Month: December 2011

  • World News

    Phuket Media Watch – Man confesses to setting elderly woman on fire

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man confesses to setting elderly woman on fire in NYC elevator Phuket GazetteA 47-year-old man has confessed to killing an elderly woman by setting her on fire in a New York City elevator during the weekend, local media reported on Monday. Jerome Issac turned himself in…

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  • Phuket News

    Swede found dead on superyacht in Phuket

    PHUKET: Phuket Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a Swedish woman whose body was discovered yesterday in the cabin of a superyacht where she worked as a crew member. Devina Marie Lindgren, 21, was found dead aboard a private yacht moored off Patong Beach yesterday. The 90-meter yacht Lauren L, taking part in the Asia Region…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Town hotel raises stink over fish factory smell

    PHUKET: The Silver Hotel in Phuket Town has complained to the province that odor from a nearby seafood processing plant is costing them up to 400,000 baht monthly in lost revenue. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak met with Silver Hotel Managing Director Monluck Tantipornsawat on Thursday to discuss the issue. The formal complaint followed an inspection of the nearby Phuket…

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  • Phuket News

    Expert panel to lead Phuket tsunami memorial activities

    PHUKET: A panel of experts led by Dr Smith Dharmasaroj, former head of the National Disaster Warning Center, will stage a public discussion on disaster management as part of the tsunami memorial services on December 26 this year. Dr Smith, also a former head of the Thai Meteorological Department, is renowned as the man who warned the Thai government to…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket hotel reimburses robbed Aussie tourists

    PHUKET: The management of a Phuket hotel agreed to pay some 150,000 baht in compensation to an Australian couple who claimed their room safe was robbed of 255,000 baht. Australian tourist Jim Nagi, 44, said he first noticed cash missing from the safe in his hotel room at the Andaman Beach Suites Hotel in Patong on December 8. “At first,…

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  • World News

    Phuket Media Watch – Death toll nears 1,000 in the Philippines

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death toll nears 1,000 after Tropical Storm Sendong hits the Philippines Phuket Gazette The death toll after Tropical Storm Sendong hit the southeastern Philippines over the weekend has surpassed 950, emergency officials said on Tuesday morning. Dozens more remain missing. Sendong made landfall over the northeastern…

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  • Phuket News

    “Washi’ goes wishy-washy: no effect in Phuket

    PHUKET: Tropical storm “Washi”, which killed nearly 1,000 people in the Philippines, will have virtually no effect on the weather here in Phuket, the Phuket Gazette has been told. However, residents of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Trang and Satun provinces could experience unseasonable rainfall over the next two days. A forecaster at the Southern Meteorological Center…

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  • Phuket News

    Don’t judge Thorpe… yet.

    PHUKET: “It’s not a concern now. Maybe later, but now it’s too premature. I’m in training at the moment. I don’t look at where I come in the race.” Ian Thorpe, former Olympic and world swimming champion, said it was much too early to judge his recent comeback results in Italy. Thorpe finished 16th overall in the 100m freestyle and…

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  • Phuket NewsDispute between Phuket expats may lead to charges of extortion | Thaiger

    Dispute between Phuket expats may lead to charges of extortion

    PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a restaurant owner in Phuket’s busy tourist town of Patong, on Phuket’s west coast, after he visited another Patong restaurant owner and threatened him if he didn’t “repay” 7 million baht. Lt Col Tammasan Boonsong told the Phuket Gazette today that he arrived at Orient Restaurant at 7pm last night with a squad of police officers…

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  • Phuket News

    Villagers mourn death of Plai Sang, 67

    PHUKET: Villagers of Lam Tab District in Krabi, a 40-minute boat ride across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, are mourning the death of one of their most respected members – 67-year-old Plai Sang. The bull elephant was caught in 1956 and is believed to have been a sibling of Plai Pra Sawet, a highly respected elephant that was caught and…

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  • Thai Life

    Phuket Lifestyle – King’s Cup review

    PHUKET: It has been quite a few years since I’ve joined the melee of press at Phuket’s King’s Cup Regatta. But this year was special. It was the 25th regatta and the closing party was a celebration of a sailing event that has survived such catastrophes as tsunamis, bird flu, economic disasters, change of venues and unreliable sponsorship. The King’s…

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  • Property

    Mandala Phuket takes home best condo award

    PHUKET: Mandala Condominiums took home the prestigious Best Condo Development at The 2011 Thanachart Bank Thailand Property Awards, held recently at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in Bangkok. Mandala Condominiums – a collection of 24 over-sized apartments, all with private pools and located in Phuket’s prestigious Laguna area, was recognized at a gala ceremony attended by more than 600 CEOs,…

