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Indonesia tells Grab, Uber to partner with transport firms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesia tells Grab, Uber to partner with transport firms Phuket Gazette / Reuters JAKARTA:Taxi-hailing apps Grab and Uber Technologies Inc must partner with a transport business and register their cars by the end of May if they want to go on operating in Southeast Asia’s largest…
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Phuket expat’s Row2Rio begins push to equator
PHUKET: The two men and two women undertaking the Row2Rio challenge have launched into the third section of the trip – the longest leg of the journey with the most unknown factors that could end up making or breaking this unprecedented adventure. “It’s a 950 nautical mile push to the equator. This stage will dictate whether we can get this…
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YouTube video helps nab 30kg king cobra
KOH LANTA: A Koh Lanta local was able to catch a five-meter-long king cobra that made its way into his neighbor’s garden, using a stick-and-rope technique that he learned on YouTube. Worawut Longasan, 56, volunteered to nab the snake, which was hiding under a wooden bench. It only took him a few minutes to bag the nearly 30 kilogram cobra…
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Governor orders tsunami evacuation brochures
PHUKET: Tsunami evacuation brochures will be drawn up and printed following a request by Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket Office has been put in charge of the project, which will see the pamphlets handed out to locals and tourists via local authorities, tour operators, and hotel and business operators. “This project was thought up…
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Australian airports have sufficient security
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australian airports have sufficient security Phuket Gazette / Reuters SYDNEY: Australia’s airports have sufficient security in the wake of the deadly attack in Brussels, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday, although a planned strike by immigration workers ahead of the busy Easter holiday weekend was…
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No red carpet for ‘Batman v Superman’ London premiere after Brussels attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No red carpet for ‘Batman v Superman’ London premiere after Brussels attacks Phuket Gazette / Reuters LONDON: Movie studio Warner Bros went ahead with yesterday’s London premiere of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” its new superhero movie, but skipped the traditional red carpet press interviews…
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Belgians hunt Islamic State suspect after blasts kill 30
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Belgians hunt Islamic State suspect after blasts kill 30 Phuket Gazette / Reuters BRUSSELS: Belgian police are hunting an Islamic State suspect seen with two supposed suicide bombers shortly before they struck Brussels Airport in the first of two attacks that also hit the city’s metro,…
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Drunk drivers to lose vehicles for entire Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’
PHUKET: In line with national policy, Phuket’s top policeman vowed to impound drunk drivers’ vehicles during the Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road-safety campaign. Police will not return the vehicle until the end of the campaign. “Impounding a vehicle and seizing a driver’s licence in a drunk driving case is nothing new – it’s just common sense,” said Phuket Provincial…
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Krabi City officials drowning in dead fish
KRABI: Krabi officials are scrambling to find a solution to the tens of thousands of dead fish found in a pond in Krabi City over the weekend. The pond, which houses numerous types of fish for fishing competitions, started emanating a bad smell as the fish started to die off on Sunday. “We tested the water for poisonous substances, but…
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Phuket Airport boosts security after Brussels blasts
PHUKET: A bomb disposal squad is on standby and extra military personnel are on guard at checkpoints in and around Phuket International Airport. “We have raised the security status to ‘level three plus’ and have implemented extra safety measures throughout the airport and surrounding area,” said Phuket Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan. Checkpoints at the airport’s entrance went up at 8pm…
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Bus banned for smoking is alreay back in business
PHUKET: A Phuket bus that was banned from the roads for belching out black smoke and failing an exhaust emission test on Monday was back in business the next day. “The amount of black smoke in the bus’s emissions has been reduced from 99.8 per cent to 12 per cent,” confirmed Jaturong Kaewkasi, chief policy adviser at the Phuket Land…
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Tourists safe after Phuket bus catches fire
PHUKET: More than a dozen tourists are safe after the bus they were taking to Patong caught fire yesterday afternoon. The bus, owned by Jetour Thailand Limited Company, was delivering 14 Chinese tourists from Nonthasak Pier in Rassada to their hotel when the driver noticed smoke emanating from the dashboard. “I couldn’t stop the bus immediately because there was no…
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Explosions hit Brussels airport, one killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Explosions hit Brussels airport, one killed Phuket Gazette / Reuters BRUSSELS: Explosions tore through the departure hall of Brussels airport on Tuesday morning killing one person and injuring several others, the Belgian news agency Belga said. The agency said shots were fired and there were shouts…
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Flat tyre, carelessness blamed for filthy Phuket pier
PHUKET: Officials are blaming a garbage truck with a flat tyre and boat operators’ carelessness for the piles of rubbish and spilled oil spotted on Chalong Pier yesterday. Photos sent to the Phuket Gazette by a reader – showing dozens of garbage bags, bottles and puddles of oil along the pier – were forwarded to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization…
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The LifeCo: The business of healing
PHUKET: One doesn’t have to look far to find a spa in Phuket, but recent years have seen a marked shift in this trend, as new and established business are looking to cash in on wellness, as opposed to opulence and luxury. The LifeCo Phuket Well-Being Center based in Thalang is the first for the company outside of Turkey, and…
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Krabi raid nets a kilo of crystal meth
