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How IG International allows you to trade safely
Trading is much more accessible today, thanks to the advancement of technology. All you have to do is open your web browser or download an app, set up an account, and you’re all set to trade. But here's the thing...
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Island View: Phuket’s perennial road-flooding problems during rainy season
PHUKET: With the return of the rains last week, Phuket’s perennial road-flooding problems also made a dramatic comeback. But not on one stretch of highway that has been blighted for over a decade by impassably deep puddles. The junction by the TOT’s main office on Chao Fa West was transformed into a no-go lake with every heavy tropical downpour –…
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DSI looks into more mangrove encroachment cases
PHUKET: Officers from the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) on Friday surveyed and collected information on two plots of land suspected to overlap the mangrove forest at Baan Kuku. The DSI team was joined by officers from the Navy and Rassada Municipality. “Locals claim that the land in Baan Kuku Moo 3 is public land, dating as far back as…
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![Airport axe-man charged, gets licence suspended [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_2016661418679_qeRxRAiPrESHJHLqyOlhjjPehGxwSLzJpQGHRpXI_jpeg.jpeg)
Airport axe-man charged, gets licence suspended [video]
PHUKET: An axe-wielding taxi driver was arrested hours after a video of him at Phuket International Airport was published on Facebook on Saturday. “The video, uploaded by Woratat Wuttikorn, shows 45-year-old Nuttawut Chidjui waving the axe before putting it back in the vehicle,” confirmed Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Bundit Khaosutham of the Tourist Police Region 5. This rude taxi driver…
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Phuket international school eyed for takeover
PHUKET: The British International School Phuket (BISP) is in talks with global education provider Nord Anglia, which is making a bid to take over the school’s operations. In a letter addressed to parents last week, BIS CEO Apiwat Ourairat stated that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the school and Nord Anglia over the potential lease of…
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Boiler explosion injures two at Krabi palm oil factory
KRABI: Two workers were injured, one of them seriously, when a boiler exploded yesterday at a palm oil refinery in Khao Phanom, Krabi. Police reported that the boiler exploded around midday. Officers arrived to find palm oil spilled throughout the facility. The two injured workers were taken to Khao Phanom Hospital. Ekkachai Sawaddiwong, 21, was released from the hospital yesterday.…
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Sea gypsies plead for DSI help
PHUKET: The Rawai sea gypsy community, involved in an ongoing land dispute with a developer, submitted a letter to a Department of Special Investigations (DSI) team yesterday. A sea gypsy representative, Nirund Yangpan, met with a DSI team in Phuket Town. Mr Nirund reportedly urged the team to prove the legality of a walkway that the sea gypsies use to…
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Strong waves, winds wash up trash on Phi Phi
PHI PHI: Officials are cleaning up piles of trash that washed up on Hat Noppharat Thara Beach in Phi Phi National Park yesterday due to monsoon season rains and strong waves. “The beach is about two kilometers long. Most of the trash is plastic bags and bottles that people do not dispose off properly,” said Pinit Engchuan of Phi Phi…
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Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74 Phuket Gazette / Reuters US: Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, unprecedented flair for showmanship, and controversial stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died on Friday aged 74,…
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Key sectors to watch out for in the stock market
PHUKET: May to October is often a season of choppy sideways action. The old adage, ‘Sell in May and go away,’ already appears to be holding true as over the last three weeks, US markets and global markets have pulled back from overhead resistance levels on their technical charts. The Nasdaq index in particular is looking bad as tech, semiconductor…
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Rescuers remove mating pythons from pipes
PHUKET: Rescue workers yesterday removed two four-meter long pythons found mating behind a house in Mai Khao. “Locals reported the incident to us about 9:45am. When we arrived, they were hiding in the cement drainpipe behind the house,” said Chokdee Inthaklab of the Mai Khao Administrative Organization (OrBorTor). “The drainpipe is very deep, so we had to pry them out…
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Krabi man grows cash crop in backyard
KRABI: The growing nationwide demand for jasmine has led one man to set up his own backyard cottage industry. Vichan Tongsanay, 40, who works as a deckhand at the Krabi Marine Office, said he earns around 300 baht per day by selling the flowering plant. “I’ve been growing jasmine in the heart of my village for 5-6 months,” Mr Vichan…
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Phuket teens concoct ‘legal high’ using pharmacy drugs
PHUKET: A dangerous new drug mixture known as ‘gas’ is gaining popularity among Phuket teenagers and others in the southern region. The drug – prepared by mixing cough medicine, allergy medicine, pain killers, or muscle relaxants with a soft drink or other mixer – has yet to be declared illegal. Currently, pharmacists are allowed to sell these drugs to walk-in…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Waiting 20 minutes for a roti
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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UN issues statement after more horrors discovered at Tiger Temple
KANCHANABURI: Authorities continue to discover evidence suggesting that the once-popular tourist destination Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, better known as the Tiger Temple, was involved in the sale of exotic animal parts. Stickers touting ‘Supplementary Food: The Power of Tiger’ and ‘Young Antler Herbs’, were found inside the temple yesterday. One monk was among those arrested, after authorities caught…
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Naka Noi ‘owner’ pleads for Land Department reversal
PHUKET: The owner of a land company claiming 24 rai on Naka Noi Island is petitioning the Land Department director-general in Bangkok, after a committee voted to revoke his company’s land documents. The land dispute over parcels of Naka Noi, some three kilometers off Phuket’s east coast, has long been a source of controversy, with reported sightings of armed gunmen…
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Samui drug addict dies while in custody
