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Helmetless motorcyclist dead after hitting pick-up truck
PHUKET: A motorcyclist was killed after colliding with the back of pick-up truck in rush-hour traffic on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday afternoon. “I was on the way home after having picked up my child. We were about to make a u-turn when I heard something slam into the back of the truck,” said Hathairat Songyot, 39. Ms Hathairat called police, who…
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Russia rejects FIFA plea to cut World Cup venues
PHUKT: Russia has rejected a FIFA recommendation to cut the number of host cities for the 2018 World Cup from 11 to nine and stadiums from 12 to 10, according to Russia sports minister Vitaly Mutko. “The plan that we will have 12 stadiums in 11 cities, which will host matches at the World Cup is not changing,” Mutko told…
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Atletico’s Garcia earns Super Cup draw at Real Madrid
PHUKET: Atletico Madrid’s Raul Garcia netted a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup first leg on Tuesday after substitute James Rodriguez had opened the scoring with 10 minutes left. Colombian Rodriguez, who came on for the injured Cristiano Ronaldo at halftime, thought he had won the game when he slotted the…
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AMLO seized more than Bt9 billion in 15 years
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AMLO seized more than Bt9 billion in 15 years The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pol Colonel Seehanat Prayoonrat, secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), said at an event marking AMLO’s 15th anniversary yesterday that the agency had so far confiscated up to Bt9.7 billion…
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Gaza truce collapses, fighting erupts, Israel orders negotiators home
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gaza truce collapses, fighting erupts, Israel orders negotiators home Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip collapsed on Tuesday, with Palestinian militants firing rockets into Israel, prompting Israeli air strikes that health officials said killed a woman and a young girl. Accusing…
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NCPO chief Prayuth invited to take the Ice Bucket Challenge
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO chief Prayuth invited to take the Ice Bucket Challenge The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The “Ice Bucket Challenge” fund-raising activity has gone viral in social media, to the extent that even junta chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has been challenged to take the plunge. Surabot…
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Islamic State says beheads U.S. journalist, holds another
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Islamic State says beheads U.S. journalist, holds another Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Islamic State insurgents released a video on Tuesday purportedly showing the beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley, who had gone missing in Syria nearly two years ago, and images of another U.S. journalist…
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Phuket national park land encroachment hearing reveals two claims for same plot
PHUKET: A total of 47 people today explained to the Navy how they came to possess plots of land deemed to be inside Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. Present at the meeting to hear the explanations was Commander Pornprom Sakultem of the Third Naval Area Command. One attendee, Tawee Ngerndee, told Cmd Pornprom that he “used to own” just over 10…
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Officials confident 700 rai of Phuket park land to be returned
PHUKET: More than 700 rai of public land inside Sirinath National Park could be returned to the public by September 16 if a dozen land documents under investigation by the Land Department are found to have been illegally issued. “I am quite confident that most of the [12] documents [under investigation] were illegally issued. We are just waiting for officers…
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Phuket’s first underpass opens as construction continues
PHUKET: The 600-million-baht underpass located beside the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall is now open to northbound vehicles, Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. The underpass was opened on Saturday from 10am to noon and then opened to traffic again today after it was determined that the road surface for northbound traffic at ground…
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Phuket official assures Patong kingpin not above the law
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Sayan Chanachaiwong has vowed that the sandbags in front of the Patong Bay Garden Resort will be removed from the beach, or resort owner and Patong kingpin Preechavude “Prab” Keesin, son of former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, will have to answer to the military. Mr Sayan, accompanied by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, Patong Mayor Chalermluck…
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Bangkok clinic closed amid surrogacy probe
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bangkok clinic closed amid surrogacy probe The Nation/ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police yesterday raided and suspended obstetrics and gynaecology services at a Lat Phrao clinic for 60 days pending investigation into reports that it provided surrogacy.The clinic allegedly provided services to 1,000 Thai and foreign customers…
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Infant killed by ATM shock laid to rest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Infant killed by ATM shock laid to rest The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The two-year-old girl killed by a short-circuit at an ATM in Trang province was buried yesterday, though police say they have yet to charge anybody. The burial ceremony was held at Wat…
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Ancient human remains unearthed in Krabi, WWII shipwreck found off Chumphon
PHUKET: Ancient human bones have been unearthed along with clay pots believed to be up to 5,000 years old in Khao Na Wang Mi in Krabi, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. Following the discovery of the bones in a cliff area in Thap Prik, north of Krabi Town, the Phuket-based 15th Archaeology Office director Riam Phumpongphaet said the office…
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Hotel association believes junta’s beach crackdown will lure tourists back
PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is encouraged to continue improving the public image of attractions across the country in a bid to draw more tourists in the coming high season. “More major tourist destinations such as Pattaya and Bang Saen in Chon Buri, the city of Chiang Mai, Koh Samui in Surat Thani, Koh Chang in…
