Russia: 3 killed from subway bombings group

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russian security officials have killed three members of a criminal group behind the March 29 bombings on the Moscow subway, Federal Security Service chief Alexander Bortnikov told the RIA-Novosti news agency Thursday.

The three were members of a criminal group that included people who had accompanied the female suicide bombers to Moscow, and accompanied one of them to the site of the terrorist attack, Bortnikov said at a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the news agency reported.

"Unfortunately, we did not manage to detain them alive. They offered fierce armed resistance and were eliminated," he said.

Two suicide bombers struck Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations in central Moscow during morning rush hour, killing 40 people and wounding more than 80.

An estimated 500,000 people were riding trains in the capital at the time of the attacks.

Red shirt military advisor wounded in Thai capital

(Reuters) - The chief military advisor of Thailand's anti-government protesters was injured in the head, after an explosion and bursts of automatic gunfire were heard near Bangkok's business district on Thursday night.

World

Khattiya Sawasdipol, a suspended army specialist in charge of security at an encampment occupied by thousands of "red shirt" demonstrators, was admitted to an intensive care ward after being shot, said the state Narenthorn Emergency Medical Service.

It had no other details.

Khattiya, better known as "Seh Daeng" (Commander Red) enjoys a cult following among some red shirts and soldiers, but has been dubbed a "terrorist" by Thailand's government, which accuses him of involvement in dozens of grenade attacks that have injured more than 100 people.

The army had earlier said it was planning a huge lockdown around the fortified encampment of the red shirts, who have defied warnings to end their five-week occupation of an upmarket Bangkok shopping district.

The Thai military said it would deploy armored vehicles and shut roads surrounding thousands of defiant protesters on Thursday, forcing businesses to evacuate workers as tensions rise in the deadliest political crisis in two decades.

The army said its armored vehicles will bolster checkpoints, stopping protesters from entering the area, and urged businesses on roads leading into the protesters' 3 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) fortified encampment to close on Friday.

Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said authorities tasked with resolving the crisis will also seek cabinet approval to invoke a state of emergency in 15 northern and northeastern provinces, which are stronghold of protesters to prevent any mobilization.

SURROUND MILITARY VEHICLES

The mostly rural and urban poor protesters refused to leave as their leaders challenged the government from behind medieval-like walls made from tires and wooden staves soaked in kerosene and topped by razor wire.

The government estimated the crowd size at 10,000 but Reuters witnesses put it at more than 20,000.

"We will send out groups to surround these vehicles to prevent them from advancing," Jatuporn Prompan, a protest leader, told supporters. "We believe the army will try to crack down this evening or tomorrow morning."

Companies and embassies across the area told employees to leave work early and activated back-up plans for Friday. Several stations in an elevated train system were shutting early. Public transportation was being diverted from the area.

The mood at the protest site turned quickly in the afternoon from festive to tense. Leaders took turns on the stage to call for more protesters to come to the encampment, chanting "come out, come out" and threatening to lay siege to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's house and an infantry barracks where he has taken refuge if there is a crackdown.

Abhisit is under enormous pressure to end the two-month crisis that has killed 29 people, wounded more than 1,000, paralyzed parts of Bangkok and slowed growth in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

But analysts and an army source close to Army Chief Anupong Paochinda said an immediate crackdown is unlikely despite the threats.

"It's hard to say if or when the crackdown will be because we have to evaluate by the hour. We don't want casualties so we have to keep the pressure up so people are too tired to resist.

"Casualties will be bad for us as well."

Analysts said potentially high casualties have prevented the army from going in.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE FALLS

The turmoil is shattering consumer confidence, a survey showed on Thursday, suggesting spending in shops and department stores is drying up as the crisis grinds on, a troubling sign for a sector that accounts for half the economy.

The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said its consumer confidence index fell by a record 2.6 points in April, the lowest since July 2009. Confidence has fallen for three straight months after rising steadily since the middle of 2009.

The Thai baht fell sharply immediately after the army's announcement, though witnesses saw no unusual activity around the sprawling red shirt encampment.

The red-shirted protesters are mostly supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup. They say Abhisit lacks a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote 17 months ago with support from the military.

The prime minister on Wednesday canceled a proposed November 14 election under his "national reconciliation" plan and called off talks with the protesters, raising speculation of a crackdown.

Foreign investors have turned negative since violence flared in April and have sold $584 million in Thai shares in the past six sessions, cutting their net buying so far this year to $607.6 million as of Wednesday.

"The markets have no idea what to make of the situation. It seems like we're heading back to square one," said Sukit Udomsirikul, a senior analyst at brokerage Siam City Securities.

Disparate views among protest leaders -- from radical former communists to academics and aspiring lawmakers -- make it difficult to reach consensus. Many face criminal charges for defying an emergency decree and some face terrorism charges carrying a maximum penalty of death.

Several harbor political ambitions and need to appease rank-and-file supporters. Others fear ending the protest now would be a one-way ticket to jail. Some hardliners advocate stepping up the protests to win the fight once and for all.

The red-shirted protesters, have said they would only disperse if a deputy prime minister faces criminal charges over a deadly April clash between troops and protesters.

(Additional reporting by Ploy Ten Kate; writing by Jason Szep and Ambika Ahuja; editing by Bill Tarrant)

More Reuters Results for: "" * Most Popular * Most Shared 1. U.S. posts 19th straight monthly budget deficit 12 May 2010 2. Chi

(Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing for jobless benefits fell only slightly last week, highlighting the challenges facing the labor market, while import prices pointed to tame inflation, according to government data released on Thursday.

