Month: July 2013
- Phuket News
Kathu Culture Street Festival kicks off tomorrow
PHUKET: The Kathu Culture Street Festival, showcasing the blended cultural heritage of the area, starts tomorrow with a parade beginning at 4:00pm at the Kathu market followed by an opening ceremony at 7pm at the main stage at the Kathu Public Health Center.“The goal of the festival is to preserve Kathu’s cultures and traditions, as well as to encourage locals…
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Phuket Gazette Queer News: Northern women rub it for lucky numbers
PHUKET: A tree that bears a remarkable resemblance to a man’s nether regions is setting pulses racing in a village in the province of Kamphaeng Phet. The mango tree, which was found on land belonging to 50-year-old Mrs Lot Panthap, appears to have two legs, an arse, and a dork (or ‘penis’) hanging in the balance. Local villagers have been…
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Fetus washes ashore in Phuket, police searching for mother
PHUKET: A 6-month-old fetus that police believe was dumped at sea washed ashore at Saphan Hin last night.Police and rescue workers responded to a 10:30pm call and found a crowd surrounding the body at the tip of Saphan Hin park in Phuket Town. Police believe the fetus had been dead for about two days.Kusoldharm workers took the body to Vachira…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Enigmatic beach flags
PHUKET: You arrive at the beach ready for a day of sun, sea and sand, but you are greeted by a line of different colored flags lining the shoreline: red, red and yellow, yellow, blue, red and white chequered. Most people, myself included, aim for the area away from the red flag as they know what that means. The others…
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Phuket Opinion: Sea change in mindset needed to avoid dire straits
PHUKET: The recent discovery and subsequent removal of a large fishing net from the well-known dive site Shark Point (story here) is just the latest in a long series of indicators that the marine environment off Phuket is in dire straits. Government researchers at the ‘National Parks and Protected Area Innovation Institute’ told a recent seminar that coral bleaching had…
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Phuket Opinion: Saving swimmers by keeping them out of the sea
Phang Nga native Uten Singsom, 37, has been working as a lifeguard for 14 years, first at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Patong and for the past three years on Karon Beach. Today, he is the head of the Kata-Karon Lifeguard Club. Here he talks about what government and hotels should do to make Phuket beaches safer and stop…
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Child rapist confesses to raping stepdaughter repeatedly for years
PHUKET: Police arrested a child rapist yesterday after the man’s wife came home early from work and discovered that he had been raping her daughter repeatedly over an eight year period. The girl’s mother, Ms Kai (all family members were given aliases to protect the identity of the victim), reported her discovery first to her village headman, who then took…
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Phuket cops bust ya bah dealers
PHUKET: Phuket police busted two ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers at a police checkpoint on Chao Fa East Road last night.The two men, Apichart Karaket, 26, and Surasak Tunyaudon, 22, confessed to police that they were paid between 3,000 and 4,000 baht to transfer the drugs from a dealer’s house in Thalang to another dealer’s house, Wichit Police Superintendent Chawalit Phetsipear…
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Brainstorming Phuket’s future – indoor soccer stadiums make the list
PHUKET: Participants from almost every segment of Phuket society gathered on July 17 to tell local government leaders what improvements they want to see on the island in the next two years. The ideas ranged from indoor football stadiums in every tambon to solving the island’s traffic problems.Phuket government representatives along with members of state enterprises, private businesses and ordinary…
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Phuket witnesses for Swede murder trial fail to show
PHUKET: The trial of Swede Tommy Soderlund, charged along with fellow countryman Johan Ljung for a murder in Phuket in 2011, did not progress yesterday, as witnesses failed to appear in court. Mr Soderlund and Mr Ljung are accused of stabbing to death Maksim Schantz and then stealing a motorbike in order to escape the scene. Mr Soderlund admits to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Governor denies foreign mafia’s presence in tourism industry
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut denied Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s allegations that foreign mafias are operating in Phuket. The complaint of foreign mafia presence in Phuket was filed by Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak to the DSI headquarters in Bangkok on July 10 (story here). “Phuket does not have any foreign mafia – just some groups of…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Two killed in Egypt; UN seeks proof of peacekeeper, rebel talks; Israel, Palestine lay groundwork for peace talks; Pope looks for Vatican reform
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two killed in clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi protesters Reuters/Phuket GazetteAn Egyptian woman and a 13-year-old boy were killed when supporters and opponents of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi clashed in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, the website of state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on Saturday.Thousands of…
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Winds keep Phuket Raceweek fast and furious for Day Two
