their next round of talks after the month of Ramadan. So the fourth round of peace dialogues will take place after 8 August. Many people are of the view that the agreement on the suspension of violent attacks during the month of Ramadan is a step toward the achievement of peace in the deep South of Thailand. It also gives hope to southern residents for lasting peace in the near future.

Meanwhile, the Commanding General of the Fourth Army Area Command, Lieutenant General Sakol Chuentrakul, stated that he would like the month of Ramadan to be the period for peace in the deep South. Despite the agreement on peace during the holy month of Ramadan, officials will not be complacent. He said that the military, the police, and civilians would provide full protection for local residents to ensure that they could perform their religious activities safely and at ease during the period.

Moreover, he said, the Fourth Army Area Command’s Internal Security Operations Command, Forward, would open up opportunities for those holding different views and ideologies to that of the state to report themselves to the authorities in order to declare their innocence. Lieutenant General Sakol stressed the policy of the Fourth Army Area Command to ensure justice for all misled persons. On this occasion, these people would be able to join religious practice during the month of Ramadan, as well.

In related news, a group of media representatives and academics held a forum on 17 June 2013 to discuss the role of the media in contributing to the peace process. They told the forum, organized by the Deep South Watch, that local residents in the deep South wanted to know truth about the peace dialogues. In communicating about the peace process, the media should open space for all groups, especially those in local villages and civil society organizations. Since a win-win situation is the goal of the peace process, balanced news on the issue should be presented. Although people in the southern border provinces are predominantly Muslim, the opinions of the people of other faiths, such as Buddhist Thais and those of Chinese origin, should not be ignored. By so doing, the media can serve as a safety net to help the peace process achieve its goal.


-- NNT 2013-06-25

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RICE-PLEDGING SCHEME

Govt faces rice rage

The Nation

A group claiming to represent farmers from many provinces gathers outside Government House yesterday to voice support for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her government

Coalition partner calls for review of cut in pledging price, as growers mass for protest in Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- The government is facing mounting pressure with coalition parties criticising its move to cut the price for rice in its controversial pledging scheme and farmers massing in Bangkok today.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648967-thai-govt-faces-rice-rage/

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PESTICIDE CONCERN
Packed rice checked for contamination
The Nation

Govt officials, consumer group testing for traces of methyl bromide, used to kill pests in govt stocks

BANGKOK: -- Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong ordered food safety watchdogs yesterday to investigate if bags of rice were contaminated with the fumigant methyl bromide, an odourless and colourless gas used to control pests.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648969-pesticide-concern-packed-thai-rice-checked-for-contamination/

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MOVIE BAN
'Boundary' screening allowed under conditions
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- After hesitation on the part of the theatre operator, the controversial documentary "Boundary" ("Fahtum Pandinsoong") had its Thailand premiere as planned last night.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648970-thai-movie-ban-boundary-screening-allowed-under-conditions/

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STREETWISE
Thailand spins in its own circle
Achara Deboonme



BANGKOK: -- On the night of June 15, I caught a flight to Bonn, Germany, to attend a global media forum hosted by Deutsche Welle, an independent German broadcaster funded through public taxes just like Thai PBS.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648971-thailand-spins-in-its-own-circle-opinion/

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Pattaya Police arrest Russian-led Hit Squad paid to kill Estonian Realtor



PATTAYA: -- An Estonian Real Estate Agent was lucky to escape with his life after Police were able to intercept three vehicles containing the agent and a group of Hit-men paid to kill him by a Peruvian customer.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648972-pattaya-police-arrest-russian-led-hit-squad-paid-to-kill-estonian-realtor/

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White-masked men rob 7-11
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Two men in white masks robbed a 7-Eleven convenience store in Don Muang district, police said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649068-nattawut-urging-protesters-not-to-wear-guy-fawkes-masks-to-prevent-confusion/

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Up to 10,000 luxury cars smuggled a year
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- An average of 5,000 to 10,000 luxury cars are smuggled into Thailand or imported off authorised dealers each year, costing billions of baht in lost import and trade tariffs, a senior Federation of Thai Industries official said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648974-up-to-10000-luxury-cars-smuggled-a-year-thailand/

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Farmers Council threatens to stop backing government
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- The National Farmers Council (NFC) yesterday condemned the government's decision to cut the minimum rice price guarantee from Bt15,000 under its price-pledging scheme, saying the new rate of Bt12,000 was meant to "bully farmers". The NFC also vowed that it would stop acting as a "shield" protecting the Pheu Thai coalition.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648967-thai-govt-faces-rice-rage/#entry6542792

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BMA buys larvicidal sand to tackle dengue threat
Tanatpong Kongsai
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra yesterday revealed that the city had ordered 200,000 bags of larvicidal sand in a bid to prevent an outbreak of dengue fever.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648976-bangkok-administration-buys-larvicidal-sand-to-tackle-dengue-threat/