U.S.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 444,000, the Labor Department said, though the number was still slightly above the 440,000 expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. The prior week's figure was revised up to 448,000.

In a second report, the department said import prices increased 0.9 percent last month on higher petroleum costs after rising 0.5 percent in March. However, excluding the volatile petroleum category, import prices rose just modestly.

Analysts said the slow decline in jobless claims against the backdrop of a pickup in the pace of job growth was puzzling, saying it pointed to a high unemployment rate.

"There are more jobs being created, but the general trend is that businesses are still reluctant to hire. The data show that the issue is more a lack of hiring and not people getting laid off," said Gary Shilling, president at A. Gary Shilling & Co in Springfield, New Jersey.

"That's why the unemployment rate remains where it is."

The jobless rate is currently at 9.9 percent.

U.S. stock futures trimmed gains on the data, while Treasury debt prices edged up slightly. The U.S. dollar extended gains versus the euro.

Though initial jobless claims are decreasing only slowly, other measures of the labor market -- including the government's closely watched employment report -- suggest job growth is gaining traction as private sector employers become more confident of the strength of the economic recovery.

Payrolls grew at the fastest pace in four years in April, according to government data last week that also showed the fourth straight month of gains in employment. The economy has grown for three straight quarters following the worst recession since the 1930s.

However, challenges remain in the job market. The number of people still receiving jobless benefits after an initial week of aid unexpectedly rose 12,000 to 4.63 million in the week ended May 1, the Labor Department said.

The level was well above market expectations for 4.58 million. The insured unemployment rate, which measures the percentage of the insured labor force that is jobless, was unchanged at 3.6 percent for a fourth straight week.

With unemployment still at elevated levels and inflation pressures remaining relatively benign, the Federal Reserve should be able to keep its promise of ultra low interest rates for an extended period.

Import prices excluding petroleum rose 0.3 percent after slipping 0.1 percent in March.

Analysts generally expect U.S. dollar strength and excess capacity in the global economy to keep a lid on prices of imported merchandise, excluding petroleum.

The Labor Department report also showed export prices rose 1.2 percent in April, building on the prior month's 0.7 percent advance. Analysts had expected export prices to gain 0.4 percent. In the 12 months to April, export prices increased 5.7 percent, the largest gain since July 2008.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

SAP pays dear for game-changing Sybase deal

(Reuters) - SAP's (SAPG.DE) planned buy of Sybase (SY.N) for $5.8 billion to stay in the mobile data race with arch rival Oracle (ORCL.O) is raising concerns the German software company may be paying too much.

Deals | Germany

Just three months into their new jobs, co-chief executives Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe announced on Wednesday what would be the second-largest acquisition in SAP's near 40-year history after SAP's purchase of Business Objects in 2008.

SAP has agreed to pay $65 per share in cash for Sybase, which is the world's No. 4 provider of database software -- a 56 percent premium to Sybase's Tuesday closing price on the New York Stock Exchange.

Last month, the far more acquisitive Oracle bought Phase Forward (PFWD.O), the top maker of programmes that help drugmakers run clinical trials, for $685 million, a 30 percent premium at the time.

"With even Sybase saying 'the stock hadn't closed above $50 since the mid-1990's' we think this will not hurt SAP's reputation for overpaying," UBS analyst Michael Briest wrote in a note.

SAP paid 4.8 billion euros ($6.1 billion) for Business Objects, a 20 percent premium at the time.

SAP shares were down 2 percent to 35.34 euros by 1246 GMT (8:46 a.m. EDT), among the leading decliners in Germany's blue-chip DAX index .GDAXI as analysts questioned the hefty price tag.

SAP is buying Sybase at a time when the shares are almost at an all-time high. They hit $48.20 on March 23 and had come off a little before Wednesday's news of the takeover offer.

The bid values Sybase at 24.4 times expected 2010 earnings, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S StarMine SmartEstimates, above SAP's own 17.4 times but below the U.S. systems software sector average of 35.4.

Straying from the company's careful acquisition strategy of the past, SAP's move is seen as a full blown attack on Oracle, who was the first major software maker to aggressively pursue acquisitions and has spent more than $42 billion to buy about 60 companies.

"SAP finally learned that they should take some clues from Oracle's playbook. They finally woke up," said Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research. "They are late, but late is better than never."

Sybase shares surged 56 percent in Frankfurt (SYBS.F) on Thursday and had risen to $64.50 in extended trade in New York on Wednesday.

ATTACKING RIVALS WITH MOBILE

SAP argued the Sybase deal made strategic sense because it will allow the German company to benefit from the "explosion in mobile data" especially in the Asian-Pacific region where Sybase had a strong presence.

California-based Sybase sells programs that make it easy for workers to access business software via smartphones and other mobile devices. SAP already uses the technology to let customers access its applications when they are on the road.

Sybase also sells a powerful database that large companies, such as banks, use to store sensitive information. It is the fourth-largest maker of database software after Oracle, IBM (IBM.N) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O).

Jefferies & Co analyst Ross MacMillan said Sybase's most valuable asset is its mobile software because it will give SAP an edge over Oracle when it comes to allowing customers to use business management programs on the go.

The move allows SAP to provide a more credible "mid-market" solution and excel at its mobile offering, becoming key in the market and attracting device manufacturers such as RIM (RIM.TO) Apple (AAPL.O), Google (GOOG.O), analysts said.

