Search Results for: Tak

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Woman shot dead in White House death drive; Italy migrant boat disaster beyond 300; Europeans burned alive for organ trafficking

    Phuket Gazette World News: Woman shot dead in White House death drive; Italy migrant boat disaster beyond 300; Europeans burned alive for organ trafficking

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Driver shot dead in car chase near U.S. Capitol Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A dramatic car chase through the streets of Washington from near the White House to the U.S. Capitol ended in gunfire on Thursday when law enforcement officers shot and killed the driver as lawmakers…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Kratom not legal yet; Flood-aid food lands 51 in hospital; Minister stands firm amid Thaksin Cabinet reshuffle rumors

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Kratom not legal yet; Flood-aid food lands 51 in hospital; Minister stands firm amid Thaksin Cabinet reshuffle rumors

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Kratom not legal yet, but closer The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Public Health Minister Pradit Sintavanarong confirmed yesterday that the narcotics control committee under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has still not reached a decision on whether to remove “kratom” (Mitragyna speciosa) from the…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket beach encroachers face Kamala Friday deadline

    Phuket beach encroachers face Kamala Friday deadline

    PHUKET: Shop and bar owners that have been found to be encroaching on Kamala Beach have until tomorrow to take down their offending structures.If they are not removed voluntarily, they will be demolished, said Kamala Tambon Administrative Organization (OrBorTor) Vice President Seri Larpmark.Mr Seri first inspected construction on the beach in early September. “We found many shops and bars encroaching…

  • PropertyPhuket Property: Best of the best 2013

    Phuket Property: Best of the best 2013

    PHUKET: Thailand’s real estate industry came together on Thursday, September 19 to acknowledge the best of the best at the 2013 Thailand Property Awards tand awards presentation ceremony held at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Center at CentralWorld. In total, 33 awards were on offer, including regional awards for best condominiums and villa developments in Phuket, Hua Hin, Samui,…

  • Cannabis NewsPhuket gardening: pure, natural ingredients

    Phuket gardening: pure, natural ingredients

    PHUKET: Though it is a 19th century Bavarian concept, there are plenty of beer gardens or biergarten around Phuket. Some really are gardens in delightful sylvan settings under mature tamarind or flame trees. Think Nikita’s in Rawai, or the row of hostelries along the hilly road from Nai Harn to Rawai. But I am more interested in a different kind…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket kart racing: Grimes eyes New Orleans

    Phuket kart racing: Grimes eyes New Orleans

    PHUKET: After returning from their holiday back in the UK, the Grimes boys (Ben and Sam Grimes) got back into action at the penultimate round of the 2013 Asia Max Challenge at the Sepang International Kart Circuit in Malaysia.The junior category boasted a fierce field of 35 drivers and Sam started the weekend well by out-qualifying his elder brother Ben…

  • EntertainmentA walk in the (bird) park

    A walk in the (bird) park

    PHUKET: I’m by no means a bird aficionado. Sure, I enjoy the chirping of birds in the morning and I was pretty stunned to see a tiny, humming-bird-sized sun-bird feeding on some flowers in front of my house the other day, but you won’t find me crawling through a bush with a pair of binoculars in search of a Great-billed…

  • Phuket NewsOn roadside north of Phuket, stomachache turns into baby boy

    On roadside north of Phuket, stomachache turns into baby boy

    PHUKET: Rescue workers taking a Burmese woman with complaints of a bad stomachache to Takuapa Hospital this morning were surprised when she suddenly gave birth to a baby boy.“We received an emergency call to pick up Ms Soe, 35, a Burmese worker at a rubber plantation, just after midnight. She reported having a very bad stomachache for no reason,” said…

  • Phuket NewsTwo Chinese tourists mugged on the way to Cherng Talay supermarket

    Two Chinese tourists mugged on the way to Cherng Talay supermarket

    PHUKET: Two Chinese women on their way to a supermarket in Cherng Talay last night were attacked and robbed by two men on a motorbike.The women were walking to Tesco Lotus when the two men rode toward them.“The passenger got off the motorbike and snatched their bags, and the tourists fought to get the bags back,” said Jirasak Sungwisut of…

