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Special Report: The search for closure: Family makes heartfelt plea for finding lost crew of MV Hope
Special Report PHUKET: The family of Captain Rajib Chandra Karmaker, master of the Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope, has launched a public appeal for any information that may lead to the recovery of the missing captain’s body and those of his lost shipmates. The Hope, laden with ball clay, was struck broadside by large waves and listed heavily in stormy…
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Special Report: Permission to function in Phuket
Special Report PHUKET: The separate arrests of a German man and a Swiss man at their homes in Chalong late last month (story here) by Immigration officials sent a chill through the law-abiding expat community in Phuket. The two men were arrested despite their protests that they were each building their own boat for their own private use. The Phuket…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Drone strikes killing civilians; Brazil sugar blaze paralysis; South Africans demand justice for child murders; Aussie wildfire kills one
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pakistan tells U.N. at least 400 civilians killed by drone strikes Reuters/Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pakistan has confirmed that of some 2,200 people killed by drone strikes in the past decade, at least 400 were civilians and an additional 200 victims were deemed “probable non-combatants,” a U.N.…
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SuperCheap Phuket rises from the ashes
PHUKET: At 5am today, SuperCheap re-opened on a lot nearby the burned ruble of its main building and began selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood. The re-opening comes just 32 hours after the devastating fire engulfed the complex Wednesday night (story here). Tents and tarps are now set up to create a temporary marketplace in a field next to…
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Phuket Opinion: Scare tactics to keep Chinese safe
PHUKET: A few weeks ago I was swimming at Racha Island, in Batok Bay. When I got out past the breakers I found myself face-to-face with a Chinese man on a boogie board. He immediately struck up a conversation with me, asking where I was from. After determining that I do not speak Chinese and have no plans to visit…
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Phuket Opinion: New top cop staying tough on drugs
The new Phuket Provincial Police Commander, Ong-art Phiwruangnont, 59, is from Yasothon. He graduated from the Royal Police Cadet Academy and has spent his entire career in the police force. Before coming to Phuket, Maj Gen Ong-art was Provincial Police Commander in Nakhon Ratchasima.Here he talks about why his priority is eradicating drugs from Phuket, and why gambling should be…
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Former Phang Nga official assassinated at relative’s funeral
PHUKET: A former Phang Nga official was assassinated by a single bullet to the head while dining at his cousin’s funeral in Ao Luek, Krabi, early yesterday morning.Sittipon Thongkum, 49, was shot dead while sitting down to eat with relatives at the funeral of Somchok Khammee’s brother. Mr Somchok is village headman of Moo 2, Khao Yai, in Krabi.“People said…
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Phuket Opinion: A festival full of firecrackers
PHUKET: Credit must be given where it is clearly due: to the authorities who arrested more than 20 people for the illegal use or sale of dangerous fireworks during the recently concluded Vegetarian Festival (story here). The Phuket Provincial Police have sent out somewhat mixed signals in recent years with regard to what level of fireworks usage would be allowed…
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Phuket SuperCheap blaze damage estimated at B500mn
PHUKET: After 18 years in Phuket, the main SuperCheap store and warehouse were gutted on Wednesday in the island’s largest-ever fire.Located on a 30-rai (4.8-hectare) plot once occupied by a factory, the main SuperCheap store – a legacy of the Anantajaroonwong family – had grown from being a rickety warehouse supported by wooden pillars and a corrugated-iron roof into a…
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Phuket Gazette World News: More bombs in Myanmar; Washington goes back to work; Wildfires threaten Sydney; Pirate attacks surge off Nigeria
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More bomb blasts in Myanmar as police arrest four suspects Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Several bombs exploded in northeastern Myanmar on Thursday, police said, the latest in a string of unexplained attacks, including a blast this week that injured an American tourist in a plush hotel in…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PM orders flood action; Govt mulls ISA add-on; First-car scheme costs Bt30bn payout
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prime minister orders immediate action in flood-affected provinces The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A priority list of flood-relief provisions was issued yesterday by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to immediately tackle the problems faced by flood-affected residents, via a network of local administrative bodies under Interior Ministry supervision.The…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Thailand joins search for bodies in Laos Mekong plane crash; Bad weather blamed; Stewardess’ last message breaks hearts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai divers, workers join search at Laos crash site The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Thailand yesterday dispatched divers and rescue workers to help Laotian authorities retrieve the bodies of 49 people killed in Wednesday’s plane crash near Laos’ southern city of Pakse.The Royal Thai Navy sent a…
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Phuket backhoe driver killed in bedrock collapse
PHUKET: A backhoe driver working at a quarry in Kathu died today when a large chunk of bedrock fell onto the cab of his digger, crushing him and the cab.Officers have yet to determine why the huge slab of granite collapsed onto the backhoe operated by Sudrak Nawakoaksorn, 31, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat.Mr Sudrak turned up for work at the…
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Phuket Town landlord found hanged
PHUKET: Police are not treating as suspicious the death of a Phuket Town landlord who was found hanged in her three-story home in the heart of Old Phuket Town yesterday morning. Saranpitchaya Suwannacheep, 40, was found hanged at her shophouse home in Soi Soon Uthit (map here) at about 10am by her younger brother. “My sister owned an apartment building…
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One dead, one injured as Phuket locals head home from work
PHUKET: A 26-year-old man died early yesterday morning while he was heading home from work in Phuket Town after his motorcycle rammed into the back of an 18-wheel truck travelling slowly in the left lane. Truck driver Wichet Boonsong, 43, from Phattalung, was delivering a load of sheet metal from Songkhla when he heard something crash into the back of…
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Video Report: Phuket Police wait for Region 8 to begin search for bodies
