Thailand
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Bot: No economic crisis
Posted on Friday, 25 July 2008, 11: 15 GMT
The Thai economy in the first half of 2008 is not in crisis as it was in 1997 although it had experienced difficulties from surging oil prices, global economic slowdown, and political uncertainties, according to the Bank of Thailand (BoT). Speaking at a seminar BoT deputy governor Atchana Waiquamdee said the country's economy managed to grow 6 per cent in the first half of the year amid the fuel price surge, world economic sluggishness and political turmoil. But the bank expected the economy in the second half of the year would expand slightly less than that in the first half. Asked whether the bank would raise the policy interest rate further following the rate hike by 25 basis points at the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, she said the bank served like a doctor who prescribed a first set of medications for patients suffering from the inflation surge by increasing the interest rate. However, the treatment must have side effects. That meant the economy could grow at a slower pace. Whether a new regimen of medications would be prescribed depended on the health conditions of patients, which need to be monitored. (Source: Thai News Agency)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Commercial castration no longer allowed
Posted on Friday, 25 July 2008, 11: 11 GMT
Health authorities will take legal action against clinics providing commercial castration services after the Council of State ruled the surgery was unlawful and could cause health risks. The Deputy director-general of the Health Service Support Department said yesterday the agency was investigating whether it could prosecute the owner of Pratunam Kanpaet clinic, which offered castration surgery. The Chairman of the Medical Council of Thailand said the council will discuss if the clinic had violated medical ethics. The council warned that castration can damage hormone growth and inhibit physical development. (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Thai language also difficult for Thais
Posted on Thursday, 24 July 2008, 15: 07 GMT
Just days ahead of National Thai Language Day, a survey shows that most Thais do not know how many vowels are in their language. Of 2,452 respondents, only 13.3 per cent knew the correct answer: 21. National Thai Language Day falls on July 29 every year. Only 9.9 per cent knew about this fact. "Most Thais don't know the Thai language well," said Dr Noppadon Kannika, head of ABAC's academic network for community happiness observation and research. His network conducted a survey among people aged 18 and over in Bangkok and its adjacent provinces from July 1823. Noppadon believes language problems are now reaching crisis point. "Of those polled, 73.7 per cent don't know how many intonation marks and intonation levels their national language has," he said. Most respondents could not define prose or verse. According to the survey, many respondents misspell Thai words, pronounce them incorrectly and even misunderstand some words. Asked who should take the flak for language problems, respondents blamed teenagers, actors, actresses, singers, politicians and media. Up to 89.8 per cent of respondents want urgent measures to conserve Thai language. Good TV programs are among their recommended measures. Respondents also mentioned language contests and activities that encourage reading and speaking Thai. (Source: The Nation)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Temple dispute to the UN
Posted on Thursday, 24 July 2008, 15: 02 GMT
The UN has decided to hold an emergency session over the border row. Cambodian defense Minister Teah Banh and Thai Supreme Commander General Boonsrang Niempradit met at the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet on Monday in an attempt to defuse the temple dispute bilaterally but failed to find a solution to the legal obstacles involved.