Mobile software products only accounted for about 27 percent of Sybase's $403 million in software sales last year. The bulk of revenue came from Sybase's database, which is rarely used in conjunction with SAP's software products.

MacMillan said it was not clear how the Sybase database would fit into the rest of SAP's business of selling software for managing business tasks, such as accounting, human resources and manufacturing.

"The question I have is: what's the plan with the database business? Reading between the lines, it's not really growing, but it's highly profitable," MacMillan said.

($1 = 0.7872 euro)

Thai government gives protesters Thursday deadline

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thai authorities vowed to shut off power, cut supplies and seal off at midnight Thursday a central Bangkok intersection where anti-government protesters have amassed by the thousands for the last month.

The government's decision comes after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajjiva to vacate the Ratchaprasong intersection by Wednesday.

The anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) has turned the posh commercial center into a fortress of tires and bamboo sticks as they continue their demand that Abhisit dissolve the lower house of the parliament and call new elections.

The government said that starting at 12 a.m., it will cut off water, power, telephone lines and transportation services in the area.

Army spokesman, Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd, said all non-protesters should avoid the area. If they have business there, they have to show proof, such as ID cards.

The government announcement was immediately met with defiance by the UDD, whose supporters are called the "Red Shirts" because of the clothes they wear.

"The Red will continue staying in the area," said a party leader, Weng Tojirakarn. He cautioned the government against acting rashly, warning it could lead to "bloodshed."

The Red Shirts are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006.

More than two dozen civilians and military personnel have died in deadly police-protester clashes in the ongoing unrest.

Over the weekend, two Thai police officers were killed and eight people injured in violence that began Friday night and lasted into early Saturday.

7 children, 2 adults killed in China school attack By the CNN Wire Staff May 12, 2010 -- Updated 1404 GMT (2204 HKT)

Beijing, China (CNN) -- The death toll from an attack at a kindergarten in northwestern China rose to nine Wednesday after one of the wounded victims died, state media said.

A man with a kitchen cleaver hacked to death a teacher and seven kindergarten students -- five boys and two girls. He then returned home and committed suicide, state media said.

The teacher's mother, who was wounded in the attack, later died at a hospital -- bringing the toll to nine, the Xinhua news agency said.

Officials do not yet know what prompted the 48-year-old man to attack students at a private school in Shaanxi province.

It was at least the fourth such attack on school children in the last month.

See a timeline of school attacks in China

In addition to the fatalities, 11 children were wounded in the attack. Among them were two children who were hospitalized in serious condition, Xinhua said.

Twenty children attended the school.

China has seen a spate of attacks at schools in recent days.

On April 30, a man armed with a hammer injured five preschool children in east China before setting himself on fire in a classroom suicide, a government spokesman told Xinhua news agency.

The attacker held two children in his arms as he poured gasoline over himself, the spokesman said. Teachers in Weifang City, Shandong province, pulled the children away as the man died, the spokesman said.

On April 29, at least 28 children were injured when a man with a knife attacked a kindergarten in east China, state media said. Most of the victims were 4-year-olds and three of the children were in critical condition.

Police arrested a 47-year-old suspect. The incident happened in Taixing city in Jiangsu province.

On April 28, a man attacked 18 students and a teacher with a knife at a primary school in southern China's Guangdong province, Xinhua said.

The attacks come despite the execution of Zheng Minsheng, 42, a former community doctor who stabbed eight children to death and wounded five others at an elementary school in eastern China on March 23.

Zheng, executed by a firing squad in Nanping City late last month, told investigators he carried out the attack because he was frustrated by "failures in his romantic life and in society," according to Xinhua.

China Daily newspaper quoted Nanjing University sociology professor Zhu Li saying Zheng's attack inspired copycats.

"Some people may not have thought about stabbing school children, but due to the media's coverage of such a case, they got an idea," Zhu said.

Chinese authorities have begun teaching safety awareness in school curriculums, China Daily reported.

Officials also have tightened security in schools by hiring extra guards to escort students to and from class

Volcanic ash cloud disrupts flights May 10, 2010 -- Updated 1513 GMT (2313 HKT)

(CNN) -- Ash from an Icelandic volcano is continuing to affect European flights on Monday, delaying transatlantic aircraft and threatening flights over parts of Ireland and Portugal.

Eurocontrol, the agency that manages European air travel, said: "During the afternoon, areas of higher ash concentration could move in a north-easterly direction from the Atlantic into the Iberian Peninsula."

Ryanair, the budget airline, canceled 18 flights on Monday as it expected the airspace surrounding Kerry airport in the southwest of Ireland and Faro airport in Portugal to be affected by the ash cloud.

Ryanair said in a statement on its Web site: "Passengers are strongly recommended to check their flight status before they go to the airport."

Eurocontrol said much of the high-concentration ash cloud over continental Europe had dispersed and that despite the delays, all European airports were open on Monday afternoon.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority said that transatlantic flights were still rerouting around ash that was lying between 20,000 to 35,000 feet in the atmosphere.


A CAA spokesman told CNN: "The ash cloud is slowly disappearing, it's descending and dispersing, there isn't one big cloud... it's ash in the air over a very large area. Transatlantic flights are rerouting around it, causing delays."

Eurocontrol said it expected approximately 28,500 flights within the European area, which is about 500 below average for a Monday at this time of year.

Italian airports in Milan, Pisa and Florence as well as six airports in Scotland were closed over the weekend because of the ash cloud.

