Highlights of the week

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapriom remains tightlipped on goverment-to-government (G-to-G) rice deals, claiming the details are secret, as the Transport Ministry is asked to help provide storage space for this harvest's crop. In Bangkok the "sandbag row" was supposed to be settled at a meeting on Friday between City Hall and the Water and Flood Management Commission. And more violence in the deep South.

Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, who is also WFMC chairman, said Thursday he invited Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra to attend a WFMC meeting to discuss the sandbag issue, and he expected the City Hall to come up with credible facts to back its technique of stuffing sandbags in the drainage system to prevent flooding. Mr Plodprasop earlier said this method of flood control sucks, but said he would apologise to City Hall if he was proven wrong. If he was proven right, he said, the BMA must remove all the sandbags from the drains. With much of the world already using 4G wireless spectrum technology, and moving toward 5G, Thailand’s struggle to get 3G up and running remains in limbo. The Central Administrative Court on Thursday acknowledged a complaint filed by Anuparp Thiralarp, a former president of Thailand Telecommunication Management Academy, seeking a delay of the auction of 3G wireless spectrum scheduled for next Tuesday by the National Broadcasting Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). It is expected that the court will make a ruling whether to accept the complaint, or not, before the Oct 16 spectrum auctrion otherwise - otherwise the auction will be automatically postponed until there is a ruling.  Acceptance of the petition for consideration would deprive consumers of the 3G service for an uncertain period. In the restive far South, many shops were open for business this Friday, today, as shopkeepers and vendors defied threats made by Muslim militants fdemanding they  close on Fridays, the Muslim sabbath. However, security was stepped up with police and soldiers guarding markets and shopping areas in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. Business was unusually brisk in several fresh markets on Thursday as shoppers bought extra supplies of  food and vegetables, fearing vendors might not open today. Officials from the governors down and community leaders mebarked on a door-knocking campaign throughout the week, assuring vendors and shopkeepers of the safety precautions in place and encouraging them to open for business as usual. The violence continued, with seven people shot dead and another seriously injured in Kok Pho district of Pattani on Monday and Tuesday. In one incidents on Tuesday, a man riding on motorcycle pillion shot dead Ms Prapaporn Suwanno, an employee  at a petrol station, and injured another attendant, 22-year-old Ms Leelavadi Boonlert. On Monday, gunmen killed a married couple as they were riding on a motorcycle to tambon Kok Pho municipality. Two defence volunteers were also killed by militants in Rangae district of Narathiwat on Tuesday as they were riding on a motorcycle. The assailants opened fire from a pickup truck. On Wednesday, nine paramilitary rangers were injured in a roadside bomb explosion in Yaha district of Yala. The bomb was hidden in a motorcycle with a side car was detonated as the pickup truck carrying the rangers went passed it.

Share your thoughts

Discussion 1 : 12/10/2012 at 04:32 PM
Ps the sale is not done until the money is in the TILL.
Discussion 2 : 12/10/2012 at 04:30 PM
On the sale of rice I used to have sales staff who when asked why there sales were down would try to tell me they had seen many customers and they had said they would come in later in the week to buy.Needles to say the customer never did come back.Those sales people did not last long.It is the same scenario here.

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