The problem dates back to a map drawn up in 1908 by French cartographers to define the Thai-Cambodian border when Cambodia was still a French colony. Thailand's failure to officially object to the questionable map-making led to their losing the temple in 1962 when a dispute over the temple's ownership was settled in the Hague at the International Court of Justice. The United Nations Security Council will now convene a special session, probably next week, to try to prevent a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia from escalating into a military confrontation. (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Border talks with no result
Posted on Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 10: 57 GMT
Talks between Thailand and Cambodia went nowhere yesterday after both countries refused to back down from claiming sovereignty over the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple. But Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit and Cambodian Defense Minister Gen Tea Banh promised not to take any further military action that might heighten tension on the border between Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket province and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, where the 900-year-old temple is located. "The two sides affirmed there will be neither a withdrawal nor reinforcement of their troops," Gen Boonsrang said. After eight hours of intense talks at a hotel in the border district of Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo province involving the two generals and selected officials, the two countries called it quits and agreed to adjourn the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting to next month. (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
More problems for One-Two-Go
Posted on Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 10: 55 GMT
The Civil Aviation Department has ordered One-Two-Go airlines to halt operations for 30 days due to substandard operations and revoked or suspended the flying licenses of nine of its pilots. The Civil Aviation Department has ordered One-Two-Go airlines to halt operations for 30 days due to substandard operations and revoked or suspended the flying licenses of nine of its pilots. Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the department, said suspension of the airline's Air Operator Certificate was effective from today. The department had found shortcomings in the airline's aviation operations, flight schedules and maintenance, along with a lack of quality assurance. The low-cost airline had violated aviation safety regulations and lacked proper airline management. The flying licenses of seven of the airline's foreign pilots were revoked, six Indonesians and a Venezuelan, and the licenses of two Thai pilots suspended. The department found the pilots on the airline's MD80 series aircraft had submitted documents misstating their level of expertise. The airline and its pilots were liable to criminal penalties and the department would file charges against them in two weeks, said Mr Chaisak. The announcement follows the department's investigation into the crash of flight OG269, an MD-82, at Phuket International Airport on Sept 16 last year, killing 89 people and injuring 41. The airline was required to correct the flaws in its operations during the suspension period, or the department could either extend the suspension or terminate the airline's certificate. One-Two-Go was ordered to correct its flight schedules, aircraft maintenance and quality assurance system. Mr Chaisak said One-Two-Go's parent airline, Orient Thai, was also warned it must change its flight schedules to allow its pilots enough rest time, as required by aviation safety regulations. (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Temple talks not yet started
Posted on Monday, 21 July 2008, 9: 45 GMT
Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee has not yet started as a four-eyed meeting between Supreme Commander Gen Boonsang Niempradit and Cambodia's Defence Minister Gen Tea Banh is still continuing. Both chairmen of the GBC started at about 10.15am at Indochina Hotel, Sa Kaew province. The GBC's special meeting was called to meet in Sa Kaew to defuse military tension near Preah Vihear Temple. The full GBC meeting will start after the four-eyed meeting finished. The special session of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee was conducted to resolve the military stand off near Preah Vihear temple. Cambodia tried to use Asean meeting which is conducting ministerial meeting in Singapore as a mechanism to defuse the stand off. However Thailand rejected the effort, saying the conflict should be conducted on bilateral basis. The Sa Kaew meeting is meant to defuse an intensifying dispute over the ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjoining Preah Vihear. (Source: The Nation)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Prize for Thai robot
Posted on Monday, 21 July 2008, 9: 39 GMT
Thailand made it three-in-a-row at the World RoboCup 2008 competition in China yesterday when its Chulalongkorn University team swept aside the challenge of its three rivals in the finals. A tank-shaped robot, Plasma RX, developed by a team of students at the university’s engineering faculty, proved too skillful when it came to moving along a rugged and bumpy surface to reach victims of a mock disaster scene during the rescue event. Team leader Naowarat Termthanasombat said they found pressure as their major obstacle as Thailand was the defending champion. The two previous titles, in 2006 and 2007, were won by a team from the King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok’s Prachin Buri campus. Ms Naowarat hoped their rescue robot model would be further developed for use for real rescue operations in Thailand. Her team built the Plasma RX with financial support from the Siam Cement Group (SCG). (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Cities vulnerable
Posted on Sunday, 20 July 2008, 13: 26 GMT
The World Bank has urged Asian cities to come up with climate resilient programmes to safeguard people from natural hazards triggered by climate change and rising sea levels. Coastal cities in Burma, China, Thailand and Vietnam are among the most vulnerable to rising sea levels, disaster response and climate change experts told a seminar on climate change impact reduction held by the World Bank in Pattaya this week. Extreme weather caused by climate change has threatened many Asian cities and could undercut economic progress in the region, they said. With climate change causing a rise in sea levels, some Asian cities are at a greater risk from storm surges and annual flooding. A projected one-meter rise in sea levels could lead to a two per cent loss of gross domestic product arising from a shortage of fresh water, the impact on agriculture and fisheries, the disruption of tourism and reduced energy security, the experts said.
