United States President George Bush yesterday vowed to continue exerting pressure on Burma's military regime.
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing tonight. The Princess will today also preside over a stone-laying ceremony for the new Thai embassy in the Chinese capital before attending a lunch for government leaders, including Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, hosted by China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
FAR SOUTH
The helicopter which crashed and killed 10 officers in Yala was old but was regularly maintained, but the air force is definitely in need of more airworthy planes, ACM Chalit Phukpasuk said.
POLITICS
The opposition is pressing the government to speed up enactment of 30 key organic laws, including those governing people's rights and liberties, ''before its time runs out''. Opposition chief whip Sathit Wongnongtoei yesterday called on the government to quickly promulgate new laws on people's rights and liberties.
NEWS THINK
We now know who the ''gang of four'' actually are, thanks mainly to members of the Isan Pattana faction of the People Power party (PPP), who are determined to wrest dominance of the party from them. The gang of four is understood to refer to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, his secretary-general Theerapol Nopparampa, Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee and Newin Chidchob, an influential figure who controls a large PPP faction of MPs in the Northeast.
POLITICS
House Speaker Chai Chidchob has denied his son Newin is a member of the ''gang of four'' said to be cashing in on state projects in preparation for the next elections.
BEHIND THE NEWS
It was no secret that US President George Bush wanted to meet Burmese dissidents during his stay in Bangkok. The process was secretly and carefully arranged, given the sensitivity of the issue, which could have affected Thailand's relations with Burma.
The Education Ministry is to ask for a ban on game shops within a 500-metre radius of schools, ministry spokesman Wattana Sengpairoh said yesterday. Speaking after a meeting of the Education Ministry's public relations committee, Mr Wattana said the committee has discussed the impact of computer game shops on students and concluded that many students spent less time with their families and text books if these shops were nearby.
The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) yesterday petitioned police chief Patcharawat Wongsuwan to quickly find the gunman who killed Matichon reporter Athiwat Chainurat at his house in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Friday. Pol Gen Patcharawat gave an assurance investigators would give extra attention to the case.
HEALTH
The Health Services Department has filed a lawsuit against Pratunam Polyclinic for castrating underage sex change candidates after the Council of State ruled that commercial testicle-removal surgery was unlawful. The legal action was aimed at discouraging other clinics from providing the service, department chief Supachai Kunaratanapreuk said.
PPP DISSOLUTION DEFENCE
The Election Commission (EC) will not allow a further extension of the deadline for the People Power party (PPP) to defend the party dissolution case. EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said PPP leader Samak Sundaravej and secretary-general Surapong Suebwonglee have until Wednesday to give their explanations to the sub-committee in charge of the inquiry.
Triumph International representatives have agreed to look into the controversial sacking of a labour union head by its subsidiary Body Fashion Thailand, which makes swimwear and undergarments at its Samut Prakan factory .
SOCIETY
The number of poor people in the country dropped last year, but problems affecting the fabric of society rose, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). The number of people across the nation classified by the NESDB as poor in the study declined on a year-on-year basis from 6.1 million to 5.4 million last year when the 10th five-year National Economic and Social Development Plan was introduced, it said.
ACCIDENT
Sewerage drains clogged with oil exploded in Chatuchak district yesterday morning, injuring a man and damaging several shophouses. Drains laid under the footpath on Phahon Yothin road exploded, with the blast covering a length of 500 metres.
AMERICAN DIPLOMACY
What was included in President George W Bush's major foreign policy speech in Bangkok was as important as that which was omitted. His overarching paradigm of freedom, prosperity and security and what he saw as the overall achievements of his two terms in office were unsurprising. But the good news for Mr Bush's successor is that the outgoing president's approach towards Asia leaves much room for manoeuvre, much space in which to operate.
EDITORIAL
To save Thailand's fast diminishing forests and biodiversity, state authorities must stop their misguided policies which destroy the green cover, instead of making poor villagers the scapegoats of deforestation.
LET IT BE
The appointment of Virabongsa Ramangkura and his team of economic experts as advisers to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has raised concerns over conflicts of interest. It also reflects the lack of capable economists in the Thai political arena and the risks of holding public office by prominent outsiders.
COMMENTARY
This is a very urgent agenda - it might save or break our beloved nation. Considering that starting from Aug 23, every Thai citizen will be able to enjoy the country's first "standard time," which includes the playing of the national anthem at exactly the same time across the entire Kingdom, I would like to propose that we spend precisely one minute on free-form laughing before proceeding to our public singing duty, twice a day even.
BURMA
"We must move forward, forward in Burma. There is no backwards for us."
METRO
Winning Travel & Leisure magazine's award as the World's Best City 2008 was a great achievement for Bangkok, but keeping the crown may not be easy, says a leading tourism planner.
In Media
How can Thai democracy make good progress when political parties cannot live up to public expectations?
Post Bag
On more than one occasion the Bangkok Post has reported opinions offered by Gen Suchinda Kraprayoon. In the article "Ex-PM Suchinda calls for national reconciliation," (BP, Aug 6) the former military officer and politician offers advice and comments on the political situation and praises PM Samak for his "courage and loyalty".
