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- Phuket News
Miss Universe beauties to visit Phuket
PHUKET: Miss Universe 2005 contestants will visit tourist attractions and hospitals, and learn about “Phuket culture”, when they visit the island on May 19 on a tour designed to boost Phuket’s tourism industry.The 82 young women from around the world will spend a day in the province during the run-up to the competition, which will take place in Bangkok on…
- Phuket News
Dengue fever cases up sharply
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) is urging the public to take steps to eradicate mosquitoes around their premises in an effort to prevent the spread of dengue fever. Despite efforts by the PPHO to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne disease after the tsunami, there have been 68 reported cases of the disease since the beginning of the…
- Phuket News
Princess visits tsunami survivors
PHUKET CITY: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has visited Phuket to donate fishing equipment to survivors of the December 26 tsunami.The Princess’s first stop was in Baan Khok Tanod, Chalong, where around 500 local people were waiting to greet her.Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura told the Princess about two areas that were damaged by the tsunami and the 216 houses and…
- Phuket News
Phang Nga airport plan put on hold
PHUKET CITY: Plans to build an airport in Phang Nga have been put on ice because of the tsunami.Deputy Transport Minister Vichet Kasemthongsria last year backed a proposal to build an airport on Koh Kho Khao, an island just north of Baan Nam Khem, in Takuapa District, to serve the province’s then-booming tourist industry.But Takuapa District Chief Administration Assistant Kanitsorn…
- Phuket News
Phuket “badly needs a plan’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket desperately needs a long-term development strategy following the tsunami, a Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) seminar entitled “Phuket Alert” was told yesterday. The PCC is considering development issues facing the province and will make recommendations within two months so that they can be included in a development plan for Phuket now being drafted by the National Economic and…
- Phuket News
Meridien chain close to new ownership
PHUKET: Plans are on the table for recapitalization of debt-ridden Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, which operates four hotels in Southern Thailand.Two of the hotels, Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort and Le Meridien Khao Lak, are to reopen later this year after being severely damaged by the catastrophic events of December 26.Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club at Nai Harn…
- Phuket News
Seminar on natural disasters
PHUKET CITY: Government officers and people involved in the hotel trade and other tourism-related businesses in the six Andaman provinces struck by the December 26 tsunami gathered at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on April 30 for a seminar on “earth-based natural disasters”.The event was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).The aim…
- Phuket News
Mixed reviews for tsunami drill
PATONG: The practice evacuation of the southern half of Patong Beach this morning received mixed reviews, from both tourists and the many government officials who attended. Arriving by helicopter shortly after 10 am, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra met a crowd of some 1,500 volunteer evacuees, many of them children wearing T-shirts made specially for the event. Also on hand were…
- Phuket News
Night Bazaar opening postponed by a year
PHUKET: Construction of the Phuket International Night Bazaar (PINB) has been put back by a year and the number of shops it will include has been slashed by 80%, because of the tsunami.Buildiers should have started work on the 170-rai site off Chao Fa West Rd in March, and the Bazaar should have been completed by November, ready for the…
- Phuket News
PM to attend evacuation drill in Patong
PHUKET CITY: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and ambassadors from some 40 nations are expected to be on hand to witness tomorrow’s evacuation drill in Patong. At a meeting held yesterday morning at The Metropole hotel, Pongpow Ketthong, Deputy Director-General of the national Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD), said Patong’s evacuation plan was now 95% complete and that it would…
- Phuket News
Chain of tsunami lookout towers planned
PHUKET CITY: Three beach guard stations – out of 50 being built along the coasts of Phuket and the other Andaman provinces – will be in place in Patong before the end of July. A further 16 will be built in Phuket later.The stations will enable beach guards to monitor the sea for signs of tsunamis, as well as watch…
- Phuket News
Fired deputies call for Mayor to quit
PHUKET CITY: Ayuth Tansiriroj, one of three Deputy Mayors recently fired by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana, yesterday called for the Mayor herself to resign.Mayor Somjai dismissed her three deputies – K. Ayuth, Niwate Aroonrat and Piya Siamhan – on April 8. K. Niwate was, however, given another position on the Mayor’s administrative team.K. Ayuth and K. Piya yesterday held…
- Phuket News
Evacuation practice set for April 29
PHUKET: Tourists hitting the sands of Patong Beach early next Friday morning may find themselves in for a bit of a surprise, as the province plans to conduct a tsunami evacuation drill in the area at 10 am on April 29. An “evacuation route map” and a variety of warning signs were presented Wednesday to a seminar at The Metropole…
- Phuket News
Phang Nga Gov raps banks over slow loans
PHANG NGA: Phang Nga Governor Anuwat Metheeviboonwut yesterday criticized banks and other financial institutions for taking too long to process applications for soft loans by business owners affected by the tsunami.Gov Anuwat said, “The problem we have today is that 80% of the business owners are still waiting for loans from financial institutions to be approved.“If the financial institutions were…
- Phuket News
Free tickets for Fed Cup tennis
PATONG: Free tickets are available for the April 23 and 24 showdown between Thailand and Croatia in Group 2 play of the Federation Cup (Fed Cup) tennis tournament, the woman’s equivalent of the Davis Cup.The Thai team of Tamarine Tanasugarn, Suchanun Viratprasert, Napaporn Tongsalee and Montinee Tangphong arrived in Phuket yesterday morning and went straight to Patong to examine the…
