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  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Chiang Mai, Hua Hin best for retirees; Phuket’s best Raceweek

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Chiang Mai, Hua Hin best for retirees; Phuket’s best Raceweek

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chiang Mai, Hua Hin best The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Live and Invest Overseas website has ranked Chiang Mai and Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district as a couple of the world’s best places to retire due to the low cost of living and beautiful beaches.The…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Dengue vaccine in the works; Govt ignoring the elderly; Monk’s passport revoked; Biogas stations approved

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Dengue vaccine in the works; Govt ignoring the elderly; Monk’s passport revoked; Biogas stations approved

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sanofi set to make dengue vaccine The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Nobody knows for sure whether the trials of a vaccine for dengue fever will bear fruit, or provide new hope to countries plagued by the virus. However, a factory is now ready to start producing the…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: UK has new prince; Belguim has new king; Moroccan king to get new government

    Phuket Gazette World News: UK has new prince; Belguim has new king; Moroccan king to get new government

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Baby boy for Prince William and wife Kate Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prince William’s wife Kate gave birth to a boy yesterday afternoon, the couple’s first child and the third in line to the British throne, heralding celebrations in London and messages of goodwill from across the…

  • Phang Nga bus crash leaves 22 injured

    Phang Nga bus crash leaves 22 injured

    PHUKET: More than 20 passengers were injured when a bus en route from Bangkok to Phang Nga, north of Phuket, overshot a curve and crashed into a road barrier in Pranburi in Prachuap Khiri Khan province yesterday. A reported 21 passengers and the driver were sent for emergency medical treatment at Pranburi and Thanarat hospitals. Three were sent to Hua…

  • Phuket office identifies 82 “foreign-owned’ businesses suspected of using Thai nominees

    Phuket office identifies 82 “foreign-owned’ businesses suspected of using Thai nominees

    PHUKET: The Phuket Business Development Office (BDO) has identified 82 businesses suspected of breaching the Foreign Business Act (FBA) by using Thais as nominees so that foreigners can hold majority control. The businesses were identified ahead of raids by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) set for this week, targeting illegal foreign businesses in Phuket (story here). “After checking our…

  • Phuket boat captain charged for reckless driving resulting in death

    Phuket boat captain charged for reckless driving resulting in death

    PHUKET: A boat captain was charged with reckless driving resulting in death after the pickup he was driving on Chao Fa East road Saturday night struck a man on a motorbike, killing him.A-thit Hannongbua, 35, was travelling toward Phuket Town on Chao Fa East Road when 55-year-old Kittichai Prapanan pulled out from Soi Thanuthep on his motorbike, a witness told…

  • Headstrong Phuket buffalo causes three accidents

    Headstrong Phuket buffalo causes three accidents

    PHUKET: A pregnant buffalo that wandered onto the bypass road late Saturday night withstood the blows of three cars before dying in the median strip.Kusoldharm rescue workers were called to the bypass road in front of Porntip Sea Store at 1am yesterday to aid the injured motorists.The first vehicle to strike the buffalo was a taxi carrying passengers from the…

  • Aussie Oi! breezes in to Phuket Raceweek win

    Aussie Oi! breezes in to Phuket Raceweek win

    PHUKET: Winds gusting to 20 knots made for a perfect end to what has turned into one of the best Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek regattas yet. The weather conditions delivered fast and exciting racing throughout, leaving the sailors of more than 15 nationalities tired but happy. Two races for all except the Classic class made for a hectic schedule…

  • Phuket alcohol ban for Buddhist holiday, Gazette office closed

    Phuket alcohol ban for Buddhist holiday, Gazette office closed

    PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to inform our readers and advertisers that our office in Koh Kaew is closed today in observance of Asarnha Bucha Day (story here). Asarnha Bucha Day, the full-moon day of the eighth lunar month, commemorates the Lord Buddha’s first sermon to his first five disciples after attaining Enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago. Evening…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: MiG fighters found on NK ship; Abe in Japan poll victory; King Albert abdicates; Dubai jails woman for rape report

    Phuket Gazette World News: MiG fighters found on NK ship; Abe in Japan poll victory; King Albert abdicates; Dubai jails woman for rape report

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Panama finds MiG fighter jets on North Korean arms ship Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Panamanian investigators unloading the cargo of a seized North Korean ship that carried arms from Cuba have found the two MiG-21 fighter jets the Cuban government had said were on board, the government…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Health Ministry ramps up War on Dengue; Amnesty bill held to ransom; 2 slain in South; Monks moved

