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- Phuket News
‘Bypass overpass’ unveiled in Phuket
WICHIT, PHUKET: Two hulking siblings, the Central Festival Phuket and HomeWorks shopping complexes, were finally linked by a long-awaited pedestrian overpass today.Phuket Vice Governor Tri Augkaradacha opened a 20-million-baht footbridge across the bypass road, allowing shoppers to enjoy the pleasures of both megamalls without getting in a car, on a bike – or soaking wet.Both centers are owned by the…
- Phuket News
Phuket drug cases up 161%
PHUKET: Crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police for September show that wet weather has not put a damper on recreational drug use, as narcotics-related cases were up 161%. There were 230 drug cases reported over the period, an increase of 161.4% year-on-year. Police arrested 250 people and confiscated a wide variety of narcotics, including 5,271 ya bah (methamphetamine)…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s Sleeping Giant: Shared ownership of property
PHUKET: Shared ownership sales of Phuket properties reached US$ 61.2 million for 2008, validating the sector’s stability despite the economic downturn, according to a comprehensive research study into the industry. The ‘Phuket Shared Ownership Market Report’, compiled by leading Phuket-based hospitality consulting firm C9 Hotelworks, is seen as a natural development in Phuket’s tourism industry, which is well on its…
- Phuket News
Phuket tunnel options explored
PHUKET CITY: A 40-million-baht feasibility study into the possibility of constructing Phuket’s first road tunnel has come up with three options for planners to consider. According to researchers’ preliminary findings, the proposed tunnel between Kathu to Patong would cost between 1.16 and 2.48 billion baht. Main contractor Epsilon Company Ltd is working with experts from PlanPro Corp Ltd and Kasetsart University to carry out the…
- Phuket News
Phuket people pray for King’s health
PHUKET: Muslim and Thai-Chinese religious groups held independent mass prayer meetings in Phuket yesterday to wish His Majesty the King a quick recovery as he receives treatment for a fever and a lung infection at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok.More than 1,000 Muslims gathered in prayer yesterday afternoon at the Dubai Mosque, Koh Kaew, which is also the location of the…
- Phuket News
Phuket sea rescue service improvements on the way
PHUKET: Following a Cabinet ruling this week, the Andaman Sea Rescue Service (ASRS) is set to receive 18 million baht to splash out on new speedboats and lifesaving equipment.The decision came as welcome news to the overstretched ASRS Phuket, which currently operates sea rescue services in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong and Trang provinces along the Andaman coast.With the new…
- Phuket News
Bt300mn historical park slated for Phuket
THALANG, PHUKET: A 300-million-baht historical park commemorating the Battle of Thalang is being planned as a new tourist attraction for Phuket.More than forty architects have submitted designs for landscaping of the new ‘Victory Park’, which will occupy 96 rai in tambon Thepkrasattri, next to Thalang Museum.One winning design will be selected on March 13, 2010, the 224th anniversary of the…
- Phuket News
Tsunami Watch canceled
PHUKET: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has canceled today’s tsunami watch following warnings earlier this evening that a tsunami could hit the region.The warning center’s latest and ‘final’ report issued to government agencies stated that sea level readings indicate that a significant tsunami was not generated by the magnitude 7.6 earthquake off Sumatra. — Gazette Reporters
- Phuket News
Crowd batters thieves at Phuket’s Roy Fest
KARON, PHUKET: Chalong Police officers had to defend three suspected thieves who were set upon by revelers at Phuket’s otherwise highly successful Roy Fest concert on Karon Beach. The attack took place in the early hours of Saturday morning. Karon village chief Winai Chitchiew said the three suspects, Wittaya Khahapana, 30, Rachet Harun, 25, and Manusak Kobthing, 20, were all…
- Phuket News
Fun-filled sunset fundraiser on the beach
PHUKET: Catch an earful of live reggae and the latest dance grooves at Catch Beach Club for Patong Rotary Club’s Beach Fun Fest fundraiser on Saturday, October 17.Reggae band Job 2 Do and a handful of international DJs will be pumping out the tunes at the beach from sunset onwards.Tickets are 1,000 each and include a seafood barbecue and the…
