Month: June 2013

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Football: Islanders face uphill battle | Thaiger

    Phuket Football: Islanders face uphill battle

    PHUKET: Phuket FC’s inconsistent start to the season continued after they beat their Phang Nga Bay rivals Krabi 2-0 on May 29 in front of a raucous crowd: The team then traveled to Saraburi and lost 1-0 after Mario Neto scored a late winner. The Islanders are in fifth place, three points behind Bangkok FC in the last automatic promotion…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Health: Exploring island fitness | Thaiger

    Phuket Health: Exploring island fitness

    PHUKET: Thousands of long-distance runners are starting to get the butterflies ahead of the eighth annual Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM), which takes place early tomorrow morning (click here for story) To help prepare, if not calm some nerves, fitness contributor, Hayden Rhodes, has provided some more training tips and advice in this article, which will elaborate on last week’s…

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  • Phuket NewsSpecial Report: Breaching walls for Phuket tsunami safety | Thaiger

    Special Report: Breaching walls for Phuket tsunami safety

    SPECIAL REPORT: Tsunami evacuation drills have become part of Phuket life since the devastating waves struck our shores in 2004. But has familiarity bred contempt for safety in the west coast village of Kamala? The Phuket Gazette reports. PHUKET: Phuket recently hosted a full-scale tsunami drill (story here), with rescue workers practicing the actions they would take should a wall…

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  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Stop the tour bus insanity | Thaiger

    Phuket Opinion: Stop the tour bus insanity

    PHUKET: The latest crash of a tour bus descending into Patong highlights yet again the need for tour bus operators – and drivers in particular – to take personal responsibility for the safety of passengers under their care. If it can be considered as such, the only good fortune in this latest tragedy is that no lives were lost and…

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  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Coordinate manpower to corral illegal taxis | Thaiger

    Phuket Opinion: Coordinate manpower to corral illegal taxis

    Manaporn Likitmanon, a 31-year-old Songkhla native, was a Police Investigator at Samut Sakhon Immigration from 2008 to 2012 before returning south last year to become a Highways Police Inspector covering the tri-province area of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi. Here he talks about how to solve the problem of metered and illegal taxis in Phuket. PHUKET: We have received many…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket bank stabbing witnesses confirm murder-suicide | Thaiger

    Phuket bank stabbing witnesses confirm murder-suicide

    PHUKET: The two women present in the Bank of Ayudhya meeting room yesterday watched when Phonthakorn Teerabenjakul, 51, pulled out a knife and stabbed Piboon Vachwanichsanong, 71, to death, and then killed himself, police say (story here). “The women saw the whole thing,” Phuket City Police Inspector Yongyuth Kongmalai told the Phuket Gazette today. “They said there was no fight…

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  • Phuket NewsMass Phuket protest demands Deputy PM step down | Thaiger

    Mass Phuket protest demands Deputy PM step down

    PHUKET: Ahead of the white-mask protest set for Sunday, hundreds of members of the “We Preserve Phuket Club” stormed Phuket Provincial Hall this morning demanding that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra relieve Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi of his position after he issued a thinly veiled threat to the people of Phuket concerning the cancelled International Convention and Exhibition Center project…

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  • Thai LifePhuket Lifestyle: A great grill experience | Thaiger

    Phuket Lifestyle: A great grill experience

    PHUKET: When we organized our visit to The Grill at Regent Cape Panwa, the newest luxury resort on the cape, I was intrigued by general manager Brice Borin’s offer to show us the “Regent experience” as he put it. Later that week, sipping a cool drink at the open-air rooftop bar, watching a cruise liner sail off towards the horizon…

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  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: The heart in darkness | Thaiger

    Phuket Opinion: The heart in darkness

    PHUKET: The island’s streets, along with those in the other 13 Southern provinces, were plunged into darkness for a couple of hours on the evening of May 21, due to the Kingdom’s biggest power outage in three decades (story here) The blackout sparked Thai netizens into a conspiracy theory frenzy, with rumors of everything from a terrorist attack to a…

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  • Thai LifePhuket Gardening: “B’ is for bloomin’ beauties | Thaiger

