Year: 2015
- Phuket News
Phang Nga newborn found dead in canal
PHUKET: Police are hunting for the mother of a newborn girl who was found dead in a canal in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, yesterday morning. “When we arrived we found the baby’s body inside a well-tied plastic bag,” said Lt Sarawut Phanpan of the Thung Ka Ngok Police. “Inside the bag we also found an umbilical cord and three…
Read More » - Property
Phuket Pads: Layan villa beckons buyers
PHUKET: Some would say location and convenience are two of the main attractions, in addition to exceptional property value, in what is a very up-market area of Phuket Island. The Laguna, Layan areas are known for houses and villas with starting prices above 20 million baht, which makes this value-for-money gem a great buy. This villa is a part of…
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Thailand U-23 squad mashes Myanmar
PHUKET: Thailand’s national football team’s under-23 squad enjoyed their warm-up match on Tuesday night against their arch rival Myanmar. The squad walked away from Ratchamangkala Stadium in Bangkok with a 4-0 win. In this friendly warm-up match, all four goals came in the second half after multiple chances to score were spoiled in the beginning of the game. Thailand made…
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Belgian-Thai local dominates at Annual King’s Cup
PHUKET: Phuket local James Van Herzeele, 12, dominated his age group in both singles and doubles categories at the Annual King’s Cup in Bangkok, a tournament held by the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand. “When I played the championship point I felt so happy and relieved that I could achieve my goal to win this most important tournament of the…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Start-up property portal prepares to “transform’ market
PHUKET: A start-up technology company created by the same team that built the LivePhuket real-estate company says it’s ready to ‘transform’ Thailand’s property market with a ‘data-driven’ property portal. The portal, launched in Phuket on April 24, provides instant and easy access to the largest selection of newly-built condominiums, all on a platform that aims to simplify the process of…
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Witness spots Phuket arson suspects
PHUKET: A witness told police that he saw two people set fire to a Phuket restaurant in the early hours of yesterday morning. “It was dark, so the witness wasn’t able to give us any details to help identify the suspects. However, he saw two people park a car a good distance from the restaurant and then return with cans…
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Fishing net catches blame for Krabi manatee death
PHUKET: Fishery Department officers believe that a fishing net was to blame for the death of a 300-kilogram manatee found dead near Koh Kurong in Krabi yesterday. “There were scratch marks on its body and a deep cut along its neck. We believe it died just hours before it was spotted by a local fisherman,” said Prawet Awirutphanit, head of…
Read More » - Business News
Finance: Investment ideals for new oil and gas realities
PHUKET: Late last year, legendary oil and gas entrepreneur Thomas Boone Pickens said during a CNBC interview: “Energy is cheap in America. We still have the cheapest energy in the world…Take advantage of it, play the demand side.” Since then, Pickens has repeatedly stated in public appearances that he believes oil will rise to US$70 a barrel this year and…
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Video Report: Phuket tsunami drill hailed as a success
PHUKET: A total of about 200 emergency-response officers and locals joined the full-scale tsunami evacuation drill at Koh Sireh, eastern coast of Phuket, on Tuesday. “Every department handled the rescue role-playing situations very well and acted appropriately. However, the locals seemed to be more uncomfortable, as this was their first time,” said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. The drill simulated a…
Read More » - Opinion
Opinion: Goodbye, Phuket
PHUKET: In 1997, we travelled to Thailand for the first time – to Bangkok and Hua Hin. It was love at first sight. We fell in love with this beautiful, wonderful country, the warm and heartfelt people, the beautiful beach and the food. The sun and heat made us so happy, as we are used to being in the cold.…
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Fire on Patong’s Soi Bangla guts hotel room
PHUKET: Tourists on Soi Bangla panicked after a hotel room along the popular party road burst into flames last night. Three fire trucks spent about 20 minutes dousing the flames coming from a fourth-floor rental room above Rico’s Restaurant*. No one was injured in the incident, confirmed police. However, the blaze completely destroyed the room and its contents, causing an…
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No resolution on horizon for Phuket lifeguard conundrum
PHUKET: There is no solution in sight for the Phuket lifeguard contract conundrum, which leaves the island’s beaches without essential life-saving services as the annual southwest monsoon season stirs up dangerous seas on the west coast, confirmed officials to the Phuket Gazette yesterday. However, the president of the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) proposed two solutions. “One option would be for…
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Rohingya “help-on’ policy announced in Phuket
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan explained to the press in Phuket that Thailand would be proceeding with a clear ‘help-on’ policy when dealing with Rohingya and Bangladeshi entering the country. “We will never push away these people. However, if they do land in Thailand they will have to face the same laws that apply to anyone illegally entering…
