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  • Romanian arrested with 3kg of cocaine at Phuket Airport

    Romanian arrested with 3kg of cocaine at Phuket Airport

    PHUKET: Customs officers at Phuket International Airport arrested Romanian Pop Florin, 52, on Friday night after finding more than 3kg of cocaine in his baggage. Acting on a tip-off from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Customs officers from Bangkok came to Phuket to assist in the arrest, Phuket Airport Customs Director Montira Cherchoo explained. “Mr Florin departed Sao Paulo,…

  • Phuket protest march becomes victory parade

    Phuket protest march becomes victory parade

    PHUKET: Thousands of jubilant anti-government protesters are gathered outside of the main government buildings in Phuket Town, celebrating the decision of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra earlier today to dissolve her government. The protesters, however, vow to carry on protesting until the People’s Council proposed by Suthep Thaugsuban, the former deputy prime minister and protest leader in Bangkok, is set up.…

  • Colombians, Mexican arrested in Bangkok for Phuket ATM robbery

    Colombians, Mexican arrested in Bangkok for Phuket ATM robbery

    PHUKET: Three men suspected of robbing a Patong ATM last Tuesday were apprehended in Bangkok yesterday and returned to Phuket last night. Phuket Police and fellow officers from the central Bangkok district of Phayathai worked together to arrest the men, who are accused of using a blowtorch to steal almost 300,000 baht from a Thanachart ATM. Mexican Yesid Alexander Ledesma…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Lenin falls in Ukraine; India’s ruling party stumbles; Kim Jong Un uncle dismissed for illicit partying

    Phuket Gazette World News: Lenin falls in Ukraine; India’s ruling party stumbles; Kim Jong Un uncle dismissed for illicit partying

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Protesters fell Lenin statue, tell Ukraine’s president ‘you’re next’ Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Anti-government protesters toppled a statue of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine’s capital and attacked it with hammers on Sunday in a symbolic challenge to President Viktor Yanukovich and his plans for closer…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: U.N., U.S. call for investigations into Thai trafficking of Rohingya

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: U.N., U.S. call for investigations into Thai trafficking of Rohingya

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.N., U.S. call for investigations into Thai trafficking of Rohingya Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United Nations and the United States on Friday called for investigations into the findings of a Reuters report that Thai immigration officials moved Myanmar refugees into human trafficking rings. The…

  • Phang Nga gets jump on Phuket with high season party

    Phang Nga gets jump on Phuket with high season party

    PHUKET: Phang Nga kicked off its tourism high season with a colorful parade down the main street of Khao Lak to the Tsunami Memorial last night. The event comes a week ahead of the unofficial opening of the Phuket high season with the Patong Carnival (story here). The five-day festival marking the high season was ushered in by Phang Nga…

  • Phuket road accidents claim lives of two men with same last name

    Phuket road accidents claim lives of two men with same last name

    PHUKET: Police have yet to establish whether two men who died in separate road accidents in Phuket yesterday were from the same family. Sutep Yotarak, 33, died after his motorbike collided with the motorbike driven by Araya Sanguannam, 62, in Mai Khao at about 11:30am. After Mr Sutep fell off his bike, he was struck by a passing car and…

  • Nine Phuket heroes due to arrive next month

    Nine Phuket heroes due to arrive next month

    PHUKET: A 50-million-baht project to honor important figures in Phuket’s history moves closer to completion next month with the arrival of nine bronze statues. The statues represent individuals important in the defense of Phuket against Burmese invaders, including the well known Phuket Heroines, sisters Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn (story here). Cast in Ang Thong province, the statues will be…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Ukraine’s Yanukovich defies protesters to meet Putin; France enters CAR; Clashes in Athens; Japan enacts state secrets act

    Phuket Gazette World News: Ukraine’s Yanukovich defies protesters to meet Putin; France enters CAR; Clashes in Athens; Japan enacts state secrets act

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Clashes break out in Athens Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police and protesters clashed in Athens on Friday on the fifth anniversary of the killing of a teenager by police, an incident that sparked Greece’s worst riots for decades.Thousands of protesters, many dressed in black, marched through the…

  • Phuket’s JLL Cricket League recommences

    Phuket’s JLL Cricket League recommences

    PHUKET: THE Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) is pleased to announce a new season of the Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Cricket League at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) commencing on December 8, which will see Phuket’s local teams fight for the title. Mike Batchelor, managing director of the JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, which has been involved in some of the…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep sets D-Day Monday; Referendum proposed; Baht falls; Fears over New Year gouging; Floods in South