SAMUI: Officials are investigating the death of a man who was being held in custody at the Bo Phut Police Station in Koh Samui yesterday. “Kosin Tongjutha, 44, originally from Nothanburi Province, was found dead in his jail cell with no signs of a struggle,” said Lt Col Denduang Tongsisuk of the Bo Phut Police. “A urine test has confirmed…
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Four jailed, heavily fined for land theft
PHUKET: Four Thais have been convicted for forging land title documents, claiming ownership over more than 400 rai of Sirinath National Park, government officials announced on Wednesday. The felons face up to 14 years in prison and more than nine million baht each in fines, announced the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) Director-General Thanya Netithammakun. He…
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MOTS director ready for new beginning
PHUKET: Santi Pawai, the director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Phuket Office (MOTS), is being transferred to the position of director at the Institute of Personnel Development for Physical Education and Sports in the Department of Physical Education. “The order will come into effect on June 8 but until then, it’s business as usual,” Mr Santi told the…
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Tiger bodies, parts found at Tiger Temple
KANCHANABURI: Wildlife officials yesterday found more than 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer in Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasam-panno, more widely known as the Tiger Temple. Officials from the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (NPD) found the frozen cubs while removing 137 tigers from the temple, and relocating them to breeding centers in Ratchaburi Province, near…
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Third time unlucky for store stick-up man
PHUKET: Police caught a convenience store robber yesterday after his third armed hold up in Phuket. “The robber, named by police as Veerachai Singniew, 26, was arrested in Pa Khlok yesterday afternoon after he robbed a Family Mart in Baan Lipon, holding up staff with a 28cm-long kitchen knife. Police tracked the man down to his home in Pa Khlok…
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Red Cross blood donation drive schedule for June
PHUKET: Mobile blood donation clinics will be popping up all over the island this month, the Phuket Red Cross announced today. The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is hoping to supplement its limited supplies of O, A, and AB blood types. “We need to maintain a daily minimum of 200 units of these blood types, in addition to 20 units…
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DMCR task force charges 22 shrimp farmers
PHUKET: A Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) task force has charged 22 shrimp farmers in Phuket for encroaching on mangrove forests. Officers from the 120-man inter-agency task force, dubbed ‘White Shark’, conducted raids throughout forests on the island’s east coast from May 29-31. DMCR Deputy Director-General Sakda Wichiansin said that White Shark inspected 34 plots of land, covering…
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Eight Chinese busted for working illegally
PHUKET: Eight Chinese photographers were arrested for working illegally in Phuket on Tuesday. “The suspects were preparing to take photographs of couples for a wedding ceremony being held at Chalong temple at about 11:30am,” said Phuket Provincial Labor Office Chief Suttipong Saisakares. “Our officers asked for their work permits, but they were unable to provide any. So, we explained to…
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Vandals damage clown fish sculpture in Krabi
KRABI: A clown fish sculpture was damaged by unknown vandals yesterday, leading to a disappointed Facebook post by Krabi City Mayor Keeratisak Phukaoluan. “Whoever did this is heartless,” said Mr Keeratisak in his post. “The sculpture was built using public taxes in order to accentuate the beauty of the province for tourists. It is damaged at the tail and was…
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Four suspected insurgents, one ranger killed in Narathiwat clashes
THAILAND: Four suspected insurgents and a ranger were killed in two clashes in a mountainous area in Narathiwat’s Chanae district yesterday. The first clash occurred about 7am, when Narathiwat task force troops and rangers launched a joint operation to raid a camp of the suspected insurgents in the mountainous area behind I-Kros village in Chang Puean sub district. Intelligence agencies…
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The financial and legal steps involved in starting a small business
PHUKET: To pick up from where I left off last time, let’s discuss the financial and legal steps involved in starting a small business. Plan your financials: Whether you are putting in a couple of months’ salary, or your entire life savings, finances need to be properly laid out. Many of us make the mistake of putting in too much…
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Security guard breaks into home, assaults owner
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a security guard who confessed to breaking into a Pa Khlok tourist villa where he was employed. “Amman Tokanee, 24, was apprehended in Narathiwat Province, where he had escaped for fear of being arrested after the incident in Phuket last Friday,” said Thalang police superintendent Sompong Thip-apakul. Mr Amman broke into Cape Yamu Villa, but fled…
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Rescuers free taxi driver pinned to steering wheel
PHUKET: An airport taxi driver pinned against the steering wheel of his vehicle had to be pried out after the car crashed into a power pole this morning. The driver, Chakri Jaruwateekul, is in serious condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital. He was unconscious after rescue workers cut him out of the Honda Civic. “It took about 30 minutes to get…
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Mayor Somjai takes to the streets following heavy rains
PHUKET: Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana took to the streets to hear out locals’ complaints after a deluge of rain during the past week caused flooding and chaos on the island. Mayor Somjai knocked on doors on Amphor Road and discussed solutions with residents who live by the canal, about flooding in the area. She also visited the Phuket Post…
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Opinion: Problems with Phuket’s blood supply
Dr Suprang Suttantapidok, MD, is a hematologist at Vachira Phuket Hospital and the head of the hospital’s blood bank. A Phuket native, she graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital and specialized in hematology. She has been working for Vachira Phuket Hospital since 2013. Here, she talks about the blood-related issues that Phuket faces and the needs of…
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