The News Review:

- Thailand Real Estate & Property Guide
- Thai strategies to fight climate change
- A holiday abroad may work out cheaper this New Year
- 26 December marks 3rd anniversary of Great Tsunami
- Evicted villagers fight for their rights
- Lawyers seek justice from govt for survivors who’ve lost their…
- Family volunteer holiday in Cambodia

Thailand Real Estate & Property Guide
Thailand Real Estate & Property… – Dec 26, 2007
32 million) of financial assistance was injected into the businesses hotel operators gradually re-opened their properties since the Boxing Day 2004 disaster and by the end of this year 10 of the operators could re-launch their businesses Mr. He said hotels´ average occupation rate of foreign tourists in Khao Lak a major tourist attraction in Phang-nga and one of the areas most seriously affected by the tsunami was satisfactory as the average booking and occupancy rate was 80 per cent. More jobs were being offered and filled which indirectly meant local tourism was reviving in the area Dr. Pichit said adding shops and tourism related business could also be restored. Wirat Songsang owner of Khao Lak Palm BeachResort and Mokdara Beach Resort in Phang-nga said with the Fund´s financial assistance he has built a new hotel of a higher standard for foreign tourists particularly those fromScandinavia which are now their major target clientele. He believed that with the tsunami warning system in place the local authorities could ensure the safety of tourists and that the economy and tourism industry of Khao Lak could revive with bright prospects for growth.

Thai strategies to fight climate change
Nation Multimedia – Dec 26, 2007
The major sources of Thailand's emissions arise from changing land-use patterns and increased energy consumption. Deforestation has led to a drastic drop in the amount of carbon stored in standing biomass and soils. Thailand lost forest area rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s – about 3 per cent annually. Fortunately the trend shows a slower rate of deforestation partly due to a 1988logging ban. Rice farming has also been linked to global warming through methane production. However the main source of greenhouse gas emissions is in energy conversion and consumption processes by the industrial power and transportation sectors. The Thai government has announced a commitment to participate in international climate-change forums… However the overall problems are grim and of such unprecedented proportions that they will need concerted action over a long time – in the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions in energy conservation and in the use of alternative energy sources. These are just some of the actions that will need to be taken rapidly on a large scale worldwide in order to successfully meet the challenges of climate change. Adapted from the Inaugural Address at the Nation Conference November 23 2007 Inter-Continental Hotel Bangkok. Yongyuth Yuthavong is minister of Science and Technology and acting minister of Natural Resources and the Environment. Yongyuth YuthavongThe Nation.

A holiday abroad may work out cheaper this New Year
IBNLive.com – Dec 26, 2007
Favourite holiday spots like Goa and Kerala are giving out rooms at Rs 20000- Rs 25000 per night. Some high end packages are also going for a whopping Rs 35000 a night and more. Add to this the airfare and your holiday works out to be significantly more expensive than a short trip to Bangkok or Singapore or Sri Lanka. Premium hotel rooms in these foreign destinations are available at anything between $150 to $200 a night… So international holidays are cheaper. “Even the smaller three and four star hotels are giving rooms for Rs 10000- Rs 15000 per night for the New Year ? of course with a dinner and dance thrown in! And if hotels are cashing in the airlines can’t be far behind. Whether you fly budget or a full fare airline tickets the cheapest ticket to Goa for example is around Rs 12000 ? that’s almost as much as the cost of going to Thailand or Malaysia. Mercury Travel Vice Chairman Ashwini Kakkar says “A ticket to Bangkok or Sri Lanka is Rs 12000 while a ticket to Goa works out to be Rs 17000. It’s not worthwhile going to Goa then. “Packages this year are about 10 per cent more expensive than last year but this has not deterred people from travelling. Apart from the regular ones destinations like Shimla Manali and Udaipur are also completely sold out.

26 December marks 3rd anniversary of Great Tsunami
Global Surf News – Dec 26, 2007
If you have been to the Krabi Thailand area you will know that these karsts (rock formations) are about 120 to 160 meters tall. These photos show spray going upward well over 20 meters! This photo was taken on Railey beach. We were on a long tail boat that literally surfed the tsunami swells as they were about to break.