PHUKET: Winds ranging from eight to fifteen knots gave all boats some long-course racing off Phuket’s southern coast for Day Two of the 10th Anniversary Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. Despite breakages and damage to six boats on the first day of the event, all were fixed and back in action yesterday with a full 37-strong fleet out racing on-the-water.The…
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Phuket supercars dodge second DSI bullet
PHUKET: A second round of the Department of Special Investigation’s (DSI) probe into supercar owners suspected of tax evasion did not turn up any cars registered in Phuket. The second batch of cars under investigation was composed of only about 60 vehicles. However, only 548 (less than 10%) of the 5,834 registered luxury cars suspected of having been issued papers…
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Winds, thrills pick up on Cape Panwa Phuket Raceweek 2013 day 2
PHUKET: The 37-strong fleet at the 10th Anniversary Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek enjoyed some fast and furious racing yesterday off Phuket’s southeast coast. Winds exceeding 15 knots, combined with 2-3 meter swells, made for perfect Phuket sailing conditions on Day One of the award-winning regatta. Classic and IRC Cruising classes raced a single, long ’round-the-islands’ course, enjoying the strong…
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Phuket Islanders look to charge the Bangkok Bulls
PHUKET: Yamaha League One’s fifth placed team, Phuket FC got a boost of confidence on Wednesday, downing bay-neighbors from the second division, Phang Nga FC 3-1 in a friendly match at Thanyapura. Opening the scoring for the Southern friendly was the Islander’s Georgian striker, Giorgi who net the ball on 12 minutes. This was followed by a goal from Thai…
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Phuket Sports: Zack attack as clock is turned back
PHUKET: “It was when I got on the bike that the old racing instincts began to kick in and I got a little bit excited,” says Jürgen Zack, Thanyapura Senior Head Coach of Triathlon Academy and five times Roth winner. At this year’s international triathlon highlight, Zack, Thanyapura’s Triathlon Academy Senior Head Coach and legend of the sport, notched up…
Read More » - Thai Life
Phuket to celebrate Lord Buddha’s wisdom
PHUKET: Wat Chalong won’t be the only crowded temple in Phuket this coming Monday as Buddhists across the island celebrate Asaha Bucha to commemorate the Lord Buddha’s first teaching of Dhamma to his disciples. What started as a sermon for just 5 believers turned in to a world wide phenomenon with an estimated 400 million followers. The words “Asaha Bucha“,…
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Double the fun from Belgium
PHUKET: On Sunday (July 21), the beer will be exceptionally cold, the waffles and chocolates exceptionally sweet, and the french fries will ditch the French connection, changing their name to friets and being served in their original style – the Belgian style. Celebrations of Belgian National Day will be double the fun this year! Not only will Belgians be raising…
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Island trade drops by nearly 60% since last year
PHUKET: Three-quarters of the way into the government’s current fiscal year, the island’s export-import industry is dwindling, particularly when compared to last year’s benchmark trading year. Phuket Customs House’ records through June 30 show that the value of exports in the 2013 government fiscal year (October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013) so far, is just over 5 billion baht…
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Phuket’s inflation 10% higher than country
PHUKET: The island continues to outpace most of the rest of the country in terms of inflation, with the cost of living in Phuket during the first six months of the year, growing at a rate 10% faster than Thailand overall. Meanwhile, headline (overall) inflation in the Kingdom’s two main cities in the North and Northeast was more than 40%…
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Officials bow out of Phuket Airport Express bus launch
PHUKET: The long-awaited Phuket airport-to-beach bus hit the road at 9:30am today with little fanfare. Passengers on the inaugural ride from Phuket International Airport to Patong included media, tourists and relatives of bus operator Prakob Panyawai. No Phuket officials were along for the ride. Married couple Ben and Kim, first-time visitors from England, had just arrived from Kuala Lumpur and…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Ex-CIA man nabbed in Panama; Safety alert grounds Dreamliner; 6 new MERS cases in Saudi
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ex-CIA official, convicted of kidnapping in Italy, held in Panama Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Former CIA Milan station chief Robert Seldon Lady, convicted in Italy of kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric, has been arrested in Panama, Italian and Panamanian officials said on Thursday.Italy’s top court last year…
Read More » - Chiang Mai News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rice tests approved; Abhisit for vox pops amnesty; Ranong border dispute; Nenkham’s 8 tonnes of gold; Chiang Mai trains resume
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rice importers unfazed as tests approved The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: As the government scurries to restore consumer confidence in Thai rice, buyers abroad are unfazed by problems with pesticides and fumigation.“Foreign importers are still placing orders for our rice,” Wallop Pitchyapongsa, secretary-general of the Thai Rice…
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Construction starts for Region 8 Police headquarters in Phuket
PHUKET: A ground breaking ceremony was held today to mark the construction of the new Region 8 Police headquarters, as plans go forward to move the office from Surat Thani to opposite the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint in Phuket. The construction for the new building, expected to cost about 84 million baht, started on June 3 and is slated to…
