News
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PM wants Surapong to face junta summons
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM wants Surapong to face junta summons The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday that he would instruct the junta to summon former foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul over comments seen as deepening the national divide. Mr Surapong made the comment…
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Rohingya refugees say traffickers in Malaysia abuse and kill
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rohingya refugees say traffickers in Malaysia abuse and kill Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Abul Kassim, a Rohingya asylum seeker, was snatched from his home in the northern Malaysian state of Penang on Jan. 12. The next morning, his beaten and bloodied body was found. That…
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Phuket lifeguards gifted multi-language surf warnings
PHUKET: To break the communication barrier with non-English-speaking tourists, and hopefully save their lives, Phuket lifeguards have been issued multi-language cards that explain the dangers of the rip currents that lurk along the island’s beaches and entering strong surf. The cards are the brainchild of Simon Luttrell, a Tourist Police Volunteer who helps foreign tourists at Phuket International Airport and…
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5-day break in May backed by Cabinet
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 5-day break in May backed by Cabinet The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to make May 4 a public holiday to extend the holiday period between Labour Day and Coronation Day to five days. The new holiday will be added…
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AirAsia probe vets possible computer glitch, crew response
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AirAsia probe vets possible computer glitch, crew response Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Investigators probing the crash of an AirAsia jetliner are examining maintenance records of a key part of its automated control systems, and how the pilots may have handled the plane if it failed,…
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Japan’s Abe: new video of Islamic State captive Goto “despicable”
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Japan’s Abe: new video of Islamic State captive Goto “despicable” Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday termed “despicable” a new video appearing to show Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who is being held by Islamic State militants, saying he could be…
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Russian woman rescued from Phuket Town streets
PHUKET: The Russian consul to Phuket has arranged accommodations for a Russian woman who was found sleeping in the streets of Phuket Town this morning. Tourist Police were notified about the woman, who has a record of acting erratically and incoherently, at about 9:30am. “We were informed that she was only wearing a dress – no bra. The person who…
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Woman dies in collision with Phuket tour bus
PHUKET: A woman was killed after her motorbike collided with a tour bus in front of the Phuket Shooting Range in Chalong at 9:30am today. Police and rescue workers were called to the scene, where they found the body of 33-year-old Rapeepat Kanphutra trapped under the Authai Thurahan tour bus, which was carrying Chinese tourists to a souvenir shop in…
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Slow police response to Phuket drive-by robbery draws ire
PHUKET: Relatives of a man who was robbed while lying injured on the road have lodged a complaint with the Phuket Provincial Police Commander after the Thalang Police failed to respond to the case. Akkarapol Chumnummanee, 27, was robbed on Sunday at about 3.30am after he fell off his motorbike near the entrance to Bang Kanoon Forest, on the northbound…
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Brit expat skull cracked for failing to pay Phuket bar bill
PHUKET: Police are investigating an attack on a British man who is lying in a Phuket hospital with a fractured skull after allegedly being beaten with a baseball bat for not having enough cash to pay his drinking bill. Christopher Stark, a 64-year-old English teacher at Phuket Montessori progressive school, told police that he was attacked by Sarawuth Kongphat, 37,…
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Bullet fails to penetrate skull, Phuket teen survives
PHUKET: A teenager was discharged from hospital yesterday after being shot in the back of the head with a homemade handgun near the entrance of Kathu Wittaya School on Sunday. Pongchanasit Amtaisong, 19, walked into the Thung Thong Police Station after he was shot. “We immediately called an ambulance to take him to Vachira Phuket Hospital,” said Lt Sawanya Eiadtrong…
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Australia-Asia program to combat trafficking in persons
PHUKET: Thailand’s criminal-justice response to human trafficking received a boost from the Australian government yesterday, as an arrangement to commence the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking In Persons (AAPTIP) in Thailand was signed at a ceremony in Bangkok. This signing marks a milestone in the implementation of AAPTIP – a program through which the Australian government has made a five-year…
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US brands Yingluck impeachment ‘politically driven’, calls to lift martial law
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US: Impeachment ‘politically driven’, calls to lift martial law The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United States yesterday branded the former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s impeachment as being “politically driven” and called on the junta to lift martial law as well as push for “inclusive”…
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Kurds push Islamic State out of Syria’s strategic Kobani
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Kurds push Islamic State out of Syria’s strategic Kobani Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Kurdish forces took control of the Syrian town of Kobani on Monday after driving out Islamic State fighters, a monitoring group and Syrian state media said, although Washington said the four-month battle…
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US charges three in alleged Russian spy ring in NYC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US charges three in alleged Russian spy ring in NYC Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. government on Monday unveiled criminal charges against three men for their alleged involvement in a Russian spy ring operating in New York City. Evgeny Buryakov, Igor Sporyshev and Victor…
