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Phuket still safe despite Jakarta bombings
PHUKET: The bomb blasts which shattered Jakarta’s Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott Hotels this morning, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more, have sent the topic of terrorism rocketing to the top of the agenda at the 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting which got underway in Phuket today. Asean Secretary General Dr Surin Pitsuwan said officials and delegates were…
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Partial solar eclipse in Phuket on Wednesday
PHUKET CITY: Weather permitting, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in Phuket on Wednesday morning. The eclipse, blocking about 20% of the sun at its peak at 8.10am, will last around six minutes. Rajabhat Phuket University is hosting a viewing event at the traffic circle in front of the Dean’s Office on the Rajabhat campus. Assistant Professor Sakchai Phetchuai…
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New police HQ spells trouble for Mai Khao villagers
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Twenty families in Mai Khao have signed a petition vowing to fight an order to vacate government land earmarked for construction of the new Police Region 8 headquarters, scheduled to open in 2011. Plans to move the existing Region 8 headquarters from Surat Thani province to Phuket were set in motion in 2007. Krabi, Nakhon Sri Thammarat,…
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Dasta holds public hearings in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The public organization pushing to develop the Ao Phuket mega-project off Saphan Hin is conducting public hearings to gauge reaction to the possibility of designating all of Phuket as a special administrative zone for sustainable tourism. Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta), a public organization whose board answers directly to the Prime Minister’s Office, held the first…
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Abbot claims black magic nailed him
UTTARADIT: A temple abbot was admitted to hospital after doctors found nails in his stomach for the second time in two months. Phra Athikananuwat Wisutho, 32, abbot of Wat Hat Song Khwai in Tha Pla District, was admitted to Uttaradit Hospital on July 7 after an X-ray found five 3- to 4-inch nails in his stomach. The director of Utaradit…
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Phuket abuzz with pride and wonder about ASEAN event
PHUKET: Phuket has begun pulsing with vibrancy today. Official cars, police and army officers, and security guards are becoming a common sight. It’s all about the ASEAN foreign ministers meetings and the ASEAN Regional Forum, to be held at Laguna Phuket from Friday to July 23. Phuketians generally welcome the massive security effort, despite all the checkpoints and limitations on…
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Swine flu “service centers” open in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: There have been 77 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) infection in Phuket since the swine flu outbreak first hit the island in early June, the Gazette has learned. To combat the spread of the new flu strain, the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) has launched three “One Stop Service” (OSS) centers for suspected swine flu cases at Phuket’s three…
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Rolly Tasker donates land for Phuket road project
PHUKET CITY: Rolly Tasker Sails Co Ltd yesterday morning donated eight rai of land to the state for construction of a second airport road. Company founder Mr Tasker, an Australian sailing legend, handed over the title deeds to Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngop at a ceremony at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday morning. Gov Wichai has pushed for the new new airport…
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Foundered ferry under tow to Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Salvage workers are today trying to tow back to Phuket the unregistered passenger ferry that foundered in heavy seas in Phang Nga Bay over the weekend. Phuket Marine Police on Sunday morning rescued the captain and crew of the unregistered ferry Kacha Marine, which sank during a sea squall near the Mu Sung Rocks about seven miles off…
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Burmese government to open ID centers for illegals
PHUKET CITY: In an effort to legalize untold thousands of its citizens working illegally in Thailand, the Burmese government will tomorrow open ‘citizen identification centers’ at three immigration checkpoints along the Thai border. The announcement came at a seminar at the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel on Saturday attended by Burmese Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister U Maung Myaint, Thai Labor Minister…
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Phuket storm warnings
PHUKET CITY: The Meteorological Department has issued a weather warning as the Andaman region continues to be battered by heavy rain and strong winds.The warning said strong southwest monsoonal conditions continue to affect the Andaman Sea and southwest coast of southern Thailand.Rain, very heavy at times, continues in most west coast areas.As there is a risk of flash-flooding and landslides,…
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ASEAN Meetings: Phuket residents rush for stickers for fast-track security clearance
PHUKET: Col Piyapong Wongchan, Deputy Chief of the Internal Security Operations Command in Phuket, said this afternoon that Phuket vehicle owners who want special passes to facilitate clearance through the many special security checkpoints now being set up around the island should contact their village heads in Thalang and Kathu districts. More than 40,000 such stickers have already been issued…
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Outta here! Phuket red shirts off to Chiang Mai during Asean meetings
PHUKET CITY: Even as military troops and hardware deploy in Thalang, the leaders of Phuket’s small ‘red-shirt’ movement say they have no plans to disrupt the Asean-led meetings set to begin in Cherng Talay a week from today.In fact, they plan to be in Chiang Mai for a meeting of their own while the talks are on, their leader says.Phuket…
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Photo Walk in Phuket on Saturday
PHUKET CITY: Calling all photographers: you are invited to join tens of thousands of snappers across the globe for a worldwide ‘photo walk’ next Saturday. Phuket City is one of 915 locations around the world in which groups of photographers will spend two hours walking the streets, talking about the art of photography and, of course, taking pictures. The Scott Kelby…
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Internal Security Act now in force in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The controversial Internal Security Act to ensure there is no disruption at the upcoming 42nd Asean Ministers Meeting is now in force, but very few locals will have noticed any difference. Military hardware, much of it on flatbed trucks, rolled onto the island yesterday afternoon. Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who is in charge of security during the meetings,…
