News
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Phuket woman stabs boyfriend, takes him to hospital
PHUKET: Police charged a Phuket woman with assault for stabbing her boyfriend last night. However, they are allowing her to stay in the hospital to care for him. Emergency room staff at Patong Hospital notified police at about 8pm that a man had been admitted with stab wounds. When officers arrived, Adinan Na Phattalung, 54, was being treated for a…
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Let the sailors do the talking – Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek 2014
PHUKET: They say word of mouth is the best type of advertising. Organizers of the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek have always known this and since the regatta’s inception, they have always put the sailors first. “When Phuket Raceweek was launched in 2004, sailors’ needs were central to the planning and organization,” said Byron Jones, Managing Director of organizers Media…
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10,000 pages of evidence turned over to Phuket prosecutor for taxi-mafia cases
PHUKET: Police yesterday delivered boxes of investigative documents to the Phuket Provincial Public Prosecutor for the cases of more than 100 taxi mafia members. “The evidentiary report we submitted was over 10,000 pages long,” said Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongisirin, who is spearheading the Phuket taxi mafia takedown. “It represents a total of 12 cases and 112 arrests.” Additionally, police…
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Breaking News: Army raids municipality offices for Phuket mafia taxi connections
PHUKET: About 50 officers raided the Kata-Karon Municipality offices today to search for evidence of the popular tourist town’s mayor and handpicked deputy mayors’ involvement in the Phuket taxi mafia. Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongisirin led the task force of Army, Navy and police officers at about 11:30. Kata-Karon Deputy Mayors Ithiporn Sangkeaw and Sompong Dabpetch surrendered themselves at Phuket…
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Father offers B100,000 reward for kidnapped British girls
PHUKET: Police on Phuket continue to scour the island as the father of two young girls abducted by their mother in Pattaya last month offers a 100,000-baht reward for information leading to their safe return. Robert Day, the British father, has publicized his search for the girls on Thai TV and in newspapers throughout the nation in the hope of…
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Cambodia frees Veera
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cambodia frees Veera The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Cambodia yesterday released yellow-shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid after he was granted a royal pardon, for the sake of bilateral relations with Thailand and on humanitarian grounds, Thai Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Sihasak Phuangketkoew said. Veera was arrested…
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Israel mourns teens, launches air strikes on Gaza
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel mourns teens, launches air strikes on Gaza Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thousands of mourners gathered on Tuesday in an outpouring of national grief for the burial of three Israeli teenagers whose abduction and killing Israel blamed on Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group it vowed…
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Argentina, Belgium through after extra-time drama
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Argentina, Belgium through after extra-time drama Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Argentina scored in the 118th minute to beat Switzerland and Belgium clung on to defeat the United States in another heart-stopping period of extra time to reach the World Cup quarter-finals amid more extraordinary drama…
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Gunpowder found in car of Phuket cop suspected of drive-by killing
PHUKET: Police have ordered a forensic investigation after finding gunpowder in the car of a police officer suspected of playing a role in a fatal Phuket drive-by shooting in May. The officer, who police have declined to name, denied any involvement in the incident the morning after the killing (story here). The gunpowder; the suspect’s private firearm, a 9mm handgun;…
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Coup d’etat or coup de grâce?
PHUKET: The change in government on May 22 seems to have occasioned a very different response from inside Thailand as compared with that of the world outside. The coup may have delivered the coup de grâce to the political turmoil, which not only paralyzed public policy but also saw international investors accelerating their already significant sell-off of Thai assets. Foreign…
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Phuket Police net fishy drug dealer in possession of B3mn worth of drugs
PHUKET: A Phuket aquarium shop owner was arrested last night in possession of 12,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and 230 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Police moved in to make the arrest after being tipped off about a “big-time” drug distributor who owns an aquarium shop near Bus Terminal 1 in Phuket Town, said Phuket Provincial Commander Krajang Suwannarat.…
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Investment advisers: Whose side are they really on?