- Phuket News
Beach volleyball bounces back to Phuket
PHUKET: The fourth Beach Volleyball Phuket Thailand Open, powered by PTT, is scheduled to take place at Karon Beach from November 3 through 8. Some of the best players from around the globe will be here for the tournament, including the world ranked Number One team of Larissa Franka and Juliana Silva from Brazil. The pair have amassed an impressive…
- Phuket News
Phuket people help spread global message of peace
PHUKET: Tonight, people in Phuket will be dancing to a global beat of peace for Earthdance 2009, an annual, synchronized event held every September in hundreds of locations around the world in recognition of the United Nations International Day of Peace.At 4pm Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, September 26 (6am Sunday in Thailand), thousands of people in more than 200…
- Phuket News
Autism treatment success at Phuket hospital
PHUKET CITY: Vachira Phuket Hospital says it is successfully treating children with autism using a treatment known as ‘hyperbaric oxygen therapy’ (HBOT). HBOT patients spend periods inside a ‘hyperbaric chamber’ – the same sort of high-pressure oxygen chamber commonly used by divers for decompression and treatment of the bends. Parents of children who have completed a course of HBOT at…
- Phuket News
Phuket corruption cases to be fought on home turf
PHUKET CITY: Phuket people seeking justice over incompetent, uncooperative or corrupt bureaucrats will be able to fight for their rights in Phuket when the Phuket Administrative Court opens in 2011. Thailand’s Administrative Courts handle disputes over the conduct of government officers. An event last week at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket City aimed to inform the public about the role of Administrative Courts…
- Opinion
OPINION: Let computers deal with Phuket’s jet-skis
PHUKET: Wouldn’t it be better if Phuket’s government were turned over to computers? Surely an application exists whereby, having keyed in the facts, viable results emerge. As it is, local government tends to tip-toe around decision-making until matters are manifestly out-of-hand. Let’s take as a case in point the current eruption involving jet-skis precipitated by a YouTube video-clip showing a…
- Phuket News
Phuket Excise Office closes big bike loophole
PHUKET: The Phuket Excise Office says big bike owners have until September 25 to pay excise on motorcycles assembled from parts – or face hefty fines. Motorcycles subject to prohibitive tariffs have long been assembled from parts by ‘grey market’ operators in order to avoid paying the tax. Now excise officials insist the owners of such vehicles – not the…
- Phuket News
Phuket gears up for the ‘ultimate beach party’
KARON, PHUKET: Phuket is about to witness the birth of its very own dance music festival – ‘Roy Fest’, which debuts on Karon Beach this weekend. In Southern Thai, ‘roy‘ means ‘fun’, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is hoping the more than 50 international DJs and musicians it has booked for Roy Fest will help the party live…
- Phuket News
Industry experts warm up for Hospitality Show
PHUKET: The region’s hospitality industry is heating up for the first International Hospitality Show, to be held at the RPM International Exhibition & Conference Center in Phuket from September 24 to 26. The three-day event will include a trade exhibition featuring: suppliers from all areas of hospitality; a demonstration forum, the Phuket Culinary Fair; and various industry-specific seminars. Exhibits will…
- Phuket News
Swine flu crisis abating in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Thanks to continuing measures to prevent the spread of swine flu, Phuket’s authorities believe the crisis is abating. Rapid spread this year of the flu, formally identified as ‘novel influenza virus A (H1N1)’, led the World Health Organization (WHO) – for the first time since 1968’s Hong Kong flu – to declare a global pandemic. In Phuket, two…
- Phuket News
Company faces prosecution for Phuket jet-ski show
PHUKET CITY: The Thai television company responsible for producing the Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand series, which featured footage of an alleged jet-ski scam on Phuket, is to be prosecuted, the Bangkok Post reported today. The managers of Black Sheep Productions, which produced the show, could face 12 months in jail and fines of up to a million baht, the…