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  • Business News

    Chalong Marina ready in 2012

    PHUKET: Work on the 70-million-baht Chalong Bay Marina project is now about 90% complete and should be finished early in the new year, officials say. Phuriphat Teerakulpisut, Chief of the Marine Department Region 5 office in Phuket Town, said opening of the 44-slip facility will improve the island’s ability to accommodate the growing number of yachts that port in Phuket…

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  • World News

    Update – North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies of heart attack

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies of heart attack Phuket Gazette Kim Jong-il, the mysterious Communist leader who ruled North Korea for more than seventeen years, died of a massive heart attack on early Saturday morning, the government announced today. He was 69 or 70 years old.…

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  • Thai Life

    Phuket decor – Love for Oriental life

    PHUKET: Oriental living is an established purveyor of exclusive interior design concepts and Asian art, renowned for their influence in establishments on Koh Samui for over 20 years. With a great degree of interest in Oriental Living’s diverse product range coming from Phuket, managing director Michael Dietvorst, decided to expand the company’s profile. On December 8, a grand opening ceremony…

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  • Phuket News

    MMA bar brawler Junie Browning: “not in Phuket’

    PHUKET: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Junie Browning, who is wanted by Phuket Police for his role in two serious brawls, has contacted the Phuket Gazette with his detailed version of events. At the time of posting, the Gazette was seeking comments from people and institutions mentioned in Mr Browning’s version of events. In his email below, Mr Browning did…

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  • Phuket News

    Yvon Van Eyersen cremated in Phuket

    PHUKET: A small group of friends and Red Cross officials gathered at Wat Saen Suk on Wednesday for the somber cremation ceremony of long-time Phuket resident Yvon Van Eyersen of Belgium. Mr Van Eyersen passed away early Tuesday morning, immediately after staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital turned off his life support apparatus. The Belgian suffered a stroke early some time…

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  • Thai Life

    Phuket Gardening – put a cork in your garden

    PHUKET: There are small trees around Phuket that you simply never notice until they suddenly burst dramatically into bloom. Millingtonia (Indian cork tree) is one of these. A verdant wayside presence during the monsoon, it comes into its own in October, producing masses of white, fragrant flowers which account for one of its popular names of “tree jasmine”. A more…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket golfers getting ready for Youth Games

    PHUKET: The Youth Golf Club of Phuket has sent one young player to compete in the United States before preparing for the Phuket Youth Games to be held from May 28 to June 5 with 10 other members of the club. Jinjuta Thongtan, a student at Satree School Phuket, was selected to represent Thailand at the World Junior Golf Series…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Youth Sailing Club stars in King’s Cup dinghy events

    PHUKET: A strong fleet of 34 Optimist and eight Lasers took part in the recent King’s Cup International Dinghy Regatta, with fifteen sailors from the Phuket Youth Sailing Club (PYSC) between the ages of seven and 15 who joined other sailors from Phuket, Phang Nga, Samui, Songkhla and Sattahip to take part in the three-day event. On day one, the…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s Flynn second on Asia Pro surf tour

    PHUKET: Thirteen-year-old surfing star Annissa Flynn from Phuket closes her 2011 surfing season with top-ranking success. Phuket’s own super surfer has returned home after three weeks on the road to finish up the 2011 surfing season on a high. Having posted three wins and a second place at competitions held in Hong Kong and Malaysia, Annissa has finished second overall…

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  • Thai Life

    A blistering effort yields stout respect

    PHUKET: They may not have made their way into the Guinness Book of World Records, but Jay Walker and Russell Distance Russell made their way into local folklore on December 11 after walking three-legged for over 16 hours and 40 minutes and covering over 70km. The two men, also known on the island by their DJ monikers “Shark” and “Sniffer”…

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  • World News

    Phuket Gazette breaking news – North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies during train ride Phuket Gazette The Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, died on early Saturday morning, state-run media announced today. He was 69 or 70 years old. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim died at…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket’s ‘labor shortage’ more imagined than real

    PHUKET: Government assistance to help solve the chronic “labor shortage” in the island’s tourism industry is unlikely to have much impact this high season, given Phuket’s reputation as an expensive place to live. (See page 11, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full issue.) A scan of the comments in popular online forums…

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  • Phuket News

    FC Phuket draw, Krabi clinches Div 1 berth

    PHUKET: Krabi FC will join FC Phuket in Thai Premier League Division 1 next season thanks to a last-minute goal in a do-or-die match against promotion contenders Rayong FC last night. In front of a standing-room-only crowd at Krabi Provincial Stadium last night, the Andaman Eagle’s equalizer came only moments after Rayong FC scored the game’s first goal – at…

