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Phuket Gazette: US jobs soar; Russians rally for fair polls; Syrian massacre; Cambodia jails jailer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. unemployment rate drops to lowest in 3 years PHUKET (News Wires): The United States unemployment rate for the month of January dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest number in nearly three years, the U.S. Labor Department (DoL) announced. In its January 2012 Employment Situation report,…
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Phuket’s War on Drugs: Why has Bebe gone?
PHUKET: It is sad that Phuket’s two specially-trained drug dogs have been suspended from “active duty” for lack of dedicated handlers, especially given the time invested in their training and the phenomenal results displayed by the beagle Bebe during her first day on the job last July. [See page 6, this week’s issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click…
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Chinese tourist drowns in Phuket
PHUKET: A woman in Phuket with a Chinese tour group drowned in Rawai on Thursday. The body of 57-year-old Xianmei Wang was found floating off of Koh Hei at about 2pm that day, Chalong Police said. Also known as Coral Island, Koh Hei is a popular destination for snorkelers and divers on group tours. Police are uncertain of what factors…
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Phuket update: Swede horror smash driver surrenders
PHUKET: The reckless truck driver who killed four Swedish holidaymakers in Phuket as well as their Thai driver on Wednesday morning surrendered to police in Phang Nga yesterday. The driver, 27-year-old Muhummadyukee Jehyusoh, was held in a cell at Phang Nga Provincial Court yesterday. He has since been transferred to Phang Nga Provincial Prison. Media access to the Narathiwat native…
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Phuket Sports: Epic final in Aussie Open
PHUKET: World number one Novak Djokovic retained the Australian Open title in an exhilarating victory over second seed Rafael Nadal. Not only was the encounter the longest-ever Grand Slam final to date, at five hours and 53 minutes, it also gave tennis archivists numerous other records to rewrite. Nadal is the first man to lose three consecutive Grand Slam finals…
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Phuket Sports: Liverpool double down
PHUKET: Liverpool FC progressed to the last sixteen of the FA Cup thanks to a late winner from Dirk Kuyt. In four days the Reds sent both Manchester outfits out of English domestic cup competitions. Kuyt, left unattended by an absent and constantly jeered Patrice Evra, drove home from inside the United box after Andy Caroll flicked on Pepe Reina’s…
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No change on a new day: Ruby Tuesday still leads the Bay Regatta
PHUKET: Sailors departed from the waters off Paradise Koh Yao Boutique Resort & Spa yesterday for the 2012 Bay Regatta’s second day of racing. Heading south towards Krabi, competitors navigated through the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay, en route to their destination of Ao Nang, where a rest from partying awaited, for a few. Day two Racing Class results…
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What’s the difference between Terry and Suarez?
PHUKET: “Terry will not captain the England team until the allegations against him are resolved.” Chelsea central defender, John Terry, has lost the England captain’s armband yet again – this time over racial abuse accusations involving Anton Ferdinand of Queen’s Park Rangers. The trial will take place on July 9, 2012 – after the Euopean Championship tournament. Terry lost the…
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Royalists protest Nitirat group in Phuket
PHUKET: A small group of Phuket royalists gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to show their opposition to efforts by the Nitirat group of scholars in Bangkok to amend Chapter 2 of the Constitution and article 112 of the Criminal Code, which deal with lese majeste. The group of about 20 protesters arrived at 10am with a letter of protest, which…
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Weird World News: Boneheaded bandits starring “Spiderman’ burglar, Mexican go-kart drug smuggler and the glacial ice thief
PHUKET: OUTLAWS are finding more imaginative ways to make a fast buck. This week’s Weird World News is a snapshot of life on the wrong side of the law, and the idiotic ruses bandits around the world are concocting to make money, fast. Go-kart bandito’s drug-smuggling ruse foiled A MEXICAN drug runner tried in vain this week to smuggle marijuana…
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Phuket Sports: Laguna bailed out by untimely dismissals
PHUKET: The Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) officially came into being last weekend with a two day event opened by Phuket’s youth development rugby and cricket teams. A fine display of strength and skills was exhibited by the Lomas (rugby) and Leopards (cricket) for spectators in their finery, who had gathered as part of a grand ceremony that announced the ACG’s…
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Chevy Phuket to hold ‘Family Rally’, marine life release
PHUKET: The Chevrolet dealership in Phuket is holding a “family car rally” and marine wildlife release ceremony on April 1 to help restore the ocean environment. Organized by Chevrolet Phuket with support from Phuket Marine Biological Center and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in Phuket Town, this family event is limited to one hundred cars. Although the event…
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Laguna Phuket ready for Amway mega-event
PHUKET: The Laguna Phuket resort complex in Cherng Talay is gearing up for its largest-ever incentives event in April and May, when it will host some 16,000 Amway sales representatives from China. Phakwiphoo Tanpradit, project manager for Laguna, said the Amway employee seminars will run from April 15 to May 14. They will arrive in staggered batches, with about four…
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Phuket Gazette: Canadian authorities arrest 60 in child porn bust
– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Canadian authorities arrest 60 in child porn bust PHUKET (News Wires): Canadian authorities have arrested and charged 60 men this week in connection with a major, ongoing investigation into child pornography offenses in Ontario, police announced yesterday. A total of 76 search warrants have been executed so far, resulting…
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Phuket Bay Regatta 2012 gets a bit of everything for day one of racing
PHUKET: The 15th Bay Regatta got underway yesterday with crews’ patience and skills tested by a mixed bag of conditions on the first day of racing. GoYachting’s Richard Valentine remarked on the unusual weather.”The regatta gave us a little bit of everything,” he said. “Some sunshine with blue skies and wind early on, then the wind died and we were…
