Search Results for: lion
- Business News
Phuket In Focus: AEC is coming – are you ready?
PHUKET: In 2015, the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) – Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam – will formally integrate their economies as part of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) initiative. The AEC will be similar to the European Economic community (EEC) where participating countries aim to develop…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Scores dead in Egypt crackdown; Weapons detonate on Indian submarine; China, Hong Kong battered by Typhoon Utor
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt seethes under curfew after hundreds killed Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Security forces struggled to clamp a lid on Egypt on Thursday after hundreds of people were killed when authorities forcibly broke up camps of supporters protesting the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, in the worst…
- Hua Hin News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rohingya talks with Myanmar; Nat Parks denies trafficking; Akeyuth hit professional
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Surapong discusses Rohingya issue with Myanmar The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul discussed with his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin yesterday how to find a lasting solution to the problem of Rohingya boat people detained in Thailand.More than 1,700 Rohinyga migrants have been held…
- Business News
Asian groups may invest US$150bn in markets abroad
PHUKET: Institutional investors based in Asia could look to invest in excess of US$150 billion in global real estate over the next five years, though not necessarily in domestic markets. According to the latest research from leading global real estate services provider, CBRE, since there is limited investable stock available in Asia, such investors – including banks, insurance companies as…
- Thailand News
Thailand News: Kidnapped Thais in Nigeria still alive; Taib will lead BRN team; Channel 7 journo seeks help with libel charge; ICT scoffs at online control
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Kidnapped Thai calls to say all safe The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One of the four Thai workers, who were abducted by an unknown gang in Nigeria, called his company to say he and the others were safe and had not been harmed, Thai Foreign…
- Phuket News
Phuket police force to start growing in November
PHUKET: Phuket’s police force will increase by 700 officers next year, with new officers starting to arrive in November, Royal Thai Police Commissioner Adul Saengsingkaew has announced.The move is to upgrade the island’s force to meet the demands of increasing numbers of tourists and residents on the island.“Phuket will have a bigger and more efficient police force in 2014,” General…
- Phuket News
Tourism Minister mulls compulsory travel insurance for tourists
PHUKET: The Tourism and Sports Ministry would like to make it compulsory for all foreign tourists to have travel insurance before entering the Kingdom because unpaid bills are putting a huge strain on cash-strapped public hospitals in major destinations, particularly Phuket. However, some tourism-business operators warn that this measure might keep away travellers as well as tarnish the country’s image.…
- Phuket News
Phuket duo win Tourism Thailand competition
PHUKET: A Phuket-based duo, comprising Richard Brownsdon from UK and Vimalin Chalermporn from Thailand, were recently selected as the winners of “The Little Big Project”, a Thai destination promotion and development competition. Mr Brownsdon and Ms Vimalin won the competition with their project, which focused on “responsible eco-tourism and marine conservation in Phuket”, executed in collaboration with openmindprojects.org. Since May…
- Phuket News
Trio of top cops gather to promote Phuket safety, again
PHUKET: The two highest-ranking police officers in Thailand joined Phuket’s top cop in Patong yesterday evening in the latest campaign to safeguard tourism revenue by convincing tourists that Phuket is a safe place to vacation. Over 400 police officers gleaned from every station in Phuket gathered in formation at one end of Soi Bangla to be reviewed by the Royal…
- Phuket News
Phuket FC’s new coach to play ‘Brazilian style’ against Nakhon Pathom
PHUKET: The Islanders’ newly appointed (click here for story) Brazilian head coach, Stefano Rodrigues, or “Coach Teco”, said he is confident in Phuket FC’s chances against Nakhon Pathom United in tomorrow’s match. The game, the Yamaha League One’s 2013 season’s 21st clash of the 34 match campaign, will be played at Surakul Stadium with a 6:30pm kickoff (click here for…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Eiffel Tower bomb alert; Obama calls Putin bored kid; Mona Lisa tomb opened
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Eiffel Tower reopens after bomb scare Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Hundreds of tourists were evacuated from Paris’ Eiffel Tower on Friday afternoon in response to a bomb alert, but it was found to be a scare and the tower was reopened two hours later, police told Reuters.Police…
- Phuket News
Logos Hope announces special events for Phuket
PHUKET: MV Logos Hope, carrying the world’s largest floating library, arrives in Phuket on Wednesday and has already announced two special events to be put on by some of its 460 volunteers. The first of the two events will be the ‘Cultural Cafe’, which showcases a variety of cultures, music and dances from around the globe. The event, during which…
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Keep hands steady for return to island time
PHUKET: There is a special relationship between time and islands, which Einstein might have narrowly missed quantifying in his examination of the Theory of Relativity. The theory points out, among many other things, that space travellers moving at nearly the speed of light might reach a distant galaxy and only age 26 years. However, here on Earth millions of years…
- Thai Life
Singapore National Day – Phuket Lifestyle
PHUKET: It’s party time…again. And for Singapore it’s the 48th time – today the small Southeast Asian country celebrates its National Day marking the anniversary of independence from Malaysia. A speech by the Prime Minister, a colorful procession presenting the island’s multicultural character and naturally, fireworks, are all planned for this special day. Looking BackBefore Singapore got its current name,…
- Phuket News
Rohingya riot north of Phuket pre-planned escape attempt, says Immigration
PHUKET: The Rohingya refugees’ rebellion against their captivity during the Muslim holy day Eid-al Fitr yesterday was a pre-planned attempt to escape the facilities and leave Thailand, Phang Nga Immigration Police told the Phuket Gazette today. “The refugees were convinced by visitors to protest and attempt to escape to another country,” Phang Nga Immigration Inspector Neti Khanboon said. Lt Col…
