News
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Man killed in Phuket defending shoes
PHUKET: A man was killed after allegedly attempting to defend his shoes from a thief in Phuket this morning. “Neighbors told us that Niwat Linooi, 24, caught someone trying to take his shoes from in front of his home and allegedly punched the thief,” said Lt Col Suchart Meelampong of the Phuket City Police. The man then supposedly called out…
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North Korea sentences U.S. student to hard labour; Washington condemns punishment
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community North Korea sentences U.S. student to hard labour; Washington condemns punishment Phuket Gazette / Reuters SEOUL: North Korea’s supreme court sentenced American student Otto Warmbier, who was arrested while visiting the country, to 15 years of hard labor on Wednesday for crimes against the state, a…
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Trump warns of riots, pulls plug on Republican presidential debate
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Trump warns of riots, pulls plug on Republican presidential debate Phuket Gazette / Reuters PALM BEACH: Florida, U.S. Republican front-runner Donald Trump warned on Wednesday of riots if he is denied the party’s presidential nomination and pulled the plug on a scheduled debate among candidates, raising…
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Fortuner driver cleared of hit-and-run charges
PHUKET: Police cleared a suspected hit-and-run driver of any involvement in the accident that killed one and injured two in Wichit on Monday morning (story here). Witnesses told officers that a Toyota Fortuner of an unknown color was heading toward Phuket Town when it struck Narakorn Onthong, 30, and Pa Yasamut, 54, before crossing lanes and fatally injuring 17-year-old Sittichai…
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Jungceylon security guard returns tourist’s lost cash
PHUKET: A forgetful tourist in Patong was lucky to have a big wad of cash returned to him on Monday after leaving an envelope containing 350,000 baht at the Jungceylon shopping center. The abandoned cash was found by Madae Mateha, a security guard working at the mall. “Ms Madae found the envelope in a shopping cart near the elevator on…
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Krabi kratom thief found dead near tree
KRABI: Police have not ruled out foul play in the death of an unidentified man who was found dead in Krabi yesterday. Police found the shirtless body of the man lying on the ground, clutching kratom leaves in his hand, near an empty bungalow in Khlong Thom. “We believe the man received a fatal electric shock, as about two meters…
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Police kill gunman in Brussels siege linked to Paris attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police kill gunman in Brussels siege linked to Paris attacks Phuket Gazette / Reuters BRUSSELS: Belgian police killed a gunman after several officers were wounded on Tuesday in a raid on a Brussels apartment linked to investigating November’s Islamist attacks in Paris, public broadcaster RTBF said.…
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Argentina sinks Chinese trawler fishing illegally
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Argentina sinks Chinese trawler fishing illegally Phuket Gazette / Reuters BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s coast guard has sunk a Chinese trawler that was fishing illegally within its territorial waters, the coast guard said on Tuesday, marking a first test for relations between President Mauricio Macri and Beijing.…
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Police seize knock-off goods worth B500,000 in Patong
PHUKET: Officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) seized pirated goods worth 500,000 baht at a market stall in Patong on Monday night. Acting on a tip-off, ECD and Patong police officers discovered fake brand-name products being sold at a stall in Baan Thai Market, said ECD Maj Apichat Amornpradit. “The stall was selling counterfeit glasses, shirts, bags and…
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Property Watch: Less is more for Koh Samui
PHUKET: We live in a world where percentages seem to matter and growth dominates our horizon. I still recall growing up and marking off on a wall in our house how tall I was. I could not wait to be older, and the irony today is how I wish that I could instead roll back the clock. In Phuket’s crowded…
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Phuket property management firm shrugs off “military threats’
PHUKET: Unhappy foreign tenants will be filing an official letter of complaint with the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) and the Army as they battle a property management company on the island. The move follows the tenants allegedly bringing representatives of the DSI and Army onto the property to ‘resolve’ the dispute with the company. “If we were to receive…
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Last toothfish poaching vessel of ‘Bandit 6’ sunk
PHUKET: Authorities in Indonesia have sunk the last of the ‘Bandit 6’ toothfish-poaching vessels, the Viking. Sea Shepherd representatives were on the ground to film the sinking of Viking, which marked the end of over a decade of toothfish poaching in the Southern Ocean at the hands of the Bandit 6, and the conclusion of Sea Shepherd’s Operation Icefish 2015-16.…
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Open your heart and home to a soi puppy, kitten or cat
PHUKET: Start sorting out your documents and make some more room in that big heart, because the Soi Dog Foundation is holding an adoptions event at its shelter in Mai Khao between 9am-noon on March 19. The event will focus on puppies, kittens and cats. “Right now the shelter is bursting at the seams with puppies and cats. There are…
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Sea gypsy assault case headed to Phuket prosecutor
PHUKET: Police say they will hand over the sea gypsy assault case to the Phuket public prosecutor this week. More than 30 Rawai sea gypsies were injured in a violent confrontation with private investors from Baron World Trade Co Ltd in January (story here). Six suspects allegedly involved in the attack have surrendered and been released on bail (story here).…
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Phuket police hunt hit-and-run truck driver
PHUKET: Police are hunting a truck driver who ran over two men on a motorcycle, killing one and critically injuring the other, near the underpass at the Central Festival Phuket intersection this morning. “At the scene, there were two victims lying in the road and a badly damaged motorbike nearby,” said Lt Patcharee Wongboon of the Wichit Police. “Witnesses said…
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Phuket welcomes new acting marine chief
