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  • Phuket man slain by Leo-wielding Lao

    Phuket man slain by Leo-wielding Lao

    PHUKET: A drunken Lao man was arrested today for killing a friend by slashing his throat with a broken beer bottle. He confessed to the crime, telling police he acted out of rage after the man used his money to buy beer instead of rice whisky. Chalong Police led by Wichit Intorrasorn held a press conference at noon to announce…

  • Rajabhat Phuket in Bt395m expansion

    Rajabhat Phuket in Bt395m expansion

    PHUKET: Phuket Rajabhat University (PKRU) is currently undergoing a large expansion, with six new buildings under construction under a 395-million-baht development project. First established as part of the national teacher’s college network in 1971, the school was subsequently elevated to institute status and finally became a full university in 2004. Thirty years ago, the school had about 100 teachers and…

  • Phuket to feature in relaunch of ‘playground’ | Thaiger

    Phuket to feature in relaunch of ‘playground’

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) plans to relaunch Ratchaprasong as Bangkok’s most favourite playground next month, when top executives of 30 multinational companies will be brought to Bangkok and Phuket on a fam trip. Phuket gets…

  • Phuket teen shines at Mercedes-Benz Masters golf tournament

    Phuket teen shines at Mercedes-Benz Masters golf tournament

    PHUKET: The opening day of the US$60,000 Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand witnessed some sensational low scoring, with four players taking the lead with course record five-under-par 65s and a 13-year-old amateur upstaging the professionals with a 67. Thais Wisut Artjanawat, Ratsak Hansapiban and Pattaraphol Khanthacha and Singaporean Lam Chih Bing lead the way after confident rounds at the Laguna Phuket Golf…

  • 7th annual Prison Products Fair in Phuket

    7th annual Prison Products Fair in Phuket

    PHUKET: The seventh annual Prison Products Fair will take place at Saphan Hin starting at 9am on Friday. The 10-day event, from June 4 to 13, will offer a wide range of hand-made products crafted by prison inmates from 14 provincial prisons across the southern region as part of their vocational skills training. The fair will officially kick off at…

  • Will THAI Airways become a pariah in Phuket? | Thaiger

    Will THAI Airways become a pariah in Phuket?

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: In a stinging editorial in Travel Daily News yesterday, the Thailand chapter of the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) blasts THAI Airways for its authorship of a “self-defeating tourism recovery strategy for Thailand” which some stakeholders in Phuket…

  • AoT defends taxi fees

    AoT defends taxi fees

    PHUKET: The director of Phuket International Airport (PIA) has defended concession fees charged to taxi and limousine operators by Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), pointing out that the airport is expensive to run and that, as a public company, AoT must make a profit. “I want to explain that everyone involved in business needs to make a profit. Based on…

  • Alien worker scheme flops in Phuket

    Alien worker scheme flops in Phuket

    PHUKET: Phuket is facing a shortage of alien labor as the numbers of registered alien workers requesting extensions of their permits are down 15,166 year-on-year, according to official figures. The Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) said that this year only 49,017 out of 64,183 registered workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia extended their work permits. The vast majority of these,…

  • Immigration to check on UK pedophile’s trip to Phuket

    Immigration to check on UK pedophile’s trip to Phuket

    PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration chief says his office will contact the British Embassy regarding the background of a UK man reportedly convicted on child pornography charges in the UK, and now said to be planning to travel to Phuket to marry a Thai girl. News that UK national Craig Meehan was planning a trip to Phuket was first reported by…

  • Phuket hotels not happy with THAI Airways | Thaiger

    Phuket hotels not happy with THAI Airways

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Fears of Phuket hotels being forced into a massive price war are already being realised with THAI Airways International “cordially inviting” hotels contracted under its Royal Orchid Holidays (ROH) program to offer 50% discounts. TTR Weekly reports that…

  • Kriel Roosters win Phuket Rugby 10s

    Kriel Roosters win Phuket Rugby 10s

    PHUKET: Scoring three tries in the first half, the Kriel Roosters from South Africa trounced the Moorabbin Rams from Australia 31-0 in the final of the 12th Overgaard Phuket International Rugby 10s played at Karon Stadium yesterday. The South Africans were clearly the fresher side, making the most of their speed advantage by quickly passing the ball wide and using…

