Search Results for: Bangkok
- Phuket News
Document forging gang arrested
PHUKET CITY: Two Burmese men and a Thai woman have been arrested for producing fake work documents to sell to illegal immigrants. The two men, Sommay Mahapong, 24, and So (last name unknown), 25, and the woman, Nipaporn Boonbunjob, also 25, were arrested in their Phuket City apartment where document-forging equipment was also found and seized. Pol Maj Pheeranat Chatinkaew,…
- Phuket News
New terminal opened at Krabi International Airport
KRABI: Phumtham Vejyachai, Deputy Transport Minister, officially opened a new four-floor domestic-passenger terminal at Krabi International Airport on May 18. Pisarn Jinacharn, Director of Krabi International Airport, said “The terminal has been built for domestic passengers and has many facilities such as restaurants, banks, taxi services and car rental offices. It has an area of 10,593 square meters and a…
- Thailand News
Er, what’s my name today?
In some places a person who frequently changes his or her name might fall under suspicion of illegal activity. But in Ubon Ratchathani Province’s Phibun Mungsaharn District it is the pillars of society – school teachers and other career bureaucrats – who change their names most often. Teachers in the district have been heading for the local registrar’s office in…
- Phuket News
Phuket-based TV correspondent dies
SURAT THANI: Phuket-based TV correspondent Colin Hillis died on Saturday after a seizure and fall while walking to the Koh Samui ferry in Don Sak. He was 41.The Scottish-born reporter worked with Lanarkshire Television as anchor on its nightly magazine program Live@6 and was also a newscaster for the station between 1999 and 2001. Earlier in his career, he was…
- Phuket News
Phuket-Spanish team wins tsunami memorial contest
BANGKOK: A design by Naga Concepts of Phuket in collaboration with Disc-O of Spain, and entitled “Mountains of Remembrance”, will be used in building the tsunami memorial at Haad Lek in Lamru National Park in Phang Nga, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop announced today.The Spanish team of architects – Ana Somoza, Juana Canet, Disc-o Architecture, Eva Sebastian Pena, Angel…
- Phuket News
Migrant laborer rules “to be relaxed’
PHUKET: The complicated and much-maligned system for employing migrant laborers from Myanmar, Laos or Cambodia is to be overhauled, Boonchock Maneechot, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Services Office (PESO), has announced.Previously, employers wanting to hire workers had to pay a “guarantee” of either 10,000 or 50,000 baht per worker, depending upon the immigration status of the worker.However, at a…
- Phuket News
Fiberglass “Phuket Dog’ home for good
PATONG: A sculpture of an over-sized dog by a famous Japanese artist has returned, this time permanently, to Patong Beach. The sculpture, known as Phuket Dog, is 3½ meters tall and was originally created for an art exhibition held on the beach last year in commemoration of the tsunami. The artist who made the fiberglass dog, Yoshitomo Nara, explained the…
- Thailand News
Sneaky thief
BANGKOK: After waking up to find that their house had been broken into, a high-society couple in Bangkok were left more than a little confused when they discovered that the thief had ignored a selection of diamond and gold jewelry – instead making off with more than 20 pairs of shoes. The crime scene, an elegant European-style house that had…
- Phuket News
Judges vote for new general election
BANGKOK (Nation, Gazette): A general election will be held, Judge Ura Wangormklang announced today after the Constitutional Court today declared the controversial April 2 election to be invalid.Judge Ura said that of the 14 judges involved in the ruling, eight to six voted to annul the April 2 snap election on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, and nine judges…
- Phuket News
Gumballers launch from Phuket
PHUKET: Movie star Darryl Hannah of Kill Bill fame, stuntman extraordinaire Ryan Dunn, Oscar winner Adrien Brody, Jackass’s Bam Margera, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, hip-hop superstar Missy Elliot, singer Pink and many others were among participants in the Gumball 3000 race, which took off with smoking tires from Phuket this morning, headed for Bangkok.The rally participants, driving everything from ancient…
