News
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Protected Phuket hillside slashed and burned
PHUKET: Four rai of forest on a hillside in Kamala was obliterated on Tuesday night to make room for a rubber plantation. “The area has been ruined – all the trees were cut down and burned,” said Phuket Natural Resources and Environment Office Chief Kasem Sukwaree this morning. “Terracing had already been put up in preparation for establishing a rubber…
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Phuket Police set to launch nationwide manhunt for Patong headhunter killers
PHUKET: Patong Police are preparing to send an alert to every police station in the country in the hopes of apprehending three prime suspects for the murder of Myanmar worker Wai Phyo Kyaw, 22, whose decapitated body was found dumped on Patong Hill on March 9 (story here). “We have learned the names of three of the five men we…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Family anger erupts as Malaysia jet search appears deadlocked
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Family anger erupts as Malaysia jet search appears deadlocked Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Chinese relatives’ anger over sparse information on the fate of their loved ones on board a missing Malaysian airliner sparked chaotic scenes on Wednesday at the headquarters of an increasingly deadlocked search…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Russian forces seize two Ukrainian bases in Crimea
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian forces seize two Ukrainian bases in Crimea Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United States warned Moscow it was on a “dark path” to isolation on Wednesday as Russian troops seized two Ukrainian naval bases, including a headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol where…
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Video Report: Canal works to boost Phuket marina access
Gulu Lalvani dubbed provincial governor Maitri Inthusut an “action man” while describing his delight that – after ten years of delays – work has finally begun on dredging the channel that leads to Royal Phuket Marina and the Boat Lagoon. Video: PGTV PHUKET: The 12-million-baht project to dredge the Koh Kaew Canal and deepen the existing approach channel from Phang…
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Phuket Police seek arrest warrants for suspects in alleged kidnapping of Russians
PHUKET: Phuket Police are seeking arrest warrants for the two prime suspects involved in the alleged kidnapping of a Russian couple. The woman, Iana Strizheus, 22, was badly injured and in shock when she was found by a maid at the Blue Garden Resort and Spa at about 6pm on Sunday. She and her boyfriend, Alexey Slabinskiy, 39, were reported…
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Phuket aims for 729-million-baht biofuel production facility
PHUKET: The island may be in for a cleaner and greener future as Phuket officials plan to request 729 million baht to build a biofuel production facility. “Organic waste from the entire province will be sent to the plant. It will be processed and turned into biofuel and the leftover matter subsequently turned into compost,” said Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO)…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Area of Malaysia plane search now size of Australia
PHUKET: An international land and sea search for a missing Malaysian jetliner is covering an area the size of Australia, authorities said on Tuesday, but police and intelligence agencies have yet to establish a clear motive to explain its disappearance. Investigators are convinced that someone with deep knowledge of the Boeing 777-200ER and commercial navigation diverted Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370,…
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Formal charges against Phuket protest leaders delayed
PHUKET: Police delayed pressing formal charges today against five Phuket protest leaders for obstructing the February 2 national election and obstructing law enforcement officers. The five – Suratin Lian-udom, Sompop Konkeaw, Chartchai Chuachit, Saman Krohlek and Sanya Srimuang– were scheduled to appear at Thalang Police Station at 10am to witness the handing over of the case files to the Phuket…
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Tourism Minister targets Phuket’s stolen passport trade
PHUKET: Recent news of the stolen passports trade in Phuket and the recently found Russian kidnap victim prompted a visit from Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister to the island yesterday to meet with officials and get to the bottom of the issues. “I came to Phuket to follow up on the cases concerning the stolen passports used to board missing…
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Phuket police connect two local expats to Russian missing persons case
PHUKET: Police have identified the two Caucasian men who were seen with “missing” Russian woman Iana Strizheus, found injured and in shock in a hotel room on Sunday. “We are searching for the two men, who work in Phuket. At this time, we can’t reveal their names without jeopardizing the case,” Phuket’s top cop Ong-art Phiwruangnont said at a press…
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Phuket Sports: Lee hits winning trail
PHUKET: Canada’s Richard T Lee learned a thing or two about the rewards of hard work and even a stroke of lady luck when he won his maiden title at the casino-backed Solaire Open last weekend. On Sunday, all these winning combinations propelled him towards the finish line and earned the 23-year-old his career breakthrough on the Asian Tour at…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Crimea joins Russia; US, EU impose sanctions
PHUKET: The United States and European Union imposed personal sanctions on Monday on Russian and Crimean officials involved in the seizure of Crimea from Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the region as a sovereign state. The moves heightened the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War, following a disputed referendum in…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Time bombs near Criminal Court; World Cup broadcast free; Thai AirAsia restarts tourism
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two time bombs found near Criminal Court The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two home-made bombs were discovered on Ratchadaphisek Road in two separate locations yesterday morning. The first one was found at around 7am by a Bangkok Metropolitan Administration street cleaner in a bus stop…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Thousands evacuated as toxic dump fire smog blankets Bangkok
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dump fire creates deadly smog; locals ordered out The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Residents in Tambon Praeksa in Samut Prakan were forced to rush to grab their belongings and flee after a massive fire broke out at a garbage dump near their homes. Inspectors from…
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Phuket Business: Phuket’s plans to trap MICE travellers
