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  • Phuket Gazette: Can there be no good news for journalists in Mexico?

    Phuket Gazette: Can there be no good news for journalists in Mexico?

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mexico: 172 attacks against journalists, 9 dead in 2011PHUKET (News Wires): In 2011, at least 172 attack were carried out against Mexican journalists and media, according to press rights group Article 19.The report, called ‘Forced Silence: the State, accomplice to the violence against the press,’ showed that…

  • Phuket Gazette: John Barnes to wing his way to Thailand

    Phuket Gazette: John Barnes to wing his way to Thailand

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Liverpool’s John Barnes set to light up Thailand sixes PHUKET (The Nation): Miss the trademark dribbling of former England international John Barnes? You could witness it at close quarters when the ex-Liverpool winger showcases some of his old tricks at the Standard Chartered EPL Masters Football…

  • Cabinet closes with Southern protest

    Cabinet closes with Southern protest

    PHUKET: The mobile Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra drew to a close yesterday to the sound of another protest. Under the banner of the “Southern Network”, the protesters gathered outside the meeting venue at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus in Kathu. The group had traveled from Satun, Songkhla and Chumphon provinces to call for…

  • Cabinet approves Bt200mn for Phuket mangrove flyover

    Cabinet approves Bt200mn for Phuket mangrove flyover

    PHUKET: Cabinet today approved 200 million baht to build an elevated road over a mangrove forest on the outskirts of Phuket Town. The project, best known as the Klong Koh Pee project, has been on hold for 15 years. The announcement, made by Deputy Government Spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard at about midday, followed a morning session of meetings at the Prince…

  • “Naughty’ clouded leopard caught, set free north of Phuket

    “Naughty’ clouded leopard caught, set free north of Phuket

    PHUKET: A clouded leopard was captured over the weekend after a dip into the poultry-house on Thanyamundra’s organic farm in Phang Nga, which produces much of the chemical-free produce served in Phuket.Security guard Surasit Wangphakam was responsible for the capture. Hearing chickens “clucking loudly” inside the poultry-house, he looked inside to discover a female cloud leopard “playing” with the chickens.Fifteen…

  • PM Yingluck hounded into Southern healthcare issues

    PM Yingluck hounded into Southern healthcare issues

    PHUKET: Joining the long list of groups petitioning Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for special attention during her first official visit to Phuket for today’s Cabinet meeting was a delegation of doctors, nurses and medical students from Songklanagarind Hospital in Haad Yai. PM Yingluck arrived at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus at 8:30am to attend the Cabinet meeting…

  • Chalerm in Phuket: Police to focus on drugs, not closing times

    Chalerm in Phuket: Police to focus on drugs, not closing times

    PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung told top regional police officers yesterday that strict enforcement of closing times at bar and pubs was not the top priority in tourist destinations such as Phuket because visitors come here to enjoy the natural scenery, not the nightlife. Deputy PM Chalerm, himself a police captain, delivered his mandate to an assembly of top-ranking…

  • Laguna Phuket MD resigns

    Laguna Phuket MD resigns

    PHUKET: Michael Ayling has resigned his position as Managing Director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels, which owns and operates the Laguna Phuket resort complex on Phuket’s west coast. A media statement issued this morning noted that Mr Ayling’s last day with the renowned resort company will be on May 31, 2012. According to the statement he will be leaving the…

  • PM Yingluck in Phuket: Senators pitch ‘special economic zone’ plan

    PM Yingluck in Phuket: Senators pitch ‘special economic zone’ plan

    PHUKET: On the first day of the mobile Cabinet meeting yesterday, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra held closed door talks with local tourism industry leaders who urged her to establish Phuket as a special economic zone. The unscheduled talks, which were off-limits to reporters, saw PM Yingluck meet with Phuket Senator Thanyarat “Ghee” Achariyachai, who chairs the Senate Standing Committee…

  • Phuket Gazette: Nazi death camp guard dies in Germany

    Phuket Gazette: Nazi death camp guard dies in Germany

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dead Nazi John Demjanjuk had almost 28,000 convictions on ‘accessory to murder’ charges Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk died at a nursing home in southern Germany early Saturday morning, police said. He was convicted last year of nearly 28,000…

