News
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Phuket prepares for qwacky ‘Race Day’
PHUKET: A host of ‘wacky races’ will take place during the Phuket Community Foundation’s ‘Race Day’ at Canal Village in Laguna Phuket next month. The aim of Race Day is to raise funds for grant-making at the end of the year and to raise awareness of the PCF and its activities. The day will feature kayak races, dragon boat racing,…
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Phuket road blockade over Islamic cemetery
THALANG, PHUKET: Around 500 angry villagers blockaded Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Road for two hours yesterday after forestry officials arrested about 30 Muslims for trying to clear protected forest land.Those arrested wanted to use 30 rai of Pa Bang Khanun Reserved Forest to build a new cemetery for Muslims from Tambon Thepkrasattri villages 6, 8 and 9.One of those was the imam…
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Dragons rounded up before Phuket’s veg fest
PHUKET CITY: Three members of the so-called ‘Dragon Gang’ wanted for a string of robberies in Phuket City were arrested yesterday as part of a pre-Vegetarian Festival crackdown.Thanachote ‘Liw’ Saekhor, 19, Kriangsak Sawasduang, 21, and Rachan Khumphum, 27, all had intricate dragons tattooed on their backs, earning the gang its police nickname.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Phuket City…
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Phuket bungee jumper in near-fatal accident
KATHU, PHUKET: A British tourist was nearly killed in a bungee jumping accident at the Jungle Bungy Jump center in Phuket, it emerged today. Rishi Baveja hit the water below the 165-foot high platform at around 130km/h after the harness slipped from his legs during the jump. Luckily he took the full force of the impact on his chest, escaping head…
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Phuket people pray for King’s health
PHUKET: Muslim and Thai-Chinese religious groups held independent mass prayer meetings in Phuket yesterday to wish His Majesty the King a quick recovery as he receives treatment for a fever and a lung infection at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok.More than 1,000 Muslims gathered in prayer yesterday afternoon at the Dubai Mosque, Koh Kaew, which is also the location of the…
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Phuket sea rescue service improvements on the way
PHUKET: Following a Cabinet ruling this week, the Andaman Sea Rescue Service (ASRS) is set to receive 18 million baht to splash out on new speedboats and lifesaving equipment.The decision came as welcome news to the overstretched ASRS Phuket, which currently operates sea rescue services in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong and Trang provinces along the Andaman coast.With the new…
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Countdown clocks put Phuket motorists at ease
PHUKET: Drivers are likely to have noticed new countdown displays that have been installed at eight Phuket intersections recently.The work has been funded by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization to the tune of three million baht.The intersections where the countdowns have been installed are at Phuket International Airport, Bangku, Samkong, Darasamut, Wat Naka, Kajornkiat School, Laemchan and Ban Teen Khao.“We’ve…
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Phuket Tourist Police promote 1155 hotline
PHUKET: Foreign tourists arriving at Phuket International Airport (PIA) are being introduced to their ‘first friend’ on the island, the Tourist Police, with the distribution of bookmarks displaying important telephone numbers, including that of the Tourist Police hotline.The nationwide public relations campaign, titled ‘Your First Friend’, was launched by the Tourist Police last month with the aim of putting a…
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Polish beauties bound for Phuket
PHUKET: Gentlemen at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday evening (Oct 7) will get a generous eyeful when 25 Miss Poland 2009 contestants arrive aboard their Bangkok Airways flight. The Slavic beauties are spending 10 days in Thailand as part of a ‘preparation camp’ ahead of the final competition in Poland. As well as Phuket, the girls are set to visit…
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Bt300mn historical park slated for Phuket
THALANG, PHUKET: A 300-million-baht historical park commemorating the Battle of Thalang is being planned as a new tourist attraction for Phuket.More than forty architects have submitted designs for landscaping of the new ‘Victory Park’, which will occupy 96 rai in tambon Thepkrasattri, next to Thalang Museum.One winning design will be selected on March 13, 2010, the 224th anniversary of the…
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Aussies’ turn for shore leave in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: Royal Australian Navy fleet replenishment vessel HMAS Sirius, with a complement of 70 officers and crew, is anchored off Patong for a five-day stay. The ship has been at sea for the past seven months.On Tuesday, the ship’s captain, Commander John Cowan, paid a visit to Phuket governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, where he told the assembled press, “We are…
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Revamped Phuket hospital to offer low-cost treatment
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s Phyathai Hospital is being refurbished at a cost of 265 million baht and will be renamed ‘Phuket Provincial Administration Organization Hospital’, PPAO President Paiboon Upatising said last week.He said the hospital should enter service in the middle of next year.The PPAO originally bought the Phyathai Hospital from the Thai Asset Management Corporation for 327 million baht in August…
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Dugong’s last moments a frantic fight for survival
PHUKET: Following an eight-hour autopsy of the 40-year-old female dugong found dead off the coast of Trang on Tuesday, marine biologists say the animal died from trauma and exhaustion, most probably from trying to out swim or escape entanglement in a trawling net.According to Phaothep Cherdsukjai, a researcher at Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), examination of the dugong’s pulmonary system…
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Tsunami Watch canceled
PHUKET: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has canceled today’s tsunami watch following warnings earlier this evening that a tsunami could hit the region.The warning center’s latest and ‘final’ report issued to government agencies stated that sea level readings indicate that a significant tsunami was not generated by the magnitude 7.6 earthquake off Sumatra. — Gazette Reporters
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Phuket tsunami alert update
PHUKET: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami alert for Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Thailand, according to an Associated Press report.The center issued the warning following a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.6 about 50km west of Padang in Western Sumatra at 5.16pm.There were no immediate reports of a high waves or injuries, it added.An officer at the Department of…
