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Coup leaders dissolve Senate; sack police, DSI chiefs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Junta dissolves Senate, set to form legislative assembly The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Junta chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is also the acting prime minister, has dissolved the Senate, the only remaining legislative body, and is set to assume legislative power, according to an order…
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Police recruit translators to help Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Police stations throughout Phuket will have video conference capabilities installed so that tourists can communicate with translators in Bangkok at any time, one of the country’s top-ranking policeman announced in Phuket yesterday. The initiative is to prevent misunderstandings between tourists filing complaints and police, said Assistant National Police Chief ML Pansak Kasemsant, speaking at Phuket Provincial Police Station. The…
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Troops deployed in Bangkok to counter anti-coup protesters
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Troops deployed in Bangkok to counter anti-coup protesters The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A company of police and troops used a police truck to block the inbound Phahoyothin Road this afternoon to stop a procession of anti-coup protesters. The uniformed security personnel set up the…
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Thai ex-premier Yingluck detained, junta to face media on coup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai ex-premier Yingluck detained, junta to face media on coup The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former premier Yingluck Shinawatra has been detained by leaders of Thailand’s military junta, a source in her party said today as the army prepared to brief the media for the…
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Expat Frenchman arrested for ATM fraud, marijuana
PHUKET: Acting on a tip from a bank, police yesterday arrested an expat Frenchman with counterfeit ATM cards and a stash of marijuana. Jawad Naci, 32, was caught after Siam Commercial Bank in Bangkok called Phuket police to say a counterfeit electronic card had been used at an ATM in Srisoonthorn, in central Phuket. Police went to the ATM in…
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Governor asks coup leaders for flexibility in Phuket curfew
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut requested that Phuket be given a flexible curfew as it is a tourist destination, he told a meeting of more than 100 high-ranking government officers today. He made the request at yesterday’s briefing of governors and police chiefs at the Royal Thai Army Fourth Area Command in Nakhon Sri Thammarat (story here). While he did not…
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Thailand News: Bangkok creeps back to life; Junta wants reforms before elections; Key figures report to NPOMC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Capital creeps back to life The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An uneasy calm settled over Bangkok yesterday as one of the world’s most vibrant cities crept back to life after a night-time curfew imposed by the military. The capital’s usual morning gridlock was relieved as…
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Patong facing ruin if curfew continues, says entertainment boss
PHUKET: Patong, known throughout the world for its throbbing nightlife, now faces its second night under the military curfew imposed by coup leader Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha. The curfew bans all unsanctioned travel on the streets from 10pm to 5am (story here). Phuket Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiewruangnont at 5pm today confirmed that the curfew will remain in effect throughout…
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Phuket Police seek naughty Patong maid
PHUKET: Patong Police are calling for any information that might lead to the arrest of a woman who applies for work as a maid, then literally cleans the place out, absconding with valuables. “We’ve received many complaints about this woman,” said Lt Col Sutthichai Thianpho of the Patong Police. “Today we received another complaint, this time from Karlsson’s Hotel,” he…
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Phuket medical waste threatens bacterial fallout
SPECIAL REPORT With Phuket’s primary incinerator out of action while awaiting repairs, an environmental expert is concerned about the facility’s capacity to burn medical waste properly. Chief among the concerns is avoiding the potential bacterial cloud from inundating the surrounding community at Saphan Hin. The Gazette’s Saran Mitrarat reports. PHUKET: The new 960-million-baht incinerator that fired up at Saphan Hin…
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Canadian chosen as Aussie honorary consul “designate’
PHUKET: Canadian national Michelle Hawryluk, a partner in the Phuket-based law firm Haris & Hawryluk, has been chosen by the Australian Embassy as the designate candidate for the post of Australian Honorary Consul for Phuket. Mrs Hawryluk attended Bond University in Australia. She is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, New York County Lawyers…
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Patong tunnel plans eyed for potential traffic jam woes
PHUKET: Officials in charge of the Patong tunnel project are reviewing strategies they can use to avoid creating bottleneck traffic jams at the Thung Thong Intersection in Kathu. The tunnel project, budgeted to cost 9.57 billion baht – 6.80bn for materials, 2.56bn for land expropriation and 200mn baht for salaries – aims to provide a safe alternative to the notoriously…
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Dive instructors not restricted to Phuket, says employment office
PHUKET: Local dive instructors do not need to obtain work permits for every neighboring province they visit with students, dive professionals learned yesterday at a day-long seminar organized by the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO). The purpose of the seminar was to clarify work permits and related legalities of working in Thailand, specifically for professionals in the dive industry (story…
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Phuket’s transformation: The times, they are a changing
PHUKET: The times are changing, always have and always will – especially in Phuket. Even in the couple of years I’ve been lucky enough to live here, I have witnessed drastic changes all over the island. One of the most obvious transformations is new structures. Even though I travel around the island frequently, it is shocking how different the skyline…
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Kamnan Winai fighting for a clean Karon
Winai Chidchiew, 40, is the Subdistrict chief, or Kamnan, of Karon. He has a master’s degree in political science of local development and a bachelor’s in law from Ramkhamhaeng University. He also has a bachelor’s degree in community development from Rajabhat University. Here, he talks about why he does his job despite assassination attempts, and how he thinks Karon’s problems…
