Year: 2015
- Business News
Finance: Before bidding: Take stock of eBay stock
PHUKET: While you are probably familiar with eBay as a great place for deals on everything imaginable, you might not be familiar with the large cap internet auction stock as an investment. However, there are some compelling reasons why investors should be taking a closer look at the stock right now. For starters, and at the end of last September,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Olympians take “Road to Rio’ at Thanyapura
PHUKET: Twenty-five future Olympians began their ‘Road to Rio 2016’ at Thanyapura Phuket – the first Official Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) Training Center in Southeast Asia. Thanyapura announced its official partnership with the aquatics international body FINA this week at a press conference attended by Tourism and Sports of Thailand Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. Thanyapura…
Read More » - Phuket News
Opinion: Fishing D-Day
PHUKET: It is too early to tell what the long-term ramifications of the recent crackdown on the Thai fishing industry will be, but there is no doubt that drastic change is needed to bring one of Thailand’s most notoriously rogue industries up to something approaching respectability by international standards. The fishing industry was overdue for an overhaul long before the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Pirated goods vendors flee Kata-Karon shops
PHUKET: A number of shops managed to close before a police raid on pirated goods hit Kata and Karon yesterday. However, police were able to seize about 1,400 items and arrest one suspect. “We received a complaint that there were a lot of fake name-brand goods being sold in the area, so we decided to investigate,” Lt Col Pratheep Choosri…
Read More » - Thai Life
Excuse Buster: Substituting never tasted sweeter
PHUKET: “Sweetness is the favorite taste for everyone. Eating too much sugar (sucrose) or artificial sweetener is not good for health. Nowadays, the natural sweetener from stevia is a good choice for sugar substitution because it is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, non toxic and has no calories,” says Pisamai Kulkanjanatorn PhD, Pharmacist, Assoc. Prof, Department of Pharmaceutical…
Read More » - Phuket News
Ao Nang erects multi-million-baht fish statue
PHUKET: A 5-million-baht bronze sculpture of a sailfish was erected at Ao Nang Beach on June 29. “We have been planning to build a sculpture in Ao Nang for about a decade, but could never find the funds in our budget to do so,” Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President Pankum Kittithonkul told the Phuket Gazette. “We searched for…
Read More » - Phuket News
Car flips inside Phuket underpass
PHUKET: A car flipped inside of the Darasamuth underpass near Central Festival last night, causing all lanes to be temporarily closed off to traffic. Based on the damage, police believe that an individual driving a Toyota Yaris struck the back corner of a Toyota Avanza, causing it to flip, explained Maj Narong Muangduang of the Wichit Police. Both drivers received…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket fishing boats vow to remain ashore amid strict regulations
PHUKET: Commercial Phuket fishing boats have vowed to remain ashore rather than be netted by officials and charged for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing practices. “We requested that the government relax the strict measures being enforced on us. However, they refused,” Somyos Wongbunyakul, president of the Phuket Fishing Association, told the Phuket Gazette. “The new regulations began on July…
Read More » - Phuket News
Family continues search for legally dead Dane in Phuket
PHUKET: Soren Baisgaard is legally dead. The Danish government laid him to rest after he went missing in Phuket in 1999. However, a single phone call in 2011 in response to a notice issued in the Phuket Gazette by the Danish government reignited the hopes of his deserted wife and two daughters that he was in fact still alive in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Two arrested for stealing 15,000 baht worth of liquor
PHUKET: Two men were arrested in Rassada last night for stealing more than 15,000 baht worth of liquor over the weekend. Puthipong Anuchon, 22, and Thawatchai Wongpiphan, 19, were caught after police used CCTV footage to locate the residence of the bike seen at the robbery. Thatirat Pongpan, 47, owner of Big One mini-mart near Karon beach, informed police on…
Read More » - Phuket News
Killer speedboat driver gets two years for two deaths
PHUKET: A speedboat driver who crashed into a fishing trawler, killing two Korean tourists last year, has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. “Surat Matosot was charged for reckless driving causing death and damage to property. He has been sentenced to two years in prison, with no option for the sentence to be suspended,” Maj Sopon Khongthong of the Krabi…
Read More » - Phuket News
SKAL denounces Phuket dolphinarium
PHUKET: SKAL International Phuket & Southern Thailand’s executive committee, along with SKAL members, lashed out at the island’s unopened dolphinarium as news broke that the facility had leaped through yet another bureaucratic ring (story here). “SKAL International Phuket & Southern Thailand wish to publicly condemn this project and protests ‘vividly’ against the opening of a dolphinarium in Phuket,” a statement…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket dolphinarium grinds forward [video]
