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- Opinion
Opinion: Extending tourism benefits to locals
Charan Sangsarn has been the Secretary General of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce since 2014. He’s earned Bachelor’s degrees from the Faculty of Law, Ramkhamhaeng University and Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, as well as one from the Faculty of Public Administration, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. He also has a Master’s degree in Political Science from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University and…
- Phuket News
Naka Noi ‘owner’ pleads for Land Department reversal
PHUKET: The owner of a land company claiming 24 rai on Naka Noi Island is petitioning the Land Department director-general in Bangkok, after a committee voted to revoke his company’s land documents. The land dispute over parcels of Naka Noi, some three kilometers off Phuket’s east coast, has long been a source of controversy, with reported sightings of armed gunmen…
- Phuket News
Four jailed, heavily fined for land theft
PHUKET: Four Thais have been convicted for forging land title documents, claiming ownership over more than 400 rai of Sirinath National Park, government officials announced on Wednesday. The felons face up to 14 years in prison and more than nine million baht each in fines, announced the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) Director-General Thanya Netithammakun. He…
- Phuket News
Vandals damage clown fish sculpture in Krabi
KRABI: A clown fish sculpture was damaged by unknown vandals yesterday, leading to a disappointed Facebook post by Krabi City Mayor Keeratisak Phukaoluan. “Whoever did this is heartless,” said Mr Keeratisak in his post. “The sculpture was built using public taxes in order to accentuate the beauty of the province for tourists. It is damaged at the tail and was…
- Property
Dealing with the trash problem in Phuket
PHUKET: Hygiene and cleanliness are very personal, and judging by the aroma at the airport and on airplanes, often seem to be an optional affair. But living in our environment is a shared community exercise, and Phuket does suffer from the stresses and strains of tourism, as well as a lack of regard by certain sectors of the community to…
- World News
Mass coral bleaching cast shadow over future of Great Barrier Reef
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mass coral bleaching cast shadow over future of Great Barrier Reef Phuket Gazette / Reuters SYDNEY: Mass coral bleaching has destroyed at least 35 percent of the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists said on Monday, a major blow to the World Heritage Site…
- Koh Samui News
Briton’s body found four days after Samui speed boat sank in storm
PHUKET: The search for a British national, who disappeared after a speedboat sinking near Koh Samui on Thursday afternoon, is over, after officials reportedly recovered the man’s body yesterday. Samui District chief Paiboon Omak accompanied divers, who found the body of 46-year-old Jason Robert Parnell. “Due to heavy winds and quick, murky currents, foreign specialists joined us to help recover…
- Phuket News
White Sharks hunting for encroachers in Phuket mangroves
PHUKET: A new taskforce set up by the National Parks Department, known as ‘White Shark’, launched an investigation into alleged encroachment of more than 2,200 rai of mangrove forest in Phuket. The taskforce mustered 200 officials to check several plots in Phuket. Officials estimate encroachment of the mangrove forest has cost the state 250 million baht. Officials were split into…
- Phuket News
Phuket number plate auction raises B22mn for crash victims
PHUKET: The sale of lucky licence plates raised 22 million baht this week to fund road safety campaigns and rehabilitation programs for traffic accident victims. More than 300 lucky licence plates were auctioned off at the 11th annual two-day event organized by the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) and held at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on May 21 and 22.…
- World News
EgyptAir jet sent smoke-alarm warnings before crash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EgyptAir jet sent smoke-alarm warnings before crash Phuket Gazette / Reuters PARIS/CAIRO: The EgyptAir jet that crashed in the Mediterranean on Thursday sent a series of warnings indicating that smoke had been detected on board, shortly before it disappeared off radar screens, French investigators said on…
- Business News
Finance: Where are the markets now?
PHUKET: On April 11, Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) started the first quarter earnings season by reporting a lower quarterly profit (US$16 million or zero cents per share versus US$195 million or 14 cents per share a year earlier) on lower revenue (down 15 per cent) as results were hurt by low commodity prices, the strong US dollar and plant closures. Alcoa’s…
- Business News
Business Buzz: Social media on the rise
PHUKET: I have been talking about the power of social media for over a year now, but there is no better way to showcase this power than to look at the US Presidential circus that is unfolding right before our eyes. As an avid follower of social media and how it is used both successfully and unsuccessfully, it is always…
- Opinion
Opinion: Young lives forever ruined by drugs
PHUKET: Despite the recent effort to ‘restart’ Thailand as a more civil and corruption-free society, continued reports of drug-related arrests indicate that our nation still has a long way to go in curbing the chronic problems of illicit drugs. The reflections of two female inmates serving lengthy sentences at the dangerously overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison should serve as cautionary tales…
- Phuket News
Grand (re)opening of Surin Beach announced
PHUKET: After years of delays and last minute attempts to save illegal beach businesses from the wrecking ball, Surin Beach has finally been restored to its ‘natural’ state. In what seems to be a rather quick rise from the rubble, officials have announced the beach’s grand opening set for June 9. It is now being called the ‘Beach of Honor’…
- Thai Life
Excuse Buster: The link between fungi and depression
PHUKET: Could the fungus Candida play a role in mental health? Lawrence Wilson MD believes that a yeast overgrowth is a common cause of brain fog and in some cases dementia, because this fungus produces substances that directly affect the brain. Acetaldehyde is one of these substances and is a common neurotoxin affecting the lives of tens of millions of…
