Ex-village chief with bounty on head probably fled to Malaysia to escape arrest: Narathiwat governor. A suspected militant leader with a bounty of Bt500,000 on his head is among the Thais who fled to Malaysia, reportedly due to fear of the violence in the southernmost provinces, Narathiwat Governor Pracha Teyrat said yesterday.

COMMUNITY RADIO: 7 stations are closed down

NTC: Signals from broadcasters in Lampang a danger to air traffic. Seven community radio stations in Lampang were ordered shut down on Thursday, following charges that their broadcasts were interfering with aviation signals. The seven stations were FM 88.50, FM 96.00, FM 96.00, FM 99.50, FM 100.50, FM102.50 and FM 104.00.

Tale of a strangely normal afternoon

Police yesterday gave a deta-iled account of Jitrada Tantiwanichayasuk’s movements on Friday after her alleged attack on four students at Bangkok’s Saint Joseph Convent School.

Heavy rain, fooding in the North

A new round of flash-floods and landslides yesterday swept through some districts of Chiang Mai and other northern provinces while weather forecasts warned of heavy rains and flooding in the North and Northeast.

PM heads off to the US for an 11-day visit

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today left for New York to begin an 11-day visit during which he will join a UN summit and meet US President George Bush to follow up progress on a free-trade deal.

Exposition is 30% built, to be finished on schedule

The construction of the International Horticultural Exposition for His Majesty the King, a joint project by the Agriculture Ministry and the Horticultural Science Society of Thailand, is 30 per cent complete, said Apisith Klammeng, the engineer responsible for the project.

Swedish loan buys Chiang Mai new sewers

The Swedish government has lent Chiang Mai Municipality and the Pollution Control Department Bt35 million to improve the city’s sewage system.

Young bikers demand road races

A brainstorming session on the problem of illegal motorcycle racing ended yesterday with the young bikers insisting on new drag strips on four main roads and the private circuit-operators opposing any government competition.

Probe into complaints over backpack teachers

The House committee on consumer protection has set up a team to probe parents’ complaints that many bilingual schools hire backpacking tourists as teachers, lowering educational standards.

Youths to sell toll coupons

Children, especially those peddling garlands or newspapers at intersections, are to be encouraged to sell tollway coupons, PM Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday.