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New Etihad Phuket airlink opens gateway to Europe
PHUKET: The new weekly direct flights between Phuket and Abu Dhabi, and on to Germany, launched last month by United Arab Emirates (UAE) national carrier Etihad Airways have transformed the UAE into a portal for European tourists traveling to and from Phuket and the rest of Asia. The new service was launched on April 15 after Etihad inked a cooperation…
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FC Phuket host Airforce United tonight at Surakul Stadium, new president to be announced
PHUKET: FC PHUKET are looking to get their first home win of the season this evening against Airforce United FC. Kickoff is set for 6:30pm. Going into the 10th weekend of league play, Phuket are now in 17th place of the 18-team Thai Yamaha 1 league with one win, five draws and three losses. Their opponents, the Airforce United “Blue…
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French tourist drowns as Phuket surf danger season begins
PHUKET: One tourist has drowned and a Thai woman narrowly escaped a similar tragedy after being caught in strong surf on Phuket’s west coast this afternoon. Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club team at Kata-Karon, told the Phuket Gazette that a lifeguard pulled a Thai woman, aged about 30, from the surf in front of Karon Circle at…
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Phuket’s Bangla street touts warned: “Hands off tourists’
PHUKET: Patong Police have warned touts plying Phuket’s renowned Soi Bangla that they are not to touch tourists whilst soliciting. “And they are not to drink alcohol while they are working,” said Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat. Lt Col Akanit explained to the Phuket Gazette that the new rules for working the streets of Patong are the orders of…
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Phuket hotel receptionist denies raping tourist
PHUKET: The Phuket resort receptionist charged with raping a German tourist has denied the police allegation, saying the incident was of “mutual consent”. Sakchai Thongseedam, a reception staffer at the Centara Karon Resort Phuket, was charged by Chalong Police after a German woman in her 20s staying at the resort filed a complaint yesterday. The woman, whose name is being…
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Phuket takes drug war to the coffee shop
PHUKET: In a marked departure from the usual line in tackling drugs on the island, Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada yesterday took time out to sit down with local village leaders and discuss the drug problem over a cup of coffee. Joined by Col Jirasak Siemsak of Cherng Talay Police Station and Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) Vice President…
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Hanging on jugs at Krabi Rock and Fire Climbing Comp 2012
PHUKET: The karst topography and stunning beach-side limestone edifices of Krabi once again played host to the Krabi Rock and Fire International Contest on April 28 and 29. The 2012 event, organized by the Krabi Rock Climbing Club and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, is designed to highlight Railey and Ton Sai as world-class rock climbing destinations. The contest was…
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Phuket readies for Phuket Games 2012
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa today opened a “coordination center” to act as an information kiosk and souvenir shop for the Thailand National Youth Games 2012, dubbed the “Phuket Games 2012”. An estimated 14,000 athletes, fans, spectators, supporters and coaching staff expected to arrive in Phuket during the coming week for the event, which will run from May 26…
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Phuket tourists left to save themselves from dangerous surf
PHUKET: Beach vendors have expressed their fears that it is only a matter of time before someone drowns at Phuket’s popular Nai Harn Beach, as distressed tourists are seen daily in the strong surf. “Since April, Thais and foreigners who regularly hang out at Nai Harn Beach, such as surfers, have often had to go out and save people who…
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Two accidents on Thepkrasattri Road as bad weather hits Phuket
PHUKET: Although the adverse weather is not thought to have directly caused either accident, it may well have been a factor in at least one of the two accidents that occurred along Phuket’s notorious Thepkrasattri Road yesterday.The first incident, shortly after midnight, involved a modified Isuzu D-Max pickup which struck an electricity pole on Thepkrasattri Road in the vicinity of…
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Heavy rains prompt Phuket flood, landslide warning
PHUKET: While the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) today upgraded its “heavy rain warning” for Phuket and the Andaman coast to a flood caution, the Phuket provincial office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) has issued a flood warning for risk areas across the island “We sent the warning letter to every local administration yesterday, warning of possible…
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Phuket sports: Bang Jo boys bring it home
PHUKET: Youth futsal teams comprised of boys from Bang Jo and Cherng Talay on the North of the Phuket came in second and forth place at the Honda Super Cup Futsal Championship recently. The teams qualified for the tournament after winning at Nai Yang, Patong and Kathu. Bang Jo United’s ‘Under 11 years old’ (u11) Team A was awarded a…
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Phuket lifeguards likely back on duty “by Monday’
PHUKET: The Phuket Lifeguard Club has submitted an offer to restore lifeguard services at Phuket’s key tourist beaches, an offer that is likely to be agreed to by Monday, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The news comes after two rounds of offers by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) to receive applications to provide the services. Both rounds failed to…
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Phuket Gazette: Soyuz spacecraft launches successfully to join ISS
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Soyuz spacecraft launches successfully to join ISSPhuket Gazette / News WiresThe Soyuz spacecraft launched from a facility in Kazakhstan yesterday morning to carry three new members of Expedition 31 to the International Space Station (ISS).They replace three astronauts who returned to Earth last month.The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft…
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Weather warning for Phuket, Andaman coast
PHUKET: With heavy downpours causing traffic tailbacks and minor flooding across Phuket roads this morning, the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued a “Heavy Weather Warning” covering Phuket and other provinces along the Andaman coast. The warning, issued at 5:03am, explained, “The ridge of high pressure area covers upper northeastern Thailand and the moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman…
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PHUKET GEM HEIST: B5mn in jewelry still missing
