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Phuket marine specialists helping out with Koh Samet oil spill
PHUKET: Five Phuket marine specialists headed to Koh Samet yesterday to help clean up the approximately 50,000 liters of crude oil that leaked into the Gulf of Thailand from a PTT Global Chemical pipeline last Saturday (story here). “Our five marine specialists will be working with their counterparts from Rayong, Chumpon, and other provinces,” Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) director…
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Asian demand for tablets and laptops insatiable
PHUKET: Southeast Asia’s internet infrastructure has improved by leaps and bounds, spurring the increasingly connected society to seek gratification for instant connectivity via portable devices such as tablets and laptops. In the last 12 months, demand for both devices grew to hit combined sales of nearly 14.2 million units across six of the region’s key markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,…
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Cloud computing: Forecast sunny – Phuket Business
PHUKET: Lately, I have been hearing many stories of expats and tourists in Phuket whose laptops have been stolen. Having your laptop stolen is a terrible experience. You not only feel violated, but your life was basically on that computer. Picking up the pieces can be hard, but today it can be made easier with cloud computing. Cloud computing is…
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Radio DJ killed in Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: A Phuket DJ was killed in a hit-and-run yesterday afternoon after he was dragged beneath a pickup truck for about 700 meters, witnesses said.Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find Terdpong “Bao” Phuttapiruk, 29, dying in the middle of the road.“He was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital, but he was unconscious and suffering from broken ribs,…
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Breaking News: Explosion at Phuket Provincial Hall, bomb suspected
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has confirmed reports of an explosion at the Phuket Provincial Hall complex in Phuket Town just after 2pm today.Police officers at the scene found the remains of a clock and batteries among the debris from an explosion that emanated from a green plastic trash can in the car park in front of the Phuket Provincial Administrative…
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Phuket Video Report: 10 rescued from sea after waves swamp Phi Phi cargo boat
PHUKET: Ten men were rescued after spending two hours holding onto floating debris between the Krabi coast and Phi Phi Island, off Phuket, late yesterday afternoon.The cargo boat Unity, carrying food, construction materials and other supplies bound for Phi Phi, was struck by large waves reaching up to four-meters high after passing Koh Por Da, the boat’s captain, Thaweep Choonoon…
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“Bombs’ detonated at Phuket Airport drill
PHUKET: A simulated terrorist bomb drill held at Phuket International Airport yesterday went off without a hitch, organizers said.In the exercise, members of the Phuket Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit and Airports of Thailand (AoT) staff short-circuited one bomb with a high-pressure water device, responded to a “fire” when a second was detonated, and cared for “injured” participants.When the first…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Mugabe election showdown; UN to inspect Syrian chemical weapons sites; Sweden drops charge against fake serial killer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Zimbabwe votes in Mugabe election showdown Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Zimbabweans voted in large numbers on Wednesday in a fiercely contested election pitting veteran President Robert Mugabe against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who has vowed to push Africa’s oldest leader into retirement after 33 years in power.With…
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Thai musicians arrested for murder of American tourist
PHUKET: Three Thai musicians have been arrested for the murder of 51-year-old American tourist Bobby Ray Carter Jr and the assault of his 27-year-old son in Krabi early this morning.According to one of the suspects, Ratikorn Romin, 27, from Phang Nga, a fight broke out between the three musicians and the Americans, who had joined them on-stage last night at…
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Phuket security guard chose wrong bag when he turned to crime
PHUKET: A Phuket security guard who turned to crime may have regretted his decision after the bag he stole turned out to contain nothing more than cosmetics, and CCTV images led police to his rented room the same day.Rungnapa Bunnamee left her cosmetics bag in the basket of her motorbike when she stopped to shop at a 7-Eleven on Phuket…
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Phuket crane loses balance, operator flees scene of destruction
PHUKET: A crane manipulating a heavy section of concrete pipe toppled over in Phuket this afternoon, demolishing the second floor of two shops, and though no one was injured, the driver fled the scene.“As the crane was lifting a section of pipe, land subsided under the crane arm, causing the operator to lose control,” said Sumpawat Wannasangkam of the Department…
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Laguna Phuket announces major staff restructuring
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket has announced that it is undergoing a significant departmental restructuring and downsizing, but the company declines to confirm or deny reports that as many as 300, or 10 per cent, of its associates have left or are in the process of leaving.According to a press statement issued today (July 31), Laguna Phuket currently employs close to 3,000…
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VIDEO REPORT: Phuket king cobra attempts to swallow baby python for breakfast
PHUKET: A huge king cobra about five meters long was captured while attempting to swallow a baby python on Tuesday morning in a fruit plantation off Patak Road near Karon. “Mr Yo, a Burmese man who lives in a labor camp in the fruit plantation, saw the king cobra first,” said Wisit Chuanchit, a villager who witnessed the snake-on-snake incident.The…
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Phuket pushes for new road to Freedom
PHUKET: Top Phuket officials, including Governor Maitri Inthusut, yesterday attended the first public hearing for the proposed new road from Sirirat Road, near Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, to Tri Trang Beach, on the southern headland of Patong Bay. About 100 people turned out to join the meeting, held at the Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa in Patong. “Actually there…
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Phuket Airport to undergo full-scale “explosive’ emergency drill
PHUKET: A full-scale emergency-response drill will take place at Phuket International Airport today – Wednesday, July 31 – as part of the Phuket International Airport Emergency Plan 2013.“The exercise will begin at 10am and last for one hour, at the parking lot, right in front of Phuket Airport Terminal 2,” said Airports of Thailand’s Acting Phuket Director Somsiri Kuengsopha.“The drill…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suit filed against PTTGC; Sting operation ends in shoot-out; Flash floods hit Mae Sot; Social media shows outrage over oil spill, calls for hair donations[VIDEO]
