Year: 2012

  • Phuket NewsSpeed cameras, booze buses in Phuket for Songkran

    Speed cameras, booze buses in Phuket for Songkran

    PHUKET: Speed cameras are expected to be installed across Phuket in time for the Thai New Year Songkran festival next month, and nightlife venue operators will be asked to provide transportation home for drunken patrons. The news was announced by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Peerayut Karajedee yesterday. “The budget request for 17 million baht to acquire and install radar…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Massive BMW auto recall; Osama bin Laden cited for Bali bombing

    Phuket Gazette: Massive BMW auto recall; Osama bin Laden cited for Bali bombing

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community BMW recalls 1.3 million vehicles worldwide Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: German automaker BMW AG yesterday issued a recall for approximately 1.3 million vehicles worldwide due to a problem with the battery cable cover.The vehicle company said it would be recalling all BMW 5 and 6 Series…

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  • Phuket NewsFire engulfs Phuket store, causes B10mn damage

    Fire engulfs Phuket store, causes B10mn damage

    PHUKET: A fire at a construction equipment store in downtown Cherng Talay this morning caused an estimated 10 million baht in damages, according to Phuket Police.Cherng Talay Police at 6am were informed of a fire at the Cherng Talay Ruam Wassadu store, located near their police station on Srisoonthorn Road.Some 10 fire trucks and 40 officers arrived, dispatched from Cherng…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Poll: China offers highest tourism growth potential

    Phuket Poll: China offers highest tourism growth potential

    PHUKET: The Chinese market holds the highest growth potential for the Phuket tourism industry, according to the results of the latest Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll. A total of 358 readers took part in the poll, which ran from March 8 until Saturday morning. Readers were asked, “Which of the following inbound markets holds the highest growth potential for the Phuket…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Owen’s return; F1 for Thailand; AFC champions

    Phuket Gazette: Owen’s return; F1 for Thailand; AFC champions

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ferguson says returning Owen can help United push for the title Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A fit-again Michael Owen could play a key role in Manchester United’s push for the Premier League title, according to manager Sir Alex Ferguson.The 32-year-old striker is on the verge of…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette: PM touts Thailand in Korea; 3G saga continues; Thais getting oiled

    Phuket Gazette: PM touts Thailand in Korea; 3G saga continues; Thais getting oiled

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand ripe for investment, says PM in Seoul Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has assured South Korean businessmen of Thailand’s bright economic prospects, citing the government’s business-friendly policies, flood-management measures and the cut in corporate tax. In a speech in Seoul yesterday…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket, Krabi rocked by ‘sudden’ thunderstorms

    Phuket, Krabi rocked by ‘sudden’ thunderstorms

    PHUKET: Following a stretch of hot weather, greater Phuket Town was hit by thunderstorms and torrential rainfall late yesterday afternoon. At about the same time in Muang District Krabi, a fierce squall damaged homes and felled rubber trees in a surrounding plantation in Khao Khraam subdistrict.The squall hit the rubber-tapping community of Khao Khraam Village 5 at about 5pm, causing…

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  • Business NewsPhuket Business: Learning from the master investor

    Phuket Business: Learning from the master investor

    PHUKET: Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is arguably the greatest investor of our time. Most of us can never hope to achieve the kind of success he has had, but we would all probably do well to follow some of his very common-sense advice. I have gathered a few quotes attributed to him for this week’s article. They’re pretty…

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  • Business NewsPhuket fractional ownership ventures into new waters

    Phuket fractional ownership ventures into new waters

    PHUKET: Among the many luxury yachts to go on display at the 2012 Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) at Royal Phuket Marina. on Thursday will be the event’s first fractional ownership boat for sale. Shared ownership pioneer Absolute Fractionals will showcase the Elan42 luxury motor yacht. A product of one of Europe’s largest and long established shipbuilders, the yacht features…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Live Wire looks at Windows 8: ‘You probably won’t like it’

    Phuket Live Wire looks at Windows 8: ‘You probably won’t like it’

