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Latest news from Bangkok

Swedish man arrested in Pattaya for allegedly robbing money trucks in Denmark, Sweden

Chon Buri - Police have arrested a Swedish man in Pattaya for allegedly having holding drug parties in his rented apartment.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - Breakingnews | 21 May 2012, 10:16 am


IDEA Youth forum now being staged

The First IDEA Asia Youth Forum, is hosting the IDEA Asia Youth Forum 2012 (AYF 2012) from May 14 till May 26 at the Thammasat Pattaya Learning Centre and at Rangsit University in Bangkok and Siam City Hotel in Ratchathewi.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - National | 21 May 2012, 1:00 am


Prommin backs govt's economic strategy

The Pheu Thai Party has been heavily criticised for poorly designed and executed economic policies.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - National | 21 May 2012, 1:00 am


Real brain of Pheu Thai to keep its low profile

Prommin Lertsuridej, praised by his boss, fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as the brains behind the now defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, has vowed not to seek any political position once the five-year political ban on him and 110 other TRT executives ends on May 30.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 21 May 2012, 1:00 am


Thai Rak Thai's 111 played key roles for red shirts

The ruling Pheu Thai Party has adopted a "two legs strategy" of dual politicking inside and outside of Parliament since its former lives as the Thai Rak Thai and People Power parties.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 21 May 2012, 1:00 am


Yingluck refuses to talk about Jatuporn or Cabinet reshuffle

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has kept everyone guessing her next move despite the changing political developments.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 21 May 2012, 1:00 am


Opponents of Chinatown temple to stage rally

Supporters of Bangkok's Leng Noei Yi Temple will stage a short march Monday to show their opposition to the Station1@China Town project.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - National | 21 May 2012, 1:00 am


SET down 0.10% at opening

Thai stocks opened down 1.10 points at the start of trade Monday morning.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 10:11 pm


Gold prices for Monday

The Gold Traders Association this morning set the buying price at 23,209.96 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 23,550 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 9:35 pm


Bee Gees star Robin Gibb dies

Robin Gibb, singer with the legendary British band the Bee Gees, died on Sunday aged 62 after a lengthy battle against cancer, his family said.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 6:48 pm


Thaksin is more than welcome to Pheu Thai Party

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra is more than welcome to apply for a membership of Pheu Thai Party, its spokesman Prompong Nopparit said Sunday.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 20 May 2012, 3:21 pm


Massive crowd greets Chelsea

Tens of thousands of Chelsea fans gave their team a hero's welcome on Sunday as they made an open-top bus parade through their west London home after their Champions League win over Bayern Munich.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 1:49 pm


American fugitive in Phuket faces deportation to US

PHUKET: An American man arrested in Phuket on Friday faces deportation to the United States, where is wanted by the Californian Supreme Court on drugs charges and involvement in lewd shows.

Phuket Immigration Police moved in and arrested 46-year-old Michael Anthony Matos at 6pm at an address on Nanai Road in Patong, renowned worldwide as Phuket’s party town for adult.

This morning, Phuket Immigration Police Superintendent announced the arrest and presented Mr Matos to the press.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 20 May 2012, 12:50 pm


Protesters face police in Chicago

CHICAGO : Protesters streamed into downtown Chicago Sunday for one of the city's largest demonstrations in years - a march to the lakeside convention center hosting a historic Nato summit.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 20 May 2012, 12:40 pm


Massive investment for Dawei

KANCHANABURI : The cabinet yesterday approved 203 projects worth over 30 billion baht to support the development of a deep-sea port and an industrial estate in Dawei city of Myanmar.

Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 20 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Red shirts' affair with Thaksin cools

Red-shirt supporters have expressed dismay over ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's call for them to set aside their anger and frustration over social and legal injustices for the sake of national reconciliation.

Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 20 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Surakiart rules out taking up govt post

Thai Rak Thai Party's banned former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai says the government needs to do a better job of handling challenges such as national reconciliation and violence in the deep South.

Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 20 May 2012, 12:00 pm


PHUKET OPINION: Speak loudly, but leave ‘big stick’ on mainland

PHUKET: As this week passed, the non-event of the Red Shirt rally apparently planned to be held at Nai Yang Beach

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 20 May 2012, 11:36 am


Pakistan blocks Twitter

Pakistan blocked Twitter on Sunday, saying the website had refused to remove posts promoting a Facebook competition involving caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 10:34 am


Six dead in Italy quake

About 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northeast Italy's Emilia Romagna region, where a fresh 5.1 magnitude quake struck Sunday afternoon.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 9:09 am


Lockerbie bomber dead

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing in which 270 people were killed, died on Sunday, his brother said.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 7:42 am


Myanmar to reopen 'Death Railway'

Myanmar aims to restore a stretch of the infamous ``Death Railway'' to Thailand which was initially built by Japanese-held prisoners of war, the minister in charge of the scheme says.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 7:37 am


Myanmar to reopen 'Death Railway'

Myanmar aims to restore a stretch of the infamous ``Death Railway'' to Thailand which was initially built by Japanese-held prisoners of war, the minister in charge of the scheme says.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 20 May 2012, 7:37 am


Compo money won't be taxed

The cabinet on Sunday agreed to a proposal to exempt from tax the compensation to be paid for the deaths and injuries from political violence between 2005-2010 and to people affected in the government's counter-insurgency operations in the three southern border provinces, acting government spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard said.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 3:50 am


Money-laundering bills get cabinet nod

The cabinet has approved in principle two draft bills aimed at fighting the funding of terrorism through money laundering in the hope the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) will remove Thailand from its blacklist, Justice Minister Pracha Promnok said.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 3:11 am


Minor quake hits Chiang Mai

A minor earthquake measuring 2.5 on the Richter scale with the epicentre in Phrao district was felt in Chiang Mai at 00.53am on Sunday, the Meteorological Department said.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 1:18 am


Pump prices down Monday

PTT Plc and Bangchak Plc have announced a drop in the prices of all fuels except gasohol E20 by 0.30 baht a litre, effective from 5am Monday.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 20 May 2012, 1:05 am


Concern over drop in enrolments for agriculture

Fewer students have enrolled in agricultural fields over the past few years - and the drop in enrolments in such fields could cause Thailand to fall behind other countries, an academic said recently.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - National | 20 May 2012, 1:00 am


Chalerm: Reconciliation bill needed

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung on Sunday insisted he would forward a draft reconciliation bill to the House of Representatives for deliberation at the right time.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 11:55 pm


Poll: Thaksin most favourite of 111

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawara is the most favoured of all 111 former Thai Rak Thai executives due to end their five-year political ban on May 30, according to Suan Dusit Poll.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 10:40 pm


Facebook's Zuckerberg changes status, weds Chan

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg capped the week of a lifetime, changing his own status to married after wedding Priscilla Chan just a day after his company went public, he announced.

Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 19 May 2012, 9:48 pm


Chelsea do it again

MUNICH : Chelsea put four penalties past Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to seal victory and win an improbable Champions League title Sunday morning (Thailand time).



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 2:52 pm


Monk defrocked after alleged drunk, drugged altercation at funeral

PHUKET: A monk has been defrocked in Phuket and is being held by police after a violent and possibly drug-induced incident at a cremation ceremony this morning.

At about 10am Anusit Kulphonmuang, 52, from Udon Thani, reportedly leapt from a wall at Wat Saensuk temple in Phuket Town and seized a 12-year-old girl by her neck.

Mr Anusit was was reportedly seen drunk near the temple earlier this morning.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 19 May 2012, 1:01 pm


Phuket rape suspect has not confessed: Chalong Police

PHUKET: Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri at 2:35pm today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that Sakchai Thongseedam has not confessed to the rape of a young German tourist in Phuket on Thursday.

Mr Sakchai was

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 19 May 2012, 1:00 pm


Man stabs boy, 7, in head with screwdriver on Phuket Town street

PHUKET: Police this afternoon arrested a man after he randomly stabbed a 7-year-old boy in the head with a screwdriver while the child was playing with friends in Phuket Town

Still in tears and shocked by the attack, the boy’s mother, Chareerat Naksri, told the Phuket Gazette that the stab wound narrowly missed the right ear of her son, Krittamet “Best” Kingsaiyut.