Volcanic ash can be a serious hazard to aircraft, reducing visibility, damaging flight controls and ultimately causing jet engines to fail.

The problems began in mid-April, when the volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland erupted and sent a cloud of ash into the atmosphere, closing most of Europe's airspace for six days.

Libya plane crash kills 103, Dutch boy survives

(Reuters) - A Libyan Airbus jet crashed early on Wednesday as it tried to land in Tripoli airport, killing 103 people on board, most of them Dutch, leaving a young Dutch boy the sole survivor, officials said.

World

The Airbus A330-200, which had only been in service since September, was flying from Johannesburg to the Libyan capital when it crashed just short of the runway around 6:00 a.m. (0400 GMT), the airline and planemaker said.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said there were several dozen Dutch passengers on board the aircraft. Libyan officials said 22 of the victims were Libyans, but they gave no details of the other nationalities on board.

"Everybody is dead, except for one child," Libyan Transport Minister Mohamed Zidan told a news conference at Tripoli airport. The plane was carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew, Libyan officials and executives from the airline said.

The minister said investigators were working to establish the cause of the crash but he ruled out terrorism.

He told reporters the survivor was a 10-year-old Dutch child who did not have life-threatening injuries. "The child is in good condition and is in hospital undergoing checks," he said.

Reuters pictures from the crash site showed the ground carpeted with small pieces of debris from the plane and passengers' personal effects, including a Dutch-language guide book to South Africa.

Only the tail fin, decorated with state-owned Afriqiyah Airways' red, green and yellow insignia, was more or less intact, standing upright but leaning at an angle.

A Reuters reporter at the airport said ambulances were ferrying bodies of the victims to hospital mortuaries. Libyan officials said they had recovered dozens of bodies.

BLACK BOXES RECOVERED

A spokesman for Dutch Motorists' Association ANWB, which has an emergency assistance service for Dutch people abroad, said that 61 Dutch nationals were killed in the crash.

Saleh Ali Saleh, head of the airline's legal department, told Reuters by telephone that the plane's black boxes had been recovered from the crash site in Tripoli and an investigation was underway.

"The deaths were probably due to the impact as I did not hear any report of a fire. The plane was traveling fast as it was still short of the runway when it crashed," Saleh said.

Planemaker Airbus issued a statement confirming it had manufactured the plane involved in the crash. "Airbus will provide full technical assistance to the authorities responsible for the investigation into the accident," it said.

The crashed aircraft was delivered from the production line in September 2009 and had accumulated approximately 1,600 flight hours in some 420 flights, Airbus added.

The aircraft is the same type as Air France flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic on June 1 last year. The cause of that crash has not been firmly identified.

Afriqiyah Airways executives said the crash was the first in the history of the airline, which was established in 2001.

Airline staff said they had no more details about passengers' nationalities.

"We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of the victims," a statement from the airline said.

แท็กซี่มาเลเซีย ฮือปิดด่าน ฉุนถูกแย่งลูกค้า

ผู้ประกอบการ แท็กซี่มาเลเซีย ปิดถนนหน้าด่านของมาเลย์ประท้วงรถตู้และรถบัสไทย แย่งลูกค้า ยื่นหนังสือเรียกร้องให้แก้ไข ส.ส.อะลอสตาร์ รับลูกจะรีบดำเนินการตามข้อเรียกร้อง จึงสลายการชุมนุม....

เมื่อวัน ทีี่ 11 พ.ค.กลุ่มคนขับรถแท๊กซี่ของมาเลเซียเดินทางมารวมตัวกันกว่า 100 คันมีผู้ร่วมชุมนุมกว่า 100 คน ทำการปิดกั้นถนนหน้าด่านบูกิ๊ตกายูอิตั้มฝั่งขาเข้าประเทศมาเลเซีย บริเวณหน้าคิวรถแท็กซี่สายอะลอสตาร์-จิตรา ติดกับบริษัทขนส่งบูกิ๊ตกายูอิตั้ม จำกัด ซึ่งห่างจากด่านพรมแดนสะเดาของประเทศไทยประมาณ 1 กม. เพื่อประท้วงการกระทำของกลุ่มรถตู้ไทยที่ปิดกั้นถนน ไม่ให้รถตู้และรถบัสมาเลเซียผ่าน และที่ผ่านๆมาถูกรถตู้และรถบัสไทยเอาเปรียบแย่งลูกค้า โดยมี ดาโต๊ะ ฮะยีห์ ไซนี ยะพา สส.รัฐอะลอสตาร์ เป็นผู้เดินทางมารับหนังสือร้องเรียนและรับปากจะดำเนินการให้ โดยมีข้อเรียกร้องดังนี้

1.ให้ยกเลิกคิวรถไทยในประเทศมาเลเซีย

2.รถ ตู้และรถบัสไทยที่ผ่านเข้า-ออกต้องปฏิบัติตามกฎหมายของประเทศมาเลเซีย ต้องมีประกันภัยตัวรถและผู้โดยสาร และต้องมีใบอนุญาตประกอบการ ICP หรือ work permit ทุกคัน

