Vientiane rail track on the way
September 3, 2010 by Rapeepat Mantanarat
Filed under News
NONGKHAI, 2 September, 2010 — Construction of a railway line from Tha Na Laeng near the Thai-Lao border, adjacent to Thailand’s Nong Khai province, to Vientiane city is expected to begin this December, railway officials confirmed Friday.
The project will eventually connect Vientiane City to the main Bangkok-Nong Khai line, but will take three years to complete
Thai baht soars to two-year height
BANGKOK, 2 September, 2010 – Thailand on Thursday ordered the central bank to keep a close eye on the baht and “prepare measures” after the currency soared to a 29-month high against the US dollar, the finance minister said.
Travel industry sources expressed concern as the Thai baht also gained against the UK pound and Euro. They estimate a strong baht could raise the cost of travel to Thailand by as much as 15% when compared with costs in 2009. A stronger baht makes Thailand more expensive for travellers from key markets such as UK and all the Euro currency countries.
Thai PM backs world expo bid
September 3, 2010 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
BANGKOK, Thailand’s, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will officially announce Thailand’s intention to bid for World Expo 2020 during his tour of World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, 5 September.
The Cabinet approved the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s proposal to host World Expo 2020, at its weekly meeting last Tuesday.
It assigned deputy prime minister, Sanan Kachornprasart, to coordinate with TCEB to select a host city which will involve a detailed feasibility study of the three short-listed provinces; Ayutthaya, Chon Buri and Chiang Mai to be submitted within120 days. The study will be paid for out of TCEB’s annual budget and identify a single candidate city.
Pakistani officers mistreated in US
WASHINGTON, 1 September, 2010 – A delegation of Pakistani officers refused to attend a defense conference in the United States this week in protest over their treatment at a Washington airport, officials said Wednesday.
The nine Pakistanis were about to fly to Tampa, Florida from Dulles International Airport for a three-day conference at US Central Command when they were pulled off the plane and questioned for more than two hours.
Reliance buys into Oberoi
MUMBAI, 1 September, 2010 – A unit of India’s largest private firm Reliance Industries has bought a 14% stake in one of the country’s most luxurious hotel chains in a US$217-million deal, the companies said last Monday.
The giant conglomerate, headed by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, said its unit Reliance Industries Investment and Holding had acquired a 14.12 % stake in East India Hotels, which owns the Oberoi and Trident brands.
SQ cracks down on Facebook
SINGAPORE, 2 September, 2010 – Singapore Airlines has directed its flight attendants to avoid discussing work-related matters on Facebook and other social networking websites, company officials said Thursday.
The image-conscious airline, which is consistently ranked by passengers as one of the world’s best, took action after some cabin crew were found to have discussed confidential job issues on Facebook.
Qantas in engine failure scare
SYDNEY, 2 September, 2010 – Passengers on a Sydney-bound Qantas jet rocked by an exploding engine Thursday described how the plane felt like it had hit a “speed bump” and showered flames and sparks like fireworks.
The Qantas Boeing 747-400 had to turn back to San Francisco about half an hour into Monday’s flight after an engine failed, blasting a large hole in its casing.
Passengers among the 212 on board finally arrived in Sydney on Thursday, and told of their alarm when the engine gave way with a “loud thump”, sending rumbles through the aircraft.
Strong yen boosts travel
TOKYO, 2 September, 2010 – Japanese people are making the most of a strong yen to travel abroad and reap the benefits of their increased purchasing power, the president of US airline Delta said in Tokyo Thursday.
Ed Bastian said the carrier had seen an increase in passenger demand from Japan as a result of the currency’s recent strength against major units.
“We are seeing significant improvement in our outbound travel because of the strength of the yen,” he said at a press conference.
SAS will host mile-high gay wedding
STOCKHOLM, 1 September, 2010 – Scandinavian airline SAS said Wednesday it plans to host the first-ever in-flight gay wedding in December, and is searching for a suitable couple to walk down the airplane aisle.
“It will be a very traditional wedding,” SAS spokesman Anders Lindstroem told AFP. “There will be wedding cake and dancing in the aisles.”
SAS is accepting entries from gay couples who wanted to celebrate their nuptials mid-flight from Stockholm to New York, 6 December, with the winning entry will be chosen by an online vote.
Myanmar the missing link in ADB plans
September 2, 2010 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under News
BANGKOK, 2 September, 2010 – The thick forested Dawna mountain range in southeast Burma is a major obstacle blocking Asian Development Bank ambitions to link Burma’s road network with the East-West-Corridor highways that cross central Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
A detailed report in the online Irrawady states that “the still-to-be-built 40-km stretch across the mountain in military-ruled Burma is a key to making the Asian Development Bank’s East-West Corridor a reality.”
The Manila-based bank has been promoting the 1,450-km long highway claiming it will improve trade and tourism across mainland Southeast Asia. The East-West Corridor, as it is identified in ADB reports, starts in central Vietnam at the country’s coastal port of Danang and crosses Laos to Savanakhet on the banks of the Mekong River.