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Thailand’s National football team to prepare in Phuket for Asian Games
PHUKET: Thailand’s National football team will arrive in Phuket tomorrow for a two-week training camp and at least two warm-up matches, against Myanmar and Qatar, in preparation for the Asian Games in South Korea next month. Thailand’s team recently suffered an early setback when Thai Premier League leaders Buriram United refused to release their two defenders for the Asian Games.…
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Evidence suggests Ebola toll vastly underestimated – WHO
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Evidence suggests Ebola toll vastly underestimated – WHO Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Staff with the World Health Organization battling an Ebola outbreak in West Africa see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimates the scale of the outbreak, the U.N. agency…
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Steeplechase winner disqualified for shirtless celebration
PHUKET: Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad was stripped of the 3,000-meter steeplechase gold medal after performing a shirtless celebration down the final straight at the European Athletics championships on Thursday. The Frenchman, well clear of the rest of the field, pulled off his vest as he came around the final bend, put it in his mouth as he waved to the crowd. He…
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Police deny rumor of order for strict enforcement of closing time for Phuket party town
PHUKET: Patong Police this afternoon denied rumors of an order demanding that they more strictly enforce the 2am closure of nightlife venues in Phuket’s premier party town. “I’m sorry, but I’ve not heard about this,” Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan told the Phuket Gazette when asked about the order. Col Chiraphat offered no further comments. However, both Patong deputy superintendents,…
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Get into gear at Phuket Cycling Fest 2014
PHUKET: If you’re looking for a way to enjoy the beauty of Thailand up-close and personal, then make a note in your planner to join Phuket Cycling Fest 2014, which will be held on September 6 and 7. Surrounded by some of the best natural scenery in southern Thailand, the fest aims to promote Phuket as an ideal destination for…
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The morality of surrogacy
PHUKET: The recent case of baby Gammy has highlighted the ethical and legal minefield embedded in commercial gestational surrogacy arrangements (story here). Gammy, who suffers from Down syndrome and other medical complications, is one of the twins born to Thai national Pattaramon Chanbua, after she was paid 300,000 baht to be implanted with the fertilized eggs of an Australian couple…
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Why Phuket needs a new beach safety education program (video)
Robert Brander is a coastal geomorphologist and senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Dr Brander completed a master’s degree at the University of Toronto and a PhD on the morpho-dynamics of rip currents at the University of Sydney. He has been studying beaches and surf science since 1986. Here, he talks about what can…
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Phuket road safety: Time to tank it in
PHUKET: Recent developments on our roads seem to indicate that the law enforcement campaign ordered by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) may be pushing up against a serious limit: Thai society’s deeply ingrained “culture of carelessness”. The past week in Phuket has seen an unprecedented spate of high-speed vehicle tragedies resulting in deaths, serious injuries and property…
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Military bulldozes Phuket beach structure, owners to face charges
PHUKET: Military personnel armed with tear-down orders and official charges are swarming Phuket’s west coast beaches today as a 30-day deadline to remove illegal seaside structures comes to an end. “We are following orders from the National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO]. Multiple business owners have ignored the order to remove their establishments, so we are doing it for…
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Brazil presidential candidate Campos killed in plane crash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazil presidential candidate Campos killed in plane crash – GloboNews Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos was killed in a plane crash in the southeastern city of Santos on Wednesday, television news network GloboNews said, without saying how it obtained the information.…
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Police arrest two for stuffing American body into suitcase in Bali
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police arrest two for stuffing American body into a suitcase in Bali Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The body of an American tourist from Chicago has been found stuffed into a suitcase in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali and the victim’s daughter and her boyfriend have…
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Patong Police deny Mother’s Day shakedown on Soi Bangla
PHUKET: Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan has denied reports that his officers yesterday ordered bar owners in Patong to shut down – or face a fine of 75,000 baht. “None of my officers ordered bars to close yesterday, and they did not threaten bar owners with a fine of up to 75,000 baht if they did not close,” Col Chiraphat…
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Flights to whisk more than 300 stranded Phuket tourists back to Hong Kong
PHUKET: Two flights today will whisk away the 300 passengers destined for Hong Kong who were stranded at Phuket International Airport for days due to the Thai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) decision to revoke the landing rights of City Airways. The DCA revoked the rights on August 9 after a report found that maintenance was not being properly carried…
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Hotels and shops plead for end to martial law
PHUKET: Hotels and shopping malls in Bangkok are pushing for the lifting of martial law before the high season arrives in the hope that tourists and business travellers will come back to the capital. Prakit Chinamourphong, an ex-president and adviser to the Thai Hotels Association, said that if the junta ended martial law, the hotel and travel business would quickly…
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Visa fees waived, more Chinese visitors expected
PHUKET: Tourism operators serving visitors from Taiwan and mainland China have been advised to prepare for an influx of arrivals during an upcoming 90-day visa-fee exemption. In a bid to revitalize the tourism industry after the political crisis, the National Council for Peace and Order announced that visa fees would be waived for tourists from those markets. “Numerous Chinese from…