3.ห้ามรถตู้และรถบัสไทยรับผู้โดยสารมาเลเซีย เข้าสู่ประเทศไทยในขากลับ

4.ห้ามรถตู้และรถบัสไทย วิ่งทับเส้นทางสัมปทานรถตู้และรถบัสของมาเลเซีย

5.ให้ถือปฏิบัติตา มกฏหมายของมาเลเซียอย่างเคร่งครัด

โดยกลุ่มผู้ประท้วงใช้เวลาในการ ประท้วงรอยื่นหนังสือกับ ส.ส.อยู่ประมาณ 2 ชม.หลังจาก ดาโต๊ะ ฮะยีห์ ไซนี ยะพา ส.ส.รัฐอะลอสตาร์ เดินทางมารับหนังสือร้องเรียนแล้ว กลุ่มผู้ชุมนุมประท้วงจึงยุติการชุมนุมในเวลา 14.30 น.ทั้งนี้เหตุที่ต้องรีบสลายการชุมนุม เนื่องจากบรรดาแกนนำและผู้ร่วมชุมนุมประท้วงเกรงกลัวจะถูกดำเนินคดี ซึ่งกฏหมายของมาเลเซียมีโทษรุนแรงมีมาตรการจัดการกับผู้ชุมนุมอย่างเฉียบขาด โดยในช่วงเวลาที่ทำการประท้วงส่งผลให้รถในประเทศไทยฝั่งขาออกและใน ประเทศมาเลเซียฝั่งขาเข้าติดยาวเหยียดไม่ขยับขะเยื้อนสร้างความเดือดร้อนไป ทั่วหน้าที่ฝั่งไทยและฝั่งมาเลเซียเอง.
ไทยรัฐออนไลน์

* โดย ทีมข่าวภูมิภาค
* 11 พฤษภาคม 2553, 23:15 น.

'บึงกาฬ' จังหวัดน้องใหม่ ความปลื้มใจของชาวหนองคาย

ประเทศไทยเวลานี้มีจังหวัดด้วยกันทั้งสิ้น 76 จังหวัด แต่อีกไม่นานนักเราจะมีจังหวัดที่ 77 เกิดขึ้นนั่นคือ "จังหวัดบึงกาฬ" แล้ว เพราะกระทรวงมหาดไทยจะนำเรื่องนี้เข้าที่ประชุมคณะรัฐมนตรี (ครม.) เสนอเป็นพ.ร.บ.จัดตั้งจังหวัด หลังจากที่มีการร้องขอมาตั้งแต่ปี 2537 ตามข้อเสนอของ นายสุเมธ พรมพันห่าว ส.ส.พรรคเสรีธรรม จ.หนองคาย

ข่าวนี้สร้างความดีใจให้กับประชาชน เป็นอย่างยิ่ง โดยเฉพาะชาวบึงกาฬ เพราะพวกเขาเหล่านั้นรอคอย และตั้งความหวังมานาน เนื่องจากสภาพพื้นที่อยู่ไกล กันดาร ความเจริญยังเข้าไม่ถึง แต่ต่อไปนี้ความเปลี่ยนแปลงครั้งใหญ่กำลังจะมาถึงเร็วๆ นี้ !!!

นายเลิศพรไชย ไชยฤทธิ์ นายอำเภอบึง กาฬ จ.หนองคาย เปิดใจกับ "ไทย รัฐออนไลน์" เป็นเรื่องที่น่ายินดีแทนพี่น้องชาวบึงกาฬ และอำเภอใกล้เคียง ที่จะได้มารวมตัวกันเป็นจังหวัดใหม่ เพราะจะทำให้สิ่งต่างๆ ในการอำนวยความสะดวกขั้นพื้นฐาน เช่น สาธารณูปโภค ถนนหนทาง การคมนาคม ที่สำคัญคือเรื่องเศรษฐกิจ จะเข้ามามากขึ้น และจะมีความมั่นคงและเจริญมากขึ้นกว่าตอนที่เป็นแค่อำเภอ

ส่วน เรื่องความคิดเห็นของชาวบ้านนั้น 95% ของชาวบ้านทั้งหมดก็เห็นด้วยในเรื่องนี้ เพราะก่อนที่จะมีการเสนอเรื่องนี้ขึ้นมาต้องผ่านการทำประชาพิจารณ์ก่อนชาว บ้านในทุกภาคส่วนก็เห็นด้วย รวมทั้งภาคเอกชนก็ให้การสนับสนุน ประชาชนส่วนใหญ่ในอ.บึงกาฬ 95% ล้วนแต่เป็นสัญชาติไทยทั้งสิ้น ถึงพื้นที่ส่วนหนึ่งของเราจะติดกับประเทศลาวก็ตาม ไม่ได้มีปัญหาเรื่องของคนต่างด้าวลักลอบเข้าเมือง เพราะทางเราจะมีมาตรการจัดการอยู่แล้ว

"คิดว่าพอได้เป็นจังหวัดแบบ เต็มตัว จะเกิดการเปลี่ยนแปลงขึ้นอย่างแน่นอน ทั้งในเรื่องของความเป็นอยู่ของชาวบ้าน เรื่องของเศรษฐกิจ จะมีความเจริญมากขึ้น เพราะโดยส่วนมากการกระจายความเจริญจะมาจากจังหวัด และมาสู่อำเภอ ก่อนส่งต่อไปสู่หมู่บ้านต่างๆ เพราะฉะนั้นการที่จะได้เป็นจังหวัดนี้ มันจึงเป็นเรื่องที่ดีมากๆ"

