Month: May 2013
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Obama calls for end to Myanmar Muslim violence; Oklahoma flattened by tornado; Libya war weapons killing elephants
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama urges Myanmar to stop violence against Muslims Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: President Barack Obama urged the president of Myanmar on Monday to take steps to halt violence against Muslims in his country and move ahead with economic and political reforms.Thein Sein became the first head of…
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Phuket Police scour Patong for motorbike ransom gang
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for three men who evaded arrest last night when officers raided an address given as that of the ringleader of a teenage motorbike extortion gang. The raid originated from a complaint filed by Sasiprapha Sukhang, 18, from Buri Ram, who told police she lent her motorbike – which she had rented – to…
Read More » - Property
Phuket Property Watch: How same-same drove me insane
PHUKET: It was a rainy Tuesday night, just last week, when I rolled over in bed and casually glanced at my wife, enveloped in the dark shadows of sleep. Suddenly, my heartbeat turned staccato, as it dawned on me that the woman next to me had not the familiar face of my wife, but, shockingly, turned out to be my…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thalang defense volunteer charged for illegal possession of a firearm
PHUKET: A Thalang defense volunteer was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition after being pulled over at a checkpoint in Phuket. Krit Meesit, 52, wearing military trousers and a black shirt with “Royal Thai Marine Corps” written across it, was stopped at a checkpoint on Nanai Road in Patong at about 2am yesterday. “The man presented us…
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Phuket tourist hits pedestrian on Thepkrasattri Road
PHUKET: A tourist arriving on Phuket from Bangkok in his pick-up truck last night struck an unidentified man who allegedly had stepped out into one of Phuket’s busiest roads. Thalang Police received a report at 11:45pm that a man had been hit in the southbound lanes of Thepkrasattri Road about 150 meters north of the Heroines’ Monument (map here). At…
Read More » - Property
New “pads’ for Phuket’s students
PHUKET: With land prices surging and many new condominium projects sprouting up across the island, competition to penetrate new market segments is heating up. Up to this point, much of the focus has been on Phuket’s working and high-end groups. Meanwhile, lingering demand among other niche segments has been largely overlooked, if not ignored by developers. Seeing and seizing an…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket Finance: Currency crisis warning signs
PHUKET: THE strength of the Thai Baht is a major topic of conversation these days, especially since so many Phuket residents are living on a fixed income, denominated and paid in a foreign currency from abroad. We have all been feeling the same pain as the combination of the strong baht and domestic inflation has led to our hard-earned money…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket taxi driver to face abduction, drug charges
PHUKET: The Phuket taxi driver accused of holding a 19-year-old Chinese tourist captive for hours and threatening her with sexually intimidating gestures on Friday will face deprivation of liberty and drug charges. Phuket City Police today named the driver as Paitoon Kruain, 32, from Sakoo, a small village on Phuket’s west coast near Phuket International Airport. Mr Paitoon was interrogated…
Read More » - Business News
Cashing in on Thai and Russian relations
PHUKET: Phisak Nivataphand, the president of the Thai-Russian Chamber of Commerce and advisor for the Russian Studies Center of Chulalongkorn University, was recently in Phuket to give a speech to promote Thai-Russian business relations. Organized by Thai-Russian media firm Expert Media Co Ltd, the seminar was held on May 10 at the Royal Phuket Marina. Mr Phisak opened his speech…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rising costs new threat; PM mum on Cabinet; Teacher cheats to be sacked; Four arrested over Asia Hotel blast
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rising costs greatest threat to govt The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The increasing cost of living was cited as the major factor threatening to weaken public support for the Yingluck government in a poll by Assumption University.Higher cost of living was cited as the most likely cause…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Myanmar human rights on US visit agenda; NKorea rocks more missiles, Iran hangs spies; France drones on; China tackles elderly
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama walks a fine line with Myanmar president’s landmark visit Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: President Barack Obama will walk a fine line between fostering a U.S. ally in China’s backyard and trying to defend human rights when the president of Myanmar becomes the first head of his…
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Phuket taxi driver arrested over Chinese tourist sex assault complaint
PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver is being held by Phuket City Police today following a 19-year-old Chinese tourist alleging the driver held her captive for hours and tried to sexually assault her. “Both the taxi driver and Chinese tourist have been brought in for questioning,” Detective Nucharee Longkaew, the Phuket City Police specialist officer for interviewing victims of sex crimes,…
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Australian gunmen walk free after short Phuket Prison stint