    PHUKET: I have spent two of the past three Live Wire columns extolling the virtues of Apple products. A few of my friends were shocked. After all, I’m a dyed-in-the-wool PC user. I’ve written many dozens of books about Windows and Office, and thousands of articles. Windows is like an old security blanket to me. Sparring partner, too. And it’s…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Pedophiles flourishing on the Web

    Phuket Gazette: Pedophiles flourishing on the Web

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pedophiles invade ordinary websites to sell child porno Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Pedophiles are operating hundreds of websites which appear to be ordinary web shops but are actually being used to distribute and even sell photos and videos of young children being sexually abused, according to…

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  • Phuket NewsNoppowon all set, Phuket’s De Cesare outgunned at ITF tournament

    Noppowon all set, Phuket’s De Cesare outgunned at ITF tournament

    PHUKET: Week two of the Phuket Chang ITF Women’s Pro Circuit tennis tournament opened today with six round one single’s matches and five in double’s competition at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC).Phuket’s Helen De Cesare had earned a wild card entry, but found herself drawn against number two seed Kurumi Nara of Japan. The 17-year-old De Cesare couldn’t keep…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket MP Anchalee rallies on Constitution change, red-shirt compensation

    Phuket MP Anchalee rallies on Constitution change, red-shirt compensation

    PHUKET: Less than a week after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinatwatra held her “mobile Cabinet meeting” on the island, Phuket Democrat Party MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr yesterday raised a slew of concerns facing the national government. Among her “concerns” were the current redrafting of the Constitution, the multi-million-baht compensation to be paid to the families of red-shirt protesters killed in the May…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket model crowned Miss Thailand World 2012

    Phuket model crowned Miss Thailand World 2012

    PHUKET: Phuket model Vanessa “Na-Chatra” Muangkod was crowned Miss Thailand World 2012 on Saturday night, and picked up three other accolades during the renowned beauty pageant. Miss Muangkod, a former student at Satree Phuket School, was also bestowed the titles Miss Beauty With a Purpose, Miss Top Model and Best in Swimsuit at the gala event, organized by Thai TV…

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  • Business NewsSuzuki Swift on a roll in Phuket

    Suzuki Swift on a roll in Phuket

    PHUKET: The Suzuki car dealership in Phuket Town is reporting brisk sales of the “all new” Suzuki Swift eco-car and expects to sell 200 units by the end of the month from its recently renovated showroom in Phuket Town. The showroom, on Surin Road near the Shell service station, is well-known to scores of Suzuki SJ413 “Caribian” drivers on the…

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  • Thailand NewsBig-headed driver gets away with it

    Big-headed driver gets away with it

    A MAN in Ang Thong province recently got a pass from the police when he was stopped on his motorcycle for not wearing a helmet – and there were no bribes involved. Sombat Chiangkham, 37, told amused officers his head was too big to fit into a helmet. After taking the top-heavy gentlemen to their station and making him try…

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  • Thailand NewsWeird World News: Woman pee addict spills story, North Korea loves triplets and vasectomy doctor serves slices

    Weird World News: Woman pee addict spills story, North Korea loves triplets and vasectomy doctor serves slices

    PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News round-up takes aim at people ingesting and breeding in the name of addiction, state approval and for the promise of pizza. Woman addicted to drinking own pee A 53-year-old Colorado woman has been addicted to drinking her own urine for the past four years, it emerged this past week. Photos of the woman –…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property: Bluepoint Condos win at Asia Pacific awards

    Phuket Property: Bluepoint Condos win at Asia Pacific awards

    PHUKET: Organizers and the judging panel for the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2012 have announced that Bluepoint Condos is among the winning companies. The boutique condominiums in South Patong were entered into the competition under the categories ‘Architecture – Multiple Residence’ and ‘Development – Multiple Units’. The Asia Pacific Property Awards are part of the long established International Property Awards…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property: Community recycling center re-opens

    Phuket Property: Community recycling center re-opens

    PHUKET: We’ve all been there. The two small batteries in your television remote control have died and need replacing. On the way home you buy two new batteries and then replace the old. Now what? Having learned that you should never throw them in the bin as they will leak toxic elements into the environment, you’ll probably stick them in…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property: Checking into the big sleep; Phuket property briefs

