News
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Sponsored Mark One Tailor: The best bespoke tailor in Khao Lak
When it comes to high-quality bespoke tailoring in Khao Lak, Mark One Tailor stands out as one of the most trusted names. With decades of experience, this tailor shop has built a solid reputation for exceptional craftsmanship, premium fabrics, and...
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Gardener, 60, drowns in Phuket tin mine pond
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the drowning death of a 60-year-old man found floating face-down in a tin mine pond in Thalang late yesterday afternoon. The discovery of the body was reported to Thalang Police at 5:30pm by a roommate of the deceased who gave his name only as “Gai”. Mr Gai told investigators he went looking for his friend,…
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Thailand News: Sex trade – playing with the devil
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Transvestites, women warned against sex trade in Mideast Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Many Thai male cross-dressers get legitimate jobs in Oman as masseuses but choose to also offer sexual services on the side, a Thai embassy official in Muscat said Panida Somao said the laws…
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Full-scale tsunami rescue drill “freaks out’ Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Two tourists on holiday from Vietnam panicked after witnessing the full-scale tsunami rescue drill being conducted off the east coast of Phuket this afternoon. “Oh my God! My friend and I thought it was some kind of terrorist attack or that a really big accident had happened. We had no clues it was a drill.” said Ms Julie as…
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Phuket Tiger Disco fire: Police identify two Thai women as victims
PHUKET: Forensics experts at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok have officially announced the names of two more victims of the Tiger Discotheque fire in Phuket last Friday. Dr Bhawat Prateepvisrut, a forensic pathologist at the institute, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today that two of the four bodies recovered from the scorched nightclub had been identified as those…
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500 Phuket homes affected by floods
PHUKET: Tentative estimates by officials are that about 500 households were affected by the floods yesterday.The news follows Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana’s confirmation that despite more rain today, the floodwaters in Phuket Town have completely receded and the situation has returned to normal.“Our trucks had washed off all the mud from the main roads in Phuket Town by last…
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Phuket Sports: Aspiring Thai futsal squads pitted against Spain
PHUKET: Thailand’s male university futsal team progressed to the quarterfinals in the World University Championships (WUC), set to take on tournament favorites, Spain, later tonight. Meanwhile, the Thailand senior males national squad are also scheduled to take on the world’s top-ranked team, Spain, in two friendly matches in Thailand this weekend. Being hosted at the University of Minho in the…
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Four Tiger Disco victims found “one meter’ from fire exit: rescue workers
PHUKET: Rescue workers who recovered the bodies of the four people who died in the Tiger Discotheque inferno last Friday have revealed that all four bodies were found only “one to two meters” from a fire exit. “All four of the bodies were found in front of the restrooms on the second floor, only one to two meters from a…
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Phuket teenager confesses to slaying stepfather with axe
PHUKET: A 15-year-old boy who confessed to murdering his stepfather with an axe told police yesterday that the attack was motivated by the man’s abusive behavior to his mother. The murder was reported to Chalong Police at 9:30pm on Tuesday. Arriving at the scene, a modest home near the Baan Maneekram housing estate on Kwang Road, police found the body…
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Phuket Sports: US Open preview
PHUKET: The US Open will start August 27 and continue until September 9 at Flushing Meadows, New York. As expected Roger Federer will be the top-seeded men’s player, Novak Djokovic seeded second and Andy Murray third. Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament citing the same knee problem that kept him out of the Olympics. Nadal’s absence gives hope to other…
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Top police brass calls for public help in making Phuket safer
ROYAL Thai Police Assistant Commissioner-General Chalermkiat Srivorakan has appealed to the people of Phuket to help police in maintaining public safety. The Assistant Commissioner’s plea came at the launch of a publicity campaign in Patong on August 17 to promote the new Patong Safety Zone project to tourists. “Crime is on the rise everywhere these days, especially in tourist areas,…
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Forensics experts: 30 days to identify cause of Phuket’s Tiger Disco blaze
PHUKET: The top forensics police officer in the country yesterday announced it will take 30 days to determine what started the fire that engulfed the Tiger Discotheque last Friday. Four people died and 11 were injured in the blaze. Col Nattapol Samsen, the Superintendent of the national Office of Forensic Science, led a team of 10 investigators in collecting evidence…
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Phuket Sports: The noble art of Muay Chaiya
PHUKET: Muay Chaiya, or Chaiya-styled Thai Boxing, is part of the martial arts that are collectively known as Muay Boran, literally the ancient art of fighting. It’s the ancestor of the ever-popular Thai boxing, Muay Thai, which has been heavily adapted and modified into the fast and furious stage fight that we know today. Originating in Chaiya, a town in…
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Phuket floods damage roads, pull down power poles
PHUKET: The heavy rains last night and the ensuing floodwater this morning have damaged several roads across Phuket, including the critical route from Patong to Phuket Town. A section of road that suffered a lethal sinkhole in 2009, about 150 meters from Sea Pearl Villas on Phra Baramee Road, last night washed away completely, forcing Patong council workers to shut…
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Phuket van driver takes life by hanging
PHUKET: A heartbroken van driver took his own life by hanging in Phuket Town last night after his girlfriend of seven years refused his pleas to get back together. Phuket City Police at 6:30am today received a report of a death by hanging at a rented room on Soi Saensuk, on the west side of town. The man was later…
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Phuket floods delay flight, mudslide confirmed
PHUKET: The floodwater that slowed traffic to a snail’s pace across Phuket this morning resulted in a Thai Airways flight being delayed to ensure passengers caught in traffic jams could get aboard. Staff at the Phuket International Airport Customer Service department confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that Thai Airways flight number TG204, scheduled to depart Phuket at 10:55am, was delayed…
