Cambodia has withdrawn its request for the United Nations Security Council to intervene in the border row with Thailand over the contested area near the Preah Vihear temple.
TRANSPORT
Bangkok expressway tolls could go up to at least 45 baht for four-wheel vehicles, in an increase approved by the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority (ETA).
PROTESTS
UDON THANI : A PAD supporter was killed and 17 others injured yesterday when a large mob armed with knives and clubs attacked a People's Alliance for Democracy rally. The clash occurred at Nong Prachak Silapakhom public park in the municipal area, where around 150 PAD supporters were gathering.
FAR SOUTH
The government will increase tuition on Islamic studies in public schools in the southern border provinces under a project to attract more Muslim students to state-run schools. The number of hours for Islamic studies will increase from two to 10 a week in state-run primary schools, and to 12 hours a week in high schools in Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, Songkhla and Satun.
HEALTH
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. Deputy director-general of the Health Service Support Department Wisist Tangnapakorn said yesterday the agency was investigating whether it could prosecutet Thep Vejvisit, owner of Pratunam Kanpaet clinic, which offered castration surgery.
The government's position on the recall of one million rai of unused land occupied by state agencies remains unclear. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and other ministers and officials are split on whether the land should be offered to large agricultural investors.
At 79, Mee Kaewsa-nga brings out his old shotgun, dusts it down and attends a firearms training session, only to find the weapon is now too heavy for him to hold up. The last time he carried the gun was more than 20 years ago when the army gave it to him and trained him to use it for self-defence during the height of the civil war in Cambodia.
POLITICS
Sondhi Limthongkul, a core leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), was released on bail yesterday after turning himself in at the Metropolitan Police Bureau to face a lese majeste charge.
NEWS THINK
After Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej announced in his weekly television show that he'd had enough of the ''culling'' of the People Power party (PPP) and that it was time to get even, a campaign to remove independent agencies got under way. The Election Commission (EC) and the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) are first in the line of fire, with threats of impeachment looming over them.
POLITICS
The People Power party (PPP) is moving to impeach three judges of the Central Administrative Court and to challenge the signed and sealed purchase of fighter jets from Sweden by the air force.
POLITICS
The Office of the Judiciary has not received a request for a transfer from Constitution Court judge Boonsong Kulbupha, deputy secretary-general Sarawuth Benjakul said yesterday. He was responding to reports that Mr Boonsong wants to return to the Supreme Court.
CORRUPTION
The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) is set to indict Thaksin Shinawatra on a charge of being unusually rich as a result of the sale of his shares in Shin Corp. Klanarong Chanthik, a member of the National Counter Corruption Commission, said a joint panel of officials from the OAG and the NCCC yesterday met to see if there were any holes in the investigation previously handled by the now-defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee.
Two robbers made off with an African diamond worth around 315 million baht from a shop in Chatuchak on Wednesday. Diamond broker Rinlapas Punyajiraphat, 58, told police yesterday that two men claiming to be close aides of a well-known politician arrived at her shop on Wednesday to see two African diamonds.
KLONG TOEY MARKET
About 3,000 vendors from Klong Toey market protested outside the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) yesterday, fearing a planned renovation of the ageing market area would mean their expulsion. The group, led by Klong Toey market community head Sompong Tangskulwiwatana, blocked Kasemrat road from the Customs Department intersection to the PAT building and beyond, nearly to the Tha Ruea expressway ramp.
The Criminal Court yesterday acquitted the accused gunman in the high-profile murder of Australian auditor Michael Wansley in Nakhon Sawan province nine years ago, after giving him the benefit of the doubt. On Aug 7, 2003, the Nakhon Sawan prosecution team and Adam Wansley, the dead man's son, accused Pichet Kaewsamduang, alias Sor Thaksin, of shooting dead Wansley, a 58-year-old auditor, on March 10, 1999. Wansley was also known as Michael Irwin and Irwin Wansley.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Many law enforcement officers breach human rights laws, says the chief of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI). The DSI wanted law enforcement agencies to reduce human right violations among their staff, DSI chief Pol Col Thawee Sodsong told a human rights seminar yesterday.
EDITORIAL
Article 112 of the Criminal Code was crafted by our legal minds more than five decades ago, with the intention of protecting the monarchy from any individual who defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the heir-apparent or the Regent. The maximum penalty is imprisonment of up to 15 years.
LET IT BE
Two non-related occurrences appeared on your television screen in the past week. Both opened up again the debate on the use of public television for political gain.
GEOPOLITICS
While the military build-up between opposing Thai and Cambodian armed forces over the Preah Vihear temple controversy has reached a standstill following inclusive talks between the two sides, Phnom Penh's diplomatic offensive is well under way. After its unsuccessful bid to put the issue for regional discussion among Asean members, Cambodia is now seeking a multilateral solution to this longstanding bilateral territorial dispute, threatening to put the United Nations Security Council on the spot.
METRO
Bangkok will soon be home to the world's largest metropolitan orchid garden, as a luxury hotel in the city is setting aside almost five rai of its land as a home for over 250 varieties of orchids. The planned permanent orchid garden, set to be opened officially on Aug 22, will be located in the compound of the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel, on Wireless road in Pathumwan district.
METRO
The Museum of Siam, located in a vintage building near Pak Khlong Talat flower market, offers something new for museum enthusiasts.
In Media
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is hell-bent on bringing down the Samak-led government. This, in turn, is hurting its own credibility.
PostBag
As the owner of a minimart in Pattaya, I was amused to be told recently that as of Aug 1, all minimarts must turn around bottles of whisky and beer in their shops, in a vain attempt at discouraging people from drinking.
