Legacy Phuket Gazette
- World News
Britain says it’s close to identifying beheading suspect
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Britain says it’s close to identifying beheading suspect Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Britain is close to identifying a suspected British national shown beheading American journalist James Foley in a video released by Islamic State militants last week, the British ambassador to the United States said…
- Phuket News
Phuket registration for National Reform Council candidates opens
PHUKET: Registration opened today for people wanting to enter the race to serve as Phuket’s representatives on the yet-to-be created National Reform Council (NRC). Wannabe candidates can register at the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) office, on Amphur Road in Phuket Town, from 8:30am to 4:30pm until September 2, PEC Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit announced this afternoon. The NRC will comprise 250…
- Phuket News
Phuket downpour causes truck slide on Patong Hill
PHUKET: Police have urged motorists throughout Phuket to slow down and exercise more caution than usual during the current spate of very heavy thundershowers passing across the island. The call for safer driving follows heavy rain this afternoon causing a six-wheeled truck lugging sacks of rice over Patong Hill to slide backwards down the hill into the path of traffic…
- Phuket News
Phuket floods strike, sink Patong Police Station again
PHUKET: The Patong Police Station flooded for the third time in two weeks as another heavy rainstorm pummeled Phuket earlier this afternoon. “The water is up to our hips at the station,” said Lt Col Suttichai Tianpho of the Patong Police. “The computers and case files have remained on the second floor since the last flood. Now we are moving…
- Pattaya News
Full Metal Dojo brings MMA to Patong once more
PHUKET: “Full Metal Dojo 2: Protect Your Neck” saw fighters from around the globe (including Thailand, Sweden, France, Canada, Philippines, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Japan and more) enter the cage. History was also made as a professional Thai-against-Thai women’s MMA bout took place inside the kingdom for the first time. FMD veteran Michael Dubois took care of business in under 30 seconds,…
- Phuket News
HRH Princess Srirasmi lands in Phuket to open ‘Family Love Center’
PHUKET: HRH Princess Srirasmi, the Royal Consort of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, today graced the opening ceremony of the “Family Love Center” in Phuket. The center is aimed at encouraging better family ties between generations: children, parents and grandparents. Princess Srirasmi landed on the island at about 11am and was welcomed by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and high-ranking officers.…
- Phuket News
Homeless Brit found sleeping rough in Phuket
PHUKET: A homeless British man and his Thai girlfriend were picked up by police early this morning after they were discovered sleeping rough in Phuket. Alarmed villagers called police after the couple were discovered huddled together in front of a Cherng Talay house, Sub Lt Jira Cherdchay of the Cherng Talay Police explained. “At the house when we arrived, we…
- Phuket News
Police crack Phuket drug network: nab three suspects, ya ice
PHUKET: Police are hoping to take a local drug kingpin into custody soon after three dealers were arrested and nearly one kilogram of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) was seized in two separate raids last week. Phuket Provincial Police last Wednesday arrested Wiwat Mungsuree, 30, and Eaknarong Iadkham, 34, who were found in possession of 136.54 grams of ya ice. “During…
- Thai Life
Local art on show this week at Central Festival
PHUKET: The ground floor of Central Festival Phuket has been transformed into a gallery featuring diverse collections of paintings by local artists. If you’re looking for an original and unique piece of art to decorate your space, come and meet the artists, watch them work and peruse the sketches, oils and watercolors of beautiful landscapes, traditional scenes captured on canvas,…
- Pattaya News
British children, abducted by Thai mother, reunited with father in Pattaya
PHUKET: British school children Annie and Aleena Day, abducted by their Thai mother in June while on holiday in Thailand, have been reunited with their father in Pattaya. “I’ve got them. They’re with me now,” a tearful Robert Day told Pattaya radio station Fabulous 103FM late Friday night (click here). Onwarat Gamlem, the 36-year-old non-custodial mother of the children, was…
- Phuket News
Sluggish United held by Sunderland, Spurs thrash QPR
PHUKET: Manchester United laboured to a ponderous 1-1 draw away at Sunderland on Sunday that delivered a first Premier League point of the season but laid bare their dire need for reinforcements. After Tottenham Hotspur had made it six points from two games with players condemned as expensive mistakes last season starring in a 4-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers,…
- Thailand News
Education gets lion’s share of the budget
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Education gets lion’s share of the budget The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Entrusted with the mission of schooling some 12 million children and improving educational quality, the Education Ministry is set to get 20 per cent, or Bt502.245 billion of the planned expenditure in the…
- World News
California wine country rocked by 6.0 quake, dozens hurt
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community California wine country rocked by 6.0 quake, dozens hurt Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked wine country north of San Francisco early on Sunday, injuring more than 100 people, damaging historic buildings, setting some homes on fire and causing power outages around…
- Phuket News
Broad-daylight burglars make off with jewellery, cash from Phuket home
PHUKET: Burglars bashed in the front door of a Phuket home and made off with about 150,000 baht of loot yesterday. “Three people live in the house in Thalang: me, my son and my wife. Nobody was home when the thieves broke in. We had all left the house in the morning and didn’t return until about 6pm that evening,”…
- Phuket News
World-class swim coach takes helm at Thanyapura Aquatic Academy
PHUKET: Spaniard Miguel Lopez Alvarado took over as the head coach of the Aquatic Academy at Thanyapura Sports Hotel yesterday. A former national swimming coach in Spain, Mr Alvarado has more than 20 years experience training able-bodied and disabled swimmers at the elite level. “We’re very excited to welcome Miguel to the Thanyapura family,” said Thanyapura’s President and CEO Philipp…