ด้านน.ส.มณีรัตน์ พาวงค์ ครูสอนวิชาภาษาอังกฤษของโรงเรียนบึงกาฬ อ.บึงกาฬ จ.หนองคาย กล่าวว่า ควรจะตั้งได้แล้ว เพราะอ.บึงกาฬได้ยื่นเรื่องไปนานแล้ว ชาวบ้านต่างมีความหวัง และตั้งตารอคอย ซึ่งมันจะมีผลดีต่อชาวอ.บึงกาฬและอำเภอใกล้เคียงที่มาเข้าร่วมในครั้งนี้ ด้วย ยิ่งตอนนี้นักท่องเที่ยวชาวต่างชาติ เริ่มทยอยมาเที่ยวในอำเภอมากขึ้น เพราะในอ.บึงกาฬ และ อำเภอใกล้เคียง มีสถานที่ท่องเที่ยวขึ้นชื่อมากมายหลายแห่ง เช่น วัดภูทอก หรือวัดอาฮงศิลาวาส แล้วก็ยังมีนำ้ตกที่สวยงามอีกหลายที่ นอกจากนี้ยังติดแม่นำ้โขง มีชายหาดที่สวยงามอีกหลายแห่ง

ขณะที่นาย ชวนะ ทวีอุทิศ อายุ 42 ปี ชาวบ้านเลขที่ 418 หมู่7 ต.วิศิษฐ์ อ.บึงกาฬ เปิดเผยว่า เป็นเรื่องที่ดีมาก เพราะอ.บึงกาฬ เป็นอำเภอที่อยู่ห่างไกลจากตัวจังหวัดมากทีเดียว มันจะได้เป็นจุดศูนย์กลางของอีก 8 อำเภอที่อยู่ในส่วนนี้ ส่วนในเรื่องของความพร้อม คิดว่าทางอ.บึงกาฬมีความพร้อม เพราะเรามีทั้งศาลจังหวัด อัยการจังหวัด ที่เป็นหลักไว้แล้ว ในส่วนของชุมชน จะมีผู้นำที่มาประชุมทุกเดือน อย่างกำนัน ผู้ใหญ่บ้าน หัวหน้าส่วนราชการ พวกเราต่างก็ดีใจ เพราะรอมานานแล้ว และเรื่องที่คิดว่าจะมีการตื่นตัวและขยายตัวมากที่สุดคือเรื่องของเศรษฐกิจ โดยเฉพาะในโซนของอ.บึงกาฬ มีการปลูกยางพารามากที่สุด และชาวบ้านก็มีรายได้จากทางนี้พอสมควร

"บึงกาฬ" เป็นอำเภอหนึ่งของจ.หนองคาย มีสถานที่ท่องเที่ยวหลายแห่ง มีน้ำตก มีภูเขา เป็นอำเภอที่มีเขตพื้นที่ติดกับแม่น้ำโขง และฝั่งตรงข้ามแม่นำ้โขงจะเป็นประเทศเพื่อนบ้าน (ลาว) มีการคมนาคมที่สะดวก

มี อาณาเขตติดต่อกับเขตการปกครองข้างเคียงคือ ทิศเหนือติดกับแขวงบอลิคำไซ (สาธารณรัฐประชาธิปไตยประชาชนลาว) ทิศตะวันออกติดกับอำเภอบุ่งคล้า ทิศใต้ติดกับอำเภอเซกา อำเภอศรีวิไล อำเภอพรเจริญ และอำเภอโซ่พิสัย ทิศตะวันตก ติดกับอำเภอปากคาด

ก่อนหน้านี้ทางจ.หนองคายได้สำรวจความ คิดเห็นของประชาชน จำนวน 366,903 คน ปรากฏว่าประชาชน 98.83% เห็นด้วยในการจัดตั้งจ.บึงกาฬ องค์กรปกครองส่วนท้องถิ่น 126 แห่ง 96.04% เห็นด้วย หัวหน้าส่วนราชการในอำเภอและจังหวัดเห็นด้วย 100% ซึ่งได้มีการจัดแบ่งอำเภอ จากเดิมทั้งหมด 17 อำเภอ ออกเป็นอำเภอที่อยู่ในจ.หนองคาย เหลือ 9 อำเภอ ประชากร 506,343 คน ประกอบด้วย อ.เมือง, ท่าบ่อ, โพนพิสัย,ศรีเชียงใหม่, สังคม, สระใคร, เฝ้าไร่, รัตนวาปี และโพธิ์ตาก

ส่วนอำเภอที่จะอยู่ในจ.บึงกาฬ มี 8 อำเภอ ประชากร 399,233 คน ประกอบด้วย อ.บึงกาฬ, เซกา, โซ่พิสัย, พรเจริญ, ปากคาด, บึงโขงหลง, ศรีวิไล และบุ่งคล้า ซึ่งในส่วนของอ.บึงกาฬ ได้มีสถานที่ราชการสำคัญหลายแห่งตั้งอยู่ เพื่อรองรับการเป็นจังหวัดอยู่ก่อนแล้ว เช่น ศาลจังหวัดบึงกาฬ, อัยการจังหวัด, เรือนจำจังหวัดบึงกาฬ เป็นต้น

Oil spill solutions uncertain, slick spreads west

(Reuters) - The huge slick from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill threatened Louisiana shores west of the Mississippi Delta on Monday as BP Plc said it was trying multiple options to control the leak, without being sure that they would work.

U.S. | Green Business | Hot Stocks

Fears mounted of a prolonged and growing environmental and economic disaster for the U.S. Gulf Coast after a weekend setback in an initial undersea move by the oil giant to contain the spill, which could become the worst in U.S. history.

BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said the company, facing enormous pressure from the U.S. government and public, was pursuing multiple possible technical solutions in a bid to contain its gushing seabed well and eventually plug it.