- Phuket News
Chinese official calls for greater safety for tourists
PHUKET CITY: Yao Bomin, China’s Consul-General in Songkhla, has called for the Thai government to help make travel to Phuket safer for Chinese tourists following the deaths of three Chinese nationals from accidents in Phuket earlier this year.“The Chinese government is very concerned about the safety of Chinese tourists, especially as three have died as a result of accidents in…
- Phuket News
By-election canceled
PHUKET: The by-election for Phuket Voting District 2, which includes all areas outside of Phuket City and its surrounds, has been canceled following a ruling by the Central Administration Court (CAC) that the by-election had been called at too short notice.The CAC at 4 pm today announced that all 14 by-elections that were to be held in nine provinces had…
- Phuket News
Election observers “impressed with polling’
PHUKET, PHANG NGA: Girawadee Khao-orn, one of the eight UN-affiliated election monitors who came to Phuket to check out yesterday’s poll, told the Gazette today that the observers were impressed with how voting was conducted in Phuket and Phang Nga. “We could see the efforts made by the Regional Election Commission, which tried to serve people in all areas, even…
- Phuket News
1,000 incentives delegates at Sheraton generate B150m
CHERNG TALAY: A thousand Australians descended on the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket on April 8 for the biggest incentive program yet hosted in the Laguna complex.The organizers, Hagemeyer Electrical of Australia, a subsidiary of Dutch trading giant Hagemeyer, estimate that the three-day program, which brought 850 of the company’s top customers to Thailand, injected some 150 million baht into the…
- Phuket News
THAI cuts fares, boosts flights for Songkran
BANGKOK: Thai Airways International (THAI) is introducing discounted domestic air tickets to and from Bangkok during the Songkran period, starting today and ending next Monday. The discounted destinations are Chiang Mai, Phuket, Haad Yai, Krabi, Surat Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Khon Kaen, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Phitsanulok and Udon Thani. Vasing Kittikul, THAI’s Executive Vice President said that passengers buying the discounted…
- Phuket News
French tourist dies in fall from rocks
NAI HARN: A French tourist died on Wednesday morning after he apparently slipped while climbing rocks at Nai Harn Beach, plunging onto submerged rocks below.Chalong Police Inspector Pol Lt Col Chockchai Sutthimek identified the victim as Gregory Eric Muguet, 34. The accident occurred after the victim went out for a morning walk and swim with his mother, Col Chockchai said.…
- Phuket News
Spa trots out “best’ detox treatment
PHUKET: A consortium of international investors known as the Gastro Group has announced a 1.5-billion-baht investment in what is being billed as the world’s first “detoxotel” – a 150-room facility specializing in state-of-the-art detoxification treatments.Construction of the facility, which will be on a 15-rai site coastal site, the location of which is currently being kept secret, is scheduled to get…
- Phuket News
Anti-Thaksin protesters march through city
PHUKET CITY: Some 200 members of the Phuket branch of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched today from the CB Market on Bangkok Rd to Provincial Hall.The marchers, who included a handful of foreigners, took a roundabout route through the city, taking about an hour and a half to reach their destination, and shouting “Thaksin, Get Out!” along the…
- Phuket News
Police name third Preecha killing suspect
PHUKET CITY: Police say they believe they now know the name of the gunman who assassinated Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth named the wanted man as Samrerng Klaising, from Petchaburi.Meanwhile, Pol Capt Wanchana Polpalangkul and Pol Sgt Pongsak Kosi-ratanapibal, both formerly…
- Phuket News
Phuket Airlines “will be off blacklist soon’
BANGKOK: Phuket Airlines, recently blacklisted by the European Commission (EC) as one of 93 airlines barred from flying to the European Union (EU) and Switzerland, is confident that it will be reinstated soon, a senior official of the airline said today. As if to reinforce that confidence, the Gazette has learned that Phuket Airlines has applied to launch another airline,…
