Thailand's military-installed government is planning to hire a U.S. public relations firm to improve its image abroad. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the government would pay US$600,000 for three months of the PR firm’s service. Surayud said that one reason for the decision to hire the firm was to counter moves by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Surayud said the firm would help create an understanding with the people of the United States and Thailand’s allies, and explain what his government has accomplished since taking power last September.
AP
AP
Shopowners at Bangkok's Suan Lum Night Bazaar are planning to defy a deadline on Monday to vacate the premises while a court decides whether to shut the popular tourist destination. The site is located in prime real estate in central Bangkok and the land is owned by the Crown Property Bureau, which manages the royal family's assets. In February, the CPB signed a long-term lease on a large section of the site to mall developer Central Pattana, which is looking to build a skyscraper, a hotel and more desperately needed shopping facilities.Reuters
Two Peruvian men were caught at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday with 1.9 kilograms of cocaine in their stomachs. Luis Alerpo Quispe Pina and Vicpop Marain Pulache Pina flew in from Kuala Lumpur, and the pills were detected by an X-ray machine as the two passed through immigration. The suspects were given medicine to force the 250 capsules of cocaine from their stomachs. The two later confessed that they were hired to transport the drugs from Argentina to Thailand. If convicted, the two smugglers could face the death penalty.
AP
AP