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Health Ministry ramps up War on Dengue; Amnesty bill held to ransom; 2 slain in South; Monks moved

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New strategy adopted to fight dengue: spray areas promptly The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has ramped up its fight against dengue fever and now requires hospitals to report to the area disease control department within three hours every time a dengue-fever…

  • Close racing, clean sheets on Day Three of Phuket Raceweek

    Close racing, clean sheets on Day Three of Phuket Raceweek

    PHUKET: Lightairs beckoned on Day Three of Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, but by starttime a solid 10 knots was blowing and Principle Race Officer (PRO) Simon Jamesgot the fleet underway on time yesterday. A single race was in order for IRCCruising and the Classic classes, while the rest enjoyed the solid breeze tocomplete two races. The wind held throughout…

  • Phuket Gazette Queer News: Northern women rub it for lucky numbers

    Phuket Gazette Queer News: Northern women rub it for lucky numbers

    PHUKET: A tree that bears a remarkable resemblance to a man’s nether regions is setting pulses racing in a village in the province of Kamphaeng Phet. The mango tree, which was found on land belonging to 50-year-old Mrs Lot Panthap, appears to have two legs, an arse, and a dork (or ‘penis’) hanging in the balance. Local villagers have been…

  • Fetus washes ashore in Phuket, police searching for mother

    Fetus washes ashore in Phuket, police searching for mother

    PHUKET: A 6-month-old fetus that police believe was dumped at sea washed ashore at Saphan Hin last night.Police and rescue workers responded to a 10:30pm call and found a crowd surrounding the body at the tip of Saphan Hin park in Phuket Town. Police believe the fetus had been dead for about two days.Kusoldharm workers took the body to Vachira…

  • Phuket Opinion: Enigmatic beach flags

    Phuket Opinion: Enigmatic beach flags

    PHUKET: You arrive at the beach ready for a day of sun, sea and sand, but you are greeted by a line of different colored flags lining the shoreline: red, red and yellow, yellow, blue, red and white chequered. Most people, myself included, aim for the area away from the red flag as they know what that means. The others…

  • Phuket Opinion: Sea change in mindset needed to avoid dire straits

    Phuket Opinion: Sea change in mindset needed to avoid dire straits

    PHUKET: The recent discovery and subsequent removal of a large fishing net from the well-known dive site Shark Point (story here) is just the latest in a long series of indicators that the marine environment off Phuket is in dire straits. Government researchers at the ‘National Parks and Protected Area Innovation Institute’ told a recent seminar that coral bleaching had…

  • Child rapist confesses to raping stepdaughter repeatedly for years

    Child rapist confesses to raping stepdaughter repeatedly for years

    PHUKET: Police arrested a child rapist yesterday after the man’s wife came home early from work and discovered that he had been raping her daughter repeatedly over an eight year period. The girl’s mother, Ms Kai (all family members were given aliases to protect the identity of the victim), reported her discovery first to her village headman, who then took…

  • Phuket cops bust ya bah dealers

    Phuket cops bust ya bah dealers

    PHUKET: Phuket police busted two ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers at a police checkpoint on Chao Fa East Road last night.The two men, Apichart Karaket, 26, and Surasak Tunyaudon, 22, confessed to police that they were paid between 3,000 and 4,000 baht to transfer the drugs from a dealer’s house in Thalang to another dealer’s house, Wichit Police Superintendent Chawalit Phetsipear…

  • Brainstorming Phuket’s future – indoor soccer stadiums make the list

    Brainstorming Phuket’s future – indoor soccer stadiums make the list

    PHUKET: Participants from almost every segment of Phuket society gathered on July 17 to tell local government leaders what improvements they want to see on the island in the next two years. The ideas ranged from indoor football stadiums in every tambon to solving the island’s traffic problems.Phuket government representatives along with members of state enterprises, private businesses and ordinary…

  • Phuket witnesses for Swede murder trial fail to show

    Phuket witnesses for Swede murder trial fail to show

    PHUKET: The trial of Swede Tommy Soderlund, charged along with fellow countryman Johan Ljung for a murder in Phuket in 2011, did not progress yesterday, as witnesses failed to appear in court. Mr Soderlund and Mr Ljung are accused of stabbing to death Maksim Schantz and then stealing a motorbike in order to escape the scene. Mr Soderlund admits to…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Two killed in Egypt; UN seeks proof of peacekeeper, rebel talks; Israel, Palestine lay groundwork for peace talks; Pope looks for Vatican reform

