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THAILAND: -- According to the Danish newspaper, Politiken, Danish Motorcycle gangs, Hells Angels and Bandidos, are getting more visible in Thailand, but now a cooperation between the Danish and the Thai police is set to keep a close eye on the bikers, who are known for a wide variety of criminal activities in Denmark.

“The motorcycle gangs can forget setting up Thailand as a base for their criminal activities. In both Denmark and Thailand there is a strong will to fight the kind of crimes these gangs are known for. We are now sharing information and we are willing to assist the Thai police in specific cases as well,” says Kim Kliver, Head of the National investigations center of the Danish Police.

The Danish police are very much aware of the fact that Thailand could be seen as the perfect place to hide money as well as supplying the bikers with drugs and women for prostitution.

“Women from Asia are the largest group of women being trafficked to Denmark, and because of that we will be very much on our toes to see if the bikers are showing interest of getting in to that business as well,” says Kim Kliver.
According to the Danish paper, the Danish bikers are mostly operating in Thailand and Pattaya.

ScandAsia 2012-05-18

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BANGKOK: -- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has found three road locations at risk of subsidence - at Wireless Road, Phayathai Road and Rama I Road - while the BMA Public Works Department will early next month begin to remove thousands of unauthorised telephone booths.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Theerachon Manomaipiboon said the BMA Public Works Department and district offices had surveyed 157 locations that recently underwent road repair in 36 districts. At 100 of these locations the PWD used ground penetrating radar (GPR) to scan for abnormalities beneath road surfaces. The inspection was expected to be completed this May, when the city will formulate a long-term road repair plan.

So far they have found three risky spots - a section of Wireless Road in front of Ayudhaya Bank; Phayathai Road in front of Pathumwan Princess Hotel; and Rama I Road near the BTS National Stadium Station's third foundation post, he said. Officials will dig to further assess the subsidence risk.

The BMA Traffic and Transportation Department, the BMA Public Works Department and the district offices will together plan the road survey and the installation of public warning signs. They will also review the road/overpass building/repair dates to allow officials to estimate usage time and maintenance of roads and overpasses. He said that they would also work with infrastructure offices to maintain sewers and footpaths. He urged the public to alert city officials via the hotline 1555 if they spot cracks on concrete-paved roads or sinkholes in road surfaces.

Theerachon said there were 31,395 phone booths in Bangkok - including 325 authorised booths belonged to CAT Telecom, 5,828 True Corporation booths (3,227 authorised booths and 2,601 unauthorised booths), and 14,049 TOT booths (not yet sorted).

There were 13,361 booths belonging to six companies with TOT concessions - of these 2,533 were already removed. He said the BMA Public Works Department and agencies would meet on May 21 to survey phone booths and remove illegal ones. The removal would begin in early June and should be complete by August 12 - or December 5 as the latest.

The Nation 2012-05-17

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According to the agency, this “rare opportunity” starts from May 19.
“She is a virgin, you can tell,” the Brisbane times quoted a spokeswoman as telling a major newspaper.


“She goes to your place or hotel and you can spend two days together. She does not have a boyfriend and she wants to do it for the money,” she said.

The escort agency recruits mostly Asian women aged 18 to 25 and suggests to potential workers they can make easy cash.

The website written in English and Chinese suggests working for the agency “to solve your financial problem within short time”.

“Want to earn tuition fee? Reduce your family financial burden? Want to buy luxury brand like Louis Vuitton, etc? Please contact us immediately!! We will tailor a work plan to help you resolve your financial problem within short time!!” it says.

The agency’s website has photos of the girl but her face is obscured.

Women’s advocate Melinda Tankard Reist said the virginity sale and promotion of luxury goods as a cause to work for exposed the brothel’s lack of ethics.

“If the woman is in financial need then the brothel is a vulture preying on her financial desperation,” she said.

“Are they putting the girl’s interests first or profiting from her and don’t care about what happens the night she loses her virginity?