Evicted villagers fight for their rights
๒ดอะ ๒à¸à¸à¸±à¹à¸ – Dec 26, 2007
My neighbours think I'm crazy to fight people in power. But if I give up like they did how could my mother rest in peace?" Prasong Boonsawang of Baan Lam Kaen near Khao Lak National Park admires Sanchai's determination to fight for justice. When he found out the beachfront land on which his home once stood was claimed by a hotel owner from Phuket he was devastated. "I wanted to fight but my parents are old and we have no resources. We have nothing to engage in a legal battle with rich people. I had to concede with the deepest pain I ever had in my life" he said. To Suwit the villagers have no way to fight for their land if the law is not changed to recognise community customary rights… I had to concede with the deepest pain I ever had in my life" he said. To Suwit the villagers have no way to fight for their land if the law is not changed to recognise community customary rights. There are thousands of communities throughout Thailand facing eviction by property developers he said. But both Prasong and Sanchai supported Suwit's and his legal team's effort on the land law amendment although it will not have a retroactive effect on their cases. "I'm just happy that at least some justice will be there for my fellow poor people elsewhere in the future" Sanchai said. Nantiya Tangwisutijit The Nation Top Stories Justice waiting Thaksin in Thailand: Abhisit Chuan says courts independent not someone’s tool 1 student injured in rival school fighting in front of Police Hospital DSI instructed to wrap up Saudi jewellery theft case before 2010 Thaksin’s phone-in message will be broadcast on DTV website Red-shirted people raid Santi Asoke branch in Chiang Mai Villagers block roads to construction site of Phuket hotel Abhisit encounters lone female protester in Nonthaburi 1 injured in sand barge collision Red-shirted people urge Burma Singapore to boycott Asean summit.
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Lawyers seek justice from govt for survivors who’ve lost their…
๒ดอะ ๒à¸à¸à¸±à¹à¸ – Dec 26, 2007
My neighbours think I'm crazy to fight people in power. But if I give up like they did how could my mother rest in peace?" Prasong Boonsawang of Baan Lam Kaen near Khao Lak National Park admires Sanchai's determination to fight for justice. When he found out the beachfront land on which his home once stood was claimed by a hotel owner from Phuket he was devastated. "I wanted to fight but my parents are old and we have no resources. We have nothing to engage in a legal battle with rich people. I had to concede with the deepest pain I ever had in my life" he said. To Suwit the villagers have no way to fight for their land if the law is not changed to recognise community customary rights… I had to concede with the deepest pain I ever had in my life" he said. To Suwit the villagers have no way to fight for their land if the law is not changed to recognise community customary rights. There are thousands of communities throughout Thailand facing eviction by property developers he said. But both Prasong and Sanchai supported Suwit's and his legal team's effort on the land law amendment although it will not have a retroactive effect on their cases. "I'm just happy that at least some justice will be there for my fellow poor people elsewhere in the future" Sanchai said. Nantiya Tangwisutijit The Nation Privacy Policy © 2006 Nation Multimedia Group.

Family volunteer holiday in Cambodia
Amherst Bee – Amherst Bee (subscription) – Dec 26, 2007
“It’ll be great to see the kids one year later” Kalb said. “(The hospital has) also expanded their facilities from just the one room. ” The Kalbs will also be hosting a pool party at their hotel for the children they are teaching. HPE International is a global faith-based organization focused on alleviating poverty in underdeveloped countries. In a correspondence during last year’s trip Kalb noted the plight of the people in Cambodia and how it affected his family. “The hardest part of the trip is the rampant poverty” he said. “We like to walk to dinner at night but often by the time we get to the restaurant MarLisa and Elisa have no appetite… “When the kids heard what we were going to be doing they said ‘No you have to take us too’” Kalb said. “After we got back they said that we don’t ever want to go on a regular vacation again. ” The experience not only encouraged a return holiday trip but it also made an impact on Ryan who is now teaching English at Assumption University in Bangkok Thailand. “I think last year really played into his decision” Kalb said. “He applied after he got home. ” But the trip has made an impact on the whole family according to Kalb. “We certainly don’t take the modern necessities for granted anymore” he said.

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