PHUKET: In the world of providing financial planning and investment advisory services, just about everyone claims to be, or tries to pass themselves off as, an expert looking out for your best interest. But just who is an investment adviser really serving and more importantly, who is watching over him or her? For expatriates, asking such questions is important because…
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Not satisfied with Patong massage, man robs masseuse
PHUKET: A Pattani man enjoyed a three-hour massage in a Patong hotel room last night, then robbed his masseuse and fled, but was quickly caught by police. Police were alerted by staff at the Patong Sub Inn at about 7:30pm that a woman had been tied up and had called for help, said Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Khunnadet Nanongkhai. The…
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Junta begins overhaul of electoral system
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Junta begins overhaul of electoral system Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand’s military government said on Monday it had begun an overhaul of the electoral system following an announcement by junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha that polls could take place by late 2015. The military took…
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Around 30 migrants found dead on boat near Sicily
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Around 30 migrants found dead on boat near Sicily Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Around 30 migrants were found dead on a boat packed with people off the coast of Sicily, said Italy’s navy which rescued thousands more trying to leave North Africa over the weekend.…
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NCPO opens centers to lure, legalize foreign workers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO opens centers to lure, legalize foreign workers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order has ordered a serious effort to bring foreign migrants into the legal workforce in a bid to minimize the impact of the recent Cambodian labor…
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All World Cup matches to be aired: NBTC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All World Cup matches to be aired: NBTC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) yesterday reassured bleary-eyed football fans that all remaining World Cup matches would be telecast on Army-run Channel 5, state-run NBT and Thai PBS after two…
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Israel finds bodies of three missing teenagers in West Bank
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel finds bodies of three missing teenagers in West Bank Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The bodies of three missing Israeli teenagers were found in the occupied West Bank on Monday and Israel vowed to punish Hamas, the Palestinian group it accuses of abducting and killing…
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Germany and France end African hopes, Suarez sorry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Germany and France end African hopes, Suarez sorry Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Germany and France snuffed out African hopes and reached the World Cup quarter-finals on Monday with hard-won victories over Algeria and Nigeria, while Uruguay striker Luis Suarez broke his silence to apologise for…
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Landslide prevention meetings take backseat at Phuket’s Big Buddha construction site
PHUKET: Meetings regarding landslide prevention and water management at one of Phuket’s most popular tourist attractions, Big Buddha, have fallen by the wayside. Construction at the site was halted on February 28, prompting a full inspection led by Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak, after Karon villagers filed a complaint alleging that it had caused landslides last year and could do so…
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Beached whale found dead off island south of Phuket
PHUKET: An autopsy on a Cuvier’s beaked whale that was found dead on a beach south of Phuket yesterday morning revealed that the mammal had died of a disease that afflicted its lungs and kidneys. A marine officer on a routine survey of the Koh Li Bong coastline in Trang Province found the whale’s body on the beach at about…
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Insights of a veteran hotelier
At 59 years young, Gerard Tan has some years behind him, but he doesn’t let that slow him down. “We should go out and drink one night,” says Tan as he settled down to a strong coffee in the courtyard of the Millennium Resort Patong. However, he can’t be blamed for his festive mood. After a seven-year stint as the…
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Facebook is getting less friendly
PHUKET: A few weeks back a friend of mine told me he’d seen a great band at Gig’s Jam Club in Nai Harn. It sounded like an amazing night and I was kicking myself that I missed it. Then I checked my calendar and it turned out I hadn’t been busy that night and was literally just up the road…
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Police decline to investigate drive-by shooting until victims file complaint
PHUKET: Police will not investigate any further into a drive-by shooting that injured four people in Thalang early yesterday morning until the victims file a police complaint. The shooting, a single shotgun blast, took place at about 1am in front of a house near the Tah Reua Shrine on Thepkrasattri Road in Koh Kaew. “The victims told us that they…
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General blasts banks over drug money accounts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community General blasts banks over drugs The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Assistant Army chief General Paibul Khumchaya is up in arms over what he considers to be a lack of scruples in the banking sector, after discovering that commercial banks are accepting deposits from imprisoned drug…
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Huge cache of seized weapons revealed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Huge cache of seized weapons revealed The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The junta yesterday paraded lethal weapons confiscated from warring political groups in front of military attaches and the media. National Council for Peace and Order spokesman Winthai Suvari said heading off further bloodshed was…
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Man sets himself on fire in Japan in defence protest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man sets himself on fire in Japan in defence protest Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A man in Japan set himself on fire at a busy intersection in Tokyo on Sunday in an apparent protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plans to ease limits of the…
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North Korea launches two missiles, defies U.N. ban
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community North Korea launches two missiles, defies U.N. ban Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into seas east off its coast on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, defying a U.N. ban on the isolated country testing such weapons. The launch came…
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Phuket Police tracing human trafficking network back to Cambodia
PHUKET: The Army has ordered Phuket police to trace the human trafficking network that led a group of Cambodians into debt-trapped servitude in a Phuket Town clothing store (story here). The owner of the shop, Pasita Sangsakul, from Bangkok, defended her purchase of the staffers when she was questioned by Phuket City Police at Phuket Provincial Hall. “I purchased the…
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Phuket tourist lad lost on Bangla quickly reunited with family
PHUKET: An Australian eight-year-old boy lost in the wilds of Soi Bangla early this morning was reunited with his anxious family within 30 minutes, thanks to the help of the Phuket Tourist Police. It was about midnight when an Aussie family – mother, father and boy – tearfully informed tourist police volunteers that they had lost their fourth family member.…
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