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Phuket Gazette: Thailand news round-up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Powerful figure’ implicated in scandal over stolen cold pills Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: At least one very powerful figure has been implicated in the embezzlement of pills containing pseudoephedrine from state hospitals, the public health minister’s adviser, Pasit Sakdanarong, said yesterday. An investigation has…
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Phuket’s Tiger Group roars back at MP Chuwit’s allegations
PHUKET: A representative of Phuket’s Tiger Group of entertainment and nightlife venues has publicly lashed out against the allegations made by controversial MP Chuwit Kamolvisit.The entertainment group is even considering legal action, said Thamrongsak Boonrak, legal counselor to the Tiger Group management.The threat of legal action follows Kathu Police yesterday afternoon conducting surprise raids of businesses run by the Tiger…
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Phuket’s new incinerator online “by May’
PHUKET’s second trash incinerator at the Saphan Hin facility is almost fully complete and is expected to be operational by May.Prachum Suriya, chief of the Phuket City Municipality Environment Office, told the Gazette that construction of the second waste incinerator is now 95 per cent complete.“The remaining five percent includes office accommodation and surrounding environment. At present, the staff is…
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Community Enterprise Phuket street market under way
PHUKET: A three-day street market featuring items produced under the Ministry of Agriculture’s “Small and Micro Community Enterprise” (SMCE) program will taking place in Phuket Town started at 2:30pm today. Kanda Pantong of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Phuket Office (DOAE-Phuket) in Phuket Town told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that the street market would start with an address by Phuket…
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Phuket Boat Show seeing robust crowds and developing sales
PHUKET: Asia’s leading consumer Boat Show, the Phuket International Marine Expo (PIMEX), opened with US$250 million (THB 7.5 billion) of boats on display, ranging in price from US$80,000 (THB 2.4 million) up to US$14 million (THB 420 million), the largest being the 92-foot Pershing presented by Ferretti Group. Attending PIMEX for the first time was Robert Braithwaite, Founder and President…
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Thai teen makes a splash in Phuket dive community
PHUKET: A 15-year-old Thai girl has set her sights on becoming one of the youngest Thai Dive Masters in the world, having already completed 55 dives. Nicole Christin-Hartmann attends Satree Phuket School, but in her free time she has been racking up dive experience with Nick Fawcus-Robinson of ScubaNicks. Already she has completed her PADI Openwater, Advanced and Rescue Diver…
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Phuket Gazette: Good news for US economy; Texas executes baby killer; Another dead Russian in a suitcase
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. jobless claims lowest since in four years Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Initial claims for unemployment insurance in the United States dropped to 359,000 in the week ending March 24, which is the lowest in four years, the U.S. Labor Department (DOL) reported yesterday.The DOL report…
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Greater Phuket healthcare advances with Krabi’s first international hospital
PHUKET: Phuket’s Andaman neighbors in Krabi province will soon be able to take advantage of superior healthcare facilities when the long-awaited Krabi Nakharin International Hospital finally opens its doors later this year. The private hospital, located on Pisalpop Road in Tambon Pak Nam, is nearing completion and due to welcome its first patients in the second quarter of 2012. The…
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US Embassy calls for American expats in Phuket to register to vote
PHUKET: Expat Americans in Phuket and the rest of the world are reminded that it is necessary to re-register for their voting rights. In accordance with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act) it is necessary for American citizens to re-register to prevent themselves from being purged from the voter rolls in their state. “In 2009, the Congress…
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Phuket scam artists boost another 14 cars
PHUKET: Following the recovery of 17 stolen cars from a “car pawn yard” in Nakhon Sri Thammarat earlier this week, a host of Phuket car rental agents gathered late last night to highlight the extent of scam operation. Collectively, the group claim that at least 14 more cars have been stolen by the alleged scam artists, identified as Sukanya Janthanarak…
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Phuket pyre flames B182mn of pirated goods
PHUKET: The Phuket Town incinerator today flamed counterfeit products valued at more than 182 million baht as part of the Intellectual Property Department’s crackdown on copyright infringement across the country.A total of 79,524 items seized by officers of Provincial Police Region 8 and 9, as well as the Regional Customs Bureau 4, were destroyed in the incinerator.“Intellectual property infringement is…
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Something fishy going on at Phuket docks
PHUKET: Tired and angry over the stench and pollution causing serious health problems and driving away business from a local shipyard, a group of dockside residents in Rassada yesterday morning filed a complaint against a Phuket fish-meal factory. The group of about 20, all from a small community along the banks of Klong Tha Jeen in Rassada Village 7, gathered…
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Phuket hookahs feel the squeeze
PHUKET: Police raided three hookah bars Tuesday night as worries mount that flavored tobaccos are becoming a gateway drug for Phuket youths. “Baraku [hookah] smoking is now popular among teenagers, and its use is spreading to more nightlife entertainment venues,” said Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, who led the raids. “This habit must be stopped, so teenagers will not be…
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Phuket Gazette: 22 busted in scam; 4 Thais to be released; BT6,500 each to party
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 22 held in scam Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A gang that operated a fake call center and lured foreigners into transferring money into its bank accounts was busted yesterday. The gang was based in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province. All 22 suspects arrested were either Chinese…
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Phuket Police name bomb target as wanted drug kingpin
PHUKET: The target of the bomb attack in Phuket late last night was wanted by police in Phang Nga, who named him as a drug kingpin whose gang was rounded up in Khok Kloy Police District in October last year. The bomb attack was the top topic of conversation at the previously-scheduled monthly security meeting chaired by Phuket Vice Governor…
