Nathanon wavers in face of charges she let bidding go ahead despite complaints of alleged irregularity. In the face of increasing pressure resulting from the city administration’s corruption scandal, Bangkok City Clerk Nathanon Thavisin yesterday hinted that she might quit her post before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60 later this year. “I can’t say what will happen in the future,” Nathanon said when asked whether she would resign. In the past, she usually insisted that she would never quit the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) until she was 60.

THAI-EGYPTIAN TALKS: Many issues on agenda after 3 yrs

Expansion of trade and cooperation on security information about terrorism are high on Kantathi’s wish-list. Trade, security and education will top the agenda for the second Thai-Egyptian Joint Commission meeting to be held here today after a three-year hiatus. The two sides are expected to sign an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation as well as discuss the possibility of establishing a Joint-Business Council within this year, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said yesterday. Egypt has a lot of potential, especially as a trading partner and gateway to other African and Middle Eastern nations, he said.

THAI-US FTA: Academic says pact is ‘a disaster’

An expert on international economic law yesterday laid out what she said were several disadvantages Thailand is facing in its ongoing negotiation of a free-trade pact with the United States. Dr Lawan Thanadsilpakul, director of the Economic and International Business Law Institute of Chulalongkorn University, said the proposed Thai-US Free Trade Agreement was “a mess” because the two negotiating partners did not have equal bargaining power. She said Thailand stood to lose and the result on Thai society could be “disastrous” if it went ahead with the deal.

Police zeroing in on bombers

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has received clues about the identities of the people behind the C4 bomb planted in a courtyard near the Justice Ministry on Friday.

Heavily sued Supinya in a bind over case

One of those dazzled by the mind-boggling Bt73 billion that has enriched the family of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra after the sale of Shin Corp on Monday is media-reform advocate Supinya Klangnarong, who was recently sued for libel by the company.

Five policemen transferred

Five police in Nong Khai province have been transferred to Bangkok to facilitate investigation into the murder of two Laotian social activists who claimed to be of direct royal descent.

Jakarta perplexed on how to ban ‘Playboy’

The government is against the publishing of a local edition of Playboy but has no legal grounds to ban the men’s magazine, a bemused Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said.