Airport Safety In Thailand Raised To Level 3

BANGKOK, August 2015 (NNT)-The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has raised airport safety levels to level 3 for its 28 airports across the country, following the bomb attack in the heart of Bangkok last night.

According to DCA Director General Parichart Kotcharat, a high level of security at 28 airports is now being carried out rigorously to assure safety for passengers and those visiting the airport.

Stricter passenger and luggage search for any forbidden items and weapons as well as a thorough x-ray scan within the airport terminal have already been enforced.

Level 3, out of 4, is said to have been the highest level of safety ever implemented at the airport. Airport officials are expected to be monitoring surveillance cameras around the clock for any suspicious people or activities.

Soldiers and police have been coordinated to safeguard the airports.

Massive Manhunt On The Way For Bomb Suspect

BANGKOK: -- A massive manhunt is now underway by the police and the military for an Arabian looking man after a video footage of a surveillance camera showed him placed a shoulder bag inside the fence where hundreds of visitors to the Erawan shrine were worshipping, and explosion followed a minute after he left.

National police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuong confirmed the man in the video clip is a wanted bomb suspect.

A massive manhunt was now ordered and all airports and border checkpoint were alerted to watch out for the suspect.

The video footage now released by security officials showed the man, wearing yellow shirt and dark blue shorts and red sports shoes, was carrying a shoulder bag.

The man with curled hair and in dark sunglass and wristwatch on left hand and wrist bands on both hands, walked towards the fence where the Erawan shrine is located.

He took off the bag from the shoulder and placed it inside the fence near the shrine where many foreign tourists were worshipping and praying.

He left the fence leaving the shoulder bag there and walked away.

One minute later, explosion was heard at the place.

PM Prayut Vows To Quickly Find Bombers In Bangkok Blast That Killed At Least 20

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's prime minister on Tuesday promised that authorities would quickly track down those responsible for the central Bangkok bombing that killed at least 18 people and injured more than 100, which he described as the country's worst attack ever.

The defense minister, meanwhile, said officials had no prior intelligence about Monday's rush-hour bombing of a popular shrine at a hectic intersection. The blast from the improvised explosive device scattered body parts, spattered blood, blasted windows and burned motorbikes to the metal.

"This is the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said. "There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aim for innocent lives. They want to destroy our economy, our tourism."

The explosion went off around 7 p.m. in an upscale area filled with tourists, office workers and shoppers.

Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the attack, which no one immediately claimed responsibility for, was aimed at destroying the country's economy by targeting a major tourist area.

"It is much clearer who the bombers are, but I can't reveal more right now," Prawit said, as he headed into a Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning. "We haven't ruled out terrorism."

He acknowledged that authorities had no idea an attack was planned.

"We didn't know about this ahead of time. We had no intelligence on this attack," the defense minister said.

Prayuth vowed to "hurry and find the bombers."

Video shortly after the blast showed a scene of shock and desperation: people running for their lives and crying amid the debris. An emergency worker in an ambulance, frantically pounding the chest of a victim.

National chief of police Somyot Poompanmoung said the perpetrators aimed to kill "because everyone knows that at 7 p.m. the shrine is crowded with Thais and foreigners. Planting a bomb there means they want to see a lot of dead people."

Early Tuesday morning, Somyot was among those surveying the damage as police and soldiers guarded the area, still littered with shattered glass and other debris. The normally busy intersection that was closed off to traffic and eerily empty aside from onlookers standing behind police tape to take pictures. Barricades were set up outside five-star hotels in the neighborhood and security stopped cars to inspect trunks before letting them pass.

More than 12 hours after the blast, onlookers dashed for safety as shards of glass torpedoed to the ground from windows of a nearby building. Nobody appeared to have been injured.

At least 18 people were confirmed dead and 117 injured, according to the Narinthorn emergency medical rescue center. China reported three of its citizens dead, and Somyot said a Filipino also was among those killed.