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On the run: Visa runs to stay a part of life despite crackdowns
PHUKET: Recent reports quoting Thai Immigration officials as saying that “visa runs” were a thing of the past have generated a great deal of interest and confusion in Thailand’s expat community. Yet this crackdown is little more than the latest in a long series of tweaks to Immigration policy that is unlikely to have any real impact on foreigners staying…
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More weapons of war seized in martial law crackdown
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More weapons of war seized in martial law crackdown The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A joint military-police team launched two more raids and seized a cache of war weapons under the martial law as ordered by Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha. Deputy Army spokesman Colonel…
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Far right suffers Dutch surprise as EU vote begins
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch Eurosceptic party stumbles in European elections Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Eurosceptic party of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders slumped into a surprise fourth place in European Parliament elections on Thursday, according to exit polls which showed his Freedom Party behind three pro-European groups.…
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Biggest attack in years kills 31 in China’s troubled Xinjiang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Biggest attack in years kills 31 in China’s troubled Xinjiang Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Explosives hurled from two vehicles which ploughed into an open market in China’s troubled Xinjiang killed 31 people on Thursday, state media reported, the deadliest act of violence in the region…
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All protesters dispersed by soldiers; PDRC jubilant
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All protesters dispersed by soldiers; PDRC jubilant The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-government red-shirt protesters at Aksa Road rally site began returning home yesterday after the Army seized power and soldiers were sent in to take control of the situation. Earlier, the soldiers seized control…
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Phuket leaders not available for comments on coup
PHUKET: The Commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command based in Phuket, Vice Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan, this afternoon was not available for comment on Thailand being placed under a coup by Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha earlier today. Gen Prayuth, along with the national police chief and the heads of other national armed forces, publicly declared a coup over…
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Army announces Phuket curfew
PHUKET: Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha today announced a nationwide curfew that will come into effect at 10pm tonight. The curfew, from 10pm to 5am, will affect Phuket and all other tourist destinations in Thailand. No people, including tourists, are allowed to leave their residence or hotel unless given specific permission by government officers. This order will remain in place until…
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Phuket to get wet this weekend, ships to proceed with caution, say meteorologists
PHUKET: Ships have been warned to proceed with caution this weekend as the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) issues a weather warning for some provinces, including Phuket, in Southern Thailand. “Ships in the Andaman Sea have been warned to proceed with caution,” Lt Col Panya Chaichana of the Phuket Marine Police told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “Small boats have yet…
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Foul weather hampers search for body off Koh Kai Nai
PHUKET: Stormy conditions over the Andaman Sea today hampered search efforts to locate a body spotted floating off Koh Kai Nai, an island off the east coast of Phuket. “We received a call from a villager on Koh Kai Nai at about 12:30pm saying that he saw a body floating in the sea between Koh Yao Yai and Koh Kai…
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Asia’s best skippers to compete at this year’s Samui Regatta
PHUKET: The Samui Regatta, which gets underway this weekend, heralds a big gun showdown between Foxy Lady VI and Red Kite II for the right to be crowned champions in the Asia Yachting Grand Prix (AYGP) 2014. Foxy Lady is unbeaten this year and hot on a six-regatta streak after winning the IRC2 class at Top of the Gulf earlier…
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Illegal wedding photographers snapped up in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Two wedding photographers were caught working without work permits yesterday after police were tipped off by a pair of Thai wedding photographers. Chinese photographers Bolin Zhu and Jing Wang, both 27, were taking pre-wedding photographs of a couple on Soi Romanee in Phuket Town when police arrived at the scene. “We asked them to show us their work permits,…
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Firefighters prevent inferno at workers’ camp
PHUKET: Quick action by Kathu firefighters prevented an inferno from engulfing a workers’ camp near the Loch Palm Golf Course yesterday morning. Three fire trucks were called to the packed camp of about 130 abodes at about 10am. “Firefighters took about an hour to put out the fire,” Yongyoth Cheswichean of the Kathu Municipality told the Phuket Gazette. Eight homes…
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Swedish man dies in fall from Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: A Swedish man died early yesterday morning when he jumped from his hotel room in Patong in an attempt to stop his girlfriend from leaving. “Witnesses said they heard a loud argument at about 2am,” said Maj Weerapong Rakito of the Patong Police. Then they saw the man on the balcony of his second floor room at the Absolute…
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Blast hits capital of China’s western Xinjiang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Blast hits capital of China’s western Xinjiang, people hurt Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Colliding vehicles caused an explosion in a street market in the capital of China’s western region of Xinjiang on Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The blast occurred at an open…
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Fire razes 150-year-old market, 50 homes destroyed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fire razes 150-year-old market in Bang Phli The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: “Though it was fortunate that my family managed to escape unharmed, we are heartbroken to see the 150-year-old market burned down, especially since it was an iconic place in [Samut Prakan’s] Bang Phli…
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