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Dead sperm whale washes ashore in Phang Nga
PHUKET: The carcass of a sperm whale measuring nine meters long and weighing an estimated six tons was found washed ashore at Bang Sak Beach in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, this morning. Experts from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) believe the whale died at sea from an illness about four days ago and its carcass was washed ashore…
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Phuket Live Wire: Goodbye to ol’ Hotmail
PHUKET: If you have a Hotmail account, you’re in for a big surprise. Microsoft is throwing away Hotmail completely. That’s quite a comeuppance for one of the best-known brands in the world. Imagine Toyota throwing away the Camry brand, or Louis ditching Vuitton. Once upon a time, Hotmail blazed new ground as the first major free web-based e-mail service when…
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Phuket schools close after floodwater hits
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality this morning announced that Phuket Wittayalai School and Satree Phuket School, both on the north side of Phuket Town, are closed today after heavy rains last night caused minor flooding across the island. The news came as floodwater swept through several areas in nearby Rassada, affecting several housing developments, areas around Phuket Rajabhat University and the…
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Motorists across Phuket urged to exercise caution
PHUKET: Motorists throughout Phuket are urged to exercise caution today as flooding from last night’s storm has affected areas across the central and northern parts of the island.Long tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road are currently stretching from in front of the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew all the way back to the Watermark bakery on the bypass road in Bang Khu,…
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Flooding brings Phuket Town to a standstill
PHUKET: Severe flooding has affected large areas of Phuket this morning, with traffic brought to a standstill throughout Phuket Town and tailbacks of more than 10 kilometers on the main arteries leading into the city. The Phuket Gazette has spoken to many motorists across the island who were still attempting to reach their destinations. One family said they had not…
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Tiger to pay families of victims B1mn compensation each
PHUKET: The management of the Tiger Discotheque has announced that it will pay one million baht in compensation to each of the families of those who died in the blaze early Friday morning. General Manager Sema Sinchai also announced that the Tiger Group will cover all medical expenses of the 11 people injured, as well as pay compensation to them.…
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British tourist confirmed as Tiger Disco fire victim
PHUKET: Royal Thai Police forensics experts have identified British national Michael Tzouvanni, 24, as one of the four people killed in the Tiger Discotheque fire in Patong early last Friday morning. The news was announced at a press conference led by Assistant National Police Chief Charamporn Suramanee at the Royal Thai Police Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok, where the…
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Scores mourn those lost to Tiger Discotheque flames
PHUKET: Over 100 people holding red roses and candles gathered, in the rain, in front of the fire-gutted Tiger Discotheque at 2:30am today to mourn those who died in the inferno last week. Officials, business owners, locals and tourists gathered in a minute of silence on the usually chaotic Soi Bangla before laying flowers in front of the charred building…
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Tesco Lotus counters protests against Phuket Town project
PHUKET: Thailand’s leading retailer Tesco Lotus has issued a corporate statement in response to the more than 500 local traders, business owners and residents in Phuket Town who protested on Thursday against its plan to build a large shopping mall on Bangkok Road. The statement reads: “Tesco Lotus has been operating in Thailand for 18 years, delivering excellent value for…
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Overturned tour bus cleared from main Phuket road
PHUKET: The overturned bus that blocked Thepkrasattri Road northbound early this morning, causing long tailbacks during rush hour, has been moved and traffic is now flowing freely along the busy Phuket road.At the scene, Sen Sgt Maj Kitti Klaisamniang of Phuket City Traffic Police told the Phuket Gazette that there were no passengers on board the bus at the time…
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Traffic tailbacks in Phuket as tour bus flips
PHUKET: A large tour bus flipped on to its side before dawn today, blocking three lanes of traffic and causing long tailbacks of up to 30 minutes on Phuket’s busy Thepkrasattri Road. The bus, which reportedly overturned at about 3am, came to rest on the long uphill stretch of Thepkrasattri Road northbound between Supercheap and the new Kasikorn Bank branch…
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Phuket Gazette: Women with kind hearts preyed upon
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Suicidal’ man preys on women with kind hearts Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A woman noticed a “suicidal man” on a Web board, felt his pain and decided to reach out with a caring heart. While the man soon said she had become the light…
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Tiger Disco fire: Governor visits survivor who ‘leaped to safety’
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor and his wife this morning visited a survivor of the Tiger Discotheque fire, who gave the press a first-hand account of how she leaped from the blazing nightspot, breaking an ankle in order to save her life. After the visit, the governor revealed that the Patong Police are now under investigation for neglect of duty for…
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Tiger Disco fire: Styrofoam decor may have fuelled inferno
PHUKET: The highly flammable polystyrene foam used in making the Tiger Discotheque’s iconic decorations has been named by building inspectors as one of many possible fire hazards that contributed to the deadly fire last Friday. The news came yesterday as officers from the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, the Association of Siamese Architects Under Royal Patronage…
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Phuket Gazette: Army files complaint against Thaksin’s lawyer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth files complaint against Thaksin’s lawyer for defamation Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Army commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has asked police to take legal action against red-shirt lawyer Robert Amsterdam and a Thai female interpreter for allegedly defaming the Army.On Friday, Prayuth had a legal officer, Colonel…
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