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  • Fishermen refer marina row to human rights body | Thaiger

    Fishermen refer marina row to human rights body

    PA KHLOK: The Fishermen’s Association in Moo 6, Pa Khlok, which staged a protest at Provincial Hall and lodged a formal complaint over the construction of the Ao Por Marina on March 16, has applied for advice from the Human Rights Commission as to what rights it has in defending its members’ livelihoods.Rattanaporn Jaengjaidee, an adviser to the association, told…

  • Rain staves off water shortage – again | Thaiger

    Rain staves off water shortage – again

    PHUKET: The heavy downpours late last month boosted Phuket’s water reserves in Bang Wad Reservoir to 2.7 million cubic meters – enough to last until mid-June, Watchara Arepornsiri, Project Director at Phuket Irrigation Office, has told the Gazette.“The amount of water in Bang Wad Reservoir has risen to 2.7 million cubic meters, and we should have no problems because we…

  • Patong gets environmental certification | Thaiger

    Patong gets environmental certification

    PATONG: Despite being embroiled in a brouhaha over whether it correctly handled Initial Environmental Examinations for the Villa Santi project, Patong Municipality has received ISO 14001 certification from the International Standards Organization, one of only 20 municipalities in Thailand to achieve this, and the first one in the South.Ironically, the ISO 14000 family of standards, according to the ISO, exists…

  • Thai Rak Thai flops in Phuket poll

    Thai Rak Thai flops in Phuket poll

    SAPHAN HIN: Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) candidate Dr Sriyada Palimapan has failed in her bid to be elected Member of Parliament for Phuket District 1.In District 2, counting of votes from two polling stations has yet to be completed, but the unofficial tally so far indicates that Wisut Santikul, also of the TRT, has also failed to get elected.Dr…

  • Disqualifications leave Sriyada to run unopposed | Thaiger

    Disqualifications leave Sriyada to run unopposed

    PHUKET CITY: The Supreme Court has upheld the disqualification of two of the three parliamentary candidates for Phuket Electoral District 1, which includes Phuket City and its surrounds.This leaves Dr Sriyada Palimapan of Thai Rak Thai (TRT) as the sole candidate, the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has announced. PEC Director Kittipong Thiengkunagrit told the Gazette that the Supreme Court on…

  • Spa trots out “best’ detox treatment | Thaiger

    Spa trots out “best’ detox treatment

    PHUKET: A consortium of international investors known as the Gastro Group has announced a 1.5-billion-baht investment in what is being billed as the world’s first “detoxotel” – a 150-room facility specializing in state-of-the-art detoxification treatments.Construction of the facility, which will be on a 15-rai site coastal site, the location of which is currently being kept secret, is scheduled to get…

  • Thieves put tsunami tower out of action | Thaiger

    Thieves put tsunami tower out of action

    PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura yesterday lashed out at thieves who stole the power cable from the tsunami warning tower at Ao Yon, rendering it silent.“I don’t understand them. Why would they steal [one of] the most important things for saving lives?” the Governor asked angrily at the monthly meeting of provincial office chiefs.“Whoever finds out who stole the…

  • Bypass road fully open | Thaiger

    Bypass road fully open

    PHUKET CITY: Today marked a milestone in the 111-million-baht bypass road widening project, as the new northbound lane, blasted out of the hillside near Tesco-Lotus, was finally opened fully to traffic. The opening caused some confusion among motorists, who had grown used to the counterflow traffic system using the southbound lane near Chan’s Antiques. Phuket Highway Department Engineer Boonyakiat Kongketyai…

  • Hollioake and Mullally for Phuket Sixes

    Hollioake and Mullally for Phuket Sixes

    KARON: Former England Test cricketers Adam Hollioake and Alan Mullally will take part in the Lighthouse Phuket International Cricket Sixes 2006 to be held from April 12 to 16 at the Karon Stadium. Former England all-rounder Hollioake said, “I’m really looking forward to playing in the Phuket Sixes next month. “It looks like it’s going to be a fantastic place…

