Thailand Live Friday 8 Nov 2013

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Central, southern regions brace for heavy rain, flash foods
By English News



BANGKOK, Nov 8 -- The Meteorological Department of Thailand has warned the country's central and southern regions to brace for heavy rain and possible flash flooding from an active low pressure weather system.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680276-central-southern-regions-brace-for-heavy-rain-flash-foods/

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Jatuporn claims protesters seek to topple the government



BANGKOK, 8 November 2013 (NNT) - Jatuporn Prompan, a core leader of the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), has claimed that the ongoing amnesty bill protesters are seeking to topple the government.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680278-jatuporn-claims-protesters-seek-to-topple-the-government/

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Phuket expat Canadian arrested for illegally importing corals
Phuket Gazette


Phuket expat and boat captain Ted Blenkers, 54, from Canada, points to the corals he was caught smuggling into the country. Photo: Thawit Bilabdullar

PHUKET: -- A Canadian man was arrested yesterday after being caught bringing coral into the country which he claimed was to be used in a private aquarium at his home in Phuket Town.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680282-phuket-expat-canadian-arrested-for-illegally-importing-corals/

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Kittiratt stands ready for the mega infrastructure development project



BANGKOK, 8 November 2013 (NNT) - Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minster Kittiratt Na-Ranong has revealed some important updates on the government’s progress in the 2.2 trillion baht mega project.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680289-kittiratt-stands-ready-for-the-mega-infrastructure-development-project/

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RT @tulsathit: Noppadon has denied Thaksin instructed govt to crack down on anti-bill protesters.

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RT @RichardBarrow: Pattaya - RT @TaaSaparot: Constant steady rain since 4pm yesterday.

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Digital TV auction postponed by Standing Committee on Political Development



BANGKOK, 8 November 2013 (NNT) - Member of the National Broadcasting and Communications Commission (BCC), Thawatchai Jittrapanun, has revealed that the Standing Committee on Political Development, chaired by Suppachai Srilar, wish to postpone the auction of 24 digital channels, which has been set to take place in mid-December; without any clear reasons.

The BCC reacted by issuing a petition directed at the committee to state its reasons for the postponement, as the BCC was ready to announce the names of the qualified candidates on November 25.

Reports have indicated that the Senate committee will summon all the 5 BCC members to meet over the postponement of the digital TV auction in order to come up with a new auction time frame and how the auction would take place - focusing on the benefit of the people and not the revenue from the auction.


-- NNT 2013-11-08

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"40 Senators Group" boycotting today's amnesty bill debate
By English News



BANGKOK, Nov 8 – Thailand’s Upper House has rescheduled its debate on the amnesty bill to 2 pm today amid the insistence by scores of senators to stay away from the meeting.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680295-40-senators-group-boycotting-todays-amnesty-bill-debate/

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Appeals Court upholds conviction against Prachatai webmaster
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Court of Appeals Friday upheld a suspended jail term and Bt20,000 fine against the Prachatai webmaster.

The Court of Appeals upheld the conviction agianst Jiranuch Premchaiporn, 41, holding her responsible for 10 posts on the Prachatai website. The messages were posted from April 15 to November 3 2008 and were considered to offend the monarchy.

Jiranuch said she would not appeal against the verdict with the Supreme Court.


-- The Nation 2013-11-08

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Power back in Hua Hin city Center after 9 hours power cut. Surrounding areas still without power

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Yingluck to buy barbecued chicken, pork for 4,800 police Saturday
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will host the lunch on Saturday for 4,800 policemen who are guarding the Government House, Deputy Police Commissioner-General Pongsapat Pongsathorn said Friday.

Pongsapat said Yingluck had ordered barbecued chicken and pork and streamed sticky rice as special lunch for the police officers.

Pongsapat said Yingluck would also ask the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to provide more mobile toilets for police and arrange a recreation area for them.


-- The Nation 2013-11-08

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Mae Hong Son to kickstart wild sunflower festival
By English News



MAE HONG SON, Nov 8 -- The famous Bua Thong blossom or wild sunflower festival at Doi Mae U-Kho Mountain in northern Mae Hong Son province officially begins tomorrow.

Mae Hong Son Governor Surapol Panasampon told a news briefing that Doi Mae U-Kho mountain is ready to welcome visitors. More than 1,000 rai is now filled with a host of brightly yellow coloured Bua Tong Blossoms, also called Mexican Sunflowers, while the temperature has so far dropped below 10 degrees Celsius.

The governor said many camping sites have been arranged for tourists who want to travel north this winter to enjoy the scenery on Doi Mae U-Kho Mountain some 1,600 metres above sea level.

He said the province expects to see over 150,000 tourists this year. The Bua Tong field can be reached by Highway 1905 linking Chiang Mai province and Mae Hong Son’s Pai, Pangmapha, Muang and Khun Yuam districts or via highway 1263 that links Chiang Mai’s Mae Cheam district and Mae Hing Son’s Khun Yuam district. There are also several attractions and natural scenes along the way. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-11-08

[Lite Beer]

Thai webmaster loses appeal over royal slur conviction

BANGKOK, November 8, 2013 (AFP) - A Thai webmaster lost her appeal Friday against a conviction for failing to remove a comment deemed critical of the monarchy from her Internet site -- a case that triggered international alarm.

The Court of Appeals in Bangkok upheld the eight-month suspended jail sentence for Chiranuch Premchaiporn, whose prosecution stoked fears of worsening Internet freedom in the politically turbulent kingdom.

Google has branded her conviction a "serious threat" to the Internet in the country, while the European Union has expressed "deep concern".

The monarchy is a highly sensitive topic in Thailand. The 85-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej is revered as a demi-god by many Thais and protected by harsh royal defamation laws.

Critics say charges brought under Thailand's lese majeste legislation are often politically motivated and amount to an assault on free speech.

Chiranuch was charged over 10 comments posted on the popular Prachatai news site in 2008.

The Criminal Court, handing down the original conviction in May 2012, recognised that she had not personally committed lese majeste, but found that the 20 days she had taken to remove one of the comments was in breach of the Computer Crimes Act.

Chiranuch told AFP on Friday that she was unlikely to appeal to the Supreme Court.

She voiced concern that Thailand's regulation of the Internet was not in line with international standards under which authorities serve notice to a website that a message should be removed.

"The court said that rule cannot be applied to cases related to the monarchy," she said. "This means there is less Internet freedom than in other countries."

In January, editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk was jailed for 11 years in connection with two articles that appeared in his magazine, to the dismay of human rights defenders.

In June, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers warned that royal defamation laws were creating a "climate of fear" and being misused to wrongly imprison journalists.

Under the lese majeste rules, anyone convicted of insulting the Thai king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.
Last month a Thai woman was jailed for five years for committing lese majeste and breaking computer crime laws with comments posted on the Prachatai news site.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-11-08

[Lite Beer]

Group of 40 to boycott today's Senate meeting

BANGKOK: -- Group of 40 Senators will not attend the Senate debate on amnesty bill in order to force the session to collapse due to lack of quorum.

Senator Kamnoon Sidhisamarn said senators were not lapdogs aimed to please any political masters, voicing suspicion about the government pressure to move the debate from Monday to today.

-- The Nation 2013-11-08

[Lite Beer]

Thaksin does not fix Senate schedule: Noppadon

BANGKOK: -- Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had no role in scheduling the Senate debate on amnesty bill, his legal advisor Noppadon Pattama said in his Facebook message on Friday.

Noppadon was reacting to speculation spreaded in social media that Thaksin instructed the upper chamber to move forward its meeting from Monday to this afternoon in order to pacify anti-amnesty protests.

-- The Nation 2013-11-08

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UPDATE:

Nikom to call another Senate meeting Saturday if Friday meeting aborted

BANGKOK: -- Senate Speaker Nikom Wairatpanij said Friday morning that if a Senate meeting could not be held on the day, he would call for another meeting Saturday.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680295-40-senators-group-boycotting-todays-amnesty-bill-debate/?p=7014722#entry7014722

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Bangkok Governor inspects sites for celebrations on Loy Krathong Day

BANGKOK, 8th November 2013 (NNT) – MR Sukhumbhand Paripatra, Bangkok Governor inspected Tha Chang Pier by the Chao Phraya River to ensure safety for people who will celebrate the Loy Krathong day next weekend.

The Governor has assigned the Public Works Department to complete the inspection on safety of all piers by the Loy Krathong day which falls on the 17th November this year. District Offices have assigned municipal authorities to work with the local police in keeping security and order in public parks.

Traffic and food stalls around the parks will be regulated. The Municipal Office and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation have been asked to prepare vehicles and equipment necessary for emergency assistance.

Moreover, doctors and nurses will be on standby at 5 directing centers to be set up at Rama VIII Bridge, Rama IX Bridge, and three public parks of Santi Chai Prakan, Lumphini and Bueng Phangphuai swamp. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is asking for cooperation from the public and Krathong traders to use and sell only “krathong floats” produced from natural or biodegradable materials that will not destroy the ecosystem. The BMA suggests celebrants use Krathongs made out of bread, banana leaves, or bagasse instead of foam and plastic. Fireworks are prohibited in public parks which will be open until midnight on the day.

-- NNT 2013-11-08

[Lite Beer]

Security tightened in restive South ahead of peace dialogue

BANGKOK, 8 November 2013 (NNT) – Security in the restive South has been beefed up ahead of the forthcoming peace dialogue with the BRN militant group, while the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) is keen on revoking the emergency decree in 5 districts in the region.