- Phuket News
Trawling fingered as threat to Phuket dolphins
PHUKET: Trawling by fishermen in the seas off Phuket and other parts of Thailand has led, it is charged, to the deaths of around 20 dolphins since the beginning of this year.Two more turned up dead last week in Satun province, on the southern border with Malaysia, and one was found on Saturday, badly injured in the surf off Nai…
- Phuket News
Seven-year-old drowns in Phuket pool
RASSADA, PHUKET: An unsupervised seven-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at the Top Land housing estate on Saturday.Police were alerted to the incident about 2pm by residents of the estate, located near the Tungka elementary school in tambon Rassada.They rushed to the scene with emergency workers and found the boy, identified as Prawit Manapreecha-ngamlert, a student at Ketho School,…
- Phuket News
Phuket coastal developments under scrutiny
PHUKET: Phuket governor Wichai Phraisa-ngob has backed concerns raised in an environmental impact assessment report that claims continued, unchecked development of Phuket coastal areas would destroy marine life and negatively impact local communities.The governor’s comments came after the release of the report last week compiled by a panel of Phuket-based environmental experts, including scientists from the Phuket Marine Biological Center…
- Phuket News
Phuket Lifesaving Carnival in Patong next month
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Lifesaving Carnival is set to return to Patong next month after the original event in July was postponed because of bad weather. The carnival is now scheduled to take place on October 3. Carnival organizers are hoping to attract between 40 and 60 international entrants and as many as 80 local participants. Events will include a…
- Phuket News
Phuket president cleared of vote-buying
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) President Paiboon Upatising has been cleared of vote-buying following an Appeals Court ruling earlier today. Mr Paiboon said he would return to work ‘immediately’ following the ruling by the Region 8 Court of Appeals in Bangkok. The verdict overturned a ‘yellow card’ ruling by the Election Commission (EC) in Bangkok, which found there…
- Phuket News
Big Phuket birthday party for ‘World’s oldest man’
PHUKET CITY: More has been revealed about the amazing life of Luang Pu Supha, claimed by adherents to be the oldest man in the world. Luang Pu Supha, abbot of a temple named after him in Chalong, is preparing to celebrate his 113th birthday in Phuket next week. Government-issued identification records presented to the Gazette show he was born on…
- Phuket News
Phuket Land Office announces February deadline
PHUKET CITY: Holders of Sor Kor 1 land possession papers have only until early February to apply for upgrades to full land title deeds, the Phuket Provincial Land Office has announced. Land Office chief Paitoon Lertkrai said that all Sor Kor 1 papers, which allow holders to use land for commercial purposes, will expire on February 6 next year. “To…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s police find nothing in drug raids
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, some top officials and a lot of police officers crashed some of Phuket City’s most popular parties on Friday night – on the hunt for drugs and weapons. But those who fret about the loose morals of Thailand’s youth of today will be relieved to find out the police came out empty-handed. Gov Wichai,…
- Phuket News
Phuket cheerleading squad to take on Asia’s best
PHUKET CITY: A cheerleading squad from Phuket will represent Thailand at the Asian Thailand Cheerleading Invitation 2009 contest at Nimibutr National Stadium in Bangkok on September 19 and 20. The team, all Phuket Wittayalai School students, will face stiff competition from teams representing Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries in the region. Although Phuket is a…
- Phuket News
Phuket abbot is ‘world’s oldest man’
PHUKET CITY: A revered Buddhist monk preparing to celebrate his 113th birthday could be the world’s oldest living man. Luang Pu Supha, abbot of Luang Pu Supha temple in Chalong, has presented the Gazette with copies of government-issued identification papers showing that he was born in Sakon Nakhon province, in the the northeast of Thailand, on September 17, 1896. The…