"What we've been doing is pushing parallel paths because we don't know which one's going to work," he told CNN.

BP said on Monday it had incurred $350 million in costs so far from the spill, suggesting the final bill could be much higher than many analysts predicted.

Its shares fell about 1 percent, lagging a rise in the STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index.

After a buildup of crystallized gas stymied an initial attempt by BP to place a large containment dome over the well leak, Suttles said the company was now considering trying to fit a smaller "top hat" dome over the fissure. The aim would be to then funnel the captured oil to a surface tanker.

Other options included trying to block the well's failed blowout preventer with a "junk shot" of rubber or other materials, or fitting a new valve or preventer. A relief well being drilled to try to finally plug the ruptured well could still take 75 to 80 days to complete.

"We've brought the world's experts together to try to help us understand how do we make these successful," Suttles said on NBC's "Today" show. "I can't tell you if any one of them will work but as long as we have options we're going to keep trying. The goal here has to be to get the flow stopped."

Forecasts showed the uncontrolled massive oil spill shifting farther west, approaching the important shipping channels and rich seafood areas off the central Louisiana coast, west of the Mississippi Delta.

RISK OF MORE OIL ONSHORE

The environmental group Greenpeace issued an unconfirmed report late on Sunday that said traces of oil had been found onshore at Port Eads, the southernmost point of Louisiana, which is accessible only by boat or helicopter.

A 24-hour forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said winds could push oil ashore in the Mississippi Delta, Breton Sound, the Chandeleur Islands and areas directly north.

BP said in a statement its costs so far included spill response, containment, relief well drilling and payments to Gulf Coast states to speed their response plans.

The final bill could be much higher than many analysts predicted as at least 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) of oil a day have been gushing unchecked into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, rupturing the well and killing 11 crew members.

The spill threatens economic and ecological disaster on Gulf Coast tourist beaches, wildlife refuges and fishing grounds across four states. It has forced President Barack Obama to rethink plans to open more waters to drilling.

The two Louisiana parishes directly west of the Mississippi delta declared states of emergency on Sunday in anticipation of a battle to keep oil from coming ashore. Additional staging areas for the spill response have been set up in that area.

Tar balls washed up on Alabama's Dauphin Island, a barrier island and popular beach resort, during the weekend and local tourism operators said vacation traffic had already slowed to a trickle because fears of the spill's impact.

Fishing is suspended in parts of the Gulf waters and much of the Louisiana coast. Many tourists have been scared away by reports of reddish, putrid water offshore, even though the coast is currently unaffected.

"You wait all year for your vacation -- you don't want to spend it in what you perceive is going to be a cesspool," said Gary Bratt, owner of a company that rents beach equipment on Alabama's Dauphin Island.

CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS

Top officials from BP and some of the other companies associated with the ruined Deepwater Horizon drilling platform are expected to get a grilling at congressional hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Minerals Management Service also plan an investigation into the drilling rig's sinking, starting in Kenner, Louisiana, on Tuesday.

Efforts to close valves on a failed blowout protector have also been scrapped. Conducting operations a mile below the ocean's surface are complicating relief efforts as engineers work with remote-controlled vehicles in the inky blackness.

Delays in getting the containment dome up and running increase the chances the leak could become the worst U.S. oil spill, surpassing the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

Rough seas threaten to curtail containment activities in the next few days, including controlled burns, the laying of boom and spreading of chemical dispersant.

The spill's major contact with the shoreline so far has been in the unpopulated Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana, which is a mostly a wildlife reserve and bird sanctuary.

(Additional reporting by Anna Driver in Houston; Tom Brown and Pascal Fletcher in Miami; Steve Gorman and Verna Gates on Dauphin Island, Alabama; Don Pessin in Venice, Louisiana; and Tom Bergin in London; Writing by Pascal Fletcher and Ros Krasny; Editing by Bill Trott)

BP seeks solution after spill plan glitch

(Reuters) - BP engineers will search for a solution on Sunday after suffering a setback in an attempt to contain oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico with a huge metal dome, dashing hopes for a quick, temporary solution to a growing environmental disaster.

U.S. | Green Business

The company was forced to move the four-story containment dome off to the side on the sea floor after a buildup of crystallized gas forced it to suspend the effort. Covering the leak with the structure was seen as the best short-term way to stem the flow from a ruptured oil well.

BP expects to take up to two days plotting its next move, Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said.

"I wouldn't say it's failed yet. What I would say is what we attempted to do last night didn't work because these hydrates plugged up the top of the dome," Suttles said.

"What we're currently doing, and I suspect it will probably take the next 48 hours or so, is saying, 'Is there a way to overcome this problem?'"

The problem is gas hydrates, essentially slushy methane gas that would block the oil from being siphoned out the top of the box. As BP tries to resolve it, oil keeps flowing unchecked into the Gulf in what could be the worst U.S. oil spill ever.

The company, under pressure from the Obama administration to limit the damage to the Gulf and coastlines of four states, expected hydrates, but not the volumes encountered after a crew lowered the dome nearly a mile to the sea floor.

Possible solutions may involve heating the area or adding methanol to break up the hydrates, Suttles said.

Officials had already warned there was no guarantee the technology would work at such water depth. It hopes to attach a pipe to the 98-tonne dome to pump oil to a tanker, with the aim of capturing about 85 percent of the leaking crude.

TAR BALLS

The spill threatens an economic and ecological disaster hitting beaches, wildlife refuges and fishing in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. It has forced President Barack Obama to rethink plans to open more waters to drilling.

