Month: April 2013
- Phuket News
Phuket teens nabbed for Russian tourist bag snatch
PHUKET: Karon Police yesterday arrested two teenagers for a bag snatch after eight days of tracking down their suspects. Russian tourist Tatiana Suslirova reported to Karon Police on April 18 that her yellow bag had been snatched from her while she was walking near the Karon Princess Hotel. She told the police that two young men riding a motorbike rode…
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Thai FA Cup: Phuket FC shoot down Air Force United
PHUKET: The Islanders kept their Thai FA Cup prospects alive, last Wednesday defeating Yamaha League 1 (YL1) rivals Air Force United 1-0 in the second round. The match was played at Thupatemee Stadium, on the northern side of Bangkok, where the islanders are set to play the Air Force “Blue Eagles” again, tomorrow, April 27, in a YL1 week 8…
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Laguna Phuket’s “Run Paradise” marathon rocks with new theme song
PHUKET: This year’s Laguna Phuket International Marathon is rocking its thousands of runners and fans around the world with a specially-commissioned “Run Paradise” theme song. The upbeat rock anthem was composed by Phuket-based musicians Gary Crause and Rob Cooke at Gary’s Legend Music Studios. The anthem celebrates the event’s unique blend of enthusiasm for running and community fund-raising on the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: NGOs hit West over Bangladesh tragedy; US eyes Syrian chemical weapons; No charges over Mossad spy death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. suspects Syria used chemical weapons, wants proof Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The White House said on Thursday that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has probably used chemical weapons on a small scale in the country’s civil war, but insisted that President Barack Obama needed…
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Phuket People: Rittidat Kodsan
PHUKET: Tucked away halfway up Rang Hill, in Phuket Town, is the small office of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand, Phuket (NBTP), the production house of the town’s only national television station, Channel 11. The 15-year-old station is tiny and quaint – if somewhat run-down. Its setting is made more rustic surrounded by a virgin forest overrun with creepers…
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Phuket Gardening: Treasures in your garden
PHUKET: If you asked a stranger propping up a bar why he lived in Phuket, he would probably reply – in no particular order – the girls, the climate, the easy, smiley lifestyle and the cheap cost of living. I doubt he would mention the all-too ephemeral beauty of the place, or the sheer convenience of life on the island.…
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DSI turns to Facebook to catch illegal foreigners in Phuket
PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is considering launching a Facebook page so that people can report foreigners working illegally in Thailand by uploading photos directly onto the Internet.The news came after DSI Deputy Director-general Yanapol Yungyuen heard a slew of complaints from Phuket business owners at a meeting in Cherng Talay yesterday.“I will open an official email address…
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Thailand News: ASEAN begins to row back on AEC deadline – quietly
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Southeast Asia’s 2015 unity dream collides with reality Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Southeast Asian nations have quietly begun to row back on a deadline of forming an “economic community” by 2015, confirming what many economists and diplomats have suspected for years as the diverse group…
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Phuket Police nab serial snatch thief after hot pursuit
PHUKET: Thalang and Phuket City Police have arrested a bag snatcher who reportedly committed 20 snatch thefts within two weeks, and three yesterday in the hours before his arrest. “We arrested Boonserm Chaluaysri, 22, yesterday after we received a report from Phuket City Police of a bag snatch in Rassada in the morning,” Thalang Police case investigator Chatree Chuwichian told…
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B1bn Patong Tunnel payout “not enough’, say residents
PHUKET: Residents of the Baan Mon community yesterday continued their opposition to the proposed 6-billion-baht Patong Tunnel project, urging officials to choose a route that would not go right through their neighborhood. The opposition comes in the face of the announcement that the government would be looking to pay a total of about 1 billion baht to some 20 households…
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ITF Phuket Results: Day 3
PHUKET: Wildcard entry Kamonwan Buayam from Thailand caused the biggest shock of the third day’s action at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on April 17, defeating number two seed, Australian Olivia Rogowska. Olivia won the first set 6:2 but Kamonwan fought back to claim the second set 7:6, winning the tie breaker 7:2. The unknown Kamonwan then won the third…
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Phuket Gazette World News: EU looks to immigration barriers; Peace talks in Sudan; Train bomb suspect set for court
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Swiss bring back quotas to control EU immigration Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Switzerland said it will reintroduce quotas for European Union workers, bowing to growing unease about immigration from poorer neighbours, in a decision Brussels says violates an accord. Prosperous, landlocked Switzerland has seen the…
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Woman leaps to her death from Phuket bridge
