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147 killed in Kenyan university siege
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gulf Arabs silent after Iran interim nuclear deal Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Gunmen from the Islamist militant group al Shabaab stormed a university in Kenya and killed at least 147 people on Thursday, in the worst attack on Kenyan soil since the U.S. embassy was…
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NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) head Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday replaced martial law with its 14-point Order on Maintaining Public Order and National Security. Here is a…
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BluAnda dodges mass markets, backs quality tours
PHUKET: For a premium tour company in Phuket, the goal is providing superior services and beating the crowds of a developing mass- tourism market by delivering private experiences at the region’s most well-known destinations. A newcomer to the Andaman island tour market, BluAnda walked onto the scene recognizing exactly that, and within three years has developed a strong client base…
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Business Buzz: Facebook – unlimited sales potential at our fingertips
PHUKET: Marketing 101: to make money you need customers, and to get customers you need a database to market to. The better quality the database, the better the results. But we will come back to that in a minute… These days everyone has heard of Facebook. Most people who are even mildly computer literate have a Facebook profile, no matter…
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Phuket honors HRH Princess Sirindhorn’s 60th birthday
PHUKET: Leading dignitaries on the island held a special ceremony this morning to honor and celebrate the 60th birthday of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn today. Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong, his wife Nutsaree, and a host of other public officials led the offering of alms to 60 monks as part of a blessing ceremony at the central stage area at…
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Phuket Police laugh off B875mn CCTV prank
PHUKET: Phuket Police have confirmed that the rumored installation of 6,000 CCTV cameras on the island in order to catch high-speed motorists is a prank. The message shared yesterday on various social media sites stated that each camera would cost about US$4,500 (about 146,000 baht apiece) and would have the capability to turn 360 degrees and capture high-resolution images. Phuket…
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Hua Hin offers lessons for Phuket’s developing property market
PHUKET: For Thais, there is little doubt that Hua Hin remains a keen object of desire, be it for a holiday, or a property purchase. Call it legacy, or location, but the magnetic draw of the beach town continues to be a key driver of demand. A few weeks ago I visited the destination and found the extreme makeover movement…
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Island View: Put War on Drugs into rehab
PHUKET: Two major drug busts last week saw about 3.6 million pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) seized in just two raids, but the news has thrown into sharp focus just how ineffective the War on Drugs has become. Together, the two hauls netted an estimated 1.8 billion baht of meth – a clear indication that the War on Drugs is…
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Opinion: Propel Phuket to become a global yacht stop
PHUKET: Efforts by Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to ease restrictions on a wide variety of bureaucratic measures that are preventing the island’s marine tourism industry from going ‘full throttle’ deserve full support. The aim is to further develop the island into its natural role as one of Asia’s premier yachting and cruise ship destinations. While details of the…
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Chinese tourist drowns on Phi Phi snorkelling tour
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist died while on a snorkelling day-trip to Phi Phi Island yesterday. Xu Weixiang, 43, was snorkelling at Loh Mudee Bay with about 30 other tourists from Phuket, said Lt Col Danai Niyomdecha of the Krabi City Police. “The tour guide said Mr Xu was snorkeling with others, but at about 4pm he was found floating face…
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Fists fly over Russian birds on Phuket beach
PHUKET: An out-of-work lifeguard faces a 4,000-baht fine and up to three years in prison for an attack on two Russian women tourists on Karon Beach on Monday. Jaruay Wongkleang, 31, surrendered himself at Karon Police Station on Tuesday night after Marina Panko and Iana Savchenko, both 24, filed a report of the assault in broad daylight on Monday. “One…
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At least 43 dead after Russian trawler sinks in ocean
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 43 dead after Russian trawler sinks in ocean Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: At least 43 people have died and 26 are missing after a Russian trawler sank late on Wednesday in the Western Pacific Ocean near the Kamchatka Peninsula, the TASS news agency…
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UN envoy slams PM’s threat to media
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UN envoy slams PM’s threat to media The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A United Nations expert on freedom of expression, David Kaye, yesterday urged Thailand to distance itself from the prime minister’s intimidating statements against freedom of press, and take immediate measures to allow space…
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Rights groups slam use of Article 44
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rights groups slam use of Article 44 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: International rights groups aired criticism against the government’s imminent use of absolute power under Article 44 of the interim constitution, with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) calling for a return to civilian…
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Pongpat gets another two and half years in jail
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pongpat gets another two and half years in jail The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced Pongpat Chayapan, former chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, to another two and a half years in jail for failing to report the discovery and acquisition…
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Domestic accuses WHO executive of exploitation