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Police to charge contractors in deadly building collapse with negligence
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police to charge contractors with negligence The Nation/ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police will charge contractors of the building that collapsed on Monday in Pathum Thani province for negligence causing deaths and injuries. At least eight people, including a mother and her baby, were killed, while about…
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Tragic end to building collapse in Pathum Thani
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tragic end to building collapse in Pathum Thani The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Buri Ram woman who made a desperate dash from the northeast to Pathum Thani in search of her husband – trapped in a building that collapsed late on Monday – was…
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Lauren Bacall dies at 89
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lauren Bacall dies at 89 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Lauren Bacall, the sultry actress with the heavy-lidded eyes and husky voice who captured Humphrey Bogart’s heart both on and off the movie screen, died on Tuesday at the age of 89. “With deep sorrow, yet…
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Phuket turtles take on Hungry Ghosts as festival gets underway
PHUKET: Phuket Town launched into the annual Por Tor Festival today with a parade through the city streets followed by merit-making ceremonies and other activities in the heart of the island. Phuket is honoring its Chinese cultural roots by celebrating the festival, more widely known as the Hungry Ghost festival, during which a variety of cultural displays and activities will…
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Top-ranked Lee battling injury ahead of world champs
PHUKET: World badminton number one Lee Chong Wei has revealed that injury concerns are leaving him low on confidence ahead of the World Championships in Denmark at the end of the month. Malaysian Lee was unable to defend his Commonwealth Games title in Scotland last month due to a hamstring injury and although he is back in training, he admitted…
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HM The Queen’s Birthday, Mother’s Day celebrations kick off in Phuket
PHUKET: Mother’s Day kicked off in Phuket this morning with an early morning celebration in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 82nd birthday at Sirikit Park on Thalang Road, Phuket Town. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led the island’s top officials in offering alms to 83 monks. The governor, vice governors, Phuket’s top cop Commander Krajang Suwannarat and a host of other…
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Bangkok lawyer drowns on holiday in Phuket
PHUKET: A Bangkok lawyer on holiday in Phuket died yesterday after being struck by a large wave and dragged out to sea at Nai Thon Beach. Teechalat Kapaeng, 46, originally from Chon Buri, and Natthachanok Inamnuaysri, 42, from Bangkok, waded into the sea at about 6:30pm to rinse sand off their bodies after lying on the beach. “We didn’t realize…
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Actor Robin Williams dead at 63 from apparent suicide
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Actor Robin Williams dead at 63 from apparent suicide Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Robin Williams, the versatile actor whose madcap comic style made him one of television and film’s biggest stars, was found dead on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in Northern…
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British siblings “overwhelmed’ by Phuket reunion
PHUKET: Ben and Emily Willgrass have broken their silence to express gratitude to all Thai people for their kindness and generosity after an emotionally overwhelming reunion with their Phuket tsunami saviors last month. Nearly 10 years later and thanks to a successful call for help via Facebook (story here), the Willgrass siblings were able to track down Yupin Sengmuang and…
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Phuket ready to celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday, Mother’s Day
PHUKET: A host of special ceremonies will be held throughout Phuket tomorrow to honor and celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s 82nd birthday, as well as to celebrate Mother’s Day. All government offices will be closed, and activities on the island will be followed by a candlelight ceremony at about 7pm. A selection of the events to be held in Phuket are…
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Happy Birthday Your Majesty
PHUKET: Today, August 12, Thais throughout the country and the world celebrate the birthday of their beloved Queen and Mother of the Nation – Her Majesty Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara, who turns 82 this year. The day is also celebrated in the Kingdom as National Mother’s Day. Born in Bangkok in 1932, Queen Sirikit is the eldest daughter and the third…
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Radwanska eases past Venus Williams to win Rogers Cup
PHUKET: Agnieszka Radwanska tamed Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Sunday, the third seeded Pole setting herself up as a player to watch at the U.S. Open. The first win of the season for Radwanska, it provided a timely jolt of confidence going into Flushing Meadows and the year’s final grand slam with 11…
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McIlroy wins PGA Championship, claims fourth major
PHUKET: Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy recovered from a stumbling start to overcome a series of challengers and clinch his fourth major title by a shot at the PGA Championship on Sunday. A stroke in front of the chasing pack overnight, the Northern Irish world number one lost the lead but regained control after the turn, signing off with a three-under-par…
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Fire at Chinese shrine in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Four fire trucks were called to the Mae Ya Nang Shrine on Krabi Road in Phuket Town this morning after fire broke out in a storeroom stocked with firecrackers and prayer papers. Phuket City Police reported no injuries from the blaze. “Firefighters took about 30 minutes to control fire, which broke out at about 8:20am,” said Capt Weerachart Seera…
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Five to face charges for illegally claiming Phuket national park land
PHUKET: Deputy Director-General of the Land Department Thammasak Chana has publicly vowed to pursue legal action over five cases of attempting to use SorKor 1 land documents to claim 445 rai of land in Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. In all five cases, the claimants applied for their SorKor 1 documents to be upgraded to full Chanote land titles, Mr Thammasak…
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