Another Accident Lands Italian-Thai in Hot Water For Safety Lapses

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13 June 2017, 13:13

A beam from an elevated rail line construction site burst through the windshield of Thanakrit Thanomkiat’s car in a photo he posted to Facebook. Photo: Pop PastelSecret / Facebook

BANGKOK — When a metal beam fell from a rail construction site Monday and speared a passing car’s windshield, nearly skewering the driver, it wasn’t the first such incident to plague construction of the Dark Red Line. Nor was it the second or fourth.

Monday’s incident was the seventh known accident to occur since work began four years ago. And while no one died this time – others have been fatal – it turned public attention again to Italian-Thai Development Co. Ltd., the firm responsible for the project.

Thanakrit Thanomkiat, 35, said he was driving his Nissan yesterday morning on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road toward Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road when the long, cemented-coated steel beam fell from the overhead construction site of the SRT Dark-Red Line’s Bang Khen Station.

Thanakrit went to file a complaint and posted a photo to social media. He was uninjured, but the roof and windshield of his car were badly damaged.

A project engineer with the State Railway of Thailand or SRT, who granted Italian-Thai the 21 billion baht construction contract, blamed contractor carelessness.

Jare Rungthanee said it failed to enclose all of the specified area and the pole fell through an unprotected space.

Italian-Thai was summoned Tuesday to meet with SRT officials before the rail agency considers punitive measures.

Pichit Akrathit, the deputy transport minister, said the contractor must also pay compensation and a fine. He said the SRT would be summoned before the ministry to explain why accidents at their construction site were so frequent.

Pichit said they were reviewing the contract with Italian-Thai under public pressure to scrap the deal with the company, which has a serious record of accidents.

In the past four years, eight people have been killed as a result of the seven accidents involving the project.

Construction was ordered to halt after three workers were crushed to death by large steel beams on April 28. In January 2015, seven people were hurt when scaffolding fell at a project in front of the IT Square shopping mall in the Lak Si district. A Burmese worker was killed by falling concrete blocks in October 2015 on Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road in front of Wat Don Mueang.

The first phase of Dark-Red Line construction commenced in 2013. It will run from Bang Sue to Rangsit. The inaugural run of the Dark-Red Line is set for 2020.

Thanakrit, the car owner, said he is due to talk to Italian-Thai representatives today about compensation.

Prayuth May Shop for Answers to His ‘4 Questions’ in Malls

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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13 June 2017, 13:06

Members of the public line up at a government center Monday to submit their answers to junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha’s four questions in Chai Nat province

BANGKOK — A government official on Tuesday proposed opening locations for the public to answer questions posed by junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha about Thailand’s political future after the first day met a lukewarm response.

Only 395 people submitted answers Monday to Gen. Prayuth’s controversial four questions at 51 designated locations in the capital – each district office and a government complaint center near the government house, where 14 people showed up to offer responses. Just over 7,000 people responded nationwide.

The low turnout rate led Interior Minister Gen. Anupong Paochinda, who is in charge of collecting responses, to suggest adding sites in shopping malls popular with Bangkokians of means.

If the mall owners cooperated, Anupong said it could be expanded beyond Bangkok. He is also considering using the internet but said responses must be verified with ID numbers.

Throughout the kingdom, 1,007 centers have been assigned to collect answers to Prayuth’s questions.

Prayuth posed the four questions on May 26 during his weekly televised address.

Among them was:

“Elections are important for a democracy. But they are not the sole determinant of the country’s future and other matters, such as whether a country has a strategy or undergoes reforms, is this true or false?”

The questions were criticized for being loaded attempts to win responses to justify the regime’s continued stay in power.

Korakot Sangyepan, a 24-year-old member of the Democracy Restoration Group, said last week there was no guarantee the outcome would be fair or reliable. She said it seemed an attempt to measure the junta’s popularity.

Around the country, 7,012 people responded on Monday. The Interior Ministry will summarize and report the results every 10 days.