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Phuket News Wires: Soul Train’s Don Cornelius dead in apparent suicide
– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Soul Train’s Don Cornelius dead in apparent suicide World News: Television host and producer Don Cornelius was found dead at his California home on Wednesday from a gunshot wound to the head in an apparent suicide. He was 75. Cornelius, born Donald Cortez Cornelius in Chicago, Illinois, is famously…
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Phuket medical tourism threatened by taxi thuggery
PHUKET: One of Phuket’s leading hospitals has complained that ‘taxi mafia’ are preventing its drivers from picking up patients staying at certain resort hotels. The complaint was one of many aired at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on the topic of tourists being cheated in Phuket. The meeting was chaired by new Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa. Pareeya Jullaphong,…
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American news round-up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Former LA teacher charged with molesting 23 children Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: U.S. prosecutors have arrested and charged a former Los Angeles teacher with allegedly molesting at least 23 young children over a two-year period, officials said on Tuesday. The allegations have shocked the local…
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Phuket weather radar out of service
PHUKET: The weather radar at Phuket Airport has been out of service for almost a week, but a technician at Phuket Airport says it should be operational again in a few days. According to the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) website, the Phuket weather radar has been out of operation since midday last Friday. Narongsak Gumroob, a radar technician at the…
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Phuket Business: New biz center opens
PHUKET: Kasikorn Bank Group opened Southern Thailand’s first Business Services, Securities and Leasing Center, located on Thepkrasatri road in Phuket Town recently. The center will specialize in investment and lending services for Kasikorn clients in Phuket and the entire southern region. Padermpob Songkroh, Managing Director of Private Fund Management, Kasikorn Securities said, “The center is one of only 12 nationwide…
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Phuket Business: Hydrofoil pilots
PHUKET: An innovative technology which looks to give a boost to the Andaman coastal region’s sea transport industry, is now being piloted off the shores of Phuket. Benchmarked by the unofficial launch of a hydrofoil sea transport and tour service, swift and seamless day trips from Phuket to distant, offshore havens in Krabi and Phang Nga provinces are not only…
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Phuket Business: Dive center targets “no niche’
PHUKET: THE international appeal of Phuket’s dive industry has seen many dive shops and dive centers on the island honing in on specific niche markets, usually centered around a specific country or nationality. Backed with their well-equipped dive boat and brand new training facilities, Andaman Ocean Safaris’ business model takes niche marketing a step further, by targeting agents, rather than…
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Phuket Update: British tourist ‘stabber’ awaits trial in Krabi
PHUKET: A Thai man accused of stabbing a young British tourist at a beach party on Phi Phi Island last year is in Krabi Provincial Prison awaiting trial. Hamed Poonyung, 23, has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing 22-year-old Nicholas Palmer in October, 2011. The attack, which took place on a crowded beach at Ton Sai Bay, occurred…
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4 Swedes, 1 Thai dead in horror smash near Phuket
PHUKET: Two young Swedish couples and their Thai driver were killed instantly yesterday morning when their rented car was hit head-on by a six-wheel refrigerator truck in Takua Thung District, Phang Nga. The dead were identified by their ID cards as: Elin Marita Hedbris, 21Frida Madeleine Falk, 22Anders Tobias Larsson, 22Johan Olof Nikolas Svensson, 22Wichit Phromluang, 26, from Udon Thani…
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Phuket Live Wire: Protect yourself from ATM skimming
PHUKET: Recently the Gazette ran a story about ATM skimming, describing how two long-term Phuket residents lost hundreds of thousands of baht at the hands of clever thieves. The banks involved came up with good advice: use ATMs either inside or at the front of bank branches; use ATMs from major banks as they have better anti-tamper systems and beware…
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Phuket Sports: PYSC get the cream of Cats
PHUKET: Young sailors from the Phuket Youth Sailing Club (PYSC) were recently afforded the chance to experience the thrill of being aboard a new 32-foot Marstrom Cat (M-32) on the waters of Phuket. The M-32 is a vessel built purely for speed with the same state-of-the-art technology as used in the aircraft industry and Formula 1 car racing. Owner of…
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World number four pair set to give back to Phuket schools
PHUKET: Schools beach volleyball received a top endorsement recently with the world’s number four pairing of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross from the USA offering to help promote the sport on Phuket. Bob Selznick continues to do sterling work for youth volleyball on the island and his friendship with the 2011 FIVB Phuket Beach Volleyball finalists [Kessy and Ross] has…
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Phuket Sports: FPL round two
PHUKET: Phuket’s Fair Play League (FPL) moved venues to take advantage of the excellent facility at Youth Football Home in Thalang for the second round of the competition. With two immaculately kept grass pitches at the ground, participating boys and girls enjoyed an afternoon of great football. In the U11 Division, spectators were treated to three hard-fought games with every…
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Phuket Media Watch: Thai PM orders investigation into army shooting of four Muslims
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai PM orders investigation into army shooting of four Muslims Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday ordered an investigation into the shooting deaths of four Muslims by paramilitaries in the restive south on Sunday. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered army…
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Phuket and Andaman hotel occupancy at 66.5% in 2011: THA
PHUKET: Hotels in Phuket and other Andaman coast provinces enjoyed the highest occupancy rates in Thailand in 2011, the Thai Hotels Association has announced. Speaking at a forum organized by the Federation of Thai Tourism Associations on Monday, Thai Hotels Association (THA) President Prakit Chinamourphong said there was a chance that Thai hotels could raise room rates by 5-8 per…
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