HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Shared prayers, meals to remember victims of devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

City spends 21-million baht to boost tourism

Safe driving parade spreads message

Scorpion Queen sets prickly records

Russian media sees we’re still smiling

Safer poultry for Chinese New Year

City hall flag at half mast for deceased Guinean leader

Vehicles banned from pier at night

Fake police steal 20 baht

Bout will remain in custody in Thailand

Finnish tourist collars pick-pocket

Italian charged with child abuse

Belgian dies from hotel fall

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Shared prayers, meals to remember victims of devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Fachrurradize Gade
Banda Aceh, Indonesia (AP) - The victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were honored by thousands of mourners Friday who prayed, burned candles and shared meals on beaches from Indonesia to India.

Buddhist monks chant prayers during remembrance services at Dolphin Park on Patong Beach in Phuket, Friday, Dec. 26, on the fourth anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)

For many, the modest ceremonies were a time to reflect on their lives and weigh progress in rebuilding homes and communities wiped out by the killer waves that struck a dozen nations.
Ibrahim Musa, a 42-year-old civil servant in the hard-hit Aceh province of Indonesia, said it feels like yesterday that his family was taken by the sea.
“Even after four years, I cannot forget how I lost hold of my wife and baby,” he said. “I have tried in vain to look for them for three years. Now I have no choice but to accept their departure as destiny.”
Musa gathered with thousands of others along the Aceh coast, where a massive earthquake triggered the tsunami that killed 230,000 people - more than half of them in Indonesia.
Siti Hasnaini, 40, who still lives with her two sons and husband in a temporary shelter, prayed “for my daughter who was washed away with my house.”
Homes for Hasnaini and nearly 900 other families are scheduled to be completed by February, a month before the Indonesian government winds up its reconstruction mandate, said government spokesman Juanda Djamal.
Total spending has reached $5.48 billion, 70 percent paid out of foreign donations, and more than 124,000 houses have been built, he said.
On Thai beaches, where thousands of locals and tourists died, family members and friends gathered for services, including one in the sand under palm trees held before hundreds of spectators.
Paulette and Bauke Van den Wyngaard, a Dutch couple who return to Patong beach every year to visit the spot where they survived the deadly surge, were among them.
“We were lucky to survive. Others were not as lucky,” said Paulette, who was pulled from the raging water by a hotel worker.
In India, where thousands also perished, interfaith prayers and a moment of silence was held.
Hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, hospitals and businesses have been rebuilt across the region in the largest relief operation ever seen.
AP reporter Mike Casey in Bangkok contributed to this report.

City spends 21-million baht to boost tourism

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya and Chonburi are using a 21-million baht budget to boost flagging tourism in 2009.

Mayor Itthipol Khunplome addresses the city council about his plans to solve the tourism slowdown.
Pattaya City plans many promotional campaigns next year aimed at domestic tourists, funded by a six-million baht budget approved by the city council, and Chonburi Provincial Administration Organization has allocated 17 million baht to Pattaya to help the city counteract the ongoing economic crisis.
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome said in a meeting held on December 16 at Pattaya City Hall that the tourist industry was likely to face major problems as statistics now show a 40-50% reduction in the number of tourists.
He said Thailand’s recent political upheavals are taking their toll as international tourists cancel their holiday trips, showing much concern about security. Pattaya City has informed embassies about the safety precautions that have been set up but time is needed for the situation to return to normalcy.
Many events throughout next year aim to attract as many tourists as possible. Chinese New Year celebration will be “enormous” as well as the Pattaya Music Festival organized with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for March of 2009.
Eight million baht has already been received, negotiations are being made with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to increase the budget for bigger events, he said.
A recent marketing event called Wow Pattaya ran from December 12 to 14 at Central World Mall in Bangkok, where tour packages were displayed to attract domestic tourists.
Mayor Itthipol said long-term marketing strategies involving collaboration between state and private organizations have been made with a total budget of over 21 million baht to be used for consulting companies to plan events and for continual advertisements.

Safe driving parade spreads message

(L to R) Pol. Col. Sarayut Sanguanpokai, superintendent at the Pattaya Police Station, Mayor Itthipol Khunplome and Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay spread the safe driving message.

Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
“No drinking and driving, no driving while using a phone and compose oneself before starting the vehicle,” was the slogan of the government’s road safety campaign to reduce accidents during the New Year festival.
On December 22 in front of the Pattaya Police Station, the Non-Communicable Disease Bureau at the Pattaya Public Health and Environmental Office and police organized an accident-reduction promotion parade joined by Mayor Itthipol Khunplome, Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay and Pol. Col. Sarayut Sanguanpokai, superintendent at the Pattaya Police Station, and others.
The activity’s chairman Mayor Itthipol Khunplome said that Thailand accident statistics number 75,000 each year with more than 900,000 deaths and injuries.
“From these statistics, it can be seen that road accidents are a significant problem in the country at this moment. Therefore, the Pattaya Public Health and Environment Office and police fully realize the importance of preventing accidents, especially during the New Year festivities,” he said.
This safety campaign provided people with knowledge concerning driving and traffic rules. In the event of someone breaching the law, there will be a maximum of three months in prison, or a 1,000-2,000-baht fine.
This includes prohibiting people using a cellphone when driving, which is already being enforced, and has been since May 8, he said.
The safety promotion parade then moved off from the Pattaya Police Station to Walking Street to broadcast its message.

