News
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5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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Video Report: Asian Weightlifting Championships wrap up
PHUKET: Between September 6 and 11, 162 athletes from 29 countries flexed their muscles as they battled against gravity at Saphan Hin’s 4,000-seat Indoor Sports Complex for the 26th Senior Women’s and 45th Senior Men’s Asian Weightlifting Championships . The event’s opening ceremony was chaired by National Olympic Committee of Thailand President Yuthasak Sasiprapha. Fifteen athletes from Thailand, seven females…
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Charter rejection boosts economy
PHUKET: The rejection of the draft charter by the National Reform Council with a vote of 135-105 last week, along with measures to spur the economy worth a combined 136 billion baht, should overall have a positive affect on consumption, investment, and tourism, while also boosting internal economic activity, said Dr Anusorn Tamajai, dean of Rangsit University’s Faculty of Economics.…
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Fishing boat sinks, two missing
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police are searching for two men who are still missing after their fishing boat sank off Phuket. “We received a report from speedboat captain Sulaiman Srisamut, who rescued a Myanmar national he found floating at sea near Koh Dok Mai,” said Phuket Marine Police Chief Panya Chaichana. “The first report was that three others were missing. However,…
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Private sector may join light rail project
PHUKET: The private sector might be asked to join forces with the government to push through the more than 23-billion-baht light rail project slated for Phuket. “When it comes time to propose the budget to the government, we will see if it is willing to take on the whole cost or if it will invest only a portion, giving the…
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Malaysia arrests three suspects in connection with Bangkok blast
PHUKET: Malaysia has arrested three suspects in connection with the investigation into a bombblast in central Bangkok last month that killed 20 people, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said on Monday. Two Malaysians and a Pakistani national were arrested and were assisting with the investigation, Khalid told reporters. “We believe the suspects can help in the investigation our arrest was…
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Nai Harn soi dogs under control, says mayor
PHUKET: The Nai Harn Beach dog situation is under control without officials having to take any drastic measures, Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos told the Phuket Gazette. “We will not be banning pets at worker camps. However, we have dispatched municipality officers to ask that the residents take proper care of them and sterilize the dogs,” Mr Aroon said. “We’ve also…
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Phuket marina wishes boat-fire victims speedy recovery
PHUKET: Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) issued a statement wishing the speedy recovery of the two men seriously injured after a speedboat engine exploded near the marina’s fuel dock yesterday morning. “Royal Phuket Marina staff acted quickly and professionally,” the statement said, noting that safety precautions were followed. “[RPM staff used] on-site fire safety equipment, doused the blaze, assisted the speedboat…
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Weather warning issued for Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has issued a heavy rain warning from today to September 19 due to Tropical Storm Vamco, which is bound for Vietnam. “It is not a serious warning,” said Santhawat Riwleung, chief of the DDPM Phuket. “There will be rain everyday, some of which will be very heavy.…
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First Person: Saving Thailand’s sharks
Brendon Sing, from South Africa, has been actively involved with shark research and conservation for more than 15 years. He has taken more than 5,000 dives, many with a range of shark species across the world. Now, as one of the Directors of Shark Guardian, a United Kingdom-based charity for shark and marine conservation projects worldwide, he has been giving…
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Making life easier with HeadsUp
PHUKET: A young Phuket man is giving the world a ‘HeadsUp’ with a new application he helped to create, which is aimed at simplifying everyday life. Robert Conner, who is a former British International School of Phuket student, helped develop an app called ‘Hey! HeadsUp’ with his college friends Abhijay Bhatnagar and Arjun Bhatnagar. The app allows you to schedule…
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Freshly fueled boat bursts into flames at marina, two seriously injured
PHUKET: Five men were injured when a resort’s transfer boat burst into flames while refueling at the Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) at 9am yesterday. “Two of the victims were seriously burned, with one having burns to more than 50 per cent of his body and the other with burns to about 40-50 per cent of his body. The other three…
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Island View: Who said shark attack?
