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All change at FC Phuket
PHUKET: The dust may have barely settled on FC Phuket’s dramatic promotion to Thai League Division 1 last month, but it appears the honeymoon may well be over. It will be all change at Sarakul Stadium when the new season kicks off on February 12 as it has been confirmed that last season’s manager Arjan Songsamssub will not take charge…
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Tourists get more Phuket beachfront parking
PHUKET: The new parking zones along Thaweewong Road (the beach road) in Patong have finally been unveiled, allowing more room for tourists to park along the beachfront. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on Thursday officially opened the new zones, heralded as the first in a series of steps to solve the tourist town’s traffic and parking woes. The changes make about…
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Phuket holiday death toll reaches four
PHUKET: A young man killed in a hit-and-run accident is the fourth road fatality recorded in Phuket during the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign, now in its final day throughout Thailand. The victim, 21-year-old Chalong resident Anek Karnchonchai, died after his motorbike crashed near Baan Kata School on Patak Road in Karon at about 6am today. According to…
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Skills shortage hampers Phuket MICE market
PHUKET: Human resources shortages may be stunting the growth of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry in Phuket and elsewhere in Thailand. Universities and other educational institutions are being engaged to tackle the problem. Akapol Sorasuchart, president of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), says that MICE is a rapidly growing sector in the Thai tourism industry,…
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Rino makes speedy recovery
PHUKET: Rino Mangon Vogt, a 10-year-old boy who has undergone life-saving surgery, is recovering well, the Phuket Gazette confirmed today. Rino, who suffered from the rare congenital heart condition Ebstein’s anomaly, underwent corrective surgery on November 21. However, when the external pacemaker was switched off days later, young Rino fell asleep, indicating that his heart could not cope unassisted. Quick…
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Cooking oil rations hit Phuket
PHUKET: Retailers throughout Thailand have begun rationing the sale of bottled palm oil in a move to curb seasonal shortages. Big C, on the bypass road, is limiting bottles of cooking oil to two per customer, while The Nation reports that Tesco Lotus is limiting sales to one bottle of palm oil per customer nationwide. Mr Pramarn Urawan, a researcher…
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OPINION: Mentality change needed for safe water
PHUKET: Water-related issues are a constant source of complaints received both at the Phuket Gazette editorial offices and at Provincial Hall. A recent online poll revealed a great deal of confusion among readers as to whether or not household tap water is safe to drink. Overall, less than 20 per cent of those taking part in the poll thought it…
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First Phuket road fatality for the year
PHUKET: A motorbike rider without a helmet has been reported as the first Phuket road fatality of the New Year. The body of Uthai Maikhong, 33, was found beside his bike in a three-meter-deep roadside drainage ditch in front of Wat Muang Mai in Thalang about 8am yesterday. Local residents heard an accident about 7pm the night before, but in…
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Phuket Person of the Year Award a triumph for charity
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette is delighted to announce that our ‘Person of the Year’ Award for 2010 goes to Khun Wipa Tanmanatragul of the Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC). Khun Wipa, elected this year as the PIWC’s first Thai President, has been selected for her embodiment of “charity for charity’s sake” and her 15 years of quiet, low-profile dedication to…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket to pull new year all-nighter
PHUKET: Revellers in Phuket’s party capital of Patong are allowed to party all night tonight to usher in the new year, Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukhaban confirmed today. Two areas on Patong Beach have been cordoned off for people who can party until sunrise, he told the Gazette. One area is at the beach road end of Bangla Road and the…
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Phuket Red Cross Fair underway
PHUKET: The renowned annual Phuket Red Cross Fair began yesterday in Saphan Hin. At the opening ceremony, Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, with his wife Nalinee, who is President of the Phuket Red Cross, wished the fair to bring joy and happiness to one and all. One of the most popular activities at the 11 day-and-night event is the lucky draw.…
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Deadly “Seven Days’ – Phuket toll: 17 accidents, no deaths
PHUKET: After two days of the annual ‘Seven Days of Danger’ national road safety campaign, the Phuket toll has climbed to 17 accidents, but still no deaths reported. The statistics, compiled by the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), list four accidents yesterday in Phuket Town, three in Kathu and two in Thalang. Eleven people…
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Phuket’s Yamu gets new lease of life
PHUKET: Campbell Kane, the luxury hotel developers of The Yamu on Phuket’s east coast, have secured backing by an investment team comprised of Singapore tycoon Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) and Thailand’s KS Group. The Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels office in Singapore acted as an advisor for the transaction. While construction of the hotel was suspended due to…
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Phuket New Year celebrations take to the sky
PHUKET: Residents in the south of the island have started their Phuket New Year celebrations a little early this year, with the opening of the Rawai Sky Night Festival 2010 at Nai Harn Beach. The festival continues tonight, with stage and live music performances from 6pm. In addition to the live performances and contests, local vendors are selling food, drink,…
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Phuket Person of the Year Award to be announced today
PHUKET: Sixteen nominations from readers, four finalists, one winner. The Phuket Gazette‘s ‘Person of the Year’ Award goes to that person who in the opinion of Gazette editors stands out most for good deeds or excellence as a role model in activating people to work together toward a better Phuket. Who won the Award for 2010? What were the key…
