Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
TOT moves ahead with Phuket line expansion
PHUKET: TOT is expanding its coverage in Phuket with the addition of 11 telephone exchanges, switchboards that connect calls, this month, together providing 5,400 new phone lines for the island.Copper cabling across Phuket will also be upgraded to support high-speed ADSL Internet access and improve the quality of services offered.Many Phuket residents have been complaining about problems with telephone lines…
- Phuket News
“Visa extensions’ for dependents allowed – for now
PHUKET: Following news reports last month that the Immigration Bureau will no longer issue “permit to stay” extensions for spouses and families of holders of retirement visas, Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) Superintendent Pol Col Ittipon Atchariyapradit has told the Gazette he will will continue issuing such extensions until he receives an order to stop doing so.“We are still issuing…
- Phuket News
Knudsen murder suspects arrested
CHALONG: Two teenagers arrested by police have reportedly confessed to the stabbing murder of 53-year-old Norwegian Simen Sparre Knudsen on September 23, along with several other armed robberies of foreign tourists driving motorbikes alone late at night.A source from Chalong Police, who requested that his name not be printed, identified the two suspects as 18-year-old Narongsak “Sak” Tongviset and his…
- Phuket News
New retail center planned for Phuket
RASSADA: A group of Thai investors have bought and cleared the only remaining section of undeveloped land at the Tesco-Lotus intersection with the intention of developing a large retail and entertainment complex there. Phuket Governor Niran Kalayananamit told the Gazette recently that the Bangkok-based investors had approached him to discuss the proposed development, which is still in its initial design phase.…
- Phuket News
Ranong border remains open
RANONG: Although protests across Myanmar have been met with violent crackdowns by the Burmese military, it’s business as usual for immigration services at Ranong, Pol Lt Col Parinya Pinpak, deputy superintendent of Ranong Immigration Office, has told the Gazette. “The only effect is that fewer Burmese will come to Thailand. However, commercial traffic will continue as usual. People can still…
- Phuket News
Air crash claims another life
PHUKET (Gazette, Nation): A 22-year-old Welsh woman being treated at Bangkok General Hospital in Bangkok after surviving the crash landing of One-Two-Go flight OG269 was confirmed dead today as a result of severe burns.Bethan Jones, 22, received severe burns to 50% of her body in the fire that followed the crash and was flown from Phuket to Bangkok on September…
- Phuket News
One-Two-Go crash probe points to wind shear, pilot decision
BANGKOK (Nation): The probe into the crash of One-Two-Go flight OG029 points to wind shear and the pilot’s decision to land despite weather warnings as likely causes, the air crash investigation committee has announced.“The initial finding, which encompasses the weather conditions at the time of the accident, communications between the tower and the crashed plane’s pilot as well as other…
- Phuket News
Police hunt for Knudsen’s killer
RAWAI: Police say they have suspects in mind but are collecting more evidence to submit to Phuket Provincial Court when they apply for arrest warrants in the case of Norwegian Simen Sparre Knudsen, who was stabbed to death on September 23.Mr Knudsen, 47, was stabbed and left for dead on the road from the Kata Viewpoint to Rawai at about…
- Phuket News
Air-crash mystery hero steps forward
PHUKET CITY: Australian Robert Borland, who was pulled from the burning wreckage of One-Two-Go Flight OG269 on Sunday by a “man in a yellow shirt”, finally had a chance to thank his savior in a meeting arranged yesterday afternoon by the staff of Bangkok Phuket Hospital, where both men are being treated for injuries sustained in the crash.The hero was identified as…
- Phuket News
ICEC site decision deferred
PHUKET: Originally scheduled to be held today, the provincial committee meeting set to make a final decision on the site for Phuket’s long-awaited International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) has been postponed until further notice. The reason for the postponement is that Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, who chairs the committee, was called to an urgent meeting today at Government House…
- Phuket News
OrBorTor gear up for elections
PHUKET: The Phuket Election Committee (PEC) today held a meeting to present ballots and ballot boxes to representatives from each Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) on behalf of the Central Election Commission in Bangkok. “Each OrBorTor must keep these things safe in a place where there is a security guard,” PEC Director Supap Akkam told the Gazette. Elections for OrBorTor councils…
- Phuket News
33 foreign crash victims remain unidentified
PHUKET AIRPORT: Forty-eight hours after the ill-fated One-Two-Go flight OG269 crashed at Phuket International Airport (PIA), killing 89 of the 130 people on board, the cause of the disaster is still unknown and 33 corpses of foreigners remain unidentified. Phuket Airport Director Sq Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree told the Gazette that there is no problem with the runway and that the…
- Phuket News
88 perish in One-Two-Go crash
PHUKET: Of the 130 passengers and crew aboard One-Two-Go flight OG269 that crash landed at Phuket International Airport about 3:45 pm today, only 42 survived the crash and fire that followed it. Of these, 15 were Thai nationals.At a press conference at the Airports Of Thailand office about 9 pm, Phuket Airport Director Sq Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree said the crash…
- Phuket News
Death toll in Phuket plane crash rises
PHUKET (Nation): Some 60 bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage of a One-Two-Go airplane from Bangkok that exploded and broke in two after it slid off the runway and crashed at Phuket International Airport this afternoon.Some reports put the death toll at about 80, but this has yet to be confirmed. The nationalities of those on board are not…
- Phuket News
Investigation launched into prison death
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police are investigating the death of an inmate who died on the way to hospital yesterday afternoon after suffering blows to the head and body with a heavy object.Phuket Provincial Prison Director Paisal Suwanraksa has confirmed that the victim was 38-year-old Sakulthep Konkaew, a Chiang Rai native who last year began serving a two-and-a-half year sentence…