  • Phuket to host Asian Hospitality & Travel Show in October

    Phuket to host Asian Hospitality & Travel Show in October

    PHUKET: Events Thailand team and Skal Phuket are combining talents to stage the inaugural ‘Asian Hospitality & Travel Show’ at the Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center from October 1 to 3. “The exhibition is geared towards becoming a platform for networking between suppliers within the Asian Hospitality and travel sectors,” said Events Thailand committee member Simon Samaan, who…

  • Phuket Software Park ‘Tech Talk’ series in June

    Phuket Software Park ‘Tech Talk’ series in June

    PHUKET: Phuket Software Park has announced the schedule of weekly activities under its ‘Tech Talk’ series in June. June 3: Ads on Google: Just a piece of cakePresented by Brand Identity and Innovation, a Phuket Software Park incubatee; June 10: Exploring iPhone Usage & Making Money: User Track Presented by Phuket School; June 17: Exploring iPhone Usage & Making Money:…

  • A Phuket Imperative: Credible Public Transport

    A Phuket Imperative: Credible Public Transport

    PHUKET: Public debate has intensified in recent weeks as road projects that have been talked about for years appear closer to becoming reality in Phuket. Despite the recent chaos in Bangkok, the number of tourists visiting the island continues to grow. Airports of Thailand (AoT) reported over 120,000 international arrivals at Phuket International Airport in April 2010, a 41% increase…

  • Phuket will lead recovery of Thai tourism | Thaiger

    Phuket will lead recovery of Thai tourism

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The curent issue of Time magazine quotes Bill Heinecke, whose Minor group owns two hotels in Phuket, as emphasizing that Phuket and Hua Hin were among the many places in Thailand where “tourists were never in any danger…

  • Mystery shrouds fatal Phuket road accident | Thaiger

    Mystery shrouds fatal Phuket road accident

    PHUKET: Police are investigating a hit-and-run accident that left a man dead on the bypass road last night. Phuket City Police duty officer Lt Teerawat Amnachjaroenying identified the victim as Wittaya Sapsong, 35, whose body was found at 7:30pm on the southbound side of the bypass road in Koh Kaew, between the Bypass Seafood restaurant and the entrance to Premium…

  • Phuket thief ‘nagged’ into crime

    Phuket thief ‘nagged’ into crime

    PHUKET: A man arrested for stealing a masseuse’s bag in Karon told police that his wife’s constant complaining drove him to commit the crime. Chalong Police at 5pm on Wednesday arrested Sittha Rattanaphan, 36, at the Andaman Seaview Hotel in Karon, seizing as evidence a Honda motorbike and a brown bag containing 200 baht in cash, a mobile phone, an…

  • Natural causes suspected in Phuket “drowning’ | Thaiger

    Natural causes suspected in Phuket “drowning’

    PHUKET: Cherng Talay Police are awaiting a coroner’s report to learn whether a German tourist who died at Surin Beach on Wednesday drowned or died of other causes. Cherng Talay Police duty officer Lt Tatchagrit Ritnuang identified the deceased as 51-year-old Marek Klein. Mr Klein, his wife and 10-year-old daughter were guests at the nearby Courtyard by Marriott Phuket resort.…

  • Update: Phuket International Film Festival | Thaiger

    Update: Phuket International Film Festival

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Scheduled for June 4-13, the Phuket International Film Festival is offering 10 days of award-winning movies, parties and networking events with international filmmakers, cultural activities and, of course, world-famous Thai hospitality. The film festival is unique in that…

  • Air Asia aids Phuket | Thaiger

    Air Asia aids Phuket

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: AirAsia Group is today kicking off a promotional campaign called “It’s OK, Thailand”. The campaign aggressively markets Bangkok as well as other Thai destinations, most notably Phuket, with low fares to revive Thailand’s travel and tourism industry. The…

