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.