Portal:Thailand/Thailand news/Archive

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This is the archives for "Thailand news" section in Thailand Portal.

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December 2007

• 15: A turnout of nearly 900,000 voters is reported in absentee voting in Bangkok for the general election.

• 15: Closing ceremonies for the 24th Southeast Asian Games are held at His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary, 5th December 2007 Sports Complex (pictured) in Nakhon Ratchasima. Thailand leads the medal tally with 183 gold.
• 14: Thailand defeats Myanmar 2-0 to win the gold in football at the 24th SEA Games.
• 14: Ruling against a petition challenging the privatisation of PTT Public Company Limited, a court says the former state-owned oil firm may remain listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
• 12: The National Legislative Assembly cancels its sessions after about 1,000 protesters storm the Parliament House grounds, demanding the Council for National Security-appointed body stop passing laws and resign.
• 9: Field hockey player Surathep Wisawathiron is expelled from the Southeast Asian Games after he tests positive for using methyltestosterone. Also, gymnast Panaporn Kosol tests positive for steroid.

• 5: King Bhumibol Adulyadej, celebrating his 80th birthday, appears on the balcony of the throne hall at the Grand Palace, and later rides in a motorcade, greeting more than 100,000 people, mostly wearing yellow, who turned out to catch a glimpse of the monarch.
• 4: King Bhumibol Adulyadej (monument pictured) gives his annual birthday address, calling for national unity and advocating spending by the military, because of the strong Thai baht.
• 4: South Thailand insurgency: Six people are killed and 20 injured in bombing at a restaurant in Pattani.
• 2: The trooping of the colors mark the beginning of festivities in celebration of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th birthday. In an address at the full-dress military parade, the monarch calls for unity. "The situation in the country these days, as everyone knows in their hearts, is unpredictable," he says. "If Thai people lack a national conscience and lack a sense of unity, there may be misfortune for the entire nation."

November 2007

• 14: The TITV Everest 2007 team, which had hoped to reach the summit of Mount Everest in celebration of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th birthday, is forced to abandon its ascent because of fatigue and bad weather.

• 9: Seven districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province are declared a disaster area because of flooding. The airport on Ko Samui reopens after being closed for a day due to heavy rains.
• 7: King Bhumibol Adulyadej is released from Siriraj Hospital, after recovery from a blood clot in his brain.
• 7: Campaigning begins for the general election, with main political parties being the Democrat Party and the People's Power Party.
• 5: The Royal Barge Procession (rehearsal pictured) takes place on the Chao Phraya River. Presided over by the Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, the barge ceremony marks the official start of celebrations for the king's 80th birthday on December 5.

October 2007

• 1: Leader of the 2006 coup, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin resigns as chairman of the Council for National Security and says he will accept a position in the cabinet of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont as deputy prime minister. Sonthi is succeeded as CNS head by Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pookpasuk.
• 9: Ford Motor Company and Mazda announce plans to build a new factory in Rayong Province to produce subcompact cars. The plant will be built next to the AutoAlliance Thailand factory that manufactures pickup trucks.
• 13: King Bhumibol Adulyadej is admitted to Siriraj Hospital after feeling weakness on the right side of his body. He is showing signs of recovery.
• 13: A flash flood kills six foreign tourists and two Thai guides who were exploring a cave at Khao Sok national park in Surat Thani Province.
• 16: The government approves the purchase of 12 Swedish-made JAS 39 Gripen jet fighters for the Royal Thai Air Force.
• 19: Christopher Paul Neil, suspected of sexually abusing children and subject of an Interpol investigation, is found in Nakhon Ratchasima Province and is taken custody by the Royal Thai Police.
• 31: An unexpected strike by State Railway of Thailand workers delays trains nationwide.

September 2007

• 27: Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont addresses the UN General Assembly, representing ASEAN, calling upon Myanmar's junta to stop using force against Burmese anti-government protesters.
• 16: One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 crashes on landing in a heavy storm at Phuket International Airport, killing 89 people.
• 12: The Giant Swing (pictured) in Bangkok is renovated and inaugurated in a ceremony presided over by King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit.

