Search Results for: cat
- Phuket News
Gimme shelter: Phi Phi run delayed by big waves
PHUKET: More than 100 tourists on their way to Phi Phi Don Island were forced to shelter from heavy seas at Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh Island, east of Phuket, yesterday morning. At about 10 am, several speedboats and longtail boats were forced to seek protection in the bay, where the movie ‘The Beach’, starring Leonardo Di Caprio, was…
- Phuket News
Phuket teen strangled in rape and robbery attack
PHUKET: Chalong Police investigating the murder of a 17-year-old girl in her home yesterday suspect the attack was carried out by a neighbor who knew she was there alone. The police were notified at about 5:30pm by relatives of the victim, 17-year-old Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, who was found lying face-down on a bed in the family’s detached home in a…
- Thai Life
Phuket Lifestyle: Art Dinners designed to expose local artists
PHUKET: Michael Earle is an architect and local magazine publisher with a mission to expose and support Phuket’s local artists. “I moved to the island three years ago after working as an architect in Spain for many years. I immediately noticed a great number of interesting art galleries operated mainly by local Thai artists in Phuket Town. They were not…
- Phuket News
Phuket Sports: More hulls means more fun
PHUKET: The Rawai-Nai Harn Multihull Regatta returns to Phuket’s shores next weekend for its fifth straight year. This popular sailor’s regatta is unique in that it’s only for multihull yachts; crews that normally sail on monohull boats get the chance to try multis – often for the first time. The event will take place in Chalong Bay, under the auspices…
- Phuket News
Belanger Deaths: Probe finds more information but no clues
PHUKET: The lack of information publicly released on the deaths of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger on Phi Phi Island last month prompted the sisters’ father, Carl Belanger, to accuse the Thai authorities of covering up the true circumstances of their deaths.The leading investigators in the case have now refuted the allegation. The Phuket Gazette’s Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai and Orawin…
- Phuket News
Drugs seized in Phuket revealed to be “normal” crystal meth
PHUKET: Reports that a “new kind” of methamphetamine was recovered in a Phuket drug bust last week were false, according to arresting officers in Thalang. Thalang Police Inspector Pisit Chunpet on July 7 confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the suspected “new drug” was “simply” ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) with unusually large crystals.The announcement of the possibility of a new…
- Phuket News
Ombudsman’s Office investigates Phuket sea gypsies’ land issue
PHUKET: Investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman were on the island last week to study a complaint by the sea gypsy community in Rawai, who fear eviction from the land they have called home for decades after a title deed for the land was issued to a private party. The investigators, led by Investigation Bureau 3 Director Tavin Inchamnong,…
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Beach warnings drowned out, but there’s hope in the sky
PHUKET: A recent poll conducted by the Phuket Gazette reveals that readers are evenly divided on which of six possible approaches would be most effective to minimize the number of lives lost to drownings during the monsoon season every year. For details of the poll and its results, click here. As noted by many who commented in our readers’ forum,…
- Thailand News
Thailand News: Alleged call center scam; ASEAN update; Govt seeks release of more than 80 Thais detained in Burma
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police crack call-centre scam, 15 arrested Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Police have arrested 15 foreigners in Bangkok, most of them from Europe, for allegedly running a call-center scam and duping several people into wiring more than 320 million baht into their accounts. Of the…
- World News
Phuket Gazette: Remains found of U.S. service members from Vietnam War
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Found: Remains of U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam War plane crash Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The remains of six U.S. service members who went missing when their plane disappeared during the Vietnam War 46 years ago have been recovered, the U.S. Department of Defense…
- Phuket News
New wealth brings new health problems, ASEAN Secretary-General tells Phuket meeting
PHUKET: Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), yesterday warned that the rise in wealth throughout the ASEAN member states will bring a new wave of health issues to the region. “The formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 will make some people richer. With their new lifestyle will come new health issues; non-communicable…
- Phuket News
Phuket Sports: Fighting to save Phuket’s sea turtles
PHUKET: Helping to bring Phuket’s sea turtles back from the brink, today’s WBO Oriental Bantamweight (118lbs) title fight saw Thailand’s boxers maintain their dominance over Filipino fighters in the channel 7 series. The WBO Bantam-weight title belt was flown in by helicopter and carried by armed Thai soldiers, who made a rapid-descent (fast-roping) from their helicopter. Thai boxer Pungluang Sor…
- Phuket News
Phuket Sports: F1 – Moans, malpractice and onto Maggotts
PHUKET: Sebastian Vettel knows how to celebrate victory, but he is bad loser. That is one reason it is fun when he loses. After the race at Valencia, he said the “safety car” which took away his lead was not needed and “in a sense was to break our necks.” But hold on a minute, Vettel (and Romain Grosjean) retired…
- World News
Mysterious disease kills 61 children in Cambodia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mysterious disease kills 61 children in Cambodia Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Health officials in Cambodia are investigating a mysterious disease which has affected more than 60 children over the past three months, killing all but one of them, officials said on Wednesday. There is…
- Thailand News
Plan for pregnant migrant workers misguided