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul this afternoon confirmed that 173 items have yet to be recovered from the jewelry and gem heist in Phuket yesterday morning, despite police having three foreigners in custody. The missing valuables are estimated to be worth about 5 million baht, he told a press conference at Phuket City Police Station today. Presented to…
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No drugs, no phones, Phuket Prison to gain ‘White’ status
PHUKET: Phuket Prison is to be awarded “White Prison” status after regular inspections of the provincial detention facility declared it free from drugs and illegal mobile phones. Department of Corrections Deputy Director General (Administration) Somsak Rangsiyopas announced the news at Phuket Prison yesterday at the opening ceremony of a scout training program for young inmates. “We have had many inspections…
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Police arrest three foreigners for B30mn jewelry heist
PHUKET: Police have arrested four people in connection with the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry in Phuket yesterday morning while they were heading for the Malaysian border. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the suspects were arrested by Trang Highway Police officers at a checkpoint in Sikao District, in Trang province. The…
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Phuket Election: Aroon Solos re-elected Rawai Mayor
PHUKET: According to preliminary results of the local election yesterday in Rawai, at the southern end of Phuket, Aroon Solos has been re-elected Mayor of Rawai Municipality. The preliminary count gave Mr Aroon with 3,715 votes, said Kittipong Thiengkunagrit, director of the Phuket Election Commission. Mr Aroon’s only opponent, Yutthana Jundee, garnered 1,972 votes. Just over 60 per cent of…
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Phuket Sports: FC Phuket in southern stalemate
FC Phuket played Southern regional rivals Phatthalung FC, which ended in a 1-1 draw, in a heated match last night in Phatthalung Town. Following a tense yet scoreless first half, Phatthalung’s leading scorer Siwapong Jarersin broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half, his sixth of the season. Phuket answered seven minutes later with a strike by Thawadech Aunthong…
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Phuket Red Shirt Village rally just a “test’, says local leader
PHUKET: One of the men named responsible for organizing a red-shirt rally near Nai Yang Beach yesterday has denied any intent of establishing a “red-shirt village” in Phuket. The true aim was to determine how many people would protest against such a rally, said Surin Yotharak, a local village leader in Tambon Sakoo, the subdistrict immediately south of Phuket International…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket Police launch manhunt for three foreigners in B30mn jewelry heist
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has received confirmed reports that police have launched a manhunt for three foreign men who carried out a smash-and-grab robbery of about 30 million baht in jewelry this morning. The three men allegedly smashed the windows of a Toyota Avanza parked behind the Big C supercenter on the bypass road at 9:45am with an umbrella and…
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Phuket discount products fair to counter rising prices
PHUKET: In a bid to offer some relief from the spiralling cost of living in Phuket, the Phuket Provincial Cooperatives Office is holding a “discount products fair” in front of its offices in Phuket Town. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak yesterday officiated the opening of the week-long fair on Damrong Road, in the old government quarter of the town around…
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Poll: Will Bang Khu underpass project improve Phuket traffic?
PHUKET: The final design for the 450-million-baht underpass at the Bang Khu Intersection in Koh Kaew has been approved. Although Thepkrasattri Road will be widened to eight lanes in the area, southbound traffic will still have to wait at a stop light before accessing the bypass road. In our new poll, the Phuket Gazette asks readers how this project will…
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Phuket joins Andaman fight against coastal erosion
PHUKET: Phuket has joined an Andaman-wide project spearheaded by the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Haad Yai Campus to combat coastal erosion throughout the region. At the recent sea gypsy Loy Reua ceremony at Laem Tukkae last weekend, newly-elected Rassada Mayor Phudit Raksaraj explained to the Phuket Gazette that Rassada Municipality was working with the PSU Haad Yai Campus and…
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Phuket Town power cables going underground
PHUKET: Phase two of the project to remove the unsightly cables that have been obscuring the classic Sino-Portuguese shopfronts along the streets of Old Phuket Town for decades continues today as workers pull down the power poles along Deebuk Road. The removal of the power poles on Deebuk Road today follows the removal of overhead power cables and the corresponding…
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Phuket authorities call for peaceful red-shirt rally on Sunday
PHUKET: With concerns of 500 members arriving to join the red-shirt rally in Phuket on Sunday, and at least 1,500 yellow-shirt supporters staging a mass rally at Phuket Provincial Hall at the same time, Phuket authorities yesterday called for both sides to respect each other group’s democratic rights and to not engage in any conflict. The news came at a…
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“Minute man’ robber makes off with B19k at gunpoint
PHUKET: A man masked by a motorbike helmet robbed a Family Mart store in Chalong at gunpoint early this morning, making off with more than 19,000 baht in less than a minute. Phuket Police believe the man is responsible for at least two other gunpoint robberies of 24-hour convenience stores carried out in the past week, one in Patong and…
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Pheu Thai’s Prompong guarantees action in Phuket Freedom Beach land title probe
PHUKET: Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the investigation into two land titles being illegally issued for 65 rai at Phuket’s pristine Freedom Beach has now been handed over to the Land Department and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for further action. Speaking to the Gazette yesterday, Mr Prompong also confirmed that the Parliamentary Committee…
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Weird World News: When punishment takes an unusual route
PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup shatters the foundations laid out by many great nations that claim “cruel and unusual punishments [shall not be] inflicted”, as a hometown speedster has his car turned into a tree house, a horror film clown threatens your child (by request) and a suicide-kit saleswoman’s business gets smothered with a mere US$1,000 fine after…
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