Prosecutors fail to produce evidence to back up contradictory testimony: court. The Criminal Court yesterday acquitted politician Najmuddin Umar and a Narathiwat resident of treason charges laid after a raid on an Army camp almost two years ago in which four soldiers were killed and more than 300 weapons stolen.

RIVAL PARTIES HEAD OPPOSITE WAYS: Democrats focused on Isaan, Thai Rak Thai on Bangkok

With political tension looming in the Kingdom, the ruling party and main opposition party will be making “decisive” moves when they hold political conventions this weekend. The difference, however, is that the Thai Rak Thai and the Democrats are heading towards opposite destinations and goals. The TRT has shifted its assembly venue south from Chiang Mai –Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s home province – to Bangkok, where it holds 32 of the 37 constituencies.

Now we’re just good friends: Nat

It’s now official. After months of rumours, singer Nat Myria (Benedetti) Kemklad has confirmed that she and her singer husband Somchai “Tao” Kemklad have separated. Despite the fact that the celebrity couple were once so universally envied.

RICE-PLEDGING SCANDAL: Somkid suspends PWO chief pending probe

Nobpasul temporarily replaced to ensure transparency, commerce minister says. The commerce minister yesterday ordered the immediate suspension of Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) president Nobpasul Angkathavanich pending a probe into alleged irregularities in awarding rice-survey concessions to four companies.

Abhisit demands more information

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday called on the government to shed more light on its plan to lure foreign contractors to invest in part of the Bt1.7 trillion needed for its mega-projects.

Activists lament development mistakes

The government’s Partnership for Development scheme, aimed at boosting foreign investment, is simply repeating four-decades old mistakes by putting natural resources on sale at the expense of rural communities, social activists said yesterday.

Nahathai wants it put to rest

Thai Rak Thai Party MP Nahathai Thewphaingarm yesterday called on businessman Ekkayuth Anchanbutr to talk to her face-to-face after he challenged her to have a pregnancy test.

‘Big drop’ in urban poverty

The number of urban poor in Thailand in the third quarter this year decreased to 4.9 per cent of the population, down from 8.7 per cent or one million people from the previous period, according to a study by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) released yesterday.

Bt7 bn sought

The Agriculture Ministry will ask the Cabinet on Tuesday for a budget of Bt7 billion to pay for the first year of its water management mega-project, a Government House source said yesterday.

Pregnant ‘militant’ released

The credibility of the government’s “re-education” policy in the deep South took a further blow yesterday when an eight-months pregnant woman was found to be among the suspected militant sympathisers summoned by authorities.

King Abdullah calls for peaceful resolution

Jordanian King Abdullah II said yesterday in Bangkok that Islam was not to blame for the unrest in the South and urged Thailand’s ethnic Thais and Malays to reconcile their differences.

Father and son die in mudslide tragedy

A man and his son were killed when torrential downpours throughout Wednesday night set off a mudslide that destroyed their home in the foothills of Songkhla’s Muang district.

New test can predict reactions to drugs

Adverse and sometimes fatal responses to medication caused by a patient’s genetic makeup can be prevented, claims pharmaceutical giant Roche.

Pregnant teen murdered

Bangkok Noi police are hunting a man who stabbed a pregnant woman to death in a dark soi shortly after midnight yesterday.

Bad baby food banned

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been ordered to remove all packets of Nestle’s Cerelac baby food from the shelves after a six-month-old baby in Chachoengsao developed diarrhoea from a pack containing weevils and worms.

METRO BRIEFS: Get lucky in rangsit

In a bid to curb traffic congestion, city police will give away electrical appliances in a lucky draw, which they hope will lure people travelling to the North and Northeast to use Rangsit bus terminal instead of Mor Chit.

STATE VISIT: Venture into Indonesia, Susilo urges Thai firms

President says revised laws make it easier for foreigners to set up businesses. Thailand and Indonesia have yet to tap into their full potential and the Thai private sector should invest more in its regional neighbour, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said yesterday at the start of his three-day official visit.

PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT: Thaksin makes open invitation

The prime minister on Wednesday invited foreign ambassadors and business leaders to bid on mega-projects planned in the following areas:

Democrat MPs fear country ‘going broke’

Opposition lawmakers yesterday expressed concern that the country was on the brink of going broke as government expenditure has outpaced revenue for the past two years.

Parliament comes under fire for Bt40m remodelling

Parliament yesterday came under heavy criticism over plans to spend Bt40 million to renovate MPs’ reception rooms before the House reconvenes in March, a source said.

IN BRIEF: tackling poverty

PM to head six-day workshop in Roi Et. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will hold a six-day anti-poverty workshop in Roi Et’s At Samat District during which he will sleep and work in a tent with villagers, Government Spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said yesterday.