Col Pramote Prom-in, Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4 Spokesman, said the security measures taken in the Deep South prior to the next BRN talk will be focused on maintaining peace and rehabilitating the violence-torn areas.

ISOC, according to the spokesman, is going to hold a public hearing, asking residents in 5 districts affected by the emergency decree for their opinions on whether or not the emergency decree should be revoked.

Earlier, the National Security Council (NSC) has announced that the next round of peace talks with the rebel group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) is expected to take place in the beginning of December, adding that other groups, including the Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO) and Barisan Islam Pembebasan Patani (BIPP), could be joining the talk as well.

-- NNT 2013-1-08

[Lite Beer]

One killed in Phuket construction work truck crash
Phuket Gazette -

PHUKET: A truck carrying construction workers flipped on a hill on the beach road between Patong and Kamala yesterday, killing one and injuring 12.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680316-one-killed-in-phuket-construction-work-truck-crash/

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Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand vows to go on monitoring govt
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand which has been gathering online signatures against the amnesty bill vowed Friday to keep on watching the government even after the bill has been aborted.

The group has been gathering signatures against the bill at the Change.org website.

In its email sent to the media, the group said although the bill will be aborted as promised by the government, it does not mean that the government would halt its efforts to whitewash those convicted in corruption cases again.

As a result, the group will be ready to fight with the people if the government does anything to promote chance of corruption again.


-- The Nation 2013-11-08

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AMNESTY BILL
Pathum Thani red-shirts show support to Yingluck
The Nation


A banner calling for mercy and forgiveness, to let the country move on.

PATHUM THANI: -- A group of red-shirts in Pathum Thani gathered Friday morning at a public park, to voice their supports to the Yingluck government.

On trucks, some of them used speakers calling for public supports for the government.

Saying that the protests against the government should stop, they vowed to mobilise supporters and go to Bangkok.

They also submitted a letter to Pathum Thani Deputy Governor Teerawut Siriwan. In the letter to be forwarded to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, they showed her the unabated support and readiness to come to Bangkok for help.


-- The Nation 2013-11-08

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Record methamphetamine arrests in East Asia, UN says

BANGKOK: -- A record number of methamphetamine-related arrests took place in East and South-East Asia last year, as seizures of the drug surged by nearly two thirds, the United Nations reported Friday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680324-thailand-china-dominate-methamphetamine-busts-in-east-and-south-east-asia-un/

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13,600 anti-amnesty bill protesters in three spots of Bangkok, CAPO says

BANGKOK: -- The Center for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) announced before noon today that a total of 13,600 people have joined the anti-amnesty bill protests in three locations of Bangkok and so far the protest situation was calm and peaceful with no development today.

However it said that the police are still monitoring the protests closely at three locations namely Saphan Makkawan, Democracy Monument and Sapah Panfah.

It also said that anti-amnesty protests were also held in 45 provinces and the number of protesters were in the range of 10,000 people altogether.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/13600-anti-amnesty-bill-protesters-three-spots-bangkok-capo-says/

-- Thai PBS 2013-11-08

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Australian donates shirts to Phuket police
Claire Connell


Peter Crisp, centre, hands over the shirts to Kamala Police.

PHUKET: Around 100 casual-wear shirts were gifted to Royal Thai Police in Kamala on Friday (November 1), thanks to Peter Crisp at the Aussie Pub in Kamala.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680326-australian-donates-shirts-to-phuket-police/

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UPDATE:

Canadian skipper arrested for smuggling coral in Phuket

Eakkapop Thongtub

Ted Blenkers after his arrest.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680282-phuket-expat-canadian-arrested-for-illegally-importing-corals/?p=7015024

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Motorists turn to web to monitor every move of Bangkok's finest
By Coconuts Bangkok



BANGKOK: -- Their obsession is a strange one, to be stalked in the streets then posted in loving detail on Facebook.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680336-motorists-turn-to-web-to-monitor-every-move-of-bangkoks-finest/

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UPDATE:

Senate still unable to make quorum for amnesty bill deliberation
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- One hour has passed but the Senate was still unable to make quorum for a meeting to deliberate the amnesty bill at 3 pm Friday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680295-40-senators-group-boycotting-todays-amnesty-bill-debate/page-2?p=7015112#entry7015112

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Hua Hin Battered by Severe Weather

HUA HIN: -- Local residents were left without electricity and water for more than 9 hours today as strong winds and heavy rain battered the popular coastal resort town of Hua Hin.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680342-hua-hin-battered-by-severe-weather/

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Thaksin's Aide Insists No Crackdown On Amnesty Protests

By Khaosod Online



BANGKOK: -- Mr. Noppadon Pattama, legal advisor to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, posted on his Facebook that there would be no crackdown on the protests against the controversial amnesty bill as claimed by a rumour.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/680347-thaksins-aide-noppadon-insists-no-crackdown-on-amnesty-protests/

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