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- Phuket News
Pétanque players call it a draw
CHERNG TALAY: The winners of prizes in Phuket’s fourth international pétanque competition on Sunday (April 25) had to be decided by a draw after confusion over the points awarded in the final. Philippe Cablat, manager of the Black Cat restaurant where the tournament was held, was a little embarrassed. “I don’t want to tell you the names of the draw…
- Phuket News
Ministry boss gives progress the thumbs-up
PHUKET TOWN: A senior government official today gave Phuket his seal of approval for its progress in implementing projects funded by the central government. Khun Anand Tejavanija, Deputy Director-General of the Community Development Department of the Ministry of the Interior explained that he was visiting Phuket to check on progress in using the 2.15 million baht allocated by Bangkok for…
- Phuket News
Business registrations up 30% over last year
PHUKET TOWN: New businesses registered in the first quarter of this year show an increase of 30 percent over the same period in 1998, indicating a surge of confidence in the island’s economy. Khun Virachai Tantiwattanawanlop, Head Administrator of the Phuket Commercial Registration Department, told the Gazette that in the first three months of 1999, 163 new firms registered with…
- Phuket News
Phuket On Guard Against Malaysian Virus
PHUKET: Health officials in Phuket are scrambling to devise a new strategy to ensure the pig-related virus that has killed dozens in Malaysia does not spread to the island. The authorities, along with Malaysian health officials, originally thought the outbreak was Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which is endemic in much of the Far East. But research by the US-based Centers for…
- Phuket News
Yacht Burns And Sinks. Four Missing, Feared Dead
AO CHALONG: Four people are missing and feared dead after a fire erupted aboard a yacht anchored in Phuket’s Chalong Bay in the early hours of March 25. Phuket Marine Police said the fire broke out just before 1 am aboard the 160-foot motor yacht, which they named as the Catarina. Vessels from the Phuket Marine Police, Harbour Region 5…
- Phuket News
Fish Loved El Niño
PHUKET: The weather phenomenon known as El Niño may have brought floods, drought and other forms of misery to many people around the world, but not to fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean – they benefited from it with bumper catches. It seems that with the appearance of El Niño last year, fish from all over the world decided to…
- Phuket News
Photo Contest Focuses On “Essence Of Thailand’
PHUKET: Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts (Thailand), in conjunction with the Bangkok Post and Canon Marketing (Thailand) Co Ltd, have organized a nationwide competition for professional photographers and aspiring amateurs. An array of generous prizes, including roundtrip tickets to Paris on Air France with five nights accommodation in a Le Meridien Hotel, are being offered to encourage photographers to capture…
- Phuket News
Mapping Out Coral For Tourism
SATUN: The Royal Thai Navy has lent its support to an environmental marine survey off Ko Tarutao, Ko Adang, Ko Rawi and Ko Lipe in Satun province as part of the Chulabhorn 39 Project. Rear Admiral Suraphon Chandaeng, Chief of Staff of the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, has told Rear Admiral Chavalit Isarangkul, the Director of the Chulabhorn 39…
- Phuket News
Australian Post Graduate Studies Offered In Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The Rajabhat Phuket Institute has teamed up with Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, to offer post graduate degrees. The institute currently has 25 students studying for Masters Degrees and PhDs through distance learning programs with the Australian university, according to Wannee Wannapruk, Vice President for General Affairs. A total of 16 of students are Rajabhat Phuket…
- Phuket News
Officials Report 30 New AIDS Cases
PHUKET TOWN: Government health officials recorded 30 new cases of AIDS in Phuket province and two deaths from AIDS-related complications during the one-month reporting period ending January 20. Seven of 240 pregnant women tested during the period were found to be HIV positive. The Phuket Provincial Health Department has recorded 864 cases of AIDS since it began keeping records in…
- Phuket News
Andaman Sea Kayak Marathon – 1999
PHUKET TOWN: A series of four grueling marathon races by sea kayak will take place in Phang Nga Bay March 4 through 6. The event, sponsored by the Southern Office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, has attracted participants from more than ten countries. The four categories of competition are as follows: · International Sea Kayak Ultra Marathon/Open Men. Distance:…
- Phuket News
New Stadium For Karon
KARON BEACH: Construction started earlier this month on Phase I of a 10 million baht football stadium and grandstand at Karon. Located on 10 rai of land on Bang Ngueg Road (the ‘Beach Road’) at the south end of the beach near the Ruam Thep Inn, the 1,000-seat, 117-meter-long facility is slated for completion in September. Tawee Thongchaem, head of…
- Phuket News
Tourist Belted By Tuk Tuk Driver
PHUKET TOWN: Kenneth James Nelson, a 51-year-old Englishman, discovered that it can be painful indeed to thwart the aspirations of a tuk-tuk driver. At 8.30 a.m. on January 25, he was walking along the street in front of the Ruangjit Cinema (opposite The Metropole hotel) in Phuket Town when a red tuk-tuk approached him. The driver asked if he needed…
- Phuket News
1999 Gazette Guide Now On Sale
PHUKET TOWN: The 1999 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s Business & Entertainment Directory, or ‘yellow’ pages, is now on sale. Priced at 140 baht, the 310-page book, containing 2,504 listings, is the island’s largest business database. The Guide may be purchased at the following locations: Deli Supermarket (Patong), Dokyah Bookstore (Phuket Town), Good Earth Books & Tea Room (Kata Center), Jay’s Business…
- Phuket News
Municipal Schools Hiring Foreign Teachers
PHUKET TOWN: In a first for Thailand, the Phuket Municipality is to enter into a contract with a private company to improve the quality of English among primary students at municipal schools. ELT Phuket will be employed to raise the standard of English among the municipality’s teachers, according to Somjai Suwansupana, a Phuket municipal counselor. “We want to improve the…
- Phuket News