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Phuket internet cafes to be off line for two weeks
PHUKET CITY: Internet cafes throughout Thailand will be closed for two weeks following the death of a Phuket university student last week. Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai has announced plans to close tutorial schools and Internet cafes nationwide in a bid to prevent the spread of the A(H1N1) virus that causes swine flu. Schools and internet cafes will be asked…
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Asean meetings: Thai Army rolls onto Phuket
PHUKET: Troops and military hardware began arriving in Phuket today in preparation for the 42nd Asean Ministers Meetings at Laguna Phuket later this month. The convoy of equipment, including flatbed trailers carrying armored vehicles, troop transport trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles, rolled onto the island over the Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge at about 3pm. Military personnel waved on passing traffic after…
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Patong gears up for high season
PATONG, PHUKET: Patong Municipality will spend five million baht filling in the potholes on the unfinished Phang Muang Road that runs behind Jungceylon. Patong Mayor Pian Keesin said he hopes the work will be completed in time for the upcoming high season. The total price tag for the Phang Muang Road project, which requires completion of a three- to four-…
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Woman killed by truck in Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: A young woman died instantly on Tuesday afternoon when a pickup truck slammed into her motorbike as she tried to cross the busy Thepkrasattri Road. Sirintip Jongjalern, 26, was on her way home from work at Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC) when she pulled onto Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang and into the path of a fast-moving Toyota…
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Phuket university student becomes first swine flu fatality
PHUKET CITY: A university student who died of pneumonia at Vachira Phuket Hospital on Thursday was infected with the A(H1N1) virus that causes swine flu, lab results have confirmed.Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) chief Dr Pongsawas Ratanasang said the student was a 19-year-old in his first year of the engineering program at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus.He was…
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Fish die mysteriously in Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: Local people were surprised to find large numbers of dead fish floating in the pond in front of Prince of Songkla University’s Saphan Hin campus yesterday morning. When officials from Phuket City Municipality went to investigate, they found excited residents pulling dead grouper, red snapper and sea mullet from the water. While locals bagged fish with dinner in…
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10-man Phuket FC slumps to yet another defeat
PHUKET CITY: New team, same old result: Phuket FC slumped to their fifth-straight home defeat on Sunday in a disappointing 2-1 loss at Surakul Stadium. The new-look Sea Dragons took the lead midway through the first half, but two Narathiwat goals either side of half-time consigned them to their sixth defeat in eight matches. Expectations were high at the outset,…
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Govt to help Phuket sea gypsies rebuild
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: The central government is preparing to build temporary housing for the 17 sea gypsy families whose modest homes were destroyed by fire on the afternoon of June 29. Social Development and Human Security Minister Issara Somchai visited what remains of the Ban Hin Look Diow sea gypsy village early on Saturday morning. For our initial report about…
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Kajonkietsuksa School issues statement on swine flu
PHUKET CITY: Kajonkietsuksa School has had two cases of swine flu and no deaths, the school management has said. School Manager Permkiat Ketkul said the school closed for a “big cleaning” on Friday after the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) confirmed a kindergarten student as having the A(H1N1) virus two days earlier. The PPHO inspected the entire school, which comprises…
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Thieving teens victimize blind masseuse in Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: Two teenagers ran off with a blind masseuse’s handbag on Friday night as she was sitting in front of the small massage parlor where she works in Phuket City. Kainapa Jeenapueng, who operates the six-bed Nong Neuy traditional Thai massage parlor in Phuket Villa 1, said the thieves struck at 7.40pm. The victim, 43-year-old Wilawan Maikhong, was sitting…
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Phuket gym closes temporarily
CHALONG, PHUKET: Members of the Chalong Gym on Chao Fa East Road in Phuket will be pleased to hear that the popular fitness center’s recent closure is only a temporary measure. When morning fitness enthusiasts arrived at the gym on June 27, they found the doors locked and saw that exercise equipment had been removed. Some members had recently paid…
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Phuket health officials pay surprise visit to Laguna
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: The Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) yesterday morning conducted a surprise inspection tour of the Laguna Phuket resort complex, which will host the upcoming 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers Meetings.The inspection was to ensure that water supplies, food preparation areas and hotel staff are free of disease-causing microbes during the proceedings to be held July 17 to 23,…
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Bt1m in damages from Phuket furniture shop fire
WICHIT, PHUKET : The owners of a furniture shop on Chao Fa West Road have vowed to remain in business, despite a fire that reduced half the store to ashes and caused an estimated 1 million baht in damages. The blaze broke out at the Touch Wood Furniture & Thai Advanced Solar Power Co Ltd store on Chao Fa West…
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Phuket’s illegal immigrants given 30 days to register
PHUKET: Foreign laborers currently working illegally in the fishing industry in the Andaman region have been given 30 days to register with the Labor Department and Immigration in order for them to work legally in and around Phuket.Those who do not register during the grace period from July 1 to July 30 face deportation if they are caught working illegally…
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Security Act will have little impact on Phuket: Governor
PHUKET CITY: Invocation of the controversial Internal Security Act during the 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meetings to be held in Phuket in July will have little impact on local residents or tourists, the Phuket governor has announced.Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop said special security measures put in place under the act will be limited to Thalang district.The event is to be held at…
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