PHUKET: A woman died after leaping from Phuket’s Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge this afternoon. Police identified the woman as Khemmanit Jantharaapa, 38, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat. Local resident Arun Wanayao, 22, explained that he saw Ms Khemmanit alight from a bus and wait at the roadside passenger shelter in front of the Tah Chat Chai temple. “She was crying and asked…
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Phuket hotels, businesses targeted in dirty beach canal probe
PHUKET: Hotels and businesses located along the canal that empties onto Bang Tao Beach will be inspected and forced to conform to wastewater-treatment standards, Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit has announced. The news follows the public exposure of dirty water in the canal that has caused a rash of health problems for tourists and local boatmen in the area, some of…
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Thai innovation may resolve Phuket’s dirty water woes
PHUKET: Officers at the Phuket Office of Natural Resource and Environment (NRE) are promoting a new mini wastewater treatment machine developed in Thailand as a possible savior for Phuket’s ongoing water-pollution woes. The machine was developed by Kanok Nakaew, the Research and Development chief at the Energy and Environmental Engineering Center (EEEC) of Kasetsart University in Bangkok. “This new wastewater-treatment…
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Rusty ex-con nabbed with modern technology in Phuket
PHUKET: A Songkhla man fresh out of jail for bag-snatching was apparently out of practice and failed in his first attempt to grab a woman’s purse yesterday afternoon. He succeeded on his second try, but landed in the hands of the police shortly thereafter, thanks to the “Find My iPhone” application.Just two days out of prison in Songkhla, Suphada Tuansuwan,…
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Former illegal taxi drivers pressure AOT chief over Phuket Airport counter
PHUKET: About 50 taxi drivers who previously operated illegal “black plate” taxis arrived at Phuket International Airport on Monday to request permission to open a counter inside the terminal. The drivers, all members of the newly-formed Mook Andaman Business & Travel Co-operative Ltd, asked to open a counter inside the main terminal while Airports of Thailand (AOT) chiefs decide on…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Army explosives expert says IEDs best defused ‘on-site’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bombs ‘best defused on site’ Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Insurgent bombs should be defused or dismantled at the site instead of being done at military ordnance labs, a senior Army explosives expert said yesterday.He was referring to an explosion on Monday, which killed three…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Myanmar releases political prisoners; FBI grilled on Boston bombers; Ricin letter man freed; France same-sex marriage approved
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar frees 56 political prisoners one day after sanctions dropped Reuters/ Phuket GazettePHUKET: Myanmar’s president announced an amnesty on Tuesday for about 100 prisoners, a senior official said, 56 of whom were confirmed as political detainees by a group monitoring activists held in the country’s jails.The release…
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Phuket motorbike arson continues to spread
PHUKET: Two more motorbikes and the front of a small restaurant went up in flames in Phuket yesterday, bringing the total number of motorbikes scorched by arson since the beginning of March to nearly 30, say police. At 2pm yesterday, Kamala Police received three reports of fires: two were of motorbikes ablaze and the third was of flames at the…
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Phuket Governor combats dengue with “333′ strategy
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor has branded his new strategy to combat the spread of dengue fever in Phuket with the lucky number 333, representing a sustained campaign of “three days, three weeks, three months”.After witnessing a sharp increase in the number of people contracting the disease in the past three months, Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday called on communities across the…
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Phuket Sports: Brothers Grimes step up a gear
PHUKET: After completing their rookie karting season at the national level in 2012, Phuket’s Ben and Sam Grimes took a well-earned rest for a couple of months over the New Year and reviewed their options and priorities for 2013. For Ben, it was about improving on his 3rd place finish in last year’s Thai National Championship and consistently competing at…
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Phuket Pets: Dog(s) of the week – Angel and Silver
PHUKET: My baby (Angel) and I (Silver) are madly in love and spend most of our days curled up in the corner snuggling together. A few months ago we were found and rescued from a local animal holding facility. Our owners dumped us there in bad health, since they were going away on holiday and didn’t know what to do…
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Phuket Sports: Day 2 results of the ITF at TSLC
PHUKET: Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) is hosting a round of the prestigious International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro tennis circuit. The 2013 ITF round consists of two consecutive women’s tournaments from April 20 to April 27 and April 27 to May 4. Result for Main Draw 1st round, April 22: Luksika Kumkhum ( THA ) beat Yi Chen (…
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Phuket Pets: Working dogs
PHUKET: Previously we have looked at the power of canine senses. Most of us are aware of some of the uses these powers are put to: guide dogs for the blind or police dogs sniffing out drugs or explosives at airports. But the role of the humble dog in our lives is vast and they are doing much more than…
