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  • Phuket’s ACYC Open Day takes sailing back to its roots

    Phuket’s ACYC Open Day takes sailing back to its roots

    PHUKET: Sailing gets back to its roots this weekend as Alfie Rowson of the reigning national champion Platu crew on Kingdom Property is set to lead free dinghy sailing lessons for kids and adults at the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) Open Day tomorrow. Rowson, along with fellow Phuket-based sailor Scott Duncanson and Kingdom Property crewmates Trent Pedersen and Tony…

  • Golfers flock to Laguna

    Golfers flock to Laguna

    PHUKET: The newly re-designed Laguna Phuket Golf Club is winning the hearts of golfers with the island’s very first offer of shorter, five or 10-year memberships, Paul Wilson, the club’s director, told the Phuket Gazette. This new product sits between a lifetime membership and the one-year access card that most clubs, including Laguna, offer. The new memberships target several key…

  • Business Buzz: Cashing in on Google’s greed

    Business Buzz: Cashing in on Google’s greed

    PHUKET: When asked what Google is, most people answer ‘where to find things’, while the more technically minded reply ‘a search engine’. Google’s own mission statement is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. What many people do not realize is the true dominance that Google already has in the online world. Put simply, Google…

  • Trial over lethal Phuket Tiger Disco inferno begins

    Trial over lethal Phuket Tiger Disco inferno begins

    PHUKET: The long-awaited manslaughter trial over the deaths of four people in Patong’s notorious Tiger Disco inferno began yesterday with the presentation of witness testimonies. The lethal blaze killed four people and injured 11 others after fire broke out in the busy nightclub on Soi Bangla in the early hours of August 17, 2012. The flames claimed the lives of…

  • Ring in the rainy season at this year’s final Lighthouse Market [video] | Thaiger

    Ring in the rainy season at this year’s final Lighthouse Market [video]

    PHUKET: The Boat Lagoon Lighthouse Market returns next month to ring in the rainy season with a three-day extravaganza of shopping, chilling and eating at Phuket’s liveliest marina. The market will be on hiatus during April, confirmed market organizer By Kanittha, as there is a high chance of stormy weather toward the end of the month. However, the market will…

  • NACC accuses former ministers of fabricating G2G rice scheme

    NACC accuses former ministers of fabricating G2G rice scheme

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NACC accuses former ministers of fabricating G2G rice scheme The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Claims of rice stockpiles being sold through government-to-government (G2G) scheme by the Yingluck Shinawatra administration were “total lies”, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) member Vicha Mahakhun told members of the National Legislative…

  • Patong book place in cricket league final

    Patong book place in cricket league final

    PHUKET: A dominant victory over Village CC by an innings and 257 runs at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) in Thalang last Sunday secured Patong CC the minor premiership and place in the league final, to be played on May17. Both teams were missing many of their regular players, who were busy with work, travel commitments or out with injuries,…

  • US admits it killed US, Italian hostages

    US admits it killed US, Italian hostages

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US admits it killed US, Italian hostages Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A U.S. drone strike in January targeting an al Qaeda compound in Pakistan near the Afghan border inadvertently killed an American and an Italian who had been held hostage for years by the group,…

  • Heavy rain, flash flood warning issued for Phuket

    Heavy rain, flash flood warning issued for Phuket

    PHUKET: A weather warning for heavy rains, strong winds and possible flash floods was issued by the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) this morning. A prevailing strong easterly wind is expected to bring heavy rains to southern Thailand and the Andaman coast. The warning is in effect for Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun. Wind-driven waves are expected to…

  • Phuket immigration 90-day check-in now online

    Phuket immigration 90-day check-in now online

    PHUKET: An online option for 90-day immigration check-ins is now available in all provinces throughout Thailand. “We tested the system for two months [story here] before officially launching it on April 1,” Phuket Immigration Office Chief Sunchai Chokkajaykij told the Phuket Gazette. “However, it is only compatible with the Internet Explorer browser.” The same rules apply for checking in after…