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Akeyuth probe 'progressing'
PATINYA IAMTAN
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- Police investigators say they now have answers to some of the 13 questions raised by the lawyer of businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr over his abduction and killing.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648977-akeyuth-probe-progressing/

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RT @ChadapornLin: Airport Link Express Makkasan-Suvarnabhumi cancels service this morning and will resume later in the day

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Australian balcony jumper dies in Phuket hospital
Tanyaluk Sakoot

PHUKET: -- The Australian who jumped from the third storey of a guesthouse in Patong yesterday afternoon (June 25) has died of his injuries at Vachira Hospital.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648995-australian-balcony-jumper-dies-in-phuket-hospital/

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Senator sets sights on Army to resolve Phuket land encroachment
Phuket Gazette


Senator Pol Col (Rtd) Sontaya Sangphow suggested the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) be called in to arrest the ‘big guys’ behind Phuket land encroachment. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- A member of the Thai Senate is looking to call in the armed forces to wage war against the “big guys” behind land encroachment in Phuket.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648997-senator-sets-sights-on-army-to-resolve-phuket-land-encroachment/

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30 tonnes of contraband rice held at Thai-Cambodian border
By English News



SA KAEO, June 25 – Customs officials in this Thai-Cambodian border province seized 30 tonnes of rice contained in a trailer believing the grain was smuggled from the neighbouring country.

Noppadol Thesprasit, customs chief at Aranyaprathet checkpoint, said Monday that the truck with its trailer were stopped on Ta Phraya-Ban Ko Kran Road in Ta Phraya district.

The truck driver, identified as Buncherf Avornkul, 38, told authorities that he was hired to transport the grain which he claimed was 25 per cent broken rice.

Customs officials suspected that the rice was smuggled into the kingdom from Cambodia. Two truckloads of rice, totally weighing 60 tonnes overall, were smuggled into Cambodia and seized last Friday.

There have been allegations that rice was smuggled from Cambodia to be sold under the government’s rice pledging scheme. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-06-25

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Thai stock index opens on Tuesday at 1,375.64, down 11.55 points /MCOT

[george]

The Olde Bell in Chiang Mai is closing on June 30

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648996-the-olde-bell-closing-permanently-on-june-30-2013/

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Thailand grants Bt5 million for Bangladesh disaster victims
By English News

BANGKOK, June 25 – Thailand has granted Bt5 million (about US$166,000) to assist families of victims in the recent factory collapse in Bangladesh, according to Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul.

More than 1,000 people died in the country's deadliest industrial disaster.

Mr Surapong said Thailand and Bangladesh have always provided humanitarian aid to each other.

In the massive floods in Thailand in 2011, Bangladesh delivered US$1 million to help the Thai people, he said. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-06-25

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800,000 meth pills seized in Nakhon Ratchasima

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, 25 June 2013 (NNT) – Police in Nakhon Ratchasima have seized 800,000 pills of Methamphetamine and 5 kilograms of Ice from smugglers who were looking to deliver the narcotics to customers in Ayutthaya province.

Police from Joho ( จอหอ ) District arrested Thongphun Son-nayo and Phanomphrai Sidanoi, who were traveling in a Toyota Fortuner filled with the drugs. The two confessed they received the narcotics from their contacts in Laos and were on their way to make delivery at a petrol station in Ayutthaya. They claimed they were being paid 100,000 baht for the smuggling.

In Yala province, security officials at the province's central court confiscated 787 methamphetamine pills and a number of condoms from Adam Waehama, an inmate who was serving time for a drugs offense.

The officials discovered that while Mr. Adam was awaiting trial, a woman passed the drugs to another inmate who then passed them to Adam. After a thorough search, officials found the drugs and believed the man was preparing to fill the condoms with the meth pills and then hide the condoms in his rectum, for the purpose of delivering the drugs to the inmates inside Yala central prison.

After the discovery, security at Yala central court has been tightened to include checks on items and food that relatives bring for inmates.


-- NNT 2013-06-25

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Yala now affected by Indonesian haze

YALA, 25 June 2013 (NNT) – Haze from the Indonesian wildfires has spread to cover all districts in Yala province of Thailand.

The haze in Yala City municipality is significant and is already causing irritation among locals. However, its has yet to afflict visibility for road traffic.

The haze has been blown to Yala from its origin in the Sumatra Islands in Indonesia. Wildfires are a frequent occurrence in Indonesia, and the lower portion of Thailand's southern region is usually affected by the Indonesian haze during this period of the year.

Doctor Sawat Aphiwatniwong, head of the Yala Public Health office, has ordered community hospitals in every district to publicize methods to take care of one's health in the midst of the haze pollution. Dr. Sawat said health masks should be used to cover the nose when one is out in the open, and that one should immediately see a doctor if he has difficulty breathing.

According to Dr. Sawat, although the haze has affected the locals in Yala, the situation is not severe at present.