As a single, devastating blow to this Southeast Asian metropolis, Monday's bombing has no equal in recent history, though Thailand is no stranger to violent attacks. A more-than-decade-long insurgency by southern Muslim separatists has left more than 5,000 dead far from the capital. In Bangkok, politically charged riots centered on this very intersection in 2010 killed more than 90 over two months.

Police chief Somyot said the bomb was made with a pipe wrapped in cloth and weighed 3 kilograms (more than 6 pounds).

It detonated at the Erawan Shrine, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, but is extremely popular among Thailand's Buddhists as well as Chinese tourists. Although Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, it has enormous Hindu influence on its religious practices and language.

Throngs of tourists come there to pray at all hours, lighting incense and offering flowers purchased from rows of stalls set up on the sidewalk along the shrine. The site is a hubbub of activity, with quiet worshippers sometimes flanked by Thai dancers hired by those seeking good fortune, while groups of tourists shuffle in and out.

Bangkok has been relatively peaceful since a military coup ousted a civilian government in May last year after several months of sometimes violent political protests against the previous government. Anusit Kunakorn, secretary of the National Security Council, said Prime Minister Prayuth, the former army chief who orchestrated the May 2014 coup, was closely monitoring the situation.

At the same time, the military government has tightly controlled dissent, arresting hundreds of its opponents and banning protests. Tensions have risen in recent months, with the junta making clear that it may not hold elections until 2017 and wants a constitution that will allow some type of emergency rule to take the place of an elected government.

Stirring the pot has been exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. It was his sister Yingluck Shinawatra who was ousted as prime minister last year.

Last week, Thaksin posted a message on YouTube urging his followers to reject the draft constitution because he said it was undemocratic. The draft charter is supposed to be voted on next month by a special National Reform Council. If it passes, it is supposed to go to a public referendum around January.

Another source of recent tension is the annual military promotion list, with the junta's top two leaders — Prime Minister Prayuth and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit — widely believed to be supporting different candidates. The reshuffle, which comes into effect in September, has traditionally been a source of unrest, as different cliques in the army, usually defined by their graduating class in the military academy, seek the most important posts to consolidate their power.

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok issued an emergency message for U.S. citizens, advising them to avoid the shrine's area. In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby expressed deep sympathy to those affected by the Bangkok explosion. He said authorities were still determining whether any Americans were among the victims.

Tourists reacted with concern.

"We didn't think anything like this could happen in Bangkok," said Holger Siegle, a German who said he and his newlywed wife had chosen Thailand because it seemed safe. "Our honeymoon and our vacation will go on, but with a very unsafe feeling."

While bombings of this magnitude are rare in Bangkok, they are more common where Thailand's Muslim separatist insurgency has been flaring: in the country's three Muslim-majority provinces in the deep south.

Angry Chinese Ask: Why Did So Many Firefighters Die In Tianjin Explosion?

BEIJING — Last Wednesday night, 25 members of the fifth company of the Tianjin Port Group fire department rushed to the site of an explosion.

They were mostly young men, some just new-in-town teenagers. Eleven hailed from the same county in Hebei province, at least two from the same small town.

None made it out.

Now, almost a week after the massive, chemical-fueled blasts that left more than 100 dead and dozens missing, the fate of these young contract firefighters has become a focal point in a story that has gripped China and sent authorities scrambling to stay ahead of mounting public rage.

Chinese officials have yet to say conclusively what caused the blasts but have acknowledged that there were dozens of types of chemicals on site, including a reported 700 tons of sodium cyanide, 800 tons of ammonium nitrate and 500 tons of potassium nitrate.

Royal Brunei To Waive Fees For Change In Bangkok Flights

BRUNEI: -- National flag carrier Royal Brunei (RB) airlines will waive reissuance fees for passengers who wish to defer their flights to Bangkok following the deadly blast that rocked Thailand's capital city on Monday night, according to The Brunei Times.

An RB spokesman said the fee waiver will be subjected to certain terms and conditions, but did not specify further.

