IN REVIEW THE WEEK
JULY 12 - JULY 18
New cabinet after July 28
At least 10 cabinet ministers will be changed in a major reshuffle which will be announced after July 28, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Tuesday. The new cabinet line-up was complete, but he was waiting for the decision by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions on the two- and three-digit lottery case, due on July 28. This would decide the fate of another three cabinet ministers.
If the court accepts the lottery case for consideration, the three ministers who were on the Thaksin Shinawatra cabinet which introduced the scheme _ Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, Labour Minister Uraiwan Thienthong and Deputy Transport Minister Anurak Jureemart _ must step aside.
Mr Samak said any cabinet which found itself in charge of the country at this time would be in the same situation as his government because of defects in the political system stemming from the 2007 constitution.
"The government is now paralysed and the state of the country has been totally destroyed by a defective system," he said.
Egat will pay energy tax The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has agreed to pay an energy tax in Kanchanaburi province to compensate for the negative impact of its three dams. The initial contribution was estimated at 38 million baht, said provincial governor Amnart Phakarat.
A new law requires the state electricity producer to share the revenue gained from every unit of electricity produced. The fund was launched in January this year by the previous government and the contributions are expected to reach 1.887 billion baht this year. Egat owns about 100 electricity plants in 39 provinces.
Egat operates the Sri Nakarin, Vajiralongkorn and Tha Thungna dams in Kanchanaburi province. The dams play an important role in easing flooding in the region, but villagers have complained that they are also having an adverse impact. Environmental groups claim the construction of the Sri Nakarin dam, which came onstream in 1981, saw an increase in illegal logging and wildlife poaching in nearby forests.
Tensions high as troops build up at border
Thailand and Cambodia will hold an urgent meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) on Monday to defuse the growing tension over the listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.
The decision comes as both countries are sending troop reinforcements to the sensitive border area.
Lt-Gen Sujit Sithiprapa, commander of the Second Army in charge of the northeastern region, has closed Khao Phra Viharn national park in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket and sealed access to the border in the area, banning visitors from seeing the temple ruins from the Thai side.
The road is now closed from the forestry district office, which is 8km from the borderline at Pha Mor E-Daeng.
About 900 Cambodians living on the mountain where the temple is located have fled their homes for a safer spot lower down, according to Cambodian border unit commander Seng Vuthy.
Apirak: No sign of tunnel bribe
City Hall's inquiry found no irregularities in the awarding of the flood-tunnel contract which a Japanese firm claims it won by bribing officials during the tenure of then governor Samak Sundaravej.
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said on Wednesday there was nothing suspicious in the information about the deal which city clerk Pongsak Semsant had presented to him.
The information would be forwarded to the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC), he said.
Mr Pongsak said it covered the bidding process, a selection panel, tendering of bids and related legal disputes.
Japanese newspapers had reported that a Nishimatsu Construction executive admitted to Japanese prosecutors that the company had given a bribe of more than 400 million yen (125 million baht) to "Thai officials" to win the project in Bangkok.
The two-billion-baht project, aimed at relieving flooding in the capital with tunnels to drain water into Saen Saep and Lat Phrao canals, was initiated in 2003 when Mr Samak was governor and completed last year.
Mr Apirak said the information published in the Japanese press was not available to the BMA. The city has requested it from the Japanese embassy and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, but had not yet received a reply.
Doubts greet ceasefire
announcement Academics and peace advocates expressed serious doubts over the ceasefire announcement made by a group of men claiming to be southern insurgent leaders. They demanded Chettha Thanajaro, leader of the Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana party _ a coalition government partner, accept responsibility if the announcement proved to be a hoax.
Army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda has also refused to give credence to the surprise ceasefire announcement.
Gen Chettha, a former army chief, broke the news about the truce on the army-run Channel 5 television Thursday.
Chidchanok Rahimmula, deputy dean of Pattani-based Prince of Songkla University's political science faculty, noted that the three men seen announcing the ceasefire in the television footage did not reveal their identities beyond saying they led a separatist network called the Thailand United Southern Underground.
Ms Chidchanok said the question was how Gen Chettha came to be involved in the agreement when he is now just a politician and not even a defence minister.
