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Cabinet closes with Southern protest
PHUKET: The mobile Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra drew to a close yesterday to the sound of another protest. Under the banner of the “Southern Network”, the protesters gathered outside the meeting venue at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus in Kathu. The group had traveled from Satun, Songkhla and Chumphon provinces to call for…
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Cabinet approves Bt200mn for Phuket mangrove flyover
PHUKET: Cabinet today approved 200 million baht to build an elevated road over a mangrove forest on the outskirts of Phuket Town. The project, best known as the Klong Koh Pee project, has been on hold for 15 years. The announcement, made by Deputy Government Spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard at about midday, followed a morning session of meetings at the Prince…
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Phuket to receive lion’s share of Cabinet’s Andaman budget
PHUKET: The Cabinet provisionally agreed to fund 117 of the projects proposed at the Cabinet meeting, at a total cost of about 84 billion baht, Deputy Government spokesman Chalitrat Chantarubeksa announced today.“Ten of the projects are Andaman-wide projects at a cost of 24.8bn baht. The remaining 107 projects are from the individual Andaman provinces,” Mr Chalitrat said. With 67 projects…
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“Naughty’ clouded leopard caught, set free north of Phuket
PHUKET: A clouded leopard was captured over the weekend after a dip into the poultry-house on Thanyamundra’s organic farm in Phang Nga, which produces much of the chemical-free produce served in Phuket.Security guard Surasit Wangphakam was responsible for the capture. Hearing chickens “clucking loudly” inside the poultry-house, he looked inside to discover a female cloud leopard “playing” with the chickens.Fifteen…
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Chalerm in Phuket: Police to focus on drugs, not closing times
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung told top regional police officers yesterday that strict enforcement of closing times at bar and pubs was not the top priority in tourist destinations such as Phuket because visitors come here to enjoy the natural scenery, not the nightlife. Deputy PM Chalerm, himself a police captain, delivered his mandate to an assembly of top-ranking…
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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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PM Yingluck makes no promises ahead of Cabinet meeting
PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra this afternoon gave no hints as to whether or not she will support the Klong Koh Pee project to build an elevated road over a protected mangrove forest at Saphan Hin, near Phuket Town. At a public presentation at the site, Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan explained the details of project, which requires special permission from…
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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 Live Wire: The next iPad is here
PHUKET: The cat’s out of the bag, and at this very moment the first “new” iPads are on store shelves in the US, Australia, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland. While you may think of it as an iPad 3.0, at this point the official name is “The New iPad.” Apple hasn’t yet set a price for…
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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: APSA gears up for boat show
PHUKET: ASIA-Pacific Superyacht Association (APSA) is gearing up for the Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX), to be held at the award-winning Royal Phuket Marina from March 29 to April 1. The leading consumer boat show in Asia, PIMEX will feature the largest in-water boat display with more than 50 boats representing leading brands from around the world. The line up…
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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: Oilfield Classic set to tee off
PHUKET: In April 2009 over 100 international guests arrived on the island to take part in the maiden Phuket Oilfield Classic golf tournament. Primarily an oil and gas golfing event staged to raise awareness and funds for Phuket charities, organizers are eager to encourage greater involvement from local players. The fourth annual Phuket Oilfield Classic charity golf tournament will take…
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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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Owner confesses to working elephant to death, mutilating carcass
PHUKET: The owner of the elephant found mutilated in Krabi on Thursday has confessed to working the animal to death. Local villagers had discovered the gruesome remains, now identified as that of 49-year-old elephant Plai Boonam. The front of the head had been hacked off and the elephant’s tusk was missing. In response, Krabi Muang District Chief Yutisak Akeakkara and…
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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 Customs seizes Bt20mn in illegal diesel
PHUKET: Phuket custom officials have raided a Malaysian ship and seized about 100,000 liters of illegally imported diesel fuel near Koh Racha Noi. The fuel on the Singa Maju, estimated to be worth more than 20 million baht, was being sold to fishing ships in the area. Following a tip off, customs officials, led by Rakop Srisupaat, Chief of 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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