PHUKET: The new acting chief of the Phuket Marine Office has been named as Surachai Burapanontachai. Mr Surachai was transferred from the Samut Songkhram Marine Office where he served as its chief, to fill the position left open by former Phuket Marine Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut, who was transferred to Nonthaburi on February 26 (story here). “I am glad to be…
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Four Breitbart journalists quit after alleged Trump rally assault
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four Breitbart journalists quit after alleged Trump rally assault Phuket Gazette / Reuters United States: Two reporters and two editors from Breitbart News resigned to protest how the conservative website handled an alleged assault last week on one of the reporters by a senior aide to…
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Congo militias kill two rangers in park for mountain gorillas
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Congo militias kill two rangers in park for mountain gorillas Phuket Gazette / Reuters KINSHASA: Militia groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have killed two park rangers in one of the world’s last sanctuaries for the endangered mountain gorilla, the park said on Monday. A…
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PM boosts security in south after attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM boosts security in south after attacks Phuket Gazette / Reuters NARATHIWAT: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha told the army on Monday to increase security in the southern provinces following attacks over the weekend. Seven soldiers were injured following multiple gun and bomb attacks in Narathiwat,…
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Dengue claims life of 9-year-old Krabi girl
KRABI: A nine-year-old Krabi girl died from dengue fever in Trang on Saturday after being hospitalized for four days. The parents of Kanyanat Noochaikaew, from Lam Thap district, expressed their grief and disbelief at her funeral yesterday. “We can’t possibly express how heartbroken we are. We never thought our family would face such a fate,” said her father Thavorn Noochaikaew.…
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Opinion: Travelling at light speed
Sirigate Apirat is the project secretary of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTPP). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Ramkhamhaeng University and has been serving as an analyst at the OTPP since 1995. Here he talks about the issues and benefits of the proposed light rail system on Phuket. PHUKET: Phuket’s light rail…
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Registration open for Phuket Criterium 2016
PHUKET: Saddle up for the 2016 Phuket Criterium; a day of pedal-powered street racing to be held at Saphan Hin on April 23. Last year’s inaugural event was a huge success, attracting more than 300 cyclists (story here). This year, the organizers have expanded the race categories to welcome participants of all ages and abilities with categories for fixed-gear bikes,…
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Petition launched to stop wild animal exploitation in Thailand’s tourist spots
PHUKET: Phuket-based animal welfare organization the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) has launched an online petition to get the Prime Minister’s backing to put a stop to wild animals being used in the tourist trade in the region and other tourist destinations in Thailand. The campaign, ‘Stop the Killing and Exploitation of Wild Animals for Tourism’, was launched yesterday. “We…
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Taxi passengers recovering after fatal crash on Phuket bypass road
PHUKET: Three passengers travelling in a taxi that collided with a crane on the bypass road on Saturday are recovering in hospital and expected to be discharged later this week. Police are still investigating the circumstances of the collision, which resulted in the death of the taxi driver (story here). The three Chinese passengers, each of them aged 25 years…
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Nok Air announces more flight cancellations
PHUKET: Nok Air is cancelling an additional 56 flights per day until March 26, according to Ampawan Wannako, deputy director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation. The company has submitted a notice to the department, blaming the cancellations on a shortage of pilots. The budget airline earlier said it would resume all cancelled flights from Friday onwards, after it had…
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Australia ‘deeply concerned’ over arrest of journalists in Malaysia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australia ‘deeply concerned’ over arrest of journalists in Malaysia Phuket Gazette / Reuters CANBERRA: Australia is deeply concerned over the arrest of two Australian journalists in Malaysia after they attempted to question Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over corruption allegations, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on…
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Second car bomb in a month kills 32 in Turkish capital Ankara
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second car bomb in a month kills 32 in Turkish capital Ankara Phuket Gazette / Reuters ANKARA: A car bomb tore through a crowded transport hub in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Sunday, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125 in the second such attack…
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Feadship’s Asian market blooming
PHUKET: Well ahead of the incredibly successful inaugural Thailand Yacht Show (TYS), Feadship Royal Dutch Shipbuilders were making superyacht waves while expanding into the the Asian region. “At this moment, Feadship is building multiple yachts in different sizes and in different models for Asian and Asia-based clients. The product and the brand appeals to the most discerning yachtsmen in the…
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Eight killed, seven injured at SCB head office in Bangkok
BANGKOK: At least eight people were killed and seven injured in a freak accident at the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) head office in Bangkok last night. The incident, which was initially thought to be a fire or gas cylinder explosion, was announced to be a fault in the fire extinguishing system in an emergency press statement released by the bank…
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Superyacht crew member killed in anchoring accident
PHUKET: A crew member on the superyacht Ocean Victory was fatally injured yesterday in a freak accident as the ship was anchoring off Koh Tachai in the Similan Islands archipelago. The Bulgarian national was reportedly caught up in a chain mechanism while the 140-meter superyacht was weighing anchor at about 2pm. The 33-year-old man sustained massive injuries to both his…
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