  • Anti-Thaksin protesters march through city

    Anti-Thaksin protesters march through city

    PHUKET CITY: Some 200 members of the Phuket branch of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched today from the CB Market on Bangkok Rd to Provincial Hall.The marchers, who included a handful of foreigners, took a roundabout route through the city, taking about an hour and a half to reach their destination, and shouting “Thaksin, Get Out!” along the…

  • Police name third Preecha killing suspect | Thaiger

    Police name third Preecha killing suspect

    PHUKET CITY: Police say they believe they now know the name of the gunman who assassinated Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth named the wanted man as Samrerng Klaising, from Petchaburi.Meanwhile, Pol Capt Wanchana Polpalangkul and Pol Sgt Pongsak Kosi-ratanapibal, both formerly…

  • Phuket Airlines “will be off blacklist soon’ | Thaiger

    Phuket Airlines “will be off blacklist soon’

    BANGKOK: Phuket Airlines, recently blacklisted by the European Commission (EC) as one of 93 airlines barred from flying to the European Union (EU) and Switzerland, is confident that it will be reinstated soon, a senior official of the airline said today. As if to reinforce that confidence, the Gazette has learned that Phuket Airlines has applied to launch another airline,…

  • Death of drinker | Thaiger

    Death of drinker

    CHALONG: Probably the last thing Surasak Tayan expected as he sat drinking cola late one night outside a PTT filling station’s 7-Eleven convenience store was that his modest attempt at humorous self-deprecation would be the death of him. But it was. K. Surasak was frustrated because, at 3:30 am, he couldn’t buy a decent drink. Unfortunately, in expressing his disgust…

  • Rescuers need rescuing | Thaiger

    Rescuers need rescuing

    THALANG: Three Kusoldham Rescue Foundation workers had to call in rescuers themselves at about 3 am on March 10, after being assaulted by a group of more than 20 girls and ladyboys at the PTT filling station in Baan Lipon, Tambon Srisoonthorn. Chaiya Pariensati said he and two other rescue workers were on duty when they noticed a young woman…

  • Rain “will linger a couple more days’ | Thaiger

    Rain “will linger a couple more days’

    PHUKET: A low-pressure cell centered west of Phuket and just north of Sumatra will continue to bring unseasonably cloudy skies and scattered thundershowers over the next few days. Wiwat Intarapanich, Chief of Weather Forecasting at the Meteorological Department’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette today that he expects the scattered thundershowers to stop within a couple of days…

  • Andaman provinces to host Senior World Cup | Thaiger

    Andaman provinces to host Senior World Cup

    PHUKET CITY: The Senior Footballers’ Association of Thailand (SFA), in association with the Tourist Authority of Thailand, is organizing the first Football Senior World Cup tournament to celebrate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne.The tournament is to be held in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga provinces, tentatively between April 24 and 30. It will…

  • “Long Live The King’ wristbands go on sale | Thaiger

    “Long Live The King’ wristbands go on sale

    PHUKET: The King Power Foundation, Siam Commercial Bank, the Thailand Post and the Thai Military Bank are producing “Long Live The King” silicon wristbands and accompanying greetings cards to mark the 60th anniversary of HM King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne. Last year, the King Power Foundation manufactured 1 million similar wristbands, sales of which raised 105 million baht for…

  • Eager candidates register for Senate poll

    Eager candidates register for Senate poll

    PHUKET CITY: Today was a busy day for the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) after it opened registration at Satree Phuket School for candidates in the Senatorial race.First to register, at 7:59 am, was Akkrawat Jitharn, followed close behind by Uthai Suksirisamphan and Prawat Suwannadithakul.Because all three were waiting to register before the doors opened, they drew lots for their election…

  • Phuket Air barred from EU

    Phuket Air barred from EU

    BRUSSELS: Phuket Air has been included in a list of 93 passenger and cargo airlines barred from European Union countries and Switzerland, on safety grounds.It is one of only two airline in East Asia included in the list, the other being North Korea’s Air Koryo. Most of the list, made public on Wednesday, comprises airlines from Africa, with a sprinkling…

  • Lawyer appeals against election ban | Thaiger

    Lawyer appeals against election ban

    PHUKET CITY: Lawyer Thavorn Permpoon, would-be District 1 candidate of the Thai Chuay Thai (Thais Help Thais, or TCT) Party, has appealed to the Supreme Court after the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) ruled him out of the coming general election.Speaking to the Gazette yesterday, he explained that the PEC had removed his name from the register for the April 2…

