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  • 100 SuperCheap workers unaccounted for at Employment Office

    PHUKET: None of the 100 Burmese staff who reportedly resigned from SuperCheap after the fire at the megashop have reported their resignations to the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO).The workers are required by law to report their resignation by November 1, Yaowapa Pibulpol, chief of the PPEO, told the Phuket Gazette.“I have no idea why none of them have shown…

  • South Africa considers consulate in Phuket

    PHUKET: South African Ambassador Ruby Marks met with Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut on Friday to discuss the possibility of opening a consulate on the island.“South Africa has a consulate in Chiang Mai, and now they are considering adding one in Southern Thailand,” Gov Maitri said.“Phuket is a logical choice because we have so many South African visitors ā€“ 77,915 last…

  • Heavy drinking Phuket chef, 44, found dead from heart failure

    PHUKET: A 44-year-old chef was found dead from heart failure in his room on Friday, just a week after starting a new job. The body of Chalong Tiwiyang was found on the floor of his staff bedroom at Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa at about 6pm on Friday evening. Police estimate Mr Chalong had been dead for about 10 hours.…

  • Heavy rains to continue in Phuket until tomorrow afternoon

    PHUKET: Heavy rains are expected in all regions along the Andaman coast until tomorrow afternoon, an officer at the Thai Meteorological Department told the Phuket Gazette this morning.Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun will all be affected. Tourists should avoid swimming in the sea for the next two days, as the surf is likely to be particularly dangerous, the…

  • FIVB beach volleyball is looking good

    PHUKET: The venue at Karon beach which is hosting the US$146,400 Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT beach volleyball tournament, the penultimate stop on the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is ready for start of play tomorrow. The courts have been laid down and the center court grandstand is in place, along with the temporary offices for the various…

  • Phuket tour bus slams into motorists, shophouse; ‘brake failure’ cited, again

    PHUKET: Three people were injured when a Phuket tour bus slammed into traffic waiting at the busy Slaughterhouse Intersection in Phuket Town (map here) just after midday yesterday. No tourists were on board the bus at the time of the accident, but the juggernaut slammed into two cars and three motorbikes before it came to a halt when it plowed…

  • Phuket Police searching for karaoke assault gang

    PHUKET: Police are on the lookout for a gang of youths wanted for a vicious attack on two men outside a karaoke bar in Thalang early yesterday morning. Officers were called to the scene, an unnamed karaoke bar in Soi Ta Mhen, Muang Mai, at 3am. “When we arrived we found Wicharn Mueanprasart, 34, with a knife wound to his…

  • Baby elephant seized at Phuket trekking camp

    PHUKET: Local wildlife conservation officials yesterday seized an 18-month-old elephant at a camp in Phuket after the infant pachyderm was smuggled onto the island. Acting on a tip-off, officers led by Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol raided the camp, located in the Bang Thong in Kathu (map here), at 3pm. Joining the raid were officers from the Phuket Provincial Livestock…

  • Phuket’s illegal tour van drivers granted temporary amnesty

    PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) will issue documents to certify illegal tour van drivers who have applied to become legal so they may continue working until their applications are processed. The news follows a group of illegal van drivers appealing to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday for the right to keep working until their applications to become legal…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Fukushima safe after Japan quake; US admits spy tension; Ukrainian life sentence for UK Muslim murder, planting bombs

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH ā€“ World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fukushima nuclear plant undamaged after Japan quake Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said on Saturday there was no damage or spike in radiation levels at the station after a large earthquake struck in the ocean east of Japan,…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Nation in mourning; Lampang bus tragedy takes legal road; PM orders troop briefing on Preah Vihear

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH ā€“ Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nation in mourning The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand yesterday began a 30-day period of national mourning over the passing away of His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, with flags being flown at half-mast and thousands of mourners turning out to pay their…

  • Phuket mourns Thailand’s highest-ranking monk

    PHUKET: Official mourning ceremonies in Phuket began yesterday for Thailand’s highest-ranking monk, His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Somdet Phra Sangharaja, who passed away on Thursday. His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch, who turned 100 on October 3, had been in and out of hospital, most recently undergoing intestinal surgery on October 14. Governor Maitri Inthusut opened the ceremony…

  • Phuket police officer on drugs arrested for extorting Frenchman at gunpoint

    PHUKET: A Phuket police officer and two accomplices have been arrested for extorting money from a Frenchman at gunpoint while the men were taking drugs together. Police are continuing their search for three additional suspects. Henry Richer, 54, told police that on October 14 he joined Picharn Kaewkongtham and five other men in taking ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) at the…

  • Drunk Russian topples statue of Phuket abbot, bungles lorry theft [VIDEO] | Thaiger

    Drunk Russian topples statue of Phuket abbot, bungles lorry theft [VIDEO]

    PHUKET: A Russian tourist has blamed overindulgence in alcohol for a spree in which he pushed over a statue honoring a temple abbot in Karon late Tuesday night. Oleg Fomenko, 31, was arrested at 9pm and taken to Karon Police Station for questioning on Thursday night after officers identified him through CCTV footage at Wat Karon (map here). The video…

  • Phuket’s Road to Freedom under fire for corruption

    PHUKET: Winai Chidchiew, the Subdistrict chief (Kamnan) for Kata-Karon, has lashed out over the project to build a new road to Freedom Beach, accusing local officials of trying to push the project through for their own benefit. Kamnan Winai alleges that the road, planned for the headland south of Patong Bay (story here), is being pushed through by local officials…