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep sets D-Day Monday; Referendum proposed; Baht falls; Fears over New Year gouging; Floods in South

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suthep sets December 9 as D-day against Thaksin Regime The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Anti-government rally leader Suthep Thaugsuban on Friday night set December 9 as the D-Day for what he called “people’s uprising” against the Thaksin Regime and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government.Speaking at the rally…

  • Phuket Employment Office re-opens to process work permits

    Phuket Employment Office re-opens to process work permits

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO), which processes work permits for foreigners, quietly reopened today. “We are now back to working normally,” PPEO Chief Yaowapa Pibulpol told the Phuket Gazette. “Our office was closed for two and a half days, from the afternoon of December 3 through the public holiday for HM The King’s birthday yesterday,” she explained. “But…

  • Phuket python nabbed after exposing itself

    Phuket python nabbed after exposing itself

    PHUKET: Construction workers breaking the floor of a new house in order to remake it were shocked when instead of earth they saw the tail of a snake through the broken concrete. Kusoldharm foundation workers who were called to the site on Palien Road (map here), behind Provincial Hall this morning managed to capture the snake on their second attempt.…

  • Garden variety motorbike arson near Phuket viewpoint

    Garden variety motorbike arson near Phuket viewpoint

    PHUKET: A motorbike was burned to a crisp near the Kata View Point on Phuket’s west coast yesterday afternoon, possibly the result of a feud between two gardeners. Karon Police responding to a 4pm call found the black skeleton of Parichat Prasertlo’s green Honda Dream about 200 meters off the coastal road near the tourist-popular scenic vantage point. Ms Parichat…

  • Leaders fight to consolidate in King’s Cup before final day’s racing

    Leaders fight to consolidate in King’s Cup before final day’s racing

    PHUKET: The fleet set sail following the Royal Thai Navy sail pass on day four of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta in light rain; the first such weather pattern of this week of racing. The key element though was brisk wind which was constantly shifting direction making for a high work-rate day for all of the crew members (numbering almost…

  • British tourist withdraws complaint of spiked drink in Phuket

    British tourist withdraws complaint of spiked drink in Phuket

    PHUKET: The British woman who told police that she tumbled from the second storey balcony of her Phuket hotel room on November 11 because she was given a spiked drink on Soi Bangla has asked police not to pursue the case. Extensive media coverage of the night’s events, which included 21-year-old Romany Mitchell’s claim that she was escaping an assailant…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: HM calls for unity; Protests to resume today; Red-shirts to rally in Ayutthaya

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: HM calls for unity; Protests to resume today; Red-shirts to rally in Ayutthaya

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community HM issues call for unity The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej yesterday called on all Thais to carry out their duties for the benefit of their homeland and ensure its security.In his birthday speech, His Majesty said Thailand had maintained happiness due to…

  • Phuket Opinion: Burning desire to keep island’s flames at bay

    Phuket Opinion: Burning desire to keep island’s flames at bay

    Puchong Manavakrit is a volunteer firefighter with the Phuket City Municipality Fire Department. Born and raised in Phuket, Mr Puchong is in his final year for a computer engineering degree at Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus. He has been a volunteer firefighter since he was 18 years old. Here, he explains what is needed to save the lives of…

  • Phuket Opinion: Quest to conquer island transport

    Phuket Opinion: Quest to conquer island transport

    PHUKET: Mount Everest, K2, Cape Horn; the Sahara Desert – conquering these places represents the pinnacle of human potential and achievement. To this list, I would like to to add the streets of Phuket! For most, just a mere mention of the above places will conjure up images of sweat, tears, pain, joy, patience and adrenaline: all ingredients of “willpower”.…

  • Phuket Opinion: Patong’s good-time juggernaut spins on

    Phuket Opinion: Patong’s good-time juggernaut spins on

    PHUKET: Reports that Patong Municipality hopes to install a huge Ferris wheel along the beach road have generated considerable interest within Phuket’s large and ever-growing expat community, and some skepticism with regard to the cost/benefit of such an erection.But the fact that this is even a serious topic of discussion clearly demonstrates just how good we have it here in…