"The degree of impact from which cities suffer from climate change will ultimately depend on the actions and initiatives local governments take to build a more climate-resilient city," said Jim Adams, vice-president for the World Bank for the East Asia and Pacific Region. (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Ceasefire real or not?
Posted on Sunday, 20 July 2008, 10: 40 GMT
The Royal Thai Army officially refutes having had any ties to the ceasefire announced by the self-proclaimed representatives of southern insurgents on the Army television channel, saying it was a move initiated on his own by ex-Defence Minister Gen. Chetta Thanajaro. Assigned by Army Chief Anupong Paojinda, Deputy army spokeswoman Col. Sirichan Ngathong said the Army had nothing to do with the broadcast, adding that it was done by Gen. Chetta's personal intention to express his good will and care towards the people in the restive south. Army-owned TV Channel 5 supported Gen. Chetta's move as it assumed it was credible and beneficial to the country, Col. Sirichan said. It was not an official statement or binding in any way to the Army. She added that Channel 5's action was a journalistic decision, not reflecting any military status to the decision. Earlier Friday, Democrat party advisor Chuan Leekpai commented it was evident the claimed leaders did not represent all insurgent groups and warned officials to take the story with a pinch of salt. "Those who refuse to believe in this truce might come out and cause more trouble to react to this hoax", said Mr. Chuan, a former prime minister. "The government should clarify this and warn officials and villagers to be cautious," he said. (Source: Thai News Agency)
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Talks between Thailand and Cambodia on Monday
Posted on Sunday, 20 July 2008, 10: 37 GMT
Thailand and Cambodia agreed to temporary suspend all armed forces movements along the Thai-Cambodian border at Si Sa Ket province which is adjacent to Cambodia's Preah Vihear province of Cambodia, and Thailand's Second Army Area Command is on round-the-clock alert, according to a senior Thai military official. The Second Army Area Command is responsible for overseeing the northeastern provinces which includes Si Sa Ket. Meanwhile, Pol.Lt-Gen. Vichienchot Sukchokrat, a Thai government spokesman, said he was informed by Don Pramudwinai, Thailand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations that Cambodia has asked for UN help in dealing with the border dispute. The content of the Cambodian petition is not known to the Thai govenment, and Thailand is awaiting the details, he said. Thai News Agency reporters on the scene at Si Sa ket said that both sides of the border in the vicinity of the 11th century temple are quite tense after the two countries built up their armed forces along the border. The military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand entered its fifth day Saturday after the tension build up after UNESCO approved Cambodia's application to list Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site. (Source: Thai News Agency)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Troops to Cambodian border
Posted on Sunday, 20 July 2008, 10: 25 GMT
There is a dispute going on for some time already about a Temple near the Cambodian border. Thailand and Cambodia seem not to be able to solve this without the rattling of armor.
A Cambodian official at Preah Vihear temple confirmed Saturday that Thai troops had stood down from a nearby disputed pagoda as a delegation of international military attaches from Vietnam and China flew in by helicopter at Cambodia's request. A Cambodian government official - speaking on condition of anonymity - confirmed local television reports that Thai troops allegedly stationed at a Cambodian pagoda within a few hundred metres of Preah Vihear temple had moved camp to a jungle clearing. On Saturday Cambodia's defense Ministry flew military attaches from China and Vietnam to the temple to view a border dispute first hand, local station CTN said. The Khmer-language private television station said the delegation was headed by Cambodian armed forces chief Sao Sokha. The official said Thai troops had now moved back. Thailand has maintained the temple is in a disputed no-man's-land and that a Thai presence in the area was not breaching Cambodian sovereignty. Cambodia disagreed and asked for the tour by international observers. Although other international attaches including the US were originally rumored to be attending, in the end they were supplied by the two Communist nations, which are also closest regional allies. Tensions have been running high on the border since Cambodia asked UNESCO to list the temple as a World Heritage Site despite there being a dispute over a 4.6-kilometer swathe of land nearby. UNESCO obliged earlier this month, but tensions spilled over Tuesday when Cambodia briefly detained, then released, three Thais it said had illegally crossed the border, prompting first dozens, and then hundreds of Thai troops to follow in an alleged incursion.