- Phuket News
Phuket Air barred from EU
BRUSSELS: Phuket Air has been included in a list of 93 passenger and cargo airlines barred from European Union countries and Switzerland, on safety grounds.It is one of only two airline in East Asia included in the list, the other being North Korea’s Air Koryo. Most of the list, made public on Wednesday, comprises airlines from Africa, with a sprinkling…
- Phuket News
Call for Phuket people to join anti-Thaksin rally
PHUKET: The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is urging the people of Phuket to join in a massive rally planned for Saturday at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, where protesters will demand that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resign.Amnuay Koombaan, a vice-president of the Phuket PAD, told the Gazette that he and other alliance members will leave Phuket at 6 pm…
- Phuket News
Suwit quits politics
PHUKET CITY: Suwit Sa’ngaimkul today announced his decision to quit politics. K. Suwit served as the Phuket Democrat Member of Parliament for Phuket District 1 for five years, until the recent dissolution called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.“I was intending to finish my political career at the end of my second term [in 2009], but Parliament was dissolved first, so…
- Phuket News
Two cops held for Ko Noi murder
PHUKET CITY: Two Phuket Provincial Police officers have been arrested in connection with the March 14 assassination of Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate. K. Preecha was shot twice in the head while driving along Wiset Rd at 11 pm with his wife and son. He died in hospital the…
- Phuket News
Ex-cop sought for Patong murder
PATONG: Kathu police have issued an arrest warrant for an ex-policeman, L/Cpl Anan Hincheeranan, formerly of the Special Branch of the Royal Thai Police and latterly a security guard at Soi Bangla’s Crazy Bar, for the murder of Metha Thongkaew, his counterpart at the Snack Bar on Soi Tiger. Both bars are foreign-owned.K. Metha, 28, from Haad Yai, was shot…
- Phuket News
Registrations open for Phuket Marathon
CHERNG TALAY: Laguna Phuket, known worldwide for its annual triathlon, will be the official host and presenting sponsor for the inaugural Phuket International Marathon, to be held on June 18. Raimund Wellenhofer, Managing Director of Bangkok-based event organizer, Go Adventure Asia, said, “We are thrilled to be working with Laguna Phuket. Their extensive experience with the triathlon makes them an…
- Phuket News
Political crisis worries tourism leaders
PHUKET: Key figures in Phuket’s tourism industry today called for a peaceful solution to the current political crisis, following the detonation of a small bomb yesterday outside the home of former Prime Minister Gen Prem Tinsulanonda in Bangkok, which slightly injured a British tourist.Kitti Pattanachinda, Vice-President of the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA), told the Gazette, “Our political problems are broadcast…
- Phuket News
Woman survives four-day ordeal at sea
PHUKET: Australian mother-of-four Dominique Courteille, 57, survived an ordeal of four days adrift on the Andaman Sea and in the Straits of Malacca in a dinghy.Speaking to the media at Bangkok Hospital Phuket (BHP) today, the Belgian-born naturalized Australian said that on Thursday she and her crew went ashore on Koh Lipe, in Satun Province, to eat at a restaurant,…
- Phuket News
Top Democrats head for Phuket
PHUKET: The Democrat Party is to hold a rally at Saphan Hin central stage from 5 pm to 11 pm on Sunday (March 5) as part of what it is calling its Southern Mobile Tour.Manoo Onksantipab, Chairman of the Phuket branch of the Democrat Party, told the Gazette that the rally’s purpose is to explain to the public what caretaker…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s tour guide shortage addressed at seminar
PHUKET CITY: A seminar on the shortage of tour guides in Phuket attracted some 150 tourism industry employees to the Royal Phuket City Hotel on February 23. The seminar was chaired by Thanitta Maneechote, Director-General of the Office of Tourism Development, part of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. “We have held this seminar three times before – in Bangkok,…