- Phuket News
British expat one of four in Phuket on Ebola watchlist
PHUKET: A British expat is one of four people still being monitored by the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) for possible signs of Ebola. Health officials at Phuket International Airport this month added Ebola to their watchlist as a precaution against the deadly virus being carried to the island by visitors (story here). “We are monitoring all tourists arriving from…
- Phuket News
Over easy: Russian flips BMW in Phuket
PHUKET: A 24-year-old Russian national suffered only minor injuries after flipping the BMW she was driving on Thepkrasattri Road. “Irina Mishina told us that she was heading toward Phuket Town when one of her back tires blew out. She then lost control of the car, and swerved into the median,” Lt Col Sanit Nookong of the Thalang Police said. The…
- World News
WHO warns of ‘shadow zones’ and unreported Ebola cases
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community WHO warns of ‘shadow zones’ and unreported Ebola cases Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Families hiding infected loved ones and the existence of “shadow zones” where medics cannot go mean the West African Ebola epidemic is even bigger than thought, the World Health Organization said on…
- Business News
Taamkru App: The avenger of Thai education
PHUKET: Thai tech startup Taamkru recently received support from several organizations, including Silicone Valley based 500 Startups resulting in an infusion of US$620,000 from a seed funding round.Taamkru (Thai for “ask the teacher”) aims to raise the standard of education for preschool-aged kids in the Kingdom and beyond through a series of mobile and web applications. The free Taamkru app…
- Pattaya News
Phuket Police adopt rapid-response policy for missing children
PHUKET: Anxious parents of missing children no longer have to wait 24 hours before police can take action to find them, under a new policy revealed by Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermpan Sirikong last week. “Now, when someone in your family goes missing, you can inform police immediately,” said Col Sermpan. The new policy came into sharp focus this week…
- Phuket News
Video Report: Call rings out across the Kingdom for Miss Phuket Universe beauties
PHUKET: A call went out for the fairest of them all in Thailand, as organizers look to draw the Kingdom’s top beauties for Miss Phuket Universe. “This is the first time Phuket has searched for a beautiful woman to represent the island for Miss Universe Thailand,” said Miss Phuket Universe public relations representative Chanitsanan Theppabut. However, the competition isn’t just…
- Thai Life
For the love of latex: A glimpse into Phuket’s role in Thailand’s rubber industry
PHUKET: Visitors to Phuket are often perplexed by the many things going on around them. Following a recent visit to a working rubber plantation and whirlwind tour of the world’s largest rubber factory, many of the questions I had been accumulating over the years, regarding the omnipresent farms blanketing Southern Thailand, were answered. A number of useful innovations were spawned…
- Phuket News
Officials probe baby elephant chained in Phuket parking lot
PHUKET: A woman elephant trader will present herself to the Livestock Office tomorrow to prove she has legally acquired a baby elephant that is being kept on a small chain in the parking lot of a Phuket market. Officers from the Phuket Livestock Office this week moved quickly to investigate a tip-off that the baby elephant was bound on a…
- Thai Life
A centuries old mystery unearthed
PHUKET: In May of this year an unbelievable discovery was made in a palm plantation in Khao Chaison, a district within Phatthalung province. Wee Thapsaeng, the owner of a 7-rai plot of land was using his tractor to plow the land, in order to prepare it for growing palm trees. What emerged, however, was not just mud and earthworms, as…
- Food
Donnafugata flies high during Regent Cape Panwa wine dinner
PHUKET: There is Italy, and then there is Sicily, the country’s most southern region that is, in many ways, closer to Africa than to Europe. There are Sicilian wines, and then there is Donnafugata – the region’s ambassador and symbol of quality. There are wine dinners, and then there are wine dinners at Regent Cape Panwa. The latest, which paired…
- Phuket News
Would-be looter bungles Phuket ATM raid
PHUKET: A would-be looter, or looters, left empty-handed after a failed attempt to break into an ATM machine and steal its cash contents early this morning. Police received a call at around 6am informing them that the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) ATM in front of the mega SuperCheap complex on Thepkrasattri Road had been damaged in an attempted robbery. “There…
- Phuket News
From disqualification to contention for Tringale
PHUKET: A week after disqualifying himself for a scoring decision at the PGA Championship, Cameron Tringale turned the page and fired an opening 66 on Thursday to put himself near the top of the leader board at The Barclays. Tringale said he felt a sense of relief in putting the incident behind him – at a cost of $53,000 (1.69…
- Phuket News
Roving metered taxis to hit Phuket’s streets by September
PHUKET: A fleet of newly registered roving metered taxis will be hitting the streets by September 1, the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) chief told the Phuket Gazette today. “We registered 80 metered taxi drivers during our one-stop registration service from August 9-12 [story here]. Since then, more than 30 additional drivers have applied to register and become metered taxi…
- Phuket News
Phelps impresses in first international comeback race
PHUKET: Michael Phelps made an ominous return to international competition on Friday, qualifying for the final of the 100 metres freestyle at the Pan Pacific championships at Australia’s Gold Coast. Taking on the world’s best sprinters in an event he rarely competed in even at his peak, Phelps won his heat and touched the wall in 48.45 seconds. His time…
- Phuket News
Navy leads raid on Koh Raet residents
PHUKET: Officials yesterday warned residents on Koh Raet, off the east coast of Phuket, that their buildings will be torn down in 30 days if documentation authorizing construction cannot be produced. The alleged land owner, Pithirat Phitipak, told Commander Pornprom Sakultem of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command and other officials that she bought the seven-rai site in 2008.…
