Media activist says climate of fear has settled over country, says she only cited public information

Teachers ‘terror masterminds’

Eight teachers from a pro-minent private Islamic school in Yala province went on trial yesterday on charges of treason, separatism and criminal acti-vities in the strife-torn deep South. Colonel Sombat Amornwiwat, director of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), told a Bangkok criminal court that the eight teachers were members of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional - Coordinate (BRN-C), a separatist movement that first surfaced in the late 1960s.

Bus, taxi drivers face fines for phone use

Drivers of buses, taxis and other public vehicles will soon be barred from using mobile phones while driving or face a maximum fine of Bt5,000. The regulation, which was approved in principle by the Cabinet yesterday, will take ef-fect once it is scrutinised and endorsed, Deputy Government Spokesperson Sansanee Nakpong said yesterday. Under the ban, the drivers will also be prevented from using even hand-free devices connected to their phone handsets.

Journal of hope from tragedy of the tsunami

It’s all scribbles now but when the 3.2-metre by 4.5-metre tsunami commemorative “comic book” is completed, it is expected to be the world’s largest.