Month: March 2013
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Khmer Rouge Ieng Sary dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ieng Sary, minister for Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, dies in hospital Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Ieng Sary, who was standing trial for crimes against humanity during his time as the Khmer Rouge’s foreign minister in Cambodia in the 1970s, died this morning, the court said.Ieng Sary’s death will…
Read More » - Phuket News
Bus driver charged with drunk driving after dropping tourists off at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Police arrested a drunk bus driver returning from a drop-off of tourists at Phuket Airport last night. The arrest occurred after he clipped a pick-up truck near the airport and was chased down by the driver of the truck.Sirisak Suksai, 48, was driving the truck on Thepkrasattri Road near the airport when his vehicle was clipped by the tour…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Gazette Sports: Champions League and FA Cup results; EPL look ahead
Nervy Bayern, slick Malaga reach Champions League quarters Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Last season’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich survived a severe case of stage fright to edge into the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals and were joined in the last eight by debutants Malaga last night. Nervy Bayern were beaten 2-0 at home by Arsenal but progressed thanks…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief dismisses Human Rights Watch’s report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Navy dismisses reports on Rohingya killings Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Surasak Rounroengrom dismissed the report as impossible and untrue and asserted that the Thai navy had not killed any Rohingya people as it did no more than offer them humanitarian aid.…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: ‘Habemus Papam’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Argentina’s Bergoglio elected as new Pope Francis Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the troubled Roman Catholic Church yesterday, taking the name Francis I and becoming the first non-European pontiff in nearly…
Read More » - Phuket News
Police raise alarm after Phuket hotel thief uses skeleton key
PHUKET: Police have warned hoteliers across the island to beware of thieves targeting Phuket hotels after a Patong hotel room safe was robbed by a man who reportedly used a skeleton key to enter the room.The news follows 29-year-old Russian tourist Egor Nikolaev reporting valuables being stolen from his room safe at the hotel on the Patong beach road where…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Heroines Festival to re-enact Battle of Thalang
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut tonight will play a leading role as King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, also referred to by Thais as “Rama I”, in the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Thalang.The event marks the historical battle in 1785 in which Phuket’s own “angels”, Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn, better known as the Phuket Heroines, led local villagers to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Miss Thailand beauties in Phuket, bound for Myanmar
PHUKET: A bevy of 20 Miss Thailand World 2013 contestants are in Phuket to attend high-profile publicity events and join a swimsuit beach photo shoot tomorrow morning. After the contestants arrived at Phuket International Airport yesterday morning, they paid homage to Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn at the Heroines’ Monument in Thalang, then visited the Phuket Pearl Farm at Koh…
Read More » - Phuket News
Bangkok tip-off prompts Phuket abortion pharmacy shutdown
PHUKET: An unlicensed pharmacist in central Phuket Town has been charged with illegally selling abortion pills after being caught in an undercover operation carried out by Ministry of Public Health officials.A complaint filed directly to police in Bangkok resulted in the sting operation on the City Health Care pharmacy, on Dibuk Road, near the junction with Soi Romanee, late yesterday…
Read More » - Phuket News
Human Rights Watch calls for probe into alleged Rohingya shootings
PHUKET: New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) today issued a statement calling for the Thai authorities to investigate reports of Royal Thai Navy sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya off the Phang Nga coast, north of Phuket, allegedly killing at least two of the refugees. “Rohingya fleeing Burma should be given protection, not shot at,” said Brad Adams,…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket International Boat Show to celebrate 10th Anniversary
PHUKET: Asia’s favorite boat show, the Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX), celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year from 21 to 24 March at Royal Phuket Marina with a line-up of marine and lifestyle products second to none. Having grown from humble beginnings, PIMEX will host the region’s largest in-water display with a range of luxury power and sail boats ranging…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Gazette Sports: Champions League latest; Barc and Galatasaray win; Arsenal falling short – Graham
Magical Messi lifts Barca to stunning comeback Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A fired-up Lionel Messi answered his critics by inspiring Barcelona to a sensational Champions League comeback against AC Milan last night with two goals in a 4-0 home win to help them reach the quarter-finals. A rampant Barca, all-but written off after a surprise 2-0 reverse at Milan’s…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Three Thai butterfly close to extinction