  • PM Yingluck makes no promises ahead of Cabinet meeting

    PM Yingluck makes no promises ahead of Cabinet meeting

    PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra this afternoon gave no hints as to whether or not she will support the Klong Koh Pee project to build an elevated road over a protected mangrove forest at Saphan Hin, near Phuket Town. At a public presentation at the site, Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan explained the details of project, which requires special permission from…

  • Man slashes own throat over broken heart

    Man slashes own throat over broken heart

    PHUKET: Relatives of a suspected broken-hearted man heard screaming from the fourth floor of a commercial shophouse where he lived and ran up to investigate. The man, whose name the Phuket Gazette is withholding, attempted to commit suicide in the shophouse off Montri Road by slashing his own throat, according to the local Thai-language newspaper Siangtai Daily. Police were immediately…

  • Woman dies in water-well plunge | Thaiger

    Woman dies in water-well plunge

    PHUKET: Phuket City Police are trying to identify the body of a woman found at the bottom of a water well in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon. Police were notified about the body by residents of the Bor Nam Community, located off Amphur Road on the east side of Phuket Town, the local Thai-language newspaper Siangtai Daily reported today. It took…

  • Phuket Business: A mortgage in the UK

    Phuket Business: A mortgage in the UK

    PHUKET: House prices in the UK have suffered a dramatic fall over the past few years and banks have made it harder for first-time buyers. To put it bluntly, banks have made it harder for any buyer getting on the housing ladder when prices are low. Although UK house prices are expected to make a steady recovery over the next…

  • Phuket Live Wire: The next iPad is here

    Phuket Live Wire: The next iPad is here

    PHUKET: The cat’s out of the bag, and at this very moment the first “new” iPads are on store shelves in the US, Australia, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland. While you may think of it as an iPad 3.0, at this point the official name is “The New iPad.” Apple hasn’t yet set a price for…

  • Phuket pushes for first dedicated hospitality college

    Phuket pushes for first dedicated hospitality college

    PHUKET: With Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s arrival on Phuket for the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, more details of the proposed transformation of Thalang Vocational College into Phuket’s first dedicated hospitality and tourism college have been unveiled. The college’s director, Suthep Yongyut, told the Phuket Gazette that the plan is to be proposed to the Cabinet tomorrow for budget approval of 300…

  • Phuket Business: Andaman motor show drives sales; Limited companies spike

    Phuket Business: Andaman motor show drives sales; Limited companies spike

    PHUKET: THE 14th Andaman Motor Show, organized last week at HomeWorks, opposite Central Festival Phuket, concluded with one of its most vibrant years in car sales. The six-day event, this year under the theme “Summer on the Beach”, ended on Wednesday. “We don’t have final figures for the overall number of car loan applications yet, but I have to admit…

  • Phuket Business: SET in the city

    Phuket Business: SET in the city

    PHUKET: Investors in Phuket became privy to invaluable financial advice at the island’s inaugural investment extravaganza hosted by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) recently. Organized in collaboration with the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, Phuket Federation of Industries and the Phuket Bankers Association, it was the first time for “SET in the city” to be held in Phuket. The event…

  • Phuket Business: APSA gears up for boat show

    Phuket Business: APSA gears up for boat show

    PHUKET: ASIA-Pacific Superyacht Association (APSA) is gearing up for the Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX), to be held at the award-winning Royal Phuket Marina from March 29 to April 1. The leading consumer boat show in Asia, PIMEX will feature the largest in-water boat display with more than 50 boats representing leading brands from around the world. The line up…

  • Phuket Sports: Drama galore in Fair Play League finals

    Phuket Sports: Drama galore in Fair Play League finals

    PHUKET: The Phuket Fair Play League 2012 reached a dramatic conclusion to the season at Youth Football Home (YFH) in Thalang after eight weeks of competitive matches. Players in U14 and U11 divisions from all over the island showed skill and sportsmanship throughout this latest season proving the value and title of this competition. As with all hotly contested tournaments,…