If this dispute continues along the military way, there will soon nothing be left of the Temple, and the problem will be solved in that way. Is that what Thailand and Cambodia want? (Source - except for the comments- : The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
One-Two-Go stops activities
Posted on Saturday, 19 July 2008, 12: 20 GMT
One-Two-Go Airlines, one of Thailand's three main budget carriers, will cease operations temporarily, starting on Tuesday, to allow time for a financial restructuring. The decision for a 56-day grounding followed mounting cost pressures spurred by ballooning oil prices, fierce competition from rival airlines, falling domestic passenger demand and the poor business outlook. One-Two-Go, which started flying in December 2003, is the first no-frills carrier to suspend operations, while the other two operators, Thai AirAsia and Nok Airlines, are also experiencing difficulties but have yet to make a similar decision. A One-Two-Go statement issued yesterday said that during the suspension, from July 22 to Sept 15, the airline will consider a new financial system that will do away with forward ticket sales which have hurt its financial status. Forward sales of air tickets have become a critical problem for most airlines as the tariff is priced when oil prices are lower but by the time travel actually takes place they have tended to rise. One-Two-Go founder and chairman Udom Tantiprasongchai could not be reached for comment as he was overseas. Earlier, Mr Udom told the Bangkok Post that the suspension was part of what he termed "damage control." (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Inspection of illegally obtained land
Posted on Friday, 18 July 2008, 16: 53 GMT
Maj Gen Intarat Yodbangtoey, special adviser to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Anongwan Thepsutin, wrapped up his two-day visit to Phuket yesterday with a helicopter inspection tour of suspected illegally acquired land plots on Phuket. “About 20 construction sites believed to be illegal are under investigation by the DSI [Department of Special Investigations]. We expect the DSI to announce the results of their investigations soon,” Gen Intarat said. After his aerial tour, Gen Intarat said he had noticed there were many construction sites on Forestry Department land in the hills at Tri Trang, Patong and Kamala. Following his meeting with Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit Gen Intarat said, “We may investigate local administration organizations, too. We have selected special officers to investigate encroachment cases. To guard against future illegal developments on the island, he said, “We plan to send the rules for approving deeds for land in Phuket to the DSI, embassies, the Land Office and the Royal Thai Police and warn them to check Phuket deeds carefully before approving them. (Source: The Phuket Gazette)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Patong landslide
Posted on Thursday, 17 July 2008, 12: 44 GMT
Following heavy rains overnight, three Burmese laborers were crushed by a landslide this morning at the site of a new apartment block being built on 50 Pi Rd. The laborers were part of a construction crew who had been working on building a retaining wall at the site, located opposite Rattana Hill Apartments, to prevent such an incident. The owner of the apartment project, who declined to identify himself, told the Phuket Gazette; “It happened at about 11:30 am where we are building a two-meter concrete wall to prevent landslides. Officers from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation tried to use a backhoe to dig them out. Unfortunately, it was too late. They had already died of suffocation. (Source: The Phuket Gazette)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
Can there be peace in the South?
Posted on Thursday, 17 July 2008, 12: 37 GMT
Two men claiming to be behind the war in the South said on Thursday they have called a cease-fire to end four and a half years of violence. Their claims were unverified. The two men appeared in a pre-recorded videotape broadcast without notice by Channel 5, the army-operated TV station based in Bangkok. There was no government participation or reaction to the claim. The unidentified men, with an army reporter seated between them, claimed they had ordered a cease-fire in the South effective last Monday. The claim seemed dubious. There have been several killings and bombings since Monday. More than 3,500 people have died in the ongoing violence since January 2004. The two middle-aged men claimed to be the head of Thailand United Southern Underground group. They claimed they now support peace in the South. (Source: The Bangkok Post)Any Comments? Use our Message Board! (Please register for the Board first)
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