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Proposed plan for pregnant migrant workers misguided Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Non-governmental organizations and the academia yesterday spoke up against the Labor Ministry’s plan to deport migrant workers who get pregnant while in Thailand. The ministry initiated this policy as a response to Thailand’s…
- Thailand News
Non-communicable diseases top ASEAN meet
PHUKET: Public Health Ministers and senior officials from the 10 countries in Asean yesterday gathered to discuss ways of tackling chronic noncommunicable diseases, state health-care funds, control of tobacco and alcohol consumption, and the spread of HIV/Aids in urban areas.About 200 participants from regional governments attended the 11th Asean Health Ministers meeting yesterday in Phuket, which continues today.The event includes…
- Thai Life
Thai Gallery – Patima Khunpromkessara
PHUKET: Troubles in the southern provinces of Thailand are real and constant. Political unrest results in a spate of bombings, taking the lives of many and the problems look set to continue. Born and raised in Yala, Patima Khunpromkessara remembers just the opposite. “It was a neat little town. Do you know that we have a town plan similar to…
- Phuket News
Patong named “Safety Zone’ in Phuket model for public safety
PHUKET: Patong has been nominated a “Safety Zone” by Deputy Police Chief Pansiri Prapawat as part of the “Phuket model” for public safety. Speaking at a meeting yesterday that focused on establishing tourism safety measures for the island, Gen Pansiri said, “Phuket is one of the most attractive vacation places in Thailand. However, illegal taxis, jet-ski operators and issues with…
- Phuket News
Koh Lanta community “powerless’ for two decades
PHUKET: More than 20 families of Baan Klong Jak on Koh Lanta Noi, in Krabi have repeated their plea for their village to be provided mains supply electricity.Although a new road to the village was cut through the jungle two years ago, the community still lacks electricity, and continues to be dependent on oil lamps for lighting, as it has…
- Phuket News
Phuket expat’s “last wishes’ hang in limbo
PHUKET: Staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital are awaiting instructions from the British Embassy in Bangkok regarding what to do with the body of a British national who was found dead in his rented room in Chalong two weeks ago. The body of Michael David Leo, 59, was discovered on the bed of his accommodation near Chalong Pier on the night…
- Thai Life
Phuket Entertainment: Impaling history
PHUKET: Film-makers love revising history to suit a story. Some, such as Oliver Stone, weave their fabrications so subtly into the weft and warp of historical accuracy that they can become instant conspirators. Others, such as Quentin Tarantino, strip history down to its underpants and strap a silly hat on its head, before shooting it, blowing it up and, just…
- Phuket News
PADI divers prepare for Phuket’s biggest coral reef cleanup
PHUKET: Nine dive boats and almost 20 PADI dive shops with the guidance of PADI Project AWARE have put aside their differences and on Tuesday, at the group’s third meeting, announced the date for what they hope will be the largest coral reef cleanup in Phuket. The project, part of the group’s start-up “Go Eco Phuket“, aims to set “cleanup…
- World News
First over-the-counter HIV test kit approved
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. FDA approves first over-the-counter HIV test kit Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday approved the first over-the-counter, self-administered HIV test kit. The FDA-approved OraQuick In-Home HIV Test detects the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type…
- Thailand News
Bangkok oil refinery fire; under control
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fire at Bangchak’s oil refinery brought under control Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A blaze at the Bangchak oil refinery in Soi Sukhumvit 64, Bangkok, believed to have been caused by a leak in a pipeline, has been brought under control with no injuries reported.…
- Thai Life
Looking Back: A brief history of Thai-US relations
PHUKET: Diplomatic relations between Thailand and the United States date back to the early 19th century. The United States was founded only a few decades earlier, when thirteen of Great Britain’s colonies in the Americas declared their independence on July 2, 1776. The USA was a young nation, more concerned with preserving its new found freedom than becoming a great…
- Thai Life
Phuket Lifestyle: The mighty Mekong – ‘Mother of Water’
PHUKET: Tourists visiting Thailand for the first time might be forgiven for thinking that “Mekong” is nothing more than a cheap local whiskey. But mention the word to almost any Thai national and you’ll proudly be informed that it is a mighty river. He or she might go on to say that its name means “Mother of Water”. In a…
- Thai Life
Phuket Gardening: Mellow yellow
PHUKET: Few other yellow flowers can compete with the golden opulence of a sunflower, chalice vine or allamanda in full bloom. But that does not lessen the value of less spectacular garden inhabitants. Take the galphimia or “shower of gold”, which is sometimes referred to as thryallis in books on gardening. To give it a human epithet, this small, compact…
- Phuket News
Young couple caught in Phuket meth bust
PHUKET: Phuket Police last night arrested a man and a woman in their 20s in possession of category one drugs at their home in Thalang. The couple are suspected of selling drugs to teenagers in the area. Lt Col Prasan Towon, at about 11:20 pm last night, led a team of Thalang Police to raid an address in a housing…
- Phuket News
Phuket Simon Cabaret van slams into parked cars to avoid head-on
PHUKET: A Phuket Simon Cabaret passenger van, returning after dropping off guests, late last night slammed into cars parked outside a roadside garage in Thalang as the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Thalang Police were notified of the crash at 12:30am today. Arriving at the scene, on a curved section of Srisoonthorn Road about a kilometer west of…
- Thailand News
Sweet words from Army; Rural docs plead; Thai suspect in Mekong killings
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sweet words from the Army’s wary men in the middle Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Military leaders appear to be on the horns of a dilemma over whether they should stay out of politics, while standing at the center of the political landscape with opposing…
