Google Maps increased the number of countries that have street maps and satellite imagery with 54. “We’ve more than doubled our coverage of Latin America and are now mapping three times as many countries in Asia as before. (…) We have better detail for some countries than others, but this is just the beginning,” boasts Google LatLong Blog. While this a good news, some people complain that “the data is inaccurate and outdated” or only available “at the highway or major-road level”.

Here’s a list of the new countries, powered by Google Spreadsheets (the area is automatically generated using the GoogleLookup function and can be inaccurate). The largest country is Kazakhstan and the smallest territories are Bermuda and Aruba. Argentina, the eighth largest country in the world, is still a blank area on the map.

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Sleepless residents living near Suvarnabhumi airport have reached a deal with aviation authorities following talks on Tuesday.

Key protestor, Prasert Boonkaew, said he was satisfied with promises made by Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen that he would follow up on the progress of noise mitigation schemes and financial compensation owed to affected residents.

Protest leaders warned residents not to release balloons in a bid to disrupt air traffic, as they had threatened before the emergency meeting was held.

Airport continuing serious crackdown

More than 900 illegal taxi drivers and tour guides were arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport in June and July as the airport is working harder to ensure passenger safety. Suvarnabhumi airport director Serirat Prasutanont said the crackdown had brought illegal taxi and guide activities down by 70-80%.

The airport sought police help in cracking down on illegal operators preying on visitors. In June, police made 235 arrests, and in July, 686 arrests.

With more than 10 people arrested more than once, the Airports of Thailand (AoT)’s legal division is exploring how to bar any people arrested more than three times for such an offence from entering the airport premises.

He admitted such illegal operations had damaged the country’s image because some customers were over-charged, assaulted and robbed.

Mr Serirat said the airport is also preparing records of transportation and tourism agents and their vehicles’ registration numbers.

Notices would be put up at the airport displaying taxi charges for trips to other provinces as fixed by the Land Transport Department. For a destination within Bangkok, the charge would be as shown by the meter, plus the 50-baht airport charge. Mr Serirat added that any taxi drivers found to have overcharged a passenger would be prohibited from picking up passengers at the airport for at least 10 days.

The crackdown has been a blessing for the legal limousine and taxi business. Limousine service operators now made 850-900 trips a day, up from 700 previously.

Taxi trips rose from 4,500 to 6,000 a day.

Starting next month, taxi pick-ups would be relocated from the first floor to the second floor of the terminal, where passengers arrive, he said.

Some Bangkok Mass Transit Authority buses would be allowed to pick up and drop off passengers on the first and fourth floors of the terminal.

The Thai government has set aside Baht174 million (Rs20.60 crore, $5 million) to spend on residents living near Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, who have been protesting against noise pollution. But the cabinet’s spending plan did not mention how the money would be spent.

The decision came after thousands of residents rallied outside the airport on Sunday 9 September in what they said would be their “last peaceful move” to pressure aviation authorities to address their grievances.

They said the airport has been slow in making compensation payments and in mitigating the impact of the noise that has haunted them for over a year now.

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An Airbus A380 demonstration flight in Bangkok operated by Airbus SAS and carrying 150 passengers was delayed for almost four hours today after the aircraft hit a building at the international airport.

“All the planes being manufactured are on track,” he said.

The Transport Ministry agreed yesterday to set up a tripartite committee to help meet the demands of enraged residents affected by aircraft noise at Suvarnabhumi airport.

The committee will be formed next week and will comprise Airports of Thailand (AoT) officials and residents’ representatives, and an independent party to include legal experts and academics, Transport Minister Adm Theera Haocharoen said.

The panel will act as an adviser to the ministry and examine the residents’ demands to see if they can be accommodated within the framework of the law.

It will also suggest solutions.

The move is an effort by state agencies to calm down thousands of residents from 32 housing estates to the north and south of the airport.

They have threatened to release a large number of balloons into the air to disrupt air traffic if AoT does not broaden its noise mitigation scheme and compensation payments to include more homes.

”They have promised not to carry out [violent] actions,” Adm Theera said after meeting with villagers’ representatives yesterday.

”I believe solutions will become clearer within nine days, even though all problems will require a longer time to solve.”

The residents staged a mass protest at the airport on Sunday and gave the AoT nine days to meet their demands.

Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said the AoT agreed to hire outside institutions to re-inspect areas affected by plane noise to ensure fair compensation for the residents.

An earlier inspection by the Pollution Control Department (PCD), endorsed by a cabinet resolution in November last year, suggested paying compensation to 1,800 households suffering from noise higher than 70 decibels and 25,000 households affected by noise levels between 60 and 70 decibels.

However, the cabinet revised its resolution on May 29 this year, reducing the number of households in the first group to 773 and the second group to 18,253 _ drawing fierce opposition from the residents.

A ministry source argued the May 29 resolution was soundly based. The adjustment was needed because the PCD based its inspection on the maximum number of flights, which was not the actual situation.

The AoT also will not pay compensation to people who settled in the area after 2001, when the airport’s construction began.

”The AoT board is ready to help affected residents … but that help would be based on reality,” said AoT board chairman Saprang Kalayanamitr.

Protest leader Wanchat Manathamsombat said he wanted the tripartite committee to work on following the Nov 21 cabinet resolution.

Mr Wanchat yesterday stood down as protest leader, saying he feared he would not be able to control the residents’ anger if their demands were not met.

The Airports of Thailand (AoT) which manages Bangkok’s new international airport plans to hold talks with representatives of local residents currently living in the neighborhood of Suvarnabhumi airport who are being seriously affected by air traffic-related noise pollution.

AoT spokesman Chirmsak Pinthong said the state firm will negotiate with several representatives of residents around Suvarnabhumi airport by the end of this month so that compensation can be offered.

The AoT may respond to the damage caused by noise pollution either by buying the victims’ houses or paying for home repairs, he said.

Only those who have lived in the area prior to 2001 will be considered for planned compensation, which is yet to be approved by the cabinet. If approved, all compensation would be provided next month.

Airlines and passengers may be charged an extra fee for causing noise pollution, as was done in Japan and Australia, he said, adding that the AoT is considering collecting the special fee to compensate residents affected by aircraft noise. (TNA)

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