    Phuket Gazette World News: Two killed in Egypt; UN seeks proof of peacekeeper, rebel talks; Israel, Palestine lay groundwork for peace talks; Pope looks for Vatican reform

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two killed in clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi protesters Reuters/Phuket GazetteAn Egyptian woman and a 13-year-old boy were killed when supporters and opponents of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi clashed in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, the website of state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on Saturday.Thousands of…

  • Winds keep Phuket Raceweek fast and furious for Day Two

    Winds keep Phuket Raceweek fast and furious for Day Two

    PHUKET: Winds ranging from eight to fifteen knots gave all boats some long-course racing off Phuket’s southern coast for Day Two of the 10th Anniversary Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. Despite breakages and damage to six boats on the first day of the event, all were fixed and back in action yesterday with a full 37-strong fleet out racing on-the-water.The…

  • Phuket supercars dodge second DSI bullet

    Phuket supercars dodge second DSI bullet

    PHUKET: A second round of the Department of Special Investigation’s (DSI) probe into supercar owners suspected of tax evasion did not turn up any cars registered in Phuket. The second batch of cars under investigation was composed of only about 60 vehicles. However, only 548 (less than 10%) of the 5,834 registered luxury cars suspected of having been issued papers…

  • Winds, thrills pick up on Cape Panwa Phuket Raceweek 2013 day 2

    Winds, thrills pick up on Cape Panwa Phuket Raceweek 2013 day 2

    PHUKET: The 37-strong fleet at the 10th Anniversary Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek enjoyed some fast and furious racing yesterday off Phuket’s southeast coast. Winds exceeding 15 knots, combined with 2-3 meter swells, made for perfect Phuket sailing conditions on Day One of the award-winning regatta. Classic and IRC Cruising classes raced a single, long ’round-the-islands’ course, enjoying the strong…

  • Phuket Sports: Zack attack as clock is turned back

    Phuket Sports: Zack attack as clock is turned back

    PHUKET: “It was when I got on the bike that the old racing instincts began to kick in and I got a little bit excited,” says Jürgen Zack, Thanyapura Senior Head Coach of Triathlon Academy and five times Roth winner. At this year’s international triathlon highlight, Zack, Thanyapura’s Triathlon Academy Senior Head Coach and legend of the sport, notched up…

  • Island trade drops by nearly 60% since last year

    Island trade drops by nearly 60% since last year

    PHUKET: Three-quarters of the way into the government’s current fiscal year, the island’s export-import industry is dwindling, particularly when compared to last year’s benchmark trading year. Phuket Customs House’ records through June 30 show that the value of exports in the 2013 government fiscal year (October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013) so far, is just over 5 billion baht…

  • Phuket’s inflation 10% higher than country

    Phuket’s inflation 10% higher than country

    PHUKET: The island continues to outpace most of the rest of the country in terms of inflation, with the cost of living in Phuket during the first six months of the year, growing at a rate 10% faster than Thailand overall. Meanwhile, headline (overall) inflation in the Kingdom’s two main cities in the North and Northeast was more than 40%…

  • Officials bow out of Phuket Airport Express bus launch

    Officials bow out of Phuket Airport Express bus launch

    PHUKET: The long-awaited Phuket airport-to-beach bus hit the road at 9:30am today with little fanfare. Passengers on the inaugural ride from Phuket International Airport to Patong included media, tourists and relatives of bus operator Prakob Panyawai. No Phuket officials were along for the ride. Married couple Ben and Kim, first-time visitors from England, had just arrived from Kuala Lumpur and…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rice tests approved; Abhisit for vox pops amnesty; Ranong border dispute; Nenkham’s 8 tonnes of gold; Chiang Mai trains resume

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rice tests approved; Abhisit for vox pops amnesty; Ranong border dispute; Nenkham’s 8 tonnes of gold; Chiang Mai trains resume

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rice importers unfazed as tests approved The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: As the government scurries to restore consumer confidence in Thai rice, buyers abroad are unfazed by problems with pesticides and fumigation.“Foreign importers are still placing orders for our rice,” Wallop Pitchyapongsa, secretary-general of the Thai Rice…

  • Construction starts for Region 8 Police headquarters in Phuket

    Construction starts for Region 8 Police headquarters in Phuket

    PHUKET: A ground breaking ceremony was held today to mark the construction of the new Region 8 Police headquarters, as plans go forward to move the office from Surat Thani to opposite the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint in Phuket. The construction for the new building, expected to cost about 84 million baht, started on June 3 and is slated to…