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Barge damages coral at Racha Island
RAWAI, PHUKET: A barge carrying building material has seriously damaged a patch of coral reef off Koh Racha, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR). Locals reported that the barge, allegedly belonging to Namchai Ocean Transport Company, was being towed ashore at Siam Bay on Koh Racha Yai. Prachuap Mokharat, a fisheries officer with the DMCR’s regional…
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Motorbike in Phuket pond: one dead, one injured
CHALONG, PHUKET: A woman drowned after crashing her salaeng (motorbike with illegal side-car) into a tin mining pond on Wednesday evening. The victim’s grand-daughter was also seriously injured in the crash. Another passenger, whose age and gender were not reported, escaped unharmed. Witnesses reported that at around 7:30pm, 56-year-old Wanna Rachathanarak lost control of the vehicle, which slid into a…
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Phuket City Park fisherman netted by cops
PHUKET CITY: A 26-year-old man faces up to three years in prison after being caught fishing in a public park. Khomsan Kaewkhampha, an unemployed Phuket City resident, set out for an early morning fishing expedition last Wednesday. When he arrived at the main pond in Rama IX Park (Suan Luang) in Phuket City, Mr Khomsan baited his hook with a…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Day 5: Royal Thai Navy takes honors
PHUKET: The crew of Royal Thai Navy 1 celebrated the 82nd birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in style today, winning two races out of two on the final day to become the only Thai crew to taste victory at the 2009 King’s Cup.At the start of the day, which the entire fleet marked with a sail past in…
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Road closures for Laguna Phuket Triathlon
LAGUNA PHUKET: To ensure the safety of competitors at the 16th Laguna Phuket Triathlon tomorrow morning, traffic restrictions will be in place on certain roads around the resort and in other parts of Thalang District. The restrictions will begin at 7am on the roads immediately surrounding Laguna and continue until approximately 12:15pm. A traffic detour will be enforced for all…
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Seedlings planted in Phuket Town for HM The King
PHUKET CITY: Environmental activists and staff of the Royal Phuket City hotel came together yesterday morning to plant 82 seedlings in an empty lot downtown as part of celebrations for HM The King’s 82nd birthday today. Seedlings of the tree, Barringtonia asiatica, a mangrove species, were chosen for the project. Royal Phuket City hotel General Manager Jintana Trakulhoon chaired the…
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Nation unites in wishing beloved King a happy birthday
PHUKET: His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej turns 82 today. On the occasion of his birthday, His Majesty will grant an audience to his well-wishers at the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace this morning. His Majesty will reach the Amarin Winit-chai Throne Hall at around 10.30am. Accompanying him will be HM the Queen Sirikit, HRH Crown Prince Maha…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Day 4: IRC2 Class goes to the wire
PHUKET: While the outcome in many of the classes remains a foregone conclusion, the IRC 2 class is wide open going into the final day of the 2009 King’s Cup after Thai Navy 1, skippered by CPO. 3 Wiwat Poonpat, won the only race of day four to cut Team Bentley’s lead in the series to a single point.Team Bentley, skippered by…
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Phuket residents protest destruction of ancient trees
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Protesters who have blockaded roads to the West Sands resort project began allowing partial access to staff today, but continue to deny access to any large vehicles involved in construction at the site. The blockade began on Tuesday, when local villagers discovered eight pine trees had been felled with chain saws along the border of the project…
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Phuket shellfish release to mark HM THe King’s Birthday
WICHIT, PHUKET: More than 100 people took part in a marine animal release ceremony yesterday as part of celebrations for HM The King’s birthday tomorrow. The participants, mostly school children, gathered at Mudong Pier in Wichit for the event, which began at 10am. Released into the sea from plastic bags filled with seawater were 2.5 million tiny postlarval prawns and…
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Another man shot dead in Chalong
CHALONG, PHUKET: A drinking session outside a mini-mart ended in the drive-by shooting murder of a Nakhon Sri Thammarat man early this morning. At 6:30am Chalong Police were notified of a shooting near the entrance to Chao Fah West Soi 55. Arriving at the scene, across from the Infinity Car Finance Shop, investigating officers including Chalong Police Superintendent Chinnarat Rittakananond…
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Phuket Number One in HIV/Aids nationwide: MoPH
PHUKET CITY: Phuket has the highest incidence of HIV/Aids infection of Thailand’s 76 provinces, but the figures are skewed by the island’s huge migrant population, the island’s top government doctor says. Dr Pongsawat Rattanasaeng, director of the Phuket Public Health office, said Phuket’s emergence as a top tourist destination is largely responsible for the province’s dubious distinction as Thailand’s ‘per…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Day 3: Pryde pulls a fast one
PHUKET: Neil Pryde could be on course for another victory in the Racing Division after exchanging first places with Full Metal Jacket on day three of the 2009 King’s Cup Regatta.Hi-Fi finished the first race of the day in pole position while Full Metal Jacket with America’s Cup helmsman Chris Dickson in charge had to settle for second.Roles were reversed in the…
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New Phuket lifeguards next year
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) wants to improve the provincial lifeguard service and have a new contractor running it by the start of the new year.Lifeguard services ended on November 18 with the expiration of a five-month contract awarded to service provider LP Laikhum Company in mid-June.The PPAO is still waiting for the firm to return all…
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Phuket holds activities for the disabled
PHUKET CITY: Phuket yesterday held early activities to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities, held annually on December 3.More than 200 disabled people attended the event, which began at 10am at Phuket Rajabhat University Convention Hall.Activities included an exhibition aimed at informing disabled people of their rights, a legal consulting service, job application assistance and even free haircuts.There was…