The most responses came in the northeastern province of Kalasin, where 662 people registered their opinions. The lowest was in the southern province of Phang Nga. Only six responses were filed there. The content of those responses has not been made public yet.

The Interior Ministry is in no rush, according to Prayoon Rattasenee, a deputy permanent secretary. Prayoon said perhaps the questions may not yet have percolated widely enough. The ministry is also considering accepting responses through mail and email, but said it would have to look into the details first.

Former PCAP leader Suthep Thaugsuban made his response public on Facebook on Monday, saying that if elections would lead to a government lacking in good governance, there should be no elections.

Prayuth also asked:

“Do you think the next election will lead to a government that practices good governance?

“If not, what should we do?

“Do you think that politicians who’ve shown inappropriate behavior should have the opportunity to seek office again? If they gain office again and new problems arise, who should fix them and with what means?”

Update: This story has been updated with updated numbers of submitted responses from Monday.

Former NBA Star Dennis Rodman to Return to N Korea

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Associated Press

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13 June 2017, 12:02

BEIJING — North Korea is expecting another visit by former NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman.

He’s made several visits to the country, but has been roundly criticized for insensitive comments and for regaling leader Kim Jong Un with “Happy Birthday” in 2014. On the same trip, he suggested an American missionary was at fault for his own imprisonment in North Korea, remarks for which he later apologized.

A foreign ministry official who spoke to the AP in Pyongyang confirmed Rodman was expected to arrive Tuesday but could not provide details. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the ministry had not issued a formal statement.

It would be Rodman’s first visit to the country since President Donald Trump took office.

Asian Stocks up as Investors Shrug off Tech Rout, Eye Fed

By

Associated Press

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13 June 2017, 11:49

Trader Kevin Walsh, right, works in 2017 on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Richard Drew / Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stock markets were higher on Tuesday as investors brushed off a second day of big losses on Wall Street tech stocks a day before the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates.

Keeping Score: Japan’s Nikkei 225 was flat at 19,913.55 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 2,370.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.5 percent to 25,835.49, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.4 percent to 3,151.25. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1 percent to 5,727.30. Stocks in Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia were higher, but in the Philippines, the benchmark index fell.

Analysts’ Take: “The theme remained centered on the sell-off for tech stocks at the start of the week, though Asian markets could find some relief,” said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG in Singapore. “While the extent to which this decline may sustain remains uncertain at the current moment, the move has not triggered a more widespread decline.”

Fed Watch: The Federal Reserve will meet Tuesday and Wednesday, and investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates for the third time since December. Super-low unemployment, gains in factory output and other economic data pointing to a recovery in the U.S. economy have led investors to believe that the Fed will lift rates.

Wall Street: U.S. stocks fell again on Monday as tech stocks recorded sharp losses for a second straight day. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 0.1 percent to 2,429.39. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.2 percent to 21,235.67, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.5 percent to 6,175.46.

Oil: Benchmark U.S. crude added 18 cents to USD $46.26 per barrel on electronic trading in New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 25 cents to close at USD $46.08 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 19 cents to USD $48.48 per barrel in London. It closed up 14 cents at USD $48.29 a barrel in the previous session.

Currencies: The dollar gained to 109.97 yen from 109.95, while the euro weakened to USD $1.119 from USD $1.120. The British pound slid further to USD $1.2654, down 0.1 percent.

Story: Youkyung Lee

Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry Lead Warriors to NBA Title

By

Associated Press

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13 June 2017, 11:23

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant reacts after scoring against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of Game 5 of basketball's NBA Finals Monday in Oakland, California. Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

OAKLAND, California — Kevin Durant capped his spectacular first season with the Warriors by bringing home that coveted NBA championship he joined Golden State last July so determined to get, scoring 39 points in a fast-and-furious, Finals-clinching 129-120 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.

Stephen Curry added 34 points, 10 assists and six rebounds as Golden State took the seven-game series 4-1, closing out its second title in three years after squandering a 3-1 lead a year ago to the Cavs to miss a repeat. That stung ever since, and even Durant understood, because he gave up the same lead to the Warriors a round earlier with Oklahoma City.

