Year: 2013

  • World NewsPhuket Lifestyle: Day-Lewis makes history as Oscars shared around

    Phuket Lifestyle: Day-Lewis makes history as Oscars shared around

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Argo wins best picture Oscar, Ang Lee takes best director Phuket Gazette / The Nation / DPA PHUKET: The political hostage drama Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture on Sunday as the Academy Awards were spread among a wealth of nominees. Life of Pi picked…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Live Wire: Anatomy of a land line meltdown

    Phuket Live Wire: Anatomy of a land line meltdown

    PHUKET: As I continued my pursuit of a decent internet connection in Phuket for the house I’m moving into, a funny thing happened. That’s funny as in strange, not funny as in hilarious. Depending on where you lived in Thailand, at about 2am on Friday morning, February 15, if you had internet service from TOT your line went down. Again,…

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  • Business NewsMajor hotels prepare for blackouts next month

    Major hotels prepare for blackouts next month

    PHUKET: Major retailers, hotels and other businesses are planning strategies to cope with a possible electricity crisis in April, preparing to reduce power consumption to prevent blackouts and losses in revenue. A large supply of natural gas from Myanmar will be disrupted from April 4-12 as two drilling rigs in the Andaman Sea are shut down for repairs. Other fuel…

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  • Business NewsPhuket Finance: The many laws of averaging

    Phuket Finance: The many laws of averaging

    PHUKET: Averaging is a word that has many meanings when it comes to investing. The investment world is full of conflicting opinions and advice, and a very common mistake people make is following advice that may be intended for short term speculative money and applying it to long term investment money, or money that is meant to be generating a…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property: Como at Yamu

    Phuket Property: Como at Yamu

    PHUKET: COMO Hotels and Resorts, the award-winning five-star hotel group based in Singapore, is to develop and manage a new property on the Yamu peninsula of Phuket. This property is the tenth member of the COMO family of unique destinations and is scheduled to open in November this year. Point Yamu offers 109 rooms, including 30 private villas, with panoramic…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property: Express your inner self

    Phuket Property: Express your inner self

    PHUKET: Holiday Inn Express has opened its first property on Phuket, providing savvy leisure travelers with affordable comfort in a prime central location. The Holiday Inn Express Phuket Patong Beach Central has all the characteristics that guests expect of the trusted global brand.The 277-room hotel defines “smart travel” by combining comfort and convenience with proximity and price. Only a few…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property Watch: And then came Layan

    Phuket Property Watch: And then came Layan

    PHUKET: Thinking of owning property in an island paradise? Swaying coconut trees, tropical drinks in day-glow colors and of course the ultimate deal closer – the beach. Let’s take an example, someone named Dieter, snowbound in Bavaria, with subzero weather, a veritable glacier outside the front door and packs of wolves howling at the moon. Maybe the wolf thing is…

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  • Business NewsPhuket Business: Expats rank Thailand highly in global survey

    Phuket Business: Expats rank Thailand highly in global survey

    PHUKET: One of the largest ‘expat living’ surveys conducted last year ranked Thailand second in terms of experience and quality of life, while ranking the Kingdom third in economics. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) recently published the results of its 2012 Expat Explorer Survey, which encompassed responses from more than 5,000 expats residing in thirty countries.The same…

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  • Business NewsPhuket Business: OTOP fair to showcase local products

    Phuket Business: OTOP fair to showcase local products

    PHUKET: No less than 15 million baht is expected to be circulated during the “OTOP City – Four Regions” fair, an event that will showcase up to 200 booths selling quality local products from Phuket and across the country. The fair being held at the Saphan Hin fair-grounds, in Phuket Town (click here for map), commenced on Friday and will…

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  • PropertyPhuket Property: Tourism by the numbers