  • Paul Poole workshops to resume | Thaiger

    Paul Poole workshops to resume

    PHUKET: Despite political uncertainty in many parts of the country, sponsorship specialists Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co Ltd have decided to resume their popular training workshops following a two-year hiatus. Paul Poole explained that resuming the workshops, to be held at The Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok, is the result of what he termed “surprising popular demand”. “We plan on…

  • Phuket pawnshops busy in April

    Phuket pawnshops busy in April

    PHUKET: Government-run pawnshops on the island did a roaring trade last month in the run-up to the new school term that began in mid-May. More than 10,000 people pawned goods valued at over 200 million baht at the island’s three government-licensed pawnshops in April. The Phuket City Municipality Pawnshop currently has 247 million baht out on loan, while the Patong…

  • Australians warned off Phuket medical tourism | Thaiger

    Australians warned off Phuket medical tourism

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The Australian Medical Association (AMA) yesterday urged people to be cautious after a Gold Coast business offered plastic surgery and dental holidays in Phuket. For background on the CosMediTour offer, see Tuesday’s Phuket NEWS Hound, here. Although doctors…

  • Patong to get ‘drunk center’

    Patong to get ‘drunk center’

    PHUKET: Foreign tourists who over-indulge and get into trouble in Patong may soon be left overnight to sober up in a ‘drunk center’, according to plans revealed at the second meeting between Honorary Consuls and Phuket authorities on May 24. Another major proposal mooted at the meeting was setting up a call center to coordinate taxi services in Patong. Phuket…

  • Travel warning revision to benefit Phuket | Thaiger

    Travel warning revision to benefit Phuket

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Britain’s Foreign Office eased its advice against travel to the Thai capital yesterday as Bangkok slowly returned to normal after protests and riots. Britain had advised against all travel to Bangkok, including Phuket and Thailand in general, earlier…

  • Murder trio nabbed in Phuket

    Murder trio nabbed in Phuket

    PHUKET: Phuket City Police this afternoon held a press conference announcing the capture of three young men wanted in connection with the stabbing murder of Sathit Chuenchuan in Rassada Sunday night. Led by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Komol Wattrakorn, police identified the stabber as 22-year-old Kanokchart ‘San’ Deethong-on from Nakhon Sri Thammarat. Also presented were his alleged accomplices, 23-year-old…

  • U.S. Embassy in full service | Thaiger

    U.S. Embassy in full service

    PHUKET: The U.S. embassy in Bangkok re-opened today for “limited operations” and will resume full services tomorrow after being closed for a week due to the street protests. “In Thailand, our embassy was open for limited operations today [Monday] and we anticipate resuming full operations tomorrow,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters. The United States closed its embassy, located…

  • PHUKET OPINION: Let’s move up from ‘social engineering’

    PHUKET OPINION: Let’s move up from ‘social engineering’

    PHUKET: A few years ago, the back of a best-selling T-shirt on sale in Patong listed events that had hurt Phuket’s tourism industry: ‘Phuket tourism: 2001 Bomb Alert, 2002 SARS, 2003 Bird Flu, 2004 Tsunami. What’s Next?‘ The front simply read: ‘Still alive and kicking,’ a nod to the industry’s resilience. Given the drop-off in sales of the older shirt,…

  • Security boost at Central Festival Phuket shopping mall | Thaiger

    Security boost at Central Festival Phuket shopping mall

    PHUKET: Security has been stepped up at Central Festival Phuket following the destruction of Central World Plaza in Bangkok last week. General manager of Central Festival, Wilaiporn Pitimana-aree, said that although there were no signs of political violence on the island, it was company policy to increase security at all the chain’s branches. The company had no evidence of a…

  • Hearing on bypass road ‘flyover’ in Phuket tomorrow

    Hearing on bypass road ‘flyover’ in Phuket tomorrow

    PHUKET: A planned flyover at the Darasamuth Intersection near Central Festival Phuket will become a ‘flyunder’, if the project consultants get their way.At a public hearing scheduled for tomorrow at The Metropole hotel, Thai Engineering Consultants (TEC) will recommend a tunnel to take bypass road traffic under the intersection and onto Chao Fa West Road. Another tunnel would also take…