PHUKET: A Region 8 Police task force smashed a six-man drug trafficking ring in Krabi over the weekend, seizing more than 40,000 methamphetamine pills (ya ba) and more than a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice), as well as cash and assets with a combined value of more than 4 million baht. Police were able to close in on the…
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Indonesian taxi drivers to rally for ban on online taxi apps
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesian taxi drivers to rally for ban on online taxi apps Phuket Gazette / Reuters JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesian taxi drivers took to the streets of the capital Jakarta on Tuesday to protest ride-hailing apps like Grab and Uber, bringing parts of the city to a…
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PLTO bans bus bellowing pollution in Phuket
PHUKET: Officials banned a pollution-belching Phuket bus from service after it failed its emissions test yesterday. The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) was alerted to the bus’s condition through a complaint made by a concerned citizen who sent in a photo of the vehicle’s plate number. “The black carbon emissions expelled from diesel exhaust cannot exceed 45 per cent. However,…
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Phuket ‘smart city’ set to receive Korean expertise, B430mn-budget
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak yesterday announced a budget of 430 million baht to further the ‘smart city’ project in Phuket. The announcement was made at a conference yesterday where the Deputy PM invited entrepreneurs from the South Korean city of Busan to invest in Thailand. Deputy PM Somkid chaired a signing ceremony between Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada and…
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Move to regulate diving industry [video]
PHUKET: Independent diving excursions have been banned in Phuket and Phang Nga following a government move to tighten regulations and increase accountability in the previously self-regulated industry. The move comes in the wake of a number of dive-related deaths and serious accidents in the region. “Though the diving industry does have its own regulations, we need to take greater responsibility…
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Phuket etiquette course in wake of Chinese tourist prawn gorging [video]
PHUKET: Following Chinese tourists’ chaotic stampede and subsequent gluttonous gorging of piles of prawns at a buffet in Thailand, Phuket will be holding an etiquette course for guides working with Chinese tour companies. The internet was ablaze with vehement criticism of Chinese tourists this weekend after Chinese media company Shanghaiist published a 33 second video clip showing tourists in a…
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‘Suicide bomber’ admission angers Paris suspect’s lawyer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Suicide bomber’ admission angers Paris suspect’s lawyer Phuket Gazette / Reuters BRUSSELS: The prime surviving suspect in the Paris attacks may have been plotting more operations with the help of a weapons cache and a network of associates, Belgium’s foreign minister said on Sunday. Didier Reynders,…
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A Decade Ago: Beach chairs and a B40mn blaze
PHUKET: Fears that beach vendors’ unrelenting attempts to retake the beaches will eventually wear down Phuket officials’ willingness to enforce the 10 per cent zone and virgin beach regulations are well founded. Ten years ago, in the March 18-24 edition of the Phuket Gazette, we documented rental operators reneging on a deal – struck after the tsunami – between their…
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Russia mourns plane crash victims as investigation begins
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russia mourns plane crash victims as investigation begins Phuket Gazette / Reuters ROSTOV-ON-DON: Relatives gathered to mourn the 62 victims of a passenger jet crash in southern Russia on Sunday and officials warned an investigation could take weeks to determine the cause of the downing. At…
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Opinion: Putting up with golf prices
Terayout Prasertphol is the recently appointed chief of the Phuket Golf Association and former chief of the Phuket Land Transportation Office. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Ramkhamhaeng University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA). Here he talks about how Phuket’s expensive golf industry thrives with high-end tourists.PHUKET:…
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Fisherman killed in knife fight near Phuket port
PHUKET: A 19-year-old Myanmar national was killed in a knife fight on a fishing boat pulling into a Phuket port yesterday afternoon. The altercation between two Myanmar crew members on the fishing vessel Kiang Chai 11 resulted in the death of Yae Tui. The surviving crew member, Van Chana, 34, was sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital to be treated for…
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Phuket alcohol zones still fuzzy
PHUKET: The Phuket Excise Office (PEO) chief has asked the Cabinet for another six months to measure out potential alcohol zones in an effort to suppress underage drinking in the province. The cabinet initially gave the PEO until January to chart all shops selling alcohol within 300-meters of ‘educational institutions’. However the rules remained foggy as officials tried to clarify…
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Manhunt launched for Mai Khao murderer
PHUKET: Police have launched a manhunt after the lacerated body of a 25-year-old man was found lying in a pool of blood in front of a shack at a rubber plantation in Mai Khao yesterday morning. The body of Myanmar worker, known only as Mr Sor, was discovered in the plantation near Phuket International Airport at about 10:50am on Sunday…
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Moscow-bound flight grounded at Phuket airport after passenger voices fears
PHUKET: A flight from Phuket to Moscow was evacuated yesterday after a passenger said he felt threatened. The captain of Russia’s Nordwind Airlines called the airport office to request an emergency inspection after Alexander Nozof, 25, said he felt threatened for reasons that were unspecified. Monrudee Gettuphan, director of Phuket International Airport, denied rumors that the plane had been hijacked.…
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Checkpoint police nab 21 taxi drivers, most for poor dress sense
PHUKET: Police have arrested a total of 21 taxi drives at a checkpoint in Patong in the past two days, 19 of whom were fined for being inappropriately dressed. Patong traffic policeman Ekkarat Plaiduang and Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit led the checkpoint in front of the Patong Police Station in order to crack down on fixed-price taxi services and…
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