    Phuket Property: Tourism by the numbers

    PHUKET: A dynamic shift in Phuket’s tourism market is pushing demand away from the beaches. Overseas tourists are pushing up numbers at the large malls, such as Central Festival and Jungceylon, where the top three nationalities of customers are Chinese, Russian and Australian. Last month, retail giant Central Retail Corporation announced a US$332 million expansion project in Phuket to include…

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  • Business NewsPhuket Business: Fill “er up with gasohol please

    Phuket Business: Fill “er up with gasohol please

    PHUKET: Due to the discontinuation of the supply of pure Benzine (91-octane) petrol nationwide, the consumption of gasohol in Phuket this year is expected to increase by at least 50%.Rattakorn Klinchan, head of research at the Phuket Energy Office, affirmed that supplies of pure Benzine 91 were discontinued nationwide on January 1, with most Phuket stocks already drying out this…

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  • Phuket NewsSix injured on merit making trip to Phuket’s renowned Big Buddha image

    Six injured on merit making trip to Phuket’s renowned Big Buddha image

    PHUKET: A bus carrying 26 Burmese, en route to make merit at Phuket’s renowned Big Buddha image, swerved off the road yesterday injuring six passengers. The po thong, a six-wheeled “bus” with two planks for passenger seats, was driven by Abdollah Sairaya, 54. “I was contacted by the workers at about 5pm. They asked me to pick them up from…

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  • Thailand NewsThailand News: Former insurgent urges plea-bargaining scheme to be extended

    Thailand News: Former insurgent urges plea-bargaining scheme to be extended

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Insurgent’s life ‘a sunny day’ after plea-bargain Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A former insurgent has urged the government to extend the plea-bargaining scheme to cover the entire southern border areas in order to attract more militants to surrender. Rawyalee Bueraheng, who has been released…

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  • Business NewsAMCHAM taxation seminar for Americans

    AMCHAM taxation seminar for Americans

    PHUKET: If you are an American and are baffled by the US tax regime on overseas residents, then you do not want to miss an AMCHAM – the American Chamber of Commerce – seminar on March 8 at the Holiday Inn Patong. John Andes, tax partner at KPMG Thailand, will provide an overview of US taxpayers’ 2012 US income tax…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette Sports: Gareth bails out Spurs; Arsenal profit; Laudrup to stay after cup win

    Phuket Gazette Sports: Gareth bails out Spurs; Arsenal profit; Laudrup to stay after cup win

    Brilliant Bale lifts Spurs up to third Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Gareth Bale’s stunning late goal lifted Tottenham Hotspur to a 3-2 win over West Ham United on yesterday which took them up to third in the Premier League table. Bale opened the scoring on 13 minutes but left his best until the 90th minute when he unleashed a…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Myanmar banks given green light by US Treasury

    Phuket Gazette World News: Myanmar banks given green light by US Treasury

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. gives banking green light to Myanmar tycoons Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two banks owned by tycoons associated with Myanmar’s former military regime will start to do business with U.S. companies and investors in the latest reward for the Southeast Asian country’s rapid political transformation.…

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  • Phuket NewsNew multi-million baht Chalong dam plagued with problems

    New multi-million baht Chalong dam plagued with problems

    PHUKET: Construction issues plague the Klong Pee dam project in Chalong less than a year after it was completed at a cost of over 10 million baht.Villagers complained to the Irrigation Project of Phuket, but after nine months of silence have turned to the Phuket Governor and the Phuket Press Club for help.“On February 15 of this year, we filed…

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  • Phuket NewsThree Phuket residents die on journey to make merit

    Three Phuket residents die on journey to make merit

    PHUKET: Three Phuket residents died and two were injured on their way to make merit for Makha Bucha Day when their car went off the road and landed in a pond in Phang Nga today. One of the passengers, a five-year-old girl, was thrown from the car and was found dead in the pond water. “At about 8am this morning,…

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  • Phuket NewsNew Zealanders make Phuket flight despite multi-vehicle crash

