News
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Congo militias kill two rangers in park for mountain gorillas
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Congo militias kill two rangers in park for mountain gorillas Phuket Gazette / Reuters KINSHASA: Militia groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have killed two park rangers in one of the world’s last sanctuaries for the endangered mountain gorilla, the park said on Monday. A…
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PM boosts security in south after attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM boosts security in south after attacks Phuket Gazette / Reuters NARATHIWAT: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha told the army on Monday to increase security in the southern provinces following attacks over the weekend. Seven soldiers were injured following multiple gun and bomb attacks in Narathiwat,…
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Dengue claims life of 9-year-old Krabi girl
KRABI: A nine-year-old Krabi girl died from dengue fever in Trang on Saturday after being hospitalized for four days. The parents of Kanyanat Noochaikaew, from Lam Thap district, expressed their grief and disbelief at her funeral yesterday. “We can’t possibly express how heartbroken we are. We never thought our family would face such a fate,” said her father Thavorn Noochaikaew.…
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A Decade Ago: Phuripat and lost at sea
PHUKET: Unless bald or in the military, most people have changed their haircuts over the span of a decade. But not ‘Phuket’s Jet-ski Champion’, former local Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut. However, he did change his name. In the March 11-17, 2006 issue of the Phuket Gazette, Mr Phuripat was still using the name Surin Theerapkulpisut as he questioned whether…
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Registration open for Phuket Criterium 2016
PHUKET: Saddle up for the 2016 Phuket Criterium; a day of pedal-powered street racing to be held at Saphan Hin on April 23. Last year’s inaugural event was a huge success, attracting more than 300 cyclists (story here). This year, the organizers have expanded the race categories to welcome participants of all ages and abilities with categories for fixed-gear bikes,…
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Petition launched to stop wild animal exploitation in Thailand’s tourist spots
PHUKET: Phuket-based animal welfare organization the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) has launched an online petition to get the Prime Minister’s backing to put a stop to wild animals being used in the tourist trade in the region and other tourist destinations in Thailand. The campaign, ‘Stop the Killing and Exploitation of Wild Animals for Tourism’, was launched yesterday. “We…
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Taxi passengers recovering after fatal crash on Phuket bypass road
PHUKET: Three passengers travelling in a taxi that collided with a crane on the bypass road on Saturday are recovering in hospital and expected to be discharged later this week. Police are still investigating the circumstances of the collision, which resulted in the death of the taxi driver (story here). The three Chinese passengers, each of them aged 25 years…
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Phuket hit and run kills one, injures two
PHUKET: Phuket police are hunting a hit-and-run driver who killed an unidentified man and injured two people in Wichit this morning. Witnesses said a Toyota Fortuner of an unknown color was heading toward Phuket Town when it struck two motorcyclists, before crossing lanes and fatally injuring a third motorcyclist. “The collisions took place at about 7:40 this morning in front…
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Australia ‘deeply concerned’ over arrest of journalists in Malaysia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australia ‘deeply concerned’ over arrest of journalists in Malaysia Phuket Gazette / Reuters CANBERRA: Australia is deeply concerned over the arrest of two Australian journalists in Malaysia after they attempted to question Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over corruption allegations, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on…
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Second car bomb in a month kills 32 in Turkish capital Ankara
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second car bomb in a month kills 32 in Turkish capital Ankara Phuket Gazette / Reuters ANKARA: A car bomb tore through a crowded transport hub in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Sunday, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125 in the second such attack…
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Feadship’s Asian market blooming
PHUKET: Well ahead of the incredibly successful inaugural Thailand Yacht Show (TYS), Feadship Royal Dutch Shipbuilders were making superyacht waves while expanding into the the Asian region. “At this moment, Feadship is building multiple yachts in different sizes and in different models for Asian and Asia-based clients. The product and the brand appeals to the most discerning yachtsmen in the…
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Texas festival apologizes after Muslim Olympian told to remove hijab
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Texas festival apologizes after Muslim Olympian told to remove hijab Phuket Gazette / Reuters US: Organizers of the South by Southwest (SXSW) arts festival said on Sunday they apologized to U.S. Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad after a volunteer said she must remove her Muslim head covering to…
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Superyacht crew member killed in anchoring accident
PHUKET: A crew member on the superyacht Ocean Victory was fatally injured yesterday in a freak accident as the ship was anchoring off Koh Tachai in the Similan Islands archipelago. The Bulgarian national was reportedly caught up in a chain mechanism while the 140-meter superyacht was weighing anchor at about 2pm. The 33-year-old man sustained massive injuries to both his…
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Island View: Island of lost souls
PHUKET: The recent death of American national Nathan D House is just one of many incidents in which people travel to this tropical paradise to end their lives. Though the death of Mr House is still under investigation, the note he supposedly left behind, as well as a website under his name detailing his well-articulated thoughts surrounding the topic of…
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Disrobed Phuket monk busted for gathering alms
PHUKET: Police arrested a disrobed monk for donning sacred attire and collecting alms in Phuket yesterday morning. Police were alerted to Somsak Donlakorn, 54, by local abbot Phra Kru Mettapirom. “By the time we arrived, Mr Somsak had already collected 4,200 baht,” explained Lt Preechaphat Sangnoi of the Phuket City Police. “We asked to see his monkhood registration, but he…
