Small budget prevents much-needed study of several active faults in Thailand, geologists warn. In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Pakistan, Thai geologists have called on the government to increase funding for seismic hazard assessment studies of active faults in Thailand, insisting that sound earthquake-risk analyses could prove invaluable in mitigating the effects of a disaster.

DEFAMATION: Thaksin lawsuit ‘not anti-media’

Deputy PM Wissanu defends premier’s right to defend his name and reputation. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has acted in his personal capacity to sue Phujadkarn (Manager) newspaper for defamation and his court battle should not be construed as a persecution of the media, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krean-gam said yesterday.

METRO BRIEFS

Reading campaign

Red-carded Nirund to run again in Lampang

Candidate denies links to PM’s sister; looks set to face wife of Senator Nikom, brother of TRT MP and former Democrat

Elephants hurt by mines in Burma

Two elephants needed emergency aid at a special pachyderm hospital yesterday after stepping on a landmine in Burma.

Police seek advice on 7-Eleven action

Police yesterday backed down from taking action against 7-Eleven stores that have defied the ban on displaying cigarettes.

BURNING ISSUE: Quitting Satun less painful than losing

Excuse for dropping out by-election fails to hide TRT’s lack of popularity

TRT opts to skip Satun by-election

Thai Rak Thai has decided not to contest the by-election in Satun because it wants to foster cooperation with the Democrat Party to help resolve the crisis in the far South, a deputy leader of the ruling party said yesterday.

Sanan to quit Phichit if son loses election

Mahachon Party leader Sanan Kachornprasart is taking a political gamble by backing his son Siriwat to win the Phichit by-election on October 30.

Better public polling needed

Government whips should rethink the proposed Statistics Act and consider laws that not only regulate, but also support the development of public opinion polls, the director of Abac Poll said yesterday.

Law change spares drunk driver from repair bills

An 80-year-old man has cried foul that a new law protecting low-income earners from court-ordered salary cuts has left him out of pocket.

Officials score poorly on transparency

Almost half of the civil servants surveyed in a Civil Service Commission study scored poorly in transparency, it was revealed yesterday.

Locals urged to open homes to visitors

Residents in Phang Nga province are being encouraged to expand their homes into temporary home-stay venues to accommodate guests at the end of December when a big ceremony will mark the anniversary of the tsunami.

Social plan to cover dental, delivery bills

The Social Security Office (SSO) plans to provide unlimited coverage for dental and maternity services, the Prime Minister’s Office said yesterday.

Thai relief aid for Pakistan

Thailand will send Bt5 million worth of aid to Pakistan as part of an international relief effort following devastating earthquakes that killed up to 40,000 people.

Cliff-sculpture plan headed for Cabinet

The Culture Ministry is working on a proposal that stone outcrops or cliff-faces on select hills be carved with Thai historical figures or scenes from traditional Thai life.

Secretive starlet gives birth to baby boy

Popular model and TV host Kataleeya “Mam” McIntosh has delivered a healthy baby boy just a month after shocking the public with her announcement that she was pregnant.

Sudarat, Suchai skip meeting

Two Cabinet members involved in a row at the Public Health Ministry – Suchai Charoenratana-kul and Sudarat Keyuraphan – were both absent from yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, a source said.

Bouncer charged with assault

Police in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Choke Chai district yesterday arrested a man suspected of being one of the security guards accused of seriously injuring a patron at a popular nightclub on Saturday, a senior police officer said.

Mob slams ‘KL interference’

More than 150 people rallied in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok yesterday to protest against what they see as the Kuala Lumpur government’s “interference” in Thailand’s internal affairs, with reference to the fate of 131 Thai Muslims currently being given asylum in northern Malaysia.

PM says education is answer to extremism

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra told participants at a Unesco conference yesterday that humanistic education was a powerful weapon in the fight against bigotry and religious extremism.

Lack of skilled monks

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has expressed concern over the scarcity of monks who can perform traditional intonations of Buddhist tales, a senior Office of National Buddhism (ONB) official said yesterday.

‘Laurel & Hardy monks’ spice up Dhamma

Two Buddhist monks have become a big hit among young audiences in the last few years with their act of traditional intonations of Buddhist tales and comic preaching.

Debt plan for teachers

Up to 104,804 teachers have registered with a state project to refinance huge debts totalling Bt108 billion.

Pet-monkey fad sparks ebola worries

Affluent Thais could be exposed to deadly mutated viruses such as ebola fever because of the current trend among rich youths of keeping exotic monkeys, a disease expert warned yesterday.

Villages line up for loans

The Cabinet yesterday acknowledged the progress of the Interior Ministry’s SML (small, medium, and large) project, which more than 59,000 villages nationwide have registered to be part of, spokesman Danuporn Punnakanta said.

Plan for flu injections

To help stave off a global bird-flu pandemic, the Department of Medical Sciences yesterday said it was considering inoculating high-risk people against influenza.