    New Zealanders make Phuket flight despite multi-vehicle crash

    PHUKET: Three tourists from New Zealand made their flight out of Phuket today despite a concrete truck hitting their limousine and sending it careening under the bed of a parked 10-wheeled truck on Thepkrasattri Road. “The limousine driver, Worrathat Chaikajorn, 47, had picked up the three tourists in Patong and was taking them to Phuket International Airport shortly before 11am…

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  • Phuket NewsBottlenose dolphin, rare in Phuket, found dead

    Bottlenose dolphin, rare in Phuket, found dead

    PHUKET: A bottlenose dolphin was found dead on Bang Tao Beach this morning, the first to be found beached in Phuket in years. “The dolphin was a female bottlenose dolphin,” Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) said. “They mostly live west of Maithon island in Phang Nga and in Ranong. This dolphin was about 2.2 meters…

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  • Phuket NewsAlcohol banned tonight for Makha Bucha

    Alcohol banned tonight for Makha Bucha

    PHUKET: A nationwide ban on the sale and purchase of alcohol is in effect today, Makha Bucha Day, one of the four annual religious holidays in Thailand.“Alcohol is banned in Phuket and across the country out of respect for the holy day,” Peerayuth Karajedee, Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “We have sent out…

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  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Drivers’ carelessness causes traffic jams

    Phuket Opinion: Drivers’ carelessness causes traffic jams

    PHUKET: Phuket City traffic policeman Pol Sen Sgt Maj Boonliang Maneewong, 53, is from Sisaket province in the Northeast. He graduated from the Provincial Police Training Center Region 2 in Chon Buri province in 1984 and has been working with the Thalang Police since 1985. He has been a traffic officer for 20 years, and for the last three years…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket officials squelch Dengue fever rumors

    Phuket officials squelch Dengue fever rumors

    PHUKET: Residents must do their part in controlling dengue fever by not allowing water to stand in containers around their homes, officials have told the Phuket Gazette as rumors started to grow last week of an outbreak in Karon. In response to a complaint from a reader living on Patak Road Soi 24 in Karon that at least nine people…

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  • Phuket NewsThailand Futsal: Phuket United back on track with away victory

    Thailand Futsal: Phuket United back on track with away victory

    PHUKET: Five different Phuket United players scored the goals that contributed to the team’s away-victory (2-6) against Samut Songkhram on Sunday afternoon in Bangkok. Played at Bangkok’s Fashion Island Futsal Arena, the match was both side’s 24th of the 30-fixture GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL) 2012-2013 season. Phuket United’s goals were scored by Brazilian Jardel, who scored both…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket hosts single-day CITES program on ivory trade

    Phuket hosts single-day CITES program on ivory trade

    PHUKET: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) officers, non-governmental organizations and legal wildlife and fauna traders attended a one day meeting in Phuket as part of the 16th Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) being held in Thailand. Members of the meeting expressed their gratitude for the honor of holding…

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  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Time to rein in rogue cops

    Phuket Opinion: Time to rein in rogue cops

    PHUKET: Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat should be applauded for getting personally involved in the investigation into the attack on a teenage couple who claim to have been assaulted by two sons of a Thalang Police officer on St Valentine’s Day (story here). Reports of assault involving minors are all too common in Thalang, which has a history of teenage…

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  • Phuket NewsMangrove flyover given start date, plans tweaked

    Mangrove flyover given start date, plans tweaked

    PHUKET: A May start date for the long awaited 170-million-baht Klong Koh Pee flyover project, which will now traverse 700 meters of protected mangrove forest, was announced yesterday by the Phuket Governor. “The people of Phuket have been waiting for this project to start for almost 20 years,” Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut said. “The project is important, as it provides…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Japanese Prime Minister sees bright future

    Phuket Gazette World News: Japanese Prime Minister sees bright future

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abe vows to revive Japanese economy, sees no escalation with China Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Americans yesterday “I am back and so is Japan” and vowed to get the world’s third biggest economy growing again and to do more…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette Sports: Premiership managers fed up with questions over future