August 2007

• 30: Access to YouTube is restored by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, six months after the video-sharing was blocked in Thailand because it hosted a video that showed images deemed offensive of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (pictured on building).
• 19: In the Thailand constitutional referendum, just under 58% of voters cast "yes" votes for the Council for National Security-backed constitution, while nearly 43% voted "no". However, in northeast Thailand (highlighted on map), the vote was nearly 2-1 against the constitution.

• 2: Former foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan is appointed secretary general of ASEAN, to succeed Singapore's Ong Keng Yong on January 1, 2008.
• 1: Police report five suspected insurgents killed during hour-long firefight in Bannang Sata district of Yala province.

July 2007

• 22: Anti-coup protesters at the residence of Prem Tinsulanonda are dispersed by police.
• 16: More than 30 taxi and van drivers are arrested in protest at Suvarnabhumi Airport over regulation policies.
• 8: The Health Ministry reports cases of dengue fever in Thailand are up 36% from last year, with more than 21,000 cases including 17 deaths this year.
• 3: The Stock Exchange of Thailand posts a 10-year high, closing at 813.52.
• 2: Queen Sirikit begins a 10-day visit to Russia.
• 1: A raid by police and soldiers in Narathiwat Province nets around 50 suspected insurgents.
• 1: At least eight fisherman are lost after their boats capsized in the Bay of Bengal.

June 2007

• 21: Manchester City F.C. formally accepts a bid by Thaksin Shinawatra (pictured) to buy the team.
• 20: A marital rape bill is signed into law by the National Legislative Assembly.
• 19: The district head of Amphoe Mai Kaen, Narathiwat Province is fatally shot along with two other officials.
• 11: The Assets Examination Committee orders a freeze on Thai bank accounts controlled by Thaksin Shinawatra.
• 11: Three teachers are fatally shot in Narathiwat Province.
• 10: Around 15,000 people march from Sanam Luang to army headquarters, demanding that General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and the Council for National Security step down from power.
• 5: The Council for National Security's ban on political activities is partially lifted.
• 4: A State Railway of Thailand passenger train is derailed by sabotage in southern Thailand. More sabotage is later found, disrupting rail service for nearly a week.

May 2007

• 31: Twenty-one people are killed in one day of attacks in the South Thailand insurgency, including 12 soldiers who are ambushed in Yala and seven people who were gunned down at a mosque in Songkhla.
• 30: A Constitutional Tribunal rules on violations in the April 2006 Thai general election, ordering the dissolution of the former ruling party, Thai Rak Thai. Ousted prime minister and former party leader Thaksin Shinawatra is banned from politics for five years, along with 110 other party executives. The opposition Democrat Party is acquitted of six charges and left intact. Earlier, King Bhumibol Adulyadej had made a rare televised appearance, urging the judges to exercise care the ruling. Security is stepped up in Bangkok before the ruling, and left in place afterward by the Council for National Security.
• 27: Thirteen people are injured in a string of seven bomb blasts at hotels, restaurants and department stores in Hat Yai. One victim later dies of injuries. Another bombing in Songkhla kills four people and injures two dozen.

• 21: Sakorn Yang-keawsot, founder of the Joe Louis Puppet Theater (performer and puppet pictured), dies at age 85.
• 14: A 6.1-magnitude earthquake strikes in northern Laos, and is felt in Bangkok, 800 km. away. Shoppers flee malls and high-rise buildings are evacuated, but there are no reports of injuries or severe damage.
• 14: Singer Pensri Poomchoosri, a National Artist, dies at age 78.
• 14: Potjaman Shinawatra, the wife of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, pleads not guilty to charges of tax evasion in the sale of the family's stock in Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings.
• 12: Thanpuying Poonsuk Phanomyong, wife of the late former prime minister Pridi Phanomyong dies at age 95. (Nation)
• 12: Two thousand villagers clash with police in a land dispute in Surat Thani Province, with at least 800 people arrested.
• 11: The government drops plans to file a lèse majesté lawsuit against YouTube after the website said it would remove videos deemed offensive to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. However, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology demands that YouTube provide it with the ISP addresses of the video uploaders.
• 10: Sacred oxen in the Royal Ploughing Ceremony eat corn, rice and grass, heralding what soothsayers say will be a year of plentiful crops and abundant water. The annual rite, marking the traditional beginning of the rice-planting season, is presided over by Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.
• 9: Seven Special Forces soldiers are killed in an attack by insurgents in Narathiwat Province.