  • Phuket sea gypsies mob Thai PM, plead for rights

    Phuket sea gypsies mob Thai PM, plead for rights

    PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrived at Phuket Airport this morning to be greeted by some 2,000 people protesting the need to protect their land usage rights and preserve traditional livelihoods. The protesters, who collectively call themselves “PMOVE” (short for “Peoples’ Movement”), comprise sea gypsies and members of other landless communities from across the country. In addition to the many…

  • Phuket Sports: Super Six league heats up

    Phuket Sports: Super Six league heats up

    PHUKET: Super Six League’s latest round of matches at Headstart International School’s Football Island kicked off with a top of the table battle between Phuket Serenity Villas (PSV) and Morning Star. Both teams attempted to gain control of the game from the outset, but Morning Star proved the more inventive in attack and had a four goal advantage going into…

  • Phuket Sports: Oilfield Classic set to tee off

    Phuket Sports: Oilfield Classic set to tee off

    PHUKET: In April 2009 over 100 international guests arrived on the island to take part in the maiden Phuket Oilfield Classic golf tournament. Primarily an oil and gas golfing event staged to raise awareness and funds for Phuket charities, organizers are eager to encourage greater involvement from local players. The fourth annual Phuket Oilfield Classic charity golf tournament will take…

  • Phuket Gazette: George Clooney arrested in Sudan protest

    Phuket Gazette: George Clooney arrested in Sudan protest

    – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Actor George Clooney among arrested in Sudan protestPHUKET (News Wires): U.S. actor George Clooney was among several political and religious figures who were arrested on Friday during a protest in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington DC, to end the humanitarian crisis in the African country.Demonstrators blamed the…

  • Coastal development destroying reefs off Phuket

    Coastal development destroying reefs off Phuket

    – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Coastal development destroying reefs off Phuket PHUKET (The Nation): Massive land development in Phuket province will be strictly controlled by environmental regulations after findings that large amounts of sediment caused by construction has destroyed a large area of coral reefs and marine ecosystems. Over 250 square kilometers of coral…

  • Man fights for life after Phuket motorbike crash

    Man fights for life after Phuket motorbike crash

    PHUKET: A man is in critical condition after his motorbike was hit by a car at a u-turn on Thepkrasattri Road in Phuket early yesterday morning. Thalang Police were notified of the accident just after midnight. Arriving at the scene, the northbound lane of Thepkrasattri road about one kilometer south of the new Tesco Thalang shopping mall, they found Apichet…

  • Owner confesses to working elephant to death, mutilating carcass

    Owner confesses to working elephant to death, mutilating carcass

    PHUKET: The owner of the elephant found mutilated in Krabi on Thursday has confessed to working the animal to death. Local villagers had discovered the gruesome remains, now identified as that of 49-year-old elephant Plai Boonam. The front of the head had been hacked off and the elephant’s tusk was missing. In response, Krabi Muang District Chief Yutisak Akeakkara and…

  • Finnish tourist behind bars after Phi Phi pub row

    Finnish tourist behind bars after Phi Phi pub row

    PHUKET: A Finnish tourist is being held at Krabi Provincial Prison pending charges of causing bodily harm after he allegedly struck a female bar manager over the head with a beer bottle just south of Phuket on Phi Phi Island.Ms Saen Chinno (originally reported as “Jeen-no”), the 29-year-old manager of Breakers Bar on Phi Phi Island, suffered a serious head…

  • Prompong probes more suspect Phuket land titles

    Prompong probes more suspect Phuket land titles

    PHUKET: Government Spokesperson Prompong Nopparit, in his capacity as vice president of the Parliamentary Committee for Anti-Corruption and Misconduct, yesterday led an inspection tour of land in the hills behind the Kathu Waterfall. Joining Mr Prompong was the parliamentary anti-corruption committee president, Pol Lt Gen Wirote Pao-in. Both Mr Pompong and Lt Gen Wirote are Pheu Thai party list MPs.…

  • Phuket baby elephant probe hinges on DNA maternity tests

    Phuket baby elephant probe hinges on DNA maternity tests

    PHUKET: Officers who led the raids on three elephant camps in Phuket late last month are back on the island to continue their investigation into whether all the elephants at all three camps were legally obtained. The investigation focuses on three camps: the ATV @ Hill Adventure Tour camp on the road to the Big Buddha image in Chalong; the…