News
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Phuket schoolgirl still missing
PHUKET: A schoolgirl who vanished after a Facebook session last Tuesday has yet to reappear, leaving the girl’s anguished mother to once again appeal to the public for help in locating her. Samruay Saenthaweesuk, mother of 12-year-old Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya, said she has not heard a word from her daughter since her mysterious disappearance after leaving an Internet cafe…
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Mosque massacre in Krabi: 3 dead, 3 injured
PHUKET: Unknown gunmen ambushed a group of Muslim men outside a mosque in Ao Luek, Krabi, last night, killing three of the men and wounding three others.Ao Luek District Police were informed of the massacre at Ban Ao Nam Mosque in Laem Sak just after 7pm.Sub Lt Manad Inpornphorm, Inspector with the Ao Luek District Police Crime Suppression Division, told…
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Time running out for Phuket Convention Center
PHUKET: Time is running out on the plan to build a world-class conference and exhibition center in Phuket. The project has been stalled by a single strand of red tape as the deadline to use the 2.6 billion baht in approved funding draws near. Naris Chaiyasoot, Director-General of the Treasury Department, which has been tasked with building the mega-project, was…
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Phuket Live Wire – reusing passwords is an expensive bad habit
PHUKET: Here’s a question I see with alarming frequency: Woody, somebody just broke into my Hotmail account. The creep sent messages out to everybody in my Hotmail address book, saying I was in the hospital and needed money sent to me (by Western Union) immediately. What can I do about it? You’ve been hacked, and there’s precious little that can…
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Traffic warning: Phuket Provincial Youth Games today
PHUKET: Motorists be warned: today is the busiest day of the year at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town, where hundreds of primary and secondary school students from all over the province will amass to take part in the annual provincial youth games. The fun got underway yesterday, with kindergarten-age athletes as young as four taking part in running races, long…
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Volcanic eruption: Buriram pounds Phuket 7-0
PHUKET: FC Phuket took their worst pummeling of the season this evening, going down by the embarrassing score of 7-0 at Buriram FC. The Volcanoes took a 2-0 lead into halftime on early goals by Sumanya Burisay (6 minutes) and Suriya Domthaisong (9 minutes). A complete defensive collapse in the second half led to an orgy of scoring that starting…
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Saudi rapist faces 2,080 lashes; Police hunt poisoner; Plane crash kills 4
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Saudi man who raped daughter sentenced to 2,080 lashes Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: A Saudi man who repeatedly raped his daughter over a seven year period has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and more than 2,000 lashes, a local newspaper reported yesterday.…
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Man on ledge claims being Phuket hitman target for two days
PHUKET: Traffic screeched to a halt on Phisit Gorani Road near Patong Temple about 7pm yesterday as motorists and other passers-by watched a team of Phuket rescue workers snatch a man from the ledge of a three-story building while he was preparing himself to jump. The man, 25-year-old tattoo artist Surasak Buranaphanit, later told Phuket police he was being hunted…
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Team Premier wins Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: The strongest winds of the week at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta boded well for skipper Hannes Weimer and his Team Premier crew as they scored a first place and a second place finish in their two races yesterday to win the IRC Zero Class with 13 points. “We’ve raced in 10 [Phuket] King’s Cups now, but this is…
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Phuket Dancer: Matt Harding to jig around Siam
PHUKET: Internet sensation Matthew “Dancing Matt” Harding was in Phuket yesterday to record his latest video and promote the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s most recent promotional campaign: “Go Thailand: All That Is Missing Is You”. Perhaps the world’s most well-known globetrotter, Matt was in Phuket for just one day. He met with the media at Mission Hills Phuket Golf Club…
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Lunar eclipse tonight, with supernatural warning
PHUKET: Skies are partly cloudy over Phuket this afternoon, but stargazers should stand a good chance to enjoy tonight’s lunar eclipse – if they dare. While lunar eclipses are far easier on the eye than their solar counterparts, a famous Thai astrologer is warning people born on Sunday, Monday or Wednesday nights that viewing the celestial phenomenon could bring them…
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Pre-match primer: FC Phuket at Buriram on Sunday
PHUKET: A busload of FC Phuket football players and team executives arrived in Buriram yesterday in preparation for their showdown with Thai Premier League Division One leaders Buriram FC tomorrow night. Having already clinched promotion to the elite Thai Premier League, the Buriram “Volcanoes” (27-7-1) look to maintain their undefeated-at-home slate, while Phuket (11-10-7) will strive to be the first…
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Phuket mangrove land grab allegations continue
PHUKET: About 50 local residents yesterday morning protested over alleged encroachment onto eight rai of mangrove forest land in Rassada, on the east coast of Phuket. Despite the fact that trees had already been cleared, the protesters were today trying to prevent Phuket Land Office surveyor Thanawut Jiarabutr from surveying the land, ownership of which is claimed under a Sor…
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Phuket Darts: Hemingways A gets Swedish firepower
PHUKET: Hemingways A team has managed to put together quite possibly the best dart side the Phuket dart scene has ever had. One-legged Tony C, the long time Patong league stalwart from the UK, is now supported by Rappe and Tony E, both former Swedish champions, and Big Ronnie. Even the talented Ulf (the Ulfman), or the “in form” Aey…
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Phuket expat saved in beach rescue – again
PHUKET: An emotionally distraught man was saved from drowning at Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach this afternoon. It was the fourth time in recent weeks that the man has been rescued from drowning in the same fashion. Beach vendor Song “Dui” Sa-ingtong told the Phuket Gazette that the Belgian man, aged in his 40s and a regular visitor to the beach,…
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Phuket’s Sniffer and Shark put best foot forward for World Record attempt
PHUKET: Athletes of the highest caliber have graced Phuket over the past two weekends at Laguna’s week-long triathlon festival, but their efforts pale in comparison to what lies ahead for Russell Distance Russell and Jay leShark on Saturday. At 1pm on December 10, Russell (aka “Sniffer”) and Jay will begin their attempt to stomp their mark on history by walking…
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Phuket, Krabi road show ‘refloats’ tourism from Middle East
PHUKET: A consortium of Phuket and Krabi tourism representatives have just returned from the Middle East where they spearheaded a road show to boost tourists’ confidence in visiting Thailand.“The floods scared so many tourists who planned to visit Thailand. Many of them even canceled their trips since they thought it was that bad,” said Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President…
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French girls rescued from Phuket red light district
PHUKET: Excellent field work by Phuket Tourist Police Volunteers has led to the rescue of two preteen French girls thought to have been living on the streets of Phuket for up to eight months. Using photos supplied by the French Embassy, Phuket Tourist Police Foreign Volunteers were asked to keep an eye open for the two sisters, ethnic Moroccans aged…
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Phuket schoolgirl vanishes after Facebook session
PHUKET: A distressed mother is appealing to the Phuket public for help in finding her 12-year-old daughter, who has been missing since Tuesday. The mother, 43-year-old Samruay Saenthaweesuk, reported her daughter Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya missing with the Phuket City Police on Tuesday. Mrs Samruay also contacted the Phuket Reporters’ Club at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday asking for help. She…
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Are United’s modern glory days over?