James, who in 2012 with Miami beat the Thunder in Durant’s only other Finals, wound up with 41 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving followed up his 40-point gem in Friday’s Game 4 with 26 points but shot 9 for 22.

This time, King James gave way to KD, who was the NBA Finals MVP 10 years after being picked second in the NBA draft behind Greg Oden.

Durant drove left, right and down the middle, knocked down 3-pointers, dished and dunked. He knocked down a 17-foot fadeaway over James early in the fourth quarter, then assisted on a 3-pointer by Andre Iguodala the next time down as the Warriors pulled away.

Story: Janie McCauley

June’s Meth Haul is 1.2 Million Tablets From Four Busts

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Associated Press

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12 June 2017, 23:52

Officers stand guard as narcotics officials prepare to burn drugs in a high-powered oven in Ayutthaya province in a in a June 26, 2014 file photo. Photo: Narong Sangnak / EPA

BANGKOK — Thai police say they have seized more than 1 million methamphetamine tablets this month, as trade in the illicit drug shows little sign of abating.

The Narcotic Suppression Bureau on Monday displayed 1.21 million methamphetamine tablets and 17 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine it seized as it made arrests in four separate cases.

The biggest seizure came last Thursday at a police checkpoint in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, about 240 kilometers south of Bangkok. Police said the arrested men admitted transporting 910,000 tablets destined for the southern Thai provinces of Songkhla and Hat Yai.

Other drug seizures took place at a mall in Bangkok and in the provinces of Lampang and Chiang Rai in Thailand’s north, which borders Myanmar, where most methamphetamine seized in Thailand originates.

‘Bikini Killer’ Who Preyed on Tourists in Thailand Has Heart Surgery

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Associated Press

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12 June 2017, 19:44

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who killed tourists in Thailand in the 1970s and is serving a life sentence in Nepal, had successful heart surgery Monday, doctors said.

Doctors at Shahid Ganga Lal Hospital in Kathmandu said Sobhraj, 73, was recovering in the cardiac care unit.

Sobhraj has been in a Nepal jail since 2004, when a court sentenced him to life in prison in the 1975 killing of a Western backpacker.

The Frenchman in the past has admitted killing several Western tourists, and is believed to have murdered at least 20 people in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong during the 1970s.

According to a National Geographic documentary on Sobhraj, his first victim was a young American woman from Seattle, Washington named Teresa Knowlton, who was found dead in the Gulf of Thailand wearing a bikini. He also killed a young Sephardic Jew named Vitali Hakim, whose body was found burned near a Pattaya resort where Sobhraj and his entourage were staying.

He was convicted of murder for the first time after he came to Nepal as tourist in 2003 and police were tipped by a journalist. He was arrested and found guilty by a court the following year.

Sobhraj was held for two decades in New Delhi’s maximum-security Tihar prison on suspicion of theft, but was deported without charge to France in 1997. He resurfaced in September 2003 in Kathmandu.

Story: Associated Press, Khaosod English

Prayuth Asked to Use Absolute Power to Let Chinese Build Railway

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Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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12 June 2017, 18:17

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, seated at middle, and Transport Minister Akhom Termpittayapaisit, at right, meet Monday at the Ministry of Transport in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to propose using his absolute power Tuesday to overcome the legal hurdles that have delayed the construction of a Thai-Chinese high speed rail line.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Monday that the Transport Ministry will propose Gen. Prayuth use his extralegal authority to resolve a long-standing regulatory deadlock over construction of the 179 billion baht project, the first phase of which will connect Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima.

Though details of the order have yet to be revealed, it is expected to authorize an exception to the law which bars foreign – Chinese in this case – architects and engineers to work on Thai infrastructure projects.

Read: Work on 1st Small Stretch of High-Speed Rail May Soon Begin

Both architects and civil engineers are on a list of professions reserved only for Thai nationals. They are also required to hold valid Thai professional licenses to work in the country.