"Who are these three men? How could they influence a new generation of young Muslim insurgents in the deep South to stop carrying out future attacks?" she asked.
EC sets up inquiries into shares
The Election Commission has set up two sub-committees to investigate the shareholdings of MPs and senators in media firms and state concessionaires that might be unconstitutional. The decision came after Supachai Jaisamut, deputy spokesman of the People Power party (PPP), petitioned the poll agency to look into the matter.
Secretary-general Suthiphon Thaveechaiygarn said Article 91 of the constitution says if the EC considers there are grounds for revoking the parliamentary membership of MPs or senators, the poll agency is required to send the case to the House speaker or Senate speaker, who would then forward the case to the Constitution Court for a decision.
"As I understand it, if MPs and senators have their membership terminated in such cases, they retain their political rights, as in the case of former public health minister Chaiya Sasomsab," Mr Suthiphon said.
Two inquiry panels were needed, he said. The investigation involved more than 100 MPs and senators and many documents.
INTERNATIONAL
Jakarta 'regrets' East Timor atrocities
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesian president, has expressed "deep regret" for the murder, rape and torture of civilians during East Timor's 1999 independence vote, but he stopped short of issuing an official apology.
This is the first time Indonesia has accepted responsibility for the violent campaign by security forces and pro-Jakarta militias around the August 1999 vote, which left up to 1,500 people dead.
"We convey our deep regret and remorse over what happened," Mr Yudhoyono said in Bali, where alongside Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor's president, he received a long-awaited report from a "truth and friendship" commission set up by both governments. "Let us not forget those who were victimised during this dark period in our past."
The commission's report recommended both Indonesia and East Timor issue an official apology. But Mr Yudhoyono only said he would "study and follow up" the recommendations.
Indonesia has been widely criticised for failing to bring to justice those involved in the deadly rampage in East Timor.
China slams International Court
On Tuesday China voiced "grave concerns" over the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s decision to charge the Sudanese president with genocide in the embattled Darfur region.
"China has grave concerns and misgivings about the ICC's prosecution," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.
"The ICC's actions should be helpful to the stability of the Darfur region and to finding a solution to the issue, not the contrary," Liu told reporters.
An ICC prosecutor on Monday applied for an arrest warrant against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity over the past five years in Darfur.
Liu said the Darfur issue was in a "critical and sensitive period.
"We hope all parties can cautiously solve the issue through negotiation, and avoid adding new complicating factors," he added. He also said a television report alleging that China violated a UN embargo by selling arms used by the Sudanese government in Darfur was motivated by "ulterior motives".
Mars 'once covered with huge oceans'
New research speculated that Mars was once covered with huge oceans and the red planet might have been blue. Scientists say that a third of the Martian surface might have been covered with oceans, similar to the Earth.
A joint Canada-US research team has uncovered strong evidence that the jagged terrain features across the planet might have been the shorelines of the ancient seas and oceans. Jerry Mitrovica, from University of Toronto, along with colleagues from the University of California-Berkeley, studied the data of the Martian topography that has been collected over a period of time.
Taylor Perron of Harvard University and the study's lead author, believes that the ocean would be proportionate in size of what the Pacific ocean is to the Earth. Researchers say that while the planet was covered with oceans during the first half of its history, there is no clear evidence as to why the water disappeared.
Anwar released on bail
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was released on bail after he was arrested Wednesday for questioning about a sodomy case.
The arrest, which the US State Department said "raises serious questions and concerns," is the second time Anwar, one of Asia's best-known opposition leaders, had been incarcerated on charges including sodomy and comes after a coalition he led gained seats in the country's parliamentary elections.
Talks with Iran signal shift in US policy
The Bush administration's decision to send a senior American official to participate in international talks with Iran this weekend reflects a double policy shift in the struggle to resolve the impasse over the country's nuclear programme. First, the Bush administration has decided to abandon its longstanding position that it would meet face to face with Iran only after the country suspended its uranium enrichment, as demanded by the UN Security Council.
Second, an American partner at the table injects new importance to the negotiating track of the six global powers confronting Iran _ France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China and the United States. The increased engagement raised questions of whether the Bush administration would alter its stance toward Iran as radically as it did with North Korea.
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