He added that Bruneians who had bought Bangkok flight tickets are pushing ahead with their travel plans despite the bombing and “only a small number” of travellers have opted to cancel or postpone their travels in light of the explosion.

RB has yet to receive any circular from the Thai government advising against travels to Bangkok, he said.

General Manager of Century Travel Centre Foo C P, said a small group of customers returned to Brunei yesterday earlier than planned due to safety concerns. There were also customers due to travel soon who decided to cancel their plans, while others who are still in Bangkok had decided to stay as they had originally planned.

He advised travellers to exercise caution while travelling and to avoid crowded places for their own safety.

The Brunei Embassy in Thailand on Monday night said no Bruneians were reported injured in the blast outside Erawan Shrine along the Rachaprasong intersection in central Bangkok.

Malaysia Condemns Bangkok Blast

KUALA LUMPUR: -- Malaysia condemns the heinous act on innocent civilians yesterday in Bangkok which claimed the lives of two Malaysians and others, New Straits Times reported.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Foreign Ministry and Malaysian Embassy in Thailand will be in touch with and provide assistance to victims’ families.

“I urge Malaysians who are traveling in Bangkok to be more alert and to contact the Malaysian Embassy for assistance if needed,” he said in his Facebook posting this afternoon.

A bomb blast occurred at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine which is a tourist attraction, killing at least 20 people, and wounding at least 120 people.

Earlier today, Wisma Putra has confirmed that two Malaysians — Lim Saw Gek and her son Neoh Jai Jun were killed in the explosion. Meanwhile, an official at Malaysian embassy in Thailand, said that three Malaysians were injured in blast.

Special Bomb Use Indicates Different Suspect Group

BANGKOK: -- Forensic specialist investigating the Ratchaprasong deadly bomb explosion Monday blast have discovered strange bomb shards and shrapnel which they say are not normally seen in devices in past bombings in the country.

Specialists from both the police and military have been collecting shrapnel and bomb fragments at the site since Monday night and what they found was a device that is not normally used in past bombings in Thailand.

Fragments discovered at the blast site are made up of a section of metal tubing and 2 types of metal pellets.

The metal tubing is between 1.5 – 2 cm in thickness and authorities believe it was used to contain the explosives.

More than 100 metal pellets have been collected and they came in 2 sizes.

Some were 0.6 cm in diameter and the remainder was 0.8 cm and was employed as fragmentation to cause maximum damage.

The bomb is believed to have contained high grade explosives but it has not been determined yet whether TNT or C4 explosive was used.

Authorities suspected a timer – either a digital wrist watch or a mobile phone; was used to set the device off.

Earlier Royal Thai Police commissioner Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuong said, “We have not yet determined the type of explosives material used. What we know is that the device was contained in a metal tube and wrapped with a piece of white cloth.”

The materials used in this device differ from other devices in other past bombings and authorities suspect that the bomber was highly skilled as only 3 – 5 pounds of explosives was used but metal pellets were used to exponentially increase the amount of damage.

The force of the detonation resulted in fatalities at the scene and caused damage on structures as far away as 50 meters.

Buildings on the periphery of the blast such as the Police General Hospital, Gaysorn Plaza and the Hyatt Erawan Hote, some 50-100 metres away, suffered glass damage from debris and the force of the explosion.

But surprisingly, the main Erawan Shrine which sits only five metres from the deadly explosion site, suffered only slight damage.

Australian Model Questioned After Being Accused Of Being Bangkok Bomber

SYDNEY: -- A Sydney actor, model, tutor and fashion blogger says he is "in shock and really saddened" and feared he may become the "terrorist version of Schapelle Corby" after rumours that he was the Bangkok bombing suspect seen in CCTV footage before the deadly attack began circulating online.

Sunny Burns, who lives in Bangkok where he acts, models and teaches English, handed himself in to police after Monday evening's bomb blast at Erawan Shrine, which took the lives of 22 people and injured 123 more.

