News
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TAT submits B550m plan for Patong Beach
PHUKET CITY: Architects commissioned by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) yesterday presented a plan to rebuild Patong Beach, at a cost of 550 million baht, to make the popular tourist attraction safe from any future tsunami while at the same time preserving its beauty.TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Santichai Euajongprasit presented the plan, with architects from SPA Architect Co…
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Business owners slam demolition
PATONG: As Patong Mayor Pian Keesin was sitting down with TAT officials yesterday to discuss remodeling of the town’s tsunami-damaged beach road, a backhoe operator hired by the town was already at work tearing down parts of roadside resorts damaged by the tsunami.Owners of the properties on a 250-meter stretch at the south end of Thaweewong Rd complained that the…
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MS agrees to replace software
PHUKET: Microsoft Thailand has agreed to replace software and user licenses damaged or lost in the tsunami in Thailand.Andrew McBean, Managing Director of Microsoft Thailand, has announced, “Anyone who has lost or has had genuine Microsoft software or licenses damaged in the affected areas can contact our call center and we will replace the licenses and media free of charge.“We…
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Australian embassy to hold memorial service
PATONG: Australia will observe a National Day of Mourning and Reflection on Sunday morning to remember the victims of the tsunami.In Thailand, the Australian Embassy will hold a short memorial service at the Seven Dolphins Memorial fountain on Patong Beach (where the statue of dolphins stood before the tsunami, just north of the intersection of Sawadtirak Rd and the beach…
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US, Australia, ease travel advisories
PHUKET: Two Western governments that persisted in describing Phuket as being severely damaged by the tsunami finally amended their advisories yesterday to paint more accurate pictures of the situation The US State Department amended the travel advisory on its website to read: “A series of tsunami waves caused by a severe earthquake struck southwestern coastal areas of Thailand on December…
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Rooms tax break for island hotels
PHUKET CITY: In order to help soften the blow to Phuket’s tourism industry caused the tsunami, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) is exempting all hotels from the controversial 1% rooms tax for the first nine months of 2005.Explaining why the exemption was being applied to all hotels, and not just those with structural damage, OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr said,…
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Governments begin relaxing travel advisories
PHUKET: Foreign governments have been relaxing their warnings against travelling to Phuket, although the change is by no means universal, and all government websites visited by the Gazette are still recommending that their nationals avoid Phi Phi and Khao Lak. The French government was one of the first to take Phuket off the pariah list. On Friday last week, the…
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Seafood “safe to eat’
PHUKET: The island’s health chief has confirmed that seafood supplies are safe to eat, though he has also reminded people not to eat raw seafood.Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office, told the Gazette that every kind of meat should be well cooked before being served. Such precautions apply at all times, not just now, he said.“I…
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Call for govt to sponsor F1 powerboat race
PHUKET: Phuket Chamber of Commerce Chairman Pamuke Archariyachai has called for the government to commit 50 million baht in sponsorship for the F1 powerboat race in Phuket, as a way to attract tourists back to the island.K. Pamuke called for the support at a meeting, at Phuket Royal City Hotel, held to discuss ways to revive the tourism industry in…
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German Foreign Minister visits Phuket
PHUKET: German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer toured Phuket and Phang Nga at the weekend to assess the damage caused by the December 26 tsunami.Mr Fischer said a top priority should be identifying the bodies of people still classified as “missing”. Some two weeks after the waves hit shorelines around the Indian Ocean, 60 Germans were confirmed dead, while 700 more…
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Appeal for relief supplies for second Khao Lak convoy
PHUKET: The organizers of a convoy filled with relief supplies sent to stricken areas of Phang Nga on January 7 say they have “barely scratched the surface” and are planning to send another convoy on Friday.The team, which sent of four six-wheeled trucks, two four-wheeled trucks and about six pickup trucks and cars full of supplies in the first convoy,…
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Fixing Kamala water “will take 2 months’
KAMALA: Local authority staff are distributing water to residents of Kamala whose supplies have been rendered undrinkable after being contaminated during the tsunami.Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) Chairman Jaran Sararak told the Gazette that the OrBorTor had arranged for water to be delivered to villagers in Moo 3, where the existing water supply had been disrupted.He said he hoped that…
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Candidates register for general election
PHUKET: Tsunami or no, the four parliamentary candidates from the two big political parties turned up this morning to register their candidacies for the upcoming general election.With the Democrat Party candidates in blue, their Thai Rak Thai (TRT) opponents in red, all wearing yellow garlands and cheered on by enthusiastic supporters, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the final minutes before…
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FantaSea closes temporarily
KAMALA: The Phuket FantaSea tourist attraction will be closed until January 18, because of the tsunami.Managing Director Pin Kewkacha said the Kamala-based attraction had sustained damage totaling 60 to 70 million baht, and that, in addition, it had lost between 150 million and 200 million baht in revenue because of the slump in the number of visitors.As a result, the…
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Patong “clear of tsunami wreckage’
PATONG: Wreckage caused by the tsunami has now been cleared from the streets of Patong and dumped in a disused tinmine, Phunsak Naksena, Chief Administration officer of Patong Municipality told the Gazette today.“We have dumped all construction debris into a privately-owned tin mine,” said K. Phunsak. “Most car owners have already contacted their insurance companies to handle the disposal of…
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Help pours in for damaged schools
