Vendors at the market said fewer tourists arrive at the island, which is located
just several hours of ferry ride away from Baan Pe. Uncle Nong, a seafood vendor at the market, said
he usually earned 6,000-7,000 baht a day selling food at his shop, but that has slowed to 1,000 a
day.

I have never seen anything like it in 30 years that I spent in Baan Pe, he said,
adding that many tourists refused to eat the seafood in the market, fearing that they are
contaminated by the oil spill.

Aunty Surie, another seafood vendor, also lament about sharp
decrease in her business, and criticised the authorities for helping the fishermen but ignoring
merchants along the shore like her.

The media is to blame, Aunt Surie charged, saying that
the news reports about the oil spill greatly exaggerated the effect of the spill. The impact only
rests at Ao Phrao, she said, referring to the hardest-hit beach in Koh Samet, other areas have no
problem. Seafood here is safe to eat. Why doesn?t the media report about that?

A worker at
the Baan Pe piers estimated that around 1,000 tourists took the ferry from Baan Pe on typical
weekends, but nowadays fewer than 300 tourists show up. Most of them are foreigners, he
said.

He also blamed the media. They are scared by the news you report.

Aunty Surie
agreed with the worker, telling our correspondent that while Thai tourists are scared of the oil
spill, foreign tourists keep coming.

However, a reporton
the New York Times revealed that, despite rescue operations by the Thai authorities to clean up the
oil residue and assure the public that all is well, the environmental impact on Koh Samet is far
from over.

The report says even the water around Ao Phrao is declared unsafe by the Thai
authorities, after several politicians swam in the sea to prove their point that tourists can be
merry again at the beach.

Ms. Pongpen Ruengweerayut, Vice Governor of the Bank of Thailand
(BOT), also said that capital outflows had triggered national currency weakening, not only in
Thailand, but also in other countries in the region. Theoretically, if the Baht value fluctuated
rapidly, the BOT would intervene with the exchange rates.  

According to Mr. Kittirat,
Thailand holds 170 Billion USD (approximately 5440 billion baht) in its reserve, and another 3
trillion baht to support the economic liquidity. The money, which can be pumped into the economy to
stabilize exchange rates and interests rates, if the BOT needs to.  

Around 700-800
fish are ill, officials said, and they were floating very still in their ponds. The officials told
our correspondent the fish started to fall ill since Wednesday, and 2 of the fish had died
since.

Later, officials from Department of Fisheries had inspected the ponds, and indicated
that the fish suffered from several infections. The team then dropped some medicine into the
water.

But some staff and visitors to the Parliament think something else is at work here.
They suspected that the fish are ill because the House of Parliament hosted the long-lasting
Parliamentary meeting for several weeks.The fish are sick of politics to death, one of them
said.

Mr.
Wirapol Sukpol, formerly known as Luang Pu Nen Kham, is currently in hiding after his luxurious
lifestyle was reported in the media – including a spectacular video showing him on a private
jetplane – and the DSI found traces of potential money laundering and other frauds committed by him
and other members of the sect.

Mr. Wirapol was also accused of sexually assaulting a woman
who was a minor at the time. The 24-year old woman said her 11-year old son was fathered by Mr.
Wirapol. The DSI added that allegation to the arrest warrant on the former monk.

Mr. Tharit
Pengdit, the Chief of the DSI, said Mr. Wirapol would certainly face a legal prosecution, as DNA
test from his saliva indicated that his DNA matched the boy claimed to be his son.

Dr. Anake
Yomchinda, the Director of Central Institute of Forensic Science, said that the DNA test was
performed on the sample of Mr. Wirapol′s saliva, which had been left on a cigar end, allegedly
passed on to one of Mr. Wirapol′s former spiritual followers.

The DNA test bears an accuracy
of 99.99999%, Dr. Anake added.

Mr. Tharit said the evidence would help the DSI to achieve an
extradition of Mr. Wirapol from the country he is believed to be hiding.

It is not clear
where Mr. Wirapol is. Media reports have previously indicated that he was in the US, but the DSI
later said he was in Laos and was ready to surrender to the Thai police. That never
happened.

Additionally, the DSI is gathering information to prosecute Mr. Wirapol for fraud,
after nearly 50 people claimed they had lost money to the ex-monk in total of approximately 100
million baht, according to Mr. Tharit.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sukij Poonsrikasen, the lawyer of Mr.
Wirapol, said Mr. Wirapol insisted that he will soon give himself in. However, Mr. Sukij added that
if Mr. Wirapol decided to prolong the case, he would stop representing Mr. Wirapol.