He told Sunrise on Wednesday morning that he was forced to go to the police, who questioned him for six hours, after his immigration papers and local address were posted on social media.

"People were accusing me of being a terrorist...I had no other choice but to go to the police..." he said.

Sukhumvit Road Reopens After BTS Nana Bomb Scare

BANGKOK — All lanes have been closed on a stretch of Sukhumvit Road this afternoon while police check a suspicious object near BTS Nana.

UPDATE: Reports indicate roads reopened after object removed.

All vehicles have been diverted along other routes around the station, according to Traffic Police Radio, while the Skytrain operator announced at 2:30 pm that BTS Nana remains open except for one exit on the Phloenchit side, which has been sealed off during the investigation.

Thai Police Identify 2 More Bangkok Blast Suspects

BANGKOK: -- The Royal Thai Police today reiterated its call for cooperation from the people to send photographic evidence of the wanted bomb suspect to the police if they happened to capture views of the area with the suspect appearing in their cameras or smartphones.

The call for public cooperation came as the police still have no clearer images of the wanted bomb suspect rather than from video footage of CCTV cameras.

The Royal Thai Police will stand by its Emergency 1599 to receive call from the people of the information, and allows access to its website to get the images of the suspect, either from smartphones or their car video cameras.

The police are also suspecting two more persons who appeared in the video footage along with the bomb suspect before the explosion.

One dressed in red T-shirt and another in white shirt.

Royal Thai Police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri said the man in white seemed to give seat to the bomb suspect when he came with the shoulder bag while the man in red also acted as if to provide cover for the bomb suspect to loose the bag from the shoulders.

Earlier the police have said the bomb attack was a well organised work with more than one, and aided by some Thais.

Moreover components used in the pipe bomb were locally available such as pellets, thus convincing the police to believe the bombing was cooperated locally.

A Powerful Bomb Exploded Near Rajprasong Intersection Wounding 20

BANGKOK — A large explosion in front of Bangkok's Erawan shrine injured at least 10 people at around 7pm tonight.

Photos from the scene show blood and bodies laying on the ground as rescue workers rush to provide aid. In images tweeted by JS 100 radio just after the blast, fires were burning in Sukhumvit Road before the local landmark, which is heavily frequented by Thais and tourists alike.

One of those injured is believed to be a foreign national, according to Thai Rath TV.

Photos from the scene appear to show an injured Caucasian woman being taken away on a stretcher.

There is no indication yet of what caused the explosion during rush hour. Roads around Rajaprasong Intersection have been closed.

NBTC To Extend Registration Of Prepaid SIM Cards Till August 31

BANGKOK: -- The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) now allows users of cellular prepaid SIM cards another 30 days to register after the deadline for registration expired yesterday July 31.

NBTC secretary general Thakorn Tanthasith said however that the extension of registration until August 31 would mean only those who failed to register their cards by the July 31 deadline could answer calls but could not make calls during the extended period.

But he said these callers could still call 191 emergency numbers only.

After the expiration of the extended period on August 31, they could neither receive or make calls, even the 191 emergency numbers, he said.

The extension of registration of prepaid SIM cards came after 16.9 million users of the prepaid cards still did not register.

He said there are altogether 85.5 million prepaid cards in use but only 68.8 million have registered by the July 31 deadline, or 80.2%.

He said the remaining 16.9 million users have until end if this month to register otherwise they could not be used both to answer or make calls.

He said it was necessary to require registration of all prepaid cards for security reasons as some prepaid cards were used for criminal activities such as drug trafficking and insurgency.

Of the total 68.8 million registered cards, 34.3 million are users of AIS mobile phone service, DTAC 21.2 million users, and True 12.9 million users.

Thai And US Military Officials Discuss Next Cobra Gold Exercise

BANGKOK: --  Thai and United States armies continue to maintain close cooperation on defence affairs despite Washington's outspoken criticism of the Thai military's political role.

