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DNA tests show 9 babies fathered by same man
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DNA tests show 9 babies fathered by same man The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The nine infants discovered in a police raid last week at a Bangkok condominium in connection with unauthorised surrogacy were fathered by the same man. However, a DNA link between them…
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Tragic end to building collapse in Pathum Thani
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tragic end to building collapse in Pathum Thani The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Buri Ram woman who made a desperate dash from the northeast to Pathum Thani in search of her husband – trapped in a building that collapsed late on Monday – was…
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Lauren Bacall dies at 89
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lauren Bacall dies at 89 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Lauren Bacall, the sultry actress with the heavy-lidded eyes and husky voice who captured Humphrey Bogart’s heart both on and off the movie screen, died on Tuesday at the age of 89. “With deep sorrow, yet…
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Phuket turtles take on Hungry Ghosts as festival gets underway
PHUKET: Phuket Town launched into the annual Por Tor Festival today with a parade through the city streets followed by merit-making ceremonies and other activities in the heart of the island. Phuket is honoring its Chinese cultural roots by celebrating the festival, more widely known as the Hungry Ghost festival, during which a variety of cultural displays and activities will…
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Farah returns for European championships after scare
PHUKET: Double Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah returns to action at this week’s European athletics championships where the high jump showdown between world champion Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine and Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov of Russia should also dominate. Farah is expected to run in Wednesday’s 10,000 metres and the 5,000 metres on Sunday having missed Glasgow’s recent Commonwealth Games with…
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HM The Queen’s Birthday, Mother’s Day celebrations kick off in Phuket
PHUKET: Mother’s Day kicked off in Phuket this morning with an early morning celebration in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 82nd birthday at Sirikit Park on Thalang Road, Phuket Town. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led the island’s top officials in offering alms to 83 monks. The governor, vice governors, Phuket’s top cop Commander Krajang Suwannarat and a host of other…
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Bangkok lawyer drowns on holiday in Phuket
PHUKET: A Bangkok lawyer on holiday in Phuket died yesterday after being struck by a large wave and dragged out to sea at Nai Thon Beach. Teechalat Kapaeng, 46, originally from Chon Buri, and Natthachanok Inamnuaysri, 42, from Bangkok, waded into the sea at about 6:30pm to rinse sand off their bodies after lying on the beach. “We didn’t realize…
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Actor Robin Williams dead at 63 from apparent suicide
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Actor Robin Williams dead at 63 from apparent suicide Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Robin Williams, the versatile actor whose madcap comic style made him one of television and film’s biggest stars, was found dead on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in Northern…
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No Phuket booze ban on Mother’s Day
PHUKET: There will be no ban on the sale of alcohol in Phuket as island residents join the nation in celebrating HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday and Mother’s Day tomorrow (story here). “Alcohol sales will not be banned,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Peerayuth Karajedee confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “However, taking this opportunity to honor your mother by taking her out…
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Phuket ready to celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday, Mother’s Day
PHUKET: A host of special ceremonies will be held throughout Phuket tomorrow to honor and celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s 82nd birthday, as well as to celebrate Mother’s Day. All government offices will be closed, and activities on the island will be followed by a candlelight ceremony at about 7pm. A selection of the events to be held in Phuket are…
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Happy Birthday Your Majesty
PHUKET: Today, August 12, Thais throughout the country and the world celebrate the birthday of their beloved Queen and Mother of the Nation – Her Majesty Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara, who turns 82 this year. The day is also celebrated in the Kingdom as National Mother’s Day. Born in Bangkok in 1932, Queen Sirikit is the eldest daughter and the third…
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Radwanska eases past Venus Williams to win Rogers Cup
PHUKET: Agnieszka Radwanska tamed Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Sunday, the third seeded Pole setting herself up as a player to watch at the U.S. Open. The first win of the season for Radwanska, it provided a timely jolt of confidence going into Flushing Meadows and the year’s final grand slam with 11…
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Phuket beach vendors to appeal to NCPO to return to the sands
PHUKET: More than 500 Phuket beach vendors put out of work by the massive beach cleanup campaign spoke up on Saturday about the importance of restarting their seaside businesses. The complaints and proposals were heard at a public forum led by a team of professors and researchers at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus in Kathu. The meeting…
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Fire at Chinese shrine in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Four fire trucks were called to the Mae Ya Nang Shrine on Krabi Road in Phuket Town this morning after fire broke out in a storeroom stocked with firecrackers and prayer papers. Phuket City Police reported no injuries from the blaze. “Firefighters took about 30 minutes to control fire, which broke out at about 8:20am,” said Capt Weerachart Seera…
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Five to face charges for illegally claiming Phuket national park land
PHUKET: Deputy Director-General of the Land Department Thammasak Chana has publicly vowed to pursue legal action over five cases of attempting to use SorKor 1 land documents to claim 445 rai of land in Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. In all five cases, the claimants applied for their SorKor 1 documents to be upgraded to full Chanote land titles, Mr Thammasak…
