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Five-part Andaman carnival series to kick off in Ranong on June 8
PHUKET: The first in a five-part series of carnivals to be held in Andaman provinces will take place in Ranong on June 8. Ranong, perhaps best known among expats as a visa-run destination, has plenty of things for tourists to enjoy, said Ranong Vice Governor Supawat Sakda, who announced the carnival with Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa on Friday. “We…
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Snake causes blackout near Phuket Town
PHUKET: Electrical engineers called to a neighborhood on the north side of Phuket Town late last night found that a small tree snake had caused a blackout at several houses and an apartment block. “We were called to Pimpraprai Place apartments on Rassada Anuson Road [in Baan Kuku, Rassada] at about 10pm,” said Pichai Rattanamunee, an electrical engineer with the…
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Junta to receive royal endorsement
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Junta to receive royal endorsement The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha will be given a royal command, appointing him as the head of the NCPO, and a ceremony will be held at 10.49am today at the Royal Thai Army headquarters on…
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The Nation reporter taken into custody
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community The Nation reporter taken into custody The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Nation’s senior reporter Pravit Rojanaphruk yesterday morning reported to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and has been moved into custody to an unidentified military base. Nation Multimedia Group editor-in-chief Thepchai…
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Ukrainians back Poroshenko to find way out of crisis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukrainians back Poroshenko to find way out of crisis Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate manufacturer, claimed the Ukrainian presidency with an emphatic election victory on Sunday, taking on a fraught mission to quell pro-Russian rebels and steer his fragile nation closer…
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Phuket radio stations fall silent
PHUKET: Commercial radio stations throughout Phuket fell silent today after receiving requests from the army to comply with an order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) this morning. The ban on broadcasting includes local satellite television networks (story here). Staff at 107.7FM Open Mind received a call this morning from an army officer ordering the station…
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Red shirt terror plot subverted, suspects arrested
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Red shirt terror plot subverted, suspects arrested The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Army says 22 in custody after being found with weapons; says they had orders from red-shirt leaders to carry out attack in Khon Kaen Twenty-one men and one woman, who were arrested over…
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HM The King acknowledges coup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community King acknowledges to coup The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: His Majesty the King has acknowledged that the power seizure was carried out by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the junta said in a statement yesterday. In the statement, signed by Army chief…
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Police recruit translators to help Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Police stations throughout Phuket will have video conference capabilities installed so that tourists can communicate with translators in Bangkok at any time, one of the country’s top-ranking policeman announced in Phuket yesterday. The initiative is to prevent misunderstandings between tourists filing complaints and police, said Assistant National Police Chief ML Pansak Kasemsant, speaking at Phuket Provincial Police Station. The…
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Troops deployed in Bangkok to counter anti-coup protesters
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Troops deployed in Bangkok to counter anti-coup protesters The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A company of police and troops used a police truck to block the inbound Phahoyothin Road this afternoon to stop a procession of anti-coup protesters. The uniformed security personnel set up the…
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Thai ex-premier Yingluck detained, junta to face media on coup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai ex-premier Yingluck detained, junta to face media on coup The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former premier Yingluck Shinawatra has been detained by leaders of Thailand’s military junta, a source in her party said today as the army prepared to brief the media for the…
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Phuket battered by coastal erosion
PHUKET: Officials yesterday expressed deep concern about the rate of coastal erosion, especially at Bang Tao Beach and coastal areas inside Sirinath National Park on Phuket’s west coast. The issue was raised at a meeting chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa yesterday at The Metropole Phuket hotel in Phuket Town. Coastal erosion has ravaged areas in all six provinces…
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Governor asks coup leaders for flexibility in Phuket curfew
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut requested that Phuket be given a flexible curfew as it is a tourist destination, he told a meeting of more than 100 high-ranking government officers today. He made the request at yesterday’s briefing of governors and police chiefs at the Royal Thai Army Fourth Area Command in Nakhon Sri Thammarat (story here). While he did not…
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Thailand News: Bangkok creeps back to life; Junta wants reforms before elections; Key figures report to NPOMC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Capital creeps back to life The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An uneasy calm settled over Bangkok yesterday as one of the world’s most vibrant cities crept back to life after a night-time curfew imposed by the military. The capital’s usual morning gridlock was relieved as…
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Patong facing ruin if curfew continues, says entertainment boss
PHUKET: Patong, known throughout the world for its throbbing nightlife, now faces its second night under the military curfew imposed by coup leader Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha. The curfew bans all unsanctioned travel on the streets from 10pm to 5am (story here). Phuket Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiewruangnont at 5pm today confirmed that the curfew will remain in effect throughout…
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Hospital presents B100k compensation for childbirth deaths
