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  • Phuket Finance: Beat inflation with a low-risk return | Thaiger

    Phuket Finance: Beat inflation with a low-risk return

    PHUKET: One fund that I have recently been putting into portfolios is the Freehold Income Trust (FIT), which invests in ground rents. Ground rents are a relic of feudal Britain, which can now be bought and sold like any other asset. They are extremely safe income-yielding alternative investments, since the holder of ground rent could theoretically repossess a property worth…

  • Phuket takes precautionary measures after terrorist threats to US consulate in Chiang Mai | Thaiger

    Phuket takes precautionary measures after terrorist threats to US consulate in Chiang Mai

    PHUKET: Phuket’s top cop has increased security measures across the island in the wake of Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung’s warning of possible Al-Qaeda and Salafist terrorists attacks on the United States consulate in Chiang Mai this month (story here). “Although the information gathered pointed to terrorist plans to target the United States consulate in Chiang Mai, we will not…

  • Educational jellyfish signs erected on Phuket’s popular beaches | Thaiger

    Educational jellyfish signs erected on Phuket’s popular beaches

    PHUKET: A collaborative effort between the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) and the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office has seen educational signs about jellyfish springing up on beaches across Phuket. “The signs are set up on popular beaches, not because there are many jellyfish in those areas, but because they have so many visitors,” Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) Director…

  • Phuket Gazette World Sports: Celtic “hell”; Too much English; IOC moves surprises wrestling and Pakistan | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World Sports: Celtic “hell”; Too much English; IOC moves surprises wrestling and Pakistan

    Conte amazed to leave Celtic “hell” with handsome win Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Juventus coach Antonio Conte has suffered much in recent months but coming away from the “hell” of a noisy and fervent Celtic Park with a 3-0 win in their Champions League last 16 first leg felt like an enormous relief. The Italian champions, who again lead…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: State of the Union; China angry; Party pope; Don’t say nay | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: State of the Union; China angry; Party pope; Don’t say nay

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Legacy, political calendar frame Obama’s State of the Union address Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: President Barack Obama will give his State of the Union address with one eye on the political calendar as time ticks down on his bid to advance an agenda that will…

  • Phuket Business: Not in front of the children | Thaiger

    Phuket Business: Not in front of the children

    PHUKET: While working from home might seem like a practical option for workers in Thailand wanting to cut commutes and spend more time on their personal lives, the reality is somewhat different. According to a survey conducted by Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, six in ten respondents who work from home in Thailand revealed that they’re regularly…

  • Phuket migrant with hangover misses first day of work, drowns in abandoned tin mine | Thaiger

    Phuket migrant with hangover misses first day of work, drowns in abandoned tin mine

    PHUKET: A man from Mukdahan province who had just found work in Phuket drowned in an abandoned tin mine in Chalong yesterday. Police received a report around noon that Kamdee Kammoon, 35, had gone missing after entering the water-filled old tin mine on Soi Na Yai in Chalong. “When we arrived we saw his jeans by the side of the…

  • Phuket Business: Inflation up for Chinese NY | Thaiger

    Phuket Business: Inflation up for Chinese NY

    PHUKET: The head of the Department of Internal Trade (DIT) Phuket Office said that the 300 baht daily minimum wage has contributed to market inflation ahead of the Chinese New Year festivities. DIT-Phuket Chief Supacha Bunthalit told the Phuket Gazette that increased wages directly increase base costs for farmers, suppliers and vendors. “Of course it [the minimum wage rise] is…

  • Krabi villagers protest proposed coal plant over health concerns | Thaiger

    Krabi villagers protest proposed coal plant over health concerns

    PHUKET: Krabi villagers staged a protest, across the bay from Phuket, yesterday in fear that a proposed coal-fire power plant would damage their health as they allege a previous one had.Protest leaders Somyos Khanthong and Chalit Sukhotu, as well as about 500 Pakasai residents protesting an 800 Megawatt coal-fired power plant descended on Krabi Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon.The protesters wore…

  • Phuket Pharmacy fined for illegally selling prescription drugs | Thaiger

    Phuket Pharmacy fined for illegally selling prescription drugs

    PHUKET: A pharmacy in Chalong faced a lot of brass yesterday as Phuket Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak, Damrongtham Center (Ombudsman’s Office) chief Prapan Kanprasang, Chalong Mayor Samran Jindaphol and Phuket Public Health officers followed up on allegations that the store was illegally selling prescription drugs without a pharmacist on duty. “A local resident told our staff that the pharmacy was…

