Bangkok - Thailand's rice exports are heading for "tragedy" in 2009 if the government pursues its policy of offering above-market prices to farmers to stockpile the grain, industry sources said Thursday.

Commerce Minister Chaiya Sasomsap has hinted the government would pay rice farmers up to 15,000 baht (446 dollars) per ton for ordinary rice and 19,000 baht per ton for jasmine rice in the coming months to boost farmers' incomes and stockpile the grain for exports.

Bangkok - Thai Airways International PCL has offered early retirement to 400 to 500 staff after notching up a second-quarter net loss of 9.3 billion baht (276.8 million dollars), the national carrier said Thursday.

President Apinan Sumanaseni said the airline's executive board had approved a budget of 700 million baht to encourage employees to opt for early retirement as part of its cost-cutting efforts this year, the Manager newspaper's website said.

London, Aug 14 : Thailand today confirmed that it will request the extradition of former Thai Prime Minister and owner of the Manchester City football club, Thaksin Shinawatra, from Britain, after he fled to London to avoid facing a trial for fraud.

Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said that the country’s first step would be the cancellation of the diplomatic passports held by Thaksin and his wife, Potjaman, after arrest warrants were issued for them on Monday by the country’s Supreme Court.

Bangkok - Two Rottweilers purchased by a Dutch man to protect his house in north-east Thailand mauled his 2-year-old daughter to death Thursday, police said.

Bangkok - Thailand's food exports earned the kingdom 380 billion baht (11.3 billion dollars) during the first half of this year, up 28 per cent year-on-year, media reports said Thursday.

The huge jump was attributed primarily to price hikes of agricultural commodities, especially rice, that more than doubled during the January-to-June period, said the Nation newspaper.

Yuthasak Suphasorn, director of the National Food Institute, predicted that earnings from the country's food exports would slow slightly in the second half of 2008, to 367 billion baht (10.9 billion dollars).

Bangkok - General Motors Wednesday announced plans to invest 445 million dollars to build a new diesel engine plant in Thailand and to upgrade its existing vehicle assembly plant.

The diesel engine plant, GM's first in South-East Asia, is to be located in Rayong province, eastern Thailand, where the US automotive giant has been operating an assembly plant for the past eight years.

The new plant, scheduled to begin production in 2010, will produce more than 100,000 2.5-litre and 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engines annually.