PHUKET: Two Australian tattoo parlor owners are now out of prison after mistakenly shooting two German tourists while trying to gun down alleged Danish mafioso Dennis Mark Knudsen on January 22. John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, were released on April 11 after having served about 40 days of prison time. “They were sentenced to a six-month, 15-day suspended…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Queer News: Villagers hope to get lucky with “elepig’
PHUKET: Residents of a village in Nakhon Sri Thammarat are queuing up to visit a household where a pig has just given birth to an unusual piglet. The mother of the “elepig” gave birth to a litter of 15 piglets on March 27. Of the newborns, 14 were normal. But one, a white female, had some strange characteristics. It had…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket Opinion: For the Love of Bob
PHUKET: Many years ago, backpacking through Malaysia, I found myself at a hostel one night swapping stories and listening to a fellow traveller playing guitar and singing.When the dreadlocked musician asked if any of us had any requests I jumped in with “play some Bob Marley” assuming that he would have at least a dozen Marley songs in his repertoire.His…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Meth-ods for drug abuse prevention
PHUKET: Dr Ruangsit Netnuanyai, the psychiatric social worker who runs the drug treatment center at Vachira Phuket Hospital, is absolutely right that more needs to be done to prevent youths from falling into the potentially fatal trap of drug abuse (story here). As he notes, this effort should start with the most commonly abused substance among young Thais: methamphetamine, known…
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Phuket resorts caught in illegal construction blitz
PHUKET: A team of Ministry of Interior officials landed in Phuket yesterday to raid four sites in and around Patong, all of which are now under investigation for illegal construction.Leading the raids was Lt Gen Jutti Thammanovanich from the Office of the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, ranking him among the top police commanders in the country.Joining him were…
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Phuket Opinion: Looking for privacy for Phuket’s addicts
Psychiatric Social Worker Dr Ruangsit Netnuanyai, 36, is a Phuket native who has been working at Vachira Phuket Hospital for 13 years. He is the head of the drug-treatment program at Vachira and also does research on drug treatment for young addicts. Here, he talks about drug addiction in Phuket and calls for a new drug-treatment center and drug education…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Sports: England must improve to beat NZ
PHUKET: After the high drama of England’s final test match in New Zealand, which ended with Monty Panesar nervously blocking the final five balls to avoid defeat and the dreaded ignominy of a series loss, the first game before the return Test matches against the Lions (effectively England’s second eleven), ended in a drab draw. Rain, as usual, was the…
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Phuket Sports: EPL’s last day as Wigan take FA Cup and last relegation spot
PHUKET: Wigan Athletic became the first team to be relegated from England’s top flight in the same season as winning the FA Cup after they lost 4-1 at Arsenal, with Lukas Podolski scoring twice, in the English Premier League on Tuesday. The victory keeps Arsenal in pole position to claim fourth spot and a place in next year’s Champions League.…
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Phuket hospital offers free checkups in honor of HM Queen Sirikit
PHUKET: Phuket residents are invited to sign up for free medical checkups at the Phuket Provincial Hospital on May 31 in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 81st birthday later this year. The first 1,253 Phuket-registered residents to contact the Provincial Hospital (map here) before May 29 can take advantage of one of a number of checkups available. The hospital will…
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Phuket Sports: Boots, boredom and bluster – F1
PHUKET: What a boring race! The second drag reduction system (DRS) did not enliven Catalunya. Pirelli caved-in to pressure and supplied 2012-style hard tyres. They degraded anyway. Pirelli’s intention is to create two and three stop strategy options for each race; four stops is too many. The race became a shambles that even drivers could not follow. Pirelli has said…
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Education Ministry launches nationwide drug-free schools campaign in Phuket
PHUKET: Three schools in Phuket yesterday became the launch focus of a new Ministry of Education campaign to rid schools nationwide of drugs.Deputy Education Minister Sermsak Pongpanit, joined by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and 850 other participants, including education officials from throughout the Andaman provinces, announced the “White School” anti-drugs campaign at Satree Phuket School in Phuket Town.Mr Sermsak explained…
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Phuket’s Laguna win the JLL Hotels cricket league
PHUKET: It was a much anticipated match between Patong CC and Laguna last Sunday as they met to decide Phuket’s Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Cricket League champions 2013, at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG). In a thrilling game Laguna got off to a terrible start, but they dug deep to post a defendable total of 165 runs against a very…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: US chides Russia; US train crash; Crucial evidence withheld from ex-Russian spy’s inquest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. chides Russia over missiles as peace plans suffer Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The United States chided Russia for sending missiles to the Syrian government as plans for a peace conference promoted by Washington and Moscow were hit by diplomatic rifts over its scope and purpose.Sectarian bloodshed…
