Month: October 2012
- Phuket News
Phuket bank robber escapes with B2.7mn in 60 seconds
PHUKET: An armed man clad in a black jacket and wearing a motorbike helmet robbed the Kasikornbank branch near SuperCheap, just north of Phuket Town this afternoon, making off with 2.7 million baht. The man was recorded by the bank’s CCTV cameras entering the branch on Thepkrasattri Road at about 3pm. Armed with a homemade handgun, the man threatened one…
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Phuket’s 100% helmet campaign rides on
PHUKET: More than 15 people die every month in road accidents in Phuket, most riding a motorbike without a helmet.The news came at a road safety awareness seminar at Phuket Rajabhat University on Monday, headed by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat.Also present at the seminar were Phuket Provincial Health Office Deputy Director Dr Wiwat Seetamonotch and officers from other…
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World News: WWII bomb closes airport; Storm update; Syrian airforce attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Discovery of WWII bomb forces closure of Japanese airport Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Nearly 100 flights were canceled yesterday after an unexploded bomb believed to be from World War II was found near the runway of a major airport in northeastern Japan, local authorities said. Flights…
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Phuket Business: Rebalancing your stock portfolio
PHUKET: One thing you should do at least once each year as an investor, is re-balance your investment portfolio. I have come across many people who put together a good portfolio, but then, because of not re-balancing, have rode many of their best holdings up and back down. Simultaneously, they are under-invested on holdings that have their best returns many…
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World Sports: Arsenal battled back in goal fest – League Cup update
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World sporting news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Reuters / Gazette EditorsPHUKET: Arsenal battled back from 4-0 down to beat top-flight rivals Reading 7-5 last night, powering their way into the League Cup quarter-finals after one of the most extraordinary matches in the competition’s 52-year history. Manager Arsene Wenger said last week that…
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Missing Phuket tourist scare prompts park safety review
PHUKET: Local officials are looking into how to make trekking in Phuket national parks and wildlife reserves safer, following two British tourists losing their way and having to spend the night in the wild at Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife & Forest Reserve. Mohammed Samir El Shimi, 28, and Hanna Zareen, 26, were discovered early this afternoon by a local villager…
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World News: Myanmar’s volatile Rakhine region gripped by fear
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fear, mistrust grip Myanmar’s volatile Rakhine region Reuters / Gazette EditorsPHUKET: As security forces police the edgy aftermath of sectarian bloodshed in western Myanmar, fearful Buddhists and Muslims are arming themselves with homemade weapons, testing the government’s resolve to prevent a new wave of violence.Despite government claims…
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Chinese tourist airlifted to Phuket “recovering well’
PHUKET: The Chinese tourist who was airlifted from Racha Yai Island by a Royal Thai Navy medivac helicopter yesterday after suffering serious heart palpitations is recovering well, staff at Vachira Hospital Phuket reported today.“Mr Li Qi Feng, 39, is conscious and fully responsive, but he is still suffering from chest pains,” said coronary care unit Nurse Maliwan Arthan.Staff at the…
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Live Wire: A 3G auction in a 4G world – part 1
PHUKET: After years of delays, political infighting, legal maneuvering and insider manipulation, the trough finally stabilized long enough for Thailand to complete its auction of “3G” airspace. As I’ve remarked before, Thailand appears to be the last country in the world to officially allocate channels for HSPA (“3G”) signals. North Korea and Zimbabwe, the other two global holdouts, have offered…
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Phuket Business: New trade records set for the island
PHUKET: The Phuket Customs House reported another record-breaking year for international trade, with the island’s surplus of exports over imports in 2012 peaking at 11.4 billion baht, a 10% annual jump. According to Phuket Customs’ receipts for the 2012 Thailand Government fiscal year (October 2011 – September 2012), the value of Phuket’s exports reached a new milestone of 13.5bn baht,…
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Local finds missing Phuket tourists alive and well
PHUKET: The two tourists who disappeared yesterday while trekking through the Khao Phra Taew Wildlife & Forest Reserve in central Phuket were found alive and well today.British tourists Mohammed Samir El Shimi, 28, and Hanna Zareen 26, were discovered early this afternoon by a local villager named only as “Ms Suphatra” who was walking through the park.Police and park officers…
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Phuket Business: Krabi marina to steam ahead
PHUKET: Two months ahead of Krabi Boat Lagoon’s (KBL) first anniversary, the owners of the Thai Andaman coastal province’s only full-service, full-facility marina, remain optimistic about the region’s tourism, hospitality and boating future. Speaking to the Phuket Gazette at KBL’s 18-year-old brand-parent Phuket Boat Lagoon (PBL), Sriya Yongsakul, the deputy managing director of both marinas, affirmed that all objectives for…
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Breaking News: Search launched for tourists lost in Phuket jungle
