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  • Phuket Expo dream: Could it end our transport nightmare?

    PHUKET: The prospect of Phuket winning a bid to host World Expo 2020 is an exciting one, but there are huge hurdles to overcome if the island is to be ready for the task. [See page 4, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here.] Phuket easily satisfies most of the criteria needed to be a World Expo…

  • Phuket to crack down on World Cup gambling

    PHUKET: Phuket authorities are preparing to crack down on gambling during the soccer World Cup that kicks off on June 11. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop told a law enforcement committee at Provincial Hall on May 26 that locals and tourists would be keenly following the tournament, not only for the love of the game, but also for gambling. Gov Wichai…

  • Aus vs Iran in Phuket Seniors World Cup final

    PHUKET: Australia and Iran will contest the final of the Seniors World Cup today at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town after winning their respective semi-finals yesterday. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6pm. Iran and New Zealand contested the first semi-final, resulting in a comfortable 4-1 win for the Iranians. The margin of victory allowed Iran to rotate…

  • Five vehicle pile-up in Phuket

    PHUKET: Slippery road conditions last night led to a five-vehicle pile-up on the bypass road that left one pick-up truck upended in a roadside drainage ditch and several people injured. The accident happened at about 6:15pm in the southbound lanes, about two kilometers north of the Tesco-Lotus junction near the Thanachart Bank. Just after light rain started, a motorcycle with…

  • Seniors World Cup semifinal matches in Phuket today

    PHUKET: Two semifinal matches in the 5th Seniors World Cup soccer tournament will take place at Surakul Stadium today. The first match, which kicks off at 4:30pm, will see undefeated Group A winners Iran take on New Zealand. Then, from 6:30pm, Group B winners Australia, also undefeated, take on hometown favorites Thailand in what promises to be a hotly contested…

  • Phuket prepares for landslides

    PHUKET: Many hillside areas of Phuket are at serious risk of landslides this rainy season, the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) has warned. DDPM-Phuket chief San Jantharawong said that torrential rainfall can hit at any time during the monsoon, which typically runs from May though October. Especially vulnerable to landslides are steep areas where construction work exposes…

  • Firefly Airlines in Phuket promo

    PHUKET: In a show of confidence in tourism to Phuket, Firefly Airlines launched a host of new destination travel packages and promotional campaigns, including the ability to book tickets through mobile phones. Angelina Fernandez, Firefly’s Head of Marketing & Communications, told a press conference at The Metropole hotel late last week that she didn’t think Phuket had been too badly…

  • Road warriors: Phuket Tourist Association goes to Australia

    PHUKET: In a bid to tempt more tourists from down under, the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) is planning a September road show to Australia. PTA President Somboon Jirayut said he was targeting Australia because there were direct flights to Phuket from most major cities there, including Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. “The association is also planning road shows in China,…

  • Pattaraphol leads at Laguna Phuket

    PHUKET: Thailand’s talented crop of young golfers flourished once again yesterday at the US$60,000 Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand, with new kid on the block Pattaraphol Khanthacha taking the halfway lead. The 20-year-old from Ratchaburi shot his second successive five-under-par 65 for a tournament total of 10-under-par 130. He leads by one stroke over Filipino Juvic Pagunsan at Laguna Phuket Golf Club.…

  • US consular visit to Phuket

    PHUKET: The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will be in Phuket for a consular outreach visit at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa in Karon on June 14, from 8am to noon. The following services will be available: – Passport renewal applications; – Notarial services and certified copies, including income affidavits for retirees; – Applications for…

  • Happy Air to launch Phuket to Nakhon Sri Thammarat flights

    PHUKET: Happy Air will begin flights between Phuket and Nakhon Sri Thammarat next week. Joe Sontipun, sales and marketing director of the Phuket-based scheduled carrier, said the new flights will begin on Wednesday, when seats will be offered at a special promotional rate of just 1,000 baht, one way, all inclusive. Seat prices will increase to the normal 1,500-baht fare…

  • Phuket man slain by Leo-wielding Lao

    PHUKET: A drunken Lao man was arrested today for killing a friend by slashing his throat with a broken beer bottle. He confessed to the crime, telling police he acted out of rage after the man used his money to buy beer instead of rice whisky. Chalong Police led by Wichit Intorrasorn held a press conference at noon to announce…

  • Phuket to feature in relaunch of ‘playground’ | Thaiger

    Phuket to feature in relaunch of ‘playground’

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) plans to relaunch Ratchaprasong as Bangkok’s most favourite playground next month, when top executives of 30 multinational companies will be brought to Bangkok and Phuket on a fam trip. Phuket gets…

  • Phuket teen shines at Mercedes-Benz Masters golf tournament

    PHUKET: The opening day of the US$60,000 Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand witnessed some sensational low scoring, with four players taking the lead with course record five-under-par 65s and a 13-year-old amateur upstaging the professionals with a 67. Thais Wisut Artjanawat, Ratsak Hansapiban and Pattaraphol Khanthacha and Singaporean Lam Chih Bing lead the way after confident rounds at the Laguna Phuket Golf…

  • Dry May: Phuket faces water shortages

    PHUKET: Despite some sporadic heavy rains, parts of Phuket continued to face water shortages throughout May. Sun Jantarawong, who heads the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said parts of Thalang including Mai Khao, Sakhoo, Pa Khlok and Thepkrasattri continued to suffer from lack of water last month. “Luckily local administrations had good water management for their people. I…