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Phuket plants 24k mangrove seedlings to honor HM Queen Sirikit
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut this morning led more than 1,200 people in a mass planting of mangrove trees to honor HM Queen Sirikit’s 80th birthday.A total of 24,000 seedlings were planted over about 47 rai of land in the Klong Mudong area of Chalong.“Among the specimens planted were Rhizophora apiculata, Ceriops tagal and white bean,” explained Kasem Sukwaree, chief…
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Officials stage rapid-response drill to bird flu outbreak
PHUKET: Officials in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, yesterday staged a rapid-response exercise simulating an outbreak of bird flu.“Phang Nga is a well-known tourist destination. A lot of tourists come from China, where a new strain of bird flu is spreading,” said Kuraburi District Chief Manit Pianthong.“About 35 Chinese have died in roughly six weeks from this new strain,” he…
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Phuket FC need to tame the Wild Horses
PHUKET: The Islanders will face newly promoted Rayong FC at Surakul Stadium tomorrow and will look to return to winning ways. Phuket’s push for promotion has stalled recently due to the club failing to win any of their last three games, which included two draws and a loss. Phuket currently sit sixth in the league, five points behind top of…
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Police urge Phuket tourists to use Tourist Buddy app
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Police are urging visitors to the island to download and register the agency’s Tourist Buddy application, which is now available on Google Play for devices running the Android platform (click here). The Tourist Police launched its Tourist Buddy app on Apple’s iTunes store last month, making it instantly available for iPhone and iPad users (click here).…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Pets: As sweet as sugar
PHUKET: When browsing through markets in Thailand, it is always fascinating to come across a pet store and see which exotic animals they have on offer. Snakes, lizards, turtles, hedgehogs and even African cennec foxes can be found among the more usual cats and dogs. Walking through the Phuket Town weekend market recently, I discovered a pet shop selling sugar…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket Dog of the Week: Chico
PHUKET: Chico is a cream male poodle mix, so if you are looking for a low shedding dog that’s intelligent, sociable with other dogs and affectionate towards children then this is your dog! Chico is about eight years old, and is a wise old dude, with a very relaxed temperament. He doesn’t bark a lot and is trained to stay…
Read More » - Phuket News
Monsoon weather brings trash to Phuket shore
PHUKET: Broken glass, plastic and wood with protruding nails washing ashore on Patong Beach have alarmed Phuket tourists, but local authorities say they our powerless to prevent the dangerous flotsam.Though officers from Patong Municipality’s Public Health Office collect trash strewn along the beach every morning, they are finding it difficult to keep the sand clear of debris.“It’s the same problem…
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Marine officials urge Phuket boat owners to be vigilant
PHUKET: In the wake of recent break-ins and thefts on yachts anchored around Phuket, the marine authorities are urging boat owners to ensure their boats are secure. “In order to protect yacht property from being stolen, I suggest yacht owners have round-the-clock security on their boats. They should protect their boats as they protect their houses,” said Lt Col Chatchai…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket On The Menu: The Art of food
PHUKET: When checking in on Facebook one often comes across photographs of food; meals about to be consumed at restaurants and in homes. With the advent of ‘smart phones’ it seems everyone now has a camera ready to snap a shot of their dinner or their cat, or even their cat’s dinner. Among my Facebook friends is local artist Jayda…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Marriage could end conflict; True, CTH battle for TV top spot; Haircut changes raise eyebrows
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Will this marriage end conflicts? The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Chayapa Wongsawat and Lynal Nam, an official attached to the Office of the Cambodian Cabinet, will be tying the knot at Plaza Athenee in Bangkok tomorrow.Lynal is the son of Uan Wanlee and tycoon Seang Nam, who…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Texas tornado kills six; Nepal passenger plane crash – all survive; Mayan pyramid bulldozed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Monster Texas tornado kills six, seven people missing Reuters/ Phuket GazettePHUKET: Six people were dead and seven missing after a powerful tornado ripped through a neighbourhood that included housing for the poor in the north Texas town of Granbury, marking the deadliest severe storm outbreak in the…
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Phuket coral restoration begins as seawalking continues
PHUKET: Marine officers and volunteer divers who headed to Khai Nai island on Tuesday to help restore damaged coral – allegedly wrecked by a seawalking tour company (story here) – found the company back on site leading a tour when they arrived. “We saw a ship named Sea Lion in the area with a speedboat alongside. People were on the…
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