  • Indian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus slams into taxi

    Indian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus slams into taxi

    PHUKET: Three Indian tourists were injured when a tour bus slammed into a taxi and a pick-up truck south of the Heroines’ Monument on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday. The taxi, carrying an Indian family of three, and the tour bus, which had just dropped off a group of Chinese tourists at Phuket International Airport, were travelling southbound on Thepkrasattri Road when…

  • Video Report: Phuket Oilfield Classic golfers drive the fair way

    Video Report: Phuket Oilfield Classic golfers drive the fair way

    PHUKET: The 7th annual Phuket Oilfield Classic 2015, played at two Phuket golf courses earlier this month, brought more than 120 golfers to the island, together raising more than 2 million baht for charity. Team Hellespont, comprising Andy Lidgard, Candice Lidgard, Rod Nicolson and James Bissett, took top honors in the traditional Texas Scramble at Red Mountain Golf Course on…

  • Junta agents force cancellation of event to honor late taxi driver | Thaiger

    Junta agents force cancellation of event to honor late taxi driver

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Junta agents force cancellation of event to honor late taxi driver The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A symposium and the ceremonial opening of a conference room in honor of a taxi driver who killed himself in protest against the 2006 coup was banned by the…

  • Bonanza execs face charges over park encroachment

    Bonanza execs face charges over park encroachment

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bonanza execs face charges over park encroachment The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ongoing investigations into alleged encroachment by three big businesses in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district, namely Bonanza, Kirimaya and Moon Dance, have progressed significantly. Police have now decided to press charges against three…

  • Officials clear restaurant from Phuket beach

    Officials clear restaurant from Phuket beach

    PHUKET: Police have been tasked with pursuing beach encroachment charges after a team of officials cleared a restaurant’s tables and chairs from the sand at Bang Tao Beach on Tuesday morning. About 20 officers led by Thalang District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol arrived and removed 34 pieces of beach furniture following complaints of beach encroachment being filed with the Thalang District…

  • Chinese tourists safe as car slams into Patong drain

    Chinese tourists safe as car slams into Patong drain

    PHUKET: A Chinese couple escaped serious injury yesterday when their rented car plunged into a large open drain under construction in Patong. The tourists, Po Fai Choy and his female companion Kai Yin Fox, slammed into the open drain near Phuket Simon Cabaret at about 830am. Mr Po and Ms Kai were recovered from the vehicle and taken to Patong…

  • Paris church attack foiled as heavily armed man shoots self

    Paris church attack foiled as heavily armed man shoots self

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Paris church attack foiled as heavily armed man shoots self Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An Algerian man suspected of planning an imminent attack on a church has been arrested in Paris, with police discovering Kalashnikovs, hand guns and ammunition in his possession, top officials said…

  • Foreign crewmen rescued in Bangkok

    Foreign crewmen rescued in Bangkok

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Foreign crewmen rescued in Bangkok The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Twelve Chinese and Myanmar crewmen aboard a cargo ship stranded on the Chao Phraya River were rescued yesterday. Rachen Rangmarerng, head of the Port Authority of Thailand’s labor union, said the crewmen, seven of who…

  • Net spreads wider over UFUN

    Net spreads wider over UFUN

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Net spreads wider over UFUN The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Investigation into allegedly fraudulent schemes linked to UFUN Co Ltd’s purported branch UFUN Thailand will expand to cover another three or four related firms, as well as focus on 30 key suspects, the Department of…

  • Governor revokes land deeds for Bonanza speedway

    Governor revokes land deeds for Bonanza speedway

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Governor revokes land deeds for Bonanza speedway The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Thongchai Lue-adule has already approved the revocation of land right documents held by Bonanza International Speedway, which is now mired in an encroachment scandal. Solid evidence suggests the firm illegitimately…