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Cafe del Mar’s José Padilla in Phuket sunset performance
PHUKET: Café del Mar’s José Padilla will be playing his signature sunset chill out tunes this Thursday at Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa for a night of ‘Silk Rhythms’. Party goers at the luxury resort’s vast pool-scape can sip sparkling wine in the water with a broad view of the sun setting over the sea while the ‘Godfather of Sunsets’…
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Phuket PTT attendant returns foreigner’s purse
WICHIT, PHUKET: Cynics take note: Like chivalry, honesty is not yet totally dead in Phuket. A gas station attendant returned a purse containing 10,000 baht (approx US$300) in cash and other valuables to a British woman who had accidentally dropped it while filling up on Sunday morning. English expat Kathleen (‘Katie’) Gooch-Firmin pulled into the PTT filling station on Chao…
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Phuket King’s Cup Day Two: Hi Fi takes lead
PHUKET: Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi is leading the way in the Premier Class after the second day of racing at the 2009 Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.Chris Meads on Full Metal Jacket came second and Pryde’s perennial Asian Yachting Grand Prix rival Ray Roberts settled for third on Evolution Racing.Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban looks set to run away with the IRC1…
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Dive boat sunk for Phuket artificial reef project
RAWAI, PHUKET: In the latest bid to create an artificial reef in Phuket waters, an old dive boat was sunk off Koh Racha Yai on Saturday morning. The aging vessel Harruby was donated to the Department of Marine Coastal Resources (DMCR) for the project by The Racha Resort. Following a religious ceremony and speeches by a number of officials, the…
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Body found off Karon identified as Australian
PHUKET CITY: Chalong Police have confirmed that the body of a man found floating off Karon Beach yesterday is that of 31-year-old Australian Ben Douglas Richard, who went missing from a villa hotel in the Surin Beach area over the weekend. Chalong Police investigator Boonlert Onklang told the Gazette Mr Richard had been staying at a villa owned by a…
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Phuket’s Amy Jacobs recovering from car crash
PHUKET CITY: The condition of television actress Ameria ‘Amy’ Jacobs continues to improve and she is conscious and breathing on her own. A mass-circulation Thai-language daily newspaper yesterday quoted staff at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok as saying that Amy has been taken off a respirator and was responding to verbal commands. Her father Jan Jacobs confirmed this, telling the Gazette…
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Brits encouraged to sign up with tracking system
PHUKET CITY: British Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle is encouraging all British subjects who live or travel to Phuket or other parts of Thailand to register their presence here using a new on-line service set up by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Click on this link! campaign encourages British Nationals to use LOCATE, an online system, to register…
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Phuket toy boy murder suspect: ‘I acted alone’
PHUKET CITY: The 21-year-old man suspected of murdering elderly Japanese citizen Yukiho Yamada and burning his body in Phuket continues to insist he acted alone, but police remain skeptical. Suwit Maengsri told police his 50-year-old lover Tubtim Saehak – Mr Yamada’s wife – was not involved in either the killing or the disposal of the body. Mr Suwit said he…
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King’s Cup Regatta returns to its roots
PHUKET: Action at the 23rd King’s Cup Regatta got underway over the weekend with two days of competitive dinghy racing off Kata Beach.Now in it’s 22nd year, the event is Asia’s biggest and most popular regatta.Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held every year since then during…
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HM The King’s birthday celebrations cut back
The Royal Household Bureau announced today that His Majesty the King has ordered the indefinite postponement of many functions relating to his birthday celebrations.The Trooping the Color, scheduled on December 2, and HM the King’s birthday speech on December 4 have been indefinitely postponed.HM the King will still grant an audience to royal family members, the cabinet and Members of…
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Readers’ Poll: Plastic initiative good for Phuket
PHUKET: Over half of Phuket Gazette voters think the new charge for plastic bags is a good idea. The results come in as Phuket prepares to implement a one- or two-baht charge for plastic bags at the island’s major retail stores beginning in February. Of the 580 voters who took part in the poll, 306 (or 52.8%) agreed that the…
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Court sentences killers of British sailor
PHUKET CITY: Two Burmese fishermen were sentenced to 25 years in prison for the March 2009 murder of British yachtsman Malcolm Robertson off the coast of Thailand’s Satun province, The Guardian has reported. At the time of the murder, the semi-retired couple were on their way from Phuket to Malaysia’s Langkawi Island, where they planned to leave their yacht and…
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OPINION: A tough time for Phuket police
PHUKET: The past week has seen a real change in the weather in Phuket, literally and figuratively. The monsoon season appears to finally be drawing to a close and with temperatures dropping in colder northern climes, high season is upon us. Hotel occupancy rates are rising and the island’s population continues to swell. By some estimates Phuket’s actual population is…
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Transport officials inspect Ao Por wave attenuator
PHUKET CITY: High-ranking Transport Ministry officials paid a visit to Ao Por Grand Marina on Thursday morning to inspect a newly-deployed floating wave attenuator installed on a trial basis at a cost of 20 million baht. Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit, Marine Department Director Chalor Kotcharat and other officials arrived at the marina at about 11am. Ao Por Grand Marina customer…
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Grass gets greener for Phuket sea cows
PHUKET CITY: The grass will be greener for sea cows (dugongs) visiting Phuket thanks to a seagrass fertilization project currently underway.Bangkok Hospital Phuket and the Mekawanich Foundation are teaming up to produce 20,000 ‘effective micro-organisms’ (EM) balls that will be introduced into the sea off Pa Khlok and into the fetid waters of Klong Pakbang in Patong.The project will be…
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