Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
Suriya’s wife talks to the Gazette
CHERNG TALAY: In an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette, Chanthana Chaowanich has explained the sequence of events the night her husband, well-known businessman Suriya Chaowanich, 49, was assassinated.K. Chanthana, 34, from Bangkok, was with K. Suriya at their home in Baan Bang Jo on the night of September 12.“I was not feeling well, and was lying down in our…
- Phuket News
New Naval commander installed
AO MAKHAM: Rear-Admiral Supot Pruksa was promoted to Vice-Admiral and installed as Commanding Officer of the Third Naval Area Command this morning, replacing Tana Bunnag who has been promoted to “Deputy Chief of Staff Officer to Commander” in Bangkok.The ceremony took place at 10 am, when the officers and sailors under V/Adm Supot reported to their new commander, the 11th…
- Phuket News
Governor leaves Phuket – quietly
PHUKET CITY: About 70 people gathered in front of the Governor’s House on Narisorn Rd this morning to wish Udomsak Uswarangkura a fond farewell on his last day as Governor of Phuket.Governor Udomsak, who today brought to a close some 38 years of government service, left his home at 8:45 am, bound for his native Bangkok.Before departing, he received flowers…
- Thailand News
Boyfriend banzaied
The Japanese have spent the past 60 years promoting a message of peace in the world. Unfortunately for one young Thai man, traces of the Samurai warrior ethic can still be found among the legions of salarymen toiling away in offices in Bangkok. In the early hours of August 17, Pol Lt Kiatsak Kasikun, the duty officer at Khlong Tan…
- Phuket News
Island leaders move to allay fears of coup violence
PHUKET CITY: At a meeting held at Phuket Provincial Hall at 2 pm today, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, along with other key island figures, reassured residents that life will carry on as normal following Tuesday night’s coup.He said that Thai people already understood the national situation but that it could be misread by foreigners. He added that he had already…
- Phuket News
No change in visa policy
PHUKET CITY: Tuesday night’s bloodless military coup in Bangkok will have no immediate effect on Thai Immigration policy as far as tourists are concerned, the Gazette has learned.Pol Capt Krissarat Nusen of the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office this morning confirmed to the Gazette that Thai Immigration still intends to put into effect its new policy of limiting tourist-on-arrival stays to…
- Phuket News
ARC summons media bosses to tighten controls
BANGKOK (Agence France-Presse, The Nation): The Administrative Reform Council today ordered media executives to army headquarters to tell them to stop carrying expressions of public opinion following the military takeover, an army official said.“At 4:00 pm [0900 GMT] Thursday, the Army Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratkarin called a meeting of media executives,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.“He will…
- Phuket News
Suan Dusit poll shows 84% support coup
BANGKOK (The Nation): Approximately 84% of Thais support Tuesday’s military coup, according to the poll conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University.The poll showed that 82% of Bangkok residents, and 86% of residents in rural areas support the coup as they believe it end political and social tension and is a positive step for Thai politics.The poll contradicted the widespread belief…
- Phuket News
Ranong-Burma border closed
RANONG: The Burmese government has closed the border at Kaw Thaung, making it impossible for foreigners to make “visa runs” across the border there, the Gazette has learned.A representative with the Executive Visa Run company, which runs daily visa-run trips to the Burmese port of entry opposite Ranong, said that his firm learned of the closure this afternoon.Operators of a ferry…
- Phuket News
Phuket calm after coup
PHUKET: Top government and tourism industry officials in Phuket have largely adopted a wait-and-see attitude following the bloodless military coup staged in Bangkok last night.Meanwhile, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has announced that he will hold a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall at 2 pm tomorrow to answer questions about the military takeover and its effect on the province.Earlier today,…
- Phuket News
Coup: Minimal economic impact “if no violence’
BANGKOK (The Nation): The business sector anticipates short-term negative impact from the coup d’etat, but expect the longer-term economic direction to be clearer with diminishing divisiveness in society and that should be in favor of local and foreign investors.Charlotte Dhonavanik, First Senior Executive Vice-President at the Bank of Ayudhya, said that from the Administrative Reform Council’s (ARC) first announcement, things…
- Phuket News
Hoteliers cautiously optimistic
PHUKET: Local hotel operators remain guardedly optimistic that the bloodless military coup staged in Bangkok last night will have a limited impact on Phuket tourism industry, provided that events do not turn violent.Wolfgang Meusberger, General Manager of the Holiday Inn in Patong, this morning told the Gazette, “I think it all depends what happens over the next 48 hours. At…
- Phuket News
Foreign leaders express concern, Thaksin cancels UN address
BANGKOK (Agencies, Nation): Foreign leaders reacted with concern over the military coup against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan saying “this is not a practice to be encouraged”.Speaking to CNN television on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting, Annan said: “We as an organization [UN] have always supported governmental changes through democratic means, through…
- Phuket News
Human Rights Watch urges military to restore basic civil rights
BANGKOK (Agence FrancePresse, The Nation): Human Rights Watch has urged Thailand’s military to restore basic civil liberties. “Thailand needs to solve its problems through the rule of law and the people exercising their right to choose their own leaders,” said Brad Adams, Asia director for the New York-based group.He urged the military to restore basic human rights guaranteed by the…
- Phuket News
Thaksin eyes London move
BANGKOK (Nation): Sources claim that Thaksin Shinawatra may fly from New York Thaksin to join his family in London, where he owns a luxury real estate.As last evening’s coup took shape Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, the wife of the caretaker prime minister, escaped to Singapore.It was reported that the former Cabinet members of the Thaksin government may try to form a…
- Phuket News
Bank of Thailand Governor reportedly accepted to become the Prime Minister
BANGKOK (Nation): Bank of Thailand Governor MR Pridayadhorn Devakula has cut short his trip to attend the International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting in Singapore and he will arrive Bangkok at midday. He has said that he has agreed to become Prime Minister. Regardless, it is expected there would be a press conference at the Armed Forces auditorium today.