    Phuket Gardening: “B’ is for bloomin’ beauties

    PHUKET: Well not all bloomin’ beauties. Take bamboo or bambusa for example, it does produce a blossom; after all, flowers are a necessary prelude to the more important business of procreation by seed dispersal. However, bamboo isn’t cultivated for its flowers, but for entirely different reasons. It is grown to create the ramrod-straight canes used commercially in scaffolding, or for…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Police: Mixed up shoes offer only lead to Cinderella snatch thief | Thaiger

    Phuket Police: Mixed up shoes offer only lead to Cinderella snatch thief

    PHUKET: Police barely have their shoe in the door for a case against a pair of snatch thieves after a botched attempt to grab an Irish woman’s purse led to a motorbike crash and a lost flip flop.Hannah Louise O’Hagan, 27, was driving a motorbike to her boyfriend’s place at Baan Term Fun Housing Estate yesterday evening after a trip…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Obama urged to press China; Privacy debate; Letter gives hope; 165 Migrants saved; Search ends; Russian navy deploys to Med | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Obama urged to press China; Privacy debate; Letter gives hope; 165 Migrants saved; Search ends; Russian navy deploys to Med

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lawmakers, activists urge Obama to press Xi on China prisoners Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. lawmakers and 30 human rights groups yesterday urged President Barack Obama to use a weekend summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to press for the freedom of 16 prominent political…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Suu Kyi takes center stage; Rice loss touches 400bn; Beams tumble; Tax losses hit 20bn; Elephant poachers arrested | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suu Kyi takes center stage; Rice loss touches 400bn; Beams tumble; Tax losses hit 20bn; Elephant poachers arrested

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suu Kyi steals the limelight The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: As in Bangkok last year, Myanmar’s democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi was in the spotlight when over 900 participants gathered for the biggest international event the country has hosted in decades. Participants at the…

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  • Phuket NewsTwo dead in bank conference room stabbing | Thaiger

    Two dead in bank conference room stabbing

    PHUKET: A real estate loan gone sour ended in the stabbing deaths of the borrower and the lender in the conference room of a bank in Phuket Town early this afternoon. Police arrived at the scene to find both men dead from multiple stab wounds, one with the knife stuck in his chest.Phonthakorn Teerabenjakul, 51, had borrowed 30.8 million baht…

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  • Phuket NewsMosquito virus news buzz batted down by Phuket Public Officials | Thaiger

    Mosquito virus news buzz batted down by Phuket Public Officials

    PHUKET: The news buzz across the Pacific that has worked its way back to Thailand after a Canadian woman was forced to turn to the American Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to identify a mysterious malady has been batted down by Phuket Public Officials.The 45-year-old Canadian tourist, who visited Bangkok and Phuket, was bitten repeatedly by mosquitoes, reported The Canadian…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket event encourages mindful consumption for World Environment Day | Thaiger

    Phuket event encourages mindful consumption for World Environment Day

    PHUKET: Taking part in a global initiative to increase awareness about environmental concerns, Phuket held an event in line with the theme of World Environment Day (WED) this year: Think. Eat. Save. The event in Phuket was held at Vachira Phuket Hospital yesterday morning. “The theme this year strives to encourage people to think about how to reduce the amount…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket white mask protest to take place Sunday at Saphan Hin | Thaiger

    Phuket white mask protest to take place Sunday at Saphan Hin

    PHUKET: The anti-Pheu Thai “V for Thailand” group who have been using the Guy Fawkes white mask to obscure the identity of their supporters across the Kingdom plan to stage a protest in Phuket on Sunday. The protest, slated for 5pm at the Milestone in Saphan Hin, is one of nine nationwide rallies the group has planned, extending from Chiang…

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  • Phuket NewsThailand Super Series at Sepang: Mission Accomplished | Thaiger

    Thailand Super Series at Sepang: Mission Accomplished

    PHUKET: The new era of Thai motor sports is already a thriving reality as the drivers, teams, support personnel and racing cars have made their way back from Sepang, which hosted the first ever round of Thailand Super Series (TSS) from May 25-26. Not just a Super Car: Toyota’s 86 has arrived in Super 2000 One new race car that…

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  • Business NewsSPECIAL REPORT: Recycling 101 – reducing a piling burden | Thaiger