  • NFL Week 7: Colts down Manning, Broncos

    PHUKET: In week seven’s marquee match up, Bronco’s quarterback Peyton Manning’s return to Indianapolis to take on his former team did not turn out as many predicted, with rising star quarterback Andrew Luck outshining the veteran to carry his Colts to an exciting 39-33 win. Manning and the Broncos entered the game undefeated and were favored by five points over…

  • Counting down to Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest

    PHUKET: Challenge Laguna Phuket’s Tri-Fest carnival, which will see thousands of top international athletes from around the world descend on the island, was previewed by media in a special conference at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) headquarters in Bangkok recently. The week-long event will kick off with the legendary Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) on November 24, which is celebrating…

  • Phuket Opinion: Warding off bad luck with a smile

    PHUKET: Scams, robberies, thieves, taxi mafiaā€¦ this place is evil, one might think. Especially if he gets his information from the internet, from online discussion forums and so on. Scary!Yet, in some mysterious way most of these evil things seem to happen to other people and almost never to me personally. Sure, visas are an everlasting struggle and I had…

  • Head’s up for 27th Phuket King’s Cup

    PHUKET: Recognized throughout the eastern hemisphere as the premier sailing event of its kind, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta will host a week of incredibly close racing in the beautiful Andaman Sea off the coast of Southern Thailand from December 1-6, 2013. The 27th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta sees a new Bareboat Charter division, intended to address any disparities between…

  • Phuket Opinion: The fine art of garnering government support

    Anucha Deeviset, 35, is a freelance photographer and member of B&W Photo Phuket Club. A Chaiyaphum native, Mr Anucha has a photography degree from Rangsit University and spent 13 years working in production companies in Bangkok and Phuket before becoming a freelancer. Here, he talks about why more people don’t know about Phuket’s art scene and how the government can…

  • Phuket Opinion: SuperCheap inferno inevitable

    PHUKET: We find astonishing the surprising lack of reaction to the catastrophe that took place last week when the entire SuperCheap complex on Thepkrasattri Road in Rassada went up in a fireball more closely resembling a World War II bombing than a scene on a tropical resort island. The fire was predicted in this space just 14 months ago (story…

  • Phuket’s TSLC sporting tips: How to become a faster cyclist

    PHUKET: In a continuing series of sporting tips provided by Phuket’s Thanyapura Sports & Leisure Club, resident experts Brian Finniss tells you to stand up straight, though first JĆ¼rgen ZƤck gets you out of your comfort zone. A lot of cyclists and triathletes do spend quite some time in the saddle and wonder why they do not deliver on race…

  • Phuket’s ACYC Club Sailing Race 6

    PHUKET: All are welcome to join Phuket’s ACYC (Ao Chalong Yacht Club) Sunday sailing races. Breakfast is available at the club from 8am onwards. Anybody wishing to sail but who doesn’t have a boat are advised to turn up before 10:30am and we will do our best to get you on a vessel. Eligibility and entry: The series is open…

  • Phuket’s Tri-Fest just round the corner

    PHUKET: The 20th Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) will take place on Sunday, November 24, marking the beginning of Laguna Phuket’s week-long Tri-Fest. This year’s LPT will celebrate its 20th anniversary while welcoming the inaugural Challenge Laguna Phuket (CLP) on Sunday, December 1 to its iconic multi-sports week-long event ā€“ Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest 2013. During the proceeding seven days, Laguna…

  • Phuket surf claims lives of Russian, Chinese tourists within hours

    PHUKET: Two tourists, a Chinese and a Russian, drowned within hours of each other yesterday at Karon Beach, on Phuket’s west coast. Lifeguards reported that both tourists ignored red warning flags marking the area as dangerous to swim. Oleg Ozerskikh, 52, was pulled from the water unconscious by lifeguards at Karon Beach (map here), at about 11:30am. Rescue workers sped…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Germany, France demand No Spy accord with US; UN warns Myanmar over anti-Muslim violence; China H7N9 bird flu fears rise

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH ā€“ World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Germany, France demand no-spy agreement with U.S. Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded on Thursday that the United States strike a “no-spying” agreement with Berlin and Paris by the end of the year, saying alleged espionage against two of Washington’s closest EU…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Supreme Patriach passes away; Furby fury reduced to suspended sentence; Mahouts in jumbo fight

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCHā€“ Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Supreme Patriach passes away The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Somdet Phra Sangharaja passed away Thursday after enduring ailments and undergoing hospital treatment in recent months.He turned 100 on October 3 and is considered the longest living Supreme Patriarch in…

  • Phuket Governor requests lifeguards for Racha Yai to stop the drownings

    PHUKET: In response to the growing number of tourists drowning at Racha Yai Island, Governor Maitri Inthusut has called for a lifeguard station at the popular day-trip location. “There are no lifeguards on the island now. Among the many things we need to do in Phuket to support tourism, having a lifeguard station there is an important one,” he told…

  • Subsidy deadline looms for Phuket rubber farmers

    PHUKET: More than 300 Phuket rubber farmers have been approved to receive national rubber subsidy funds and officials are working to certify nearly 2,000 others who have applied for the money before a November 15 deadline. “The government has budgeted 21 billion baht for Thai rubber farmers,” Chalee Sittabut of the Phuket Provincial Agricultural Extension Office told the Phuket Gazette…

  • Phuket hotel singer dies in visa run crash | Thaiger

    Phuket hotel singer dies in visa run crash

    PHUKET: Police have confirmed that the Philippines woman who died in the visa run van accident in Trang province early Monday morning worked in Phuket as a singer in a hotel restaurant.The woman, who police have yet to name, was sitting in the back row of seats in the van at the time of the accident.“There was heavy rain that…