Month: July 2013
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Deep South strategy wins support; Human trafficking reports slammed; Monk’s millions mount; White Masks to dance July 14
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck’s Deep South strategy wins support The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Measures introduced by the military to end insurgency in the deep South are well underway and should make good progress under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s concurrent role as defence minister, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Thanathip Sawangsaeng…
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Phuket’s Thanyapura serves chef weight loss
PHUKET: Successful restaurateur Eduardo Vargas is a man who enjoys the finer things in life, and this includes food. Originally from Peru, he left South America in 1989 to embark on a journey that took him to cooking school in Toronto; Georgetown University, America where he aquired a Business Administration degree; Singapore and now Shanghai as a restaurant owner. When…
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Waves take man to sea, return his body the next day
PHUKET: The body of a man who disappeared while fishing with friends in Phuket yesterday was found washed ashore at Kalim Beach, north of Patong, this morning. “Villagers called us at about 9am to say they had found a body on Kalim Beach,” said Patong Police officer Thawatchai Srimai. “He has been identified as Jittakorn Kerdrit, 32, from Surat Thani,”…
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Sarong unravels mystery of body dumped near Phuket school
PHUKET: The sarong wrapped around the head of the man found dead in a field near a prominent Phuket school has led police to arrest a murder suspect. Police have declined to reveal any information about the suspect, except that he was male. “This is an ongoing investigation. We believe more than two people were involved in the murder and…
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A moment with Map Abday – Phuket Lifestyle
PHUKET: Art is the expression of human creative skills and imagination, typically in something that can be experienced visually, such as drawing, painting or sculpture. Such works are appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Indeed, many people try to define what art is, but its meaning is constantly evolving, and the concept of art means different things to…
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Phuket Airshow & Family Picnic ready for takeoff
PHUKET: On behalf of the U.S. Navy League, the organizers, suppliers, sponsors,pilots, cooks, clowns, face painters and the scores of others engaged in presenting the Airshow & Family Picnic at Phuket Airpark this weekend, we at the Phuket Gazette would like to invite you to join us. Phuket has never seen anything like this. Entry is FREE; the shows are…
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Local fisherman’s body found in Phuket lagoon
PHUKET: The body of a local fisherman feared drowned was pulled out of a lagoon by rescue divers in Cherng Talay yesterday.Daorueng Lekon, 41, was last seen at about 5pm on Wednesday, walking into the water to place a fish trap in the pond, said Sub Lt Prasert Tongphrom of the Cherng Talay Police.“Villagers said he always went fishing at…
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Seminar aims to develop potential of Phuket Muslim women
PHUKET: Recognizing the importance of women’s role in the family and in society, Phuket officials this week held a two-day seminar aimed at developing the leadership potential of Phuket Muslim women.The seminar, held on Wednesday and Thursday and organized by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO), aimed to improve Muslim women’s knowledge about their rights, roles and responsibilities, and to…
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Corpse found by the road in Rawai
PHUKET: The body of a man believed to have been murdered was found wrapped in a blanket by the roadside in Rawai just after midnight on July 4.“His skull was broken – it looked like it had been hit with a hard object. His face was bloodied and covered with a black plastic bag,” said Chalong Police Captain Thada Sodarak.“We…
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Phuket FC reinforced for TPL promotion push
PHUKET: In their dedicated drive to get promoted to the Thai Premier League (TPL), Phuket FC have regrouped mid-season, signing 10 new players to help them in the final 17 matches of the Yamaha League One (YL1) 2013 season. The new signings include seven Thais, a Brazilian, North Korean and Cameroonian. The club has not made any official announcements about…
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Phuket Navy resumes sea-rescue search for Bangladeshi crew
PHUKET: Officers from the Royal Thai Navy Phuket base resumed their search this morning for 11 crewmen still missing from the Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope, which remains foundering in the Andaman Sea south of Phuket. “We sent out two helicopters and the HTMS Pattani at 6am,” Capt Thammawat Malaisukkarin, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs told the Phuket Gazette.…
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Phuket Vice Governor donates blood for Buddhist holiday
PHUKET: Phuket’s Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa this week donated blood to help publicize a special blood drive in honor of Asarnha Bucha Day, which marks the day the Buddha outlined the four noble truths that form the basis of Buddhist thought. The blood drive is scheduled for July 20-23. “We will accept donations from 9am to 3pm at the Phuket…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Egypt interim president sworn in; Mandela hangs on; Vatican high-life; Ecuador dour on bugs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brotherhood leader arrested as Egypt interim leader sworn in Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood was arrested by Egyptian security forces on Thursday in a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country’s first democratically elected president.The dramatic exit of…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Chalerm chides ice cream gang; Gov’t pushes B2 trillion loan; Liquid cigarettes inflame health officials