“No woman should have to sell her body for education. Has anyone asked why she needs the money? If she is a schoolgirl, is the school involved? Shouldn’t teachers or staff look at her situation and help find a better way?” she said.

Tankard Reist also questioned what sort of man was attracted to this proposition.

“This raises a lot of questions. Why would someone want to pay to take a girl’s virginity?” she said.

Leading Feminist Eva Cox, said it was a “very crappy” situation for all involved.

“Something is wrong in society to encourage this sort of behaviour but this prurient interest about a financial transaction is also a worry.

“I think sex work itself is a perfectly legitimate occupation but I just don’t think this is a good way to start one’s sex life,” she said.

Feminist social commentator, Nina Funnell, said there was a double standard when it came to male and female virginity.

“As a society we still fetishise female virginity by artificially binding it to notions of purity and, in doing so, ascribe a sort of moral character and value to the female hymen. A man who would pay this amount has bought into this and is reaffirming the importance of that perceived purity by assigning a market value to it,” she said.

“Moral crusaders intent on banning sex work will also respond to this with unusual levels of zeal,” she added.

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We offer 74 deluxe and comfortable rooms, stylishly decorated with tasteful artwork like Bengal tiger print sofa set and vivid color tones like red and violet.

At Mac Boutique Suites, the rooms are divided into 5 types.

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Pattaya has been selected as the official role model for other resort destinations in Thailand, according to the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).


With a focus on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions), Akapol Sorasuchart, outgoing president of TCEB, praised Pattaya as a resort leader for others to follow, having introduced many routes for international and domestic corporations, destination management companies and professional convention organisers.
Pattaya and Chonburi were identified offering six distinct types of activity ranging from adventure tourism to luxury tourism products.
Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome reflected on the city’s long history of attracting tourists and holiday makers, but pointed that Pattaya now is interested in attracting more business travelers, especially as their spending profile tended to be about 25 percent higher.
Easily accessible from Bangkok, less than 100 miles away by high-speed motorway, Pattaya now boasts almost 400 international-standard hotels with a combined total of 30,000 rooms. The Hilton Hotel, housed in the up-market shopping mall Central Festival Pattaya Beach, has been particularly successful in the MICE market with its state-of-the-art conference facilities for 700 people.
Other major conference facilities are featured at the Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel, the Eastern National Sports Training Centre and the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH) at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.
Panga Vathanakul, managing director of the Royal Cliff, said 100 million baht has been set aside for major renovation of the lobby and restaurant and for a new children’s club–all in a bid to attract family clientele as well as MICE travellers. Other hotels are investing heavily in energy-saving and environmentally-friendly initiatives to lessen the impact of the carbon footprint.
Using Pattaya as the pioneering basis, resorts such as Chiang Mai and Phuket will be encouraged to develop applications for penetrating new markets, corporate organizations and international companies.
The accolade by the Conventions Bureau for Pattaya to be a model city for entrepreneurialism is the latest in a series of awards and recognition of the city’s transformation into a multi-faceted resort no longer wholly dependent on nightclubs and raucous entertainment. Last year, Pattaya and Chonburi-area golf facilities were acclaimed to be the finest in Asia by a prestigious Australian operator. Pattaya is the site of world-class golf and tennis championships. And local music festivals now attract an international crowd of devotees.

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BANGKOK: -- The Deputy Bangkok Governor has ordered law enforcement authorities to crack down on unauthorized street vendors at bus stops, BTS stations and on pedestrian bridges.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Wallop Suwandee has ordered all city law enforcement officers to maintain order and cleanliness by cracking down on unauthorized street vendors, particularly at bus stops, BTS stations, crosswalks and on pedestrian bridges.

The merchandisers are asked to set up their stands only in the designated zones.

The ordinance will be enforced vigorously. This includes parking in no-parking zones. The city law enforcement officers will be working with the police to ensure order in Bangkok.

Wallop has also warned Bangkokians that unapproved street signs and banners will be torn down in accordance to the city cleanliness act.

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