    SPECIAL REPORT: Recycling 101 – reducing a piling burden

    PHUKET: By some estimates, as much as 20 per cent of the island’s rubbish gets recycled. But this number could be higher if more consumers were made aware of a few things.The island is home to dozens of small and medium scale scrap yard operations and recycling depots that make a living, if not a decent business, by buying back…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Police hit “abductor’ taxi-driver with two more charges | Thaiger

    Phuket Police hit “abductor’ taxi-driver with two more charges

    PHUKET: Two more charges have been levied against the illegal taxi driver who denies having sexually assaulted a Chinese tourist after picking her up at Phuket International Airport on May 17 (story here). Already accused of deprivation of liberty for holding the 19-year-old woman captive in his vehicle for five hours, as well as sexual assault and being under the…

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  • Thai LifePhuket History: Recalling a Thai-Malaysian legacy | Thaiger

    Phuket History: Recalling a Thai-Malaysian legacy

    PHUKET: One of the most famous historical figures in the history of Phuket and this region, is the late Khaw Sim Bee Na Ranong, better known on Phuket as Praya Rassada. He was the high commissioner of Phuket and the Southwestern region of Siam from 1900 to 1913. He was assassinated 100 years ago in May, 1913. To commemorate his…

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  • Phuket NewsPolice pin down suspect in Phuket elephant smuggling ring | Thaiger

    Police pin down suspect in Phuket elephant smuggling ring

    PHUKET: Police have identified a prime suspect in an illegal elephant smuggling ring that led to the recent DNA testing of two baby elephants in Phuket (story here). A Kamnan in Chaiyaphum province who police have yet to name will be charged with making and using fraudulent elephant certification documents, Col Watcharin Phusit, Superintendent of the Regional Natural Resources and…

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  • Thai LifePhuket to host Asian animation summit | Thaiger

    Phuket to host Asian animation summit

    PHUKET: Organizers of the second annual Asian Animation Summit (AAS) have announced that the 2013 event will take place in Phuket from December 9-11, following the Asia Television Forum. A five-star resort and spa on Karon Beach, to be announced, will host the summit, which seeks to promote co-production and co-financing of animation projects. The AAS is an annual event…

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  • World NewsWorld News: Venezuela deports gringo spy; WikiLeaks case update; US soldier pleads guilty to murder | Thaiger

    World News: Venezuela deports gringo spy; WikiLeaks case update; US soldier pleads guilty to murder

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Venezuela deports US filmmaker accused of being a spy Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Venezuela yesterday deported an American filmmaker who was arrested in April on accusations of spying for Washington and plotting with opposition student groups to destabilize the South American OPEC nation. “The gringo…

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  • Thailand NewsThailand News: Thai-Americans charged with exporting firearm parts – update; Tax loss on luxury cars; Man dies after ambulance moved | Thaiger

    Thailand News: Thai-Americans charged with exporting firearm parts – update; Tax loss on luxury cars; Man dies after ambulance moved

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UPDATE: Thais arrested in US over suspicious gun-parts shipments The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: National Police Chief Pol General Adul Saengsingkaew has assigned a deputy to handle a case in which US authorities have arrested and indicted three Thais and three Thai-Americans on charges of…

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  • Phuket NewsThousands to run Laguna Phuket Marathon this weekend | Thaiger

    Thousands to run Laguna Phuket Marathon this weekend

    PHUKET: Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities will take to the roads of Phuket on Sunday morning when the eighth annual “Run Paradise” Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) once again celebrates the joy of running and pursuit of fitness in a family-friendly carnival atmosphere. This year the line-up of more than 4,000 Thai and international participants from 45…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Red Cross makes urgent call for O-negative blood | Thaiger

    Phuket Red Cross makes urgent call for O-negative blood

    PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC), often called upon to save the lives of Thais and foreigners, has no reserves of O-negative type blood. “We try to maintain a daily minimum stock of 200 units of A, B and O blood types, and 20 units of Rhesus-negative blood,” said PRBC Acting Chief Pornthip Rattajak. “We need all types of…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: US arrests 6 Thais; Bombings amid NSC uncertainty | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: US arrests 6 Thais; Bombings amid NSC uncertainty