    Phuket Property: Checking into the big sleep; Phuket property briefs

    PHUKET: I am a big fan of film noir and even more so those Raymond Chandler novels that became Hollywood classics, such as The Big Sleep. There are a million stories in the naked city, and these day’s Phuket is certainly taking on a noisy urban feel. When you scan the crowd of expatriated persons at any restaurant, bar or…

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  • Thai LifePhuket Gardening: Blooming plumerias

    Phuket Gardening: Blooming plumerias

    PHUKET: In an email both quirky and perceptive, a fellow contributor to the Phuket Gazette recently confessed to dealing with Phuket’s 35 degree heat by gardening at night, and thereby, and unsurprisingly, incurring the curiosity of his neighbors. Personally I haven’t tried it. But, I entirely concur with his subsequent reasoning that because the island’s soil is so difficult to…

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  • Phuket NewsMan survives high-tension drama in Phuket

    Man survives high-tension drama in Phuket

    PHUKET: A man in search of food sent shivers up the spines of Phuket residents yesterday, when he began dangling from power cables strung up above a bus stop in Thalang District. Thalang Police were notified of the man’s strange behavior at about 4:30pm. Arriving at the site, in front of the TAT office opposite the municipal market on Ban…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Mydeen knocks first ACG ton

    Phuket Sports: Mydeen knocks first ACG ton

    PHUKET: Recovered from their recent defeat at the hands of the Laguna CC, the Village showed no mercy to Phuket’s youth development cricket team in dishing out a 235 run demolition of the Leopards. This season’s 15th match of the Island Furniture League became batting practice for several of the Village players while the Leopards were hoping to gain valuable…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: She’s “Dear’ to the heart of Indigo Pearl

    Phuket Sports: She’s “Dear’ to the heart of Indigo Pearl

    PHUKET: Tennis played well at any level is an enviable pursuit. Those with the physical skill and coordination required to spot a ball traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour, then choose a shot before returning the two and a half inch diameter projectile over a three foot obstacle and land it accurately within a 27ft by 39ft area,…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette: Ceremony rehearsal

    Phuket Gazette: Ceremony rehearsal

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ceremony rehearsal PHUKET (The Nation): Soliders marched during the second major rehearsal yesterday of the cremation of HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda at Sanam Luang on April 9. The Maha Pichai Ratcharot chariot will carry the royal urn. Princess Bejaratana, the only child of King Rama VI,…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette ‘Green Report’: Regional mangrove restoration project receives green light

    Phuket Gazette ‘Green Report’: Regional mangrove restoration project receives green light

    PHUKET: Efforts to restore the lost mangrove forests of Thailand and other parts of Asia will receive a boost this week when international partners gather in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, to discuss the use of project funding received via Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).The meeting, which is being coordinated by the Trang-based Southeast…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Plans for Rassada futsal pitch benched

    Phuket Sports: Plans for Rassada futsal pitch benched

    PHUKET: Rassada residents scored a goal by benching the plans for Rassada futsal field in Phuket’s Kanjanapisek Park until a public hearing can be scheduled. A letter of complaint was filed by local residents against the development of the Rassada futsal field to Rassada Municipality Administrative Office (OrBorTor) Chief Dechakanee Leelanont. “We will have less area for exercising because the…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Pulsating play in round six of PSSL

    Phuket Sports: Pulsating play in round six of PSSL

    PHUKET: The Pita Bar Phuketeers and Eden FC got the ball rolling for round six of the Phuket Super Six League (PSSL) last Wednesday evening at Headstart’s Football Island. The Phuketeers grabbed an early 2-0 lead when Yannik Christll tapped in after Fabian Kleiner Scniedelmann’s shot was spilled by the goalkeeper. Christll doubled his team’s advantage with a fine solo…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket elections: Phudit wins Rassada; Samran retains Chalong seat

    Phuket elections: Phudit wins Rassada; Samran retains Chalong seat

    PHUKET: Preliminary results of two local elections in Phuket yesterday indicate that Phudit “Ko Noi” Raksarat will take over administration of Rassada Municipality, while Somran Jindapol has been elected Mayor of Chalong Municipality. Before yesterday’s election, Mr Somran was incumbent president of the Chalong Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), which was upgraded to municipal status on October 1 last year. In…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News Update: Chile Earthquake