  • Phuket NewsSeat belt saves Phuket chief judge in auto wreck

    Seat belt saves Phuket chief judge in auto wreck

    PHUKET: Phuket Court Chief Judge Parinya Chaowalittawin became a traffic-accident statistic over the weekend when he survived an accident en route to Krabi. “I was on my way to see my parents in Trang, and had left Phuket at about 4:30am on Saturday,” Mr Parinya told the Phuket Gazette.“It was about 6am and I was some two kilometers past Krabi…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: US shutdown with no end in sight

    Phuket Gazette World News: US shutdown with no end in sight

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community In first day of U.S. shutdown, no end in sight Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans came no closer to ending a standoff yesterday that has forced the first government shutdown in 17 years and thrown hundreds of thousands of federal employees out…

  • Phuket NewsBangla daylight raid nets Phuket slow loris

    Bangla daylight raid nets Phuket slow loris

    PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol yesterday led a team of officers along Patong’s Soi Bangla in a daylight raid that netted one slow loris tout.Warawuth Saiudom, 20, from Kalasin province, was caught in the act of receiving money from a tourist for having a photo taken with one of the nocturnal creatures.“An undercover officer informed us that a slow…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket wild boars ravage football-golf greens

    Phuket wild boars ravage football-golf greens

    PHUKET: A sounder of wild boar has settled on an 18-hole “Football Golf Course” in Chalong as their preferred dining area, but in the pigs’ quest for cuisine, they’ve left damaging divots on the greens. “Our course is currently under attack by wild boars, which are rampaging through it at night and ripping up our greens,” said Neil Simmons of…

  • Phuket NewsGo Eco Phuket starts eco-warrior recruitment

    Go Eco Phuket starts eco-warrior recruitment

    PHUKET: The first fifty people to contact local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket will earn a spot at the Go Eco Camp, which plans on certifying and training islanders to be active marine conservationists. “Go Eco camp is now open for applicants. Applications will be accepted from expats, students and locals until November,” Jirayu Naragoonphithak, the project’s coordinator, told…

  • Phuket NewsKrabi’s Andaman Eagles swoop down on Phuket FC

    Krabi’s Andaman Eagles swoop down on Phuket FC

    PHUKET: The Islanders fell into 11th place of the 18-team Yamaha League One (YL1) as a result of their latest defeat, 3-1 to Krabi FC in a tense “Andaman derby” match on Saturday evening in Krabi Town. As a result, Phuket FC and the Krabi “Andaman Eagles” swapped rankings, the latter moving up to 9th place with 38 points –…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket hitman Rambo denies death squad charges

    Phuket hitman Rambo denies death squad charges

    PHUKET: Joseph Manuel Hunter, 48 – nicknamed “Rambo” and arrested at his rented Phuket home last Thursday, as originally reported by the Phuket Gazette (story here) – has denied charges of recruiting a team of former military snipers to commit murders on behalf of two Colombian drug cartel leaders. The cartel leaders were, in fact, Drug Enforcement Administration informants posing…

  • Phuket NewsRubber protests yield gains in Phuket

    Rubber protests yield gains in Phuket

    PHUKET: Rubber protests in recent weeks in Southern Thailand are now paying dividends for plantation owners in Phuket and the rest of the nation. Though the direct demands of the protests, which included a government subsidy for sheets of rubber were not met, the government has allocated a total of over 21 billion baht to be paid out to households…

  • Thai LifeMa Song on their way for Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival

    Ma Song on their way for Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival

    PHUKET: Final preparations are underway as the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival draws closer. This year the festival will start on October 5. According to tradition, it will continue for nine days and draw to a close on October 13. Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office, Mr Chanchai Doungjit said: “This year we expect an influx of tourists…

  • Thailand NewsArmy to battle pad kaphrao; Abhist warns PM over amendment; Big three to reduce prices

    Army to battle pad kaphrao; Abhist warns PM over amendment; Big three to reduce prices

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai Army ready: We shall fight them in the kitchens Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Royal Thai Army has declared war on pad kaphrao. A sign banning the spicy stir-fried basil dish has appeared in the canteen at the Office of the Army Secretary in Bangkok. Evidently…

  • Phuket NewsVideo Report: Transnational drug lord Hunter deported, new Thai search laws enacted

    Video Report: Transnational drug lord Hunter deported, new Thai search laws enacted

