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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…
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Phuket Gazette: Thailand business round-up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tesco Lotus property fund enjoys robust rise on market debut PHUKET (The Nation): Ek-Chai Distribution System, controlled by Britain’s largest retailer Tesco, this month raised Bt18.4 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) of the fund. It sold shares at Bt10.40 each. The Thai property fund…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Phuket Sports: Steady start for FC Phuket in season opener
PHUKET: Reinforced by an energetic contingent of loyal fan support, FC Phuket opened their 2012 Thai Yamaha 1 League (TPL Division 1) season on Saturday evening against JW Rangsit FC with a scoreless draw.The evenly matched contest was played at Rangsit’s temporary ground, Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Stadium in Nakhon Nayok province, 70 kilometers northeast of Rangsit.Rangsit’s planned home pitch…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Phuket resort worker dies in motorbike crash
PHUKET: A Phuket resort worker was found dead at the scene of a motorbike accident in Mai Khao early this morning. Police believe the man, who they named as 35-year-old Kowit Pleeda, died instantly when he crashed his motorbike into the back of a vehicle. No other vehicles were at the scene, on the southbound lane of Thepkrasattri Road, near…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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Phuket Sports: TSLC take Division One title
PHUKET: Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) hosted another action filled evening of the Adult Futsal League on Thursday with one Premier Division match and two First Division games on the card. Honda’s season didn’t improve suffering a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of league leaders Portrait FC. Pace and clinical finishing were the difference between the two sides, leaving…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Thailand sporting round-up
– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ratchanok and doubles players in semis PHUKET (The Nation): Teen sensation Ratchanok Inthanon overpowered the in-form Sung Ji-hyun in a thrilling hard-fought encounter on Friday. The 17-year-old, who has won the world junior meet three times in succession and is ranked No 11 in the world, was the lone…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Phuket Opinion: Phuket land probes “a plus’ for Phuket
PHUKET: Cynics may see the effort by the Office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to investigate officials who allegedly colluded with investors to steal state land in Phuket as just the latest in a series of politically-inspired witch hunts. However, we should hold out hope for any effort to expose corruption, especially when elected officials and “civil servants”…
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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.…
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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…
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FC Phuket set sail for season opener
FC Phuket’s roller coaster end to last season will take a back seat today as they lock themselves in for a nosedive into their 2012-2013 Thai Premier League (TPL) season against JW Rangsit.Their season opener will be played at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Stadium in Nakhon Nayok, Pathum Thani with kickoff at 4pm.It will certainly be an interesting encounter…
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Phuket sets heavy security for PM Yingluck Cabinet visit
PHUKET: Phuket will be under a high-level security crackdown ahead of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s visit for the Cabinet meeting on Monday and Tuesday. The news came at a meeting of Royal Thai Armed Forces intelligence staff with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at Phuket Provincial Hall. Also at the meeting to discuss the security plan were Phuket Provincial Police Commander…
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Phuket withdrawal: Kasikorn Bank services to go offline
PHUKET: All Kasikorn Bank online services across Phuket will go offline from 9:30pm on Saturday to 5am on Sunday as the bank shuts down its national network for system maintenance. The shutdown will affect all Kasikorn online services, including all ATMs and all Kasikorn debit card, credit card and K-Express cash card services. Any Kasikorn Bank cards used in ATMs…
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Possessed former security guard has fatal fall
PHUKET: A former security guard fell 10 floors to his death from his home and former workplace after claiming he was being haunted and possessed by ghosts. Khathayut Sukkhlum, 36, was fired from his job at the Sinsetthee Resident Town 1 building in the Hua Mark area of Bangkok about three months prior to his death. His broken body was…
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Phuket bus crash victims all safe
Pic 1: Patong Hill Bus crashCUT400 PHUKET: Wichean Tungjit, the 25-year-old Phuket tuk-tuk driver involved in this morning’s bus crash on Patong Hill, was diagnosed by doctors as having a mild concussion, but not a fractured skull, as was originally feared. Mr Wichean was among the 10 people rushed to Patong Hospital after the accident, which happened at about 6:50am.…
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Phuket Gazette: Elephant butchered in Krabi
PHUKET: Livestock officials in Krabi are investigating the death of a male elephant found partially decapitated on a remote hilltop rubber plantation in Khao Khraam District yesterday afternoon, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The discovery of the carcass was reported to the Gazette by Khao Khram tambon chief Karim Laklaeng at about 2pm yesterday. [Reader discretion advised. Some readers may…
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