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Marine office to battle Phuket tar balls on beaches
PHUKET: Officials are set to re-launch a campaign to control used oil being dumped from boats off Phuket’s shore after balls of black tar appeared on the island’s beaches late last month (story here). “I have seen the photos of the substance myself, and can confirm that they are balls of tar,” Phuket Marine Office chief Phuriphat Theerakulpisut told the…
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Udomdej favoured to take over as the next Army chief
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Udomdej favoured to take over as the next Army chief The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Deputy Army chief General Udomdej Sitabutr appears the front runner candidate to succeed General Prayuth Chan-ocha as the head of the Army. Prayuth, who is in charge of the ruling…
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At least 39 killed in Iranian plane crash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 39 killed in Iranian plane crash Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: At least 39 people were killed on Sunday when an Iran-140 Sepahan Air passenger plane crashed after takeoff from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on a flight to Tabas in northeast Iran, state media reported.…
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Over 100 Thai surrogates may be carrying babies for Aust couples
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Probe into ‘baby clinic for Aussies’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Health Service Support Department is investigating a Bangkok clinic that provided surrogacy services to more than 100 clients, including the Australian couple linked to the baby Gammy controversy and probably many other Australians.…
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NLA to vote on next PM set for August 21, 22
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NLA vote on next PM set for August 21, 22 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Legislative Assembly will call a vote on the next prime minister on August 21 or 22, its deputy chairman said yesterday. Surachai Liengboonlertchai said he supports General Prayuth…
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Phuket’s road nightmare gets worse: Italian man dies in crash
PHUKET: The death of an Italian man in a Ducati motorbike accident in Karon before dawn today has brought the number of road fatalities in Phuket to six dead in less than 24 hours. The man, whose name is being withheld, lost control of his motorbike on a curve in the hills to north of Karon at about 5:30am. “He…
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Williams sisters renew sibling rivalry in Montreal
PHUKET: World number one Serena Williams and sister Venus will renew one of sport’s greatest sibling rivalries after posting quarter-final wins at the Rogers Cup on Friday to set up a milestone showdown on the Montreal hard courts. Serena kept her title defence on track, rallying for a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Caroline Wozniacki, while Venus booked her place…
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Myanmar fishing boat slaves freed north of Phuket, return home
PHUKET: Eighteen Myanmar victims of a human-trafficking group, including four children, have returned home, after being rescued by Thai authorities. Several of the now-freed slaves were sold to fishing boats off Kawthaung, the township across the water from Ranong, which for more than a decade has been a popular “visa run” destination for foreigners in Phuket. Saw Win Tin, 55,…
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Teenagers among five dead in horror day on Phuket’s roads
PHUKET: Three Phuket teenagers are dead and two more are in hospital after a high-speed crash in Thung Thong just before midnight last night. The accident was the culmination of road fatalities that saw five dead in less than 24 hours on Phuket’s notorious roads. Police and rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation were called to the scene, on Phra…
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Feelin’ fat like a Phuket expat
PHUKET: Living in Phuket as a Western-born woman could prove dicey for the faint of heart, even more so for those who suffer from the occasional lack of self-confidence. Once you settle into life on the island, it doesn’t take long to tune in to the stark differences in cultural norms, especially when it comes to discussing body weight. Making…
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Braving the Phuket land encroachment backlash
PHUKET: The island should applaud the courage and dedication of Sirinath National Park Chief Kitiphat Taraphiban for continuing the campaign to rid the park of all encroachment – even in the face of recent death threats (story here). The state of many national parks and protected conservation areas is an embarrassment, with many beautiful locations degraded by corruption-fuelled, unregulated development.…
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Beach cleanup D-day set for Phuket, Andaman-coast provinces
PHUKET: Military leaders have launched a beach overhaul project with an August 14 deadline by which all remaining illegal structures must be removed from beaches in Phuket and five other Andaman-coast provinces. Owners who disobey will be fined and face encroachment charges. “We are following an official order handed down from the National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO]. We…
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Lao woman with Bt30 million held at border
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lao woman with Bt30 million held at border The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A 42-year-old Laotian was detained in the border province of Mukdahan yesterday for allegedly trying to smuggle Bt30 million in cash out of the country. The woman who was identified only as…
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U.S. air strikes begin as Obama calls to prevent Iraq genocide
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. air strikes begin as Obama calls to prevent Iraq genocide Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. warplanes bombed Islamist fighters marching on Iraq’s Kurdish capital on Friday after President Barack Obama said Washington must act to prevent “genocide”. Islamic State fighters, who have beheaded and…
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Police to confirm Phuket caddy in fatal motorbike crash
PHUKET: Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward who may be able to confirm what occurred in a fatal motorbike accident this afternoon involving a pick-up truck driven by a 22-year-old man. Sakon Banchongkaeo, 34, was killed in the accident on the Koh Kaew – Nakok road, which is often used as a shortcut from Thepkrasattri Road in Koh…
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