-- NNT 2013-06-25

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Thai police seek to extradite Swedish murder suspect
BY WACHIRAPORN JANRUT


Andreas Ringvall

BANGKOK: -- In August last year, Mr. Robert Hollick, 43, from New Zealand was stabbed to death after a bar fight over a dog in Pattaya, Thailand

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649017-thai-police-seek-to-extradite-swedish-murder-suspect/

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UPDATE:

Foreign mafias caught abducting an Estonian man in Pattaya

CHONBURI, 25 June 2013 (NNT) – Pattaya police managed to rescue an Estonian man from from apparent death after he was abducted by a gang of foreigners and a Thai man who were hired to kidnap and murder him.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648972-pattaya-police-arrest-russian-led-hit-squad-paid-to-kill-estonian-realtor/?p=6543672#entry6543672

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Big C says its packed rice totally safe
By English News



BANGKOK, June 25 – Big C Supercentre and Sandee Rice gave assurances to Thai consumers that the quality of their packed rice has been strictly controlled and completely free from health-hazardous substances.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649027-big-c-says-its-packed-rice-totally-safe/

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TOURISM
Japan's visa waiver kicks off on July 1
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- On July 1, the Japanese government will start relaxing visa rules to attract more tourists from Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649034-japanese-thai-relations-japans-visa-waiver-kicks-off-on-july-1/

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Russian drug smuggler wanted by Interpol arrested in Phuket
Phuket Gazette


Anatoliy Gural (2nd from right) poses with Phuket Immigration officers, led by Capt Angkarn Yasanop (right). Photo: Phuket Immigration

PHUKET: -- Responding to a written request from the Russian embassy in Bangkok, Phuket Immigration last night arrested a Russian national wanted in his home country for “illegal transportation of drugs, committed on a large scale”.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649036-russian-drug-smuggler-wanted-by-interpol-arrested-in-phuket/

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40,000 Bangkokians infected with dengue, 1 dies

BANGKOK, 25 June 2013 (NNT) – Over 40,000 people in Bangkok are now suffering from the deadly dengue virus, while 120,000 people nationwide have come down with the fever.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649057-40000-bangkokians-infected-with-dengue-1-dies/

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Nattawut urging protesters not to wear Guy Fawkes masks to prevent confusion

BANGKOK, 25 June 2013 (NNT)-Deputy Commerce Minister Nattawut Saikua is urging the Guy Fawkes masked group to consider taking off their masks in their anti-government movement to avoid confusion with robbery at a 7-Eleven convenience store in which criminals were wearing the same mask.

Mr. Nattawut said he believed the recent robbery at 7-Eleven store by a group of thieves wearing Guy Fawkes masks has nothing to do with the Red Shirt members or the government as they have no reasons to defame the protesters.

However, he said the current political movement might give the criminals an idea to take advantage of this opportunity and use the masks in their robbery to draw the attention away from their true identities. He also believed the store robbers were not the real anti-government protesters either. He urged the group to remove the mask during their protest.

-- NNT 2013-06-25

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RT@veen_NT: The farmer mob at the Govt House has dispersed. Govt to consider their price of rice at Bt15,000/ton in the rice pledging scheme. #ktvnews

[Lite Beer]

Indonesian haze blankets Thailand's Narathiwat.
By English News

NARATHIWAT, June 25 - Heavy haze from Indonesia which expanded to Singapore and Malaysia is now across Thailand's southernmost province of Narathiwat, affecting the daily lives of local residents.

The smog-seasonal atmospheric pollution caused by large-scale ricefield and forest burning - has caused very low visibility at only 300-400 metres in the southernmost province. Vehicles have to turn on their headlights to be seen and to avoid accidents.

Local residents must close their homes' doors and windows due to the acrid burning smell from the haze.

The haze also affects the livelihoods of local fishermen who have been forced to stay ashore.

Hat Yai, the commercial city of Songkhla province, has also been hit by the Indonesian haze, and now has visibility of only about 500 metres.

The southern meteorological centre's satellite has detected 437 hot spots in Indonesia's Sumatra Island.

The centre however said the situation will ease as the southwest monsoon prevailing over the Andaman Sea weakens. But the haze situation remains under a close watch as more burning in Sumatra could worsen the situation.

Meanwhile the opening of "Elang Thainesia XVI", a joint exercise between the Thai and Indonesian air forces, was postponed from morning to afternoon today for the safety of the pilots.

The exercise is taking place at the Indonesian Air Force Pekanbaru airbase on Sumatra from June 24 through July 5. All personnel attending the joint exercise have been instructed to wear health masks as haze blankets the area. (MCOT online news).

-- TNA 2013-06-25

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RT@veen_NT: Starting from Sept 1, motorists will have to pay between Bt5 to Bt10 more for expressway toll fees. pic.twitter.com/kS7Q0gX7Ki