“I was not with him when it happened. I was at a parent-teacher meeting at Bang Niew School.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 19 May 2012, 12:59 pm


West Ham win promotion

LONDON : West Ham clinched promotion to the Premier League as Ricardo Vaz Te's late winner sealed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Blackpool in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 12:43 pm


Thaksin: Put unity before justice

Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday urged a crowd of 45,000 red shirts to set aside their anger and frustration about social and legal injustices in the name of national reconciliation.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 19 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Court set to begin 2010 riot inquests

The first of 18 inquests into state authorities' involvement in the bloody red shirt crackdown which claimed 91 lives in 2010 will be held tomorrow.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 19 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Army general hopes to solve forestry row

PHETCHABURI : First Army chief Udomdet Seetabut has suggested he should mediate a conflict between Kaeng Krachan National Park chief Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn and the National Human Rights Commission.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 19 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Thaksin: Let's put unity before justice

Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday urged a crowd of 45,000 red shirts to set aside their anger and frustration about social and legal injustices in the name of national reconciliation.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 19 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Road to victory is red

Two years after the bloody crackdown on May 19, 2010, Thaksin Shinawatra is on the road to victory, one that is paved by blood, death and political intrigue, engineered by both sides of the political divide and the finishing line has little to do with democracy.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 19 May 2012, 12:00 pm


World 'prodding' Myanmar reform

President Barack Obama, fresh from easing US sanctions on Myanmar, said at the G8 summit Saturday that world powers would do all they could to promote the country's political reforms.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 10:37 am


13 dead in Afghan suicide bombing

A suicide bomber struck at a lunch gathering of Afghan police and local civilians in southeast Afghanistan on Saturday killing at least 13 people, three of them policemen, officials said.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 9:56 am


G8 leaders tackle EU's woes

G8 leaders tried to bridge divisions over how to halt Europe's rapidly-deepening economic crisis on Saturday, as host President Barack Obama backed more pro-growth policies in the face of German opposition.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 8:48 am


Manila marchers seek Gaga ban

Hundreds of protesters marched in the Philippine capital on Saturday to demand a ban on pop phenomenon Lady Gaga's upcoming concerts, claiming her lyrics were anti-Christian.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 7:48 am


Manila marchers slam Gaga

Hundreds of protesters marched in the Philippine capital on Saturday to demand a ban on the pop phenomenon Lady Gaga's upcoming concerts, claiming her lyrics were anti-Christian.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 7:48 am


Shan vow to wipe out drugs

Rebels engaged in peace talks with Myanmar's government pledged on Saturday to wipe out drugs in Shan state, where much of the country's opium and amphetamines are produced.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 7:04 am


Weng: 200,000 reds expected to turn out

About 200,000 red shirts are expected to turn out at Ratchaprasong intersection for activities in remembrance of those killed in political violence in May 2010, Weng Tochirakarn, co-leader of the red shirt movement, said on Saturday.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 3:37 am


Chen set to fly to US

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng said on Saturday that he was at Beijing's international airport with his family and that he believed he would be flying to New York.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 2:48 am


Chen flying to US

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng was on his way to the United States on Saturday night after a tense wait at Beijing's international airport.

Source: Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News | 19 May 2012, 2:48 am


Sukhumbhand: I'll run again

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra says he will seek a second term because he has unfinished work to accomplish.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 19 May 2012, 2:22 am


TAT in bid to tackle problems faced by Chinese tourists

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) yesterday held talks with the Chinese Embassy in Thailand over ongoing problems faced by Chinese tourists as part of the TAT's plan to stabilise the local tourism industry and serve a growing number in this market annually.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 19 May 2012, 1:00 am


Constitution Court disqualifies Jatuporn as a party-list MP

Judges rule 7-1 that as Jatuporn was barred from voting, he ceased to be a Pheu Thai member

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 19 May 2012, 1:00 am


Thai PBS asked to air House meetings

The Thai PBS television channel was pushed by the House Committee on Parliamentary Affairs yesterday to help lighten the load on NBT, which has to provide live coverage of all parliamentary meetings.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 19 May 2012, 1:00 am


Sea of red returns

Bangkok's Ratchaprasong intersection was once more a sea of red on Saturday as activists marked the second anniversary of the violent end to their weeks-long occupation of Bangkok's commercial heart.

Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 10:43 pm


Giant red rally begins

Red-shirt loyalists gathered on Saturday at the Ratchaprasong intersection to mark the second anniversary of the violent end to their weeks-long occupation of Bangkok's commercial heart.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 10:43 pm


Yingluck launches anticorruption campaign

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Friday instructed top officials to rally behind the campaign to root out corruption, especially in relation to bribes being taken in exchange for government positions.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - Breakingnews | 18 May 2012, 6:40 pm


Thai police arrest Taiwanese on suspicion of selling human foetuses

Thai police on Friday arrested a Taiwanese man for allegedly selling human foetuses over the internet as good luck charms, media reports said.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - Breakingnews | 18 May 2012, 5:10 pm


Facebook falls flat in public debut

NEW YORK : Facebook stumbled in its eagerly anticipated market debut Friday, as shares ended barely above the offering price, dampening optimism over the world's biggest social network.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 4:11 pm


French tourist drowns as Phuket surf danger season begins

PHUKET: One tourist has drowned and a Thai woman narrowly escaped a similar tragedy after being caught in strong surf on Phuket’s west coast this afternoon.

Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club team at Kata-Karon, told the Phuket Gazette that a lifeguard pulled a Thai woman, aged about 30, from the surf in front of Karon Circle at about 2pm.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 18 May 2012, 4:01 pm


Thai women duped into carrying drugs by African boyfriends

A high number of Thai women have been jailed in Hong Kong for smuggling drugs, having been deceived by a Nigerian drug cartel, which has been using them as dealers.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 18 May 2012, 3:23 pm


Constitution Court disqualifies Jatuporn

The Constitution Court Friday disqualified Jatuporn Promphan as a Pheu Thai MP. The Constitution Court judges voted 7 to 1 to disqualify Jatuporn on the grounds that he was not qualified to apply as an election candidate.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 18 May 2012, 3:21 pm


Contagion fears send global markets in tailspin

Thai shares further nose dived today, in line with global markets which are spooked by a more likely contagious effect in the euzo zones.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - | 18 May 2012, 2:31 pm


Constitution Court disqualifies Jatuporn

The Constitution Court Friday disqualified Jatuporn Promphan as a Pheu Thai MP.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - Breakingnews | 18 May 2012, 2:20 pm


Phuket’s Bangla street touts warned: ‘Hands off tourists’

PHUKET: Patong Police have warned touts plying Phuket’s renowned Soi Bangla that they are not to touch tourists whilst soliciting.

“And they are not to drink alcohol while they are working,” said Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat.

Lt Col Akanit explained to the Phuket Gazette that the new rules for working the streets of Patong are the orders of Patong’s new police chief, Sermpan Sirikong.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 18 May 2012, 1:03 pm


Thailand’s national ID database crash attributed to ‘server problem’

PHUKET: The system crash of Thailand’s Department of Provincial Administration central database in Bangkok, affecting Phuket and the rest of the country yesterday and this morning, has been attributed to a “server problem”.

Phuket City Municipality was informed yesterday by the Region 8 Bureau of Registration Administration in Surat Thani of the problem, saying that some of the database system’s services were temporarily unavailable.

Services suspended included issuance of national identity cards and registration of births and deaths.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 18 May 2012, 1:02 pm


Remains of six boys for black magic ritual found in suitcase

A British man has been arrested in Thailand after being found with six fetuses that had been dried and covered in gold leaf as part of a black magic spirit ritual.

