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More weapons of war seized in martial law crackdown
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More weapons of war seized in martial law crackdown The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A joint military-police team launched two more raids and seized a cache of war weapons under the martial law as ordered by Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha. Deputy Army spokesman Colonel…
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Far right suffers Dutch surprise as EU vote begins
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch Eurosceptic party stumbles in European elections Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Eurosceptic party of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders slumped into a surprise fourth place in European Parliament elections on Thursday, according to exit polls which showed his Freedom Party behind three pro-European groups.…
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Biggest attack in years kills 31 in China’s troubled Xinjiang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Biggest attack in years kills 31 in China’s troubled Xinjiang Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Explosives hurled from two vehicles which ploughed into an open market in China’s troubled Xinjiang killed 31 people on Thursday, state media reported, the deadliest act of violence in the region…
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All protesters dispersed by soldiers; PDRC jubilant
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All protesters dispersed by soldiers; PDRC jubilant The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-government red-shirt protesters at Aksa Road rally site began returning home yesterday after the Army seized power and soldiers were sent in to take control of the situation. Earlier, the soldiers seized control…
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Phuket leaders not available for comments on coup
PHUKET: The Commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command based in Phuket, Vice Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan, this afternoon was not available for comment on Thailand being placed under a coup by Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha earlier today. Gen Prayuth, along with the national police chief and the heads of other national armed forces, publicly declared a coup over…
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Army announces Phuket curfew
PHUKET: Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha today announced a nationwide curfew that will come into effect at 10pm tonight. The curfew, from 10pm to 5am, will affect Phuket and all other tourist destinations in Thailand. No people, including tourists, are allowed to leave their residence or hotel unless given specific permission by government officers. This order will remain in place until…
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Phuket to get wet this weekend, ships to proceed with caution, say meteorologists
PHUKET: Ships have been warned to proceed with caution this weekend as the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) issues a weather warning for some provinces, including Phuket, in Southern Thailand. “Ships in the Andaman Sea have been warned to proceed with caution,” Lt Col Panya Chaichana of the Phuket Marine Police told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “Small boats have yet…
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Foul weather hampers search for body off Koh Kai Nai
PHUKET: Stormy conditions over the Andaman Sea today hampered search efforts to locate a body spotted floating off Koh Kai Nai, an island off the east coast of Phuket. “We received a call from a villager on Koh Kai Nai at about 12:30pm saying that he saw a body floating in the sea between Koh Yao Yai and Koh Kai…
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Asia’s best skippers to compete at this year’s Samui Regatta
PHUKET: The Samui Regatta, which gets underway this weekend, heralds a big gun showdown between Foxy Lady VI and Red Kite II for the right to be crowned champions in the Asia Yachting Grand Prix (AYGP) 2014. Foxy Lady is unbeaten this year and hot on a six-regatta streak after winning the IRC2 class at Top of the Gulf earlier…
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Illegal wedding photographers snapped up in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Two wedding photographers were caught working without work permits yesterday after police were tipped off by a pair of Thai wedding photographers. Chinese photographers Bolin Zhu and Jing Wang, both 27, were taking pre-wedding photographs of a couple on Soi Romanee in Phuket Town when police arrived at the scene. “We asked them to show us their work permits,…
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Firefighters prevent inferno at workers’ camp
PHUKET: Quick action by Kathu firefighters prevented an inferno from engulfing a workers’ camp near the Loch Palm Golf Course yesterday morning. Three fire trucks were called to the packed camp of about 130 abodes at about 10am. “Firefighters took about an hour to put out the fire,” Yongyoth Cheswichean of the Kathu Municipality told the Phuket Gazette. Eight homes…
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Swedish man dies in fall from Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: A Swedish man died early yesterday morning when he jumped from his hotel room in Patong in an attempt to stop his girlfriend from leaving. “Witnesses said they heard a loud argument at about 2am,” said Maj Weerapong Rakito of the Patong Police. Then they saw the man on the balcony of his second floor room at the Absolute…
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Blast hits capital of China’s western Xinjiang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Blast hits capital of China’s western Xinjiang, people hurt Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Colliding vehicles caused an explosion in a street market in the capital of China’s western region of Xinjiang on Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The blast occurred at an open…
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Fire razes 150-year-old market, 50 homes destroyed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fire razes 150-year-old market in Bang Phli The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: “Though it was fortunate that my family managed to escape unharmed, we are heartbroken to see the 150-year-old market burned down, especially since it was an iconic place in [Samut Prakan’s] Bang Phli…
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Five male suspects arrested in Narathiwat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Five male suspects arrested in Narathiwat The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A 100-strong team of paramilitary rangers took five men into custody yesterday during a raid on three villages in Narathiwat’s Rangae district. The arrests were made under martial law. In a move to hunt…
