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- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: English language skills in urgent need of honest assessment
PHUKET: The results of last week’s online readers’ poll indicate stark differences in perception among foreigners and Thais about the level of English-language proficiency among local people working in the tourism industry. Most people who identified themselves as Thai thought these skills were good or excellent, while tourists and local foreign residents rated them quite poorly. [See story, page 8,…
- World News
Phuket Gazette: Negotiators leave Iran nuclear talks empty-handed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community IAEA, Iran fail to reach deal on nuclear probe Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog says no progress was made after hours of talks with an Iranian delegation in an effort to seal a deal on resuming a long-stalled investigation…
- Thailand News
Weird World News: Miracles of miracles, wonders of wonders, news knows no bounds
PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is dedicated to two near-miracles and one bona fide one that might just make you cringe, as a dead cat takes wing, Beiber fever empowers a young girl to defy medical odds, and a boy wakes up for a glass of water at his own funeral and then is pronounced dead – again,…
- Phuket News
Phuket Gazette readership approaches 50,000 – new look, Property Review launched today
PHUKET: The launch of a series of new supplements and expansion of the Phuket Gazette‘s Andaman, Nationwide and Airline editions has driven the newspaper’s circulation to close to 50,000 readers a week. The Nationwide and Airline editions, both printed and distributed by Gazette partner newspaper The Nation, have kept pace with the rapid growth of the local Andaman edition here…
- Thai Life
Phuket comedy: Laughter never rains, it pours
PHUKET: With Phuket’s wet and rainy season now truly here the Punchline Comedy team has decided to give comedy lovers a reason to rejoice with another hilarious night, planned for June 27.Three top stand-up comedians will head to the Holiday Inn Resort, Patong Beach to bring the mirth back.The event will be compered by comedian, writer and presenter Jeremy O’Donnell,…
- Phuket News
Phuket woman loses husband, then killed in hit-and-run
PHUKET: A Phuket woman was killed instantly while trying to cross Thepkrasattri Road in Srisoonthorn last night when she was struck by an unidentified car traveling at high speed.Thalang Police Duty Officer Somkid Khaosang received the accident report at about 9:45pm.Col Somkid and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the deceased woman lying on the northbound…
- Thai Life
Phuket gardening: What’s in a name?
PHUKET: Plants can have bizarre common names, but these names remain in use precisely because they are memorable and refer to a plant’s visible features. Clitoria ternatea (even the botanical name is – well – suggestive) is called the butterfly pea. Quesonia has a tall, triangular crown of flowers which gives it the somewhat cryptic label of pagoda plant. Other…
- Thai Life
Thai Gallery – Alongkorn Poochamchote
PHUKET: In 2007 when Alongkorn ‘Kob’ Poochamchote was invited to be part of the prestigious art fair, the Florence Biannale , it was the proudest moment of his career. He was the first Thai artist ever to receive such an accolade. After all, this is where fine works of art are shown, admired and purchased. 50-year-old Alongkorn, who was born…
- Phuket News
Phuket neighbor Ranong shaken by 4.0 Richter earthquake
PHUKET: An earthquake registering 4.0 on the Richter scale struck Ranong province, just north of Phuket, at about 1pm today, shaking houses along the coast and scattering villagers in fear. Ranong is best known among Phuket expats and long-stay tourists as the jump-off point for “visa runs” to Myanmar. Paiboon Aiamsuwan, director of the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) monitoring station…
- Phuket News
Phuket alcohol ban for Viskha Bucha Day extends past midnight
PHUKET: The sale and purchase of alcohol is banned in Phuket and throughout the country today to show respect for Visakha Bucha Day. Anyone found breaking the law can receive a prison sentence of up to six months, a 10,000-baht fine, or both.Kathu Police Deputy Superintendent Kittipong Klaikaew today told the Phuket Gazette, “As today is Visakha Bucha Day, one…
- Phuket News
Phuket Games athlete released from hospital and heading home
PHUKET: The young athlete injured in a motorbike accident that claimed the life of his teammate passenger was released from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital yesterday. Atthapong Noikhamsin, the 13-year-old boy who survived the accident in Rawai on Thursday morning was seen off from the hospital by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising. Young Atthapong’s…
- Phuket News
Phuket Live Wire: Is the iPad rotting your child’s brain?