Source: Vancouver Sun - News / World | 18 May 2012, 12:03 pm


50,000 reds to remember crackdown

Police estimate more than 50,000 people will gather at Ratchaprasong intersection today to mark the second anniversary of the violent political clashes.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Jatuporn banned as MP

The Pheu Thai Party has accepted a Constitution Court ruling disqualifying list MP and red shirt co-leader Jatuporn Prompan as an MP while expressing reservations about certain legalities and facts.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 12:00 pm


BMA to pay B800,000 for five deaths in blaze tragedy

The Central Administrative Court yesterday ordered City Hall to pay nearly 800,000 baht in compensation to the parents of five of the 66 victims of the 2009 Santika pub inferno.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Phuket hotel receptionist denies raping tourist

PHUKET: The Phuket resort receptionist charged with raping a German tourist has denied the police allegation, saying the incident was of “mutual consent”.

Sakchai Thongseedam, a reception staffer at the Centara Karon Resort Phuket, was charged by Chalong Police after a German woman in her 20s staying at the resort filed a complaint yesterday.

The woman, whose name is being withheld, said in her police statement – recorded in written Thai by special case officer

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 18 May 2012, 10:40 am


Phuket takes drug war to the coffee shop

PHUKET: In a marked departure from the usual line in tackling drugs on the island, Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada yesterday took time out to sit down with local village leaders and discuss the drug problem over a cup of coffee.

Joined by Col Jirasak Siemsak of Cherng Talay Police Station and Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) Vice President Siri Yokthong, Vice Governor Chamroen sat down at a coffee shop in Bang Tao, on Phuket’s west coast, with local village headman, an imam and government officers in the area.

V/Gov Chamroen explained to the group that in the past six months, provincial authorities had tallied 1,637 drug cases: 734 of those cases involved ya ice (crystal methamphetamine), 564 involved ya bah (methamphetamine), 140 cases involved dry marijuana and the remaining 36 cases involved “other drugs”.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 18 May 2012, 9:33 am


SET hits lowest close since March

Thai stocks lost another 1.63% on Friday as foreign investors sold amid growing nervousness about conditions in the euro zone.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 5:25 am


Man selling dead human foetuses arrested

Six human foetuses which had been roasted, tattooed and covered in gold leaf as part of a black magic ritual and were intended for sale online have been seized from a Taiwan-born man arrested in Bangkok, police said Friday.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 5:06 am


Charter court disqualifies Jatuporn

The Constitution Court on Friday disqualified Jatuporn Prompan as a Pheu Thai Party list MP on the grounds that his membership of the party was voided when he was jailed.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 4:13 am


Census system crashes around country

The computerised system for conducting the Thai census crashed nationwide yesterday, and the authorities were trying to fix it, a senior official at the Department of Provincial Administration said.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - National | 18 May 2012, 1:00 am


Interior Ministry to probe BMA's Skytrain contract

Deputy Interior Minister Choochat Hansawas said he would investigate the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)'s decision to hand a Bt190-billion contract to the current operator of Skytrain system, BTSC - saying the BMA had not kept the ministry advised of its actions.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - National | 18 May 2012, 1:00 am


Only 1 enrolment round at popular schools: Suchart

Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvej insisted yesterday that popular schools must offer only one round of enrolment, after a parent network and representatives of students sought permission for the pupils to continue studying at a prestigious school in Bangkok.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - National | 18 May 2012, 1:00 am


Weekly highlights

Tomorrow, May 19, is the second anniversary of the violent culmination of the political protests in Bangkok in April and May 2010 during which 89 people died in the capital - red-shirt supporters, soldiers, police, journalists and medical volunteers and other innocent people caught up in the turmoil.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 18 May 2012, 12:06 am


Cannes Report Day 2

Cannes May 17



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 17 May 2012, 8:53 pm


Democrats call for action over KTB loan scandal

The opposition Democrat Party Thursday called on the AttorneyGeneral's Office to decide soon whether to file charges against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and 31 others in connection with a loan scandal involving the stateowned Krung Thai Bank during his government's tenure.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - Breakingnews | 17 May 2012, 6:43 pm


Ministry to probe BMA's Skytrain contract

Deputy Interior Minister Choochat Hansawas said he would investigate the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)'s decision to hand a Bt190-billion contract to the current operator of Skytrain system, BTSC - saying the BMA had not kept the ministry advised of its actions.