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Deadly “Seven Days’ begin: Eight accidents, no deaths in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket’s holiday road toll stands at eight accidents with no deaths reported after Day One of the Seven Days of Danger national road safety campaign, which began yesterday. The statistics, being compiled by the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), list four accidents occurring in Phuket Town, two in Kathu and two in Thalang.…
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Honest Phuket tuk-tuk driver returns camcorder
PHUKET: A Phuket tuk-tuk driver tracked down a Swedish couple who left their camcorder in his vehicle on Christmas Day and returned it to them free of charge on Boxing Day. Cathanna, 48, and her husband hired Thongchai Permpoon to take them on a five-hour tour of Phuket Town. After dropping the Swedes off at their hotel, the Diamond Cottage…
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Phuket pirates unperturbed by arrest
PHUKET: Five people were arrested on Tuesday for selling counterfeit handbags in Patong, but at least one of them swore she would be right back in business after paying a fine. Patong police and representatives of high-end handbag companies led the raid on five shop operators, all working inside the tourist-oriented Sainamyen Plaza on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Road. Chananan Hatthapradit,…
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NCCC to pursue criminal charges against former Phuket Land Registrar
PHUKET: The National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) says it will pursue criminal charges against a former Phuket Land Office registrar and a well-known local businessman over an encroachment case dating back to 1997. NCCC Secretary-General Apinan Issarangkul Na Ayudhaya made the announcement on Tuesday following a meeting in Bangkok. The commission ruled that former Phuket Land Office Registrar Thawatchai Anukul…
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Phuket baby saved from trash pile
PHUKET: A Phuket baby boy, thought to be just hours old and with the umbilical cord still attached, has been found abandoned near a dump site in Kathu. Phongthep Joyjard, a respected elder who lives in the area, discovered the newborn while he was out exercising on Soi Saithong near the dump site on Tuesday evening. He heard the baby…
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FC Phuket take on Buriram in Bt1mn playoff final tonight
PHUKET: The FC Phuket bandwagon will make its final stop of the season tonight against Buriram in the Thai League Division 2 playoff final, at Suphachalasai Stadium in Bangkok. Kick-off is at 6pm. The game will be broadcast live on the T-Sports Channel, available on True Visions and on Phuket Cable’s channel 58. Phuket finished atop Group B of Division…
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Keep Phuket land for Phuket people: Land Chief
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Land Office chief Paitoon Lertkrai today told the Gazette that he is deeply concerned that far too many Phuket people are selling their land to off-islanders. “I do not mean just people from other countries, I mean anyone not from Phuket,” he said. “Right now many Phuket people are selling their land, and most of the buyers…
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Anchalee confirmed to become Sec-Gen to PM Abhisit
PHUKET: Phuket MP Raewat Areerob today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr will take up the position of Secretary-General to the Prime Minister from January 2. Mrs Anchalee, who long served as a Democrat Party MP, will replace outgoing Secretary-General Korbsak Sabhavasu following his resignation. The news follows days of speculation about whether or not PM Abhisit…
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Phuket Poll: Are there too many hotels on the island?
PHUKET: Official figures by the Tourism Authority of Thailand for 2010 put the number of registered hotels and accommodation establishments in Phuket at 703, up 10.8% from the official figure (639) for 2008. There was a similar jump in the total number of rooms in these establishments over the same period, the figure rising from 38,528 to 43,036, a percentage…
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Parade marks opening of Bt50mn Phuket Town road
PHUKET: Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr, now confirmed to take on the appointment of Secretary-General to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, on Friday officially opened the new road connecting Phuket Town’s two largest public parks.The opening of the new road, temporarily named Sai Phang Muang Khor, took place with a Christmas Eve ceremony complete with a parade and marching bands. Leading the procession…
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Phuket water? We wouldn’t drink it: Poll
PHUKET: Less than 20 per cent of Phuket Gazette readers think tap water on the island is safe to drink, results of the latest online readers’ poll reveals. The poll, launched on December 18, asked readers: Do you think tap water in Phuket is safe to drink? Overall, almost half of all respondents (49.2%) answered “no”, compared with just 19.8%…
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Phuket aglow with tsunami remembrance ceremonies
PHUKET: Hundreds of people turned out for Phuket’s three main tsunami remembrance services yesterday. The day began with wreaths being laid at the Tsunami Wall of Remembrance in Mai Khao following a speech by Sarawut Srisakukarm, President of the Mai Khao Tambon Administration, at 8:30am. At the Tsunami Monument in Kamala, services began just after 11 am with a speech…
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Kata Royal Condo moves to save Phuket view
PHUKET: Following complaints by local residents, developers of a condominium project in Phuket have agreed to not build the top two storeys of the apartment block to preserve views over Kata Bay. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Kata Royal Condo project on Patak Road was originally approved for seven storeys. However, when local residents realized the structure would…
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OPINION: Street Show a great event for Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Street Show festival last weekend was a wonderful coming out party for Old Phuket Town following its recent facelift. (See story, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.) Whoever came up with the idea to host world-class street performers in the old quarter is to be given a great…
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BREAKING NEWS: FC Phuket promoted to Division I
PHUKET: FC Phuket will be promoted to Division I of the Thai League following an exciting come-from-behind 2-1 win over Samut Prakarn at Surakul Stadium this afternoon. Samut Prakarn silenced the crowd by scoring in the opening minutes of play. Despite dominating play for most of the first half, FC Phuket were unable to score the equalizer going into half-time.…
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