- Business News
Phuket business: Unplanned losses recovered
PHUKET: I very often come across a syndrome I refer to as “investor paralysis”. Basically this is where a poor investment is made, the value drops suddenly, and now you are too afraid to make any decision at all for fear of making another mistake, possibly a bigger one. Rather than putting yourself in that position, you are in fact…
- Phuket News
Phuket Live Wire: How to handle the next disaster
PHUKET: The “tsunami” scare has come and gone, and I’m still livid. Many news organizations spread enormous layers of misinformation and scared the living daylights out of people worldwide, without the slightest regard for the facts. All they cared about was selling more newspapers or gathering more clicks. At 5:23pm on April 11 – an hour before the “tsunami” was…
- Phuket News
Drinking water system heads to northern Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Waterworks Authority has revealed a plan to provide public water fountains throughout Mai Khao as a pilot project in rolling out potable water supply to the northern parts of the island. Pichai Wetchrungsri, Deputy Director of the Phuket Waterworks Authority, announced the news earlier this month at a meeting at Provincial Hall, where he explained that the…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s “rescued dolphin’ dead
PHUKET: The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) rescued off Phuket’s Kata Beach on Sunday has died. Patcharaporn Kaewmong, a veterinarian at the Phuket Marine Biological Center’s Marine Endangered Species Unit, said the dolphin died at 6am yesterday. “We will conduct a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death,” she said. Fears for the young female dolphin surfaced yesterday when it…
- Phuket News
Lifeguards back on Phuket beaches on Monday
PHUKET: Phuket’s lifeguards will be back on the beaches on Monday, an officer at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. Kanyarat Senrung, an officer at the Phuket OrBorJor Tourism Department, today said the contract between the OrBorJor and the Phuket Lifeguard Club was signed this morning. “The only delay now is that we…
- Phuket News
Somjai opens canvassing for Phuket City Mayor election
PHUKET: Somjai Suwansupana yesterday was the first to register her candidacy in the upcoming Phuket City Municipal election on June 16, marking her attempt for re-election to her third consecutive term as Phuket City Mayor.Given the favorable voting ballot number 1, Ms Somjai led her Khon Noom “Young Turks” party in registering their candidacies for the 24 council seats up…
- Phuket News
Phuket rescue team calls for donations to save slashed dog
PHUKET: A team of Phuket emergency response officers are calling for donations to help a stray dog that has been inflicted with an eight-inch wound to its stomach. Officers at the Patong Municipality Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) first noticed the dog, now named “Nin”, meaning black, when he wandered into the area near their offices last Thursday.…
- Phuket News
Phuket rescue services to hold earthquake drill
PHUKET: Emergency rescue personnel from across Phuket will join local officials in Thalang district to conduct an earthquake rescue drill tomorrow, starting at 2pm.The drill will be based on damages from a hypothetical 5.0 magnitude earthquake centered in the area of Srisoonthorn subdistrict, which sustained the greatest damage on April 16, when a 4.3 Richter quake shook Phuket.“Thalang is in…
- Phuket News
Sea Gypsy Cultural Center to open in Phuket this year
PHUKET: The long-anticipated Sea Gypsy Cultural Center, or Urak Lawoi Culture Center, is now scheduled to open toward the end of this year.The inauguration of the facility is expected to happen about six months after it is officially transferred from the Phuket Office of Public Works to Rassada Municipality at the end of this month.At a cost of 5.4 million…
- Phuket News
Phuket sports: Formula 1 – 5 races 5 winners
PHUKET: At Catalunya no driver has ever won starting lower than third on the grid, which makes it a boring race, right?Right and wrong.It was McLaren’s race to lose again. And they did – again! Lewis Hamilton keeps winning on the track, and his pit crew keeps losing it for him. This is from a team renowned for its meticulous…
- Phuket News
French tourist drowns off Freedom Beach, Phuket
PHUKET: The body of Stephane Dacosta, a 33-year-old French national, thought to have drowned yesterday, was recovered from the waters off Freedom Beach this morning.Mr Dacosta was reported missing at about 5pm yesterday by friends who had attempted, with the help of local fishermen, to save him after noticing the French man struggling to swim in the current.“We checked the…
- Phuket News
Dolphin blood-test results reveal serious infection
PHUKET: Blood tests have revealed that the stranded striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) rescued in Phuket waters Sunday morning has a serious infection and only a 10 to 30 per cent chance of survival. The young female dolphin was recovered from the sea after being sighted by staff from Karon Beach Resort, and was transferred to Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC),…
- Phuket News
Archeological site near Phuket used as eco-tourism collateral
PHUKET: Local Krabi villagers, across the bay from Phuket, have ravaged an archaeological site in a mangrove forest in hopes of making it an eco-tourism attraction.A variety of colorful beads were uncovered by local fishermen in Tambol Klong Thom Thai in Krabi about a month ago, said Teerapong Sithisak a 43-year-old resident of the area.After hearing the fishermen’s stories about…
- Phuket News
Phuket live wire: Mac attack
PHUKET: It was inevitable that somebody would create a Trojan – a botnet, no less – for the Mac OS X. But I don’t think anybody expected the first major Trojan would hit as hard, or so many people, as the one we’re witnessing right now. According to numerous sources, more than 600,000 Macs have been infected – and most…
- Business News
Phuket business: Google bridges the gap
PHUKET: Amid the fast paced “age of online” a bulk of local businesses have fallen behind a rapidly evolving consumer base, and companies need to catch up, says Ariya Banomyong, head of Google Thailand The country’s first manager for the iconic IT giant was in Phuket last week and the Gazette had the privilege to pick his brain for an…
- Phuket News
Phuket live wire: Yet more scams – be careful out there!
