Saturday’s round up of Thailand’s news
Comment: “The puppet regime of traitors must apologise immediately for their grave crime of smearing our Day of Sun festivities,” said a government statement on Pyongyang’s official news agency.
Otherwise, it said, the North Korean people and military “will release their volcanic anger and stage a sacred war of retaliation to wipe out traitors on this land”.
The North has several times demanded that the South apologise for perceived slights or face war since its longtime leader Kim Jong-Il died in December. Under his son and new leader Kim Jong-Un, it has struck a hostile tone with the South.
South Korea announced Thursday it has deployed new cruise missiles capable of destroying targets such as missile and nuclear bases anywhere in the North.
“With such capabilities, our military will sternly and thoroughly punish reckless provocations by North Korea while maintaining our firm readiness,” Major General Shin Won-Sik told reporters. Strong words that threaten stability in the region once again…
[AFP]
A round up of Thailand’s news:
[Bangkok Post]
•World: EU suspends some Myanmar sanctions to test reforms. India launches long-range missile capable of hitting China. North Korea threatens war.
•Bangkok: 30 police cheat death against massive bomb in Narathiwat. PAD spokesman says group is strong, will definitely protest against amnesty.
•PTT and Bangchak are cutting pump prices by 0.40 baht per litre for all kinds of fuel and by 0.20 baht a litre for gasohol E85, effective this morning.
•The People’s Alliance for Democracy is proving it still has an appetite for people-driven politics, even though political observers say the yellow shirt group looks “quieter and less forceful” than it once was.
•North Korea demanded Thursday that South Korea apologise for what it called insults during major anniversary festivities, or face a “sacred war”, as Seoul unveiled a new missile to deter its neighbour.Regional tensions have risen since Pyongyang went ahead with a long-range rocket launch last Friday, defying international calls to desist.
Other news:
•Microsoft on Thursday posted net income of $5.11 billion on record-high revenue in the recently ended quarter — a slight dip in profit from a year ago but still beating market expectations.
•Most of Mexico seems to feel that Popo the active volcano is simply stirring. The 17,945-foot peak also known as Don Gregorio or Don Goyo is often described as the world’s most dangerous volcano because it sits within 40 miles of the capital, Mexico City, and its 20 million people. But all over the country, Popo jokes have been running far ahead of evacuation plans. Twitter has been abuzz with humorous descriptions of what Popo might really be up to. Some said he was coughing and sneezing. Others said he must be angry and perhaps demanding a gift, prompting one Mexican journalist to post on Twitter: “If Don Goyo needs a sacrifice, I suggest the political class.” [NY Times]
•Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for a boycott of the upcoming Formula 1 race in Bahrain over the kingdom’s continued crackdown on dissidents, in a statement released on Thursday.
•Bergamo came to a virtual standstill on Thursday as thousands of mourners crowded the streets to attend the funeral of footballer Piermario Morosini.
•Phuket: From now on, Phuket officials are likely to ask people in the tourism industry to accept that Phuket is in a tsunami and earthquake hazard zone.
There is no reason why tourists would stop coming to Phuket – although those on the west coast who were involved in two evacuations in the space of five days may have second thoughts.
There was a two-hour gap between the Indonesian undersea upheaval and the possible arrival of a big wave on Phuket.
Over the coming days and weeks, with aftershocks likely to serve as a constant reminder for at least a month, administrators on Phuket and in Bangkok are bound to review all the issues raised by the series of earthquakes.
At Laguna Phuket, where more than 15,000 Amway China delegates are being entertained in a series of rewards seminars between now and mid-May, there was a coordinated evacuation for the first tsunami alert but since then, it has been holidays as usual.
Starwood: STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced that its largest brand, Sheraton Hotels, and its owners are investing more than $350 million to enhance its flagship properties around the world. The Starwood-managed Sheraton Laguna Grande Phuket shut its doors last year in Laguna Phuket to enable the owners to renovate, and the Angsana Laguna Phuket emerged late last year.
[Phuket Wan]
•Funny: A young brunette goes into the doctor’s office and says that her body hurts wherever she touches it.
“Impossible,” says the doctor. “Show me.”
She takes her finger and pushes her elbow and screams in agony. She pushes her knee and screams, pushes her ankle and screams and so on it goes.
The doctor says, “You’re not really a brunette are you?”
She says, “No, I’m really a blonde.”
“I thought so,” he says. “Your finger is broken.”
Written by : Andrew J Wood