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US arrests six Thais for illegally exporting weapon parts to Thailand The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: US authorities have arrested and indicted a Thai woman residing in Berkeley, California, and five others for illegally exporting restricted firearm parts from the US to Thailand, federal prosecutors…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: US woman raped in India; Nerve gas used; North Korean abuses exposed | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: US woman raped in India; Nerve gas used; North Korean abuses exposed

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. woman is latest gang-rape victim in India Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: An American woman was the latest gang-rape victim in northern India, local media reported Tuesday. The incident occurred at around 1am local time when the woman decided to hitchhike her way back…

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  • Phuket NewsRussian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus slams into Patong house | Thaiger

    Russian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus slams into Patong house

    PHUKET: Five Russian tourists were injured when the brakes failed on a Pegas Touristik bus while the vehicle was descending the steep hill into Phuket’s premier resort town of Patong at about 6pm this evening. The Bangkok-registered bus came to a thudding halt as it slammed into a house by the side of the road near Suwankiriwong Temple, known locally…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket’s most famous beachfront road to get 200-million-baht face lift | Thaiger

    Phuket’s most famous beachfront road to get 200-million-baht face lift

    PHUKET: A plan to beautify over 3.5 kilometers of the Patong beachfront road by hiding unsightly power lines underground was presented at a public hearing yesterday in Patong.If the 203-million-baht project passes the public hearing process, as it is expected to, construction could start this year, covering the stretch of Taweewong Road from the three-junction in Kalim to Klong Pak…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket officials scramble over missing Rohingya | Thaiger

    Phuket officials scramble over missing Rohingya

    PHUKET: Officers at the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families on Koh Sireh this afternoon called an emergency meeting to discuss reports of Rohingya refugees disappearing from the center early yesterday morning. The meeting was called when news reports surfaced that Muslim women and children were noticed missing from the shelter at about 2:30am. The mass disappearance followed two other…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: China poultry fire kills 119; N Ireland resorts to ‘fake shopfronts’ for G8; Assange talks resume; Oklahoma toll reaches 18 | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: China poultry fire kills 119; N Ireland resorts to ‘fake shopfronts’ for G8; Assange talks resume; Oklahoma toll reaches 18

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chinese slaughterhouse fire kills 119 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A blaze at a locked poultry slaughterhouse in northeast China killed at least 119 people on Monday with several still unaccounted for, officials and state media said, triggering online outrage in a country with a grim…

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  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: 2 workers missing in quarry collapse; Luxury car crackdown; False bomb threat alerts | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: 2 workers missing in quarry collapse; Luxury car crackdown; False bomb threat alerts

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Phetchaburi mine ‘may have been operating illegally’ The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Rescue workers continued to search for the bodies of victims in a fatal rockslide yesterday at a mine in Phetchaburi, south of Bangkok, which authorities say may have ignored an order to improve its work…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property Watch: Beach blanket bingo at Bongo | Thaiger

    Phuket Property Watch: Beach blanket bingo at Bongo

    PHUKET: I can hear the distant pounding of bongos in the night. Of course, once you get passed 50, there is the sudden moment of terror and then the notion your heart is going to thump, thump, thump you right into the afterlife. Are there bongos in heaven or hell? But no, it’s definitely bongo madness out there somewhere in…

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  • Phuket NewsGovernor looks for direct flights between Phuket and Nice, France | Thaiger

    Governor looks for direct flights between Phuket and Nice, France

    PHUKET: Fresh off the plane from France, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut revealed plans to support direct flights between two sister cities – Nice and Phuket. Such a flight would bolster the plans laid out in February by the French Ambassador to Thailand, Thierry Viteau, of inviting small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses to Phuket to discuss cooperative investment opportunities (story…

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  • Phuket NewsTwelve Burmese dead as border boat run goes fatally wrong [video report] | Thaiger

    Twelve Burmese dead as border boat run goes fatally wrong [video report]

    PHUKET: Marine Police recovered the bodies of nine Burmese nationals yesterday, bringing to 12 the number who died when their boat capsized in rough seas north of Phuket as they attempted to evade a Thai coastal patrol on Friday night.Pak Nam Police in Ranong province confirmed that the nine bodies retrieved yesterday comprised three women and six men found floating…

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