- Phuket News
Eel makes meal of diver’s digit
PHUKET: A 32-year-old Briton is recovering in hospital here after his left thumb was bitten off and eaten by a giant moray eel while he was diving at the well-known East of Eden dive site in the Similan Islands.Matt Butcher, of Stanstead, Essex, said he had fed the 2.2-meter eel regularly over the past 18 months, and that she was…
- Phuket News
TTVI center denies deadline for victim IDs
PHUKET: Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Bracken, the Commander of the Information Management Center (IMC) at the Thai Tsunami Victims Identification (TTVI) center, today denied that the TTVI will stop identifying bodies of tsunami victims within two months.An IMC spokeswoman also denied there are any plans to bury bodies that remain unidentified two months from now.The announcement follows one by Phuket…
- Phuket News
Arthit fails to convince Dulwich parents
PHUKET: In a stormy meeting in the Dulwich International College auditorium this afternoon, the school’s CEO and founder, Dr Arthit Urairat, clearly failed to allay parents’ worries about the future of the school.Central to the parents’ concerns is the relationship between Dr Arthit’s team and the franchiser, Dulwich College, London (DCL), with several parents making it quite clear that if…
- Phuket News
Two-month deadline set for tsunami victims ID
PHUKET CITY: The bodies of 2,370 tsunami victims remain unidentified due to a lack of forensic evidence, but the operation to identify them will be wound up soon, a senior Phuket police officer said yesterday.All those that have not been identified within the coming two months will be buried at the Sea Gypsy cemetery in Mai Khao, Provincial Police Deputy…
- Phuket News
19 hurt as bus overturns in rain
TAH CHAT CHAI: Police are hunting for the driver of a bus which overturned yesterday injuring 19 passengers.It is thought the driver, named so far only as “Kittisak”, lost control of the Bangkok-bound bus in bend in the road near Baan Koh En, during heavy rain.The Phuket Central Tour bus came to a stop upside down in a ditch. All 19 passengers on board…
- Phuket News
Ministry puts Phuket Air under microscope
BANGKOK (TNA, Gazette): The Ministry of Transport has promised to launch a probe into budget airline Phuket Air following a 24-hour delay in a flight from Bangkok to London which left more than 400 passengers stranded on April 11.The seriousness with which the ministry is treating the matter was highlighted by the response of Deputy Transport Minister Phumtham Vejjayachai, who immediately…
- Phuket News
Trees to act as “tsunami breaks’
PHUKET: Trees may be planted along the Andaman Coast to give some protection to the land from future tsunamis, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat said this weekend.The Minister, on a visit to Phuket, said that buildings that had been sheltered from the sea by trees, particularly casuarinas, appeared to have suffered much less damage during the tsunami than…
- Phuket News
Marine police on lookout for oil smuggling
PHUKET CITY: Despite the recent rise in diesel price of more than 20%, local authorities say there is still no sign of a resurgence of large-scale smuggling of oil into Phuket.Pol Lt Col Prasopchai Bunleusin, Deputy Superintendent of Marine Police Region 5, explained that most of the oil smuggling along the Andaman Coast takes place in waters off the coasts…
- Phuket News
Park to fill Pak’s shoes
MAI KHAO: South Korean Si Re Pak has pulled out of next week’s Tiger Skins 2005 golf tournament, citing a back injury. She will be replaced by compatriot Grace Park.Much is expected of Park, 26, who won two major Ladies’ Professional Golf (LPGA) tournaments last year, including the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She was also awarded the the 2004 Vare Trophy…
- Phuket News
Drive to break transport “mafia’ launched
PHUKET: In an attempt to improve public transport on the island, Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has announced his support for a new project aimed at putting hundreds of metered taxis on Phuket roads and launching an Airport Bus service.On April 1, the Governor presided over the launch of the “Taxi Phuket Development Project” at Central Festival, during which he also announced…
- Phuket News
Phuket Air to dump London for Amsterdam
BANGKOK: Phuket Air is to axe direct flights between Bangkok and London, citing the impending low season, and will be replacing the route with a new service between Bangkok and Amsterdam.The airline’s marketing and communications manager, Krona Visutrasai, told the Gazette the London flights had been “suspended temporarily”, and that the company intends to reintroduce the route, but with a…
- Phuket News
Unidentified man stabbed to death
PHUKET CITY: A man was found dead in Tambon Rassada on the night of March 30, shortly after he was seen being attacked by three others.The man, who has not yet been identified, was found at the entrance to Moo Baan Niramit, Moo 3, Trang Road, Tambon Rassada, not far from the area that has been dubbed “the Burmese Cemetery”…
- Phuket News
Patong nixes 100-day ceremonies
PHUKET: Patong Municipality has no plans to hold remembrance service on April 4 to mark the passing of 100 days since the tsunami, but services will take place in Kamala and at Wachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket City. Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukbal told the Gazette yesterday that he agreed with Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, who has barred “ghost-laying” ceremonies after April…
- Phuket News
Shoppers urged to report cheating vendors
PHUKET: People who believe they have been ripped off by shops overcharging – and blaming the hike in diesel prices – are being urged to report the shopkeepers to the Phuket Internal Trade Office (PITO), on Tel: 1569.The office has also issued a checklist to help customers “Buy clever and save money” after the price of diesel soared by 24%,…
- Phuket News
Danish royals to visit Phang Nga
PHUKET CITY: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and his Australian-born wife, Crown Princess Mary, accompanied by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his wife Anne-Matte, are to visit Phang Nga on April 15 and 16.The party will inspect areas devastated by the December 26 tsunami and take part in a memorial service for those who died.Mr Anders Rasmussen has…