    Phuket Gazette World News Update: Chile Earthquake

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Powerful earthquake strikes central Chile, injuring 3 PHUKET (News Wires): A powerful earthquake struck the central region of Chile early Sunday evening, injuring at least three people and prompting a brief tsunami alert for coastal areas, officials and witnesses said. There were no reports of fatalities.The 6.8-magnitude…

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  • Business NewsPhuket’s Kata Group opens ‘Beyond Resort’ in Khao Lak

    Phuket’s Kata Group opens ‘Beyond Resort’ in Khao Lak

    PHUKET: The Kata Group, one of Phuket’s best-known resort chains, celebrated the latest addition to its portfolio of luxury resorts on Friday.Located in Phuket’s neighboring province of Phang Nga, the new property in Khao Lak, branded as the ‘Beyond Resort Khao Lak’, is the group’s first foray out of Phuket since the opening of its Kandaburi Resort and Spa on…

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  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: A tiny price tag for saving the mangroves

    Phuket Opinion: A tiny price tag for saving the mangroves

    PHUKET: It is a pity that regional mass transport issues, and ‘mega-projects’ to whoosh ever-more tourists around the island, trumped the need for more sustainable tourism development during Tuesday’s mobile Cabinet meeting here in Phuket. In the first-ever official visit to the island by a female Thai premier, PM Yingluck Shinawatra performed admirably. She was smiling and charismatic throughout, despite…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette Special Report: Thai military unveils plan to stop Rohingya landings

    Phuket Gazette Special Report: Thai military unveils plan to stop Rohingya landings

    PHUKET: Region 4 of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) has formulated a “Protecting the Andaman” strategy to prevent Rohingya boat people from illegally entering Thailand in Ranong, Phuket and other Andaman Coastal provinces. Maj Gen Manas Khongpanin, director of the ISOC region, revealed that the security plan is to stop the Rohingya from entering Thailand, especially along the coastline…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News Roundup: Australia shakes; $15bn in China-Indonesia deals; 5 killed in San Francisco shootings; EU raises heat on Syria | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News Roundup: Australia shakes; $15bn in China-Indonesia deals; 5 killed in San Francisco shootings; EU raises heat on Syria

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Strong earthquake strikes central Australia, no damage Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: The central region of Australia was struck by the country’s largest earthquake in nearly 15 years on Friday evening, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.The 6.1-magnitude earthquake at 7:55pm local…

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  • Phuket NewsPoll: Which Cabinet-approved project will most help Phuket?

    Poll: Which Cabinet-approved project will most help Phuket?

    PHUKET: At this week’s highly-publicized ‘mobile Cabinet’ meeting in Phuket, a number of projects were approved for Phuket and other provinces in the Andaman economic development cluster. In the latest on-line Readers’ Poll, the Gazette asks which of six projects approved for Phuket will do the most to help the resort province? The candidates are: – ‘Monkey cheek’ Reservoirs to…

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  • Chiang Mai NewsGermany’s Pfizenmaier ousts Noppowan in Phuket ITF final

    Germany’s Pfizenmaier ousts Noppowan in Phuket ITF final

    PHUKET: Dinah Pfizenmaier has won the opening Phuket Chang ITF Women’s Pro Circuit event, defeating Noppowan Lertcheewakarn 6-2, 6-4 in the final at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club this afternoon.With local support weighing on the side of her opponent and number six seed from Thailand, the 20-year-old German showed early signs of nerves, losing the first game through four unforced…

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  • Phuket NewsTesco Lotus aerobics show in Phuket on Monday

    Tesco Lotus aerobics show in Phuket on Monday

    PHUKET: Tesco Lotus is bringing its popular ‘Get Healthy with Tesco Lotus’ exercise campaign to Phuket for the 6th year running ,with a road show at Tesco Lotus Thalang on Monday. Tesco Lotus Senior Corporate Affairs Manager Charkrit Direkwattanachai said 16 million people nationwide have taken part in the activities since the program started. “This year our target is to…

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