Mr. Sukij
also raised concerns that the cigar end used for the DNA test may be false evidence, as it had been
given to the police from Mr. Songkran Atchariyasap, a leader of a group campaigning for Mr.
Wirapol′s arrest.

Our correspondent had also contacted Ms. A, who alleged that she gave birth
to Mr. Wirapol’s son 11 years ago. Ms. A told our correspondent that she was not surprised to hear
such result, as the child was a son of hers and Mr. Wirapol’s.

The news followed the
revelation that 300 visa labels have been missing from the Thai Embassy in Malaysia. Other
individuals have been arrested as they attempted to cross the border with such documents.

Mr.
Alexander confessed that he had bought the label from a shopping mall in the Malaysian capital
before he used it to try to enter Thailand.

The immigration office announced that other 11
people arrested are from Cameroon, Guinea, Pakistan, Iran and India.

Mr. Jakkrit Srivali, an
official at the Ministry of Affairs, said that the Foreign Minister, Mr. Surapong Towijakchaikul had
acknowledged the issue and insisted to bringing charges against those who used false documents, and
those who stole the labels from the Thai Embassy.

He said the theft is the first case of its
kind in over a decade.

The Ministry is also looking for a way to prevent such a problem, such
as providing each embassy a security safe, and developing the system of electronic visa in the near
future.

Mr. Boonyord Suktinthai, a Democrat MP, had previously alleged that Mr. Samart Kaewmeechai,
Mr. Visut Chainarun, and Ms. Arunee Chamnarnya were on board a TG flight on 12 August bound for
Suvarnabhumi Airport east of Bangkok, but they later coerced the captain to land at Don Mueang
Airport in northern Bangkok.

The Democrat says such action is an example of how Pheu Thai
Party MPs abuses their power.

The accusation first surfaced as an online news item in the
Yellowshirts-allied Manager-ASTV website. The website cited unidentified sources for its
story. Many commentators derided Mr. Samart, Mr. Visut, and Ms. Arunee, while others shared the
story widely on the social network.

After days of silence, the 3 Pheu Thai MPs staged a press
conference denying the story.

The lawmakers said they were indeed on flight 141 on that day,
and the plane did land at Don Mueang Airport. But, they said, it was because the airplane was facing
a stormy weather conditions, the runway at Suvarnnabhumi was not cleared, and the captain decided to
land at Don Mueang for refuelling.

Mr. Samart told reporters a passenger had requested to
disembark at Don Mueang, which the officials allowed, but he and other lawmakers remained seated on
the flight. The plane eventually left Don Mueang at 23.30 and the 3 MPs arrived at Suvarnnabhumi
shortly after midnight, according to Mr. Samart.

He encouraged Mr. Boonyord to file the
report to the Parliamentary committee for a full investigation, so that he can provide evidence to
prove his innocence, such as the flight log, witnesses on the plane, and CCTV footage at
Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Mr. Visut said he would not take the matter to the court, but
challenged Mr. Boonyord to bring out evidences about the alleged scandal.

If he can do so,
we 3 MPs will resign from our position … and we will never set foot in Bangkok. But if what Mr.
Boonyord spoke is not true, we request that he should resign, Mr. Visut said.

Later at the
Parliament, Mr. Boonyord clarified the allegation against the 3 MPs by telling the reporters that he
was merely repeating a story from a certain media, and he was simply doing his job to bring the
matter to the public′s attention.

He blamed the said media for providing insufficient details
which led to the perception that the 3 Pheu Thai lawmakers left the plane at Don Mueang
Airport.

Mr. Boonyord also refused to accept Mr. Visut′s challenge, reasoning that it was not
necessary that he bet his career on the matter.

According to the
current 2007 Constitution,  74 of the 150 Senators are appointed by a panel of so-called
experts. The Parliament is debating whether to increase the Senate to 200 fully elected members, a
proposal tabled by the Pheu Thai Party and bitterly opposed by the Democrat Party.

The survey
interviewed 429 individuals across the country. 59.2% of the respondents say they agree with the
Constitutional amendment on the Senate, while another 21% say they disagree and 19.8% say they are
not sure.

46.2% also voice support for an amendment that would abolish the ban on parents,
spouses, and children of MPs from being eligible as Senate election candidates.

However, the
respondents appear to be divided on the intention of the Pheu Thai Party′s efforts to amend the
Constitution. 35.5% say they are not sure whether the amendment would lead to an autocratic
parliamentary system, while 34.7% say they are convinced that would be the case.