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Police vow quick action on stabbing death near Bangkok rally site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police vow quick action on stabbing death The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Metropolitan Police have vowed to quickly solve the stabbing to death of a homeless man whose body was found stuffed in a sack near an anti-government rally site earlier this week. Pol Maj-General…
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Thailand News: Talks yield no breakthrough; Senators mull a legal PM
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth pushes for solutions to end impasse The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: In his first meeting with warring parties yesterday, Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha mapped out resolutions to pull the country out of the ongoing political crisis, though they failed to come to a conclusion.…
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Nigerian Islamists extend killing spree in northeast
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nigerian Islamists extend killing spree in northeast Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Suspected Nigerian Islamist militants killed 17 people in a remote northeastern village on Tuesday night, hours after a bomb killed 118 people in the central city of Jos, police said on Wednesday. Militants opened…
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Video Report: Phuket drug dealer caught with AK-47
PHUKET: Police arrested a confessed drug dealer in possession of an AK-47 assault rifle and a homemade handgun at his hut near the mangroves of Pa Klok yesterday. “We received a tip-off that an armed drug dealer was operating out of the hut, so we staked it out,” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arayapan Pukbuakhao. “We saw two men,…
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Phuket officers continue to wage war against animal touts
PHUKET: Three animal touts were arrested yesterday, as Phuket police continue to crackdown on anyone offering tourists photo opportunities with animals, endangered or not, on Soi Bangla. Lt Col Sutthichai Thianpho of the Patong Police, nabbed two animal touts on Sunday while out cycling when he was off-duty (story here). This led to the arrest yesterday of three men who…
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Phuket anti-government protesters break camp in face of martial law
PHUKET: The long-standing anti-government protest in Phuket led by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) broke down its stage last night out of respect for martial law which was decreed early yesterday. The PDRC protesters dominated Phuket Provincial Hall, forcing it to close for about four and half months before allowing it to re-open on April 8 (story here). Even…
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German expat Franky arrested on Austrian fraud charges
PHUKET: German expat Detlef Gerhard Hewer, 49, was arrested in Phuket yesterday afternoon on a warrant issued by a Thai court at the request of the Austrian embassy in Bangkok. Mr Detlef, better known by his nickname Franky, is wanted for fraud charges in Austria, Lt Col Sutthichai Thianpho of the Patong Police explained. “He was flown to Bangkok to…
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Phuket lifeguards to be back on duty by next Tuesday
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards say they expect to sign their new contract and be back at work by next Tuesday at the latest and possibly as early as this Saturday. A dispute over the terms of the contract led lifeguards to walk off the beaches on April 27, when their last contract concluded (story here). One drowning death, that of 26-year-old…
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Drop election if too dangerous: Army
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drop election if too dangerous: Army The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Election Commission (EC) secretary general Puchong Nutrawong said the Army had told him that if the next general election was likely to result in bloodshed, or would be too difficult to arrange, the EC…
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Army chief takes aim at political deadlock
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army chief Prayuth takes aim at political deadlock The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: With martial law in place, Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha intends to bring together all stakeholders in the political conflict to break the deadlock, as he says the country cannot continue in…
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Martial law more bad news for embattled tourism industry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Martial law more bad news for embattled tourism industry The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Tourists may start avoiding Thailand in droves now that the military has declared martial law, as many countries have issued advisories warning their citizens about the political crisis here. Travel and…
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Record levels of meth seizures in Asia: UNODC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Record levels of meth seizures in Asia: UNODC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Growing demand in East and Southeast Asia is leading to an expansion of global production and trafficking in methamphetamine and new psychoactive substances, according to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime…
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China confronts U.S. envoy over cyber-spying accusations
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China confronts U.S. envoy over cyber-spying accusations Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: China summoned the U.S. ambassador after the United States accused five Chinese military officers of hacking into American companies to steal trade secrets, warning Washington it could take further action, the foreign ministry said…
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Phuket police arrest man for rape of woman, her 14-year-old niece
PHUKET: Police arrested a Phuket resident today for the rape of a 24-year-old Myanmar national and her 14-year-old niece in the forest along Ao Yon – Khao Khad Road on May 8. The man, who turned himself in, was charged with rape, rape of a person under the age of 15, and theft. The 44-year-old suspect has denied all charges.…
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Chief departs Phuket with park encroachment raids
PHUKET: As his last major act as chief of Sirinath National Park, Cheewapap Cheewatham this morning led 50 officers on raids of businesses deemed to be illegally built on national park land near Nai Thon Beach. “Seven new shops – six on the beach, one on the beachfront road – have been built without permission from Sirinath National Park and…
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