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Italthai Industrial launches online wine sales
PHUKET: Upbeat about the potential of e-commerce, Italthai Industrial has joined hands with MCFIVA (Thailand) to create an online-shopping website for its wine products. The www.italthaicellar.com website will highlight a variety of secured online-payment methods and next-day delivery as major selling points, as well as promotional offerings for Italthai Industrial’s premium wines. The company expects total sales volume via the…
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Thai youth crowned world sailing team racing champions
PHUKET: The Thai team claimed gold in the team racing event at the Optimist World Championship 2014 Argentina on Sunday, returning to shore to cheers from around the world. After a two-year absence from the prestigious international event, the five member team defeated Asian Games gold medalist Singapore in the team racing finals which saw 38 nations competing for the…
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Police force “not enough’ to prevent Phuket crime wave
PHUKET: The increased number of unemployed people roaming Phuket’s streets since the mass cleanup of the island’s beaches has led to a plague of burglaries targeting villas in Cherng Talay, the local police superintendent has confessed to the Phuket Gazette. “We are not sure if every robbery is being reported to us, but we often receive complaints,” Cherng Talay Police…
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Doctor postpones hearing into cosmetic surgery death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Doctor postpones hearing into cosmetic surgery death The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Dr Sompop Saensiri, the owner of a Bangkok cosmetic clinic, yesterday put off an appointment to testify to police about the death of a 24-year-old British woman under general anaesthesia during cosmetic surgery…
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PM wary of ‘mirror council’ checking reforms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM wary of ‘mirror council’ checking reforms The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday warned the newly-established Thailand Reform Institute (TRI) against staging political activities that might be deemed illegal and give rise to more national conflict. Announcing the establishment of the…
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Last international forces airlifted from key base in Afghan south
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Last international forces airlifted from key base in Afghan south Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A fleet of planes and helicopters airlifted the last U.S. and British forces from a key base in southern Afghanistan on Monday, a day after the international coalition closed the massive…
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Phuket urged not to panic over terrorist watch in Southern Thailand
PHUKET: A security official has urged the public not to panic after it was announced that Phuket police were on high alert due to an international terrorist who might be trying to enter Southern Thailand. “I received an alert last night from officials who are hunting Indian national Jagtar Singh Hawara, and forwarded it to officers at my base,” Deputy…
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Flash floods swamp Phuket’s main highway
PHUKET: Flash floods swamped a 200-meter-stretch of southbound lanes on Thepkrasattri Road in Phuket this afternoon. “The flooding started at about 3pm after heavy rain in the area,” a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker told the Phuket Gazette. “Police had to make the northbound lanes available for motorists heading in both directions in order to keep traffic flowing.” The affected area…
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Hardwood only: sex toy found lodged in sacred cave
PHUKET: Krabi officials removed a large, pink faded sex toy from a sacred cave this morning, after it was found mixed with traditional carved wooden phalluses. The offending item, discovered in Phra Nang Cave, started local tongues wagging when a photo of it residing in the cave appeared on a foreign website. “We believe it was left there by a…
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Bad news in Phuket
PHUKET: There’s been a lot of death in Phuket lately. It seems that stories about death and violence have been pouring in on a regular basis over the past several weeks. There was the drug-crazed maniac who chopped up his friend with a meat cleaver and tried to do the same to his girlfriend, and himself. Then, there was the…
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Planning for the future in Phuket – even if it’s morbid
Larry Amsden, 76, is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Patong Beach, which was started in 2000 and chartered in 2001. He has been a witness to the tragedies and joys that have developed on the island over the past 19 years. Here, he talks about the importance of a last will and testament for all adult expats…
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Say hello to Phuket’s new man in charge: Governor Nisit
Nisit Jansomwong, 52, from Ratchaburi, landed on the island earlier this month to take up the position of Phuket Governor. He has a master’s degree in administration from Chulalongkorn University, where he graduated with honors. Before coming to Phuket, Governor Nisit was governor of Ratchaburi province for one year. Here, he talks about tourism’s importance and impact on Phuket and…
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American attacked, found lying on Phuket beach
PHUKET: Police are working on solving the mystery surrounding an American who was attacked and left bleeding on a Phuket beach on Saturday morning. Joggers on Karon Beach found Jonathan Mark Lemley, 28, unconscious on the sand with head injuries. “Mr Lemley was dressed in sportswear,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Patchara Boonyasit told the Phuket Gazette. “He was taken to…
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Sumatra earthquake no cause for Phuket alarm, say experts
PHUKET: An earthquake off northern Sumatra this morning measuring 5.3 in magnitude poses no threat of a tsunami in Phuket, Group Captain Somsak Khaosuwan, director of the National Disaster Warning Center, has confirmed. “There is no need for people in Phuket to panic. The earthquake in Indonesia at 7:02am will not result in a tsunami here,” he told the Phuket…
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Frenchmen, Nigerian snared in Phuket B1mn cocaine, marijuana busts
PHUKET: Police netted three foreign and three Thai drug suspects, and seized more than 1 million baht of cocaine and marijuana in two separate busts in Phuket over the weekend. Officers made the first arrests on Saturday when they were called to a residence in Sabai Village in Kathu after neighbors reported sounds of a fight. “At 1:40am, police arrived…
