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- Phuket News
Patong remembers victims
PATONG: About 500 people attended an interdenominational memorial service held at Loma Park this morning for the victims of the tsunami. The ceremony, organized by The Patong Business Operators’ Club, Patong Hospital and Patong Municipality, was to remember those who perished in the tsunami and to help bring peace of mind to those still suffering from its after-effects. Clerics from…
- Phuket News
Singapore President honors tsunami dead
PHUKET: The President of Singapore, S R Nathan, yesterday visited Phuket and took part in a Buddhist ceremony for the victims of the tsunami.Pres Nathan was accompanied to the ceremony, at Wat Srisunthon in Thalang, by Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.The merit-making was also attended by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr.Pres Nathan…
- Phuket News
Vendors appeal against ‘smart Patong’ plan
PATONG: Vendors and operators of other businesses have tried to persuade Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Santichai Euajongprasit and Patong Municipality Mayor Pian Keesin to allow them to trade on Patong Beach as they did before the tsunami.Around 300 fishermen, jet ski owners, beach masseurs, renters of umbrellas and beach beds, motorbike rental businesses and beach…
- Phuket News
South Korean forensics team arrives
PHUKET: South Korea has sent 11 forensic scientists to Phuket to help with the mammoth task of identifying tsunami victims.South Korea’s Ambassador to Thailand, Yoon Jee Joon, told Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura yesterday that the 11 experts would be working with the forensic team of Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsap.Mr Yoon added that his government hoped to establish a permanent consulate…
- Phuket News
Swedish PM calls for ‘no warning’ probe
PHUKET: Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson has called for an investigation into why no warning was issued in the hours before Thailand was hit by a tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people including, possibly, as many as 1,000 Swedes.Speaking during a visit to Phuket with his counterparts from Norway and Finland, Kjell Magne Bondevik and Matti Vanhanen, Mr Persson…
- Phuket News
Dogs helping people helping dogs
PHUKET: The Rotary Club of Phuket has teamed up with the Raksatt Small Animal Hospital & Pet Shop and the Chaipak Dog Training Center to form a group to help both pets and people suffering from post-tsunami stress.The coordinator of the Helping Tsunami Victims Through Dogs project, Anupan Boonchuen, noted that dogs can help relieve the suffering of tsunami victims…
- Phuket News
Residents ‘will resist’ Kamala plan
PHUKET: A 331 million-baht plan for the post-tsunami rebuilding of Kamala has set local residents against Phuket governor Udomsak Usawarangkura.Under the plan – drawn up after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for damaged areas to be reconstructed in a way that would make them “beautiful and safe” – residents would be prohibited from returning to homes near the beach, and…
- Phuket News
DNA work complete in two weeks – Bhokin
PHUKET CITY: The bodies of approximately 2,200 unidentified tsunami victims are still awaiting extraction of DNA samples for analysis in China. Most are being kept at Wat Yanyao and Wat Bang Muang in Phang Nga, Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula told a a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon.K. Bhokin said that forensic science teams can extract DNA samples…
- Phuket News
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…
- Phuket News
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).…
- Phuket News
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:…
- Phuket News
A somber New Year
PHUKET: About 500 people gathered at Central Festival on the outskirts of Phuket City last night in a somber and emotional candlelit gathering to remember those killed by last Sunday’s tsunami.Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula, Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura and government officers also attended the memorial gathering.Each person received a candle and a white rose. Songs, both in Thai and English,…
- Phuket News
Dead to be buried in Mai Khao
PHUKET: Phuket is preparing a 10-rai plot of land at the Sea Gypsy cemetery in Tambon Mai Khao to bury victims of Sunday’s tsunami waves. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said after a meeting with local officials at Phuket Provincial Hall today that the dead will be kept until then in four 40-foot cold-storage containers.Officials will begin moving the bodies to…
- Phuket News
Patong clean-up underway
PATONG: Patong Municipality yesterday approved a 20-million-baht budget to begin clean-up operations following the devastation wrought by tsunami waves on Sunday.Mayor Pian Keesin today told the Gazette that municipal officials were still searching for bodies, but that 100% of those who suffered injury had already been sent to hospitals.He said workers and vehicles had been hired to clear debris along…
- Phuket News
Toddler reunited with family; mother still missing
PHUKET: Swedish toddler Hannes Bergstrom, just 20 months old, early this afternoon was reunited with his uncle, Kim Kärkkainen, and grandmother Raija Kärkkainen.Hannes was separated from his parents when he was rescued at Bang Niang Beach, Khao Lak, where the family were staying, and brought to Phuket International Hospital.Family members in Finland saw the photograph of young Hannes on the…
- Phuket News
Latest toll: 66 dead, 691 injured
PHUKET: Kawee Sukunthamath, Chief of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), early this evening said that 66 people were confirmed dead by the tidal wave which ravaged Phuket’s coastline this morning. Of the dead, 20 were foreigners. Another 691 people were reported injured, and 22 more were missing.Phuket International Airport resumed normal inbound and outbound flight services…
- Phuket News
Panwa aquarium “to re-open in time for Songkran’