- Phuket News
Thai military declares holiday to announce “new policy’
THAILAND (Nation): Coup leaders have declared today a national holiday and called top civil servants and foreign diplomats to a meeting at military headquarters to update the situations.The coup leaders declared today “a holiday for government, banks and the stock exchange in order to quickly restore law and order,” according to a statement read on national television.They told top civil…
- Phuket News
The coup so far
September 198.00 am Thaksin Shinawatra calls an urgent teleconference with all armed forces’ commanders at Government House, but none attend.Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkarin, the army chief, later says the meeting is hastily called. Rumor then spread around the capital and the stock market that a coup is under way.Midday After finishing the web camera teleconference with Thaksin, who is in New York,…
- Phuket News
Penang halts issuance of double-entry tourist visas
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Consulate in neighboring Penang, Malaysia, has stopped issuing double-entry tourist visas for Thailand. The only tourist visa currently available there is a 60-day single-entry one.An official at the consulate this afternoon told the Gazette that Consul Pramote Pramoonsab had issued an order to cease issuance of double-entry tourist visas. Other visa categories are unaffected by the…
- Phuket News
On-arrival visas: 90 days and you’re out!
PHUKET: Phuket’s Immigration Chief has confirmed that Thailand will crack down on foreigners working illegally in the country by ending its policy of issuing an unlimited number of consecutive “visas on arrival” – tourist visas that allow the holder to stay a maximum of 15 or 30 days.The crackdown is intended to stop foreigners – typically bar owners and other…
- Phuket News
Academic coalition calls on Thaksin to quit
BANGKOK (The Nation): More than 40 academic groups yesterday called for the prime minister’s resignation and warned that existing discord could lead to civil war.“Thaksin Shinawatra must halt all political activities immediately and allow an investigation into alleged abuses of power,” said Anan Laolertworakul, a leader of a network of 43 academic groups.Anan urged civil servants to ignore “unjustified instructions”…
- Phuket News
Eerie hush over stolen tsunami money
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has warned that government officers must shoulder the burden of responsibility of their positions and accept the “sharp thorns” of a government career.He was referring to the lingering police investigation into whether Apichart Nooprod was involved in the theft of 2.05 million baht in tsunami funds on February 15 last year.K. Apichart, Chief of…
- Phuket News
Confusion over Chinese role in mega project
PHUKET CITY: Some two weeks after it was reported that Thai Longstay Management Corp Ltd (TLM), a private company 30% owned by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), signed a 40-million-baht “primary contract” with a Chinese state-owned enterprise to help develop part of a long-stay project at Saphan Hin, Phuket Vice-Governor Niran Kanlayanamitr, head of the provincial committee for the…
- Phuket News
Modern slaughterhouse on the way
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Municipality has announced plans to build a new high-standard slaughterhouse to replace the current one near Ruam Phun Pol Bridge.Chaiyapreuk Phanpreuk, Deputy Mayor of Phuket City Municipality, said that the move is necessary because the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), which owns the land where the current slaughterhouse is, informed him that the contract for the use…
- Phuket News
Park fee hikes deferred
PHUKET: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will postpone its scheduled doubling of entry fees at all national parks, scheduled to take effect from September 15, by more than a year, Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) Deputy Chairman Sarayuth Mallam told the Gazette today.Speaking by telephone from Bangkok, K. Sarayuth explained that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat has…
- Phuket News
Okay. Now will you marry me?
PHUKET: People can once again get married in Muang and Thalang Districts after fresh supplies of marriage certificates were received from Bangkok yesterday.Both districts ran out of certificates and Kathu District was down to very limited supplies after government printers in Bangkok received orders late and were unable to fill them in the time required. They cited the difficulty of…
- Phuket News
British tourist missing after rafting accident
PHANG-NGA: (Gazette, KomChadLuek) A 22-year-old Scottish tourist has been missing in Phang Nga for two days and is presumed to have drowned after an accident while white-water rafting. Shenaz Kapoor was in a rubber raft with three other foreign tourists and two Thai guides in the area of the Song Phraek waterfall when the raft capsized. The other five people…
- Phuket News
THAI tightens security on flights
BANGKOK: Thai Airways International (THAI) has announced more stringent security measures following the uncovering of a supposedly Al Qaeda-led terrorist plot to detonate liquid-based explosives on flights between Britain and the US. Somchainuk Engtrakul, Chairman of the THAI Board, has announced that the airline has tightened security measures for flights to the US and UK, and also to the Philippines,…
- Phuket News
New dive rules reviewed for loopholes
PHUKET CITY: Aekachai Soonthorn, secretary to Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat, today told the Gazette that the new regulations for the diving industry are being reviewed by the Chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Prosecution Office, Bantoon Thongtan, who is checking for loopholes that dive operators might use to avoid compliance.“The regulations have been in the Public…
- Phuket News
Hospital, hotels, sign MOU on medical tourism
PHUKET: Bangkok Hospital Phuket has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with nine hotels to promote medical tourism in Phuket. Dr Kongkiat Kespechara, Director of Bangkok Hospital Phuket, said that the hospital would arrange first aid training for staff of the nine signatory hotels and would ensure staff knew what to do in the event of an emergency. The hotels…