The Cobra Gold joint military exercise would still be held annually and preparations for next year's operation are proceeding as usual, Lt General Sermsak Niyamosot, deputy chief of staff, said yesterday.

At yesterday's meeting of Thai-US Executive Steering Group at Army headquarters, co-chaired by Sermsak and his American counterpart Lt-General Todd McCaffrey, the United States informed the Thai side that full military assistance |and cooperation would be restored |when Thailand holds an election under the junta's reform roadmap, Sermsak said.

For this year, the two forces have scheduled 26 activities such as the Hanuman Guardian joint drill and an exchange of logistic experts.

Thailand has sent a delegation on a study tour to Texas and Washington.

However, the meeting did not discuss military assistance to Thailand or weapons procurement.

Thailand used to rely heavily on weapons and defence equipment from the US, but the Thai military has had to diversify its sources of materiel to many other countries due to budget constraints, not tense relations.

"Thailand might not move to democracy now, but that won't affect military relations and assistance from the US to the Thai army," he said.

Deadline For Mandatory Prepaid SIM Card Registration

BANGKOK: You may remember that we previously posted news regarding the mandatory SIM card registration that is being enforced in Thailand.

 

Here’s a gentle reminder if one were needed that you have until next Friday the 31st of July to register your prepaid mobile phone number with your operator.

 

If you don’t, you’ll be unable to make calls or use data after that date, though it seems that you will still be able to receive text messages.

 

Also note that one of our staff writers, Jonathan, registered his DTAC SIM card earlier this year in Market Village Hua Hin, but recently received an SMS (in Thai) with a reminder to register. So, be warned that even if you think you have registered, there is a slim chance that something went wrong and you’ll have to do it again! Oh dear…

 

How to register your SIM card in Thailand

 

If you’re not Thai, just take your passport to either 7-11, Tesco Lotus or Big C, or your local NBTC (Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission) if there is one near you (Bangkok and Phuket have one apparently). Thai citizens just need to show their ID card.

 

You can also just pop along to your network company’s local shop, which is probably the simplest approach as they should be able to process it quickly without somebody queueing up behind you to buy cigarettes…

 

You can dial *151# to find out if your SIM is registered.

 

Alternatively, if you have any questions about the whole registration process, call your network operator directly or go and speak to staff at the store of your network operator.

 

Here are the details for the main ones in Thailand:

 

AIS: call 1175 in Thailand or +66 2299 5000 from abroad.

DTAC: call 1678 (press 7 for English) in Thailand or +66 2202 8000 from abroad.

True: call 1331 in Thailand or +66 89100 1331 from abroad.

Obama Returns To Kenya, Reunites With Father's Family

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Fulfilling the hopes of millions of Kenyans, Barack Obama returned to his father's homeland Friday for the first time as U.S. president, a long sought visit by a country that considers him a local son.

The president spent the evening reuniting with his Kenyan family, including his elderly step-grandmother who made the trip to the capital of Nairobi from her rural village. U.S. and Kenyan flags lined the main road from Nairobi's airport, and billboards heralding Obama's trip dotted the city.

"I don't think that Kenyans think of Obama as African-American. They think of him as Kenyan-American," said EJ Hogendoorn, deputy program director for Africa at the International Crisis Group.

Obama's link to Kenya is a father he barely knew, but whose influence can nonetheless be seen in his son's presidency.

Obama has spoken candidly about growing up without his Kenyan-born father and feeling "the weight of that absence." A White House initiative to support young men of color who face similar circumstances has become a project dear to Obama, one he plans to continue after leaving the White House.

In Africa, Obama has used his late father's struggle to overcome government corruption as a way to push leaders to strengthen democracies. He's expected to make good governance and democracy-building a centerpiece of his two days of meetings and speeches in Nairobi, as well as a stop next week in Ethiopia.

"In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career," Obama said during a 2009 trip to Ghana, his first visit to Africa as president. "We know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many."

