PRESS DIGEST - Thai newspapers - July 16

BANGKOK, July 16 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Thai newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TOP STORIES

- The government has introduced a 47-billion-baht ($1.4 billion) economic assistance programme, which critics labelled a ploy to lift its popularity ahead of fresh elections (BANGKOK POST)

- Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej blamed the constitution for many of the current political problems, insisting the charter had "paralysed" the government and prevented the Foreign Ministry and other agencies from entering agreements with foreign partners (THE NATION)

- Supreme commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit has urged people protesting in Si Sa Ket over the Preah Vihear temple controversy not to escalate the tensions with Cambodia after three Thais crossed into the disputed border area (BANGKOK POST)

- All Democrat Party members will be held accountable if found to have committed a constitutional offence by holding stocks of firms that enjoy state concessions, party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said (THE NATION)

BUSINESS

- The government should boost the economy by investing in megaprojects, said Atip Bijanonda, president of the Thai Condominium Association (BANGKOK POST)

- Businessmen welcomed the government's stimulus package, but economists and academics expressed strong reservations about its provisions (THE NATION)

- The government's generosity to households, motorists and commuters has raised eyebrows among academics and local oil companies, who suspect it could be just another plan to spend taxpayers's money to please certain groups of voters (BANGKOK POST)

- The cabinet has approved the import of diesel from Russia and plans to distribute it to cooperatives in the next 45 days (THE NATION)

- PTT PTT.BK will revise the conditions of a 5-billion-baht lending programme to boost the number of vehicles that use natural gas and move to lend directly to car owners and bypass financial institutions (THE NATION)

- Property companies .SETPR, especially those with high debt-to-equity ratios and those targetting low-income earners, may be badly affected if the central bank's Monetarty Policy Committee raises its policy interest rate, some analysts said (THE NATION)

- The founder of One-Two-Go Airlines is taking a long, hard look at the possibility of ceasing the budget carrier's flight operations at a time of skyrocketing fuel prices and declining traffic (BANGKOK POST) ($1=33.44 Baht) ** Looking for more information from local sources? Factiva.com has eight Thai sources including the Bangkok Post and The Nation.