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Mourinho hopes Cech stays despite losing Chelsea spot
PHUKET: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he hoped goalkeeper Petr Cech will stay loyal to the club despite losing the starting spot to Belgian Thibaut Courtois. Courtois, 22, who has returned to Chelsea from a successful loan spell with Atletico Madrid, was Mourinho’s choice for the club’s Premier League opener on Monday, a 3-1 win at Burnley. Cech has been…
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Prayuth vows 2015 budget won’t burden country, will boost economy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO aims to avoid budget debt The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha told the National Legislative Assembly yesterday the proposed budget would not leave problems or debt for the country in the long run – as he would only be in power…
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Liberia hunts escaped Ebola victims as WHO calls for controls
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Liberia hunts escaped Ebola victims as WHO calls for controls Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Liberia struggled on Monday to track down 17 suspected Ebola carriers who fled quarantine at the weekend, while the U.N. health agency urged affected West African nations to screen all departures…
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Missouri curfew lifted as National Guard called in
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Missouri governor lifts Ferguson curfew as National Guard called in Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon lifted the curfew for the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on Monday and began deploying National Guard troops to help quell days of rioting and looting spurred…
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Scores of alleged Phuket mafia taxi drivers shuffle into court
PHUKET: The first 70 of 108 Phuket taxi drivers facing charges for alleged involvement in the taxi mafia appeared in court for their preliminary hearing today. Those unable to fit in the court room were told that they would be seen by the court in early-September. The defendants, some of whom denied the charges, were arrested during a historic, island-wide…
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Phuket man stabs relative over a bottle of whiskey
PHUKET: A 19-year-old man wanted for stabbing a relative late last night over 500 baht to buy a bottle of whiskey is expected to surrender to police tomorrow, the Phuket Gazette was told today. When Thalang Police arrived at the house near the Heroines’ Monument about 30 minutes past midnight, the stabbing suspect had fled the scene. His relative, however,…
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Officers inspect Phuket waterfall area for encroachment
PHUKET: An investigation squad yesterday inspected developed areas allegedly encroaching on the protected forest area surrounding the Wang Kee Aon Waterfall in the hills of Patong, one of the places HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej visited on a trip to Phuket in 1959. The team, composing Royal Forest Department (RFD) officers and Navy personnel, were following up on complaints from Patong…
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Chinese tourists receive warm welcome at Phuket International Airport
PHUKET: Phuket officials held an impressive welcoming ceremony this weekend for the first wave of Chinese tourists to visit the island under a free, 90-day visa campaign. The campaign, which will be in effect from August 9 to November 8, was launched in the hopes of recovering from a nationwide 30 per cent decrease in inbound travellers from China and…
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Numbers for Phuket’s popular visa run to Ranong nose dive
PHUKET: Bookings for Phuket’s renowned “Ranong visa run” have plunged by as much as half, a fall that is threatening the once-daily service that has become a hallmark experience for many expats on the island. The number of people attempting to re-enter Thailand at Ranong has dropped by about 50 per cent, popular Phuket visa run companies and Ranong immigration…
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Phuket’s Club Med giving green to Kata
PHUKET: The five rai of Phuket public land returned to the Kata-Karon community when Club Med was given a new lease on life on August 11 will be developed into a public park. “Representatives of the public and Club Med decided that the best way to use the land will be to develop a green space where everyone can exercise…
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UK police say migrants found in shipping container are Afghan Sikhs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UK police say migrants found in shipping container are Afghan Sikhs Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police said on Sunday that 35 people discovered in a shipping container at a British port were Afghan Sikhs and that survivors would be questioned about how they came to…
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Park wins LPGA Championship in playoff
PHUKET: Park Inbee of South Korea won the LPGA Championship in a sudden death playoff against Catriona Matthew of Britain on Sunday, giving her victories in the first two women’s major championships of the year. Park won on the third hole of the playoff at Locust Hill Country Club outside Rochester, New York, with a birdie on the par-four 18th…
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Federer downs Ferrer to capture sixth Cincinnati title
PHUKET: Roger Federer’s hopes of adding to his record grand slam haul got a boost as he beat Spain’s David Ferrer 6-3 1-6 6-2 to win the Western and Southern Open title in Cincinnati on Sunday in the last key U.S. Open tune-up event. It marked the sixth Cincinnati title for the Swiss second seed and, coming off last week’s…
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Missouri under curfew to stave off more riots after black teen shot by police
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Curfew in Missouri staves off more riots where black teen shot by police Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Authorities on Sunday imposed a midnight curfew for the second night a row in the tense St. Louis suburb where an unarmed black teen was shot to death…
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Heavy rain brings Phuket morning traffic at Tesco junction to a crawl
PHUKET: Heavy rain caused flooding and slowed traffic to a crawl at Tesco-Lotus intersection early this morning. The intersection was deluged with knee-deep flood water causing long tailbacks along the by pass road. The underpass construction site at the intersection, where excavation is already well underway, was also flooded. However, Chalermpol Wongkiattikun, head of construction at the Tesco junction site,…
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