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three Thai butterflies close to extinction Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Three Thai butterfly species are close to extinction but can still be traded under international laws. Watana Sakchoowong, of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said yesterday the endangered species are Teinopalpus imperialis,…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: No Pope as black smoke rises over Sistine Chapel
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cardinals begin voting in earnest for new pope to face Church crisis Phuket GazettePHUKET: Cardinals begin the process of choosing a new pope in earnest today, holding their first full day of voting for a leader to face a major crisis in the Roman Catholic Church.The 115…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Queer News: Masturbating old monk ends career
A MONK was disrobed after 20 years as a clergyman after he was caught red-handed masturbating in the lobby of an apartment building in Phang Nga. Police received a report that a monk was creating a scene, revealing his penis and shouting indecently in the lobby of Sunimit Mansion. Police rushed to the scene, but when they arrived the monk…
Read More » - Phuket News
Vietnamese Defense Minister visits Naval Command in Phuket
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command gave a warm welcome to General Phung Quang Thanh, Vietnam’s Minister of National Defense, yesterday as he made his first diplomatic visit to the Phuket naval base responsible for Thailand’s Andaman coast.“I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit Thailand several times. This is my first official visit to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Government chief, 100-year-old tree deliver crushing blow to driver’s insurance
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Provincial Social Security Office (PPSSO) has denied any liability for a tree – believed by locals to be about 100 years old – that fell and crushed five cars in the Social Security car park this morning.No injuries were reported in the incident.“It was an accident and the tree was here before the building,”…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Vice Governor tees off probe into course-side land conflict
PHUKET: Conflicting descriptions of property boundaries on the land titles for a plot beside the Loch Palm Golf Course and for the course itself has prompted Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak to launch an investigation into which title deed is accurate. Vice Governor Somkiet visited the site in person after Rattana Bunyoungponglert filed a complaint that Loch Palm had built…
Read More » - Phuket News
Bikes found flaming near popular Phuket Beach
PHUKET: Police are investigating the possible arson of four motorbikes parked on public land at the entrance of Laem Sing Beach.At about 3:45pm today Kamala Police received a report that four vehicles had burst into flames.“Three of the motorbikes belong to locals who work on the beach as masseuses; the other motorbike was the rental bike of a tourist who…
Read More » - Phuket News
The digital blues of Phuket computing – Live Wire
PHUKET: Over the years I’ve talked a lot about how computing in Phuket is different – what you can expect, what will never come to pass, how to work around a whole lot of problems. This week I want to share with you a couple of stories from some friends of mine, who got stung simply because they were trying…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Environment: The rime of the ancient mariner
PHUKET: At the end of the 18th Century, and just after the bloodbath of the French Revolution, Coleridge wrote a narrative poem called “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” A wonderful poem in its own right, it contains a pertinent lesson for our time. It chronicles how a sailor shot an albatross, a pervasive harbinger of good luck, thereby shattering…
Read More » - Phuket News
Officers arrest six foreigners for working illegally in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration officers yesterday raided a software design office in Rawai, where they arrested six foreigners, half of them Russian, for working illegally. Phuket Immigration Investigator Chidchanok Sakornyen led the raid, which saw his team of officers enter the site at 12:30pm. We found six foreigners working as software and web design consultants and operating a website. We questioned…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket’s Sunday drivers
PHUKET: While many were having a Sunday lie-in on March 10, dozens of drivers, navigators and their families headed to Chalong for the Phuket Invitational Car Rally 2013. More a treasure hunt than a race, the annual rally took 45 cars over 153 kilometers of some of Phuket’s lesser known roads, sois and tracks including some secluded scenic routes seldom…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Gazette Sports: Must provoke things – Arsene Wenger
Arsenal seek unlikely escape route in Munich Reuters / Phuket Gazette “Our mentality is to go there, not resigned, but ambitious and provoke things, not go there and think ‘we will not qualify anyway,” Wenger said yesterday before leaving for Bayern Munich. PHUKET: Arsenal must stage one of the most unlikely Champions League comebacks if they are to advance at…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protection for shark and manta; Tiger and elephant poaching