The president's father, Barack Obama, Sr., left Kenya as a young man to study at the University of Hawaii. There, he met Stanley Ann Dunham, a white woman from Kansas. They would soon marry and have a son, who was named after his father.

The elder Obama left Hawaii when he son was just two years old, first to continue his studies at Harvard, then to return to Kenya. The future president and his father would see each other just once more, when the son was 10 years old. Obama's father died in a car crash in 1982, at age 46.

"I didn't have a dad in the house," Obama said last year during a White House event for My Brother's Keeper, his initiative for young men. "I was angry about it, even though I didn't necessarily realize it at the time."

Obama's first trip to Kenya nearly 30 years ago was a quest to fill in the gaps in the story of his father's life. In his memoir "Dreams From My Father," Obama wrote that at the time of his death, "my father remained a mystery to me, both more and less than a man."

What Obama uncovered was a portrait of a talented, but troubled man. An economist for the Kenyan government, the senior Obama clashed with then-President Jomo Kenyatta over tribal divisions and allegations of corruption. He was ultimately fired by the president, sending him into a tailspin of financial problems and heavy drinking.

The Kenyan leader Obama will meet with this weekend, Uhuru Kenyatta, is the son of the president his father confronted decades ago.

Obama met most of his Kenyan family for the first time on that initial trip to his father's home country. As he stepped off Air Force One Friday, he was greeted by half-sister Auma Obama, pulling her into a warm embrace. The siblings then joined about three dozen family members at a restaurant at the president's hotel for a private dinner.

Logistical constraints and security precautions prevented Obama from visiting Kogelo, the village where his father lived and is buried, on this trip. Sarah Obama, the step-grandmother he calls "Granny," still lives in the village.

Despite the intense focus on the American leader's local roots, the White House has cast the trip as one focused on the relationship between the U.S. and Kenya, not the president and his family. Officials say Obama's agenda is heavily focused on trade and economic issues, as well as security and counterterrorism cooperation.

The president is traveling with nearly two dozen U.S. lawmakers, along with 200 U.S. investors attending the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha did not accompany the president.

Auma Obama said she believed her late father would be proud to see his son return to Kenya as American president.

"He'd be extremely proud and say, 'Well done,'" she said in an interview with CNN. "But then he'd add, 'But obviously, you're an Obama.'"

Temple Fights Against Plan To Demolish Pavillions

BANGKOK: -- Posters have been put up at Wat Kalayanamit to protest against the Fine Arts Department’s attempt to demolish two newly-built pavilions allegedly located on off-limit archaeological site.

The Fine Arts Department has recently won an approval from the Administrative Court to demolish the two pavilions built by the temple without the department’s permission.

The temple was notified by the department of the court’s ruling on July 19 and of the plan to start the demolition work on Friday. A private company has been commissioned by the department to pull down the two structures.

The temple claimed in its posters that the two pavilions were constructed with donations from followers and, therefore, regarded as religious property for Buddhism study by monks and novices.

The temple also threatened to take legal action against any attempt to demolish the pavilions. It also asked for police protection from Booppharam police station.

Caution Urged As Myanmar Poised To Embrace More Mining

BANGKOK— New mining laws in Myanmar are expected to come into place after November’s national elections, enticing more foreign investment, but rights groups fear local communities could be imperiled without more solid legal protections.

 

Analysts say Myanmar’s mining industry is still at the “frontier” stage of development with prospects in precious metals as well as copper, tin and tungsten.

 

John Hancock, an Australian lawyer and consultant in Yangon, said there is plenty of enthusiasm with surveys of valuable deposits dating back to British colonial times.

 

“I don’t think there’s any doubt in anyone’s mind that Myanmar is what they call ‘highly prospective,’ with all the mineral surveys and work that has been done in past times and seems to indicate that it has a very high level of mineral wealth, a wide range of mineral wealth. And all the geology is very promising," Hancock said.