- Business News
Last Call – Digging my way down to China
PHUKET: Growing up in California, one of my favorite pre-teen past times was digging holes. Not just holes but dark inviting spaces with a purpose. A fort, or looking for buried Aztec treasure, putting time capsules away to be dug up after people are weekending on Mars or the sadness of burying a demised goldfish or two. We never quite…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Obama snubs Putin; Egypt at deadly stalemate; Nairobi fire threatens regional economies; Saudi offers Russia arms deal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama snubs Putin over Snowden row Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama is cancelling a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for next month in Moscow, the White House said on Wednesday.The Obama administration has repeatedly expressed disappointment after Moscow granted temporary asylum to…
- Phuket News
Phuket weather delays salvage of sunken cargo vessel
PHUKET: Efforts to salvage the cargo ship Unity, which sunk in high seas on its way to Phi Phi Island last week (story here), have been postponed until tomorrow due to the current spate of bad weather. “We will begin the recovery of the ship tomorrow, as today we have been preparing the machinery and the equipment needed to recover…
- Property
Kamala to get Hyatt Regency
PHUKET: Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced last week that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Kamala Bay Ventures Co Ltd for a Hyatt Regency branded resort in the Kamala area. The hotel will be the first Hyatt-branded resort to open in Phuket, one of Southeast Asia’s premier resort destinations. Expected to open later this year, Hyatt Regency…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Syrian child soldiers being recruited; Radioactive water seeping into ocean in Japan; Python strangles Canadian kids
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Audit of Syrian refugees finds organised crime and child soldiers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Many Syrians who have escaped their country are now desperate to escape from U.N.-run refugee camps, where women are not safe and teenage boys are recruited as soldiers to fight in…
- Phuket News
No infrastructure damage to Krabi International Airport, despite ramp road subsiding
PHUKET: Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) officers confirmed that there was no structural damage to the domestic terminal at Krabi International Airport after heavy rains caused the ramp road of the terminal to subside (story here). The DCA has already approved a budget to make repairs to the airport, which recently underwent a 743-million-baht upgrade. The budget is set to…
- Phuket News
Phuket Poll: Public transport preferred to new Chalong underpass
PHUKET: More than one-third of respondents to a Phuket Gazette online poll have voted to have an effective public transport system that reduces the volume of traffic on Phuket’s roads, instead of building an underpass costing hundreds of millions of baht at the busy Chalong Circle junction in the south of the island. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut last month unveiled…
- Phuket News
Cola wars: which one passes the Phuket taste test?
PHUKET: Since the launch of the cola soft drink “est” into the Thai market late last year (story here), local companies have been competing with global giants, vying for consumer allegiance among expats, Thais and tourists across the island. Est producer Serm Suk Co, which until recently bottled and distributed Pepsi across Thailand, is aiming to achieve 8 billion baht…
- Phuket News
Phuket FC lose another coach after draw
PHUKET: A minor yet vocally active segment of Phuket FC’s supporters got their way yet-again, highlighted by a public announcement on Facebook last night by now-ex Head Coach Paniphon “Tu” Kerdyaem, that he was resigning his post with immediate effect. The announcement follows Saturday night’s close yet disappointing 1-1 league draw with lower ranked Thai Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) FC at…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: NYPD rookie kills 14-year-old; Aussie PM calls Sept 7 election; Al Qaeda threat leaves US embassies closed; Spain and Britain spar over Gibraltar
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australian PM Rudd calls September 7 poll Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called a September 7 general election on Sunday, barely six weeks after he toppled former leader Julia Gillard in a party-room vote, ending a turbulent three years in power for the…
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: No coup, says Army; Oil slick seafood safe; Brit teachers arrive in force
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No coup, Army insists, despite rising tension The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The army yesterday dismissed the possibility of a military coup amid the escalating political tension. “This unfounded theory was just the personal imagination of some people who are out to confuse the public,” deputy Army…
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: The road not taken
PHUKET: After a road trip off island, a resounding thump lets you know you’ve arrived back home. I can’t drive anywhere in Phuket anymore without crater divots and potholes lurking in front of me, threatening to bring my motorbike scuttling to the ground or sending a wheel on my car scraping high into its arch. Each time I stop at…
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: For tourists, due diligence is essential, as is due skepticism for media hype
PHUKET: Tourist safety issues have been a hot topic in the news lately as the number of accidents and crimes involving foreign visitors continues to grow with the largely unregulated expansion of the island’s tourism industry. Despite the often colorful announcements of an impending “crackdown” on this or that, or the establishment of another new “safety zone” or other largely…
- Phuket News
Phuket out of TAT promotional campaign for 2014
PHUKET: Phuket is one of several main tourism destinations in the country that will not be promoted under the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) international marketing campaign for next year. Instead, the focus will be on less-developed tourism areas, Director of the Phuket-TAT office Chanchai Doungjit revealed yesterday. “We will not be promoting tourism centers that are already well-established. Instead,…
- Business News
Asian demand for tablets and laptops insatiable
PHUKET: Southeast Asia’s internet infrastructure has improved by leaps and bounds, spurring the increasingly connected society to seek gratification for instant connectivity via portable devices such as tablets and laptops. In the last 12 months, demand for both devices grew to hit combined sales of nearly 14.2 million units across six of the region’s key markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,…