PHUKET: A recent conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) examined the role of Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) travellers in Phuket’s diversifying tourism industry. The event, which was co-hosted by AMCHAM, the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) and the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AustCham), featured three experts on Thailand’s rapidly growing MICE tourism industry. The…
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Patong elections set for April 26, bringing another weekend alcohol ban
PHUKET: The Patong by-election has been set for Saturday, April 26. After former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin was found guilty of electoral fraud on March 7 (story here), new elections were required by law to take place within 60 days, explained Patong Municipality Chief Administrative Officer Poonsuk Narksena. Candidate registrations will be accepted on the third floor at Patong Municipality…
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Phuket’s B120mn road to Freedom Beach inches forward
PHUKET: The controversial new road planned to provide access to Freedom Beach, south of Patong, took a step closer to becoming reality as the project passed its third and final public hearing on Friday. About 80 of the 100 participants who joined the hearing, held at the Patong Merlin Hotel, voted to approve the project, rebounding from a 64 per…
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Phuket national park encroachment investigation in full swing again
PHUKET: The plot thickened in the ongoing investigation into encroachment onto Sirinath Marine National Park yesterday as five former park chiefs were accused of signing documents allowing encroachment. “After reviewing several land titles from owners in the area, we discovered that five chiefs signed their names, making it legal for landowners to build on land that is part of Sirinath…
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Blackout strikes third of island as Phuket sees year’s first rain
PHUKET: A blown transformer was responsible for a two-hour blackout in parts of Phuket on Saturday afternoon, said an official at the Phuket Provincial Electrical Authority (PPEA). Electricity shut off in Chalong, Rawai, Kathu, Patong, Kathu and some areas of Phuket Town at about 3pm. “After we got calls from the public, we sent a repair crew out. Within two…
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Phuket Sports: Phuket FC and TTM Customs draw at Surakul Stadium
PHUKET: With a full moon overhead and a smoke filled sky, the scene yesterday evening in Phuket Town seemed more appropriate for a zombie apocalypse than a football match. The living dead did not make it out to the game, however, 5,100 fans did, and cheered on their home team Phuket FC as they lined up against TTM Customs. Coming…
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Phuket Gazette World News: ‘Good night’ – Haunting final contact from missing Malaysian jet
PHUKET: The last words from the cockpit of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 – “all right, good night” – were uttered after someone on board had already begun disabling one of the plane’s automatic tracking systems, a senior Malaysian official said. Both the timing and informal nature of the phrase, spoken to air traffic controllers as the plane with 239…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Court may rule election unlawful; Military reshuffle today; Oil spill in Chon Buri; Hail in Loei
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ruling on poll could ease crisis The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A political breakthrough could happen this week with the Constitutional Court may rule on whether the February 2 poll was unlawful, and the possibility of a verdict annulling the election. A petition requesting the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Crimeans vote over 90 percent to quit Ukraine for Russia
PHUKET: Russian state media said Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to break with Ukraine and join Russia on Sunday, as Kiev accused Moscow of pouring forces into the peninsula and warned separatist leaders “the ground will burn under their feet”. With over half the votes counted, 95.5 percent had chosen the option of annexation by Moscow, the head of the referendum commission,…
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Rain breaks Phuket’s worst drought in 30 years
PHUKET: The skies parted to deliver scattered showers across the island late this afternoon to break Phuket’s lowest recorded rainfall between the months of January and March for 30 years. Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday morning chaired an annual meeting at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation-Phuket (DDPM-Phuket) office to plan water usage strategies for the dry season. “After receiving…
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Phuket Gazette World News: West prepares sanctions as Russia presses on with Crimea takeover
PHUKET: The European Union is expected to impose travel bans and asset freezes on Monday on dozens of Russians involved in Moscow’s gradual takeover of Crimea and will choose from a list of up to 130 names over the weekend, European diplomats said. Moscow shipped more troops and armour into Crimea on Friday and repeated its threat to invade other…
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Dazed and confused: Danish expat crashes into Thalang store
PHUKET: Police are still looking for an explanation as to what caused a car driven by a Danish expat to fly off the road and plunge into an appliance store in Thalang on Thursday evening.Police arrived at the scene, about 250 meters from Baan Nai Klam Mosque on the southbound side of Thepkrasattri Road, at about 6:30pm.The 50-year-old driver, Per…
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Australian long-term expat dies after fall from motorbike in Phuket
PHUKET: An Australian expat died early yesterday morning in Phuket after allegedly driving his motorbike one-handed.“The accident happened at about 1:50am. Eyewitness accounts described Wayne Anthony Stone driving his motorbike at high speeds with only one hand holding the handlebars,” Navin Petchan of the Kamala Police told the Phuket Gazette.“Mr Stone fell off his bike at a main junction in…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Investigators focus on hijack, sabotage behind Flight MH370
PHUKET: An investigation into a missing Malaysian jetliner, now into its second week, is focusing more on the possibility of foul play as evidence suggests it was deliberately flown hundreds of miles off course, sources familiar with the Malaysian probe said. Two sources told Reuters that military radar data showed an unidentified aircraft that investigators suspect was Malaysia Airlines Flight…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: UN help sought to protect Uighur refugees; CMPO to propose lifting decree; Teacher slaying unsettles South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UN help sought to protect Uighurs found in Songkhla The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United Nations and rights organisations are set to take care of a group of 220 people smuggled to Songkhla on Wednesday, who have been found to be Uighurs who fled…
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