- Phuket News
Wounded Israeli flies home
PHUKET CITY: Israeli tourist Adam Berdichevsky, whose left foot was mangled during the boat capsizing that claimed the life of another Israeli tourist on September 4, flies back to Israel tonight after a week of treatment at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.Assistant Hospital Director Dr Sompoch Nipakanont said the latest in a series of operations to the mangled foot was performed yesterday,…
- Phuket News
Sarasin Bridge to close on Halloween
PHUKET: The Sarasin Bridge will be closed from midnight October 31 to midnight November 1 so that a key scene for a Thai-language feature film can be filmed on location.The bridge will be closed so that the opening scene of a romantic comedy, given the in-production name Valentine, can be filmed.The scene will involve a car accident during which lead…
- Phuket News
Capsized tour boat “not overcrowded’ – Marine Police
PHUKET: The ill-fated tour boat that capsized and sank in stormy seas off the Phi Phi Islands yesterday was not overloaded at the time of the disaster, Krabi Marine Office Chief Suriya Kittimonthon told the Gazette today.The 17.4-meter vessel was not overcrowded and a vessel of that size would normally be rated for about 60 passengers, he said.However, documents held by…
- Phuket News
Phuket Airport to stage disaster drill
PHUKET: A full-scale, emergency-response drill will take place at Phuket International Airport on Thursday as part of Phuket Airport’s Emergency Plan Exercise 2007 (PEMEX 2007).Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Phuket International Airport Director Sq Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree said the exercise, to begin at 10 am, is being co-organized by Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT).Taking part will be 14…
- Phuket News
Israeli man drowns as Phi Phi dive boat capsizes
PHI PHI ISLANDS: An Israeli tourist died this morning when a boat sank off Maya Bay after becoming overwhelmed by stormy conditions.The boat was returning to Koh Phi Phi Don from a diving trip, said Suriya Kitimonthon, chief of Krabi Marine Office.Fifty-five tourists were out diving when Suriyan Sroyson, captain and owner of the Jor Kingfisher, noticed dark clouds beginning…
- Phuket News
TAT targets Indian travelers
PHUKET: Representatives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Southern Region 4 Office will tomorrow set off for the subcontinent as part of a nine-day “Amazing Thailand Roadshow to India 2007″, with stops in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.The road show, with funding by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), will promote Phuket tourism and facilities to Indian travel agencies,…
- Phuket News
Yellow-top brigade rides safe
PHUKET: In a bid to promote safety on Phuket’s roads, the Phuket Provincial Office and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) joined a nationwide campaign on Tuesday to persuade more riders to wear crash helmets.As part of the celebrations of HM Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 80th birthday this year, Bangkok-based Road Accident Victims Protection Co Ltd is producing motorcycle helmets…
- Thailand News
Bounty of bras reveals a sad tale
ROI-ET: Stories of men dying in strange circumstances while dressed in women’s clothing are not so unusual. A few years ago the BBC reported that an up-and-coming UK Conservative Party Member of Parliament was found dead with “a black bin liner over his head and wearing stockings and suspenders”. Police in Roi-Et Town, however, were initially left a bit flummoxed…
- Thailand News
Temples tricked by ladyboy’s lies
SAMUT PRAKAN: The life of a Thai ladyboy is full of challenges that most members of Thai society could hardly fathom – let alone deal with. On the bureaucratic front, this can be seen from the current debate raging on whether to let those who have undergone “sex reassignment surgery” use the title “Miss” on their ID cards. Before it…
- Phuket News
ATM card scanners found in Patong
PATONG: Police are warning credit card and bank card holders to exercise caution when using ATMs and other “swipe” machines in Patong after an ATM on Soi Bangla was found fitted with devices capable of recording card data and pin numbers.Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark told the Gazette that Patong police received a call from an English tourist about…
- Phuket News
Burmese concert hits bureaucratic barrier
PHUKET CITY: An ambitious plan to stage a concert to bring some fun into the lives of some 30,000 minimum-wage Burmese laborers living in Phuket received a lukewarm reception from Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima yesterday, who said the event would need to be organized in accordance with all provincial regulations imposed on migrant workers – including the controversial 8 pm curfew.…
- Phuket News
Murray released on bail
PHUKET: Six weeks after Englishman David Murray was charged with the murder without intent in the death of his eight-year-old stepson, Narid “Curly” Budtharai, he is out on bail with a court date yet to be set.Angered by the slow response, Curly’s natural father Pissanu Badtharai asked for support from the Bangkok-based Pavena Foundation for abused women and children. The…
- Phuket News
AOT slashes number of airport limousines
PHUKET: The Phuket Limousine and Business service Cooperative (PBC) is seeking support from the provincial government after Airports of Thailand Public Co Ltd (AOT) slashed the number of vehicles it is allowed to operate at the airport from 150 to just 90 under a new concession. At an August 15 meeting with Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha, PBC President Manode Chupak…
- Phuket News
US donates bomb blanket to Phuket police
PATONG: A US Embassy official yesterday morning presented a “bomb blanket” to Kathu Police Station in a ceremony attended by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Decha Budnampetch.Scott Bernat, Chief of the Naval Security Force Protection Detachment at the US Embassy in Bangkok, told the Gazette that the blanket – technically known as a “bomb suppression blanket” – is made…
- Phuket News
Call for more organ donors
PHUKET: Senior figures of the Phuket chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society and Patong Hospital on August 3 called for more people to sign up as organ donors. The announcement was made at the “Organ and Blood Donations Devote Life to Mother and Nations” blood donation drive at Jungceylon, where in five hours 94 people donated blood that will…