News
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46 condo units seized in UFUN raid
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 46 condo units seized in UFUN raid The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police seized 46 condominium units yesterday at a project on Sukhumvit Soi 66/1 in Bang Na in Bangkok that were bought by suspects in the alleged UFUN pyramid scheme. UFUN executives reportedly acquired…
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Lottery changes a bid to reduce ‘gray money’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lottery changes a bid to reduce ‘gray money’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The government says its move to try and solve the problem of expensive state lottery tickets is a bid to control so-called “gray money”. The so-called “gray money” earned from selling the…
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Three killed as car plows into cyclists
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three killed as car plows into cyclists The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three cyclists were killed and two others seriously injured when an alleged drunk driver crashed her car into their bicycle rally in Chiang Mai’s Doi Saket district yesterday morning. The tragedy happened on…
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Trafficking survivor says more than 500 killed in camps
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Trafficking survivor says more than 500 killed in camps The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Kuramia, a migrant, paid out 95,000 baht in ransom to save his nephew Kazim, who was being held at a border camp. But he never saw him alive. His nephew’s was…
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Mayweather beats Pacquiao via unanimous decision
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mayweather beats Pacquiao via unanimous decision Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Floyd Mayweather Jr. cemented his place among the pantheon of boxing greats by improving to 48-0 with a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao on Saturday in a fight that lived up to its immense hype…
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Phuket gifted B1.3bn for roads; underpass motorcyclists to face law
PHUKET: Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith today announced that Phuket will receive funding of more than 1.3 billion baht to build underpasses at Bang Khu on the bypass road and at Chalong Circle. Included in the funds is 200 million baht to build a flyover at the Koh Kaew Intersection on Thepkrasattri Road and another one at the main airport…
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Mayweather vs Pacquiao “Fight of the Century’ to break records
** Fight of the century live, 10am Phuket time this Sunday ** PHUKET: Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao weighed in for what has been labeled the ‘Fight of the Century’ on Friday, promising to deliver on the massive hype and give fans the excitement they deserve. What had been a subdued buildup to the most anticipated fight in decades…
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Six Baltimore officers charged in death of Freddie Gray
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six Baltimore officers charged in death of Freddie Gray Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Baltimore’s chief prosecutor charged one police officer with murder on Friday and five others with lesser crimes in the death of a young black man who suffered a critical neck injury in…
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Phi Phi tour boat oil dumpers charged
PHUKET: The captain and engineer of a tour boat anchored off Phi Phi Island have been charged with dumping oil into the sea after officials saw Facebook photos that had gone viral. Krabi Marine Police, the Krabi Marine Office and officers at the national park at Phi Phi yesterday called upon boat captain Karin Onkaew and engineer Kriangdet Polsakdet to…
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Phuket FC set sights on Krabi in bayside derby
PHUKET: Phuket FC maintained their abysmal record away from home on Wednesday, when they gifted Prachuap FC their first home win of the season. The loss saw Prachuap rise to fifth place on the Yamaha League 1 table, while Phuket’s Ronins slipped from fifth to sixth place. Prachuap striker Neto Cossantos netted two goals: one at end of the first…
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Autopsy results delay defer alleged baby rapist, killer trial
PHUKET: A delay in autopsy results has resulted in police having to defer bringing to trial the alleged rapist and killer of a 1-year-old baby boy who died in Phuket Town last month. Police launched a manhunt for Somsak Yakob after he called the child’s mother to tell her that her son had fallen to his death. He left the…
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Mass grave in Southern Thailand linked to human trafficking, say police
PHUKET: A mass grave near the Thai-Malaysian border in Songkhla was uncovered by Thai authorities today, reported Thai PBS. A total of 33 partially decomposed bodies, thought by police to be Rohingya migrants, have been identified. The area was previously used to hold about 200 to 300 Rohingya who were smuggled into the country, according to investigators, reported Thai PBS.…
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Foundation now accepting relief supplies for earthquake victims
PHUKET: The Thai-Nepalese Foundation is now accepting donations of relief supplies to aid the victims of the disastrous earthquake in Nepal, the foundation’s president confirmed today. Supplies being collected by the foundation include clothing, medicine, tents (family size), gloves and sanitary napkins. The death toll from last Saturday’s quake has risen to 6,204, The Nation reported today (story here). “If…
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Funds approved for Nai Harn movie memorabilia museum
PHUKET: The Department of Tourism has approved a 40-million-baht budget for the construction of a movie museum on two rai of land in Nai Harn. “The museum will display memorabilia from movies that have been filmed on the island by well-known, international film makers,” Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) Phuket office, told the Phuket…
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Fire rips through shops on Phi Phi
PHUKET: Police believe that an electrical short circuit caused the fire that consumed 10 shops on Phi Phi Don today. The fire broke out in the tourist-dense area of Ton Sai, gutting restaurants, rental rooms, clothing stores and a tour company storefront. Nobody was injured in the blaze. “A house next to the group of connected buildings was burnt too.…
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Phuket aims to allow foreign-flagged superyacht charters
