News from Thailand – April 7, 2012
Thai hospitals would do well to replace the Dilation and Curettage method in an abortion with the Manual Vacuum Aspiration method, in accordance with a recommendation from the World Health Organization WHO. That method is much safer and more efficient.
Kamhaeng Chaturchinda, head of the Women's Health and Reproductive Right Foundation of Thailand, at a rally dedicated to Thailand's abortion problems.
Abortion is legal only when the woman's safety is at risk or when she has been raped, but many doctors refuse to perform the procedure. As a result, many women turn to the illegal circuit. In 1999, 300 of the 100.000 women who had illegal abortions died, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.
According to the WHO and the Federation International of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the best method is to use two pills: mifepristone and misoprostol. In Thailand, mifepristone is only allowed for research purposes and misoprostol can only be prescribed by a hospital doctor. On the black market, these pills cost 5.000 baht, although the actual price is less than 20 baht.
– The police have two suspects of the bomb attack in Hat Yai (Songkhla), Saturday in the parking garage of the Lee Gardens Plaza hotels, arrested, but details of their role have not been disclosed. One of them would bear some resemblance to one of the two men who planted the bomb, a police source said. But the source also says that the two main suspects have probably fled abroad.
– They are not giving up in Hat Yai. Tourism may have collapsed, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the local organization and the province are doing everything they can to regain the trust of tourists. Among other things, the campaign 'Five Deductions' is in the pipeline, whereby discounts are granted on meals, accommodation, transport, products and services. The TAT organizes trips to Hat Yai with Songkran for tour operators from Malaysia and Singapore.
– A pharmacist from Udon Thani hospital has been fired for the theft of pseudoephedrine-containing pills, which are used in the production of methamphetamine. The man is a fugitive. He is suspected of the theft of 65.000 pills.
A pharmacist at Nong Ki Hospital in Buri Ram is suspected of purchasing 90.000 pills and 1.500 potions. He bought them in the name of the hospital, but they went to his own pharmacy. The researchers discovered this because the hospital's declaration to the Food and Drug Administration did not match the hospital records.
The head of purchasing of the Siamrad Chiang Mai hospital is suspected by the hospital management of forging documents so that 200.000 pills could be concealed. The management has filed a complaint.
– It is still not going well with the Express Line of the Airport Rail Link, the non-stop connection between Phaya Thai and Suvarnabhumi. But a ticket costs 90 baht against 45 baht for the same route with the City Line (which stops at the intermediate stations). The Transport Minister has asked the operator to introduce a special rush hour rate to encourage staff at Suvarnabhumi to take the Express Line.
– Companies that suffered damage during the red shirt riots in 2010, which is not reimbursed by their own insurance, receive compensation ranging from 360.000 to 1 million baht, depending on the size of the company. A total of 739 companies with insurance suffered damage. Of these, 107 have so far registered for the compensation scheme. The amounts and criteria for payout are set by a government commission charged with compensation.
– Raising the minimum daily wage to 300 baht may narrow the income gap, especially for the lowest paid, but many unskilled workers will lose their jobs, says a study by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). In particular, small and medium-sized companies with fewer than 100 employees are shedding employees. They look for work in the agricultural sector or go to work under less favorable conditions in private companies in the informal sector with fewer than 10 employees, where they do not enjoy employment protection. Since the economic crisis of 1997, the minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, has fallen steadily, according to the TDRI.
– 1,62 kilometers of the 4-kilometer eastern runway of Suvarnabhumi Airport will be closed for two months (April 23 to June 17) for repairs. The rest of the runway can still be used by smaller aircraft. The western runway can handle 34 to 36 aircraft per hour. Aerothai tries to keep delays to a minimum.
– A 45-year-old man, suspected of child abuse, hanged himself in a police cell in Mae Chaem (Chiang Mai).
– Thursday evening a heavy storm wreaked havoc in the Nakhon Luang district (Ayutthaya). A teak house caught fire after a lightning strike and burned to the ground and the roofs of two houses flew off. The total damage amounts to 2 million baht. Half of the second crop of rice at 1.000 rai can be considered lost; the rest bring in less because she's soaked.
– A mother and son were able to get to safety when the engine of their van caught fire at the Victory Monument in Bangkok. They ran to a nearby fire station for help. After 15 minutes the fire was extinguished, but little was left of the van.
– Amnesty for former Prime Minister Thaksin and his return to Thailand have come a step closer, now that parliament yesterday supported the controversial reconciliation report of the King Prajadhipok Institute (KPI) plus the advice of the parliamentary committee, which discussed the report .
After a 22-hour debate, the House of Representatives agreed with the committee's proposal (based on the report) to grant amnesty to the perpetrators of political crimes and the decisions of the military regime established after the September 2009 coup, to be declared null and void. This means that the corruption cases under Thaksin's rule, which were investigated by a special committee at the time, are no longer valid.
Opposition party Democrats and the People's Alliance for Democracy (yellow shirts) are now putting pressure on the KPI to withdraw its report, but the KPI has announced that it will take a wait-and-see attitude for the time being.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post