On Dauphin Island, Alabama, a barrier island and beach resort full of weekend swimmers and beachcombers, sunbathers found tar balls and tar beads washing up on Saturday along a half-mile stretch of the white-sand beach and alerted media outlets and authorities.

A team of dozens of BP-contracted workers in rubber boots and gloves was dispatched to the scene to lay down special clusters of oil-absorbing synthetic fibers called pom-poms, erect storm fencing along the beach and collect samples of the tar and water for testing. The beach remained open.

The tar balls will be tested over the next two days to determine if they come from the oil slick in the Gulf.

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said he suspected they came from the leaking well, but only testing would confirm it.

A spokesman for the spill response Unified Command in Mobile said tar washing ashore was a "common occurrence" along Alabama beaches, but some local residents disagreed.

"I have never seen this and I am here once a week every summer. This is the first time I have seen anything like this here," said Molly Hunter, 34, of Mobile, holding up a chunk of tar about the size of an open hand.

The spill's only major contact with the shoreline so far has been in the uninhabited Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana, mostly a wildlife reserve.

Suttles said BP may now try to plug up the damaged blowout preventer on the well or attach a new one on top of it.

It is also drilling a relief well to halt the leak -- which began after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 crew members -- but that could take three months.

In the initial blast, a natural gas cloud enveloped the rig and exploded just as visiting BP officials were celebrating seven accident-free years in the rig's crew quarters, according to accounts by survivors of the blast.

According to transcripts of interviews obtained by Robert Bea, a University of California Berkeley engineering professor, a giant methane bubble rushed up the drill pipe and filled the air above the deck of the drilling platform with flammable gas, followed by a scalding flood of crude oil that spilled onto the drill deck and ignited.

About 270 boats deployed protective booms and used dispersants to break up the thick oil on Saturday. Crews have laid more than 900,000 feet of boom, and spread 290,000 gallons (1.1 million liters) of chemical dispersant.

LIABILITY

In Bayou La Batre, the heart of Alabama's seafood industry, the docks were largely quiet as thousands of shrimpers and seafood processors remained idled by fishing restrictions.

About 30 oyster-processing plants have run out of product and shut down, putting as many as 900 people out of work, said Wayne Eldridge, owner of J&W Marine Enterprises and an oyster plant operator himself.

"I'm screwed," Eldridge said. "The biggest thing is I've got 35 people unemployed there."

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward has said a $75 million legal cap on the liabilities for economic damages under federal law, which some U.S. lawmakers now want to raise, would not be a limit and renewed promises to meet all "legitimate" claims.

BP suffered another blow on Friday when ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook to negative from stable and indicated a ratings downgrade was likely.

Oil has been gushing into the Gulf at a rate estimated at a minimum of 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) a day since the well ruptured.

A sheen of oil has engulfed much of the Chandeleur Islands, barrier islands that are part of Louisiana's Breton National Wildlife Refuge, the first confirmation of the oil slick hitting land. Some oiled birds have been found in recent days.

(Additional reporting by Matt Bigg in New Orleans; Chris Baltimore in Houston; Tom Brown and Pascal Fletcher in Miami; Steve Gorman in Dauphin Island, Alabama; Writing by Jeffrey Jones and John Whitesides; Editing by Todd Eastham

Tsunami warning issued after 7.4 quake in Indonesia

(Reuters) - A local tsunami alert was issued after an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck 140 miles south of Banda Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia, the country's quake agency and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported on Sunday.

World | Natural Disasters

"A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the USGS said.

"However there is the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a hundred kilometers from the earthquake epicenter."

Indonesian authorities said they were still trying to get details of the quake, which happened at 0559 GMT.

"It could be felt quite strongly but we don't know if there were casualties or buildings damaged," said Subagyo, from the Indonesian bureau of meteorology's quake monitoring center.

The Indonesian archipelago stretches across a seismically active area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire and is prone to earthquakes and volcanoes.

A 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Sumatra island killed 170,000 people in Aceh province alone, while more than 1,000 people died after a powerful quake hit the city of Padang last September.

(Reporting by Sunanda Creagh and Telly Nathalia; Writing by David Fox, Editing by Sugita Katyal)

ปตท.-บางจากลดราคาน้ำมัน 10 พ.ค.นี้

ปตท.-บางจาก ลดราคาน้ำมันเบนซินและแก๊สโซฮอล์ทุกชนิดลงลิตรละ 80 สตางค์ มีผลตีห้า 10 พ.ค.นี้...

9 พ.ค. บริษัท ปตท.จำกัด (มหาชน) และบริษัท บางจากปิโตรเลียม จำกัด (มหาชน) ประกาศปรับราคาขายปลีกน้ำมันเบนซิน 91 แก๊สโซฮอล์ 91 และ 95 รวมทั้ง E 20 ลงลิตรละ 80 สตางค์ ยกเว้นน้ำมันดีเซล และ E 85 มีผลตั้งแต่เวลา 05.00 น. วันที่ 10 พ.ค.นี้

ทำให้ราคาขายปลีกน้ำมันในปั๊มบางจากทั่วกรุงเทพฯและปริมณฑล วันที่ 10 พ.ค. เป็นดังนี้ เบนซิน 91ราคาลิตรละ 36.84 บาท แก๊สโซฮอล์ 91 ราคาลิตรละ 31.54 บาท แก๊สโซฮอล์ 95 ราคาลิตรละ 33.04 บาท และ E 20 ราคาลิตรละ 30.74 บาท