Revealed 500m bid for airport rail link

PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula yesterday told the governors of five Andaman provinces that he would like to see the Phuket light-rail project serve popular beaches on the island. “In my opinion, having the light rail expanded to serve the beaches would be a good idea,” Deputy PM MR Pridiyathorn said. “A lot of people visit the beaches, and if we have light-rail from the beaches to Phuket Town, a lot more tourists will have a better chance to learn more about Phuket and provide an economic boost to the town.” However, Deputy PM MR Pridiyathorn noted that the current plan for the light rail route is from Tha Noon in Phang Nga to the Phuket International Airport, Phuket Town then on to Chalong Circle, where the line will terminate (story here ). “I will think about this further and see if expanding the light-rail route can be done,” he noted. The light-rail project has been hailed by tourism experts as a game changer for Phuket. The 23.5-billion-baht … [Read more...] about Deputy PM calls for Phuket light rail to serve the beaches

close Video Janice Dean: Cuomo and aides 'should go to jail' for nursing home death cover-up Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean rips New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for covering up coronavirus deaths. It was Andrew Cuomo's Emmy-winning performance: daily televised coronavirus briefings in which the New York governor projected competence and compassion, helping to calm a nervous nation. Now, the many Americans whose positive impressions of Cuomo were formed during the height of the pandemic are getting a close-up of a very different governor, one accused of underreporting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, sexually harassing female staffers and bullying colleagues. CUOMO ADVISERS ALTERED REPORT ON CORONAVIRUS NURSING HOME DEATHS: WSJ To New Yorkers who have watched the Democrat for years, however, the allegations are consistent with how Cuomo maintains his tight grip on power. The same forceful, micromanaging, even adversarial style … [Read more...] about Cuomo’s scandals reveal to nation the governor New Yorkers know

Driving out to Don Mueang Airport it’s difficult not to notice the new BTS line that now extends from Mo Chit and past the airport. It looks finished and, apparently, will open before the end of the year. But running alongside are the remnants of an earlier, and very expensive, attempt to build a link out to Don Mueang, at the time in the 1990s, the only airport in Bangkok. Hopewell Thailand won the contract, then it was cancelled after they’d started building it (the huge concrete arches are all still there), Hopewell sued… and it’s been going on and on, in court, until the Supreme Administrative Court handed down its final decision this week. Thailand’s Transport Ministry and State Railway of Thailand have been instructed to pay 24 billion baht in compensation to Hopewell Thailand. But Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob says that the Ministry still intends to fight on, with another case still pending in the Central Administrative Court. The Supreme Administrative Court on … [Read more...] about Transport Ministry says they still want to negotiate the 24 billion baht Hopewell pay-out

PHUKET: More glimmers of hope have emerged that the days of the island’s notorious ‘tuk-tuk and taxi mafia’ may be numbered. Issues of democratic development aside, one of the National Council for Peace and Order’s (NCPO’s) greatest achievements has been its no-nonsense approach in breaking up the tourism-killing stranglehold that thuggish, self-entitled transport syndicates have maintained over the island for at least a couple of decades. While the battle continues, it is important to consider the underlying social constructs that allowed such a situation to develop in the first place. In a recent report, the Gazette provided some chilling information about the proliferation of teenage gang violence following the tragic killing of an innocent 15-year-old boy on the final night of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival. Unlike in Bangkok, where youth gang affiliations are typically associated with vocational schools, the situation here in Phuket much better reflects the localized … [Read more...] about Opinion: Moving public transportation forward

NHS nurses have slammed the government's proposal of a 'pitiful' 1 per cent pay rise after Rishi Sunak warmed Britain will be paying off Covid debts for decades. The Royal College of Nursing said nurses should be getting 12.5% more and said the government should expect a "backlash" should the suggested pay rise goes ahead. A staggering 1 million people will be dragged into paying the higher rate of income tax by 2025 thanks to the Chancellor's plans, they warned - taking the total to 5 million. Paul Johnson, from the IFS, warned that further tax rises are likely to lie ahead and said it was a "tale of two budgets" as the Chancellor extended several support packages including furlough for months to come. He said the tax burden is set to rocket to levels not seen since the 1960s, and warned gloomily: “It is possible we'll see even bigger ones over the next few years”. Mr Johnson said: “Take account of the cuts to planned spending announced in the Autumn and Santa Sunak, … [Read more...] about Budget 2021 news – NHS nurses’ FURY at ‘pitiful’ 1% pay rise after covid created toughest year in living memory