Word: thais
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...card-carrying class. Featuring classic[an error occurred while processing this directive] Lanna architecture without, and authentic hill-tribe craftsmanship within, this two-year-old hidden gem comprises just seven suites and four rooms, making it feel less like a hotel and more like the sumptuous home of its Thai owner Wanphen Sakdatorn and her husband, German Honorary Consul Hagen Dirksen...
...Year's Eve got off to an unexpected bang in the Thai capital, Bangkok, when a series of bombs detonated across town, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, including several foreign tourists. The explosions-no one so far has claimed responsibility-capped off a turbulent year for the Southeast Asian nation. In September, the country's democratically elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by a military junta. Then, on Dec. 19, Thailand's stock exchange suffered its worst-ever one-day drop after the nation's monetary czars instituted controversial capital controls. Meanwhile, an insurgent movement...
...Thai authorities must have agreed. They quickly canceled the Central World festivities and urged the thousands of people already gathered for the countdown to go home. Many dispersed, but plenty of celebrants were still milling around when a second wave of bombs detonated around midnight. Two explosions erupted near Central World, one at a flyover and another at a seafood restaurant frequented by tourists. Several foreigners were injured in the midnight attacks. Firework blasts added to the general chaos, with initial reports of further bombs proving instead to be New Year's Eve festivities...
...Complicating matters are efforts by the military-installed government to reform the finance sector in ways that may penalize the very foreign companies needed to keep investment flowing into Thailand. Proposed amendments to the Foreign Business Act, for example, could force thousands of foreign firms to sell shares to Thai locals if they wish to continue operating in Thailand. "There is a lot of confusion about what exactly is happening in Thailand," says Sukit Udomsirikul, assistant managing director of Siam City Securities in Bangkok. "Such uncertainty negatively impacts business sentiment." A mysterious bombing campaign is sure to rattle confidence further...
...When reached for comment, representatives of the Thai government and foreign ministry said they had no information on the Langkawi talks. But other fronts, Surayud has moved quickly to resolve many of the insurgents' grievances. In a series of visits to the embattled region, he has publicly apologized for rights abuses committed by Thaksin's government, and released 58 suspected militants from prison. He has already begun to institute various points of the Langkawi plan, reopening the SBPAC and announcing the formation of a special economic zone to boost development in the impoverished region. The rebel representative who provided...