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  • Phuket News

    Facebook ‘predator’ arrested as Phuket mum pleas for help

    PHUKET: Eleven days after her disappearance from a Phuket Town internet cafe, 12-year-old Phuket schoolgirl Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya remains missing. Nong Pin’s mother Samruay Saenthaweesuk told the Phuket Gazette this morning she has yet to receive any leads regarding her daughter’s whereabouts and continues to fear she might have been abducted by someone she met online while using the…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket port expansion to get Cabinet push: Kittisakdi

    PHUKET: Deputy Minister of Transport Kittisakdi Hathasongkorh yesterday vowed to support plans to expand Phuket’s Deep Sea Port, which have run aground over its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. At a meeting at Phuket’s Deep Sea Port, Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut yesterday explained to Mr Kittisakdi that his office had been working for more than a year on…

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  • World News

    Phuket Media Watch – journalist killed; radioactive metal in Moscow

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Founder of political newspaper shot dead in Russia’s Dagestan Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A leading Russian journalist and the founder of a local political newspaper was killed by a gunman on late Thursday evening, officials said on Friday. Human rights organizations are calling for a full investigation.…

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  • Phuket News

    Peacock delivers “pheasant surprise’ in Krabi

    PHUKET: A rubber tapper in Krabi, Phuket’s sister province across Phang Nga Bay, got an unexpected surprise this week when he discovered a live peacock of a species thought to be extinct in the region. Jamrad Kuannakorn and his wife arrived at a rubber plantation in Khao Kram sub-district before dawn on Tuesday, starting work as usual, when they heard…

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  • Thailand News

    Phuket Media Watch – death toll from flooding in Thailand reaches 740

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death toll from flooding in Thailand reaches 740 Phuket Gazette The death toll from months of severe flooding across Thailand has reached at least 740, the country’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported on Friday. About 3,652 villages in 80 districts of nine provinces in the…

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  • Phuket News

    Driver charged over death of pregnant Phuket resort worker

    PHUKET: The driver of the six-wheeled truck that struck and killed 27-year-old resort worker Arayada Budsayakul on the Patong beach road last month has been charged with reckless driving causing death. Ms Arayada was four months pregnant when she died in the accident on November 8. Lt Pathapee Srichai of Patong Police yesterday told the Phuket Gazette that the driver,…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Update: Krabi massacre mastermind caught in Phang Nga

    PHUKET: Police in Phang Nga have arrested the mastermind behind the triple-homicide that took place outside a Krabi mosque on Sunday night. The suspect confessed to organizing the massacre. He said the attack was revenge for “insults” the targets had made about his brother after defeating him in a local election. Region 8 Police in Surat Thani identified the suspect…

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  • Thailand News

    Phuket Media Watch – Six bombs defused in eastern Bangkok, man arrested

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six bombs found and defused in eastern Bangkok Phuket Gazette / The NationThai police found and defused six home-made explosive devices at three separate locations in Bangkok, officials said. One suspect has been arrested. One explosive device was placed in front of a Bangkok Bank branch;…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket TB outbreak prompts call for “better migrant worker tracking’

    PHUKET: An outbreak of tuberculosis in Phuket that has hospitalized nearly 60 Burmese workers has prompted the Phuket Immigration chief to call for a more integrated approach to tracking their growing numbers on the island. Phuket Immigration Superintendent Panuwat Ruamrak called for more comprehensive tracking of migrant workers during a fact-finding visit to Phuket by the House Committee on Labor…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket parties as Patong Carnival gets underway

    PHUKET: Heavy downpours stopped just in time last night as thousands of people lined the streets of Patong to watch the parade and opening ceremonies of Phuket’s annual Patong Carnival. The colorful parade comprised of floats from 23 Phuket organizations along with countless more people who joined in the celebrations at the last moment. “Phuket has many beautiful tourist attractions…

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  • World News

    Phuket Media Watch – dengue outbreak; alcohol update; New York woman crushed by lift

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dengue fever outbreak in western Indonesia kills 27 Phuket GazetteAn ongoing outbreak of dengue fever in western Indonesia has killed at least 27 people in the past two months, officials said on Thursday. Hundreds more have been affected. Health officials on Thursday confirmed that two more…

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  • Phuket News

    Superyachts arrive for Phuket Rendezvous

    PHUKET: Superyacht spotters in Phuket are in for treat this weekend as some of the finest luxury yachts in Asia ply Phuket’s west coast as part of the annual Asia Superyacht Rendezvous. The Rendezvous, now in its 11th year, is the longest-running superyacht event in Asia and boasts the largest gathering of superyachts in the region, explained Nina Larsson, Public…

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