Month: March 2012

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Police to start patrols with the “All Blacks’

    Phuket Police to start patrols with the “All Blacks’

    PHUKET: Phuket Police will soon be patrolling the streets of Phuket in brand-new all black Mazda2 cars. The 10 new patrol cars were bought with 5.9 million baht provided by Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok, said Phuket City Police administrator Charturong Laddayam. “The new patrol vehicles are expected to improve our international image and help our relations with tourists,”…

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  • Thai LifePhuket lifestyle: Breaking the school barrier

    Phuket lifestyle: Breaking the school barrier

    PHUKET: Seven intrepid stand-up paddlers will take to their boards on March 13 to navigate the 90 miles around Phuket over five days. The circumnavigation of Phuket is to raise funds to build a school for impoverished children in the Rassada Port area, on the east side of Phuket Town. The port area is well known as one of the…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Seventh person executed in the US this year

    Phuket Gazette: Seventh person executed in the US this year

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Texas executes man for killing estranged wife, her boyfriend PHUKET (News Wires): A Texas man was executed yesterday for murdering his estranged wife and her new boyfriend in the Houston area in September 2001, officials said. He is the seventh person to be executed in the…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette: Expert says Western lifestyle spawns ‘global public health disaster’

    Phuket Gazette: Expert says Western lifestyle spawns ‘global public health disaster’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UN expert says globalization of Western lifestyle spawns ‘global public health disaster’ PHUKET (News Wires): A United Nations independent expert on Tuesday said an international public health disaster persists as undernourishment and overweight problems have spawned from the globalization of western lifestyles. UN Special Rapporteur on…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette: Thai women courted; Hopewell back in public eye; PM in Japan;

    Phuket Gazette: Thai women courted; Hopewell back in public eye; PM in Japan;

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pheu Thai, Democrats take different paths in wooing women voters PHUKET (The Nation): Both parties cite the importance of women, their roles in taking care of families and their forming a key part of the workforce. As the world celebrates International Women’s Day today, the two…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Bomb kills six British servicemen | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette: Bomb kills six British servicemen

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Roadside bomb kills 6 British troops in southern Afghanistan PHUKET (News Wires): Six British service members were killed on Tuesday when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, Britain’s Ministry of Defense confirmed yesterday. It is the worst day for British troops in Afghanistan since…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Convention Center project up in the air – again

    Phuket Convention Center project up in the air – again

    PHUKET: Efforts to build a world-class convention and exhibition center in Phuket remain mired in red tape, and a recent visit to the proposed project site by two Government advisers raises little hope that the work will begin any time soon – if ever. The latest twist in the decades-old saga came with a visit to the proposed project site…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Earthquake threat for Japanese nuclear plant

    Phuket Gazette: Earthquake threat for Japanese nuclear plant

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fault under Japanese nuclear plant could trigger powerful earthquake PHUKET (News Wires): A fault under the reactors of a nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan could trigger a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of up to 7.4 on the Richter scale, experts warned yesterday. The Urasoko…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette: Don Mueang; Yala bombing; Sex ‘trade’ not ‘traffic’

    Phuket Gazette: Don Mueang; Yala bombing; Sex ‘trade’ not ‘traffic’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Passengers give top marks to Don Mueang restart PHUKET (The Nation): According to a survey conducted by The Nation, only budget airline Nok Air was in operation at the airport. Passengers said they found the service convenient. Security guards said there had been no disruption since…

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  • Thai LifePhuket lifestyle: Diving without water

    Phuket lifestyle: Diving without water

    PHUKET: Divers take water for granted, be it mucky water, cold water, beautiful Phuket water or even pool water. We presume there will be water when we dive. So my last dive, a “dry” dive at 18 meters in a sub-aquatic safety services (SSS) recompression chamber, was a novelty. Recompression chambers, also known as hyperbaric chambers, have been used to…

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  • Thai LifeThe Absolut Mango House Festival 2012 kicks off today

    The Absolut Mango House Festival 2012 kicks off today

    PHUKET: The Absolut Mango House Festival 2012 kicks off today at 3pm with the ‘Sushi Lounge Party’ hosted by DJ Colin Edwards. Colin is internationally known for his voice and immensely popular Funk It Up radio syndication show and his signature ‘soulful style’. Colin will be joined by DJ Nutrip and celebrity Japanese chef Massa, for a saucy afternoon of…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Pensioner kills 2 doctors, then himself

    Phuket Gazette: Pensioner kills 2 doctors, then himself

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Elderly man kills 2 doctors before killing self in southwestern Germany PHUKET (News Wires): An elderly man opened fire at a hospital in southwestern Germany on Monday afternoon, killing two doctors and wounding a nurse, local media reported. The gunman later killed himself. The attack took…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket tin smelter Thaisarco under probe

    Phuket tin smelter Thaisarco under probe

    PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak today led a team of local officials to investigate claims that the Thaisarco tin smelter at Cape Panwa was releasing contaminants into the air, causing lung cancer and other health issues among local residents. Prapan Kanprasang, head of the Damrongtham Center, which acts as the provincial ombudsman’s office, said his office received a letter…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket alcohol ban for Makha Bucha Day