Navy’s Third Fleet Heightens Safety Role
CAPE PANWA: Vice Admiral Somphop Bhuridej, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, announced on Wednesday that the Third Fleet will assist in ensuring safety for those who travel by boat to Phuket’s outlying islands. The announcement follows a spate of fatal accidents which occurred in the region’s public ferry services last year, and which were summarized…
- Phuket News
Visa Criteria, Procedures Clarified
PHUKET TOWN: The superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, Pol Col Phirojana Praesakul, confirmed to the Gazette this morning that the financial requirements for the non-immigrant ‘O-A’ visa are as follows: 1) at least 800,000 baht in liquid funds in a Thai or overseas bank (the definition of “liquid” was not immediately available, so it was not clear whether fixed…
- Phuket News
More Beds For Patong Hospital
PATONG BEACH: Patong Hospital will increase its number of beds from 10 to 90 by the end of the this year in a bid to meet growing demand for bed space, according to Director Dr Taweesak Nertwong. Because of its location in the heart of Phuket’s major tourist centre, Dr Taweesak said the hospital had become too small to treat…
- Phuket News
Divergent Views On Priorities For The New Year
PHUKET: Greater emphasis on education was considered the most important priority for Thailand in the new year, according to the Gazette Poll which closed at noon today. Containment of corruption ranked a close second. From the four available answers to the question, “What’s your Number One wish for Thailand in 1999?”, 34.3 percent of the internet poll’s 735 participants opted…
- Phuket News
Ya Ba-laced Beer Seized In Pub Raid
PHUKET TOWN: Authorities seized draft beer from a popular pub early Saturday morning after a preliminary test indicated it had been laced with amphetamines. Tourist Police and Phuket Narcotics Control officers raided the Kok Ma Pub on Tilok U-Thit 1 Road at around 2 a.m. following a tip from concerned parents alleging that the venue was admitting underage patrons and…
- Phuket News
Tourist Police To Step Up Patrols
PHUKET TOWN: Tourist Police will be out in force in the popular beach areas as throngs of vacationers descend on the island for their annual holiday. Phuket Tourist Police Inspector Pol Maj Arnont Kamolrat said his officers would step up patrols along Patong and other beaches frequented by foreign visitors. In addition to providing assistance to tourists, officers will be…
- Phuket News
Excise Revenues Post Sharp Decline
PHUKET TOWN: Despite revenues generated through taxes on luxury yachts and golf fees, the Phuket Provincial Excise Department recorded a steep drop in collections during the most recent fiscal year compared to fiscal 1997. Department Chief Borvorn Chayakul reported that his office collected 190.3 million baht from October 1, 1997 through September 30, 1998, a decline of nearly 49 million…
- Phuket News
Phuket, Amanpuri Honored By Readers’ Poll
NEW YORK: Phuket received an 11th place ranking of top islands in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, while Amanpuri, the well-known luxury hotel on Pansea Beach, was honored in two of the publication’s award categories. The results of the poll, tabulated from the responses of more than 37,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers, were published in last month’s issue. Phuket…
- Phuket News
Protest Leads To New Taxi License Scheme
PHUKET TOWN: An agreement was reached yesterday to lift restrictions on motorbike taxi licenses granted by Patong municipality following a peaceful rally staged by unregistered operators at Provincial Hall. Over 350 taxi drivers rode in a motorcade from Patong to Phuket Town shortly before noon in a show of unity to have the current licensing scheme opened to non-Patong residents.…
- Phuket News
Officials Keeping Eye On Jet-skis
PHUKET: As the high season gets underway, authorities are keeping a close watch on jet-ski rental businesses operating on west coast beaches to ensure compliance with provincial regulations. Vice Governor Amnuay Sanguannam is overseeing the joint enforcement efforts of district, harbor, marine and police officials. Weekly reports are being filed by the various departments with the vice governor’s office in…
- Phuket News
Immigration To “Encourage” Registration
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Phirojana Paresakul, Superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, told the Gazette today that his office will be “encouraging” all aliens who remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days to notify the department of their residential address every three months as required by law. He stated that the law would be strictly enforced by his officers…
- Phuket News
Survey Reveals Room At The Inn
PHUKET TOWN: Last-minute vacationers hoping to reserve a room along Phuket’s sun-drenched beaches for a year-end holiday are coming up empty. But while seaside accommodation from Nai Yang to Nai Harn is booked solid from Christmas through the first weekend of the New Year, there is room at the inn in Phuket Town. A random telephone survey conducted today by…
- Phuket News
Student Prostitutes Among Seven Arrested
PHUKET TOWN: Undercover officers from the Phuket Tourist Police raided a home near Sapan Hin and arrested a 50-year-old man along with six female suspects – including two 15-year-old twins – on prostitution charges. Posing as customers, the two plainclothes officers entered the residence on Soi Tonphol, Phuket Road, shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday and inquired about sex services from…
- Phuket News
Officials Raid Illegal Tin Refinery
PHUKET TOWN: Following undercover surveillance by mineral resources officers, authorities raided a sand processing yard fronting for an illegal tin refinery. Phuket Town Police Superintendent Pol Col Chalit Tintanee and Phuket Mineral Resources Department Chief Panya Worathammaporn, along with officers of both departments, descended on the 15-rai facility, located at 163/5 Wichitsongkram Road, at 5:30 Wednesday afternoon and uncovered five…
- Phuket News
Dengue Fever Cases Skyrocket
PHUKET: Reported cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in the province during the first ten months of 1998 have surpassed the combined total of the past three years. Provincial Health Officer Dr Boonriang Chuchaisangrat told the Gazette today that 755 cases of the mosquito-borne virus were documented by his department through the end of October. The ten-month total is more…
