Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
Ukranian arrested in Phuket on child porn charges
PHUKET: Police on Saturday announced the arrest of a Ukrainian man allegedly involved in the international distribution of child pornography over the Internet. The suspect, 31-year-old Maxsim Shynkarenko, was arrested by Tourist Police on Friday at a luxury rented house on Saiyaun Road in Chalong. He has denied the charges.Announcing the arrest were Tourist Police Commander Attakrit Thaneechat, Phuket Provincial Police…
- Phuket News
Australian sentenced to 3 years in jail
Bangkok (The Nation): A Thai court sentenced an Australian author to three years imprisonment on a lêse majesté charge this afternoon. Lêse majesté, a French term, is the crime of violating majesty, or offending the dignity of a reigning sovereign. The court’s ruling came as Harry Nicolaides, 41, pleaded guilty to the charge. He wrote a novel in 2005 which…
- Phuket News
Farang Restaurant owner shot in Phuket
PHUKET: The owner of the Phuket-based Farang restaurant chain was shot dead while sitting with friends at one of his dining venues on Friday night. The victim, Chit Raknanga, a successful and popular Thai national known to his friends as ‘Tik’, was shot at close range by a man who had arrived at the restaurant on the back of a…
- Phuket News
Phuket not on Bird Flu risk list
BANGKOK / PHUKET (The Nation): The Public Health Ministry has listed 14 provinces as being at risk from a reappearance of the H5N1 bird flu virus. “The cool weather provides a good environment for it,” said Deputy Permanent Secretary Dr Paijit Warachit. He named Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Chai Nat, Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Suphan Buri, Kanchanaburi,…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s luxury villa market holding despite global conditions
PHUKET: The upscale luxury villa segment has outperformed the broader Phuket property market for Q4 2008 in spite of the worsening global financial downturn and recent political issues in Bangkok, according to the Phuket Luxury Villa Market Report recently released by the island’s widely respected consulting firm C9 Hotelworks. C9’s Managing Director Bill Barnett said that “while take-up rates are…
- Phuket News
Help sought for tourism sector
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Tourism and Sports Ministry has submitted 13 tourism recovery measures for government approval that include waiving visa fees, cutting air fares and reducing airport charges. Minister Chumpol Silapa-Archa said the measures, compiled from private-sector proposals, were handed to the government’s economic team yesterday. The tourism industry is suffering from the global economic crisis and the after-effects…
- Phuket News
Children’s day activities round-up
PHUKET CITY: This year’s Children’s Day falls on January 10 – tomorrow – with activities for the whole family all around the island. The Phuket City municipality has arranged a host of events to take place at the Municipal Youth Health Center at Saphan Hin. Local schools and parents’ associations will have their own tents, where presents, sweets, ice cream…
- Phuket News
PM says ‘no’ to bullet-proof car
BANGKOK / PHUKET: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday declined an official offer to use a state-owned bullet-proof car, despite having received many death threats in recent days. He refused to change to the bullet-proof model offered by his security team and said that the offer had nothing to do with the assassination threats. The team told him that they did…
- Phuket News
Aussie arrivals receive Christmas surprise
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Airports of Thailand (AOT) held a “Splendid Phuket Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2009” event in the main terminal building of Phuket International Airport on the afternoon of December 26. Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan, AOT Chairman Wuttipan Wichairat and Phuket International Airport Director Wicha Nernlop were on hand to preside over the activities, which included staged…
- Phuket News
Day of danger on Phuket roads
WICHIT, PHUKET: In a chilling reminder about the need to drive safely during the current holiday season, a man on a motorcycle was killed instantly when he was hit by a six-wheeled truck and then pulled under its wheels yesterday afternoon. The accident occurred at about 1:30 pm near the entrance to Sukko Spa in Tambon Wichit, about 300 meters…
- Phuket News
Phuket Airport to fall short of 6 million passenger milestone
PHUKET / MAI KHAO: A “Splendid Phuket Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” event will take place on Boxing Day at Phuket International Airport, replacing a previously scheduled activity to welcome the airport’s record 6 millionth passenger in 2008. Airport authorities expected the 6 millionth passenger to arrive around Christmas, but the milestone will not be reached because of the…
- Phuket News
Blackout tomorrow in city’s south end
PHUKET CITY: Residents of much of Phuket City’s Talad Neua sub-district will be without electricity from 9 am to 4 pm tomorrow, as the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) will cut the power to replace pylons along three main roads. The affected area starts from the Tha Kraeng three-way junction near Suan Luang Park in the south, runs north along Chao…
- Phuket News
Phuket businesses seek debt moratorium
PHUKET (The Nation): Cash-strapped tourism businesses in Phuket are seeking debt relief in order to deal with the current downturn in tourist arrivals at a time when hotel occupancy rates are normally at their highest. Somchai Pathamakantin, founder of the Phuket Seashell Museum and representative of tourist business groups on Kata and Karon beaches, today proposed to Phuket Governor Preecha…
- Phuket News
Phuket business community pleads for stability
PHUKET: With it still unclear whether the Democrat Party or the Pheu Thai Party will form the next Thai government, top figures in the Phuket tourism and real estate sectors say a return to stability is the key to restoring the local economy. Tanan Tanphaibul, President of the Phuket Real Estate Club, says the Phuket business community is calling for…
- Phuket News
Fourth quarter airport arrivals down almost 50%
PHUKET (MAI KHAO): Passenger numbers at Phuket International Airport for the last three months of 2008 are expected to be down about 48% year-on-year due to global economic conditions and recent events in the Thai capital. Phuket International Airport Director Wicha Nernlop told the Gazette that around 65 direct international flights to the airport were canceled during the10-day political standoff…
