News
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Patong Police on high alert for flash flooding
PHUKET: Officers working at low-lying Patong Police Station are on high alert after their station succumbed to flash floods again earlier this week (story here). “The water has drained from the office now,” Lt Col Pongpichan Chayanonpiriya of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. “We will be better prepared next time, and pay closer attention to weather warnings.”…
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School laptop thief arrested at worker camp
PHUKET: Police arrested a Myanmar national on Tuesday for allegedly swiping laptops costing an estimated 240,000 baht from Satree Phuket School’s science and math center last month (story here). “We were able to arrest the suspect, known only as Mr Lek, at about 2pm in a worker camp. At his place were seven of the 10 stolen laptops and the…
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Facebook post helps identify drowned woman
PHUKET: Facebook users were able to identify the woman who plunged to her death off Rawai Pier yesterday, after pictures of her body were posted on the social media platform. Witnesses saw Sriwann Sarapoo, 49, walk down the pier in the heavy rain at about 8:30am. “We were told that she walked to the end of the pier, where the…
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Police fatally shoot ax-wielding man at Nashville movie theater
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police fatally shoot ax-wielding man at Nashville movie theater Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A man with a history of mental health issues who wielded an ax and a pellet gun at a Nashville-area movie theater was shot dead by police on Wednesday, authorities said. The…
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Phuket DDPM warns of heavy rains, flash floods and landslides
PHUKET: The Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has issued a five day weather warning for Phuket starting today. “As there will be heavy rains, as well as the possibility of flash floods and landslides, for the next five days, everyone needs to be very careful,” said Santhawat Riwleung, chief of the DDPM Phuket Office. “I have already forwarded…
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Australia says initial MH370 debris drift models gave wrong clues
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australia says initial MH370 debris drift models gave wrong clues Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Initial models of where potential debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet mightfirst wash up had incorrectly identified Indonesia as the most likely location, the Australian body leading the search…
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German justice minister sacks top prosecutor over treason row
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community German justice minister sacks top prosecutor over treason row Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Germany’s government sacked the top public prosecutor on Tuesday after he accused the justice ministry of interfering in a widely criticised treason investigation against a news website. In a rare clash between…
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India floods derail two trains, killing at least 20; hundreds rescued
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community India floods derail two trains, killing at least 20; hundreds rescued Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Two express trains were partially swept off a flooded bridge over a river in centralIndia overnight, killing at least 20 people and injuring 100, the government said on Wednesday. Divers…
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Thailand arrests five for trafficking women into sex slavery in China
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand arrests five for trafficking women into sex slavery in China Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Thailand has arrested five people suspected of trafficking Thai women into sex slavery in China and believed to be part of a ring that has also trafficked women into Malaysia…
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Police officer’s son caught dealing drugs from barracks
PHUKET: A police officer’s son, along with three other men, were arrested with nearly three million baht worth of drugs at a residence at the Ao Luek Police Station barracks in Krabi on August 2. The four men were caught in possession of one kilogram of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and nearly 8,000 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine). Ao Luek…
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Unique Four Regions Fair’ to start on Mother’s Day
PHUKET: A special ‘Unique Four Regions Fair’ will take place on Mother’s Day, HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday, on August 12 and continue through August 16 at Sanam Chai Park in Phuket Town. Organized by the Royal Thai Navy’s Phuket-based Third Area Internal Security Operations Command [ISOC] and sponsored by the provincial police and municipality, this nationwide event is the fourth…
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Australian weather bureau: El Nino has emerged and is expected to strengthen
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community El Nino has emerged and expected to strengthen – Australian weather bureau Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: An El Nino is now well established and continues to strengthen, the Australian Bureau ofMeteorology (BOM) says, with models indicating that sea-surface temperature anomalies in the central Pacific Ocean…
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Idaho woman comes under fire for celebrating her killing of giraffe
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Idaho woman comes under fire for celebrating her killing of giraffe Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A big-game trophy collector from Idaho has ignited a firestorm of criticism fromanimal-rights activists for flaunting online images of herself posed with the carcasses of a giraffe and other wildlife…
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Obama administration faces criticism over human trafficking report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama administration faces criticism over human trafficking report Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Several U.S. politicians sharply criticized the Obama administration on Monday over an annual global report on human trafficking in response to a Reuters article chronicling how senior U.S. diplomats had watered down rankings…
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Swedish tourist falls from Phuket hotel
PHUKET: A Swedish tourist and a Thai woman took a tumble from the balcony of their room at the Phuket Paradise Hotel in Patong early this morning. “When we arrived at the scene, Dahlin Erik Conny, 33, was unconscious and Numpueng Kumpuong, 26, was crying out in pain on the ground,” said Lt Col Jessada Saengsuree of the Patong Police.…