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Police nab pharmacy stick up artists
PHUKET: A pair of pharmacy stick up artists were cuffed after a six-day spree in Phuket. Hadsadin Art-aonsri, 26, and Jetsada Petkaeo, 24, were arrested by police after attempting to rob one pharmacy once and successfully robbing another twice. The pair were nabbed after robbing JK Health Care for the second time, this time at about 4:30am. “We actually recognized…
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Opinion: Re-focus hunt from hormonal teens to gun-making enablers
PHUKET: Since mid-December, there have been four drive-by shootings reported in Phuket – three of which were fatal, and at least two of which were carried out by gangs of motorcycle-riding teenagers. The fact that these latest three attacks have occurred within the past month is truly horrifying, and is a far-from-comforting thought as the island’s tourism season continues to…
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Myanmar nationals nabbed at Phuket cockfight
PHUKET: Despite seeing more than 30 people run off as police raided a cockfight in Thalang yesterday, officers managed to arrest only four Myanmar nationals for gambling in the bloodsport. Officers raided an unregistered building near the Baan Lipon substation on Thepkrasattri Road at about 2pm, said Deputy Superintendent Amnuay Kraiwutanan of the Thalang Police. “We had been informed that…
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Nightclub security guard dies in motorbike crash
PHUKET: A security guard at Hollywood Discotheque on Soi Bangla, Patong, died in a motorbike accident this weekend in what police believe was a case of “falling asleep while riding”. Anuchat Phoemphun, 37, died after sustaining severe head injuries when his motorbike slammed into a tree near the Go-Kart track at the bottom of Patong Hill at about 8:20am on…
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Tourist dies during snorkelling tour off Phuket
PHUKET: A 38-year-old Chinese tourist died during a snorkelling tour at Koh Racha, a popular day-trip island about 25km south of Phuket, yesterday. He Hua was with his family and friends when the tragic incident occurred, explained Phuket Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit. “The other tourists were enjoying their lunch on a beach at Koh Racha when Mr He went…
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Greek leftist leader Tsipras claims victory over austerity
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Greek leftist leader Tsipras claims victory over austerity Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras promised on Sunday that five years of austerity, “humiliation and suffering” imposed by international creditors were over after his Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election…
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New York braces for ‘biggest blizzard in its history’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New York braces for ‘biggest blizzard in its history’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A swath of the US east coast from Philadelphia to New York City to Maine was bracing for a potentially historic blizzard on Monday expected to dump as much as 3 feet…
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Frenchwoman confesses to false snatch report
PHUKET: A French tourist has been charged with filing a false police report of a bag snatch in Phuket that never happened in order to claim her lost camera on travel insurance. Delphine Claudia Nicot, 43, yesterday reported to the Chalong Police that she had her bag stolen by two men on a motorbike while she was walking along the…
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No change in alcohol vending hours, despite new order from PM Prayut
PHUKET: A top-ranking police officer and a leading Phuket health official today both confirmed that there has been no change in the hours that alcohol may be sold, despite a new order signed into effect by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. PM Prayut signed the order on January 6, to be noted in the Government Gazette as coming into effect…
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Beach chair leniency ends in Phuket (video)
PHUKET: Recent leniency concerning beach loungers on Patong Beach has come to an end to prevent further confusion, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup has told the Phuket Gazette. The mayor was originally allowing beachgoers to bring onto the beach their own smaller, collapsible sun loungers, as well as other chairs, during the three-month beach-management trial run (stories here and here). “There…
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Danish tourist, 70, injured in Krabi bus crash
PHUKET: A 70-year-old Danish tourist was injured this morning when the Phuket tour bus he was travelling in hit a central road barrier north of Krabi Town. Suwit Suthimon, the driver of the Pulsiri Travel bus involved in the accident, told police that he swerved to avoid a motorbike that had entered his lane. The emergency maneuver forced him to…
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Drug suspect hunt begins after police blockade dodged
PHUKET: Police are searching for at least two men who dodged a police blockade and then threw 2,060 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) from their car while fleeing officers in pursuit early this morning. The suspects failed to stop at the first checkpoint, set up at at Baan Bangla in Pa Khlok, about two kilometers from the Heroines’ Monument, at…
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New Cherng Talay top cop promises crackdown on animal touts
PHUKET: The newly instated Cherng Talay Police superintendent, who took up the position last week, has vowed to crack down on animal touts on Phuket’s beaches. The promise to act follows a report from a concerned Phuket Gazette reader who spotted men on Laem Singh Beach offering tourists the opportunity to be photographed with different animals, including a snake, parrot…
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ISIS deadline on Japanese captives passes with no word on fate
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ISIS deadline on Japanese captives passes with no word on fate Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Japan said on Friday it was still trying to secure the release of two Japanese hostages held by Islamic State militants after a deadline to pay ransom for their release…
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No signs of foul play in Briton’s death on Koh Tao
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No signs of foul play in Briton’s death on Koh Tao The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Initial investigation has found no foul play in the death of a 23-year-old British woman earlier this week in Surat Thani’s Koh Tao. The body of Christina Annesley, 23,…
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