KAMALA: Financial assistance has been pouring in from Thailand and around the world to help rebuild Phuket schools damaged by the December 26 tsunami. The Education Ministry has already issued 800,000 baht in emergency funding to rebuild four schools damaged by the December 26 tsunami, said Damrong Boonchoti, Director of the Phuket Educational Area Office. Most of the funding will…
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Gay Festival postponed until April
PATONG: The Phuket Gay Festival, originally scheduled to take place in February, has been postponed because of the tsunami. The event will now be run from April 7 to 10. Festival organizers have announced that although most gay venues escaped direct damage from the tsunami, two were hit, with one member of staff killed. An announcement on the organizer’s website…
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France revises travel advisory
PHUKET: The French Government has revised its travel warning on Thailand, pointing out that damage from the December 26 tsunami was localized and advising its citizens that travel to many places is safe. The advisory reads (Gazette translation): “The tidal wave of December 26 caused considerable destruction along the southwestern coast of Thailand (the provinces of Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga,…
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Bizarre twists in UK travel advisory
PHUKET: In a bizarre twist possibly sparked more by politics than reality, Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) yesterday took Phuket off its list of places for British travelers to avoid, and then, within hours, put it back on.On its website, the FCO had advised, since the tsunami struck, against “all but essential travel to affected resorts and towns along…
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Some dead may never be identified – Straw
PHUKET: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today that identification of tsunami victims may take months and, in some cases, identification may never be possible.Mr Straw was speaking during a visit to Phuket, where he met survivors and relatives of some of the thousands killed by the tsunami.He said the tsunami had claimed the lives of at least 49 Britons in…
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Woman rescued after tsunami “now missing’
KHAO LAK: A German woman injured when the tsunami struck Khao Lak appears to have gone missing – after receiving hospital treatment for minor injuries. The family of Barbara Kuehne believe she may have been so traumatized by what she experienced during the tsunami that she has been unable to contact family, friends or consular representatives. Mrs Kuehne was separated…
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Call for donations to rebuild schools
PHUKET: Those interested in making donations for rebuilding Baan Kamala and Baan Kalim schools, both of which were badly damaged in the tsunami, can do so using the bank account information below. All proceeds will go toward reconstruction and providing scholarships to students who lost their parents in the tsunami. The first account, the Phuket Educational Area Relief Fund, will…
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Swedish boy “missing, not kidnapped’
PHUKET: A 12-year-old Swedish tsunami victim feared abducted from a Phang Nga hospital was not kidnapped, but is instead still missing, police said last night.Pol Lt Col Virit Kamolrat of Phuket Tourist Police told a press conference last night that a boy taken from Tai Muang Hospital by an older German man was not Kristian Walker of Sweden, but another…
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10,000 attend tsunami memorial
SAPHAN HIN: A somber memorial service for the survivors of the December 26 tsunami was held at Saphan Hin Sports Stadium last night.The ceremony began with Islamic, Christian and Buddhist services, followed by condolence speeches by Senate President Sukhon Chaleekreua and Wiset Juphibal, President of the Phuket Society, which organized the ceremony. Listening to them were about 10,000 people dressed…
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Misleading reports about missing toddler
PHUKET: A number of misleading emails and media reports are circulating about Hannes Bergstrom, the 20-month-old Swedish toddler who was taken to Phuket International Hospital after the tsunami, and could not at first be identified. Hannes was, however, indentified and reunited with family members after his plight was featured in the Gazette Online on December 27, 2004 (see story here).…
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Appeal for more items for Khao Lak
PHUKET: The organizers of a convoy of relief supplies for 700 homeless families in the Khao Lak area and for others further north have appealed for donations of more items to fill the vehicle, which leaves tomorrow.What follows is a list of items requested by the Khuk Khak Tambon Administration Organization and the Takua Pa District Office, with the approximate…
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B75m budget for homeless victims
PHUKET: The central government has budgeted 75 million baht to construct new homes for some 4,000 families left homeless in the six provinces affected by the December 26 tsunami. Speaking at a press conference at the Governor’s Office this afternoon, Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula said the aid will come from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Finance Ministry and private donations.K.…
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No disease outbreaks in Phuket – health chief
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has confirmed that there have been no reports of epidemic diseases on the island, but has warned people to take precautions with drinking water.In particular, Dr Wanchai Sattayawuthipong warned people in coastal areas affected by the December 26 tsunami to refrain from drinking well water in order to prevent the…
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US pledges support for tsunami warning system
PHUKET: Gen Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, today pledged US support for the development of a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.Speaking at Phuket Provincial Hall this afternoon, Gen Powell said, “Tsunamis of the kind we saw [on December 26] are not that common in this part of the world, so perhaps enough attention hasn’t been given…
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Embassy staff contact numbers
PHUKET: Following is a list of embassy staff from 41 countries responsible for looking after their nationals in the aftermath of the tsunami in the six Andaman coast provinces of Thailand:Australia:Robin Hamilton: 01-8165709Ms Sudamani: 01-8366131Austria:Edwin Ferner: 01-8145965Belgium:Ronny Elaut: 01-8339986Canada:Diego Tremblay: 01-8438275Sukanya Racharit: 01-8352690China:Pan Guangxie: 01-6555884Mo Yaohing: 01-8214771Hua Jinzhou: 01-9903858Li Tuzong: 09-8766052Denmark:Ulrik Helwek-Jarsen: 01-8558159France:Michel Frebourg: 09-8101084Finland:Heikki Tuunanen, Jussi Koskela, Khaikhae Louwithawas:…
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