Bangkok  - Thailand's automobile exports during the first half of 2008 increased 26 per cent, earning the kingdom 174.8 billion baht (5.2 billion dollars), industry sources disclosed on Tuesday.

During the January to June period, Thailand exported 385,870 pickup trucks and passenger cars, a 26 per cent increase over the same period last year, said Surapong Paisithpatanapong, spokesman for the Auto Club of the Thai Federation of Industries.

Thailand's main export markets for vehicles include Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Middle East and Europe.

Bangkok - A retired career diplomat was appointed Thai foreign minister Saturday in time to lead fresh talks with Cambodia over a bitter border dispute.

Tej Bunnag is widely considered a "professional choice" following the resignation of his successor Noppadon Pattama earlier this month, according to local reports.

Noppadon, the former lawyer for controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became tripped up by appearing to give ground to Cambodia in exchange, it is rumoured, favours for his old boss.

Bangkok - A Thai man drove his passenger car into the Chao Phrya River in an apparent suicide, media reports said Thursday.

Sakda Pholfarang, 41, a single male with no regular employment, on Wednesday morning drove his Toyota Vios into the Chao Phrya river off a pier outside a Buddhist temple in Nonthaburi, a province neighbouring Bangkok.

When bystanders dove in to the river to save him, Sakda shouted at them to stay away, rolled up his windows and sank to the bottom.

Sakda's brother Phichai Pholfarang, 37, expressed surprise over the vehicular suicide, saying his brother may have been suffering stress.

Bangkok - The number of Thai companies that were forced to close down during the first half of this year nearly hit 7,000, up 22 per cent compared with the same period in 2007, news reports said Tuesday.

Altogether 6,899 companies were shut down in the January to June period, with 1,681 firms closing in June alone, according to figures released by the Business Development Department.

Thai firms are facing a myriad of challenges this year including rising oil prices, an inflation rate that reached 8.9 per cent in June, a slow down in consumption and growing political instability that has affected foreign investment.

Bangkok - Thai shares jumped 3.4 per cent on Monday, propped up by growing confidence in the economy after a reduction in oil prices.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index ended at 687.30, up 22.78 points, or 3.43 per cent, on 14.5 billion baht (433 million dollars) worth of trading.

"Investors came back to the market to snap up shares cheap, but this is not necessarily a sign that the market is on the rebound for the long term," said Mongkol Puanghaetha, an analyst at Adkinson Securities.

He noted that the volume of trade was low, at only 14.5 billion baht, suggesting that many investors have take a wait-and-see stance after the sharp slump in share values last week.

Bangkok, July 19 : Thai and Cambodian troops are now in confrontationist mode at the border dividing the two countries after four days of clashes over the ancient Preah Vihear Hindu temple.