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Phuket on high alert following tsunami warning
PHUKET: Phuket authorities are on high alert following a tsunami warning after a magnitude 7 earthquake off Sumatra.More details shortly. — Gazette Reporters
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Phuket storms caused by killer typhoon
PHUKET CITY: The rain lashing down on Phuket this week is not normal monsoon rain but the outer rings of Typhoon Ketsana, which arrived in Thailand today, according to Phuket Meteorological Office. Phuket Meteorological Officer Sophon Sanggaew said the conditions would persist for another two or three days. Typhoon Ketsana was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in…
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Phuket autopsy for large dugong
PHUKET: A large female dugong measuring almost three meters long and weighing more than a third of a ton died off the coast of Trang and was brought to Phuket for examination yesterday.The crew of a squid fishing boat found the dugong dying in the sea between Koh Libong and Koh Laoliang in yesterday morning.By the time officials from the Office…
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Phuket Passport Office opens Thursday
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s Thai citizens will be able to apply for new passports without leaving the island once the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs office opens at Phuket Provincial Hall on Thursday.Foreigners hoping for visa services, certificate translations and marriage certification services will have to wait, however.Acting chief of the ministry’s passport section, Jackrid Kanjanasoon, said the office will begin…
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Young man killed in Phuket gang fight
PATONG, PHUKET: A 20-year-old shop assistant was stabbed 10 times in the chest and died in front of Bangla Boxing Stadium last night. Tawatchai ‘Noom’ Pookanknam, who sold clothes in a nearby shopping center, died on the scene. Chief Investigator Sophon Borirak said fighting erupted between two gangs of teenagers at around 11pm. The cause of the fighting was probably…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival drives need for blood
PHUKET CITY: Entranced participants at Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival can pierce their faces with sharp objects, sprint across hot coals and climb knife-blade ladders – without shedding blood, according to local belief. But that hasn’t stopped Phuket Regional Blood Center launching a fresh donation drive in time for the festival, which starts on October 18. Porntip Rattajak, the center’s acting chief,…
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Fun-filled sunset fundraiser on the beach
PHUKET: Catch an earful of live reggae and the latest dance grooves at Catch Beach Club for Patong Rotary Club’s Beach Fun Fest fundraiser on Saturday, October 17.Reggae band Job 2 Do and a handful of international DJs will be pumping out the tunes at the beach from sunset onwards.Tickets are 1,000 each and include a seafood barbecue and the…
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Aussies put Phuket in World Top 10
PHUKET: According to statistics released to the Phuket Gazette today by giant hotel booking website Wotif.com, Australians have changed their travel patterns and are visiting Asia more and more. And Phuket has ascended into the mega-site’s Top Ten world destinations over the past two years. Pointing to the website’s league tables below, Kristy Harrison, Wotif’s Marketing Director for Asia, notes…
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Beach volleyball bounces back to Phuket
PHUKET: The fourth Beach Volleyball Phuket Thailand Open, powered by PTT, is scheduled to take place at Karon Beach from November 3 through 8. Some of the best players from around the globe will be here for the tournament, including the world ranked Number One team of Larissa Franka and Juliana Silva from Brazil. The pair have amassed an impressive…
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Regional IT experts head for Phuket software forum
PHUKET: More than 300 software development experts from nine countries are expected to attend the The Asia Oceania Software Park Forum 2009 scheduled to take place in Phuket next month.The regional IT forum, which will also include the IT Architect Regional Conference 2009, is jointly organized by Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) and Phuket’s recently-opened Software Park.The three-day seminar will…
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New Gazette Poll: Prostitution in Phuket
PHUKET: The new Phuket Gazette opinion poll asks readers to give their views on prostitution in Phuket. When it comes to Phuket’s ‘issues’, prostitution is the elephant in the room. It is technically illegal and receives relatively little official acknowledgment – yet everyone knows it happens. A night out in Patong will confirm it. There are prostitutes in Phuket, and…
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Work restarts on fire-ravaged Phuket homes
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Work to rebuild 17 houses that were burned to the ground in a fire at a sea gypsy village in Phuket at the end of June restarted yesterday after a two-month hiatus. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop arrived at Ban Hin Look Diow village in the morning to set 150 builders off to work again. The rebuilding of…
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New bridge plan good news for Phuket yachties
PHUKET: Phuket yachties will be pleased to know that a 300-million baht deal to build a new Sarasin Bridge includes raising the old bridge to give up to 10-meters’ clearance beneath all three bridges.The old Sarasin Bridge will become a car-free tourist attraction once construction of the third bridge is complete.Italian-Thai Development Co, which built Sarasin Bridge and the newer…
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Phuket businesses face software inspection raids
PHUKET: Computers used in Phuket businesses will be targeted in raids by modern bounty hunters on the lookout for unlicensed copies of software from October 26 onwards.Under intellectual property rights legislation, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) will be sending inspectors acting on behalf of copyright holders to search offices, first in Bangkok and then in Phuket, which is a principal…
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Viagra goes to new lengths in Phuket
PHUKET: Viagra will soon be sold in Phuket pharmacies following a decision by Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The drug was previously only available through hospitals or illegally on the black market.The drug, sildenafil citrate, most commonly known under the Pfizer company trade name ‘Viagra’, alleviates erectile dysfunction syndrome (EDS or male impotence).In a bid to stem the illegal sale…
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