- Phuket News
Krabi police raid turns up war weapons, meth
PHUKET: Police raids at a shrimp farm and the nearby home of a subdistrict chief (Kamnan) in Krabi province, across the bay from Phuket, has turned up an Uzi, a Thompson machine gun, six shotguns, several handguns and two grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Region 8 Police yesterday presented Kamnan Anan Sanhad, the 55-year-old subdistrict chief of Klong Khanan,…
- Phuket News
Phuket Sports: The party that sails around and around
PHUKET: This year’s Bay Regatta, organized by the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC), will be held from tomorrow to Sunday February 3. Rows of colorful spinnakers will sail through some of the world’s most famous cruising grounds, allowing sailors the chance to enjoy the spectacular scenery and party well into the night at some of the region’s most beautiful resorts.…
- Phuket News
Live Wire: A tale of internet worry and woe
PHUKET: TWO weeks ago in Live Wire, I produced a list of all the available internet packages in Phuket – at least, all of the packages I know about (click here). Last week, I explained that most people in Phuket will want to get a “3G” (I still hate that term, because it’s meaningless!) package for their phone(s). Most probably…
- Phuket News
Phuket Gazette Sports: Former champions Rangers bemoan SPL plans
Top Scottish clubs back plans to restructure league Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs backed plans yesterday to restructure the cash-strapped game in Scotland despite vocal opposition from former champions Rangers.“The clubs were united in their view about the need for change,” said SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster.“I firmly believe that any change can only come from…
- Property
Phuket Property: Dewa Karon changes name, management
PHUKET: MAI-BS (Thailand) has taken over management of what used to be known as the Dewa Karon Resort Phuket.The resort is currently going through a re-branding and repositioning period and will now be known as Karon Sovereign All Suites Resort. The high-potential All Suites Resort offers 49 luxurious one and two-bedroom suites and penthouses sized between 63 and 140 square…
- Property
Phuket Property: New development targets beginners
PHUKET: Relieving much anticipation of the property market just north of Phuket Town, lifestyle home developer LH Muang Mai Limited (LH), the local subsidiary of trusted property giant Land & Houses, recently unveiled its third housing development on the island: Inizio – Koh Kaew. Pre-sales for the 590.8 million baht development were launched at the project’s site behind Phuket’s main…
- Business News
Phuket Business: Luxury auto dealer aligns brand with international football lovers
PHUKET: Football players from Phuket FC recently visited the TSL Auto Corporation (TSL) premium imported car showroom to thank the company for officially sponsoring the team in the upcoming Thai Yamaha One (Division 1) 2013 season. Phuket FC’s head coach Panipol Kerdyam made a personal appearance, alongside players Nontaphan Jiensathawong, Nenebi Tre Sylyee Tre, Luiz Eduardo Purcio, Girogi Tsimakuridze, Kritsada…
- Business News
Phuket Business: Virtually exposed
PHUKET: Although the concept of 360-degree virtual tours has been around for almost as long as the world-wide-web itself, such technology has only recently begun to yield its true potential. Thanks to the advent of developments in global positioning systems (GPS), camera technology and improved user interfaces, businesses the world over are poised to reap a plethora of benefits. Speaking…
- Phuket News
Phuket Poll: Thais, expats call for parking spaces to be mandatory
PHUKET: In our latest Phuket Gazette online reader poll, nearly 80% of readers voted that all new buildings in Phuket must provide at least some parking spaces as a requirement for being given a building permit. Of the 590 people who voted in the poll, launched on December 25 (story here), more than half (58.3%) voted “Yes. Parking in Phuket…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Queen Beatrix to abdicate Dutch throne
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch Queen Beatrix to abdicate throne after 33 years Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Dutch Queen Beatrix announced that she will abdicate on Queen’s Day in April after more than three decades as head of state, allowing her eldest son Willem-Alexander to become the kingdom’s…
- World News
World News: Monkey back in space; Arms intercepted; Italian plane probably downed by missile
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Iran said yesterday it had launched a live monkey into space, seeking to show off missile systems that have alarmed the West because the technology could potentially be used to deliver a nuclear…
- Phuket News
Phuket Gazette Sports: All about the numbers
Woods triumphs by four shots at Torrey Pines Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Tiger Woods withstood a late bogey, double-bogey, par, bogey wobble in strengthening winds to end a week of dominant golf by clinching his 75th PGA Tour title by four shots at the Farmers Insurance Open yesterday. Six strokes in front overnight at 17 under with 11 holes…
- Business News
Phuket Business: New car owners due B1.2bn
PHUKET: More than 14,300 new car owners in Phuket took advantage of the government’s first-car rebate scheme, with the combined value of due rebates amounting to more than 1.2 billion baht. According to figures from the Phuket Excise Department (PED), a total of 14,327 eligible applications were filed in the province from September 16, 2011 to December 31, 2012. These…
- Thai Life
Phuket Lifestyle: Full cycle
PHUKET: While a certain Mr Armstrong may have brought shame to the world of cycling following recent revelations to a certain Ms Oprah, a certain Mr Mason will be doing just the opposite by using his bicycle to help raise funds for needy children. Tomorrow James Mason will leave Tiger Muay Thai camp in Chalong (one of his main sponsors)…
- Thai Life
Phuket Gardening: From weird to wondrous
PHUKET: Nobody rattles on about the weather with as much relish as the British. But in 2012, only one word was needed – weird. The year, rated the second wettest since the advent of records, began as it started. The Christmas skies in London, traditionally one of the drier spots in the UK, were permanently grey, and early risers were…
- Thai Life
Phuket Books: Hell in Latvia