  • Phuket government maintains workflow despite protest closures

    Phuket government maintains workflow despite protest closures

    PHUKET: The main government offices in charge of keeping the island’s economy ticking over have reported no major disruptions to workflow despite the more than week-long closure of Provincial Hall. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut agreed to close Provincial Hall on November 27, acquiescing to the firm request by thousands of anti-government protesters who rallied in front of the building (story…

  • Phuket Immigration vows strictness on retirement visa requirements

    Phuket Immigration vows strictness on retirement visa requirements

    PHUKET: Phuket Immigration has vowed to become stricter in its enforcement of retirement visas for married couples by upholding a law that came into effect in November 2008. The law states that foreign retired couples must each show evidence of 800,000 baht in their bank accounts in order to apply for or renew retirement visas, Phuket Immigration Inspector Napat Nusen…

  • CCTV shopping images set police on trail of Phuket ATM thieves

    CCTV shopping images set police on trail of Phuket ATM thieves

    PHUKET: Police have identified the men who robbed a Phuket ATM on Tuesday and are seeking arrest warrants. Based on CCTV images from a construction material store in Thalang, Phuket Police were able to identify the men purchasing supplies for the crime, which used a blowtorch to cut the back off the ATM. “We started by looking at CCTV images…

  • Patong police make appointment for drug arrests

    Patong police make appointment for drug arrests

    PHUKET: The arrest of one drug user in Patong on Monday morning allowed police to make an appointment with five other druggies later in the day. Acting on the orders of Phuket’s top cop to arrest anyone suspected of drug use, officers in Patong approached Komsak Tongsin, 21, in front of a SuperCheap store on Phrabaramee Road because he “looked…

  • Ray Roberts eyes fourth King’s Cup trophy after Day 2 and 3

    Ray Roberts eyes fourth King’s Cup trophy after Day 2 and 3

    PHUKET: Cooler weather brought slightly lower wind speeds for the third day (December 4) of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, creating conditions that required good tactical decisions from all of the teams. In the IRC0 class, Ray Roberts’ OneSails Racing team continued their exceptional form to secure another win today in race four, and a 2nd place in race five,…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Mexico finds stolen radioactive material; Putin could free Pussy Riot members; France backing prostitution law; Japanese WWII submarine found near Hawaii

    Phuket Gazette World News: Mexico finds stolen radioactive material; Putin could free Pussy Riot members; France backing prostitution law; Japanese WWII submarine found near Hawaii

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mexico finds stolen radioactive material amid dirty bomb fear Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Mexican police have found dangerous radioactive medical material stolen by thieves that the United Nations said could provide an ingredient for a “dirty bomb,” the country’s national nuclear safety commission CNSNS said…

  • Special Report – Thailand secretly dumps Myanmar refugees into trafficking rings

    Special Report – Thailand secretly dumps Myanmar refugees into trafficking rings

    Special Report PHUKET: One afternoon in October, in the watery no-man’s land between Thailand and Myanmar, well-known to Phuket visa-runners, Muhammad Ismail vanished. Thai immigration officials said he was being deported to Myanmar. In fact, they sold Ismail, 23, and hundreds of other Rohingya to human traffickers, who then spirited them into brutal jungle camps. As thousands of Rohingya flee…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: In honor of HM The King’s 86th birthday

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: In honor of HM The King’s 86th birthday

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community His Majesty the King still a guiding light for Kingdom The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: To mark his 86th birthday anniversary today, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej will grant a grand public audience at his Klai Kangwon Palace in Prachuap Khiri Khan. A huge number…

  • Phuket honors HM The King with gala event

    Phuket honors HM The King with gala event

    PHUKET: Leading Phuket officials, honorary consuls, prominent business people, notable dignitaries and social figures from across the island gathered at Phuket Rajabhat University last night to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej for his 86th birthday. The event, which was open to the public, was held at the university’s main conference hall. All guests arrived in splendid formal attire or traditional…

  • Phuket Police tracking Vietnamese ATM thieves

    Phuket Police tracking Vietnamese ATM thieves

    PHUKET: Police have been issued arrest warrants for a pair of Vietnamese ATM thieves who are believed to have fled to their home country after making off with 1.6 million baht from a Phuket ATM last month. Nguyen Thanh Quang, 25, and Tran Dang Hoa, 26, are wanted for robbing the ATM at the entrance to Boat Lagoon on November…