PHUKET: The still unopened Phuket dolphinarium has cleared another set of hurdles in its attempts to launch the project to the public following issuance by the Department of Fisheries of the necessary public zoo operations licence earlier this month. “The building has been improved and now meets our standards,” an officer from the Department of Fisheries, who asked not to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Speedboat lodges into Thalang traffic median
PHUKET: A speedboat disconnected from its trailer and became lodged in a traffic median while being driven through Thalang on Saturday evening. Kusoldharm Foundation rescuer workers were called to the scene, near Bang Duk Curve and Baan Markpork School, to help move the boat so as to avoid traffic congestion. “The driver told us that he was driving quite fast.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Police arrest bag-snatch suspect, accomplice at large
PHUKET: Police have arrested one of two suspects for a bag-snatch theft carried out on an American national in Rawai on Saturday. Supakon Yoosuk, 19, was apprehended at his home in Rawai just hours after the crime, once police were able to identify him from CCTV footage off Soi Samakee, where the robbery took place. “We received a call at…
Read More » - Phuket News
German tourist found hanging from tree on Phi Phi
PHUKET: The body of a German tourist was found hanging from a tree on Phi Phi Island yesterday. Katharina Rebacz, 26, was found on the secluded Ao Por Beach, on the southeastern tip of Phi Phi Don, at about 5pm by local fishermen, who then notified police. “Ms Rebacz had been dead for about one hour before she was found,”…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phang Nga police officer busted in Phuket gambling raid
PHUKET: A Phang Nga police officer and 12 others were caught and arrested for gambling on Friday. The arrest follows weeks of complaints from Kathu residents to Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong about loud noises coming from a house near the Ket-Ho police box, as well as many cars being parked haphazardly and blocking the road. The complaint was passed from…
Read More » - Phuket News
Korean tourist drowns off Phi Phi
PHUKET: A Korean tourist drowned off Phi Phi Don on Saturday afternoon. Nak Ki Choi, 77, was swimming near Ao Sam Haad at about 1:40pm when his family and friends lost track of him, confirmed Lt Weerapan Kongphul of the Krabi City Police. “Mr Choi was swimming near the beach with his family and friends. They began to worry when…
Read More » - Thai Life
Sneak a peek: June 27 Cryptic Crossword answers
NOTATION:Abbreviations: UPPER CASE (if used as part of anagram, in brackets).Normal spelling: lower case. Anagrams: italic (indicated in clue by words ‘out’, ‘possibly’, ‘strangely’, ‘wild’, or similar). Letters left out: underlined. Across:9. PROVIDES: provedis 10. LOG: cut branch 11. IMAGES: games 12. BEARER: errbea 13. RAVIOLI: valori-1 14. TORN: to-R-N 15. STRAWBOARD: worstadrab 17. ORGANIZE: oringaze 18. QUARTER: traverse ground…
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Officers have “beef’ with illegal meat from Malaysia
PHUKET: Police seized more than two tons of illegally imported beef at a warehouse in Phuket Town yesterday morning. Backed by Navy personnel and Phuket City Police, Kasichon Choungchot, veterinary inspector from the Department of Livestock Development in Bangkok, led the raid on the house on Soi Siang Tai. “We called the homeowner, but nobody answered. So, the Navy officers…
Read More » - Phuket News
DSI reveals new B14bn land encroachment case
PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation revealed yesterday that about 200 rai of prime Phuket beach front property had allegedly been encroached on along Lephang and Layan Beach. “There were barriers constructed around about 200 rai of land along the beaches. We have estimated the loss of government land to be valued at about 14 billion baht,” said Department of…
Read More » - Phuket News
Test results negative for two quarantined for MERS
PHUKET: Test results came back negative today for the two people quarantined for showing symptoms of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (Mers-CoV), confirmed the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) chief. Both patients were admitted to a private Phuket hospital on Thursday night (story here). “The 7-month-old Korean and the 30-year-old Thai woman both had negative test results,” PPHO chief Kajohnsak Kaewjarus…
Read More » - Phuket News
Officials celebrate successful earthquake drill
PHUKET: Officials celebrated a successful multi-day, full-scale earthquake drill this week, which was aimed at decreasing the loss of life should a powerful, damaging quake strike the island. “Many countries around the world face a number of natural disasters that have deep, troubling impacts on the nation. It can take a long time for a country to heal,” said Phuket…
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Drug suspect flees police station, hit by bus
PHUKET: A man nabbed for ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) made a daring dash from the fingerprinting area of the Thalang Police Station only to get hit by a Chinese tour bus last night. Natthawut Chaipaew, 23, was arrested for possession of a Category 1 drug and was in the midst of having his finger prints taken at Thalang Police Station…
Read More » - Phuket News
Ban Tha Rua students protest tyre burning
PHUKET: A group of about 200 students and three teachers from Ban Tha Rua school protested the burning of tyres next to their building, in front of the Yamaha showroom in Thalang Thursday morning. The protest follows more than four years of tyre burning near the school by the Yamaha showroom, which disrupts classes and is feared to be a…