    Phuket Gazette Sports: Premiership managers fed up with questions over future

    Mancini swears he is fed up of questions over future Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: If Mario Balotelli had left his “Why Always Me?” T-shirt behind in Manchester, his former manager Roberto Mancini might well have fancied wearing it yesterday. The Manchester City boss, who used to joke that all his news conferences started with questions about fellow Italian Balotelli…

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  • Phuket NewsFrench Ambassador sees SME business opportunities in Phuket

    French Ambassador sees SME business opportunities in Phuket

    PHUKET: The new French Ambassador to Thailand, Thierry Viteau, made his first visit outside of his station in Bangkok to Phuket on Thursday to discuss the need to strengthen relations in the tourism market. “Phuket and Nice in France have been ‘sister cities’ since 1989; I want to take this opportunity to re-strengthen and renew our relations,” Amb Viteau, who…

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  • Phuket NewsThailand Futsal: Phuket United get new coach after losing streak

    Thailand Futsal: Phuket United get new coach after losing streak

    PHUKET: The spirits of Phuket United futsal fans are in a state of recovery, following the announcement of a new head coach after the resignation of Coach Suphol “Hum” Senapeng on Thursday. Initially reported on the Thai website, SMM Online, Coach Suphol’s resignation announcement follows the team’s recent loss to Samut Sakhon FC by a score of 6-1 on Wednesday…

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  • Phuket NewsVictim’s uncle testifies in Dokset murder trial | Thaiger

    Victim’s uncle testifies in Dokset murder trial

    PHUKET: Rungnapa Suktong’s uncle took the stand today in the second day of witness testimony in the Stein Havard Dokset murder case. Mr Dokset faces charges for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong under section 288 of Thai law, which stipulates 15 to 20 years or death. He has also been charged for concealing a body and the illegal…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Fair play league

    Phuket Sports: Fair play league

    PHUKET: THE 5th Annual Fair Play League (FPL) kicked off its new five-week season at British International School (BIS) last Sunday. Run by Phuket Soccer Schools (PSS), the league is designed to promote fair play in football and help players integrate and play with other children from different schools, as well as cultural and social backgrounds. Before the under-14 matches,…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Laguna end first round undefeated

    Phuket Sports: Laguna end first round undefeated

    PHUKET: In the final match of the first round, and one of the most highly anticipated matches so far this season, Jabudays took on the undefeated Laguna at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) on last Sunday. Many thought this match might see the Laguna side capitulate to a very strong Jabudays side, the only side to defeat them in 2012.…

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  • Phuket NewsMore floods threaten Phuket Town if Klong Bang Yai project is delayed further

    More floods threaten Phuket Town if Klong Bang Yai project is delayed further

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthsut paid a visit to the behind-schedule Klong Bang Yai project, which, if incomplete by the coming rainy season, threatens Phuket Town with another round of serious flooding. “The klong is the main waterway draining water from Kathu to Saphan Hin. If it is not finished before the heavy rains start, homes and businesses in the…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Siam’s motocross mania; Reds and Blues to Bangkok; Futsal Cup; Thai Open

    Phuket Sports: Siam’s motocross mania; Reds and Blues to Bangkok; Futsal Cup; Thai Open

    BANGKOK (The Nation): Thailand’s best bikers will go up against the global elite for the first time when the 2013 FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) Motocross World Championship Grand Prix of Thailand makes its debut in the Kingdom in March. The race weekend will be hosted at the Pinthong Industrial Estate 3 track in Chon Buri from March 8 to…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Sports: Stacy Lewis sizzles in record-tying opening round | Thaiger

    Phuket Sports: Stacy Lewis sizzles in record-tying opening round

    PHUKET: America’s Stacy Lewis struck a stunning nine-under par 63 to leave the rest of the field in her wake in the opening round of the Honda LPGA Thailand tournament at Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course yesterday. The score tied her career-low round and also the tournament record. Lewis, who was the LPGA’s Player of the Year in 2012,…

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