PHUKET: A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.
nationmultimedia.com The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has given a deadline for officials to finish within 30 days their checks on forest encroachment in the national park area of Phuket. DNP chief Damrong Phidet said Forest land encroachment in Phuket followed a cabinet resolution which allowed people to occupy the land in 1975. Many natural resources and much forest were destroyed. ''The government must cancel this cabinet resolution,'' he said.
''bangkokpost.com Contrary to what Thai authorities claim, Don Muang airport appears not yet ready to resume international flights. The South Korean budget carrier T'way Airlines says the problems it encountered has prompted it to halt service there, saying it was bombarded by ''uncountable'' complaints from Thai and foreign passengers alike.
Among the problems faced by T'Way are too few check-in counters, no refund facilities for value-added tax, breakdowns of luggage carousels, lax security and a shortage of immigration officers. Most electric devices at Don Muang were constantly out of order.
nationmultimedia.com Thailand should open up more provincial airports and make better commercial use of those such as Phuket, Chiang Mai and Udon Thani because they are in a strategic position to connect to neighboring nations, said Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia Group.
irrawaddy.com The United States remains ''deeply concerned'' over increasing sectarian tensions in western Burma and reiterated calls for restraint by all parties, but refused to back allegations of ''ethnic cleansing'' made by the Organisation of Islamic Countries.
nationmultimedia.com The mother of British woman Sarah Jones, who was raped and murdered in Chiang Mai 12 years ago, offered 10,000 British pounds (nearly 493,000 baht) to anyone who comes forward with information leading to an arrest in the case.
thesun.co.uk Amy Winehouse's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil was on a life-support machine last night after collapsing following a cocktail of drink and drugs.
nationmultimedia.com Occupants of vehicles of any kind who drink alcohol during travel are now subject to six months imprisonment and/or a 60,000 baht fine, Thailand's Office of Alcoholic Beverages announced. Drinking occupants and drivers will be equally liable. The penalties will also be imposed on drinkers in vehicles parked on sidewalks or shoulders of public roads.
scmp.com Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai, murdered a British business associate by pouring poison into his mouth after he had become drunk and vomited, a court official said after China's most sensational criminal trial in decades. The verdict will be delivered later.
washington post In the Soviet playbook for all-out war with the United States, the wasting of US cities by nuclear bombs was to be followed by something equally horrifying: waves of plagues to kill any survivors. Soviet scientists spent decades preparing for the second attack, concocting new kinds of biological weapons more lethal than any ever invented.
latimes.com Men under stress not only rated the attractiveness of heavier women more positively, they found women appealing across a wider size spectrum than did men who were not stressed, says a new study published by the open-access journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One.
bangkokpost.com Starbucks Thailand has opened two Bangkok drive-thrus and is s set to open 10-15 new Starbucks branches in the current fiscal year ending on October 31, compared with 10 new stores opened last fiscal year. The company expects the number of Starbucks outlets in total to reach 154 this year.
smh.com.au Usain Bolt became the first man to win the 100m and 200m gold medals at consecutive Olympic Games. Bolt, betraying no tiredness from his partying with half the Swedish women's handball team after he won the 100m final on Sunday night, was quick out of the blocks and powered around the bend to have the field covered by the first 100m.
theage.com.au David Rudisha of Kenya won the men's 800 metres Olympic title in a stunning new world record of 1min 40.91sec.
scmp.com American pair Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor claimed their third straight women's beach volleyball gold medal.
bangkokpost.com Millions of Thais are expected to cheer boxer Kaew Pongprayoon Friday night when the country's only remaining gold medal hopeful will be in action in the semi-finals of the light flyweight division.
telegraph.co.uk Manchester United will become the most valuable football club in the world following its controversial flotation in New York.
bloomberg The Glazer family is seeking an enterprise value of $3.8 billion for the 134-year-old team in tomorrow's IPO, about $1.9 billion more than the value of Spain's Real Madrid, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Forbes.
August 12 HM The Queen's Birthday
September 12-15 Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition, Patong
September 24 Mahidol Day
October 14-23 Vegetarian Festival
November 24 Laguna Phuket Triathlon
November 28 Loy Kratong Day
December 1 World AIDs Day
December 1-8 King's Cup Regatta
December 5 HM The King's Birthday
December 10 Constitution Day
December 15-20 Patong carnival
December 25 Christmas Day
November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket
"Occupants of vehicles of any kind who drink alcohol during travel are now subject to six months imprisonment and/or a 60,000 baht fine, Thailand's Office of Alcoholic Beverages announced. Drinking occupants and drivers will be equally liable. The penalties will also be imposed on drinkers in vehicles parked on sidewalks or shoulders of public roads."
Would love to see that happen on Phuket roads. I mean, the check on vehicle drivers for alcohol, maybe at around 1-2am in the night.
Posted by ??? on August 10, 2012 07:56