Transport Minister Akhom Termpittayapaisit said Monday that the Engineers and Architects Council will arrange an exam specifically for Chinese architects and engineers this month so they can obtain five-year licenses. The license issued under this special scheme can only be used for this project, according to Matichon.

The government previously said it expects to commence construction on a 3.5-kilometer stretch out of the 252.5 kilometer route in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district as early as August.

After connecting the capital to the gateway to the northeastern region, the line will eventually go all the way to the north of the country and connect to the border with Laos.

Prayuth’s absolute-power clause has been used or proposed to do everything from ban Uber drivers, raid a temple complex, crack down on the media and more.

First established after the 2014 coup under the junta’s interim charter, Prayuth’s special authority was preserved in the new charter approved by referendum last year.

Under its Article 265, the junta and junta chief will continue to hold the same powers as written into the 2014 interim constitution until an elected government takes office.

Article 279 also says any orders issued by the junta will remain in effect unless negated by a future law, prime minister order or cabinet resolution.

Nativist Learns MahaNakhon Designed by Top Foreign Architect, Complains to Govt

2 Hospitalized After Fire Breaks Out in Pattaya Nightclub

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Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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12 June 2017, 18:14

PATTAYA — At least two people were hospitalized Monday afternoon after a fire started in a nightclub in central Pattaya, according to police.

Firemen had arrived at the scene and were trying to extinguish the blaze, Col. Apichai Krobpetch said.

At about 5pm on Monday, flames erupted at Muze, a popular gay club in Pattaya. Two people were taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. The club was closed at the time.

Apichai, chief of Pattaya City Police, said the fire was caused by a welder. Police have detained the worker for questioning.

Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Arrested on Way to Protest

By

Associated Press

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12 June 2017, 17:58

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks after a live broadcast at the office of the Foundation for Fighting Corruption last month in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Pavel Golovkin / Associated Press

MOSCOW — Protests spearheaded by prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny were taking place across the country on Monday, but Navalny himself was reportedly arrested outside his Moscow home en route to the centerpiece demonstration in the capital city.

Navalny’s wife, Yulia, said on his Twitter feed that he was arrested about a half-hour before the demonstration was to begin. There was no immediate statement from police.

Although city authorities had agreed to a location for the Moscow protest, Navalny called for it to be moved to Tverskaya Street, one of Moscow’s main thoroughfares. He said contractors hired to build a stage at the agreed-upon venue could not do their work after apparently coming under official pressure.

Tverskaya, known in Soviet times as Gorky Street, was closed off to traffic on Monday for an extensive commemoration of the national holiday Russia Day, including people dressed in historical Russian costumes.

After the change, Moscow police warned that “any provocative actions from the protesters’ side will be considered a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed.”

A regional security official, Vladimir Chernikov, told Ekho Moskvy radio that police would not interfere with demonstrators on the street – as long as they did not carry placards or shout slogans.

More than 1,000 protesters were arrested at a similar rally March 26.

The protests in March took place in scores of cities across the country, the largest show of discontent in years and a challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s dominance of the country.

The Kremlin has long sought to cast the opposition as a phenomenon of a privileged, Westernized urban elite out of touch with people in Russia’s far-flung regions. But Monday’s protests could demonstrate that it has significant support throughout the vast country.

Navalny’s website reported Monday that protests were held in more than a half-dozen cities in the Far East, including the major Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk and in Siberia’s Barnaul. Photos on the website suggested turnouts of hundreds at the rallies.

Eleven demonstrators were arrested in Vladivostok, according to OVD-Info, a website that monitors political repressions.

Navalny has become the most prominent figure in an opposition that has been troubled by factional disputes. He focuses on corruption issues and has attracted a wide following through savvy use of internet video. His report on alleged corruption connected to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was the focus of the March protests.

Navalny has announced his candidacy for the presidential election in 2018. He was jailed for 15 days after the March protests. In April, he suffered damage to one eye after an attacker doused his face with a green antiseptic liquid.

Story: Jim Heintz, Nataliya Vasilyeva

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