PHUKET: A search has been launched for two tourists last seen entering the Khao Phra Taew Wildlife & Forest Reserve, in the heart of Phuket, at about 4pm yesterday.The search has been expanded to included the popular waterfall area and the surrounding jungle.The couple took a taxi to the wildlife park and asked the driver to wait while they entered…
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World News: Mother claims child abduction to get faster police response
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mother falsely claims child abduction to get faster police response Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A Maryland mother was arrested and charged after she falsely claimed her three children were abducted, in hopes of obtaining a faster police response to investigate the theft of her car near…
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Phuket Gardening: More entries in the Annual Report
PHUKET: Last weeks’ list of annuals in the Phuket Gazette were predictable choices. The only surprise was that all of them even the so-called African marigold originated in America. Impatiens balsamina is a bit different, not just because it is Asian, but because it took me a while to discover its identity. But it is not uncommon. In fact the…
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World Sports: FA launch an investigation following Chelsea’s complaint
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World sports news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The English Football Association has launched an investigation after Chelsea accused referee Mark Clattenburg of using “inappropriate language” towards two of their players in Sunday’s defeat by Manchester United. “The FA has begun an investigation relating to allegations made following Sunday’s fixture at Stamford Bridge…
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World News: “Frankenstorm” hits New Jersey; Campaign events cancelled
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Massive storm Sandy crashes ashore in New Jersey PHUKET: Sandy, one of the biggest storms ever to hit the United States, roared ashore with fierce winds and heavy rain earlier this morning (Phuket time) near the gambling resort of Atlantic City, New Jersey, after forcing evacuations, shutting…
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Baby boy’s body found in back of Krabi trash truck
PHUKET: The body of a newborn boy was found wrapped in a plastic garbage bag in the back of a Krabi trash truck this morning. Police believe the baby was discarded by his mother shortly after birth, just hours before the body was found. “The baby seemed to have fully developed organs. It was found along with the placenta,” said…
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Phuket meeting on joint Andaman province tourism initiative promises to share the profits
PHUKET: Woravat Auapinyakul, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, has told the Phuket Gazette that he expects the “Andaman – The World Experience” tourism initiative to attract more than 20 million tourists to the region. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Saturday to chart the progress of the tourism initiative, Mr Woravat said that intense competition within the…
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Futsal World Cup: Thailand faces an uphill group stage campaign
PHUKET: With the entire futsal world’s eyes now focusing on Thailand, pressure is mounting for the host country to put on a respectable performance in the World Cup, which kicks off in Bangkok this Thursday. Having failed to progress past the group stage in their three previous World Cup appearances, Thailand face the high probability of history repeating itself. Though…
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Krabi Police not to investigate British “sex attack’ claims – for now
PHUKET: The police officer investigating the vicious gang attack in Krabi last Monday night has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that – at this stage – he is not investigating any allegations of an attempted rape . The news follows British tourist Jack Daniel Cole being reported as saying that “he feared the gang – mostly young men with perhaps…
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Experts say don’t panic over supernova, superior conjunction
PHUKET: Scientists at the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit) have dismissed fears of any devastating effects of the Saturn-Sun-Earth constellation alignment, which began on Thursday and is expected to affect the Earth for the next four weeks. “This is a simple phenomenon called a ‘superior conjunction’. It happens every 378 days,” explained Dr Utane Sawangwit, of Narit’s Research…
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First female double World Champion to race at Laguna Phuket’s Ironman
PHUKET: Leanda Cave, the recently-crowned 2012 Ironman and Ironman 70.3 triathlon double World Champion, has confirmed that she will compete in the Ironman 70.3 Laguna Phuket on December 2. Ms Cave of Great Britain, is the first woman, and only the second triathlete, to win both World Championship titles in the same year. She sits atop a stellar line-up of…
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Smooth sailing in Phuket Dinghy Series second race
PHUKET: The second race of the 2012 Phuket Dinghy Series took place this weekend off Bang Tao Beach’s Bliss Beach Club. Organized by the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, the event featured 16 Optimists and four Lasers competing for the Act II title, with the boats amassing points in the three-event series. Stunning blue skies and calm seas set the scene…
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Minister denies Phuket “robbed’ of ICEC 2.6bn baht