    Phuket alcohol ban for Makha Bucha Day

    PHUKET: Phuket Police have confirmed that a 24-hour ban on selling alcohol will come into effect from midnight tonight in respect of tomorrow being the Buddhist holiday Makha Bucha Day. Lt Col Pisit Chuenpetch, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this afternoon that the ban will be enforced across Phuket. “This a nationwide ban…

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  • Phuket NewsLaguna Phuket denies ‘wrongdoing’ in baby elephant trade | Thaiger

    Laguna Phuket denies ‘wrongdoing’ in baby elephant trade

    PHUKET: Laguna Phuket today issued a public statement in response to a two-year-old baby elephant being seized at the elephant camp at the resort complex late last month. The statement, marked as attributable to Mark Breit, Regional Director, Laguna Tours & Quest, read: “Laguna Phuket houses and employs domesticated Asian elephants, which, due to habitat loss and poaching, have no…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: McCain calls for airstrikes; Suicide bombing; Kofi Annan visits Syria

    Phuket Gazette: McCain calls for airstrikes; Suicide bombing; Kofi Annan visits Syria

    – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Senator McCain calls for U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria PHUKET (News Wires): U.S. Senator John McCain yesterday called for a U.S.-led military operation to establish and defend safe havens in Syria, using airstrikes to protect civilians and rebels from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. There have been…

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  • Phuket NewsPaiboon alone in start of Phuket election campaigning

    Paiboon alone in start of Phuket election campaigning

    PHUKET: On the first morning of enrollment for candidates for the position of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) president, former president Paiboon Upatising was the first and so far only candidate to show his hand today. All other potential candidates have until Friday to register. Mr Paiboon, running for his second term as Phuket’s highest-ranking elected government official, arrived at…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket rail link gathers steam

    Phuket rail link gathers steam

    PHUKET: The move to build a rail link from Surat Thani to a point just north of the bridges onto Phuket gained momentum on Friday when it was confirmed as one of the projects to be presented to the Cabinet during the minister’s meeting in Phuket on March 19-20. The news was announced at a meeting chaired by Phuket Governor…

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  • Phuket NewsPla-Wan attack: “Eight is enough’, say Phuket police

    Pla-Wan attack: “Eight is enough’, say Phuket police

    PHUKET: Phuket City Police are not pursuing their investigation into whether any more suspects are to be arrested in connection with the attack on Vorasit “Pla-wan” Issara. Mr Vorasit is the general manager of the Sri Panwa resort. He was brutally attacked by staff at the Rachada pub in Phuket Town in December. Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chidchai today…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Customs officers seize crystal meth in Thai Post parcel

    Phuket Customs officers seize crystal meth in Thai Post parcel

    PHUKET: Customs officers seized a parcel containing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) last week from a transportation company in Rassada, north of Phuket Town. The drugs had an estimated a street value of more than 150,000 baht. Officers from the Royal Thai Customs Investigation and Suppression Bureau (ISB) were conducting a search of the transportation company’s premises when the Thai Post…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette: Don Mueang Airport ready to resume operations

    Phuket Gazette: Don Mueang Airport ready to resume operations

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Don Mueang Airport ready to resume operations PHUKET (The Nation): Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today presided over a re-opening ceremony. The government allocated 392 million baht to the Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AoT), with the AoT spending 1.2 billion of its own budget to…

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  • Business NewsPhuket business: Indonesia – Asia’s new rising star

    Phuket business: Indonesia – Asia’s new rising star

    PHUKET: For many of us expats in Phuket, our Asian paradise has sheltered many of us from the financial woes being experienced back home by family and friends. Asian markets, though not totally immune to European debt levels and the impending push for White House power, have been fairly resilient over the last few years and have provided steady economic…

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  • Thai LifePCs4Kids needs your help

    PCs4Kids needs your help

    PHUKET: PCs4Kids is a voluntary organization which re-builds functioning computers from donated components. The computers are then given to under-privileged kids in Phuket. In this way, they can get a chance to learn skills which will support a future career, whether it’s in IT, business or academia. Since the launch of our charity group last year, we have re-built 26…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Live Wire: Shutter island

    Phuket Live Wire: Shutter island

    PHUKET: I’m going to change topic a bit. At the Computer Clinics we used to talk about all sorts of technology, including TVs, tablet computers, cameras and phones – much to the chagrin of several Windows die-hards. The simple fact is that all of the technology is converging, with more-powerful and more-mobile computer chips making all sorts of magic possible.…

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  • Business NewsPhuket business: Luxury auto dealer projects 25% growth

    Phuket business: Luxury auto dealer projects 25% growth

    PHUKET: Highlighting the European high-end car market’s upward trend in Phuket, a major luxury car dealer has set its sales target to be 25% higher than last year. Sureeporn Udompolvanich, CEO of TSL Auto Corporation Co Ltd, revealed that the company was able to sell 800 cars in 2011 with a 15% increase in total revenue when compared to 2010.…

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  • Business NewsPhuket business: Alien laborer deadline gets extension