- Phuket News
Paradise Beach club to fight demolition notice
PHUKET: Paradise Beach Management Co Ltd this afternoon vowed to appeal a Patong Municipality demolition notice of the property they currently occupy at Paradise Beach, claiming that their land document is legal. Nituch Prasertnetikul, the lawyer speaking on behalf of the company and the current land owner Sophon Eakwanit, said that news of the demolition notice, handed down last Wednesday,…
- Business News
Biz Chat: Tips for establishing a start-up
PHUKET: The island is filled with business people who invest millions on large business prospects, but no one ever talks about the little guy. What if you have 100,000 baht and want to play around with it? Here’s a guide to investing in a small business, just to see if it works. Let’s take it step by step – the…
- Phuket News
Thousands pawn valuables to cover back to school costs
PHUKET: Phuket’s pawn brokers said transactions on May 10 totalled nearly 12 million baht, as families pawned valuables to cover their children’s school costs. Phuket City Municipality Pawnshop representative Apirat Chaiyakul said transactions between May and June are expected to increase by as much as 30 per cent over last year. Mr Apirat said his store will do around 180mn…
- Opinion
A Decade Ago: General elections, traffic woes and mayor of Laguna
PHUKET: Politics were again on the front page of the Phuket Gazette in May 2006, following the Constitutional Court’s May 8 ruling against the snap elections for parliament on April 2. With the island burning a bright yellow, the big question was which member of the Democratic Party would be put forward to represent the island after clearing Thai Rak…
- Business News
Zurich Bread: Engineering the perfect loaf
An engineer by trade, Singhathep Thepkanjana only spent six months working full-time in the field he studied for seven years, leaving university with a bachelor’s from Chulalongkorn University and a master’s degree in engineering management in Washington DC. Since then, this Bangkokian has pursued the perfect loaf – an endeavour that has taken him across continents. “I can count on…
- Phuket News
Aussie life savers support Phuket lifeguard training
PHUKET: About 60 volunteers took part in a training seminar on emergency life-saving techniques at Phuket’s Air Traffic Control Center May 10-14. The annual lifeguard training was sponsored by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO), and was supported by members of the non-profit organization Surf Life Saving Australia. “Our trainers included personnel from the Third Naval Area Command and the…
- Phuket News
Maya Bay tourist ban proposed to save marine life
PHUKET: Maya Bay could be closed next month to help save marine life. The closure of the popular tourist spot in Phi Phi National Park was proposed by marine experts as a preventative measure to help restore bleached coral and other marine life. “Currently, sea temperature is very high, and it’s expected to continue increasing from about 30.5 to about…
- Phuket News
Fossils found in Krabi
KRABI: Fossilized bones, possibly those of a dinosaur, have been discovered in a stream bed in Krabi. Locals stumbled across the fossils half-buried in the bank of Khlong Paklao in Na Nuea, a sub-district Ao Luek District, after the water level in the stream dropped to about half a meter following an extended period of drought. The petrified bones are…
- Thai Life
Keep It Green: Beware of chemical pesticides
PHUKET: Readers can be immensely helpful, especially when they know more than you do. Come in, Victor Alvarez, who emailed me after I had sounded off about Roundup, the world’s most popular herbicide. I had recommended it in these pages for removing grass and weeds from the cracks in a local mountain road. In fairness, I did suggest that Paraquat…
- Property
Chillva Market brings fun, food and excitement to Phuket
PHUKET: After a successful soft-opening, Phuket’s newest container market is officially open to the general public. Located off of Yaowarat Road, the 20-million-baht Chillva Market’s piece de resistance is a shipping container park, situated around a central bandstand and pond. Phakanan Daowatthanakij, the owner, said that the market is arranged into three zones by stall type: a tent zone sells…
- Phuket News
Phuket police make B5mn drug haul
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police announced the seizure of street drugs valued at more than five million baht following the arrests of five drug pushers, May 4-5. Police seized more than 2.5 kilograms of crystal meth (ya ice) and 6,400 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) with a total value of about 5 million baht. “Narachai Chuatchuea, 33, was arrested at his rental…
- Phuket News
Yaowarat Road to close for three days
PHUKET: Yaowarat Road is scheduled to be closed May 8-10 due to ongoing construction work for the third phase of a project to bury power cables underground in Old Phuket Town. Phuket City Municipality confirmed that the road will be closed from Suriyadej Circle to the Dibuk-Yaowarat intersection. The project, which is a combined effort by Phuket City Municipality, Phuket…
- Phuket News
B2.4mn Provincial Hall roundabout opens today
PHUKET: The grand opening of the Narisorn roundabout near Phuket Provincial Hall was held at midday today, with Phuket Vice Governor Kajornkiet Rakpanitmanee, Phuket City Deputy Mayor Thavorn Jirapattanasophon and other officials in attendance. Construction of the 2.4-million-baht roundabout was funded last year by the UK-based non-profit Safer Roads Foundation at the island’s deadly Narisorn-Surin intersection. Last year, a total…
- Phuket News
Phuket now home to largest marine service center in Thailand
PHUKET: The largest Yamaha marine service center in Thailand opened for business in Phuket on April 30. Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul attended the grand opening of the 70-million-baht Yamaha Marine Service Center covering three rai in Koh Kaew. Watchara Marine Co Managing Director Tanate Satienpan said the opening of the facility marks an ambitious expansion into the marine…
- World News
Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’ Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Front-runner Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will have essentially sealed the Republican U.S. presidential nomination if he wins Tuesday’s contest in Indiana, where he holds a big lead over chief rival…