News
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Patong police snare iguana touts on Soi Bangla
PHUKET: Police arrested two men on Phuket’s famed Soi Bangla last night for offering tourists photo opportunities with iguanas. Police named the two men as Natthapon Kanesing, 23, from Bueng Kan Province in Northeast Thailand, and Sulkeflee Jaetae, 28, from Yala. “The suspects were charged with inflicting harm to an animal and causing a public nuisance,” said Lt Col Sutthichai…
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Australian expat dies from heart failure in Phuket bathroom
PHUKET: Australian expat Ronald Douglas Litherland, 67, from Brisbane, Australia, was found dead at his rented home in Cherng Talay yesterday afternoon. “Doctors have confirmed the cause of death as heart failure,” said Maj Kitthiphum Thinthalang of the Thalang Police. “There were no signs of a struggle on his body, except for a small wound above his right eye.” Mr…
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Thailand News: PDRC heads to bridge; Can’t choose PM, says senior judge; Pattaya to extend beach
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PDRC shuts Lumpini rally site, heads for final battle The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) will today end its rally at Lumpini Park and move all rally sites to Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge. PDRC secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban last night made…
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Rebels declare victory in east Ukraine vote on self-rule
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rebels declare victory in east Ukraine vote on self-rule Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-Moscow rebels declared a resounding victory in a referendum on self-rule for eastern Ukraine, with some saying that meant independence and others eventual union with Russia as fighting flared in a conflict…
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Ousted Deputy PM Pracha denies Phuket stroke rumors
PHUKET: Former Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok has shot down rumors that he had a stroke after Phuket locals saw him rushed into the emergency room of Bangkok Hospital Phuket last night. Gen Pracha was taken to the hospital at about 7:30pm after he passed out on his yacht near Naka Island, off the east coast of Phuket. “I had…
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Ukraine consul frets over tourist safety in Phuket
PHUKET: Ukrainian Honorary Consul to Thailand Alexander Zub yesterday formally expressed his concern about the increasing number of road accidents in Phuket, and to discuss the safety of Ukrainian tourists who visit the island. “Ukrainian tourists in Phuket tend to rent motorbikes or cars rather than opting [sic] for public transport, which could increase the risk of them being involved…
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Election massacres of Muslims darken India immigration debate
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Election massacres of Muslims darken India immigration debate Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: From his hiding place in a cowshed, Sefaqul Islam watched as masked gunmen moved through his village, shot women and children dead with automatic rifles and tossed wounded survivors into the blazing remains…
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Indonesian opposition party wins election, eyes coalition for Jokowi
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesian opposition party wins election, eyes coalition for Jokowi Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Final results from Indonesia’s legislative election confirmed on Friday that the main opposition party had won, but failed to secure enough votes to put forward its presidential candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo without…
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ANC wins South Africa 2014 election with 62 percent
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ANC wins South Africa 2014 election with 62 percent Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress won the 2014 national election with 62.16 percent of the votes, the electoral commission said on Friday. The provisional result shows the ANC’s main rival, the…
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Phuket man found hanged
PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play was involved in the death of a man found hanged in his company accommodation room yesterday morning. Fong Waikru, a packer at Faktong Transport Co Ltd, raised the alarm after he discovered the body of his workmate Sompol Buayai, 39, hanged. Mr Fong told police that he noticed the door to Mr Sompol’s…
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Phuket lands B20bn slice of Mall Group B80bn shopping center mega projects
PHUKET: The Mall Group is set to invest 20 billion baht in the development of a 150 rai mega-project in Phuket’s Kathu district as part of an 80bn baht venture to open six world-class shopping centers in expectation of Thailand’s market flooding when the gates of the Asian Economic Community (AEC) open next year. “The BluPearl project [in Phuket] will…
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Thailand News: TV stations occupied, fears of clashes rise; July 20 poll in doubt; Sacred oxen predict a good year
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Final fight’ to bring down govt The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Anti-government protesters yesterday began their “final fight” to topple the embattled government by occupying the country’s five major television stations and other key locations, amid mounting fears of street clashes between rival political groups.…
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When noise is good
PHUKET: I stopped at my local 7-Eleven on the way home from work the other night, tired out from a day of peering at my computer screen and mildly irritated for the umpteenth time at the inconvenience of having to buy something – drinking water – that I get out of the tap where I come from. As I entered…
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Phuket kids to save Karon
Yuphayao Alshammary, 50, has been Director of Suwan-keereekate School in Karon since May 2013. She has an MA in Education Management from Maha Sarakham University and is now pursuing a PhD. Before coming to Phuket, she was director of two rural Northeast schools for more than 15 years. Here, she talks about how supporting education can help solve Karon’s social…
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Legal enigmas: foreigners beware
PHUKET: The news stories that have spilled across the pages of the Phuket Gazette over the past few weeks have thrown into sharp relief what it takes for a foreigner to live on this paradise island. A Russian woman who had made her home here being refused re-entry to Thailand last month because officers from the Immigration Bureau suspected her…
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Russian denied entry at Phuket International Airport over “visa’ crackdown