  • 7th annual Prison Products Fair in Phuket

    PHUKET: The seventh annual Prison Products Fair will take place at Saphan Hin starting at 9am on Friday. The 10-day event, from June 4 to 13, will offer a wide range of hand-made products crafted by prison inmates from 14 provincial prisons across the southern region as part of their vocational skills training. The fair will officially kick off at…

  • AoT defends taxi fees

    PHUKET: The director of Phuket International Airport (PIA) has defended concession fees charged to taxi and limousine operators by Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), pointing out that the airport is expensive to run and that, as a public company, AoT must make a profit. “I want to explain that everyone involved in business needs to make a profit. Based on…

  • Alien worker scheme flops in Phuket

    PHUKET: Phuket is facing a shortage of alien labor as the numbers of registered alien workers requesting extensions of their permits are down 15,166 year-on-year, according to official figures. The Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) said that this year only 49,017 out of 64,183 registered workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia extended their work permits. The vast majority of these,…

  • DON’T BUG ME: Phuket police nab beach bag thief

    PHUKET: Chalong Police last night arrested a fried bug vendor for stealing the belongings of a Russian tourist as she swam off Karon Beach. Chalong Police identified the culprit as 33-year-old Patipaan Nonephayome, a native of Prachantakham District in Prachinburi. Patipaan confessed to stealing a shoulder bag belonging to 26-year-old Russian Osana Kunakova around dusk as she swam with a…

  • Immigration to check on UK pedophile’s trip to Phuket

    PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration chief says his office will contact the British Embassy regarding the background of a UK man reportedly convicted on child pornography charges in the UK, and now said to be planning to travel to Phuket to marry a Thai girl. News that UK national Craig Meehan was planning a trip to Phuket was first reported by…

  • Kriel Roosters win Phuket Rugby 10s

    PHUKET: Scoring three tries in the first half, the Kriel Roosters from South Africa trounced the Moorabbin Rams from Australia 31-0 in the final of the 12th Overgaard Phuket International Rugby 10s played at Karon Stadium yesterday. The South Africans were clearly the fresher side, making the most of their speed advantage by quickly passing the ball wide and using…

  • Phuket to host Asian Hospitality & Travel Show in October

    PHUKET: Events Thailand team and Skal Phuket are combining talents to stage the inaugural ‘Asian Hospitality & Travel Show’ at the Central Festival Phuket Convention and Exhibition Center from October 1 to 3. “The exhibition is geared towards becoming a platform for networking between suppliers within the Asian Hospitality and travel sectors,” said Events Thailand committee member Simon Samaan, who…

  • Phuket trains drug dogs

    PHUKET: A pair of 2-month-old puppies are the latest addition to Phuket’s arsenal in the fight against drug trafficking. Currently being cared for at the house of Muang District Chief Supachai Pochanukul, ‘Nin’ and ‘Chao Kuay’ will be start a drug detection course when they are six months old. After completing five months of training at the Phuket International Dog…

  • Phuket Software Park ‘Tech Talk’ series in June

    PHUKET: Phuket Software Park has announced the schedule of weekly activities under its ‘Tech Talk’ series in June. June 3: Ads on Google: Just a piece of cakePresented by Brand Identity and Innovation, a Phuket Software Park incubatee; June 10: Exploring iPhone Usage & Making Money: User Track Presented by Phuket School; June 17: Exploring iPhone Usage & Making Money:…

  • Phuket will lead recovery of Thai tourism | Thaiger

    Phuket will lead recovery of Thai tourism

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The curent issue of Time magazine quotes Bill Heinecke, whose Minor group owns two hotels in Phuket, as emphasizing that Phuket and Hua Hin were among the many places in Thailand where “tourists were never in any danger…

  • Mystery shrouds fatal Phuket road accident | Thaiger

    Mystery shrouds fatal Phuket road accident

    PHUKET: Police are investigating a hit-and-run accident that left a man dead on the bypass road last night. Phuket City Police duty officer Lt Teerawat Amnachjaroenying identified the victim as Wittaya Sapsong, 35, whose body was found at 7:30pm on the southbound side of the bypass road in Koh Kaew, between the Bypass Seafood restaurant and the entrance to Premium…

  • Muay Thai star arrested in Phuket

    PHUKET: Former Muay Thai star Chaisiri Boonman, better known by his ring name Kwan-ngen Chokeladda, was one of two men arrested yesterday for committing at least two roadside robberies in Phuket. The arrests were announced by Chalong Police Superintendent Wichit Intorrasorn at a press conference at Chalong Police Station at 6:30pm yesterday. At the press conference, police presented Arnon Kongnoon,…

  • Phuket thief ‘nagged’ into crime

    PHUKET: A man arrested for stealing a masseuse’s bag in Karon told police that his wife’s constant complaining drove him to commit the crime. Chalong Police at 5pm on Wednesday arrested Sittha Rattanaphan, 36, at the Andaman Seaview Hotel in Karon, seizing as evidence a Honda motorbike and a brown bag containing 200 baht in cash, a mobile phone, an…

  • Update: Phuket International Film Festival | Thaiger

    Update: Phuket International Film Festival

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Scheduled for June 4-13, the Phuket International Film Festival is offering 10 days of award-winning movies, parties and networking events with international filmmakers, cultural activities and, of course, world-famous Thai hospitality. The film festival is unique in that…

  • Air Asia aids Phuket | Thaiger

    Air Asia aids Phuket

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: AirAsia Group is today kicking off a promotional campaign called “It’s OK, Thailand”. The campaign aggressively markets Bangkok as well as other Thai destinations, most notably Phuket, with low fares to revive Thailand’s travel and tourism industry. The…