PHUKET: Phuket police are waiting for Region 8 Forensic officers to arrive before starting to sift through the demolished SuperCheap structure for signs of those who may have died in the enormous blaze that started last night and continued well into today.“When the team arrives, officials can start their investigation and the search for bodies,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Ong-art…
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Patong’s flood problem largely solved by 2014, Phuket Governor says
PHUKET: Patong’s flood problems will be 85 to 90 per cent solved by the middle of next year, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut predicted this week. In addition to the 19 million baht gate that will be added to the canal at the south end of Patong, (story here), 9.7 million baht in funds have been requested to dredge the Pak…
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Phuket SuperCheap Inferno: Search for victims delayed as fire continues [VIDEO]
PHUKET: Flames continued to ravage Phuket’s renowned SuperCheap megastore this morning, stifling any efforts to search for victims caught in the inferno that broke out at the huge shopping facility last night. Fresh reinforcements of firefighters arrived early today to relieve those who battled the flames throughout the night. Plumes of smoke continued to rise into the morning sky. Inferno…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Last-minute deal buys US debt crisis delay
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Senate passes deal to end debt crisis Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The U.S. Senate approved a deal on Wednesday to end a political crisis that partially shut down the federal government and brought the world’s biggest economy to the edge of a debt default that could…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: 5 Thais killed in Lao Airlines crash; Ministers defend rice-pledging loss; DSI presses for charges in police station fiasco
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 5 Thais among 49 killed in Lao Airlines crash The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Five Thais were among 49 passengers and crew killed when a twin-engine Lao Airlines plane plunged into the Mekong River yesterday as it attempted to land at an international airport in…
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Phuket beach encroachment: Keesin family will play by rules
PHUKET: Leading Patong figure Preechavude ‘Prab’ Keesin responded yesterday to the inspection that singled out his family’s resort by expressing his willingness to take down any structures found to be encroaching on the beach. Mr Prab, whose father is Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, told the press fears of erosion had led to sea walls being built on the beach in…
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Action to be taken on coral, wastewater at Racha Island
PHUKET: A framework to deal with longstanding problems at Racha Yai Island, particularly coral damage and wastewater, was drafted at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday morning. To prevent boat operators from damaging corals by dropping anchor on them, 20 more moorings will be added, though their locations have yet to be determined, said Tanet Munnoy, director of the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Finn berry-picking fiasco probed; PM vague on special Chinese deal; Protestors get the itch to stay; MBK big plans include Phuket
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DSI to probe berry-picking fiasco The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will take over a case in which workers from the Northeast were duped by a promise of berry-picking jobs in Sweden and Finland – then left unpaid and unaided abroad.Some workers…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US fiscal talks stumble; Putin political rival facing jail time; al Qaeda suspect pleads innocent
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. fiscal talks stumble as lawmakers race against time Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Stop-start negotiations to end the U.S. fiscal impasse left congressional leaders and President Barack Obama desperately searching yesterday for a way to reopen the government and raise the country’s debt limit ahead of a…
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Phuket meth mule nabbed at island bridge
PHUKET: Police last night arrested a drug runner at the Tah Chat Chai Checkpoint who confessed to smuggling drugs from Surat Thani and selling them in Phuket Town.Acting on a tip-off, police stopped and searched a Honda Jazz being driven by Sitthichai Chusang, 39, at about 8:30pm while he was trying to leave the island.Officers found only 300mg of ya…
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Patong mayor’s resort targeted for land encroachment
PHUKET: The government’s self-branded “anti-mafia” campaign continued yesterday as Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak led local officers to inspect the Patong Bay Garden Resort on Patong Beach for suspected encroachment onto public land. The resort, owned by Patong Mayor Pian Keesin and his son Prab, was the only resort along Patong Beach that was inspected yesterday. However, the raid…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Govt considers extending Internal Security Act enforcement; Kids addicted to computer games; Dealer donates ya bah to ease suffering
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Students who opposed retreat to Lumpini Park draw further support The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A splinter group of the People’s Army against the Thaksin Regime has drawn so much growing support from the public that the government is now considering whether to extend the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US deal today – maybe; Russian police round up 1600 migrants; Major quake hits Philippines, no tsunami threat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. senators hint at possible fiscal deal today Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A month of combat in the U.S. Congress over government spending showed signs of giving way to a Senate deal to reopen shuttered federal agencies and prevent an economically damaging default on federal…
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Phuket roadworks driving motorists to alternatives
PHUKET: The local authorities responsible for main roads across Phuket will spend hundreds of millions of baht in road upgrades to make commuting in Phuket safer and faster. The news was delivered by the chiefs of the Department of Rural Roads Phuket Office and the Phuket Highways Office at a meeting with Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut at Provincial Hall this…
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Phang Nga officer charged with trafficking kicked off force, awaits trial
PHUKET: The first police officer in Thailand to be charged with human trafficking has been discharged from the Royal Thai Police force. Weerayuth Feuangfu, formerly a sergeant major with the Phang Nga police, is free on bail as he awaits his trial in early November on charges of human trafficking, helping a refugee leave a shelter and abusing his position…
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