SPECIAL REPORT by Bill Barnett PHUKET: Phuket and other provinces along the Andaman Coast are currently making preparations to mark the seventh anniversary since the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004.
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) yesterday launched a series of raids on major retailers selling New Year gift baskets to ensure that they do not contain alcoholic beverages. “I have informed all major retailers that New Year gift baskets may not contain alcohol,” said PPHO chief Dr Sak Tanchaikul.
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scientists discover first Earth-size planets outside the Milky Way Phuket GazetteU.S. scientists have spotted the first Earth-size planets which are orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system, NASA announced on Tuesday.
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Agreement reached to withdraw troops from borderThe Nation / Phuket GazetteThailand and Cambodia agreed yesterday to comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to withdraw troops from the disputed border area near the Preah Vihear Temple following a meeting of the General Border Committee. Both sides have also agreed to set up a Joint Working Group to work towards complete troop pullout from the provisional demilitarized zone (DMZ) determined by the ICJ, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. The meeting was chaired jointly by Defense Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapha and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh.
PHUKET: FC PHUKET were defeated 1-0 by Suphanburi FC last night in front of a somewhat rowdy home crowd at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town.
PHUKET: Industry analysts describe the labor shortage in the Phuket tourism industry as „critical“, with as many as 4,000 vacant hotel positions as the island enters its annual high season for tourism.
PHUKET: The second trash incinerator currently under construction at the Saphan Hin facility is expected to be operational by March. Chief Prachum Suriya, Phuket City Municipality, Environmental Division, detailed the progress made so far in the construction of the incinerator, which started in 2009 and is now about 80 per cent complete. The new incinerator is expected to have the capacity to dispose of 600 tons of waste a day.
PHUKET: FC Phuket players and coaching staff are appealing for a flood of fan support for tonight’s league match against Suphanburi FC, also known as the “Elephant-back Warriors”. Assistant Coach Apichart “Mo” Mosika asked the Phuket Gazette to encourage FC Phuket fans to be at Surakul Stadium tonight for the team’s 31st game of the 2011 Division One schedule. “It is near the season’s end now and we need as many fans as possible to support us.
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More bodies found after oil rig sinks in southeastern Russia Phuket GazetteNearly a dozen more bodies were found on Monday after an oil rig sank in southeastern Russia on Sunday, local media reported on Tuesday. Dozens more remain missing and are feared to have been killed. The Kolskaya drilling rig sank in the Sea of Okhotsk, some 3,800 miles northeast of Phuket, Thailand while it was being towed by the ‚Neftegaz 55‘ tugboat, which was being led by the Magadan icebreaker from the Kamchatka Peninsula to Sakhalin Island.
PHUKET: Disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) from across Thailand yesterday began a four-day intensive training course at Phuket’s Boat Lagoon complex in preparation for the first-ever International Medical Rally to be held at Sirinath National Park, Nai Yang, on December 23. Taking part in the training are DMAT teams from Chiang Rai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket, explained Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) chief Sak Tanchaikul.