Read More » - Thai Life
Profile: Foundation of education
PHUKET: Standing alongside eager students, the Chief Executive of Phuket International Academy (PIA) has started demonstrating how to build a bamboo shelter. As he knots the rope around two bamboo sticks, Julian Whiteley explains to the children how the hut will provide protection from the elements. His 30-minute lesson on basic survival skills cannot be taught properly in a classroom.…
Read More » - Thai Life
On deck: Not just another boating cliche
PHUKET: Let’s not beat around the bush: Phuket is Asia’s marine playground. Period. Whether you live in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia or anywhere in the region, Phuket offers some of the best sailing grounds, a well-developed onshore infrastructure and is a great place to cruise, race or base your boat. And many do. It’s also a great place to buy…
Read More » - Property
Property Watch: Innocent until proven guilty
PHUKET: The global hypocrisy of societies, governments, parliaments, judicial bodies, law enforcement agencies and even friends and acquaintances can be a fascinating subject. Hypocrisy exists everywhere in the world, including the Phuket property market. In recent months, there has been a notable and worthy attempt to clean up many issues here. This work is ongoing, and will take many years.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Two MERS suspects quarantined in Phuket
PHUKET: Two suspected Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (Mers-CoV) patients are in quarantine after arriving at Phuket International Airport, confirmed the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) chief. “One of the patients is a 7-month-old Korean, who has a high fever and is being treated at one of Phuket’s private hospitals,” PPHO Chief Kajohnsak Kaewjarus told the Phuket Gazette today. “The other…
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Human trafficking charges dropped against three suspects
PHUKET: Human trafficking charges were dropped against three men who confessed to illegally smuggling 53 people from Myanmar to Thailand. The Takuapa Provincial Court judge said that the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence to prove that Phoowarin Boonlieng, 18, Prakob Mard-Ardum, 43, and Songphol Klaimee, 20, had used ‘means of the threat or use of force, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket tour company employing Nepalis shut down
PHUKET: A local tour company was shut down Wednesday night for hiring Nepali agents to sell tour packages at the company’s counter in Patong. Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) Phuket office, told the Phuket Gazette that the company had ignored several warnings from the MOTS about their staff. “It had come to the point…
Read More » - Entertainment
Books: Lusitania: The other Titanic
PHUKET: Erik Larson is an accomplished writer of non-fiction. I greatly enjoyed the fourth of his seven books: The Devil in White City, which contrasted the glories of the 1893 Chicago World Columbian Exposition with the sordid dealings of a charming serial killer. The contrast in his new book, Dead Wake (Crown Publishers, New York, 2015, 430pp) is between the…
Read More » - Business News
Bright lights, big city: LED billboards lucky for Phuket
PHUKET: Lucky Media is one of those companies that from humble beginnings has evolved into a player with serious impact and an annual income of 150 million to 200mn baht. The publicly listed company was born in Bangkok out of the Assawarungruang family business, Lucky Music – which started and continues to be a music store importing PRS amplifiers, Gibson…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Phuket Gazette re-designs to go national
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette hard-copy newspaper that hits the streets today is truly national in circulation and boasts a re-design to the ‘compact’ format that’s set to be the wave of the future. By joining the compacts of such esteemed publications as the The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, the Times of London, the Daily Mail, Bild and scores of…
Read More » - Property
Fraudulent designing in disguise
PHUKET: When purchasing new furniture, it is always wise to keep an eye open for poorly made or refurbished goods in disguise. Some seemingly brand new, imported furniture is in fact a renovated secondhand piece with a big price tag, says Niwat Aunprueng, interior designer and executive partner of PIA Interior Company. This means that overseas dealers and local importers…
Read More » - Phuket News
Superyacht crew visas slated for November
PHUKET: Special visas for foreign-flagged superyacht crew is expected to be rolled out by November, confirmed the Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul. The ‘new package’ for superyachts will include changes in law for visas, as well as tax exemptions, all timed to line up with an international superyacht show organized by the Ministry of Transport, explained Ms Kobkarn. “The…
Read More » - Business News
Business Buzz: Creating sales funnels with social media
PHUKET: Following up on last week, now that you have a plan, know your target market and understand the importance of your biggest asset – your database, we are going to look at how the customer experience is created through your sales funnel. Many people do not fully understand the role and importance of a sales funnel as a whole…
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