- Phuket News
Quantum Racing snatches victory in King’s Cup Regatta
KATA: In fresh winds gusting up to 20 knots yesterday morning, Ray Roberts’ Quantum Racing team snatched victory from Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi and Winkelman and Dodd’s Island Fling to win the final race of the Racing class in the 22nd annual King’s Cup Regatta. In one of the tightest competitions ever in the King’s Cup, the win moved Quantum…
- Phuket News
Phuket PAD: “No plans’ to close airport
THALANG: The Phuket branch of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has “no plans” to close down Phuket International Airport again, according to a spokesman. The number of unscheduled flights in and out of Phuket has been increasing in recent days, with foreign governments arranging special flights for people stranded in Thailand by the closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang…
- Phuket News
Phuket to host Suzuki Cup
PHUKET CITY: Phuket has been designated as the new Thai venue for Group B play in the AFF Suzuki Cup. Formerly known as the Tiger Cup, the tournament is the biggest in Southeast Asia and the only regional football competition to feature senior squads of all Asean nations. A spokesperson for the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) confirmed that Phuket…
- Phuket News
Car scam gang arrested
THALANG: Tah Chat Chai Police on November 25 arrested a six-member gang on charges including vehicle theft, receiving stolen goods and passport fraud. The men, three Thai nationals and three foreigners, are alleged to have been involved in a scam in which fake passports were used to rent cars, which were then to be sold in Laos. At around 2…
- Phuket News
100,000 passengers miss flights in 3 days
BANGKOK: Nearly 100,000 passengers have missed flights since protesters shut down Bangkok’s two main airports on Tuesday and the total could hit 300,000 as the shutdown continues, Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said yesterday. “The total number could hit 300,000. When Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports are cleared, it will take 24 to 48 hours to verify aviation standards.…
- Phuket News
Stranded tourists to receive hotel bill aid
PHUKET CITY: Tourists who have been unable to fly to Bangkok due to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport are to receive discounted hotel bills, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Southern Region 4 Office Director Sathaphan Buddhani told the Gazette in an interview today. Funding will come from the TAT, the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter) and the Phuket Tourist Association.…
- Phuket News
King’s Cup racing delayed
PHUKET: The King’s Cup Organizing Committee has this afternoon announced a change in the racing schedule for this year’s regatta. Racing will commence Tuesday, December 2 and will continue through to Saturday, December 6. There will be no lay day. The delay in starting the regatta is to allow those held up by the Bangkok airport closures to reroute their…
- Phuket News
Tomorrow’s Gazette on time despite airport closure
PHUKET: At a time when few major newspapers are available on the newsstands of Phuket, the Gazette will be out on schedule tomorrow morning, November 29, with all deliveries completed by 2pm – despite the shutdown of Bangkok’s Suvarnaphumi airport and limited service out of Don Muang. To ensure that our commitment to readers continues uninterrupted, a tradition started with…
- Phuket News
Travellers stranded in transit
BANGKOK (The Nation): Many travelers who were only in transit when their trips were disrupted are mired in uncertainty and hoping that Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport will reopen soon. Sixty-year-old Austrian Fink Viktor, who was on his way from Bali to Phuket with his wife, said the PAD blockade was terrifying, especially since they were traveling on their own and not…
- Thailand News
A Krathong for your bong
BANGKOK: In the run up to Loy Krathong festival every year, there are a host of predictable stories in the Thai press about teens who choose to lose their virginity during the romantic, full moon celebration. Other common reports involve rampant price gouging on candles and other materials needed to make krathongs as the special day draws near. This year,…
- Phuket News
No end in sight for Patong Hospital staffing crisis
PATONG: Service at Patong Hospital continues to suffer, with no doctors on its permanent staff and no reinforcements expected until the middle of next year. Hospital Director Dr Taveesak Netwongse explained that the 60-bed hospital continues to get by with a skeleton crew of doctors on loan from other state-run hospitals including Vachira Phuket Hospital, Thalang Hospital and some in…
- Phuket News
Thailand hammered by world travel warnings
PHUKET: Countries around the globe yesterday issued warnings to their citizens about traveling to Thailand – a country the Philippines said was lacking in “political maturity”. The comment from President Gloria Arroyo’s spokesman, Anthony Golez, was prompted by the seizure of Suvarnabhumi Airport by protesters. Asked to explain his comments, Golez said, “Our people have reached a high degree of…
- Phuket News
4,500 travelers hit by Suvarnabhumi Airport closure
MAI KHAO: Almost 4,500 travelers have had flights canceled from Phuket International Airport (PIA) today following the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Protests by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) forced authorities to close Suvarnabhumi to all air traffic at 4 am today. Bangkok’s Don Muang airport remains open, though it is understood there have been cancellations there too.…
- Thailand News
Aussie stabbing: no worries, mate
PATONG: Officers at Patong Hospital have denied reports in a local Thai-language newspaper that an Australian serviceman on shore leave was in a coma after being stabbed repeatedly following an altercation in Patong on the night of November 5. In fact, the soldier was treated for only minor stab wounds, which were stitched in the hospital. He was released shortly…
- Phuket News
Two arrested in Phuket heroin mega-bust
RASSADA (Kom Chad Luek): Police arrested a Thai man and a Taiwanese national along with 104 kilos of heroin at a house in the Phuket City Home residential estate yesterday afternoon, deputy national police chief Priewphan Damapong announced at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday. Speaking at the Royal Thai Police Drug Suppression Division headquarters on Viphawadee-Rangsit Rd, Gen Preowpan…