    PHUKET: High on the United States authorities’ most-wanted list, Joseph Manuel Hunter was deported back to the US this morning, days after the Prevention and Suppression of Transnational Organized Crime Act was enacted in Thailand. Mr Hunter, 48, who was arrested in Phuket by officers from Phuket Immigration and the Crime Suppression Division on Wednesday (story here). He was taken…

  • PropertyPhuket Property: Local retail sector booming

    Phuket Property: Local retail sector booming

    PHUKET: Our paradise island has been famed (and defamed) the world over for its many “s” attractions (and distractions) – sea, sun, sand, surf, sailing and sport… among others. Nowadays, the island is increasingly associated with one more “s”: shopping. Although residential projects – condos, housing subdivisions, hotels and luxury villas – continue to make up most of the island’s…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: The testing paradox

    Phuket Opinion: The testing paradox

    PHUKET: Obtaining a driver’s license on our island is a paradoxical task.It is an ostensibly simple process, all done within one building and in eight hours, driving lessons optional – which may rev your confidence up – but it’s fussiness has been known to trip up even those with decades of driving experience.A mere inch of yellow line-overstepping during the…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: “Tis the season to crack down

    Phuket Opinion: “Tis the season to crack down

    PHUKET: A recent crackdown on Westerners working illegally in the marine leisure industry has generated a great deal of comment from readers, yet the debate focused almost solely on Thailand’s notoriously vague definition of what constitutes work, while missing out on some fundamental aspects of the issue.Comments posted on the Gazette website failed to reference the fact that arrests of…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket sex show raids not coming – yet

    Phuket sex show raids not coming – yet

    PHUKET: The chief of police in Phuket’s premier party town of Patong has confirmed that he has yet to receive any order to launch a crackdown on lewd shows on Soi Bangla. “As soon as we receive such an order, we are willing to do whatever the order demands,” Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan told the Phuket Gazette this morning.…

  • Phuket NewsSimilian National Park to protect swimmers from speedboats

    Similian National Park to protect swimmers from speedboats

    PHUKET: The Similan National Park chief vowed to establish zones to protect swimmers from speedboats* as the park prepares for opening day on November 1.The swimmers will be separated from speedboats by buoys.“This will prevent swimmers and snorkellers from being hit by speeboats. We want to ensure that all visitors feel safe, and can fully enjoy their visit to the…

  • Thai LifeCOMMON SENSE: Bright future for solar power

    COMMON SENSE: Bright future for solar power

    PHUKET: We modern Homo Sapiens are addicted to energy. Energy is the main driver for development and economic growth and for over a century, we have been powering our addiction with fossil fuels. As someone that comes from an oil producing country and having worked with different indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon that have been affected by oil production,…

  • Thai LifeA village on the edge: San Tin

    A village on the edge: San Tin

    PHUKET: In the bad old days of the Cold War and Mao’s Cultural Revolution, this part of Hong Kong, San Tin, used to be called the “Bamboo Curtain” – the 30-kilometer border, and a few kilometers either side, between what was a British Crown colony and the People’s Republic of China.Just to the southwest of the Lo Wu border-crossing between…

  • Thai LifeVenturing into the unknown: reflections by Don Battles

    Venturing into the unknown: reflections by Don Battles

    PHUKET: NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft recently became the first human-made object to venture beyond the boundaries of our solar system and into what is known as interstellar space, a part of space that our sun has little to no influence on. The 36-year-old probe is now about 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometers) from our sun. New and unexpected data…

  • Hua Hin NewsNFL Week Two summary: Texans, Dolphins impress

    NFL Week Two summary: Texans, Dolphins impress

    PHUKET: After nine long months of hype and waiting, Phuket fans of American Football can once again indulge themselves in the National Football League, heading into a third week of play this weekend. There are too many games and story lines to cover comprehensively, so we’ll just look at some of the trends that have emerged from the first two…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Police arrest US drugs fugitive

    Phuket Police arrest US drugs fugitive

    PHUKET: Officers led by Lt Gen Preawphan Damapong, the assistant police commissioner in charge of national drug suppression, this afternoon moved in and arrested American Joseph Manuel Hunter, 48, at his rented home in Kathu. The squad of officers from Phuket Immigration and the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok arrived at the home, located near the Loch Palm Golf Course,…