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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Bangkok squad called in to catch Phuket “bag snatch killer’
PHUKET: More than 50 police officers, including a team from the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, have been dedicated to catching the two men who attacked Australian tourist Michelle Smith, 60, who was stabbed to death in Kata last night. Ms Smith died after being stabbed in the chest, puncturing her heart and a lung, when a bag snatch attempt…
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Phuket Business: When the financial gate slams shut
PHUKET: Since I’m often writing about how I like alternative investment strategies, it may be a good idea to do a few pieces on the features of funds available to managers when they open. This will help you understand what can happen when you invest in such a fund. This week is about gates – since most alternative funds write…
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Phuket Live Wire: What to do if your email is blocked
PHUKET: I send out a lot of email – many dozens of pieces every day. Lately, I’ve been having more and more problems with the email being rejected at the receiving end. Here’s a message I just received in response to a message I sent to a reader in the US last night: “SMTP error from remote mail server after…
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Off-duty cop accused of Phuket street killing gets bail
PHUKET: The off-duty cop who shot a man dead in Phuket Town on May 5 has been granted bail. Though some details about the case have come to light, the exact cause of the argument that led Cpl Rachaporn Semaksorn to shoot Eakkasit Sangangam in the head ,on Phun Pol Soi 11 in Phuket Town, is still unclear. “The shooting…
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Phuket Business: Trade booming
PHUKET: Two-thirds of the way into the government’s current fiscal year, international trade in Phuket is thriving, with the value of both imports and exports looking likely to surpass last year’s record-high performance. Phuket Customs’ records through to May 31 show that the value of exports in 2012 (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012) is now at 11.11bn baht…
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Burmese fisherman, electrocuted at sea, returned to Phuket
PHUKET: Two Burmese fishermen working on a local fishing boat were brought to Phuket’s Rassada Pier yesterday, after apparently being electrocuted at sea.Once notified, police and Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation workers rushed to the scene to find grieving relatives surrounding the two bodies.“Mr Kham, 25, and Mr Wan, 27, were pulling a fishing net from the sea, when Mr Kham touched…
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Whitewater raft trip widows newlywed wife
PHUKET: Egyptian couple Hossam and Sarah boarded a plane on June 2 bound for their dream honeymoon in Phuket. However, their love story, which began in their mid-teens, came to an unfathomable and abrupt end in Phang Nga, when their tour company decided to brave rough waters and lead a whitewater rafting trip that ended in disaster.It wasn’t until three…
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Phuket Sports: 7 races, 7 winners
PHUKET: THE Canadian GP was a magnificent race for Hamilton. Team strategy was absolutely right, and the driving was superb. The decider was tyre strategy. Vettel and Alonso ran a one-stop strategy for Red Bull and Ferrari respectively, while most drivers went for a two stopper. The strategic question was whether the time and track position gained by saving a…
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Phuket Sports: Pietersen – draw card or drawback?
PHUKET: Kevin Pietersen, who has a reputation for dropping bomb shells – and not just while he is at the crease – has announced his retirement from limited overs cricket. Surprising? Yes, considering the fact that “KP” (as he is known to followers of the game) was voted ‘Player of the Tournament’ in England’s Twenty20 triumph at the last World…
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Phuket Sports: Seventh heaven for Phuket marathon winner
PHUKET: THE seventh annual Run Paradise Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) took place in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 10, with over four thousand participants of varying ability taking part. The event, sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, was divided into five categories: the grueling full marathon of 42 kilometers; the half marathon of 21km; the 10.5km run; the…
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Fatal knife attack: Phuket police scour island for two suspects
PHUKET: Phuket Police are searching for two men who carried out a knife attack on two Australian tourists last night that left one woman dead and another injured. The attack, believed to have been a botched bag snatch attempt, occurred at Phuket’s Kata Beach, about 200 meters from the hotel where the women were staying. Michelle Elizabeth Smith, 59, and…
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Phuket Gazette: Ecuador to decide Assange’s asylum request today
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ecuador to decide on Assange’s asylum today Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: The Ecuadorian government could make a decision today on the fate of Julian Assange, founder of the controversial whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, an official said late yesterday. Assange had requested political asylum at Ecuador’s embassy in…
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Phuket: Lord of the flies
PHUKET: The Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) has voiced its concern over the increasing number of flies found swarming across the island, which the chamber fears could affect the island’s tourism industry. PCC Deputy Secretary General Charan Sangsarn raised the issue at a meeting held at the Phuket office of the National Economics and Social Development Board. “We have received…
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Boxing title fight to raise funds for Phuket sea turtle research
PHUKET: A World Boxing Organization (WBO) title fight will take place at Nai Yang Beach next month to raise funds for sea turtle preservation projects in Phuket and other provinces along the Andaman coast.Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit and other dignitaries announced the five-bout card that will take place in Sakoo on July 6.The two-hour event will…
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Land grab probe targets “Ocean View 16′
PHUKET: THE Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) will recommend that legal charges be pressed against 16 current and former Phuket officials, all alleged to have conspired to encroach on state forest land high in the Kamala Hills north of Patong Beach.PACC Secretary-General Dusadee Arayawuth on Monday led his team and members of the media to the disputed site, which covers…