  • Phuket prisoners don berets for scout training | Thaiger

    Phuket prisoners don berets for scout training

    PHUKET: A group of 60 male and female prisoners at Phuket Provincial Prison donned their green berets and picked up their red sticks (mai ngam) for the opening ceremony of a scout training course yesterday. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut chaired the opening ceremony of the first guide course running from February 11 to February 14. “It is part of the…

  • Southern curfew debate; Amnesty opposed; World expo bid under cloud | Thaiger

    Southern curfew debate; Amnesty opposed; World expo bid under cloud

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Curfew could worsen things’ Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: While the government will determine on Friday whether to declare a curfew in the deep South, the Civil Society Council of the Southern Border Provinces said yesterday that the government’s strategies should stress peaceful processes not…

  • Pope to resign | Thaiger

    Pope to resign

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pope Benedict XVI says he will resign on February 28 due to old age Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Pope Benedict XVI surprised the world yesterday when he said he no longer has the mental and physical strength to adequately exercise his duties as head…

  • Phuket’s Wat Chalong Fair 2013 in full swing | Thaiger

    Phuket’s Wat Chalong Fair 2013 in full swing

    PHUKET: The Wat Chalong Fair 2013, a 7-day extravaganza of performances, food, games and shopping, is now in full swing (map here). Each night starting at 7pm, fair-goers can enjoy performances by Thai country music (luk-thung) stars and traditional Southern Thai Nang Talung shadow puppeteers. The crowd of thousands on opening night enjoyed a performance by Jintara Poonlarb, and the…

  • Phuket tourist carrying roses dies in motorbike crash | Thaiger

    Phuket tourist carrying roses dies in motorbike crash

    PHUKET: Simon Ashley, a tourist carrying an Australian driver’s license, died when he lost control of his motorbike on one of the sharp curves between Patong and Karon early this morning. “A tuk-tuk driver who witnessed the accident said that he saw Mr Ashley leave Soi Bangla in Patong and head towards Karon with a bunch of roses in his…

  • Blaze engulfs abandoned luxury hotel bordering Phuket National Park | Thaiger

    Blaze engulfs abandoned luxury hotel bordering Phuket National Park

    PHUKET: Police suspect the fire that engulfed an abandoned luxury hotel near Nai Yang Beach in northern Phuket early this morning was started by thieves searching for copper wire. “The hotel, on the border of the Sirinath Marine National Park, was completely abandoned. Thieves most likely went onto the premises to salvage copper. We suspect they were attempting to burn…

  • Myanmar urges expedited processing of its migrant workers in Thailand | Thaiger

    Myanmar urges expedited processing of its migrant workers in Thailand

    BANGKOK: Myanmar has urged Thailand to speed up registration of its citizens working in the Kingdom, with nearly one million workers and hundreds of thousands of their children still undocumented as the deadline draws near. Myint Thein, Myanmar’s deputy labor minister, was in Thailand last week to monitor progress of the government’s scheme to register millions of migrant workers. Thailand,…

  • Local officials step up talks, spending for ASEAN economy | Thaiger

    Local officials step up talks, spending for ASEAN economy

    PHUKET: Local officials continue to intensify dialogue, and thus anticipation for the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), with the economic positioning for Phuket and the Southern region gradually beginning to take form. The latest ‘AEC – Phuket get ready’ talks, held last week at the Phuket Provincial Hall, covered the latest regional economic integration challenges and opportunities. Phuket Governor Maitri…

  • Phuket Finance: UK pension transfers – Gibraltar | Thaiger

    Phuket Finance: UK pension transfers – Gibraltar

    PHUKET: Since the QROPS (Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pensions Scheme) legislation was introduced on April 6 2006, an individual transferring their pension overseas does not have to transfer their funds to the same country or jurisdiction as they are retiring to. This opened the doors for many pension providers in several jurisdictions, predominantly the channel island of Guernsey, to offer QROPS…

  • Phuket inflation tops South | Thaiger

    Phuket inflation tops South

    PHUKET: Not only is Phuket still considered the most expensive consumer province in Thailand, but its annual inflation rate remains the highest in the South – the Kingdom’s most inflated region. Thailand’s cost of living in 2012, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by 3.02% from the previous year, while overall inflation in Phuket was measured at…