  • James Batt to leave Phuket

    James Batt to leave Phuket

    PHUKET: James Batt, Joint Managing Director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels (LRH), will leave the island in June to take up a new post as head of a chain of hotels headquartered in San Diego, California.Mr Batt joined LRH in November 1995 as Executive Director and Vice-President of Laguna Operations, responsible for overseeing the operations of all five resort hotels and…

  • Call for Phuket people to join anti-Thaksin rally | Thaiger

    Call for Phuket people to join anti-Thaksin rally

    PHUKET: The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is urging the people of Phuket to join in a massive rally planned for Saturday at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, where protesters will demand that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resign.Amnuay Koombaan, a vice-president of the Phuket PAD, told the Gazette that he and other alliance members will leave Phuket at 6 pm…

  • Suwit quits politics | Thaiger

    Suwit quits politics

    PHUKET CITY: Suwit Sa’ngaimkul today announced his decision to quit politics. K. Suwit served as the Phuket Democrat Member of Parliament for Phuket District 1 for five years, until the recent dissolution called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.“I was intending to finish my political career at the end of my second term [in 2009], but Parliament was dissolved first, so…

  • Soi Dogs President resigns | Thaiger

    Soi Dogs President resigns

    PHUKET: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) announced today that co-founder and President Margot Homburg Park has resigned from the organization for personal reasons.In a statement, the SDF said that Mrs Park’s resignation has been regretfully accepted by the board. Vice-President John Dalley said, “Her contribution to relieving the problems of the island’s stray dog population cannot be overstated. She will…

  • Housing Bank to auction foreclosed property | Thaiger

    Housing Bank to auction foreclosed property

    PHUKET: The Government Housing Bank (GHB) will hold this year’s first auction of foreclosed property on April 22 at the GHB Phuket branch on Bangkok Rd in Phuket City. The repossessed properties include land plots, offices, condominiums and houses in Phuket and Phang Nga Provinces with a total estimated value of about 40 million baht.Withaya Saenphakdee, Manager of the GHB…

  • Charity rules tightened to stop abuse | Thaiger

    Charity rules tightened to stop abuse

    PHUKET: In an effort to prevent people from setting up charities as fronts to support themselves, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura will require all organizations seeking foundation status to sign a consent form allowing the province to deregister them if they fall inactive, without having to resort to the courts. The surprise announcement was made Thursday morning by Phuket’s Chief Administrative…

  • Ancient bricks and pots unearthed

    Ancient bricks and pots unearthed

    THALANG: Researchers say bricks and earthenware pots uncovered by construction work in Tambon Ban Don confirm the area was the site of an Ayudhya-period settlement, Phuket’s largest at the time, more than 200 years ago.Ten funerary pots filled with human bones, along with numerous bricks, were unearthed by a team of builders led by Prayun Na-udomon on March 13, when…

  • Police vow to catch tycoon’s killers

    Police vow to catch tycoon’s killers

    PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Pol Col Chalit Tinthanee said today that police were “certain to arrest the murderers” of Phuket businessman Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas. K. Preecha, 43, was shot twice in the head while driving home along Wiset Rd late on Tuesday night. (Sea earlier story here.) He was rushed to Phuket International Hospital, but died…

  • Phuket businessman assassinated | Thaiger

    Phuket businessman assassinated

    RAWAI: Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, 43, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate, was shot while driving home from dinner with his wife and his nine-year-old son late last night. He died later in hospital.Pol Capt Padungpong Duksukkaew of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that K. Preecha was driving along Wiset Rd with his…

  • PGTV launches on the Internet | Thaiger

    PGTV launches on the Internet

    PHUKET: Programming from PGTV, the Phuket Gazette‘s new TV production unit, can now be watched online at thethaiger.com/tv, or by clicking on the “TV-Phuket” link above. Ten minutes of news and 10 minutes of documentaries or interviews are now uploaded to the site every day, Monday to Friday, at 10 am from the PGTV studios. The program consists of Phuket news, followed…