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Domestic accuses WHO executive of exploitation The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Law Society of Thailand has taken up the case of an Ethiopian domestic worker, who has filed a police complaint, accusing her employer – an executive at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in…
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Phuket’s short-time prisoners to walk first in mass pardon
PHUKET: Convicts serving only short sentences at Phuket Prison have been given priority in being granted freedom in a mass pardon to be honored tomorrow. Prison Director Pichit Wanajit has applied to the Phuket Provincial Court for release warrants for 233 prisoners, including 25 women. The prisoners are to be released in accordance with a royal pardon issued by HM…
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Phuket Police lay down the law for Songkran
PHUKET: No sexy outfits, sexy dancing, alcohol in water-play zones and no rolling water-fight trucks are allowed in Phuket during the Thai New Year Songkran festival on April 13-14, the island’s top cop has announced. Also banned is the mixing of powder, ice or foam with water used to ‘bless’ fellow Songkran celebrants, said Phuket City Police Superintendent Col Kraithong…
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Health office launches campaign to stem child drownings
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has called on all local administrations on the island to take steps to prevent any further child drownings in their areas. The move to ramp up water safety throughout Phuket follows Public Health Minister Dr Ratchata Ratchatanawin on Monday issuing a nationwide order for all relevant agencies to launch water-safety campaigns. Dr Ratchata…
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Breaking News: Phuket bans beach sand
PHUKET: In the latest and likely final move to clear undesirables from Phuket’s beaches, the island’s local authorities today began a massive operation to remove the sand from key tourist hotspots along the west coast. The beach cleanup campaign that began last year under military protection is expected to be complete by the end of this year, said Kaikun Kluaeyao,…
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Prosecutors want at least 15 years for US couple in Bali suitcase murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prosecutors want at least 15 years for US couple in Bali suitcase murder Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prosecutors in the case of a U.S. couple accused of murder on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali on Tuesday called for the pair to be sentenced to…
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Iran nuclear talks miss deadline, US threatens to walk away
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iran nuclear talks miss deadline, US threatens to walk away Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Six world powers and Iran negotiated past a March 31 deadline into the wee hours of Wednesday, struggling to conclude an outline accord on Tehran’s nuclear program in the face of…
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Charter flights by five airlines hit amid aviation safety concerns
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Charter flights by five airlines hit amid aviation safety concerns The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: AT least five airlines operating from Thailand to Japan, China and South Korea, and expected to carry about 150,000 passengers, will be affected in the wake of safety concerns expressed…
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Lifting of martial law gets the thumbs up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lifting of martial law gets the thumbs up The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday sought royal approval for lifting martial law, which was imposed shortly before the coup in May last year, and replacing it with Article 44 of the…
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Orient Thai refutes allegations of panicked staff during emergency landing
PHUKET: Orient Thai in a statement issued to the Phuket Gazette today denied reports of panicked staff and minor injuries to passengers after flight OX682 from Phuket to Chengdu, China, was forced to make an emergency landing. “All the crew and passengers were safe. Nobody was injured. The cabin crew took good care of the passengers and were not panicked,…
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Phuket Cycling Fest hailed for “eco-tourism peddle power’
PHUKET: The Phuket Cycling Fest returned for its second year last weekend with more than 680 cyclists joining a 46km fun-ride tour of the south of the island on Sunday. Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong chaired the opening ceremony at Saphan Hin on Saturday evening, joined by Uthit Limsakul, deputy director of the Tourism of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office. Governor Nisit…
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Last chance: Lay Pang restaurant owners given seven-day demolition deadline
PHUKET: The owners of a group of restaurants still standing on Lay Pang Beach have been given seven days to demolish their illegal structures, or be charged with encroachment. Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) officials, along with officers from the Thalang District Office and military personnel, inspected Lay Pang Beach and handed out the final demolition orders yesterday. “We…
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Phuket swimmers dominate Thanyapura Invitational
PHUKET: Phuket swimmers dominated the Thanyapura Invitational Swim Meet presented by Rocket Science Sports over the weekend. Local young swimmers competed against athletes and school teams from Bangkok and Samui, as well as Shanghai, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Singapore and elsewhere abroad. Kornkarnjana ‘Golf’ Sapianchai of the Thanyapura Phuket International Academy (PIA) Swim Team finished top of the podium in the Girls…
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Decree for lifting martial law sent for royal command
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Decree for lifting martial law sent for royal command: Prayut The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha today confirmed that that he has submitted a draft royal decree for His Majesty the King to sign to lift the martial law. He said…
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Reward offered for alleged Phuket tour company fraudster
PHUKET: A 10,000-baht reward has been put on the head of a man who left hundreds of tourists stranded on their holiday, and is now wanted for allegedly defrauding a Phuket tour company of about 1.5 million baht. Peerapat ‘Deer’ Singhon, 25, was working as a freelance sales representative for Phuket Diamond Tours as he sold extraordinarily cheap holiday packages…
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