News
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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
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Qatar Air ready for Phuket; Sheraton Phuket eyes mice
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Qatar Air to launch daily flights to Phuket PHUKET: Qatar Airways will expand and strengthen its first and business class offerings with the addition of Phuket to the airline’s Thailand routes. The daily service to and from…
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Phuket’s dirtiest road set for October cleanup
PHUKET: After months of dumped trash piling up along Pracha Uthit Road in Rassada, efforts to clean up the mess will start October 1, Rassada Municipality has confirmed. Nichmon Keatmanee, Director of the municipality’s Public Health and Environment Division, said: “We admit that Pracha Uthit Rd is under the responsibility of Rassada Municipality. We have a private company to pick…
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Phuket police identify karaoke murder victim
PHUKET: Police this afternoon identified the body of the woman who was raped, murdered and abandoned in the hills just south of Patong. They told the Gazette the corpse was that of karaoke hostess Anicha Khaigunha, 21, from Khon Kaen. Her body was found about three kilometers from Sirirat Rd, halfway between Patong and Karon, by waterworks contractor Ong-ard Kongkaew,…
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SUCCESS: Phuket sea gypsies salvage oil carrier
PHUKET: A team of sea gypsy divers have successfully re-floated and towed ashore the Choke Taworn 6, which sunk in heavy seas off Phuket earlier this month with an estimated 25,000 liters of diesel fuel aboard. The team, led by Surin Pramongkij, successfully brought the vessel to the surface at 11am. The boat was then towed by its sister vessel…
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Phuket sea gypsies perform turtle exorcism ritual
PHUKET: Sea gypsies in Rawai held an exorcism ceremony on Mai Thon Island recently to seek forgiveness from their guardian spirit. They were hoping to appease spirit Balai Da Toe after two fellow sea gypsies died from food poisoning in June after eating Hawksbill turtle meat. Many others fell seriously ill, but survived the meal. The late-August ceremony, involving the…
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Phuket Town tackles power line problem
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality, working with the Provincial Electric Authority and public and private telecommunication companies, on Saturday began stripping down unused power lines and other overhead cables along Mae Luan Rd in Phuket Town. Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana told the Gazette the pilot project is part of a municipal plan to beautify Old Phuket Town and surrounding areas.…
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“Passion for Fashion” show raises money for Phuket charity
PHUKET: Over 250 Phuket locals and tourists raised a whopping 250,000 baht for underprivileged children at the Andara Resort & Villa’s “Passion for Fashion” charity fashion show in Kamala on Sunday afternoon. Resort General Manager Andrew Whitaker said the event was a “win, win” for all involved, with 100% of proceeds from all tickets going to a worthy cause. The…
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Phuket siren song: DDPM chief says “pump up the volume’
PHUKET: The head of Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) pronounced this morning’s tsunami evacuation drill in Patong an overall success, but said he would call for an increase in the volume of the “siren song” from the Soi Bangla tower so that it can be better heard in windy conditions. More than 1,000 people, mostly students from…
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Call for action over illegal Burmese workers in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) is demanding that action be taken to deal with the the large and growing population of Burmese in Phuket. Dr Sirichai Silapa-archa, chairman of the PCC and also a deputy director at Vachira Phuket Hospital, told the Gazette that the number of newborns at Vachira alone ranges from about 60 to 100 a…
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Art Village Weekend at Royal Phuket Marina
PHUKET: Art lovers will want to visit Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) on September 18 and 19, designated “Art Village Weekend”. The weekend includes several forms of art and music, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, handmade products, batik apparel, postcards, tattoos, performance art, shadow puppet shows as well as performances by local bands and other talented artists. All are invited to…
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Phuket convention center should open mid-2014
PHUKET: Work on a world-class conference and exhibition center for Phuket should begin next year and be ready to open by mid-2014, project consultants told two recent public hearings. The meetings about the proposed Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (Phuket-ICEC), planned for the island’s northern tip, met with no serious opposition, but some concerns over environmental impact and infrastructure…
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PHUKET OPINION: New market a boon for Old Phuket
PHUKET: The soft opening of the new municipal wet market in Phuket Town last weekend was a major achievement by the municipality, one that could mark an important turning point in its efforts to transform Old Phuket Town into a meaningful tourist destination. Given the months of effort needed to convince the vendors to return to their old Ranong Rd…
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Phuket Surf Lifesaving Carnival a hit with tourists
PHUKET: The Surf Lifesaving Carnival was in full swing today as spectators, bands, surfers and VIPs gathered on Patong Beach for some fun in the sun. The event, organized by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization and sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, began at 9am with competitive events with age categories ranging from under 15s to over 50s. Among the numerous…
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Phuket primed for tsunami warning drill
PHUKET: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has confirmed the precise times the NDWC will sound the tsunami warning towers in the six Andaman provinces, including Phuket, during the full-scale evacuation drill on Monday. Dr Somsak Khaosuwan, director of the NDWC’s warning system management team, this morning told the Gazette that the tsunami warning towers will sound at four times:…
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Phuket Punchline Comedy returns in October
PHUKET: Following the success of its sell-out show in June, the Phuket Punchline Comedy Club will return to the Holiday Inn Resort in Patong on October 13 with three more top-class comedians. Set to take the stage this time are Englishman Pierre Hollins, Australian Darren Sanders and Philberto from Portugal. Pierre Hollins claims the only “proper jobs” he’s ever had…