PHUKET: Last February I wrote about a reader who placed an ad in the Gazette, and was strung along by a scammer. The scammer had a long, contrived story that ended with a demand that the person who placed the ad actually send money to the scammer, with threats from PayPal, Western Union and the FBI. About a month ago,…
- Phuket News
Stranded dolphin saved in Phuket
PHUKET: A stranded striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) was rescued from Kata Beach yesterday morning and is being closely monitored by the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC).The young, weak dolphin was spotted by Kata Beach Resort workers at about 9am.The PMBC was notified and a team went to sea in order to check on the female dolphin’s condition.“A tentative checkup revealed…
- Phuket News
FC Phuket sustain first half dogfight with Airforce, new president appointment official
PHUKET: FC Phuket came from behind in a closely contested match on Saturday night to draw with Airforce United 3-3 at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town. All six goals of the season’s 10th fixture were scored in the first 31 minutes of play, with both sides failing to break the deadlock throughout the rest of the match. Opening the score…
- Phuket News
Phuket pileup kills woman, 21
PHUKET: A rear-end collision spun a car out of control on Thepkrasattri Road in Koh Kaew yesterday morning, causing the car to slam into a motorbike, killing the rider.Thalang Police duty officer Patiwat Yodkwan was notified of the accident at 9:15am.At the scene, about 300 meters south of the Tah Reua Temple, Capt Patiwat, fellow police officers and Kusoldharm Foundation…
- Phuket News
Phuket Police call in Interpol over gem heist suspects
PHUKET: Police have sent a missive to Interpol to confirm whether or not three foreigners arrested for the theft of 30 million baht in gems and jewelry on Monday are wanted international felons. The move to check with the international law coordination agency follows police seizing as evidence a notebook containing a handwritten list of dates, events and venues of…
- Opinion
PHUKET OPINION: Speak loudly, but leave “big stick’ on mainland
PHUKET: As this week passed, the non-event of the Red Shirt rally apparently planned to be held at Nai Yang Beach last Sunday settled in as a near miss. The timing could not be a coincidence. Yesterday, May 19, 2012, marked the second anniversary of the violent confrontations in Bangkok between government security forces and the Red Shirt United Front…
- Phuket News
Man stabs boy, 7, in head with screwdriver on Phuket Town street
PHUKET: Police this afternoon arrested a man after he randomly stabbed a 7-year-old boy in the head with a screwdriver while the child was playing with friends in Phuket Town Still in tears and shocked by the attack, the boy’s mother, Chareerat Naksri, told the Phuket Gazette that the stab wound narrowly missed the right ear of her son, Krittamet…
- Phuket News
Monk defrocked after alleged drunk, drugged altercation at funeral
PHUKET: A monk has been defrocked in Phuket and is being held by police after a violent and possibly drug-induced incident at a cremation ceremony this morning.At about 10am Anusit Kulphonmuang, 52, from Udon Thani, reportedly leapt from a wall at Wat Saensuk temple in Phuket Town and seized a 12-year-old girl by her neck.Mr Anusit was reportedly seen drunk…
- Phuket News
Phuket rape suspect has not confessed: Chalong Police
PHUKET: Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri at 2:35pm today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that Sakchai Thongseedam has not confessed to the rape of a young German tourist in Phuket on Thursday. Mr Sakchai was arrested on Thursday following a German tourist filing a complaint with police. “The Centara Karon Resort Phuket receptionist Mr Sakchai has yet not confessed to…
- Business News
New Etihad Phuket airlink opens gateway to Europe
PHUKET: The new weekly direct flights between Phuket and Abu Dhabi, and on to Germany, launched last month by United Arab Emirates (UAE) national carrier Etihad Airways have transformed the UAE into a portal for European tourists traveling to and from Phuket and the rest of Asia. The new service was launched on April 15 after Etihad inked a cooperation…
- Phuket News
FC Phuket host Airforce United tonight at Surakul Stadium, new president to be announced
PHUKET: FC PHUKET are looking to get their first home win of the season this evening against Airforce United FC. Kickoff is set for 6:30pm. Going into the 10th weekend of league play, Phuket are now in 17th place of the 18-team Thai Yamaha 1 league with one win, five draws and three losses. Their opponents, the Airforce United “Blue…
- Thai Life
Andaman manta rays take flight
PHUKET: Dive companies like Sea Bees can guarantee a lot of aspects of their trips. They can guarantee a high-quality breakfast, good equipment and knowledgeable staff, but what they cannot guarantee are those precious and glorious sightings of roaming mega-fauna, like manta rays.Every diver last week may have spotted the sweeping black wings of a manta ray in the distance…
- Phuket News
French tourist drowns as Phuket surf danger season begins
PHUKET: One tourist has drowned and a Thai woman narrowly escaped a similar tragedy after being caught in strong surf on Phuket’s west coast this afternoon. Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club team at Kata-Karon, told the Phuket Gazette that a lifeguard pulled a Thai woman, aged about 30, from the surf in front of Karon Circle at…
- Phuket News
Thailand’s national ID database crash attributed to “server problem’
PHUKET: The system crash of Thailand’s Department of Provincial Administration central database in Bangkok, affecting Phuket and the rest of the country yesterday and this morning, has been attributed to a “server problem”. Phuket City Municipality was informed yesterday by the Region 8 Bureau of Registration Administration in Surat Thani of the problem, saying that some of the database system’s…
- Phuket News
Phuket hotel receptionist denies raping tourist
PHUKET: The Phuket resort receptionist charged with raping a German tourist has denied the police allegation, saying the incident was of “mutual consent”. Sakchai Thongseedam, a reception staffer at the Centara Karon Resort Phuket, was charged by Chalong Police after a German woman in her 20s staying at the resort filed a complaint yesterday. The woman, whose name is being…