Pheu Thai Ex-Spokesman Prompong, Another MP To Serve One-Year Jail Term

BANGKOK: -- PHEU THAI Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit and another party politician were sentenced to a year in jail yesterday for libelling former Constitution Court president Wasant Soypisut.

The Supreme Court found Prompong and Kiart-udom Menasawat, both former Pheu Thai MPs, guilty of making slanderous statements via media against Wasant in June 2010.

In the statement, Prompong and Kiart-udom accused Wasant of lacking neutrality and credibility as a judge, which prompted him to file a lawsuit a week later.

In July 2012, a lower court found both defendants guilty and sentenced them to a year in jail each, but suspended the punishment for two years, as they had no criminal record. They were also ordered to publish an apology in three newspapers for seven consecutive days.

However, the politicians appealed against the verdict and in December 2013, the Appeals Court found them guilty and sentenced them to a year in jail with no option for a suspended sentence. Yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld this ruling.

The politicians' friends and relatives were in the courtroom for moral support, and when Pichit Chuenban - a party member and former legal adviser to ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra - hugged Prompong, the latter was heard saying "it's OK, I'm still fine".

Prompong and Kiart-udom were later escorted out of the courtroom by corrections officials.

Separately, the Supreme Court yesterday discussed the defamation case against former and current Democrat Party politicians filed by Prommin Lertsuridej, an executive of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai party. After deliberation, the judges decided to dismiss the case against former Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban, who is now a Buddhist monk, party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and former party spokesman Ongart Klampaiboon.

After hearing the verdict, the three defendants walked out of the courtroom without speaking to reporters.

Prommin had sued the Democrat Party and the three politicians for accusing him of being involved in electoral fraud.

When a lower court dismissed the case in 2009, Prommin appealed and the Appeals Court in 2012 sentenced Suthep to a suspended sentence of four months in jail.

The Supreme Court yesterday altered the ruling and dismissed the case.

Cambodian Senate OKs Restrictions On Non-Government Groups

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's Senate on Friday approved tight restrictions on non-governmental organizations, rejecting appeals from rights groups that say the law could be used for political repression.

 

About 400 protesters gathered peacefully outside Parliament during the vote on the bill, which states that local and foreign non-governmental organizations must register with the government, and that all NGOs must be politically neutral. It also gives the government unchecked power to block registrations and dissolve groups in the name of national security.

 

Senators from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party boycotted the session in protest against the bill, as the party's lawmakers in the lower house did last week when the bill passed there.

 

All 44 Senators present from the ruling Cambodian People's Party approved the bill, which now faces the formalities of a legal review and signing by King Norodom Sihamoni.

 

The U.N. human rights office in Geneva said the draft law "falls significantly short of international human rights laws and norms governing the right to freedom of association.

 

"The draft law threatens the existence of a free and independent civil society in Cambodia and the crucial work that NGOs in the country carry out on development, governance, and human rights," its statement said.

 

Cambodian opponents of the bill said they would not give up the fight.

 

Chak Sopheap, executive director of Cambodian Center for Human Rights, called the draft that passed "unacceptable and in contravention with our constitution and international law." She said her group would "advocate for a review from the Constitutional Council and for the King not to promulgate this law."

 

According to figures from the Interior Ministry, there are about 5,000 associations and NGOs operating in Cambodia.

Six UK Men Convicted In Child Sex Ring Case Involving Two Girls

LONDON (AP) — Six men in Britain aged 29 to 45 have been found guilty of multiple crimes involving a child sex ring that preyed on two schoolgirls for years.

Four other defendants were cleared Friday and the jury failed to reach a verdict on another man. The offenses took place between 2006 and 2012 in the small English city of Aylesbury, northwest of London.

The girls spent days giving evidence to the Old Bailey court. The charges included multiple rape of a child under 13, child prostitution and sedating a girl in order to have sexual activity. The guilty will be sentenced Sept. 7.

Britain has been plagued with several child sex abuse cases in recent years, including others like this that involve the grooming of young girls by older men.