  • Italian prosecutors blame captain for collision in migrant shipwreck

    Italian prosecutors blame captain for collision in migrant shipwreck

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Italian prosecutors blame captain for collision in migrant shipwreck Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Italian prosecutors blamed the captain of a grossly overloaded fishing boat for a collision which capsized and sank his vessel off Libya, drowning hundreds of migrants including many women and children locked…

  • Suthep provides clips of ‘men in black’ in 2010

    Suthep provides clips of ‘men in black’ in 2010

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suthep provides clips of ‘men in black’ in 2010 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday gave the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) video clips and pictures of the “men in black” while testifying in the case in which he is…

  • Phuket career car robber flunks again

    Phuket career car robber flunks again

    PHUKET: Police have arrested a man who has confessed to breaking into and stealing items from five cars in Phuket Town on Friday and Saturday night. Pongphol Boondetpiti, 25, was arrested at a house in Rassada yesterday. “Officers searched his house and found several items reported stolen from the robbed cars,” Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Somsak Thongklieng said this…

  • Top official in heat-stroke coma after hot spring plunge

    Top official in heat-stroke coma after hot spring plunge

    PHUKET: A senior official at the Attorney-General’s Office in Bangkok is on 24-hour watch in the intensive-care unit (ICU) at Vachira Phuket Hospital, in Phuket Town, after jumping into a hot spring in Krabi last week. Somkiat Phatkhun, the deputy director of the Training and Development Institute at the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok, is fighting for his…

  • Lucky sidecar escape in Phuket underpass prompts fines, safety warning

    Lucky sidecar escape in Phuket underpass prompts fines, safety warning

    PHUKET: A garbage collector driving a motorbike with a sidecar escaped serious injury in the first road accident in Phuket’s new underpass, prompting fines, improved safety measures and a warning from island officials. At about 2pm yesterday, the motorbike driver entered the new Darasamut Underpass heading southbound toward Chalong, Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Lueduanghad explained to the Phuket Gazette…

  • Fears raised over new wells fouling Phuket groundwater

    Fears raised over new wells fouling Phuket groundwater

    PHUKET: The Governor’s Office is taking quick action to prevent a slew of new wells excavated in the Kata-Karon area from threatening the local groundwater supply. Phuket Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam led a meeting yesterday at Provincial Hall, where he heard complaints from residents throughout the entire Kata-Karon area. “Local residents use water from shallow wells for their daily necessities,…

  • Video Report: Indonesian caught smuggling 5.2kg of cocaine into Phuket

    Video Report: Indonesian caught smuggling 5.2kg of cocaine into Phuket

    PHUKET: An Indonesian man was arrested at Phuket International Airport yesterday in possession of 5.2 kilograms of cocaine, which he was transporting from Columbia to Khao Lak. Jemani Ikhsan, 63, had departed Bogota, Columbia, on April 18 and connected in Panama City, Panama; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Qatar; and Singapore before landing in Phuket at about 7:20pm yesterday. The cocaine, valued…

  • Phuket health officials to crack open alcohol promotion laws, case by case

    Phuket health officials to crack open alcohol promotion laws, case by case

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has confirmed that it will not take action against restaurant and bar owners for showing images promoting alcohol – unless a specific complaint is made against the venue. The news follows a report of a restaurant owner in Bangkok being sentenced to pay 460,000 baht for breaking the Alcohol Control Act of 2014.…

  • New law seeks better control over beggars, and buskers | Thaiger

    New law seeks better control over beggars, and buskers

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New law seeks better control over beggars, and buskers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Cabinet Monday gave the green light to a draft bill on street beggars, which empowers the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to send migrant beggars back to their home…

  • DSI provides info for probe into UFUN

    DSI provides info for probe into UFUN

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DSI provides info for probe into UFUN The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) passed information about the case against UFUN Thailand’s alleged pyramid scheme to police yesterday for further investigation, as three more people – one a military officer –…