- World News
US hostage Peter Kassig is killed by Islamic State
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US hostage Peter Kassig is killed by Islamic State Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Islamic State militants have beheaded another American hostage, Peter Kassig, issuing a video claiming the killing on Sunday and warning the United States they would kill other U.S. citizens “on your streets.”…
- Phuket News
Phuket to remember road-traffic victims
PHUKET: Phuket will remember victims of road traffic accidents on the island for the first time on November 25, as part of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office confirmed today. The event, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, is observed around the world…
- Phuket News
Sinkhole forces Phuket villagers to take prison detour
PHUKET: Motorists willing to try their luck crossing a section of road in Srisoonthorn, in central Phuket, that was heavily compromised by a sinkhole earlier this week (story here) have had that option removed. Heavy rains over the past few days have washed away the entire section of road on Rural Road 4008 off Thepkrasattri Road, near Bang Jo Prison.…
- Phuket News
Officials scramble to resolve ban on tourists bringing own beach umbrellas
PHUKET: Officials are scrambling to get beach umbrellas and mats on the sands at the island’s key beaches this tourism high season before hordes of visitors arrive for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The push comes as an island-wide ban on all umbrellas at Phuket’s beaches saw a Swedish family on holiday last week being told they were not…
- Hua Hin News
NFL Roundup: Dolphins douse Buffalo’s playoff hopes
PHUKET: The Miami Dolphins’ hopes for an AFC playoff berth are rosier than ever after a solid 22-9 win at home over AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, the first game of Week 11. The win lifted the Dolphins to a respectable 6-4 and put them at the top of the pack in the hunt for…
- Opinion
Opinion: Dealing with unwanted phone messages
PHUKET: Earlier this year, after I returned to Phuket from South Africa, a friend of mine gave me a 49-baht TrueMove H SIM card package – the type you can just top up at a 7-Eleven or Family Mart without having to worry about the hassle of monthly bills. That suited me fine. After South Africa, where you have to…
- Opinion
New Phuket Police commander identifies top priorities
Maj Gen Patchara Boonyasit, 58, took up his new post as Phuket Provincial Police Commander on October 1. Before coming to the island, he served as commander of the Nakhon Sri Thammarat Provincial Police. Here, he talks about the duty of police to work hard to protect the people, gain their trust and help build a good image and reputation…
- Property
Video Report: Sansiri targets Phuket’s high-end with Baan Mai Khao condo project
PHUKET: With prices starting from 8 million baht and reaching up to 52mn baht, Sansiri’s latest Phuket development, the Baan Mai Khao seaside condominium in the island’s north, is targeting the high-end of the Phuket property market. “The high-end market begins at prices of more than 100,000 baht per square meter,” explained Uthai Uthaisangsuk, senior executive vice president, Business Development…
- Opinion
Blisterful beach: The need for umbrellas on Phuket’s key tourist beaches
PHUKET: Despite some recent stormy weather, the “official” start to Phuket’s annual high season for tourism got underway as planned on November 1, kicked off by this year’s installment of the annual Phuket Carnival in Patong. With a spectacular street procession, free concerts, fireworks and a wide range of other high-profile activities, this year’s event was branded under the theme…
- Thailand News
Visas for men in marriage scam to be revoked
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Visas for men in marriage scam to be revoked The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Immigration Police are set to revoke visas issued to 193 foreign men based in the Northeast accused of involvement in a scam – registering as being married to Thai women to…
- World News
Quake measuring 7.2 strikes in eastern Indonesia, local tsunami warning issued
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Quake measuring 7.2 strikes in eastern Indonesia, local tsunami warning issued Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 was recorded off the Moluccas in Indonesia at 9:31am today, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and a tsunami warning was issued for…
- Phuket News
Asian Beach Games: Opening ceremony wows Phuket
PHUKET: The curtain formally rose on the 4th Asian Beach Games in Phuket last night with the stunning opening ceremony at the Saphan Hin Sports Center near Phuket Town. His Excellency Privy Councilor and the Royal Representative Gen Surayud Chulanont presided over the ceremony. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and Tourism and Sports…
- Thai Life
Sweden-Phuket cyclists see Laos on horizon
PHUKET: Very little lies between four men and their goal of cycling from Sweden to Phuket in order to raise funds for the post-tsunami orphanage Barnhem Muang Mai (story here). Mountain climbs that peaked at nearly 4,000 kilometers above sea level and the cold weather in China have been a dramatic change from what Calle Wollgard and the team faced…
- Thai Life
Tailor-made relaxation in Phuket
PHUKET: Mai Khao is not just home to the longest stretch of breathtaking beach on the island, where majestic sea turtles come to nest and beach morning glory creeps out to touch the sand, but it is also home to Mandara Spa, a tranquil world-class spa tucked away inside the JW Marriott Phuket. The atmosphere of the resort without a…
- Thailand News
DSI to probe alleged Phuket national park, Kamala intrusions
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DSI to probe alleged Phuket national park, Kamala intrusions The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation’s Special Case Committee yesterday agreed to take up the Sirinat National Park and Kamala Forest Reserve encroachment cases in Phuket after they allegedly caused 50 billion…
- Phuket News
Asian Beach Games: Thailand lifts gold ahead of opening ceremony tonight