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Five shark species and manta ray to get protection Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: After being killed in unlimited numbers for decades, five shark species and the manta ray have won the protection of the world’s wildlife and plants summit, prompting countries to regulate trade…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: India rape suspect suicide; Iran-Pak lays pipeline; Neo German Party; Harvard says sorry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Alleged ringleader in India gang-rape case found dead in cell Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The man police say was the ringleader in a gang rape on a New Delhi bus in December that outraged India hanged himself in his cell yesterday, prison authorities said, raising…
Read More » - Phuket News
Photographer offers B100,000 reward for return of life’s work
PHUKET: A professional travel photographer and boutique resort owner in Phuket is offering a 100,000-baht reward for any information leading to the return of his MacBook Pro and backup hard drive – which contain his life’s work.Brian Skyum, owner of Coco Palace Resort in Rawai, returned to Phuket after five weeks in the Philippines to find his maid was the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket celebrates 54th anniversary of HM the King’s visit
PHUKET: A ceremony to mark HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s visit to Phuket 54 years ago was led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak today.A merit-making ceremony with nine monks at the Governor’s residence started the proceedings at about 7 am, after which Phuket V/Gov Somkiet carried the Phuket Provincial sword through the streets of Phuket.The revered sword was presented to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Tiger Woods: ‘That’s why I work my tail off…’
Tiger works his tail off Reuters / Phuket Gazette“I enjoy being there. That’s why I work my tail off to lift all those weights, hit all those balls and spend those countless hours out there to be in that position,” Tiger Woods said after clinching victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. PHUKET: Tiger Woods made 27 birdies on his way to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Six children caught in Phuket beggar bust
PHUKET: Six children were part of a group of Cambodian beggars rounded up in Patong on Friday, as police continue to crackdown on beggars from abroad (story here). Police took six children into custody, aged between 5 months and 8 years, in addition to arresting six adults – three men and three women. None of the adults had a passport…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Tough love for Phuket stray dogs
PHUKET: For the past 10 months, Weerasit Puthipairoj, 58, has been the chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office. Originally from Narathiwat, Mr Weerasit has a master’s degree in Agricultural Development from the Prince of Songkla University Haad Yai campus in Songkhla. Here, he talks about stray dogs in Phuket, the best way to deal with them and what to…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket’s scrap yards cleaning up
PHUKET: As part of a campaign to raise awareness about pollution, and thus reduce it, the Phuket Environmental Office is conducting appraisals of the island’s antique shops, warehouses and old household item scrap yards. So far, a total of 39 businesses on Phuket have been targeted by the government campaign, which looks to certify related operators as a “Green Antique…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket women focus on exercise for International Women’s Day
PHUKET: More than 1,000 women gathered at Phuket’s landmark Promthep Cape on Friday for a pre-sunset mass exercise to mark International Women’s Day. The event was held under the theme “Women Healthy Creative” as part of an ongoing campaign being conducted by the Phuket Women’s Development Center. The objective of the campaign is to raise awareness among Thai women of…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Drivers – Charming, to the last
PHUKET: At first I was charmed by Thai driving idiosyncrasies, like motorcycles puttering along on the wrong side of the road. To all those who said “There are no rules”, I said “But there are!” For example, that wrong-way driving motorcyclist knows he had better stay well to the side and go slowly.When someone said, “Drivers in Phuket don’t get…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket Business: Three more subdivisions get approval
PHUKET: A recent Phuket Land Subdivision Committee (PLSC) meeting gave provisional approval for three Land Subdivision Permit (LSP) applications, while denying another application. Chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, the PLSC’s first meeting this year was held on March 5 at the Phuket Land Office. Among the topics addressed in the meeting was the review and consideration of four…
Read More » - Property
Phuket hotels sign up for new online scheme
PHUKET: Phuket-based hoteliers are breaking into emerging travel markets around the world with new channel management technology recently made available in the region. Local members of the Thai Hotel Association (THA) are expected to be some of the first to benefit from the new channel management solutions following a deal inked in February between Phuket-based hospitality solution service provider Wide…
Read More » - Phuket News
Koh Lanta villagers seek media help to end dumping ‘health issue’
PHUKET: Villagers in Koh Lanta, east of Phuket, have appealed to the Krabi Press Club to help resolve health problems caused by the recent burning of rubbish at a landfill which they say local authorities have ignored. “We have asked the OrBorTor Saladan [in Koh Lanta] to solve the problem, but nothing has been done,” said Phakob Solaem, a local…
Read More »
