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  • Tourism rebound rise in spending expected to hike GDP by 3.5%

    Tourism rebound rise in spending expected to hike GDP by 3.5%

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tourism rebound rise in spending expected to hike GDP by 3.5% The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry, and Banking still believes that gross domestic product can expand by 3.5% this year, as the rebound of tourism and the expected…

  • Medical official slams new malpractice bill | Thaiger

    Medical official slams new malpractice bill

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Medical official slams new malpractice bill The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Doctors are continuing their campaign against the controversial Protection of Victims of Medical Mistreatment Bill, saying the draft law will further complicate issues surrounding malpractice and sow seeds of reluctance among medical workers when…

  • Malpractice bill touted as ‘best solution’

    Malpractice bill touted as ‘best solution’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Malpractice bill touted as ‘best solution’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Supporters of the Protection of Victims of Medical Mistreatment Bill see no reason that would lead to some doctors wanting it scrapped. “Every article in the bill will benefit doctors and improve patient-doctor relations,”…

  • Students confess to Narathiwat blasts | Thaiger

    Students confess to Narathiwat blasts

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Students confess to Narathiwat blasts The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Narathiwat police chief Pol Maj Gen Patthanawuth Angkhanawin confirmed yesterday that the four Princess of Naradhiwas University students in detention had confessed that they were behind the three bombings in Narathiwat Municipality area on February…

  • South Korea bans Thai airlines over safety concerns | Thaiger

    South Korea bans Thai airlines over safety concerns

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Korea bans Thai airlines over safety concerns The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korea has started banning charter flights from Thailand over safety concerns after Thai negotiators from the Civil Aviation Department failed to convince officials to ease restrictions. A source in the Civil…

  • Cranes help lift moon bears out of Tiger Temple

    Cranes help lift moon bears out of Tiger Temple

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cranes help lift moon bears out of Tiger Temple The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Forest rangers and wildlife protection officials yesterday retrieved six moon bears – a protected species – from dens at a famous temple in Kanchanaburi known to tourists as the Tiger Temple,…

  • Media seek clarity over ‘peacekeeping’ officers

    Media seek clarity over ‘peacekeeping’ officers

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media seek clarity over ‘peacekeeping’ officers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Four media organizations yesterday issued a joint statement asking the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to shed more light on Peace and Order Maintaining (POM) officers in order to ensure that the…

  • WHO launches probe into allegations of domestic worker abuse | Thaiger

    WHO launches probe into allegations of domestic worker abuse

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community WHO ‘seriously’ looking into allegations of abuse The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the alleged abuse of an Ethiopian domestic worker by one of its Thailand-based executives is a matter it is taking “very seriously”. “WHO is aware of allegations…

  • CDC to go ahead with merging of rights body with ombudsman | Thaiger

    CDC to go ahead with merging of rights body with ombudsman

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community CDC to go ahead with merging of rights body with ombudsman The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Constitution Drafting Committee yesterday stood by its plan to merge the National Human Rights Commission with the Office of the Ombudsman as stipulated in the new charter’s Article…

  • Blasts rock Pattani, power poles felled

    Blasts rock Pattani, power poles felled

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Blasts rock Pattani, power poles felled The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Explosions rocked four locations in Pattani’s Muang district, while five power poles were blown up in separate incidents on Wednesday night, causing heavy property damage and blackouts in a wide area. However, no casualties…

  • NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security | Thaiger

    NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) head Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday replaced martial law with its 14-point Order on Maintaining Public Order and National Security. Here is a…

  • UN envoy slams PM’s threat to media

    UN envoy slams PM’s threat to media

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UN envoy slams PM’s threat to media The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A United Nations expert on freedom of expression, David Kaye, yesterday urged Thailand to distance itself from the prime minister’s intimidating statements against freedom of press, and take immediate measures to allow space…

  • Pongpat gets another two and half years in jail

    Pongpat gets another two and half years in jail

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pongpat gets another two and half years in jail The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced Pongpat Chayapan, former chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, to another two and a half years in jail for failing to report the discovery and acquisition…

  • Domestic accuses WHO executive of exploitation

    Domestic accuses WHO executive of exploitation

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Domestic accuses WHO executive of exploitation The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Law Society of Thailand has taken up the case of an Ethiopian domestic worker, who has filed a police complaint, accusing her employer – an executive at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in…

  • Martial law lifted, as Article 44 leveraged to legitimize PM Prayut’s powers

    Martial law lifted, as Article 44 leveraged to legitimize PM Prayut’s powers

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Martial law lifted, as Article 44 leveraged to legitimize PM Prayut’s powers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej has signed a royal decree to lift martial law. The news was announced on a nationwide television broadcast last night. While international right groups…