PHUKET: The man who lost his wife and son to complications of childbirth has received 100,000 baht in compensation from Vachira Phuket Hospital. Hospital Director Jessada Chungpaibulpatana expressed sorrow on behalf of the hospital, and presented the check to grieving father Numporn Intawong. “We would like to express our deepest condolences for this tragic loss of lives. We hope that…
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Phuket medical waste threatens bacterial fallout
SPECIAL REPORT With Phuket’s primary incinerator out of action while awaiting repairs, an environmental expert is concerned about the facility’s capacity to burn medical waste properly. Chief among the concerns is avoiding the potential bacterial cloud from inundating the surrounding community at Saphan Hin. The Gazette’s Saran Mitrarat reports. PHUKET: The new 960-million-baht incinerator that fired up at Saphan Hin…
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Canadian chosen as Aussie honorary consul “designate’
PHUKET: Canadian national Michelle Hawryluk, a partner in the Phuket-based law firm Haris & Hawryluk, has been chosen by the Australian Embassy as the designate candidate for the post of Australian Honorary Consul for Phuket. Mrs Hawryluk attended Bond University in Australia. She is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, New York County Lawyers…
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Patong tunnel plans eyed for potential traffic jam woes
PHUKET: Officials in charge of the Patong tunnel project are reviewing strategies they can use to avoid creating bottleneck traffic jams at the Thung Thong Intersection in Kathu. The tunnel project, budgeted to cost 9.57 billion baht – 6.80bn for materials, 2.56bn for land expropriation and 200mn baht for salaries – aims to provide a safe alternative to the notoriously…
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Navy deploys security personnel to patrol Phuket
PHUKET: Navy security personnel have been ordered to accompany police patrols in Phuket to ensure peace is maintained. “You may see officers at some locations, for example, at the airport,” Capt Petcharat Teanjan, Deputy Director of the Civil Affairs Division at the Third Naval Area Command, told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “There’s no reason to be concerned,” Capt Petcharat…
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Phuket’s transformation: The times, they are a changing
PHUKET: The times are changing, always have and always will – especially in Phuket. Even in the couple of years I’ve been lucky enough to live here, I have witnessed drastic changes all over the island. One of the most obvious transformations is new structures. Even though I travel around the island frequently, it is shocking how different the skyline…
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Kamnan Winai fighting for a clean Karon
Winai Chidchiew, 40, is the Subdistrict chief, or Kamnan, of Karon. He has a master’s degree in political science of local development and a bachelor’s in law from Ramkhamhaeng University. He also has a bachelor’s degree in community development from Rajabhat University. Here, he talks about why he does his job despite assassination attempts, and how he thinks Karon’s problems…
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On the run: Visa runs to stay a part of life despite crackdowns
PHUKET: Recent reports quoting Thai Immigration officials as saying that “visa runs” were a thing of the past have generated a great deal of interest and confusion in Thailand’s expat community. Yet this crackdown is little more than the latest in a long series of tweaks to Immigration policy that is unlikely to have any real impact on foreigners staying…
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Phuket government offices open as usual despite coup
PHUKET: All government offices in Phuket are open as usual today, despite the coup initiated by Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday (story here). “All government offices remain open as usual. Only schools are closed,” Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning. Gen Prayuth ordered yesterday that all schools be closed until Monday (story here). “At…
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Far right suffers Dutch surprise as EU vote begins
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch Eurosceptic party stumbles in European elections Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Eurosceptic party of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders slumped into a surprise fourth place in European Parliament elections on Thursday, according to exit polls which showed his Freedom Party behind three pro-European groups.…
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Biggest attack in years kills 31 in China’s troubled Xinjiang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Biggest attack in years kills 31 in China’s troubled Xinjiang Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Explosives hurled from two vehicles which ploughed into an open market in China’s troubled Xinjiang killed 31 people on Thursday, state media reported, the deadliest act of violence in the region…
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All protesters dispersed by soldiers; PDRC jubilant
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All protesters dispersed by soldiers; PDRC jubilant The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-government red-shirt protesters at Aksa Road rally site began returning home yesterday after the Army seized power and soldiers were sent in to take control of the situation. Earlier, the soldiers seized control…
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Phuket schools closed due to coup
PHUKET: All schools, public and private, in Phuket and nationwide are closed starting tomorrow, Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha announced tonight. The schools are set to re-open on May 26. Gen Prayuth also announced four groups of people who are exempt from the curfew, which prohibits people from being outside their residence or hotel between 10pm and 5am (story here). The…
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Army announces Phuket curfew
PHUKET: Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha today announced a nationwide curfew that will come into effect at 10pm tonight. The curfew, from 10pm to 5am, will affect Phuket and all other tourist destinations in Thailand. No people, including tourists, are allowed to leave their residence or hotel unless given specific permission by government officers. This order will remain in place until…
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Phuket to get wet this weekend, ships to proceed with caution, say meteorologists
PHUKET: Ships have been warned to proceed with caution this weekend as the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) issues a weather warning for some provinces, including Phuket, in Southern Thailand. “Ships in the Andaman Sea have been warned to proceed with caution,” Lt Col Panya Chaichana of the Phuket Marine Police told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “Small boats have yet…
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