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Phuket restaurant built illegally on beach, public land to face charges
PHUKET: Phuket officials were ordered to take action today against a restaurant found to be illegally built and encroaching on the beach south of Patong.“We ordered every relevant government organization to take action against the restaurant’s owner after we established that the restaurant was built on public property,” Chief of the Damrongtham Center Prapan Kanprasang told the Phuket Gazette.Acting on…
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Oi! and Katsu sail ahead early in Phuket Raceweek 2013
PHUKET: Peter Ahern’s TP52 Oi! out of Langkawi drew first blood in IRC Racing I class today in the opening race of the Phuket Raceweek 2013 regatta, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary. With Scott Bailey and Fergus Wilmer on board, Oi! finished the regatta opener on corrected time two minutes ahead of Ben Copley’s Katsu. Roles reversed in the…
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Burmese women rescued from prostitution in Phuket and Phang Nga
PHUKET: Raids by law enforcement officials rescued 12 Burmese women from forced prostitution in Phang Nga and Phuket on July 10.Three suspects were taken into custody for sex trafficking during the raids, and arrest warrants were issued for two others believed to be part of a human trafficking gang.Agents from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) were tipped off by…
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Overcrowding blamed for Rohingya immigration escape
PHUKET: Detention cells strained beyond capacity with Rohingya refugees at Phang Nga Immigration have been blamed for the escape of 11 Rohingya men early yesterday morning. More than 300 Rohingya men are being detained in large caged rooms at the center, originally built to accommodate 250 inmates, Immigration Police Lt Col Neti Khanboon explained. “At about 3am, the men broke…
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Expat retirement: abroad vs home – Phuket Finance
PHUKET: If you have been an expat for a good portion of your adult or working life, you may be wondering whether to retire abroad or return to your home country to retire. However, before you decide to become either a permanent expat or a returnee, you will need to take into account the following considerations: Your Retirement Income The…
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Thai badminton players hungry for gold in North America
PHUKET: In last week’s 2013 US Open Badminton Championships contested in Los Angeles, California, Thai badminton player Sapsiri “Popo” Taerattanachai beat Japanese Yuka Kasunose for the event’s women’s singles title. It was the first time Popo, ranked 15th in the world, met the Japanese player ranked at 173rd. Popo’s victory in two sets secured a prize of US$9,000 USD (about…
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Russian arrested in Phuket for illegally hawking spa products
PHUKET: A 22-year-old Russian man was arrested by Immigration Police in Patong last night after he was caught attempting to sell spa products to a plainclothes officer.Immigration officers arrested Russian national Alexander Pushkarer at a shop on the Patong beach road at about 7pm.“We were informed by one of our officers that a foreigner was working illegally at a shop,”…
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Phuket father files assault charges against son’s teachers
PHUKET: A Phuket father has filed an assault complaint with police against two teachers at his 9-year-old son’s school. The father told Wichit Police on Tuesday afternoon that teachers at Wichitsongkram School had struck his son several times over the last month. “Mr Pichit told us that on June 14, that one teacher hit his son’s hand and made it…
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Phuket volunteers replant vandalized mangrove saplings to re-honor HM Queen Sirikit
PHUKET: In a joint effort to repair the work of vandals, Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa led 200 volunteers in planting mangrove saplings in the Klong Mudong area of Chalong yesterday. Some of the 24,000 mangrove saplings planted in the area last May 17 in honor of HM Queen Sirikit were destroyed on the night of July 11 by a…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Greece faces massive layoffs; NK demands Panama free arms ship; Rolling Stone outrage; Taliban asks Malala to come home
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community North Korea demands Panama free seized ship carrying arms Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: North Korea demanded on Thursday the release of its ship held in Panama with what appear to be missile radar and other weapons loaded in Cuba, saying it was sailing under a legitimate deal…
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Russians targeted in Phuket illegal company crackdown
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 56 Phuket firms targeted for using Thai nominees The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Commerce Ministry is targeting 56 companies in Phuket suspected of breaching the Foreign Business Act (FBA) by having Thais acting as nominees so that foreigners can hold majority control. The ministry…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Finance Minister warns graft threatens growth; Arrest warrant for missing monk; B100mn fire in Haad Yai
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Finance Minister warns graft threatens growth The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Global credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings believes lessening corruption in the Thai public service will help prop up the Thai economy, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong.Following discussions yesterday with Fitch Ratings, Kittiratt…
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