PHUKET: In 2010 and 2011, there was a rash of articles in the popular press saying that iPads, iPhones, tablets and the like would rot your kid’s brain. It’s hard to wade through headlines like these from the New York Times and not feel like an iPad is the root of all kiddy evil: “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction,…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s Bussarin takes tennis gold
PHUKET: Phuket’s Bussarin Raktaengam won the final of the girls’ singles tennis event of the Phuket Games 2012 this morning with a 6-4, 6-3 straight-sets victory over Rongrong Linbanjong of Bangkok. The win made Bussarin the third Phuket athlete to snatch two golds in the games, which comes to their conclusion with a big celebration tomorrow evening at Surakul Stadium,…
- Business News
Phuket business: Sports tourism “scores big’; Games to bring in B600mn
PHUKET: Defining and developing ‘Brand Phuket’ as a world class sports tourism destination was top of the agenda at a recent meeting of senior business people here. Organized in collaboration with the Phuket PR Network and the Greater Phuket Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), the meeting was held at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) on…
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Romanticizing our history dishonors ancestors
PHUKET: Phuket has a long and somewhat checkered history of past industrial development dating back to its tin-mining era, which petered out over the final decades of the last century and finally ended for good in 1992 with the closure of the last mine on the island. [See ‘Riddle of the Sands’, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers…
- World News
Phuket Gazette: Manhunt for porn star suspected of mayhem and murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket”s international community Killer warned British tabloid he would escalate torture of ‘pussys’ to murder of humans Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A Canadian bi-sexual suspected of killing a man and mailing parts of his victim’s body to the headquarters of political parties in Ottawa is believed to have sent…
- Phuket News
Phuket kitesurfer not stung, didn’t drown, say lifeguards
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards have dismissed the assertion that the American kitesurfer who died shortly after being pulled from the sea at Nai Harn Beach yesterday drowned or was stung by a jellyfish. Nai Harn lifeguard Charintorn Naripen told the Phuket Gazette, “Four of us tried for 20 minutes to revive the casualty before the ambulance arrived. We don’t believe he…
- Thailand News
Weird World News: The whole nine yards, from cute dog to a man-eater
PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is about going the distance from the human body-part packages of a porn star to an inspirational dog in China, and the American face-eater who simply went too far. Magnotta’s long distance body-part packages discovered Canadian bisexual porn star, kitten mutilator and suspected human body-part packager, Luka Rocco Magnotta, may have fled North…
- Phuket News
Phuket sports: F1 – 6 races, 6 winners
PHUKET: Jackie Stewart famously said, “…qualify on pole and make no mistakes, and Monaco is not a difficult race to win”. Mark Webber qualified on pole, thanks to Michael Schumacher’s five place demotion; he made no mistakes, and he won. This is Webber’s strength – he is infuriatingly calm and does not make mistakes. He got a clean launch while…
- World News
Phuket Gazette: Manhunt for videotape killer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Canadian police hunt for man who videotaped gruesome murder Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: An international arrest warrant was issued yesterday for a Canadian man suspected of killing a man and mailing parts of his victim’s body to the Conservative and Liberal party headquarters. Meanwhile,…
- Thai Life
Phuket life: Paintographer Gerard Garson
PHUKET: Gerard Garson is a French photographer, now based in Phuket, who always wanted to be a painter and through his use of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging he has managed to do both. He calls himself a paintographer and signs his work ‘Gast Garger’. Gerard’s passion for photography started in1977, when he was a student working for the photographic…
- Phuket News
Tragedy strikes Phuket Games as athlete dies in motorbike accident
PHUKET: A young athlete from Bangkok, scheduled to return home after competing in the Phuket Games rowing competition, died in a tragic motorbike accident in Rawai this morning. Chalong Police confirmed the identity of the victim as Sutthipong Laphutama, aged 18. The driver of the motorbike, 13-year-old Atthapong Noikhamsin, was rushed to hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The driver…
- Phuket News
Russian drowns in notorious Phuket rip
PHUKET: A Russian man who ignored red warning flags at Karon Beach is Phuket’s latest drowning victim. Uten Singsom, head lifeguard at Kata-Karon, told the Phuket Gazette that the 33-year-old entered the surf near the Thavorn Palm Beach Resort at about 1pm yesterday. The deceased was later identified as Denis Korobogatov. “He and his two Russian friends came from Patong.…
- Phuket News
Phuket live wire: Thailand’s 3G woes
PHUKET: UGH! What a mess. If you’ve been following along over the years, you know that the history of 3G wireless internet access in Thailand has been fraught with competing organizations, lawsuits, government changes, allegations of corruption, political infighting, and a whole lot of money floating around. To understand the quandary we’re in right now, you need to know the…
- Phuket News
FC Phuket lose 3-0 at Ratchaburi, botched ref’s call under review
PHUKET: Fans of FC Phuket, outraged over a red card given to keeper Alonso Jose Carvalho Da Silva in Sunday’s 3-0 loss on the road at Ratchaburi, got a small measure of vindication yesterday when the Thai Premier League (TPL) review board agreed that the Brazilian’s diving kick save wasn’t intended to harm the attacking player and that remedial action…
- Phuket News
Help sought for morbidly obese woman in Krabi
PHUKET: The elderly mother of a morbidly obese woman in Krabi province is seeking assistance to get her daughter the medical help and living assistance they need to survive. Wanphen Pimsri, 32, started having serious medical problems as a teen. At age 18, she underwent brain surgery for a hormonal imbalance at Songklanagarind Hospital in Haad Yai, the top government…
- Phuket News
Somjai uncontested in run for Phuket City Mayor re-election
PHUKET: Somjai Suwansupana will run for re-election as Phuket City Mayor uncontested following the closure of candidacy registrations on Friday. Former Mayor Somjai will lead her Khon Noom (Young Turks) party to the polls in the upcoming Phuket City Municipal election on June 16, marking her attempt for re-election to her third consecutive term as Phuket City Mayor. Although running…
- Phuket News
Phuket lifeguards return to beaches
PHUKET: Fully equipped lifeguards are now back on duty at Phuket beaches, ready to rescue swimmers who get into difficulty during the currently treacherous weather. Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club unit at Kata-Karon, told the Gazette, “This year we are going to have a new uniform and new flags. Both will be ready next week. Last year…
- Phuket News
Phuket sports: Yes, it’s a game
PHUKET: AT LAST, the 28th National Youth Games has finally arrived. Never before has Phuket been privileged to host such a large and significant sporting event. Hundreds of athletes will compete in 40 sports and games, with thousands more coming to cheer them on. Apart from the usual sports spectators expect to see there will also be a number of…
- Phuket News
Phuket AMCHAM highlights Sports Tourism
PHUKET: A collection of industry experts who drive Phuket’s top international sporting events painted a bright outlook for Phuket’s future in the international sporting arena on Thursday. Attendees were told that Phuket is already on the map for major sporting events and that key officials are recognizing the economic benefits. Titled “Identifying and Marketing Brand Phuket – Sports Tourism”, the…