CAPE PANWA: Following Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura on Monday announcing that a private aquarium may be built at Surin Beach, Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) director Wannakiat Thubthimsang today told the Gazette that the PMBC aquarium will be open in time for the Songkran holiday period in April 2005.The PMBC aquarium closed more than two years ago for renovations. The work…
- Phuket News
Governor’s last chance for Ao Phuket approval
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura is to make a last-ditch attempt to persuade the Cabinet to approve the Ao Phuket development project before Parliament is dissolved for February’s general election.The proposed development concerns more than 3,200 rai of land and a budget of more than 63 billion baht. It would include a convention center, hotels, apartments, shopping centers, entertainment facilities,…
- Phuket News
Phuket aquarium gets new lease of life
THALANG: Representatives of the Phuket Sea Shell Co met Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura yesterday to seek his support for the plan to build an aquarium on a 120-rai site near Surin Beach.The island’s sole aquarium, at Ao Makham and run by Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), closed more than two years ago for renovations, which were supposed to take a year…
- Phuket News
“Target’ Phuket to receive more anti-terrorism equipment
PHUKET CITY: Phuket is to receive two “bomb blankets” worth 500,000 baht each from the US Embassy, to use in the event of a suspected terrorist attack.The blankets would be placed over suspected bombs to catch shrapnel and fragments in the event of an explosion.The blankets are due to be handed over to Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura on December 27 by…
- Phuket News
The beach party’s over
PHUKET: Vice-Governor Vinai Buapradit has ordered officials to take action tomorrow to prevent drunken youths and tourists “swarming” onto beaches when entertainment venues close at 1am.“People have complained to the provincial office about the disturbance caused by tourists and youths drinking and dancing on the beaches after the bars have closed,” said the Vice-Governor. “People who live near the beaches…
- Phuket News
Trouble in the market
PATONG: Mayor Pian Keesin on Friday morning led a squad of Kathu police and more than 30 municipal officers to the Ko Kaew Market, where he ordered the police to detain Ruantong “Da” Wareesri, who is leading the vendors’ fight to keep the market open. K. Da, a committee member of the 240-strong Ko Kaew Market Association, organized a meeting…
- Phuket News
Gov to push for expo center in Ao Phuket
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura says he will ask the Cabinet later this month to approve plans for Phuket’s International Conference and Exhibition Center (ICEC) to be built in the proposed Ao Phuket development. “The estimated cost of reclaiming land in Ao Phuket is 1 million baht a rai, which is cheap compared with the price at which land in Phuket…
- Phuket News
Gov mediates in spa tax dispute
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has agreed to ask the Finance Ministry to review the controversial 10% excise tax on spas, following a meeting on the issue held at his office this morning. Gov Udomsak chaired the meeting, which was attended by Phuket Spa Business Club Chaiman Pakin Raktae-Ngam, who is leading the opposition to the tax, and Supatra Horsrisumpun,…
- Phuket News
Pracha unmoved by Patong pleas
PHUKET: Venues in entertainment zones in Phuket must close at 1 am, tourist destination or no tourist destination, Deputy Minister of the Interior Pracha Maleenont has declared.The deputy minister was responding to a request from the Patong Entertainment Business Association (PEBA) to be allowed to stay open until 2 am.Speaking yesterday to Thai Rak Thai parliamentary candidates Sriyada Palimapan and…
- Phuket News
Move to open up historic arcades
PHUKET CITY: Residents of Thalang Road, in the old part of Phuket City, have been asked to consider opening up the Ngo Kha Khee arcades in front of their historic Sino-Portuguese houses for use as public walkways.Around 20 residents attended a meeting of the Old Phuket Foundation on Sunday at Thai Hua Phuket School, Thalang Rd to hear about the…
- Phuket News
Expo Center dithering continues
NAI YANG: A meeting called yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop shed little new light on the continuing saga of where Phuket’s proposed International Conference and Exhibition Center (ICEC) will be sited.The Deputy PM chaired the meeting, at the Pearl Village Hotel at Nai Yang Beach, held to discuss the progress of various government policies on the island.At the…
- Phuket News
500 pray for peace in troubled South
PHUKET CITY: About 500 people, including local leaders of the major faiths in Thailand, held a mass session yesterday to pray for peace to return to the troubled provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.The congregation gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall in support of the government’s call for mass prayer, which Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura explained was inspired by HM Queen Sirikit’s…
- Phuket News
Bangkok “monitoring early closing’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has said that the government is monitoring reaction to its controversial early-closing policy for entertainment venues, but that it is still “early days”.Speaking at his regular press conference at the Provincial Hall on Monday, the Governor also stressed that he did not have the power to alter the rules for Phuket.Since September, entertainment venues…
- Phuket News
Governor to appeal for homes to stay on state land
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura will ask the Cabinet to allow residents in Soi Kingkaew, near Koh Sireh, to keep their homes, even though government offices have long claimed that the houses have been built on state land.The Governor visited the soi on Tuesday with Phuket Provincial Office of Natural Resources and Environment chief Thongchai Saowapong. The inspection came after…