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Tourist fights for life after near-drowning in Phuket
PHUKET: A foreign tourist who was swimming in an area marked by red warning flags was pulled from the water off Nai Harn Beach yesterday afternoon and rushed unconscious to Vachira Phuket Hospital. Jula Nontree, chief lifeguard for Kata, Karon, Nai Harn and Patong Beaches, told the Phuket Gazette that the incident occurred in front of the Phuket Yacht Club…
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Pickup slams Heroines’ Monument in Phuket, one dead
PHUKET: Police believe that the driver of a pickup who died after slamming his vehicle into the Phuket Heroines’ Monument before dawn yesterday fell asleep at the wheel. Thalang Police were notified of the accident at Phuket’s most iconic roundabout just before 4am yesterday. Arriving at the scene, they found the wreckage of a black Mitsubishi pickup against a roadside…
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Scrappy Phuket FC beat Bangkok FC, 2-1
PHUKET: Phuket FC recorded their first home win of the season last night with a scrappy 2-1 win over mid-table side Bangkok FC. Despite gorgeous weather, only 1,200 paying fans turned up for the 6:30pm kickoff at Surakul Stadium, which got a number of improvements thanks to its recent hosting of the 28th National Youth Games. The most notable of…
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Somjai re-elected Phuket City Mayor
PHUKET: The preliminary vote count inyesterday’s Phuket City Municipality elections show that SomjaiSuwansupana has been re-elected as Phuket City Mayor, with 11,477votes from the 15,786 voters who showed up at the polls. Ms Somjai, the only candidate in theelection for Phuket City Mayor, received 34.75 per cent of the totalnumber of votes available in the electorate, which is more than…
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Phuket annual Prison Fair underway
PHUKET: The ninth annual Prison Products Fair is underway at Saphan Hin. On display and for sale is a wide range of hand-made products crafted by prison inmates from 14 provincial prisons across the southern region as part of their vocational skills training. “The fair is held to show prisoner’s works to the public. It is made possible by cooperation…
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Phuket Poll: How can we effectively warn tourists of drowning dangers?
PHUKET: The disappearance of an American student Joshua Shane, who went swimming with friends at Patong Beach on Tuesday night, once again raises the issue of how best to warn tourists about the dangers of swimming along Phuket’s west coast beaches during the monsoon season. Reliable sources told the Phuket Gazette that the group of students who entered the surf…
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Phuket Opinion: Corruption and the duality of man
PHUKET: Every now and then, local officials do things that either stun the Phuket Gazette’s readers or slide right past them. The news stories this week about the push to establish a “Chalong Hospital” and the projected opening of the Patong Tunnel both highlight a phenomenon often overlooked – that sometimes officials do have the public interest at heart. Local…
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Phuket FC ready for Bangkok FC tonight
PHUKET: The re-branded Phuket FC “Islanders” hope their new look and a strong fan turnout will help lead them to their first home win of the year this evening against Thai League Division 1 mid-table side Bangkok FC. Phuket FC’s immediate goal is to try to bag three points and begin their climb out of the five-team relegation zone of…
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Canadian sisters found dead in Phi Phi hotel room, poisoning suspected
PHUKET: Police are investigating the cause of death of two Canadian sisters found dead in their hotel room on Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. Lt Siwa Saneha of Phi Phi Island Police Station told the Phuket Gazette, “We received a report at about 9pm yesterday, that two tourists’ bodies were found in the same hotel room at the Phi Phi…
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Officials push for new Phuket hospital
PHUKET: Officials are pushing for the public health clinic in Chalong to be upgraded to a fully equipped hospital in order to reduce the number of people dying en route to emergency wards at major hospitals in Phuket Town. Clinic Director Ruedee Suriya told the Phuket Gazette that on average two people every month die while on their way to…
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Phuket City top cop transferred
PHUKET: Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai has been transferred to Takua Thung Police Station in Phang Nga province, just north of Phuket.The transfer comes after Col Chote was temporarily suspended from duty on May 5 following allegations of underage staff working in Phuket Town clubs and entertainment venues.Acting Superintendent of Phuket City Police Sakchai Limcharoen also confirmed to the…
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Phuket Health authorities stage airport epidemic control drill
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office, assisted by three airlines, yesterday carried out an exercise aimed at preventing a serious infectious disease spreading among passengers on board an aircraft and then infecting the island’s population.The drill took place in and around Phuket International Airport’s multipurpose building. Personnel and equipment from Business Air, Thai Airways and AirAsia airlines played a part…
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Phuket City Police issue reminder: election alcohol ban in Phuket Town tonight
PHUKET: Phuket City Police Superintendent Sakchai Limcharoen this afternoon reminded operators of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues in Phuket Town that a ban on the sale of alcohol will come into effect within Phuket City limits from 6pm today. “Due to the Phuket City Municipality election tomorrow, alcohol sales will be banned from 6pm tonight until midnight tomorrow…
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Phuket needs to clean up its act: V/Gov Chamroen
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada has given local officials until June 30 to at least draw up action plans to redress key problems affecting the island.Speaking at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, V/Gov Chamroen listed several key issues, including trash, roadside billboards, flower vendors at traffic lights and the long tailbacks at Koh Kaew.Trash“Main roads are surrounded…
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Phuket parents appeal for help in finding missing daughter
PHUKET: Distressed parents are appealing for any information that may help locate their missing teenage daughter, Mullika “Nong Fah” Suansan, who disappeared from her Phuket school last Friday morning. Security-camera footage at Muslim Wittaya Phuket School in Koh Kaew, north of Phuket Town, shows 15-year-old Mullika arriving at the school on the school bus, but she failed to show up…
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