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High-voltage power-line project sparks reactions in Phuket
PHUKET: More than 100 locals from Thalang villages filed a complaint at Phuket Provincial Hall on Friday over the potentially negative effects a high-voltage power line project could have on their communities. The project would see land expropriated to have 500 kilovolt poles installed in Pa Khlok and Baan Para and would require many villagers to relocate their businesses, said…
Read More » - Thai Life
Yacht Solutions ramps up for superyachts
PHUKET: Renowned marine services provider Yacht Solutions opened its second office in Phuket on May 1, anticipating a surge in the number of high end yachts and superyachts seeking to call Phuket home, or to use the island as a base for charter operations. Interest in Phuket from yacht owners around the world is increasing year on year and in…
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Up in the air: Thalang Technical College launches aviation industry program
PHUKET: Thalang Technical College (TTC) has launched Thailand’s first vocational program to prepare students for a wide range of careers in the aviation industry and help support the growing need for skilled staff at nearby Phuket International Airport (HKT). TTC Deputy Director Kochakorn Butsaraporn, who administers the school’s aviation program, told the Phuket Gazette that TTC is proud to be…
Read More » - Thai Life
Art: Double-dose of spice features comedy, Indian food
PHUKET: Those looking to add a double-dose of spice to their lives, gastronomically and satirically, need travel no farther than the Spice Box Indian restaurant on Boat Avenue on May 30. That’s where and when internationally renowned American stand-up comedian Tom Rhodes takes the stage to dispense his unique blend of razor sharp and often irreverent comedic commentary. Beginning at…
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Lifeguards return to Phuket beaches tomorrow
PHUKET: After almost two months and a number of deaths at Phuket’s beaches, lifeguards will resume their posts tomorrow. Guards left the sands at sunset on March 26 and returned their equipment to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, following what has become an annual contract debacle. At that point no company, including the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) had stepped forward…
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Family feud leads to fatal Phuket fruit vendor shooting
PHUKET: A gunman who shot his fruit-selling aunt in the head in Phuket Town turned himself into police yesterday. Santipap Kosuk, 28, surrendered to Phuket City Police following the fatal shooting of his 46-year-old aunt, Sriroong Kosuk, yesterday. Mr Santipap stashed his homemade gun and ammunition in a shoe box near Surakul Stadium before he called his father and asked…
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Video Report: Superyacht charter licence floated by Marine Dept
PHUKET: Standardized criteria for foreign-flagged superyacht chartering licences, which are designed to move Phuket and Thailand toward the goal of becoming the regional maritime hub, will be finalized by the end of the month, it was announced last week. The current issuance of such licences is subjective and dealt with case by case, explained Marine Department Director-General Chula Sukmanop. “We…
Read More » - Thai Life
Books: Powwow with Chief Red Cloud
PHUKET: The histories of wars are told by the victors. We have Caesar’s Gallic Wars, nothing by Vercingetorix. Entire libraries are devoted to the white man’s wars against the American Indians, whose leaders remain largely mute. The exception is Red Cloud, the war chief of the Sioux. His war in 1866-1867 resulted in victory, withdrawal of the United States Army…
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Woman killed crossing Phuket road
PHUKET: A 78-year-old woman was killed by a pick-up truck as she attempted to cross Phuket’s busy Thepkasattri Road yesterday. Sian Phetlamul had just disembarked from a local songtaew after visiting relatives and was crossing the road on her way home, her relatives told police. “The truck driver, 27-year-old Sutjaiai Sriphut, was driving from Phuket Town with his mother-in-law to…
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Australian English teacher in coma after Phuket motorbike accident
PHUKET: Australian expat Louise Warren is in a coma at Vachira Phuket Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit following a motorbike crash in Patong on Friday night. Ms Warren, working as a teacher at Patong Language School, is expected to be transferred to Bangkok Phuket Hospital today, confirmed a nurse at Vachira Hospital. “Her heart has stopped twice. However, we were able…
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Ghost boat of starving Rohingya recovered, replenished, returned to sea
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy secured a ghost boat full of Rohingya refugees that was adrift off the west side Koh Lipe, south of Phuket, on Thursday. The captain and crew had abandoned the vessel, leaving it to drift in the Andaman. “The ship had more than 300 starving people on board, including women and children. Since they The Royal…
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Unidentified body found floating off Koh Khai