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Kratom user takes anger out on ATM
PHUKET: An unruly kratom user was arrested at his apartment in Rawai this morning after CCTV footage showed him smashing the screen of an ATM on his way home from Phuket Town. “We received the report of the broken ATM at about 4am this morning. At the scene, we found a big piece of concrete, as well as a smashed…
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Rescuers in Myanmar struggle to reach flood-hit areas, toll seen rising
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rescuers in Myanmar struggle to reach flood-hit areas, toll seen rising Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A death toll of 27 from flooding across Myanmar was expected to rise as rescue workers struggled on Monday to reach some of the hardest-hit and most remote inundated areas,…
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Opinion: Fishing for change
Capt Preecha Tuntiruk, 41, of the Third Naval Area Command is head of Phuket’s Port In-Port Out (PIPO) Center. Originally from Samut Songkhram, Capt Preecha graduated from the Royal Thai Naval Academy in 1997. Here, he talks about why PIPO is necessary in Phuket and what role it takes in fighting the battle against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing vessels.…
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Syrian jet crashes into market, 12 killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Syrian jet crashes into market, 12 killed Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: At least 12 people were killed when a Syrian army fighter jet crashed into a busy marketplacein the rebel-held northwestern town of Ariha on Monday, a monitor said. Most of the dead were civilians…
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TMD fails to issue weather warning
PHUKET: Despite today’s torrential rains, which led to flash flooding in several parts of the island, the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has yet to issue any weather warning for Phuket. “The TMD did report that there would be rain fall all day, which could cause landslides. However, no warnings have been issued,” Santhawat Riwleung, chief of the Department of Disaster…
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Monster monitor lizard sneaks into Phuket home [video]
PHUKET: Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers captured a 20 kilogram monitor lizard at a house in Phuket, as heavy rains inundated the island this morning. “It was quite a big monitor; about one-meter long,” Kasun Naepnean, a rescue worker, told the Phuket Gazette. “It was very strong, and difficult to catch.” It took the team about 30 minutes to capture the…
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Patong Police in deep water, must assess damage
PHUKET: Patong Police are knee deep in water as their station was inundated by flooding this morning. “There is about one meter of water in some parts of the station. It happened so fast this time that we were unable to clear everything,” Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette. “We will just have to…
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Cruising through “Green Season’
PHUKET: Phuket has been recognized as a world-class cruising destination for many years, with the majority of sailors visiting during the ‘high’ season months. This period is noted for its favorable weather that keep the skies clear, cruising grounds sheltered and beaches packed. However, it is the ‘green season’, from June to October, that is becoming a popular alternative, offering…
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Opinion: Taking up space
PHUKET: If you have ever been to Tesco Lotus or Big C – I will go out on a limb to say that most of us on the island have – did you ever park your vehicle in a handicapped parking spot if you are not handicapped? I hope not. If you have, stop being selfish and give the spot…
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Small vehicles warned of Phuket flash floods
PHUKET: Flash floods are causing long tailbacks and leaving many motorists pushing their scooters through deep water in Chalong and Patong, as well as at the Samkong underpass construction site, today. “Small vehicles should avoid roads where flooding has occurred,” Santhawat Riwleung, chief of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office, told the Phuket Gazette. “The rate…
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Box jellyfish sting kills woman in Koh Phangan
PHUKET: A Thai tourist died after being stung by a box jellyfish while swimming off Koh Phangan in Surat Thani on Friday night. Police revealed that Chayanan Surin, 31, had travelled to the island from Bangkok with friends and went swimming at around 8pm in Tambon Ban Tai where she was stung. She was pronounce dead at Koh Phangan Hospital…
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Funeral rites announced as Phuket mourns the death of Paiboon Upatising
PHUKET: Former Phuket senator and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) President Paiboon Upatising died this morning at Bangkok’s Thonburi hospital. Mr Paiboon had been fighting colon cancer for several years, succumbing to it at 1.09am today. Funeral rights for Mr Paiboon will begin at 3pm tomorrow, Monday, August 3, at his family home on Vichitsongkram Road, near Surakul Stadium. Many…
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Police arrest driver for death of 12-year-old
PHUKET: Police arrested the driver of an 18-wheeled truck that hit and dragged a 12-year-old girl to death just south of the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint yesterday morning (story here). The truck allegedly struck the motorbike that the girl and her mother were riding, causing minimal damage, but knocking the mother-daughter pair to the concrete. Nong Latthaporn fell under the…
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Direct Phuket-Hainan flights tabled to boost tourism
PHUKET: Direct flights to Phuket from the island’s sister province in China were tabled this week during an official Hainan tourism fact finding mission in Thailand (story here). The plan was announced as officials marked the 10-year anniversary of Phuket and Hainan becoming ‘sister cities’, said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. “The direct flights will be good for both provinces’ tourism…
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Business Buzz: The benefits of websites
PHUKET: Almost every business has a website now, but what are the real reasons for having one and are people using them effectively? When I ask many business owners, they often reply that they need one because everyone else has one. But do most people really understand the reasons a website is so important and how they can add real…
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