PHUKET: “It is embarrassing to be in the Europa League. I play for Manchester United to be in the Champions League.” Patrice Evra, Manchester United’s 30-year-old France defender, is dismayed at his side’s shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Swiss team FC Basel.The financial impact could mean a £20m loss in revenue due to UEFA’s secondary competition [Europa League]…
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Patong cricket clinic open for Phuket league
PHUKET: The fourth match of the Island Furniture League season saw last year’s champions, Patong, take on Island Cricket Club (ICC) on Sunday at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG).Following an upset against Laguna in the first match of the season, Patong were determined to get their league campaign back on track.However, a number of key players were not on the…
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Royal Pardon: 155 released from Phuket Prison today
PHUKET: Over 150 inmates were released from Phuket Provincial Prison this morning following the Royal Pardon decreed by HM The King on the occasion of his 84th birthday on December 5. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Phuket Provincial Prison Director Rapin Nichanon presided over the release ceremony this morning, when 155 inmates were freed. A Buddhist monk was on hand…
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Phuket Police need help from tourists: investigator
PHUKET: Foreign tourists who are victims of crime in Phuket all too often leave the country before police can investigate their claims, allowing perpetrators to continue roaming the streets in search of new victims, a Patong Police investigator has said. “I want foreign tourists who are victims of crimes in Phuket to cooperate with us when we investigate their cases,…
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Phuket Media: Gazette iPad App goes ‘top of chart’ for Phuket
PHUKET: With close to 4,000 downloads since it’s launch, the Phuket Gazette‘s latest iPad App has soared to the top of the App store’s search results for “Phuket”. The new version (1.1), launched just ten days ago, on November 28, is rated 4.5 and boasts greatly expanded content over its predecessor (1.0) launched in March of this year. Among the…
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Phuket lifeguard dies off Karon Beach
PHUKET: A Phuket lifeguard died yesterday morning in the waters off Karon Beach Phuket after assisting a kite surfer in distress. After helping the surfer back to safety in front of the Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket, lifeguard Pongsatorn Sea-Lim, 43, passed away from apparent exhaustion trying to return to shore himself, according to resort General Manager Denis Thouvard. Mr…
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Missing Swede may be in Phuket: daughter
PHUKET: A Swedish woman is asking Phuket Gazette readers for information to help locate her father who has gone missing and is believed to be in Thailand. The father, Tommy Nyberg, is 60 years old with blue eyes and thinning reddish-brown hair, thin on the top of his head but still thick on the sides. He has a birthmark the…
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Thanyapura Phuket to host Holiday Night Market
PHUKET: Phuket’s Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) will host a “Holiday Night Market and Festival of Lights” on Friday from 5pm onwards. Those attending can enjoy an array of canapé delicacies, drinks from the bar and live acoustic sounds as the sun sets while awaiting the lighting of a uniquely decorated Christmas Tree at 7pm. Also on the same…
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Royal Thai Navy 1 leads Phuket King’s Cup Regatta after day three
PHUKET: The third day of racing at the 2011 Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, hosted by Kata Group Resorts Thailand, set sail in the best weather conditions of the week so far, with winds up to 16 knots providing some exciting racing. In the IRC 2 Class, it was Wiwat Poonpat skippering Royal Thai Navy 1 who triumphed with two wins…
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Austrian tourist stabbed, robbed by Phuket youth gang
PHUKET: An Austrian tourist is recovering from a punctured lung and other injuries sustained in a brutal robbery attack by four knife-wielding youths in Phuket yesterday. Patong Police identified the victim as Rupert Wilhelmstatter. Mr Wilhelmstatter, in his 50s, was returning by motorbike to his hotel in Patong at 1:45pm when the attack occurred. He was returning from Paradise Beach,…
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Phuket Yacht Haven staff praised for averting marina fireball
PHUKET: A power boat berthed at Yacht Haven Marina in Phuket went up in flames last night, but heroic action by staff at the facility minimized the damage to surrounding vessels as they were able to tow it safely out to deeper water. No injuries were reported. Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation emergency rescue workers, called to the scene at 7:45pm, watched…
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