High fliers in Phuket

– A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: From May 21-23, Phuket will be playing host to its first-ever paragliding competition.

Approximately 40 contestants from countries around the world are expected to arrive for the event.

Among the challenges that will await the contestants are spot landings, passing gates, fun flights and even fancy dress flying. There will also be a photo contest by lead sponsors Canon.

In addition to Canon, this colorful and exciting event is sponsored by Phuket Province, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and several local businesses.

The Phuket Gazette and its television arm PGTV are the media sponsors and will be covering the event from the air above the action.

Those who want to watch the contest live should head down to Naiharn Beach between 8:00 and 18:00.

Early bird deals for Phuket Race Week

yacht.e.com
Registration is now open for Six Senses Phuket Race Week, and the provisional Notice of Race has been posted on line.

The popular and ever-growing event includes five nights of renowned regatta parties, combined with four days of high-octane yacht racing in the south-west monsoon season.

This year’s Race Week (21 to 25 July at the Evason Phuket Resort) will run back-to-back with the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) Multihull Challenge, which is expected to attract up to 20 catamarans and trimarans from around Thailand.

For further information and to register, see the regatta website where high-value ‘early bird’ discounts on entry fees are now on offer for boats and crew.

And a first this year is the chance to win back entry fees for boat and full crew, courtesy of Global Investments (Far East) – but only if you beat the early bird deadline.

The Phuket Gazette, PGTV and The Nation are charter sponsors of this event and will again be covering it daily, this year not only on ground and water, but also from the air.

Special rates at Outrigger Phuket

Etravelblackboard
Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas has announced special Summer rates for guests staying in May or June this year.

The 68-villa Outrigger property is part of the Laguna Destination Resort Phuket at Bang Tao Beach. The two-bedroom villa is 4,000 baht per night, with the three- and four-bedroom pool villas now only 7,000 and 11,000 a night, respectively.

The rates include an in-room daily continental breakfast.

In a separate development, Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas have joined the JAL ‘Mileage Bank’ program, and are offering 1,000 miles per stay, double the normal miles awarded for stays at the applicable paid rates. The offer expires 21 December 2010.

Red shirts and army clash

The Times
A Thai soldier was shot in the head as the army clashed with anti-government protesters yesterday.

At least 10 people were injured when Thai troops fired over and into the crowd of Red Shirts who were charging at them with home-made weapons in a northern suburb of Bangkok.

It was not immediately clear if Thai troops were shooting live rounds or rubber bullets in their attempts to prevent the protesters from expanding their demonstrations.

The clash occurred at a section of Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road on the northern outskirts of Bangkok. Security forces had blocked that area with razor wire.

Tough words on protests

The Telegraph
Thai Army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said last night that security forces were ready and waiting “for the right time” to retake the Red Shirt’s rally area, which has paralysed a chunk of Bangkok’s central commercial district.

“We are ready to fight to the death, so why don’t we set the date for [the] crackdown,” countered protest leader Nattawut Saikua.

The government has said it would not tolerate any further road blocks set up by protesters to prevent more troops from heading into Bangkok.

More from Nattawut

Buffalo News
“Bangkok people, please understand we did not want it to affect you, but we only want safety,” said Nattawut Saikua, the red-shirted protest leader growing famous for firebrand remarks.

Nattawut said the Red Shirts planned to spread out into other parts of the city, sending teams with speaker trucks to distribute leaflets and videos explaining the protesters’ side of the story.

“We’ll go out everyday until the government dissolves Parliament and returns power to the people…. If there are police and military units blocking the way, using weapons, we are going to fight with peaceful means,” Nattawut said.

ASEAN fears ‘domino effect’

Voice of America News
Thailand’s neighbors are watching the political unrest in Bangkok with growing concern.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has said the protests in Thailand could spread economic and political instability throughout the region.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah says he is concerned that the instability in Thailand could lead to a repeat of the 1997 Asian economic crisis.

Faizasyah says ASEAN’s tradition of non-interference in members’ affairs and the Thai government’s unwillingness to ask for help, will stifle any regional mediation effort.

What Thailand’s neighbors can do to prevent similar protest movements from spreading, he says, is to “address the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised in their own countries.”

— Gazette Editors