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Deal offered to mafia who mend their ways
BANGKOK: Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has offered to conditionally let off mafia-style figures with ‘dark influence’ in cases where evidence is weak. However, he warned that they will have to mend their ways. Hundreds of police and military officers are on the lists of ‘dark’, influential figures who are being targeted in the government’s ongoing crackdown. “If there is…
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Phuket shooting range safety under review after Estonian death
PHUKET: Safety regulations at shooting ranges in Phuket are to be tightened following two deaths at ranges in the province in the past two years. In March last year, a 21-year-old British man killed himself at Thalang Shooting Range (story here). This week, 38-year-old Estonian Andres Podra turned a gun on himself at Patong Hill Shooting Range and died from…
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Trang fishermen asked to help slow-moving male dugong
TRANG: A senior marine official has urged Trang fishermen to help a male dugong (sea cow) believed to be entangled in a dragnet. Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, the head of Phuket Marine Biological Centre’s Rare Sea Animal Division, said the animal was spotted during the division’s latest annual survey of the seagrass zone off the province. “We have been monitoring him and…
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BREAKING NEWS: One dead, three injured in Phuket taxi crash
PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver died after crashing into a crane on the shoulder of the bypass road at about 10am today. Three Chinese tourists in the north-bound vehicle were injured. Police identified the driver as Teerawat Phetdam, 35. Rescue workers and police are at the scene. — Kritsada Mueanhawong
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Police urged not to rule out foul play in death of Phuket man
PHUKET: The family of a man, whose body was found under a Phuket City Municipality water tower this morning, is urging police not to rule out foul play. The body of Sompong Vijit, 30, was discovered by a municipality staffer who was walking by the area. “Yesterday evening, Mr Sompong went out to collect cans and bottles for recycling. When…
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Sir Nick Faldo formally opens new BISP Golf Center
PHUKET: British golf legend Sir Nick Faldo – six-time Major Winner and Laguna Golf Ambassador – was invited as the guest of honor to officiate yesterday’s grand opening of the new British International School Phuket (BISP) Golf Center. Dozens of members of the BISP community attended the ceremony at the center, located adjacent to the top football pitch behind BISP’s…
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Finance: Will 2016 be the year of the bear?
PHUKET: There’s an old saying on Wall Street that might unnerve investors: “As goes January, so goes the year.” Unfortunately, January 2016 was a very bad opening for stock markets. In fact, it was one of the worst openings in one hundred years, as the Dow Jones industrial average fell about 5.5 per cent while NASDAQ fell almost eight per…
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Opinion: Push for preventive medicine in Phuket
PHUKET: We hope that Nora Galgoczy speaking openly about contracting the incredibly common sexually transmitted disease Human papillomavirus (HPV) and her subsequent battle with cervical cancer will inspire at least some of our readers to take a more proactive approach in preventing the life-threating or debilitating medical conditions out there that are largely preventable, thanks to modern medicine. Over the…
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Phuket honorary consuls request better coordination with airport
PHUKET: Phuket honorary consuls on Wednesday pushed for better access and resources for providing support to foreigners during emergency situations at Phuket International Airport. “We have requested a contact point, as well as a contact person, who will – in case of an emergency – allow us to quickly get all the necessary information and provide whatever services we can,”…
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Phuket road-safety campaign continues after initial success
PHUKET: A road-safety campaign encouraging Phuket motorcyclists to wear helmets has been hailed a success in Kathu, where less riders are being arrested for not wearing protective head gear. The progress has prompted officials to extend the campaign at least until the Songkran break in April. The ‘One District, One Road, with 100 Per Cent Helmets’ campaign was launched on…
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B4bn Phuket land seizure not to impact Big Buddha
PHUKET: Despite photographs of Phuket’s Big Buddha appearing along side news stories about the seizure of land valued at 4 billion baht in the same area, the iconic statue will be unaffected by the Anti-Money Laundering Office’s (AMLO’s) investigation. The AMLO transaction board resolved to seize a 45-rai plot and a 19-rai plot of land along Freedom Beach and in…
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Phuket east coast to airport speedboat taxi proposed
PHUKET: The honorary consul to Phuket from Norway proposed on Wednesday that a speedboat taxi service be put in place along the island’s east coast, connecting Phuket International Airport with Chalong. “There are very few options for locals and tourists to get from the airport to Chalong that are both convenient and affordable,” said Pornphan Sittichaivijit, the Royal Norwegian Honorary…
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‘Hearts are in pieces’ five years after tsunami hits Japan
RIKUZENTAKATA: Japan on Friday mourned the thousands who lost their lives in a massive earthquake and tsunami five years ago that turned towns to matchwood and triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The nine-magnitude quake struck offshore on a chilly Friday, sparking huge black waves along a vast swathe of coastline and killing nearly 20,000 people.…
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Fukushima’s ground zero: No place for man or robot
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fukushima’s ground zero: No place for man or robot Phuket Gazette / Reuters JAPAN: The robots sent in to find highly radioactive fuel at Fukushima’s nuclear reactors have “died”; a subterranean “ice wall” around the crippled plant meant to stop groundwater from becoming contaminated has yet…
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Phuket athletes bag top spots at Philippines Ironman
PHUKET: Phuket native Jaray Jearanai – Thailand’s top triathlete – and his fellow team members at Z-Coaching Phuket made quite the impression at the Subic Bay Ironman 70.3 held in the Philippines last weekend. The Phuket-based triathlon academy bagged several victories and top spots at the competition. Mr Jaray put in one of his best performances yet to go sub…
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