  • Pheu Thai warns impact of Article 44 will be worse than martial law | Thaiger

    Pheu Thai warns impact of Article 44 will be worse than martial law

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pheu Thai warns impact of Article 44 will be worse than martial law The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Pheu Thai Party yesterday tried to dissuade the government from invoking Article 44 of the interim charter, warning of an even more adverse impact than martial…

  • Lifting of martial law gets the thumbs up

    Lifting of martial law gets the thumbs up

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lifting of martial law gets the thumbs up The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday sought royal approval for lifting martial law, which was imposed shortly before the coup in May last year, and replacing it with Article 44 of the…

  • Decree for lifting martial law sent for royal command | Thaiger

    Decree for lifting martial law sent for royal command

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Decree for lifting martial law sent for royal command: Prayut The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha today confirmed that that he has submitted a draft royal decree for His Majesty the King to sign to lift the martial law. He said…

  • Human trafficking to become national priority in bid to avoid sanctions | Thaiger

    Human trafficking to become national priority in bid to avoid sanctions

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Human trafficking to become national priority in bid to avoid sanctions The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The suppression of human trafficking will be made a national priority on Friday to avoid the risk of Thailand being downgraded under an international protocol against trafficking, Deputy Prime…

  • Prayut promises to exercise absolute power ‘constructively’

    Prayut promises to exercise absolute power ‘constructively’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayut promises to exercise absolute power ‘constructively’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday promised to exercise his powers under Article 44 of the provisional charter “in a constructive manner” – an apparent bid to allay concerns over a new order…

  • Yingluck defends record on human trafficking, fishing ‘slaves’

    Yingluck defends record on human trafficking, fishing ‘slaves’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck defends record on human trafficking, fishing ‘slaves’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday defended her administration after Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha claimed that it did nothing to solve human trafficking or forced labour on trawlers. Yingluck posted a…

  • PM mulls alternative to martial law | Thaiger

    PM mulls alternative to martial law

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM mulls alternative to martial law The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday he was thinking of replacing martial law with other laws including giving himself “absolute power”. “I have been thinking [that] for a long time,” PM Prayut pointed…

  • Slain insurgents were plotting attacks: Isoc

    Slain insurgents were plotting attacks: Isoc

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Slain insurgents were plotting attacks: Isoc The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Following Wednesday’s operation in which four suspected insurgents were killed and 22 others arrested in Pattani’s Thung Yang Dang district, the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc)’s 4th Region Front Command yesterday told the press…

  • Democracy activist arrested, charged with violating junta’s order

    Democracy activist arrested, charged with violating junta’s order

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Democracy activist arrested, charged with violating junta’s order The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-democracy activist Pansak Srithep was arrested early yesterday and charged with three offences, including violating the order of the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order forbidding political gatherings of more…

  • PM fumes over report on slave trawlers | Thaiger

    PM fumes over report on slave trawlers

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM fumes over report on slave trawlers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday warned a journalist from Channel 3 to speak to officials before spreading news about Thais forced to work on trawlers near Indonesia to avoid damaging exports of…

  • Hired gunman confesses to slaying revered monk

    Hired gunman confesses to slaying revered monk

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hired gunman confesses to slaying revered monk The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested a janitor who allegedly was hired to kill the revered monk from Udon Thani who was found shot dead this month. They also named a junior policeman as an accomplice…

  • Bangkok governor takes the blame for flash floods

    Bangkok governor takes the blame for flash floods

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bangkok governor takes the blame for flash floods The Nation/ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fuming from the public and social media griping over the flash flood that paralysed much of the capital on Tuesday, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra yesterday confessed to failing to take precautionary measures like…

  • Govt rejects Amnesty allegations on torture | Thaiger

    Govt rejects Amnesty allegations on torture

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt rejects Amnesty allegations on torture The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Foreign Ministry will defend the government against allegations that suspects behind grenade attacks were tortured while in military custody. It will also explain while the country remains under martial law, PM’s Office deputy…

  • ‘Kamnan Sia’ and wife get 11 years jail for seizing state land

    ‘Kamnan Sia’ and wife get 11 years jail for seizing state land

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Kamnan Sia’ and wife get 11 years jail for seizing state land The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former Democrat Party candidate Pracha “Kamnan Sia” Phophiphit and his wife were yesterday sentenced to 11 years jail for seizing state land. They had encroached on a large…

  • Bangkok’s dummy police to go ‘smart’

    Bangkok’s dummy police to go ‘smart’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dummy police to catch traffic offenders next month The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Starting next month, dummy traffic officers on some of Bangkok’s roads will officially become “smart”, as they will be able to catch violators red-handed via a newly introduced tech system. The so-called…