April 2007

• A Thai appeals court overturns a decision to extradite Ly Tong, declaring the dissident Vietnamese pilot a free man. He had been held in Thailand since 2000, after he hijacked a plane from Hua Hin and flew it over Ho Chi Minh City, dropping anti-communist leaflets.
• A Swiss man, Oliver Jufer, 57, is deported from Thailand after receiving a pardon from King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Jufer had been sentenced to 10 years in prison on lèse majesté charges after he had vandalized posters of the king.
• A critically acclaimed film, Syndromes and a Century, is pulled from general release in Thai cinemas by director Apichatpong Weerasethakul after the Censorship Board demanded that certain scenes be cut.
• YouTube is blocked in Thailand after the video-sharing website refuses to remove a clip that is deemed offensive to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

March 2007

• Thailand's first "economics czar", former finance minister Boonchu Rojanastien dies of leukemia at age 86.
• Nine people are killed in an attack on a minibus in Yala Province.

• In response to the government's plan to develop or purchase generic drugs, Abbott Laboratories announces it will stop licensing any new drugs it develops for sale in Thailand.
• Because of haze pollution in northern Thailand, Thai Airways International cancels flights to Mae Hong Son Province. Chiang Mai Province and Mae Hong Son are declared disaster zones.
• Regularly scheduled domestic passenger flights resume at Don Mueang International Airport to seas the burden on the new Suvarnabhumi Airport as repairs to runways at the new airport are under way.
• Television station iTV (news van pictured) is nearly taken off the air in a dispute over unpaid concession fees to the Prime Minister's Office. However, the station, renamed TITV, is allowed to continue broadcasting under the auspices of the Public Relations Department.

February 2007

• Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula resigns. Chalongphob Susangkarn is appointed as his replacement.
• Former Thaksin administration cabinet member Somkid Jatusripitak resigns as economic adviser to the government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont.
• A string of bombings in southern Thailand during Chinese New Year leaves at least eight people dead and dozens injured. Authorities say it is the first coordinated attack to be carried out by insurgents in all four of Thailand's restive southern provinces.

January 2007

• Two more bomb blasts strike Bangkok just after midnight, injuring several people near CentralWorld shopping mall.

December 2006

• Bomb blasts early on New Year's Eve at various locations in Bangkok kill three people and injure nearly 40. (AP)

• Thai central bank imposes strict capital control on the Baht in an attempt to stem rapid appreciation against the US Dollar. (Financial Times)

• Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush leads a U.S. delegation to Thailand on December 11 for celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the accession of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

• Thailand buries the last 410 unidentified bodies of the December 2004 tsunami victims at Bang Maruan cemetery in Phang Nga Province.

November 2006

• Acclaimed historian David K. Wyatt dies at age 69. His most well-known publication is the book A Short History of Thailand.

• The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek (pictured) is opened on November 1 by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

September 2006

• As Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is in New York to address the UN General Assembly, the military, led by Royal Thai Army chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, stages a coup d'état.

• Gen. Surayud Chulanont is appointed to lead an interim civilian government by the Council for National Security following the recent coup by the military.

• Suvarnabhumi Airport opens for commercial flights.

• Insurgents in southern Thailand set off bombs in six locations in Hat Yai, killing at least five people.

August 2006

• The government announces a plan to create a new province to commemorate the 80th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2007. The proposed province would be created from Cha Am district in Phetchaburi and Hua Hin (pictured), Pran Buri and Sam Roi Yot districts in Prachuap Khiri Khan. The proposal is also in addition to the proposed Nakhon Suvarnabhumi Province.

• An assassination plot against caretaker Prime Minister' Thaksin Shinawatra is reported after police find bomb-making materials in a car parked near the premier's residence.

• Nan Province experiences its worst flooding in 40 years.

• King Bhumibol Adulyadej is released from Siriraj Hospital to continue recovery at home from spinal stenosis surgery. Meanwhile, Queen Sirikit is recovering from a second successful eye operation.