PHUKET: The 4th Asian Beach Games continued in Phuket today, with three gold medals up for grabs, ahead of the official opening ceremony at Saphan Hin tonight. Thailand beat Kuwait to win gold in flag football at the Saphan Hin Sports Center this morning, while two other gold medals were at stake in the men’s and women’s team beach woodball…
- Thai Life
Phuket Health: Steroids 101 – The good, the bad and the ugly
PHUKET: Steroids can be found and bought over the counter all over the place in Phuket. Most pharmacies stock them, and I have known some gyms to sell them as well. The term “steroid” is commonly – and mistakenly – used to describe any performance-enhancing drug. This simply is not accurate. Steroids are synthetic hormones. For example, diabetics that have…
- Phuket News
Phuket high-voltage cable incinerates motorbikes
PHUKET: A high-voltage power cable set motorbikes ablaze in front of a Phuket SuperCheap store last night after the overhead transformer it was connected to exploded. One end of the three-inch-thick power cable, carrying 33,000 volts, connected with the ground and set fire to two motorbikes parked in front of the Phuket Villa 5 branch on Chao Fa West Road.…
- Phuket News
Krabi parents demand school director dismissal after kindergarten assistants sacked
PHUKET: Teachers at Baan Koh Klang School in Khlong Prasong, Krabi, and hundreds of parents have lashed out against the summary dismissal of two teachers’ assistants at the school’s kindergarten, and called for the director herself to be sacked. School Director Vanischa Srichai dismissed Haruethai Kohklang and Aroonprapa Klongruow on Tuesday. “My daughter came home and told me that she…
- Phuket News
Police hunt for truck driver after teen crushed in fatal crash
PHUKET: Police are searching for the driver of a cement-mixer truck who hit and ran over a local student at Phuket Rajabhat University yesterday. The student, Chalermchai Lakbaan, 18, died instantly when his head was crushed under the wheels of the juggernaut. The incident occurred in front of the Phuket Cement Co Ltd site on Prachasamakkee Road in Rassada, at…
- World News
Britain to introduce tough new foreign fighter laws
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Britain to introduce tough new foreign fighter laws Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: British nationals who become foreign fighters abroad could be prevented from returning home under tough new laws to deal with jihadists fighting in conflicts like Iraq and Syria, British Prime Minister David Cameron…
- Phuket News
Asian Beach Games: Thailand scores two gold in ju-jitsu
PHUKET: Thailand captured superb form to win two gold medals in the ju-jitsu competition at the 4th Asian Beach Games at Saphan Hin, near Phuket Town, yesterday. The first gold came from women’s martial art duo Suphawadee Kaeosrasaen and Kunsatri Kumsroi in their impressive 36-33 win over Pakistan’s Sundus Salam Khan and Maryam 36-33 in the final. Areewan Chansri and…
- Thai Life
Going the distance for children in need
PHUKET: When I started writing the Blazing Saddles column two years ago, I had no idea of the eventful journey upon which it would take me. My two-wheeled companion has led me into many fascinating corners of the Andaman region; none more so than when I found myself a guest of Yaowawit School for underprivileged kids near the small town…
- Phuket News
Phuket police take down gang of shoplifting youngsters
PHUKET: Phuket police arrested a gang of seven, mostly teenagers, last night for shoplifting at several convenience stores in the Chalong and Rawai areas over the last month. The group, which called themselves noo pee, or ghost rat, targeted four convenience stores: Big One Rawai branch, SuperCheap Rawai, SuperCheap Saiyuan and Tesco Lotus on Wiset Road in Rawai. “The gang…
- Phuket News
Phuket police charge man with attempted rape of Australian tourist
PHUKET: Police have charged a man for the alleged attempted rape of an Australian tourist at a resort on Koh Maphrao, an island off the east coast of Phuket. “We have the man in custody. He surrendered to police after we sent many officers to the island after the woman reported the incident,” said Capt Nucharee Longkaew of the Phuket…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok Hospital Phuket marketing manager dies in car crash
PHUKET: The marketing manager of Bangkok Hospital Phuket was found dead in her car after she slammed into a power pole heading southbound on Thepkrasattri Road last night. Phuket City Police officers and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers found Nicha Chiwangkul, 46, from Surat Thani, pinned behind the wheel of her Honda Civic about 30 meters from the Bang Ku Intersection…
- Thailand News
ATM system change to halt transactions for two hours
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ATM system change to halt transactions for two hours The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Bank of Thailand announced today that commercial bank customers would be unable to conduct transactions with a different bank or with overseas banks through ATM machines for a short period…
- Thailand News
Ex-Democrat MP sentenced to death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ex-Democrat MP sentenced to death The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former Democrat MP Khanchit Tabsuwan has received a death sentence for killing a prominent local politician in Samut Sakhon province in late 2011. The Samut Sakhon Provincial Court convicted Khanchit and sentenced him to death…
- Phuket News
Cobra caught creeping near Phuket school
PHUKET: Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers snapped into action yesterday when a two-meter-long cobra was found outside of a house only 20 meters away from the Phuket Thaihua Asean Wittaya School. Watchara Srikacha and a few other rescue workers rushed to the scene on Wichit Songkram Road Soi 4, near the Darasamuth Intersection, after a resident notified them of the reptile…
- Phuket News
Video Report: BISP Soccer 7s get serious
PHUKET: There are people out there who complain that kids nowadays spend all their free time in front of the TV, on the Internet or playing gaming consoles. A visit to the British International School Phuket (BISP) grounds during the recent Soccer 7s tournament would surely prove those people wrong. With over 1,300 competitors and teams flocking to the island…