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Case filed against PTTGC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Marine Department yesterday lodged a police complaint against PTT Global Chemical over the crude oil leak from the undersea pipeline it owns in the Gulf of Thailand. The department’s strategic move is aimed at ensuring…
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Greed jeopardizing tourists’ safety, says Racha group
PHUKET: Reckless speedboat captains and tour guides chasing day-trip commissions have been named as the leading culprits jeopardizing tourists’ safety at Koh Racha, a popular day-trip island south of Phuket.Sarit Jandee, president of the Racha Conservation Club, blamed tour guides for encouraging day-trippers to swim and rent water-sports equipment on the west side of the island, which at this time…
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Urgent call for more A- blood for injured Briton in Phuket
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital has appealed for more blood donations of A-negative blood in order to continue treatment for British national Marc Harrington, 66 years old. Mr Harrington was admitted to the hospital for a head injury sustained in a motorbike accident on June 22 (story here). “The doctors fear that Mr Harrington will go into shock if we are…
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Phuket officials seize machinery, halt construction at protected mangroves site
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Office will be called on to answer how three Nor Sor 3 land-use documents came to be issued for “plots” within a protected mangroves site on the outskirts of Phuket Town. Officials from the Royal Forest Department (RFD) yesterday raided a seven-rai site in the Klong Koh Pee area, near Saphan Hin in Phuket Town. Land…
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Four youths charged over Phuket machete attack
PHUKET: Police have arrested four youths for a savage attack on a man who was repeatedly beaten and hacked with a machete in Karon last Thursday, after the incident was recorded on CCTV. “We went to the scene and found the victim, Silert Pong-Aroon, seriously injured,” Karon Police Superintendent Weerawat Jantarawichit told the Phuket Gazette. “Rescue workers rushed him to…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Pope more open-minded; Swiss train crash; Berlusconi’s day; China eases tension; Syrian govt retakes Homs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pope says gays must not be judged or marginalised Retuers / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Pope Francis, in some of the most conciliatory words from any pontiff on gays, said they should not be judged or marginalised and should be integrated into society, but he reaffirmed Church teaching that…
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Drunk man rails against Phuket police, damages vehicles
PHUKET: Officers stationed at the Pa Khlok Police Box were in for a startling surprise last night when a drunk man arrived to report his son missing, but erupted in a violent rampage after police could not immediately locate the missing son.The man, identified as 41-year-old Pa Khlok villager Sunchai Fordkaew, arrived at the police box at 8pm.“He said his…
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Belarus woman hospitalized in Phuket after slamming motorbike into tree
PHUKET: A Phuket tourist from the Republic of Belarus was injured on Friday night when she lost control of her motorbike and slammed into a pine tree close to Patong Beach at about 10pm.“The accident took place at the entrance to Lai Mai Beach Resort. The injured woman was Yuliya Kavaliova, a 26-year-old. When we arrived, she was crying in…
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Detention of Rohingya north of Phuket a human rights issue, Minister says
PHUKET: The Minister of Social Development and Human Security declared the detention and trafficking of Rohingya through Thailand to be the subject of clear human rights issues and a national security threat after her visit to the Phang Nga facilities north of Phuket on Saturday. “After listening to senior officials dealing directly with the refugee influx of Rohingya in Phang…
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HRH Princess Sirindhorn visits Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn arrived in Phuket yesterday, a day before she is scheduled to officially open a variety of new buildings across the island.In a six hour span, the princess will open six buildings, from Panwa to Kathu. The public is welcome to attend the events, as follows:8.05am: Open the brand-new Islam Phattana School, built by the…
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Police on lookout for Toyota in Phuket shop hit-and-run
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for the driver of a Toyota vehicle – make and model unknown – that slammed into a motorbike repair shop in Thalang early yesterday morning.The driver reportedly backed his vehicle out of the shop and fled the scene, leaving behind as evidence his front bumper and the Toyota logo badge usually found fixed…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Hun Sen holds Cambodia; 36 dead in Italy tour bus plunge; Gaza talks are back; JJ Cale is dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hun Sen wins Cambodia election, majority slashed Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen won Sunday’s election, taking 68 seats to the main opposition party’s 55, the government spokesman said, announcing a much-reduced majority for the ruling party.Khieu Kanharith,…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Thai Gulf oil spill; Special Admin Zone on cards for Deep South; Drug lord extradited; School caught in mudslide
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Legal action sought over oil spill The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Environmental activists are pushing for legal action and compensation against PTT Global Chemical following an oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand, which experts say could cause severe damage to the marine ecosystem.PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC)…
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Phang Nga police closing in on Rohingya traffickers
PHUKET: Immigration Police say they know who was behind the mass escape of 18 Rohingya from the Phang Nga shelter on July 21 and are closing in to arrest them. The news follows Phang Nga Immigration and Ranong Immigration officers taking into custody a Rohingya woman and four children on Wednesday night while they were on a train bound for…
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DSI stops the music, seizes illegal Phuket karaoke machines
PHUKET: Officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani landed on the island last night to raid nine karaoke bars for music rights infringement. Led by DSI Region 8 Director Udom Phetcharakut, the officers raided venues in Phuket Town and Kathu, starting at 8:30pm. Along for the ride were legal representatives of the music…
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