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Phuket to host ‘Alternative Ownership’ conference
PHUKET: Some 150 delegates are expected to descend on Phuket next month for the second Alternative Ownership Conference for Resorts and Hotels – Asia Pacific (AOCAP) at the Millennium Resort in Patong. “Following the success of the inaugural AOCAP conference in 2009, we are excited to announce AOCAP 2010 will take place 10-12 October in Phuket,” said Bryan Lunt, Chairman…
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Tsunam drill puts Phuket students on alert
PHUKET: Some 350 primary school students in Patong ran for higher ground today in a tsunami drill organized by the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket). At 1pm yesterday, the students at Baan Sainamyen School in Patong were split into two groups and educated about tsunamis by DDPM-Phuket officer Thanakuan Pinthong. After the information session,…
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Diesel salvage mission off Phuket still on hold
PHUKET: Efforts to salvage the sunken Choke Thaworn 6 and its cargo of some 25,000 liters of diesel fuel remain on hold today due to big waves and strong currents. Members of the media were yesterday taken aboard a Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) vessel to the site, 12 nautical miles off Phuket’s southwest coast. At the site…
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Pheu Thai presents reconciliation plan to Phuket
PHUKET: A regional spokesman for the opposition Pheu Thai Party was in Phuket yesterday to promote the party’s plan for national reconciliation. Chaturont Kochasiha addressed an audience of party coordinators and the media at the new Pheu Thai ‘Andaman Operations Center’ in the Phuket City Home estate in Rassada. Mr Chaturont said he had come to the island to help…
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Phuket mulls Muslim prayer hall for Laem Phromthep
PHUKET: Phuket’s Laem Promthep may soon have a Muslim prayer hall (surau), says Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos. The mayor has confirmed that Rawai Municipality is considering plans to build such a facility on the iconic peninsula at the southernmost tip of Phuket island. The surau, if built, is to provide a place for the Muslim faithful to perform prayers while…
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Construction of new Phuket incinerator underway
PHUKET: Work to build Phuket’s second incinerator at Saphan Hin is underway and the 940-million-baht facility should be completed by the end of the year, a provincial committee on trash management issues was told on Wednesday. Prachoom Suriya, who heads the Phuket City Municipality Environmental Division, told the Phuket Provincial Trash Management Committee that project contractor PJT Technology is now…
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Lifeguard expert in Phuket calls for new rescue equipment
PHUKET: Ahead of the Phuket Surf Life Saving Carnival in Patong this Saturday, an expert surf lifesaving trainer from Australia has called for Phuket lifeguards to introduce different equipment to help them save lives at Phuket beaches. David Field, an assessor with Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) with 20 years’ experience in lifesaving, has called for Phuket lifeguards to use…
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Toxic waste collection drive in Phuket
PHUKET: A special tent has been set up at Saphan Hin as a collection point for toxic waste materials for safe, off-island disposal.The project, started on Monday, invites households, businesses and government organizations to bring any and all toxic waste to the tent, located near the basketball gymnasium.Light bulbs, batteries of all sorts, toxic packaging and other dangerous materials not…
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Phuket students to be punished for not wearing helmets
PHUKET: Staff and students of Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus are now liable to punishment by the university if they are caught traveling by motorbike without a helmet. The new provisions were introduced by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the PSU campus in Kathu on September 1. With some 200 students present as witnesses,…
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Global scorching; Thai Banks also scorched; Tales of two TATs
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Scorching forecast for Thailand PHUKET: In the next 35 years, the temperature in Thailand will rise a whopping 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, which will result in the eastern provinces being inundated in 300 millimetres of rainfall…
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Diesel salvage mission off Phuket resumes today
PHUKET: The mission to raise the sunken Choke Taworn 6 and its cargo of diesel fuel was postponed yesterday due to rough sea conditions. The effort will resume at 10am today, weather permitting. Rear Admiral Nawin Thananet, Chief of Staff of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command, said yesterday that visual inspection of the diesel tanks by divers revealed…
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FC Phuket hoist championship trophy, down Phang Nga FC 2-1
PHUKET: Goals either side of halftime from Thawin Butrsombat and Nithirot Sukuma were enough to ease FC Phuket to a 2-1 home win over Phang Nga FC at Surakul Stadium last night. Thawin, signed during the mid-season break, put the Southern Sea Kirin 1-0 up after just seven minutes, when he kept his composure in the box to finish off…
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Water service finally restored in Kathu, Phuket
PHUKET: Residents in parts of Phuket’s Kathu District are angry with local authorities because their water supply, cut off on Monday, was only restored this afternoon. Residents of the Baan Neua and Moo Baan Pak Dee communities, off Wichit Songkraam Road, contacted the Gazette at 10am to complain about the shortage, which forced students to go off to school without…
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Phuket sails in China; Phuket air lift; Reliable police?
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Team Phuket to sail in China PHUKET: The Nation reports that ‘Team Phuket King’s Cup Regatta’ has entered the China Cup International Regatta, to take place in Daya Bay, Shenzhen, China from October 29 to November 1.…
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New Phuket Town market finally opens for business
PHUKET: The new market on Ranong Road finally opened for business on Sunday, despite the refusal by a handful of holdout vendors to sign the contracts and occupy stalls they are entitled to. On the ground floor are stalls selling fresh meat, seafood and dry foods. Below, in the basement level, are small restaurants and vendors selling fresh fruit and…
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