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That is why there it was not suprising that dictatorship remained  so much a part of democracy in Thailand in the four years since the military coup that ousted him from office, he said in a telephone interview. The story was posted on Friday.

Mr. Theerakul Niyom, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, presided over the opening ceremony of the "2010 Consular Officials Meeting" held at the Chaophya Park Hotel, Bangkok, from 31 August - 3 September 2010. The Permanent Secretary was briefed by Mr. Jukr Boon-Long, Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs, on the background and objectives of the Meeting. The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials of the Foreign Ministry, as well as consular officials from 91 Royal Thai Embassies, Royal Thai Consulates-General, and Thailand Trade and Economic Office Taipei. In addition, the heads of Temporary Passport Offices from various provinces also took part in the event. The Foreign Ministry has invited several guest speakers from the Ministry and other relevant agencies to brief and exchange views with the participants.

In addition to mandating punishment for civil servants who harass colleagues, the new rules approved Tuesday define what is wrongful behavior, such as making any inappropriate gestures including sexually implicit body language and eye contact and sending pornographic e-mails, letters, stories or messages.

Punishment depends on the degree of the transgression. In serious incidents, perpetrators can be fired, while the victims can file additional civil or criminal charges. Lesser offenses could warrant salary cuts.

Chiang Mai, Uttaradit, Nan, and Phichit were among the northern provinces suffering from severe flooding, which forced evacuation of local residents in the affected areas.
Local authorities closed an inner city area of Chiang Mai to traffic due to severe flooding, which led to congestion in surrounding areas.

"I believe that the normalised relations with the reinstatement of the ambassadors will clear the way for the two countries to more easily resolve all problems," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

Thailand has decided to return its ambassador to Cambodia, Prasas Prasasvinitchai, to Phnom Penh today after ousted premier Thaksin yesterday resigned from his controversial advisory role.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Thaksin's resignation satisfied a Thai condition - that he not play a role in the Cambodian government - before bilateral ties could return to normal.

A spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, Koy Kuong, said in Phnom Penh that Cambodia was ready to send back its ambassador You Aye to Bangkok once Thailand's envoy had returned.

According to officers, Phichi Nokam worked as a security guard at Big C Chaengwattana and his girlfriend worked in a jewellery store there.

About 6.13am on July 12, police say, Khun Phichi contrived an excuse to enter the jewellery shop and made off with about 20 pieces that were mostly in for repairs.

Showers from the heavens are not the only factor pushing prices up, however. "Some tyre makers began to buy rubber before a new tax in Thailand takes effect," explained Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji.  "From now to September 30, we will see more buyers from Asia and the US." A higher levy on Thai exports ranging from 0.9 baht to five baht (£0.018 to £0.10) a kilogram, based on a sliding scale of free-on-board prices, will take effect from October 1, replacing the existing levy that ranges from 0.9 baht a kilo to 1.4 baht.

The wreckage of the chopper was found in Na Muen district of the northern province of Nan on Wednesday morning, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary Nisakorn Kositratna said.

The bodies of the five people on board were also found at the crash site, near Nam Kwang village, she said.

Mr Tharit said DSI is now in the process of concluding investigations on terrorism conducted by the 'Red Shirt' movement of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), and that he expects the probe into the burning of CentralWorld and the Siam Theatre could be completed within this week.

Following a one-hour plenary meeting, 119 of the 142 highest court judges voted 103:4 rejecting  Mr Thaksin's appeal, explaining that no new evidence which could lead to the change of the facts in case has been presented. Twelve judges abstained from voting.

A tortuous voyage by the Thai-registered Harin Panich 19, under a new name, M/V Sun Sea, was believed organised from Bangkok by operatives of the Tamil Tigers.

In a report late Thursday Thailand time, Canadian media reported that the ship was being escorted by the Canadian navy into British Columbia. "We expect it will land either late Thursday evening or early Friday morning," (Friday Thailand time), the website Canada.com quoted a senior official as saying.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra led government officials and people from all walks of life to give alms to 279 monks at Sanam Luang royal ceremonial ground to mark the 78th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.

The index rose to 71.4, its highest level in six months, in July from 69.1 in June. The data signaled to the resumption of strong growth following the abatement of the two-month long political turmoil.

Last month, the Bank of Thailand had revised up its growth forecast for this year in view of the robust expansion of the economy during the first half. The central bank raised the forecast to between 6.5% and 7.5%, days after lifting the key policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.5% from a record low as the economic recovery became more evident.

Kamthon Prasertsom, a BoT senior specialist in onsite examinations, said statistics compiled in early August found that 1,672 persons had been cheated by such gangs, with 31 victims losing more than Bt4 million each.

Acting government spokesman Dr Panitan Wattanayagorn said Tuesday, the new province would consist of seven districts.