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Phuket AMCHAM/PR Network to hold Sports Destination Tourism Seminar
PHUKET: A panel of leading experts will conduct a session on the high velocity potential of Sports Tourism and its impact on Brand Phuket at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club’s (TSLC) ‘The View’ on May 24. Among those giving presentations will be Debbie Dionysius, Assistant Vice President of Destination Marketing at Laguna Phuket, who will discuss how the success of…
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FC Phuket skin the ‘Swat Cats’
PHUKET: FC Phuket bagged their first victory of the TPL Yamaha Division One League season against the Korat FC “Swat Cats” in a heated away match last night in Nakhon Ratchasima province. The only goal came on 29 minutes when K-league import Kim Wonsup’s corner was met by Watcharapong Jun-ngam’s glancing downward header that beat Korat’s keeper Narong Wisetsri at…
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Pineapple protest to block Bangkok-Phuket highway
PHUKET: Phuket residents planning a weekend road trip to Bangkok might want to start the journey today, as thousands of pineapple farmers in Prachuap Khiri Khan have announced they will stage a full road blockage on Phetkasem Highway tomorrow.The farmers, about 7,800 of them, said they will block a key stretch of Southern Thailand’s main north-south artery – and stay…
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Firebomb blasts rock Phuket housing estate
PHUKET: Two explosions left one man injured, a dog dead and caused extensive property damage in a late-night firebomb attack in a Phuket housing estate early this morning. Thalang Police were at 12:20am notified of two explosions in the Bo Din housing estate, located near the TOT office on Ban Don Road in Thepkrasattri Village 1. At the scene, they…
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Phuket Gazette: ASEAN business news
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. exports to China reach historic US$203.9 billion in 2011 Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) yesterday released its annual report on U.S. State Exports to China for 2011, showing that it surpassed US200 billion for the first time in history.…
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Phuket Gazette: Taliban use child in bombing; Captain goes nuts; US$500 million mega jackpot
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Officials: Taliban used child to carry out Afghan suicide attack Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: A suicide bombing which injured five people in southern Afghanistan earlier this week was carried out by a child, the Australian Department of Defense said yesterday. The Taliban previously claimed…
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Phuket police probe recovers 17 stolen cars
PHUKET: An investigation by Phuket Police has led to the recovery of 17 stolen cars from a warehouse in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, including several from car rental agencies based in Phuket.Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Boonlert Onklang told the Phuket Gazette that he initially received two theft complaints filed by car rental agency owners Pattarisiri Manokham and Boonying Thonglor.The owners had…
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Phuket driver comes unstuck, hits tree
PHUKET: A man driving from Saphan Hin toward Phuket Town this morning crashed his pickup truck into a tree in front of the Phuket Marine Police Station.Phuket City Police were informed of the accident at 6:39am and quickly dispatched officers along with members of the Phuket Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation.Arriving at the scene, they found a Krabi-registered Mitsubishi pickup truck stopped…
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Phuket Area News: Gang hacks off tourist’s thumb in bag snatch
PHUKET:Krabi Police arrested three teenagers and one 20-year-old yesterday after a gang cut off a German woman’s thumb during an early-morning bag snatch in Krabi Town, across Phang-nga Bay from Phuket.Muang District Police Deputy Superintendent Chatchawan Ninchan said Hanna Zerlaut and Sina Maureen Beckert, both 21, were attacked while walking along Chaofa Road in Tambon Paknam, Krabi Town, at about…
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Phuket Immigration to close for holidays
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town will be closed for five days in April to observe a series of public holidays. The Phuket Immigration Volunteers today issued a notice that the office will be closed on: Friday, April 6 – Chakri Memorial Day Monday, April 9 – Public Holiday to observe the Royal Funeral for Her Royal Highness…
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Phuket Andaman News: Police raid illegal Phang Nga logging camp
PHUKET: A mass raid on an illegal logging camp on Monday by more than 20 Border Patrol Police officers resulted in 13 felled trees and more than 100 logs being seized.The raid, led by Phang Nga Governor Thumrong Charoenkul, was instigated by a complaint that illegal logging was being conducted at the hillside site, in Khao Krata Thong, in Phang…
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Speed cameras, booze buses in Phuket for Songkran
PHUKET: Speed cameras are expected to be installed across Phuket in time for the Thai New Year Songkran festival next month, and nightlife venue operators will be asked to provide transportation home for drunken patrons. The news was announced by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Peerayut Karajedee yesterday. “The budget request for 17 million baht to acquire and install radar…
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Phuket Gazette: Massive BMW auto recall; Osama bin Laden cited for Bali bombing
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community BMW recalls 1.3 million vehicles worldwide Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: German automaker BMW AG yesterday issued a recall for approximately 1.3 million vehicles worldwide due to a problem with the battery cable cover.The vehicle company said it would be recalling all BMW 5 and 6 Series…
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Phuket Poll: China offers highest tourism growth potential
PHUKET: The Chinese market holds the highest growth potential for the Phuket tourism industry, according to the results of the latest Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll. A total of 358 readers took part in the poll, which ran from March 8 until Saturday morning. Readers were asked, “Which of the following inbound markets holds the highest growth potential for the Phuket…
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Phuket Gazette: Owen’s return; F1 for Thailand; AFC champions
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ferguson says returning Owen can help United push for the title Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A fit-again Michael Owen could play a key role in Manchester United’s push for the Premier League title, according to manager Sir Alex Ferguson.The 32-year-old striker is on the verge of…
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