Source: NationMultimedia.com - Breakingnews | 17 May 2012, 6:34 pm


Phuket readies for Phuket Games 2012

PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa today opened a “coordination center” to act as an information kiosk and souvenir shop for the Thailand National Youth Games 2012, dubbed the “Phuket Games 2012”.

An estimated 14,000 athletes, fans, spectators, supporters and coaching staff expected to arrive in Phuket during the coming week for the event, which will run from May 26 to June 5.

Located at Saphan Hin, near Phuket Town, the center offers programs of the scheduled events to be held throughout the games as well as souvenirs.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 17 May 2012, 1:33 pm


Phones, CDs seized at prison

A combined force of 750 police and corrections officials raided Bang Kwang Central Prison in Nonthaburi on Wednesday and seized 28 mobile phones in an anti-drug operation at the prison.

Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 17 May 2012, 12:00 pm


DSI links 25 riot deaths to military

State authorities may be responsible for the deaths of at least 25 people during the 2010 political mayhem, Department of Special Investigation chief Tarit Pengdith says.



Source: Bangkokpost.com : Top Stories | 17 May 2012, 12:00 pm


Phuket tourists left to save themselves from dangerous surf

PHUKET: Beach vendors have expressed their fears that it is only a matter of time before someone drowns at Phuket’s popular Nai Harn Beach, as distressed tourists are seen daily in the strong surf.

“Since April, Thais and foreigners who regularly hang out at Nai Harn Beach, such as surfers, have often had to go out and save people who are in trouble and waving their arms for help,” beach vendor Song “Dui” Sa-ingtong told the Phuket Gazette.

“It’s lucky that no one has drowned yet.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 17 May 2012, 11:20 am


Two accidents on Thepkrasattri Road as bad weather hits Phuket

PHUKET: Although the adverse weather is not thought to have directly caused either accident, it may well have been a factor in at least one of the two accidents that occurred along Phuket’s notorious Thepkrasattri Road yesterday.

The first incident, shortly after midnight, involved a modified Isuzu D-Max pickup which struck an electricity pole on Thepkrasattri Road in the vicinity of the Tesco Lotus shopping center in Thalang.

Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation workers and Baan Nai Khlam volunteers attended the scene.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 17 May 2012, 10:59 am


Heavy rains prompt Phuket flood, landslide warning

PHUKET: While the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) today upgraded its “heavy rain warning” for Phuket and the Andaman coast to a flood caution, the Phuket provincial office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) has issued a flood warning for risk areas across the island

“We sent the warning letter to every local administration yesterday, warning of possible flooding and landslides on the island,” DDPM-Phuket chief San Jantharawong told the Phuket Gazette this morning.

“If they need any help from us [DDPM-Phuket] they will be able to call,” he added.

The DDPM-Phuket has asked people in high-risk areas to beware of flooding through to Saturday, when the heavy rains are expected to ease.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 17 May 2012, 9:45 am


PHUKET GEM HEIST UPDATE: Turk to face drug charges first

PHUKET: The Turkish national who was arrested in connection with the 30-million-baht gem and jewelry heist in Phuket on Monday will face drug possession charges before being handed over to the Phuket Police to face charges related to the gem heist.

Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul told the Phuket Gazette that Riza Balkan, 49, was found in possession of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) when searched by Trang Police on Monday.

“Riza Balkan needs to be held in Trang for his drug case first before being transferred to Phuket to face charges related to the jewelry theft,” Maj Gen Chonasit said.

Source: Phuket Gazette - Daily News | 17 May 2012, 5:21 am


WORLD: Myanmar Drug Surge

Thai police are combating a surge in drug trafficking at the border with Myanmar.

Source: NYT > Asia Pacific | 14 May 2012, 9:09 am


Thailand profile

Provides an overview of Thailand, including key events and facts.

Source: BBC News - Asia | 9 April 2012, 5:53 am