PHUKET: The Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office has denied claims that the government has “stolen” the 2.6 billion baht sequestered from the now-shelved plan to build a Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC). In Phuket on Saturday to oversee the preparations for the upcoming three-day Andaman Culture Festival, to be opened by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in…
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Phuket FC prevails: 4-0 win over JW Rangsit ensures division survival
PHUKET: The Islanders ended their season in great form, sealing their Thai Division 1 status with a 4-0 win over JW Rangsit FC on Saturday night. Going into the final match of the season, 13th-placed Phuket were under pressure to win in order to avoid relegation. Meanwhile, their 16th-placed opponents — third from bottom of the 18-team table — had…
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U.S. Election campaign heats up in eye of the storm
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney campaigned feverishly in closely contested battleground states yesterday but changed travel plans to avoid Hurricane Sandy, the massive storm approaching the U.S. East Coast. With just 10 days before Election Day and polls showing the national race a dead…
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‘Mentally unstable’ man found dead with knife in neck
PHUKET: A man was found with a knife in his neck after witnesses claimed to have seen him pouring petrol around his rented one-room house and attempting to light it on fire today.Thalang Police duty officer Somkit Kaosung received a report at about 10:30am of a “mentally unstable” man pouring petrol around the house, north of Phuket Town.Arriving at the…
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Power to the Phuket people
PHUKET: The official launch of the Koh Kaew transformer station on Friday marked a much needed power boost, said Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sungkaosuthirak at the opening ceremony.The station opened by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is looking to almost double the megawatts the Phuket power system is currently handling, EGAT director Sutad Pattamasiriwat announced.“The main objective is…
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Phuket Opinion: Forgetting children in island development
PHUKET: This week’s news story of the healthy newborn girl being abandoned by her mother at Thalang Hospital raised again the bleak specter of what the future holds for such children. One comment in the Phuket Gazette online forum rightly pointed out that with most adults on the island focusing on boosting tourism numbers and generating income through any and…
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Fireworks row ignites corruption scandal
PHUKET: Winai Chidchiew, the chief of Karon Subdistrict (Kamnan), has found himself amid another corruption scandal, this time over allegedly threatening municipal officers into allowing firework displays to be held late at night, while facing allegations of paying bribes to the Chalong Police.Kamnan Winai found himself in the center of corruption allegations involving the Chalong Police last year, when he…
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National anti-drug campaign targets three high-risk Phuket areas
PHUKET: The national anti-drug initiative “X-ray every inch over a 90-day period” will take hold of Phuket starting November 1, Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada announced at Provincial Hall on Thursday.The aims of the project are to get treatment for existing drug addicts, solve family issues associated with drug addiction, and prevent people from becoming criminals to feed their drug habit,…
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Patong gambling den raid fails to come up trumps
PHUKET: Patong Police and about 50 Kathu Territorial Defense volunteers stormed a venue thought to be a “huge” casino in Phuket’s main tourist town only to “go bust” and be forced to leave the premises without a single chip.Acting on information received though the Prime Minister’s Office’s Complaint Center from anonymous local residents, police and Territorial Defense Volunteers descended on…
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Phuket Sports: Futsal World Cup
PHUKET: The War Elephants charge into the Futsal World Cup hoping to restore some pride after the embarrassment of Thailand’s failure to adequately prepare for the event. The sport’s most prestigious tournament starts November 1 with the host nation’s first game against Costa Rica, but it won’t be at the new indoor futsal arena. The center piece 12,000-seat stadium in…
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Phuket Soccer Schools U10s own Patong soccer match
PHUKET: Phuket Soccer School’s (PSS) Academy U10s destroyed Patong Wassaone school 10-1 in a match on Tuesday. A pre-game warm-up and pep-talk fired up the PSS squad, who went on the attack straight from the whistle. Daniel C scored in one of PSS’s first attacks and his goal was followed by a great half-volley from Fard, which left the Wassaone…
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Phuket Sports: Olympic medalist comes to Phuket
PHUKET: Two-time Olympic medalist David Davies spoke to the Phuket Gazette about his upcoming trip to Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club to teach a Swimming Stroke Clinic tomorrow.Phuket Gazette: What brings you to Phuket and will this be your first time in Thailand?David Davies: It will be my first time in Thailand. Following my third consecutive Olympics, I thought I’d…
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Phuket Lifestyle: The race that stops a nation
PHUKET: Next month marks the 152nd anniversary of the ‘Race That Stops the Nation’ or, as it has more recently become known, ‘The Race That Stops Two Nations’, because Australia and New Zealand go into lock-down on the day of the famous Melbourne Cup. This year, you’ll have a chance to be part of the celebrations, when the Phuket International…
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