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Phuket Tech: The death of Windows – Live Wire
PHUKET: In the past week, the Windows world received quite a shock. First IDC, then Gartner – the two biggest names in computer industry prognostications – announced that, for the first time ever, shipments of new PCs had declined, year-on-year from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013. And the declines were substantial: somewhere between 11…
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Melbourne Super Kings Win 10th Asia Escape Phuket International Cricket Sixes
PHUKET: The Melbourne Super Kings were crowned Cup champions at the 10th annual Asia Escape Phuket International Cricket Sixes. The Super Kings demolished defending champions MG7 from Kuwait in the Cup final. In other tournament divisions, MG Warriors won the Bowl, Phuket Cricket Group won the Plate and Lamma CC won the Spoon. Eighteen teams from around the world have…
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Polluted water plagues Phuket beach
PHUKET: Dirty water emptied into the canal that separates Phuket’s Bang Tao and Layan Beaches has caused a spate of health problems and has even sent unsuspecting people to the hospital for skin rashes and blood infections, local residents claim.To bring the issue to the public’s awareness, the Bang Tao Longtail Boat Club and local restaurant owner Chaiya Boonyuen on…
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Billionaire’s bones: another skeleton in closet of alleged Phuket killer
PHUKET: Samui police, acting on a tip from their counterparts in Hungary, yesterday dug up a skeleton in the basement of a villa owned by Moshe David, who is currently awaiting trial in Phuket for the murder of Hungarian Peter Reisz last year (story here). The bones are believed to belong to Laszlo Csepai, 39, a Hungarian billionaire and business…
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Second big bike fatality in 24 hours claims life of British national
PHUKET: A British national died in a high-speed motorbike crash on Chao Fa East Road early this morning. The 31-year-old man, whose name the Phuket Gazette is withholding until family members are notified, overshot a curve while driving a 1000cc Yamaha R1 and crashed into a roadside post near Wat Ladthiwanaram (map here) just after midnight, explained Sub Lt Kraisorn…
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Teen masseuse falls from fourth floor after argument with boyfriend
PHUKET: A 17-year-old masseuse is in a coma after falling from the fourth floor of a building following an argument with her boyfriend. The young woman was discovered unconscious and severely injured on the ground behind the Phuket Town massage parlor where she worked, a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker told the Phuket Gazette. Rescue workers administered emergency first aid before…
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Rash of motorbike burnings in Phuket continues
PHUKET: Eight more motorbikes have been torched in Phuket, this time in a housing estate off of Vichit Songkram Road, near Prince of Songkla University. At 3:30 this morning, police were called to the C apartment block in the Moo Baan Irawadee Ketho Yee Teng housing estate, where they found eight burned motorbikes. “I believe the fire started from a…
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Phuket’s Autoexpress remains in driving seat
PHUKET: Demand on the island for imported luxury cars does not look like it will subside any time soon. Saksri Kerdphol, GM of Autoexpress, Phuket’s premier foreign automobile dealership and service provider, gives a brief update about local market trends. This is followed by some customer testimonials. Phuket Gazette: What is the current state of the auto luxury import market…
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Singaporean investor sniffs out tuna ops in Phuket
PHUKET: An investor from Singapore has expressed interest in expanding Phuket’s Tuna industry through the establishment of a new commercial longline fishing partnership with local operators. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, along with Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosut-tirak, last week welcomed the Singapore-based businessman, Yong Juang, who came to the island to discuss investment guidelines, regulations and laws. Mr Yong Juang is…
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Phuket Business: Ideas bounced around at rubber meeting
PHUKET: A three-day rubber industry convention and study-tour event wrapped up in Thalang recently. The meeting/event, dubbed “ASEAN Rubber Day 2013”, brought together industry experts, operators and researchers from Thailand, Malaysia an Indonesia. Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the meeting was part of a private-public collaborative effort to create greater investment opportunities for the rubber industry, as…
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Phuket Business: The not-so-hidden cost of inflation
PHUKET: If you are an expatriate living in Thailand or considering relocating here, high inflation might be a distant memory from as far back as the late 1970s. However, Thailand has much higher rates of inflation than is seen in most developed countries, and you will need to consider that when you invest and prepare a budget for your Thai…
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Nervous Phuket duo reveal drug bulge in underpants to police
PHUKET: Police stationed at a Thalang checkpoint discovered three packages of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) after they delved into the pants of two “nervous” men on Friday. Officers manning a checkpoint on Thepkrasattri Road in Srisoonthorn stopped Tossawat Meesukanukoon, 22 and Pasit Kittijaruensin, also 22, because they looked “suspiciously nervous” as they approached the checkpoint on their motorbike. “We found…
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