  • Severe weather wreaks havoc on US; 9 dead | Thaiger

    Severe weather wreaks havoc on US; 9 dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Northeast digs out from blizzard, tornado strikes in South Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. Northeast was digging itself out yesterday after a blizzard dumped up to 40 inches (one meter) of snow with hurricane force winds, killing at least nine people and leaving…

  • Live Wire – Putting the pieces together | Thaiger

    Live Wire – Putting the pieces together

    PHUKET: In the past three editions of Live Wire, I’ve taken you through a detailed list of the internet packages currently available in Phuket and a description of what kinds of packages – “3G,” ADSL, Fiber, etc – most people will want. Last week I warned you about the truly awful experience one reader had with the new TOT 3G…

  • Phuket United end losing streak, beat Leo Bang Seu at home | Thaiger

    Phuket United end losing streak, beat Leo Bang Seu at home

    PHUKET: A 4-1 second-half run secured victory for Phuket United (7-4) in their match against Leo Bang Seu on Saturday night in Phuket Town. The much needed win ends the Andaman Pearl’s five-game losing streak. Played in front of about 500 fans at the Saphan Hin Indoor Sports Complex, the match was both team’s 20th of the 30-fixture Thai Futsal…

  • Police catch Phuket gold thief using CCTV images | Thaiger

    Police catch Phuket gold thief using CCTV images

    PHUKET: Phuket Police used CCTV images to track down and arrest a thief who snatched two gold necklaces from a woman driving her motorbike in Rassada. Nathawut Wannakoon, 22, was arrested at his home in Soi Imchit on Chao Fa Road (map here) by Phuket City Police on February 9 for the theft of the necklaces valued at 25,000 baht…

  • Phuket prepared for Chinese New Year | Thaiger

    Phuket prepared for Chinese New Year

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has prepared an extravagant celebration to ring in the Year of the Water Snake with the arrival of the Chinese New Year tomorrow. The celebration is slated to kick off at Sanam Chai (across from Phuket City Hall, map here) at 4pm. “Acrobats from Henan, China will be performing as well as other…

  • American tourist found dead in Phuket hotel | Thaiger

    American tourist found dead in Phuket hotel

    PHUKET: A 23-year-old American tourist was found dead in his Cherng Talay hotel room by staff after he failed to checkout at noon yesterday. Staff at the Resident Resort and Spa Retreat called Cherng Talay Police at about 10:30pm to report the death. “When we entered the room, we found the man face down on the bed,” Cherng Talay Police…

  • Phuket Deputy Honorary Consul: Russian tourists cause most problems, not expats | Thaiger

    Phuket Deputy Honorary Consul: Russian tourists cause most problems, not expats

    PHUKET: Santi Udomkiratak, 48, has been the Deputy Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation for the provinces of Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga since 2008. Born and raised in Phuket, Mr Santi received a degree in mechanical engineering from King Mongkut’s University of Technology in Bangkok. Here, he gives his views on Russians in Phuket. Most of the problems we…

  • PACC it all in, Phuket | Thaiger

    PACC it all in, Phuket

    PHUKET: This week’s exclusive lead story in the Phuket Gazette newspaper about the decision of the Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) to shelve its investigation into encroachment cases here in Phuket comes as a disappointment – but not much of a surprise. Phuket has a long history of land probes, all of which are motivated by political forces. In the…

  • Rawai Municipality takes charge of one of many environmental issues plaguing Racha | Thaiger

    Rawai Municipality takes charge of one of many environmental issues plaguing Racha

    PHUKET: The Rawai municipality was assigned to take charge of the mounting trash-disposal issues on Koh Racha Yai despite progressive local government talks yesterday with hotel and resort representatives about a conglomerate of environmental issues facing the once pristine island. “Though hotel and resort representatives agreed to take care of the trash-disposal problem themselves, I have assigned the Rawai Municipality…

  • Phuket cement truck flips on late-night trip down Patong Hill | Thaiger

    Phuket cement truck flips on late-night trip down Patong Hill

    PHUKET: An out of control cement truck flipped at the bottom of Patong Hill last night, skidding on its side into a motorbike and two houses before coming to a halt about 50 meters away from Wat Suawan Kiriwong Patong on Phra Baramee Road (map here). No one was seriously injured. “It was about 1am last night, and I was…