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Ancient relics discovered in Krabi thought to be over 3,000 years old
PHUKET: More than 200 ancient artifacts were discovered by chance, scattered on the floor of a cave in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, on Saturday. Found by a local man in Kuan Wei Dang Cave in Khlong Thom district, south of Krabi Town, the pieces included ancient ceramics, axeheads and stone tools, thought to be more than…
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No signs of Ebola in dead Briton in Phuket
PHUKET: Laboratory tests on the body of British national Martin Clark, 68, who was found dead in his Phuket condo last Thursday after returning from Nigeria, showed no signs of the deadly Ebola disease. Dr Thiravat Hemachudha, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, said yesterday that separate tissue tests by German and Chinese…
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Phuket precautions taken, but Brit visited “Ebola-free’ Nigeria
PHUKET: As a precaution, Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) officials are watching 25 people who were involved in inspecting and moving the body of a British national that medical experts are testing for the Ebola virus (story here). “They all have to pay special attention to their health and have to report to the PPHO once a week, at…
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Special Report: Phi Phi cries for help
SPECIAL REPORT PHUKET: Officials are pleading for help in tackling the array of environmental disasters that plague the tourist-popular Phi Phi archipelago – especially its largest island, Phi Phi Don. Considering the more than 1,000 visitors that arrive on the island daily – a number that does not include the uncounted number of tourists who arrive directly on the beaches…
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Phuket Gazette web power scales new heights
PHUKET: Phuket’s most popular English-language Facebook page and the Gazette Online, the island’s top-ranked website (source: Google Analytics), have both landed record amounts of viewers this week with the story: Australian tourist mauled by Phuket tiger. The story, published on Wednesday, October 22, had more than 100,000 hits on the Gazette Online and reached more than 1.2 million readers on…
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Phuket Opinion: Tourism meets toilet humor
PHUKET: Efforts by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to clean up corruption in Phuket have had some dramatic results, steering the island toward sustainability – at least for the time being. Unfortunately, some smaller destinations, including the Phi Phi Island chain, continue to suffer from unregulated development and mass tourism on a scale that has led to…
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Phuket medical experts work to rule out Ebola in death of Brit
PHUKET: A Disease Prevention team from the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) is working to rule out Ebola as the cause of death for a British expat recently returned from Nigeria. Martin John Roberts Clark, 68, returned to Phuket on October 7. He was found dead in his condo on Thursday afternoon. “Our team was there yesterday to collect…
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Phuket speedboat crash victim to undergo spinal cord surgery
PHUKET: A Tunisian national will undergo surgery in Phuket for severe injuries sustained to his spinal cord during the horrific speedboat crash that killed two Korean tourists last weekend (story here). Ali Bouzgarrou, 67, who had been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital, was moved to Bangkok Hospital Phuket yesterday for the surgery.…
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Phuket tiger’s protective nature blamed for attack
PHUKET: Tiger Kingdom staff blamed the protective nature of a tiger for the attack on an Australian tourist in Phuket on Wednesday. “We believe the tiger was trying to protect our staffer, so it bit Mr Goudie. Notice that it attacked him instead of the staffer, who was standing closer to the tiger’s head,” Tanawin Boonpang, Phuket’s Tiger Kingdom supervisor,…
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Frenchman, 70, fights off armed robbers in Phuket
PHUKET: A 70-year-old French national fought off a pair of teens attempting to rob his female companion at knife-point in Phuket last night. David Estermann and his friend, Aurelie Allain-Lebreton, were driving along Soi Suksan 2, a poorly lit road in Rawai, when they were forced to a stop by the two teens. “They stopped their bike in front of…
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Heavyweight bike brands gearing up for Phuket market
PHUKET: Despite a fall this year in Thailand’s overall sales of motorcycles and automotive parts, big-bike sales are continuing to thrive. In Phuket, a relatively new destination for bikes over 500cc, brands like Ducati and Triumph are pushing the companies’ marketing strategies to make their famed machines accessible to everyone. “Ducati’s market strategy is to move toward developing models that…
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Phuket honors HM King Chulalongkorn
PHUKET: The life and achievements of HM King Chulalongkorn were commemorated in a ceremony at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday. Govenor Nisit Jansomwong led an assembly of officials in adorning the “Chulalongkorn the Great” monument with flowers. After the ceremony and speeches, Governor Nisit presented five 10,000-baht prizes to students who won an “Abolition of Slavery in Thailand” drawing competition, which…
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Myanmar nationals robbed of 30k cash in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are hunting a pair of armed robbers who stole 30,000 baht from two Myanmar nationals in Phuket on Wednesday afternoon. Ye Su Or, 21, and Priew, 17, were walking into a SuperCheap when two men drove up on a motorbike and demanded the money at knife-point. “The couple had a lot of cash so that they could buy…
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Officials hope tourists dig Phuket tin-mining festival
PHUKET: Phuket residents and tourists have been invited to join a three-day festival in Srisoonthorn to celebrate Loy Krathong and honor the island’s tin-mining history. The event will be held at the Bang Maruan Lagoon, which is located next to the site of the old Bang Maruan Mine in the center of the island, from November 4 to 6. “Locals…
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Future of Phuket’s jet-ski operators to be decided next week: officials
PHUKET: Jet-ski operators will meet with the Phuket Marine Office on Monday to discuss their fates, following a decision last week that has allowed them to temporarily park their craft on Kamala Beach (story here). “We have assigned the Phuket Marine Office to take responsibility of the issue concerning jet-ski management, as the operators must seek permission from the office…
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