    Phuket business: Alien laborer deadline gets extension

    PHUKET: More than 20,000 unregistered migrant workers in Phuket now have until mid-June to register with the government, thanks to a Cabinet resolution earlier this month extending the deadline by five months. The extension gives employers time to obtain two-year work permits for unregistered alien workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, said Phuket Provincial Employment Office Chief Noppadol Ployudee. Workers…

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  • Business NewsPhuket business: Multi-billion baht deal signed

    Phuket business: Multi-billion baht deal signed

    PHUKET: Ruea Yacht, the luxury yacht building division of Phuket-Bangkok based Yacht Solutions, has joined forces with Northrop and Johnson – one of the world’s largest independent yacht brokerage firms. Highlighting the increased demand, supply and overall growth in Thailand’s superyacht industry, the new partnership will generate billions for the local economy. Director of Northrop and Johnson said: “Over the…

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  • Thai LifePhuket gardening: Vistas of paradise

    Phuket gardening: Vistas of paradise

    PHUKET: It is always a great pleasure to be invited to a Phuket home, and to be asked for advice about aspects of the garden. This week’s visit proved predictably pleasurable and the upshot, hardly surprising – was a decision to write about the experience. The original intention had been to advise about pot plants but, as often happens on…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket sports: Morning Star shines bright

    Phuket sports: Morning Star shines bright

    PHUKET: The first game of Phuket Soccer Six League’s (PSSL) round three at Headstart International’s Football Island saw The Lounge face Morning Star. Following two quick goals by Karl Ward, it seemed Morning Star would make light work of their opposition, but The Lounge emerged from their slumber and fought back to bring themselves to within a goal at 4-3.…

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  • Phuket NewsFC Phuket crush Tuk Tuks

    FC Phuket crush Tuk Tuks

    PHUKET: A new-look FC Phuket played their first pre-season, friendly match recently with Tuk Tuk FC, an outfit of the Le Meridian resort, resulting in a 7-0 goal fest for the home boys. The free-admission match played at Surakul Stadium was a confidence-booster for the Southern Sea Kirin if anything. It was a chance for fans to see their new…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: ‘Star Wars’ conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie dies

    Phuket Gazette: ‘Star Wars’ conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie dies

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Star Wars’ conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie dies PHUKET (News Wires): Ralph McQuarrie, the Academy Award-winning conceptual designer and illustrator who was instrumental in defining the look of ‘Star Wars’ icons, died at his home in California on Saturday. He was 82. A statement posted on McQuarrie’s…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket sports: Believe to achieve

    Phuket sports: Believe to achieve

    PHUKET: It wasn’t difficult to identify professional golfer Lindsay Renolds on entering Laguna Golf Club recently. Standing near the entrance was a young man surrounded by staff members, who at first glance seemed to be getting advice from the Phuket pro, but in fact were catching up on how he performed at his latest tournament played in India. Obviously popular…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Unknown Mozart piece discovered in Austria

    Phuket Gazette: Unknown Mozart piece discovered in Austria

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Previously unknown Mozart piece discovered in Austria PHUKET (News Wires): A previously unknown musical piece by Mozart was discovered inside an eighteenth century music book in Austria, local media reported on Saturday. The Mozart Foundation in Salzburg reported that the piano piece was discovered in a…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Obama to honor Israel’s Peres with Medal of Freedom

    Phuket Gazette: Obama to honor Israel’s Peres with Medal of Freedom

    – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama to honor Israel’s Peres with Medal of Freedom PHUKET (News Wires): Israeli President Shimon Peres will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom when he visits the White House in Washington, D.C. later this spring, U.S. President Barack Obama told an audience yesterday. Obama made the announcement at the…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket woman dies in motorbike accident

    Phuket woman dies in motorbike accident

    PHUKET: A motorbike passenger was killed last night when her driver swerved to avoid a fallen branch, putting the vehicle in the path of a fast-moving pick-up truck in the north of Phuket. Tah Chat Chai Police were notified of the accident on Thepkrasattri Road southbound at 9:25pm. Arriving a the scene, just 50 meters from the Thepkrasattri Bridge off-ramp,…

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  • Phuket NewsFour dead, five injured as pickup truck slams into Phuket tourist van

    Four dead, five injured as pickup truck slams into Phuket tourist van

    PHUKET: Four tourists are dead and five injured after a pickup truck loaded with fish and a van filled with tourists heading for Phuket collided in Tai Muang, Phang Nga, yesterday evening.Tai Muang Police received a report of the accident, on the Mae Yey Bridge on Petchkasem Road between Tai Muang and Takuapa Moo 1 in Thung Maphrao, Tai Muang…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Heroines Memorial Fair underway

    Phuket Heroines Memorial Fair underway

    PHUKET: The Phuket Cultural Office has a fun-packed range of activities lined up for this year’s Heroines Memorial Fair, which started on Friday in Thalang.Among the attractions taking place to honor Jan and Mook, the famous heroines who led Siamese forces in repelling an invasion by the Burmese in 1785, are group weddings, traditional dance performances and spectacular light and…

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