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chalerm warns Yingluck of her ‘ice-cream gang’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A disaffected Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung yesterday warned Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra that she was setting her government up for an early demise thanks to her new “ice-cream gang”. Chalerm was apparently referring…
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Phuket Navy helicopter rescues cargo shipman in life raft
PHUKET: One more crew member from a foundering Bangladeshi cargo ship was rescued this afternoon when a Royal Thai Navy helicopter spotted him in a life raft, plucked him up from the broiling sea and flew him to safety. “Adubagar Siddiue, 40, was in a life raft not far from the MV Hope,” said Rear Admiral Prayuth Phutien of the…
Read More » - Business News
Thai smartphone sales ringing up big numbers
PHUKET: Smartphone sales in Thailand more than doubled in the first four months of 2013, a report by one of the world’s largest research companies reveals. The GfK Thailand office reports that communication consumer electronics went from being just one in every five handsets less than two years ago to more than two in five or 42% of overall unit…
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Phuket receives new Honorary Consul for Italy
PHUKET: Dr Francesco Pensato has been proclaimed the Honorary Consul of Italy for Phuket and the rest of South Thailand. Dr Pensato, a lifelong patron of the arts and himself a composer of music, is also a director of the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce (TICC, website here) and chairman of TICC’s Phuket and Southern Region of Thailand Committee. Nominated for…
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Rohingya rape suspect handed over to court
PHUKET: The Rohingya man charged by police with holding a 25-year-old Rohingya woman captive and raping her repeatedly over three days has been handed over to the Takuapa Court. Kuraburi Police relinquished custody of Korlimula Ramahatu yesterday after he conducted a re-enactment of the alleged crimes on Tuesday. “The suspect denied the rape charge,” Kuraburi Deputy Police Superintendent Chalerm Wannasathid…
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Phuket manhunt for rapist who impregnated handicapped stepdaughter
PHUKET: Police are searching for a man who repeatedly raped his 15-year-old handicapped stepdaughter, leaving her pregnant before he ran away. The 40-year-old man, originally from Laos, has been at large since June 29, when his wife discovered what he had done. Police have not released a description of the man or a photograph. Patong Police received the report yesterday…
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Family appeals for help with missing daughter in Phuket
PHUKET: A 20-year-old woman on the verge of moving from Phuket back home to Nakhon Sri Thammarat has been reported missing by her family. Weerawit Sangpan, 28, told Thung Thong Police that his 29-year-old sister, Boonyanee, disappeared sometime early on Sunday. “We talked at midnight on Saturday. She sounded fine; we had a good conversation,” he told police. “She had…
Read More » - Business News
Phuket Business: A Swiss sip of homely bliss
PHUKET: Operators of hotels, restaurants, cafes and especially Swiss expats wanting a taste of home, can now purchase Caffe’ Chicco d’Oro and many other imported food products from Switzerland in Phuket. Patty Bamert together with Samai and Fredy Reutlinger, have recently opened their ‘Caffe’ Chicco d’Oro’ coffee and bistro shop in Kathu, serving the popular Swiss coffee brand of the…
Read More » - Property
Industrial real estate demand on rise
PHUKET: This fiscal year, the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has forecasted sales and rentals to cover between 3,600 to 3,800 rai (1,440 to 1,520 acres) of land in both its own and privately owned industrial estates. The 2013 Thai fiscal year began on October 1, 2012 and will last until the end of September, this year. IEAT governor…
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Russian tourist dies in ICU after fateful Phuket swim
PHUKET: The Russian tourist who was comatose after being pulled from the water at Karon Beach on June 23 died on Tuesday at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Kho Khay Gym, 31, had gone swimming with friends at Karon Beach when he was struck by big waves and dragged out to sea. His friends called for help and he was rescued by…
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How to legally own Thai land
PHUKET: I think there is a common misconception in Phuket, and in Thailand generally, that is often reinforced by many long term expats, who are always very eager to give their opinions to new-comers. It goes like this: As long as you remain a foreigner in this country, you will always have to use one of the available loopholes to…
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Phuket Regional Blood Center calls for life saving blood donations
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC), often called upon to save the lives of Thais and foreigners, is low on stocks of blood type A Rhesus-negative“As this is the beginning of [the Thai school] semester period, we got blood [donations] from students that makes us have sufficient stock of blood as we maintain a daily minimum stock of 200…