PHUKET: Kusoldham Foundation rescue workers recovered the body of an unidentified man yesterday afternoon, found floating off the coast of Koh Khai, 20km east of Phuket. “We are unable to identify the nationality of the man, but we believe he was 30 to 40 years old and was approximately 160 to 170 centimeters in height,” Lt Col Panya Chaichana of…
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Swiss national killed in Phuket car crash
PHUKET: A Swiss national was killed in a car crash on Kata Hill early this morning. Gaetano Pensovecchio, 39, was removed from his pick-up truck and rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. “The pick-up truck being driven by Mr Pensovecchio was ascending Kata Hill toward Chalong when it collided with a six-wheeled truck,” explained Lt…
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Video Report: Special task force created to combat IUUs
PHUKET: A ‘Special Navy Team’ was put into action in Phuket last week to combat the severe economic and ecological damage caused by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels (IUU) that are taking advantage of legal loop holes and poor enforcement in the region. The joint task force will be operating 12 boats and one helicopter, as they attempt to…
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Thalang lights up Laguna, will face Patong in cricket grand final
PHUKET: The Thalang Cricket Team (TCT) made light work of a depleted Laguna cricket side in Sunday’s Phuket Cricket Group semifinal. After dismissing Laguna for only 114 runs, TCT passed the total in the 22nd over with seven wickets still in hand. The coin toss fell the way of Laguna’s captain Stuart Reading who chose for his team to bat…
Read More » - Property
Patong Bay Hill investors offered a 7% return
PHUKET: Patong Bay Group’s 20 years of experience developing hotel and entertainment business in Patong adds credence to the Group’s offer to investors in Patong Bay Hill apartments-hotel that they could enjoy a 7 percent return over 15 years, according to the group’s chief marketing officer. Kriangkrai Keesin said the Patong Bay Group is not reliant on rental income from…
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Chalong songtaew turf war goes nowhere
PHUKET: Two songtaew operators were called to a meeting at Chalong Police Station on Thursday after the Chalong-Phuket Town operator filed a complaint against the Kata-Karon-Phuket Town service for breaking an agreement regarding pick-up points. Somchai Kongsamret, a representative from the Chalong-Phuket Town songtaew co-operative, told the police that the Kata-Karon-Phuket Town songtaew had been picking up passengers where they…
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One killed, 31 injured in Krabi bus crash
PHUKET: A bus en route from Phuket to Narathiwat flipped on a wet road in Krabi last night, killing one passenger and injuring 31 others. The body of 26-year-old Marina Sama-ae, a nurse from Narathiwat, was trapped inside the bus when police arrived just after midnight, said Capt Prasan Khongkaew of the Ao Luek Police. “The bus was turned over…
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Finnish man killed in Phuket
PHUKET: A Finnish man was hit by a car and killed while crossing Patak Road near Chalong Circle early this morning. A damaged Honda CRV was parked in the road, and the body of a 26-year-old man, named by police as Joonas Hotti, was found nearby when police and rescue workers arrived at the scene. “The Honda driver was heading…
Read More » - Thailand News
20 injured in Deep South bomb attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two more injured in further small blasts in Yala town Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Bomb attacks continued to erupt in Yala’s Muang district yesterday, raising the number of injured over the past two days to 20. Despite that, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister…
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Across the Land: Strong baht, fewer buyers means soft summer market
PHUKET: The Year of the Goat (Sheep/Ram) was heralded February 19 and signaled the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year. After a disastrous Year of the Horse – two major airplane crashes, unrest in Ukraine, ISIS kidnappings and be-headings, social turmoil in Thailand – the Year of the Goat is much welcomed. For a start, The Tourism Authority of…
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No Rohingya holding center for Phuket, says Gov
PHUKET: Top Phuket and Navy officials have voiced support for the government’s move to find islands on which migrants, Rohingya and otherwise, can stop over on their way to their destination. However, they expressed concern about Phuket and islands which are part of Thailand’s National Marine Parks system being used as stop-over points. The move follows an order from Prime…
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Phuket Gov, Vice Gov return lost wallet to doctor
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong and Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam teamed up to return a lost wallet to a Phuket doctor today. “Vice Governor Suthee’s friend, Sorachai Sirichoti, along with two other friends, found the wallet at Rang Hill yesterday,” Prapan Kanprasang, chief of the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) said. “However, they ended up handing over the wallet to the vice…
Read More » - Food
I did it all for the gnocchi
PHUKET: Tucked away in a small soi off Rassada Road in Phuket Town, just after Krungsri Bank, you will discover one of the island’s many hidden gems. Unlike the ever-changing coffee shop and restaurant scene in town, Spaghetti & C has been around for longer than I can remember. Nee, the owner, has been serving up some of the best…
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