Scorpion Queen sets prickly records

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Believe it or not “Nong Na”, the Thai Scorpion Queen, is at this moment writing herself into the Guinness Book of Records right here in Pattaya. She is setting world records for keeping a scorpion in her mouth and for being in the same space with 5,000 scorpions for more than a month at a time.

Nong Na settles into her new “home” as she prepares to break her own record by living with 5,000 scorpions for 33 days and nights.

The one and only Kanjana Ketkaew, aka Nong Na, 39, has just set a new world record by keeping a very large scorpion in her mouth for 2 minutes and 3 seconds without being stung to death.
Not satisfied with that feat, at Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Pattaya Nong Na is preparing to break her own world record of six years standing by living with 5,000 scorpions over a period of 33 days and nights. She expressed confidence that she would be able to accomplish the feat.
So the stage is set for an event supported by the TAT Pattaya Office and Minor International Public Co., Ltd. The Scorpion Queen stepped into the glass room at Ripley’s on December 24 and will live with the black stinging roommates until January 24.
The rules say the Scorpion Queen can come out of the room for 15 minutes every 8 hours and three times per day for 45 minutes for a total of 33 days.
The scorpion used for the mouth record put up a fight, struggling all the while to come out, during the Scorpion Queen’s effort to keep it in her mouth for as long as she could. Nong Na had to use her tongue and was able to keep it in there for the two minutes and three seconds to set a new Guinness book record.
Asked what her secret method was, she simply said that as she didn’t harm the scorpions, they returned that courtesy.
We’ll gladly take her word of mouth for it.

Russian media sees we’re still smiling

(L to R) Elena Shlineva from the Russian Federation Federal Agency for Tourist International Cooperation presents a souvenir to Banglamung District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun, Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay and Witsanu Charoensilp, director of TAT in Moscow.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Members of the Russian mass media were invited to come to see for themselves that the recent political conflicts had passed and that Thailand remains the “Land of Smiles.”
The Moscow office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) invited a large contingent of 15 mass media agencies and tourism enterprises to tour from December 19 to 26 to have a good look for themselves.
Witsanu Charoensilp, director of the TAT Moscow Office, together with Sergey Shpilko, president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, and Elena Shlineva from the Russian Federation Federal Agency for Tourist International Cooperation, and other Russian media guests attended an official reception at the Montien Hotel in Pattaya on December 22.
Witsanu talked about how the long-running demonstrations between the yellow and red-shirted political opponents which closed the airports had sent bad news about Thailand throughout the entire world.
The country has been able to solve problems quickly but as many tourism agents still did not trust the current situation, it was best for them see for themselves.
The media tour of the eastern region visited Utapao International Airport, Nong Nooch Tropical Garden, the Sanctuary of Truth, the Floating Market of Four Regions in Pattaya, Khao Chichan, Yanasangwararam Temple, Suvarnabhumi Airport and they were to meet Pornsiri Nanoharn, director of TAT.
Niti Kongkrut, director of TAT Pattaya Office, said Russian tourists had been increasing in number every year to become the largest national group with more than 100,000 arrivals each year, overtaking Chinese and South Koreans.
But Russian numbers had recently dropped corresponding to the domestic problems in the nation so Niti urged the media representatives to report back to Russia that all is safe and well again.

Safer poultry for Chinese New Year

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Poultry destined for the dining table or the offering platter for the coming Chinese New Year can display seals to show that it meets safety standards as approved by the Department of Livestock.

A vendor holds birds at a market, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. During the upcoming Chinese New Year, Chonburi’s Department of Livestock is encouraging the public to buy only chicken meat displaying safety seals to show that the meat is clean and free of disease. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)

Rangsan Rawangsamrong from the Department of Livestock and other officials held a meeting at Chonburi City Hall on December 19 to ensure disease-free poultry to celebrate Chinese New Year 2009.
The poultry that is approved by the Department of Livestock will have seals to show that the meat is clean and free of disease. Some 630,000 of these seals are sold nationwide at one baht per seal.
Rangsan said demand for poultry will be high during Chinese New Year when people pay respect to the gods and their ancestors.
The department has organized the campaign of “Safe Poultry for Chinese New Year 2009” to ensure that those poultry with seals on are clean. More information can be had by contacting departments of livestock in all provinces.
The Department of Livestock of Chonburi encourages the public to buy only the meat displaying seals for safety and cleanliness.

City hall flag at half mast for deceased Guinean leader

Pattaya marks the passing of General Lansana Conte
by lowering the Thai flag over city hall.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The national flag flew a half-mast over city hall December 24 to 26 as a gesture of condolence for the death of the president of the Republic of Guinea, General Lansana Conte.
General Conte, who ruled his West African country for 24 years, died at the age of 74 on December 22 after a long illness from diabetes and leukemia.
Pattaya City received the order from Bangkok to lower the Thai flag at the city hall as a mark of respect.
General Conte was born in 1934 to farming parents. He joined the armed forces of France and was trained in the Ivory Coast and Senegal before being sent to fight the war in Algeria in 1955. He seized power of Guinea in 1984.

Vehicles banned from pier at night