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Lady Sevenstar will be manned by Phuket Raceweek’s first all female crew
PHUKET: Popular all women’s sailing team Lady Sevenstar has officially entered Asia’s most exciting regatta, the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Race Week (click here for map, held from 17 – 21 July. “It looked liked we were going to miss the race this time as our usual boat, FireFly Lady Sevenstar /aka the Frog, was not available. Miraculously, in the…
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Phuket raid nets B100mn of pirated goods in Patong
PHUKET: A Department of Special Investigation (DSI) task force in Phuket yesterday arrested seven people and seized pirated goods with an estimated street value of more than 100 million baht. Armed with a search warrant and joined by officers from the Patong Police, the DSI agents raided two three-story shophouses in Soi Sukcharoen, off Phang Muang Sai Kor Road in…
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Phuket rescue launched for Bangladeshi cargo ship: 17 crew rescued, 13 missing
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has launched an air-sea rescue effort to recover the missing crew from Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope after the vessel capsized in heavy seas south of Phuket early this morning.The MV Hope, registered at 97 meters long, started taking on water in heavy seas at about 1:10am, reported Capt Thammawat Malaisukkarin, Director of the Naval…
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Phuket road work forces motorists to seek bypass road bypass
PHUKET: The long tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road caused by the resurfacing of the bypass road at the Bang Khu Intersection in Koh Kaew has forced police to urge motorists to use alternative routes. “We need to resurface about 1.5km of the [bypass] road, starting at the Bang Khu intersection,” said Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad. “The road surface is…
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Young cricketers deliver in Phuket Sawadee League
PHUKET: Young cricket talent took part in another round of the Phuket Cricket Group’s (PCG) “Sawasdee League” at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) last weekend. Although the international school teams were absent, four teams including representatives from the PCG’s Youth Academy, Baan Sapam and Thai Hua played some closely contested matches. The ACGround officially opened last year. Video: Phuket Today…
Read More » - World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Egypt celebrates Independence Day; Putin bans gay adoption; Ex-Taliban now in favor of women; Mexican drug lord slays school bullies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt army topples Mursi, suspends constitution Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Egypt’s armed forces overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders.After a day of drama in which tanks and…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: World Peace under fire; Cabinet wows with vows; Five supercars seized; White masks suspend protest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World Peace chief welcomes DSI probe The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The World Peace University (WPU) yesterday denied any wrongdoing in the wake of emerging evidence that it has never been accorded the status of a “higher-education institute”.“We don’t cause any trouble. We just confer honorary doctorates,”…
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More rain forecast as Phuket housing estate goes underwater
PHUKET: More rain is forecast for the coming days as Phuket suffers heavy deluges causing minor flooding at locations across the island. More than 68mm of rainfall was recorded at Phuket International Airport yesterday and 56mm fell on Phuket Town, with both locales recording more than 25mm within a three-hour period. A three-hour rainstorm on Tuesday brought flooding again to…
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Phuket airport’s expansion progress to ease overcrowding
PHUKET: The Airport Authority of Thailand (AoT) has accelerated the construction of a temporary terminal building at Phuket International Airport (HKT) in order to ease passenger overload ahead of the next tourism high season. Quoted in a recent report by BangkokBizNews, AoT Board Director Sitha Tiwaree announced that the construction schedule for the temporary terminal had been tightened due to…
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Phuket dengue numbers highest in 20 years
PHUKET: As the number of patients in Phuket diagnosed with dengue fever reached the highest level in 20 years, health officials met at Patong Hospital yesterday to discuss dengue-prevention measures in Kathu. Patong was chosen as the location and the target focus for the meeting as the beach resort town is the most popular district for tourists on the island,…
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Phuket unveils plans for Chalong underpass
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut has unveiled six routes being considered for a new underpass to be built at Chalong Circle, by far the busiest junction in the south of the island.The new underpass will need to serve about 53,000 cars per day, accounting for about 60 per cent of all traffic in Muang District, he told the press at…
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Phuket Property Watch: Just how real is real?
Phuket Property Watch: It’s Wednesday and far too early in the day for an epiphany. I’ve just been online trying to book a trip to Nirvana and even my trusty sidekick Jimmy Zen can’t help. No leap of faith here, no walking on water, just an aisle seat on the big bus. In the whole wired world of travel, more…
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