PHUKET: A Russian national was denied entry into Thailand by Phuket International Airport Immigration officers on April 21 and detained until she could be deported the next morning. Officers denied entry to Mariia Sgibneva, 26, more than a week before the May 3 crackdown on the “three-visa-and-out rule” aimed at stymieing international crime. “They stopped me at immigration, and ask…
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Phuket PDRC supporters head to Bangkok
PHUKET: More than 1,000 Phuket supporters of the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) have left the island to join fellow protesters in Bangkok. The news follows a call by PDRC Secretary-General Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday, urging people from around the country to join the rallies in the capital. “Phuket supporters left yesterday,” protest coordinator Amnuay Kumban told the Phuket Gazette…
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High-wire monkey causes Phuket blackout
PHUKET: Rescue workers were called last night to save a bean-picking monkey that had escaped from the home of its owner and become stuck at the top of a power pole. “When we arrived, the owners were trying to undo the rope tied to the monkey’s neck, because it had become tangled on the pole,” said a Kusoldharm Foundation Rescue…
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Teen worker dies in five-storey fall at Phuket hotel construction site
PHUKET: Sarawut Kumwong, 17, died yesterday afternoon after falling from the fifth floor of a seven-storey hotel under construction in Phuket Town. Mr Sarawut’s employer, Ekkapong Jiasakul, told police that Mr Sarawuth was being handed pieces of timber by Komkrit Jantorarat, 15, when he fell. “We do not know what happened exactly. He might have slipped while reaching for the…
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Hong Kong property tycoons stand trial in city’s biggest graft case
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hong Kong property tycoons stand trial in city’s biggest graft case Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thomas and Raymond Kwok, the billionaire co-chairmen of Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, Asia’s largest developer, went on trial on Thursday in Hong Kong’s biggest corruption case since the city’s…
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Swedish PM warns of nationalist surge as EU elections loom
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Swedish PM warns of nationalist surge as EU elections loom Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Europe’s failure to deliver economic growth and jobs has frayed public trust in democracy and fostered a nationalist climate that could reward anti-immigration, Eurosceptical parties in May’s EU elections, Sweden’s prime…
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Families of South Korea ferry dead march on presidential palace
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Families of South Korea ferry dead march on presidential palace Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Parents of children killed when a passenger ferry sank last month led a sombre march on South Korea’s presidential palace in the early hours of Friday morning, where they demanded to…
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Video Report: “Smart Province’ project will bring free WiFi to Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket is slated to have free WiFi throughout the island as part of it becoming Thailand’s next “Smart Province”. “Access to free WiFi is one of the many benefits of the technology we are using to connect the nation,” said Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) Surachai Srisarcam. “Through our ‘Smart Country’ project, local…
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Phuket lifeguards put lives first, agree to PPAO conditions
PHUKET: Lifeguards are set to return to Phuket beaches on May 21 as the lifeguard club gave up its demands for an increased budget at a meeting with the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) this morning. “The conditions they offered us today were the same: 22 million baht to pay for our expenses and an increased salary for 88 guards,”…
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V/Gov Chamroen pushes for funds for Karon wastewater
PHUKET: Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada vowed yesterday to push for funds to expand Karon’s water treatment facilities as soon as possible. The vice governor spoke as he inspected the recent efforts of Karon municipality to prevent untreated wastewater in the Nong Han canal from spilling over onto the town’s popular tourist beach as it has already three times this year,…
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Don’t pay money under the table, fight it in court – says Employment chief
PHUKET: All foreigners who believe that they have been wrongfully arrested for breaching the conditions of their work permit must fight for their rights, said the chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO). “If the police insist on arresting you, let them do it. If they threaten to detain you, let them. You have the right to deny the…
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Video Report: 2nd Phuket International Tae Kwon Do Championship 2014
PHUKET: The 2nd annual Phuket International Tae Kwon Do Championship saw 689 fighters from 43 teams face off against each other at the indoor sports stadium in Saphin Hin last Saturday. The all-day event was organized by the Tae Kwon Do Dragon Club Gym and supported by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization and the Sports Authority of Thailand. The event, attracting…
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Phuket Open cancelled
PHUKET: The promoters of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Open in Phuket have decided to cancel the event scheduled for October 15 to 19 quoting continued political unrest in Thailand as the reason for their decision. With the safety and security of players and officials of paramount importance, the FIVB have accepted the promoter’s decision to cancel the event. The next…
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Chinese vote Phuket favorite destination for students
PHUKET: Phuket has been voted the favorite destination for Chinese students. The accolade was one of six awards won by Phuket at the annual ceremony held by China’s largest Online Travel Agent (OTA), Ctrip.com, and one of nine awards won by Thai destinations in total. The “Ctrip Best Tourist Destination of the Year 2013 Awards Ceremony” was held in Shanghai…
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Fast and Furious: Patong joy ride in boss’ car ends in crash
PHUKET: A drunk driver injured a Phuket motorcyclist early yesterday morning during a high-speed joy ride in his boss’ Toyota Fortuner; the ride ended abruptly when he slammed the SUV into a utility pole. “At about 6:40am we were notified that a driver in a Toyota Fortuner had knocked a man off his motorcycle and crashed into a power pole…
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