PHUKET: Dr Gwendolyn Chabrier’s novel Behind the Barbed Wire (Orchid Press, Hong Kong, 2011, 203pp) is about the Holocaust. It is not true to say that bookshelves groan under the weight of books written about the Holocaust – whole libraries do. Amazon lists more than 5,000 titles on the subject. In comparison, the many more millions of Russians and Chinese…
- Phuket News
Scottish tourist drowns at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A Scottish tourist on holiday in Phuket drowned early yesterday morning at the secluded beach at Ao Sane (map here), on Phuket’s southwest coast. Police named the victim as Neil Gray, 36. Mr Gray was swimming at the scenic beach at about 8 am when his friends noticed him signalling that he was in distress, Capt Chienchai Duangsuwan of…
- Phuket News
Italian arrested after naked Phuket joy ride
PHUKET: Police arrested an Italian man who stole a BMW that was left running in front of a laundry shop near Phuket Technical College yesterday. Responding to a report from Surawit Siangdee, 36, that his black BMW had been stolen at 3:30pm, Phuket City Police notified police stations island-wide. Thalang traffic police spotted the car, with mag wheels and lowered…
- World News
World News: Brazilian nightclub fire kills at least 233
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nightclub fire kills 233 in Brazil Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A nightclub fire killed at least 233 people in southern Brazil early yesterday morning when a band’s pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing party-goers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits in the ensuing…
- Phuket News
Phuket Gazette Sports: FA Cup Shocks
Liverpool stunned by Oldham to cap FA Cup shocks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Third-tier Oldham Athletic rekindled memories of happier days by slaying seven-times winners Liverpool 3-2 at home yesterday, capping a weekend of FA Cup fourth-round shocks that gave the Premier League a bloody nose. The hard-up League One side, who put three backroom staff on gardening leave…
- Phuket News
More Rohingya refugees found adrift off Thailand’s coast
PHUKET: Another group of desperate Rohingya refugees found shelter along the Khura Buri coast north of Phuket yesterday after 25 days at sea, making them the third group to land along Thailand’s Andaman coast this month. The 96 refugees shared the same harrowing story as the 179 who came ashore on January 23: days at sea surviving on scant rations…
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Stateless visitors need more than hospitality
PHUKET: The plight of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar’s Rakhine State during the current sailing season clearly shows the need for Asean and other international bodies to come together to help solve, or at least alleviate, the root causes of the problem inside Myanmar as soon as possible. This will of course be no easy task. Few international humanitarian issues on…
- Phuket News
Phuket Islamic Council calls for desperately needed essentials for Rohingya refugees
PHUKET: The Phuket Islamic Council is collecting donations at their office in Koh Kaew for the hundreds of Rohingya refugees being held in detention centers across Southern Thailand. The Islamic Council is asking for blankets, dried food and toiletries. Kitti Islam, a member of the Phuket Islamic Council, told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that the council has already received a…
- Phuket News
Phuket job fair opens
PHUKET: The annual Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) job fair began today at the Central Festival East shopping complex on the bypass road, with 3,538 jobs available for job-seekers. Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa declared the event open at 11am, and was accompanied by Phuket Democrat MP Raywat Areerob, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arayapan Pukbuakao and PPEO chief Yawapa…
- Phuket News
Triathlon: Laguna to take on new Challenge
PHUKET: The Challenge Family recently announced a partnership with Asia’s longest running triathlon, Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT), and in doing so, revealed its commitment to developing a series of half and full distance events throughout the region. LPT has been attracting the the sport’s legends and age groupers alike to the stunning tropical island for two decades. In 2013 it…
- Phuket News
New Zealand expat sailor drowns in Phuket boating mishap
PHUKET: Popular Phuket sailor Richard Spraggs, from New Zealand, drowned in an early morning boating accident today. Mr Spraggs, 59, was re-anchoring his boat La Zingara at about 5am after an overnight storm had pushed another boat too close to his, Capt Chianchai Duangsuwan of the Chalong Police reported. Mr Spraggs was trying to push the boats apart when he…
- Phuket News
Football: Phuket FC defeat Dredger’s Army in friendly
The Islanders continued their pre-season preparation ahead of the upcoming 2013 Yamaha League 1 season by playing PhangNga FC in a friendly at Surakul Stadium last night. The match gave Phuket’s new signings the chance to get to know each other in a match situation, and with unlimited subs and three 35-minute period, instead of the standard two 45-minute halves,…
- Phuket News
Phuket Police search for drive-by target “Dannie’ Knudsen
PHUKET: Patong Police are searching for Danish national Dennis Mark Knudsen, 24, the intended target in the drive-by shooting in Patong on Tuesday night that saw two German tourists accidentally wounded (story here). The news follows Australians John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, opening fire in Soi Sansabai, near the tourist-popular Soi Bangla. Their intended target was a man…
- Phuket News
Burmese dies rushing from Phuket Town to Thalang party
PHUKET: A Burmese man working in Phuket was killed and another injured when the motorbike they were riding slammed into a roadside guard rail at high speed near Baan Sapam Mongkol Wittaya school (map here) Wednesday night. The driver, Zaw Min Oo, 37, died at the scene. His passenger, Myo Aung Chay, also 37, suffered a broken leg and was…
- Phuket News
Swiss student tourist Janisch out on bail
PHUKET: A Swiss national held by Ranong Immigration since December 25 on charges of stealing an officer’s camera was released on bail yesterday after her mother appeared in Ranong Court to post 130,000-baht bail bond. Unaware that her daughter, Tscherina Nora Janisch, was being held in a Thai prison north of Phuket, Elizabeth Maria Janisch initially reported Tscherina as missing…