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office will table the idea of creating temporary chartering licenses for foreign-flagged superyachts, as Thailand pushes for the province to become a maritime hub for Southeast Asia. “There will be a public hearing, with an English-language translator, to discuss what legal measures need to be taken to ensure that Phuket becomes the destination in the region…
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Finance: Exchange rate rigmarole
PHUKET: An issue most Phuket expats deal with in one form or another is exposure to some risk of fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Many earn money outside of the country and then need to convert that to baht for spending purposes. Offshore oil workers are a good example of this, and how best to deal with this situation can…
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Island View: Phuket immigration – For better or for worse
PHUKET: There is one annual Phuket event that I do not look forward to: my marriage visa extension application at the Phuket Immigration Office. I have read all the complaints and accusations levelled at Phuket’s Immigration officers, but, at the time I applied for my extension, there were well over 100 foreigners acting like headless chickens packed into that little…
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PRBC seeks blood donations for monsoon season
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is calling for all qualified island residents to donate blood as the monsoon season – and the dangerous road conditions that come with it – rolls in. PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak said the month-long blood drive is being held to replenish blood supplies for the southwest monsoon season and in acknowledgment of World…
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Mysterious Brit burglar Charlie Machin still on the run
PHUKET: Karon Police are still trying to track down a British thief, known only by his alias ‘Charlie Machin’, who is wanted for robbing a Swedish man’s home of about 200,000 baht in valuables in March (story here). “We only have this name and a few pictures of him. All farang [Caucasians] look the same. It has been very hard…
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Opinion: Protecting Nepali victims in exodus
PHUKET: Island residents must come together to fully support local efforts by the Red Cross Society and private-sector groups to provide disaster relief to the suffering people of Kathmandu and other parts of central Nepal that have been devastated by the massive earthquake that struck there last Saturday morning. As of yesterday, the reported death toll had surpassed 6,000 and…
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Phuket airport taxi slams into 18-wheeler
PHUKET: An airport taxi driver faces charges of reckless driving after his car slammed into an 18-wheeled truck near Mai Khao Temple, in northern Phuket, this morning. The taxi rammed the trailer broadside, but luckily for taxi driver Vichan Artharn, 35, the car spun out from under the trailer and came to rest in roadside bushes next to a house.…
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Seniors swing at Phuket ITF Open
PHUKET: More than 80 international players from 24 countries competed in the Phuket ITF Seniors Open 2015 contested at Thanyapura last week. Timothy Alcos of the Philippines took top honors in V35 Men’s Singles after dispatching Arjun Varma of Singapore in straight sets (6-1 6-1) in the final last Saturday. Right-handed Daniel Rajsky of the Czech Republic, playing with his…
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Police hunt men for stoning Swede’s car
PHUKET: Kamala Police are hunting two motorbike-riding men* who chased down and threw rocks at a Swedish man’s car in Phuket on Monday. Bo Jonas Daniel Svegsjo, 38, and his passenger, Chaiyanan Boonpa, were driving from Cherng Talay to Kamala when a motorbike carrying two men overtook his vehicle on a narrow road. “Mr Svegsjo honked at the men, as…
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Phuket immigration, government offices take four-day weekend
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office, along with other government offices on the island, will be closed from Saturday through Tuesday, confirmed Phuket Immigration Chief Sunchai Chokkajaykij today. However, they will remain open for the Labor Day holiday tomorrow. “Our office and the Patong Immigration Office will be closed for four days, starting from Saturday May 2,” Col Sunchai told the…
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Cricket: Thalang surge to vie for place in semi-finals
PHUKET: Thalang (TCT) claimed an unlikely outright victory by an innings and 93 runs over a heavily depleted Village Cricket Team at the Alan Cooke Ground last Sunday. Both teams had multiple changes for their last match of the regular season. TCT regained their captain Bill Stahmer, opening bowler Barrie Buck and debutant Hossain Sylar. Village were without the ir…
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Official is a land-grabber: reform chief
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Official is a land-grabber: reform chief The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The chief of the Nakhon Ratchasima Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) has recommended that an investigation be launched against a local official over suspicions that she might have engaged in land encroachment herself. “I…
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Thai man arrested with 26 migrant workers in his car
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai man arrested with 26 migrant workers in his car The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Highway Police early yesterday morning rounded up 26 migrant workers packed into an SUV in Kanchanaburi’s Phanom Tuan district and arrested the Thai driver. Following a tip-off, police near the…
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Marine police alert for EU fishing checks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Marine police alert for EU fishing checks The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: In a bid to improve Thailand’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing problems ahead of the upcoming inspection by representatives from the European Union (EU), coastal provinces such as Chon Buri and Songkhla…
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Tired of waiting for aid, angry Nepalis block roads
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tired of waiting for aid, angry Nepalis block roads Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Nepali villagers blocked trucks carrying supplies for earthquake victims on Wednesday, demanding the government do more to help after last week’s disaster left more than 5,200 people dead and tens of thousands…
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