PHUKET: There is a great responsibility in the media to understand the impact and long-term effects of the language used in stories from ‘Negro’ to ‘shark attack’. The term Negro started to fall out of favor in the United States by 1966 and was completely taboo by the mid-1980s. Given the politically correct nature that balanced, main-stream media take, it…
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German expat found dead in home
PHUKET: A German woman died yesterday after what police believe was an accidental fall from a ladder while changing a light bulb. Thalang Police were alerted at about 12:15pm. Upon arrival, officers found the body of Irmgard Helga Hein, 71, on the floor of her Dream Village home. “Ms Hein had a plaster cast on her left arm and nearby…
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Police unravel multi-million baht drug network run from prison
PHUKET: Krabi Police arrested four men last night who are part of a criminal network allegedly headed by an inmate in Bang Kwang Prison in Nonthaburi, just outside of Bangkok. Among the four was more than 28 million baht’s worth of ya ba pills (methamphetamine). “Ya ba delivery agent Boworn Phetkuha, 28, was caught en-route to dropping off drugs for…
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Phuket temple raider caught red-handed
PHUKET: Monks prevented a thief, who had previously broken into Srisoonthorn Temple, from escaping when the man returned to the scene of the crime last night to commit another theft. “When we arrived at the scene, we found the monks standing around their residence to prevent 24-year-old Thawatchai Sirimonkon from eluding justice again,” said Lt Col Kritsana Jannit of the…
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Road-raging truckers crash in Phuket
PHUKET: Two road-raging truck drivers were in an intentional crash on Thepkasattri Road, the north-south artery of the island, causing long tailbacks for about an hour this morning. “Suriya Kuiyoksui, a 35-year-old driver of an 18-wheeled-truck, flung open his door to ensure a minor crash with the driver of a six-wheeled crane truck. The men immediately exited their vehicles and…
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Phuket nightlife venues to push ministry for 4am close
PHUKET: Patong nightlife operators will send a letter to the Ministry of Interior asking for opening times in the party town to be extended to 4am, revealed Weerawit Kurasombat, head of the Patong Entertainment Business Association. The announcement comes after a meeting yesterday that reiterated the rules and regulations of the current ‘nightlife zone management plan’ for Patong. “We talked…
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National Police Chief tempers rumors about bomb suspects’ whereabouts
PHUKET: National Police Chief Gen Somyos Pumpanmuang today asked that the public cease publishing unfounded speculations about where the Bangkok bomb suspects might possibly be hiding. “There are a lot of rumors spreading about where the suspects might be. We have increased security at all borders and exit points in the country, including Phuket. However, there is nothing to be…
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Business Buzz: Facebook hits billion in one day
PHUKET: If there was ever any doubt about the popularity and growing success of Facebook, on August 24 they answered their critics in the best possible way. It was the first time that a reported one billion users logged into their Facebook account on the same day. To put it into perspective, that was not a billion users in a…
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Power to the guards
PHUKET: Following an effort to stomp out life-threatening recklessness on Phuket’s beaches, lifeguards and Karon Police have joined forces to help prevent beachgoers from entering dangerous waters. With the new initiative, lifeguards will now inform police officers of any unruly or disobedient swimmers or visitors. “If lifeguards can’t stop tourists from swimming, we are ready for them. We can be…
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DNA from Koh Tao murder weapon not a match, expert says
BANGKOK: DNA found on the weapon allegedly used to kill two Britons on Koh Tao last year did not match those of the defendants currently on trial, a forensics expert testified in court this morning. Pornthip Rojanasunand, head of the Ministry of Justice’s forensics institute, told the Samui Provincial Court that the DNA found on the garden hoe used against…
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Finance: Yuan’s potential impact on stocks
PHUKET: China has fired a barrage in the ongoing global currency wars with its first devaluation in two decades in hopes of propping up its export-driven economy and reducing its politically dangerous loss of manufacturing jobs. Despite the dramatic headlines, what’s looking like a mere two per cent devaluation is unlikely to trigger a bear market in the global stock…
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Thailand’s first Thai, female marina manager takes reins at RPM
PHUKET: Royal Phuket Marina confirmed the appointment of Thailand’s first Thai, female marina manager, Woranart Wongvanich. Ms Woranart has worked in Thailand’s marine industry for more than 20 years, more than 10 of those at Royal Phuket Marina, where she has worked her way through the ranks to her current management position. “Joining Royal Phuket Marina at the beginning, I…
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Opinion: Phuket shark week
PHUKET: We send our condolences to Australian tourist Jane Neame, whose recent visit to Phuket was marred by one of the most unlikely of accidents: a shark bite. We are impressed with the way the Australian, who is six months pregnant, took the injury in stride. We hope island residents and visitors react in kind, not unduly panicking over what…
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Local buses move to safeguard business
PHUKET: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Chinese tour businesses and local bus companies is underway in order to decrease the number of outsourced buses used on Phuket, confirmed Santi Pawai, the Phuket office director for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Local bus companies pushed for the MoU due to the alleged negative impact the outsourced buses have had…
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Navy levels illegal rubber, oil palm plantations
PHUKET: Chainsaws were roaring in Phuket as the Royal Thai Navy led an about 300-person task force in removing illegal rubber and oil palm trees from more than 82 rai of public land yesterday. “Officers filed a complaint about the illegal plantations in Suan Pa Bang Kanun in March. However, no owner has stepped forward to account for the trees…
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Civil defence volunteer pistol whips tourist
PHUKET: Police arrested a Kathu district civil defence volunteer for breaking a Kuwaiti tourist’s nose in a fight in Patong early yesterday morning. “Our officers were on a routine patrol when they saw two men fighting in front of the Royal Palm Beach Front resort on Thaweewong Road,” said Lt Sarawut Putthapornapiban of the Patong Police. Officers quickly broke up…
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Australian Boarding and Day School Fair to be held at RPM
PHUKET: More than one million baht worth of scholarships, study trials and fee reductions are being offered by various schools at the CETA Worldwide Education’s inaugural Australian Boarding and Day School Fair on October 4 from 1pm to 5pm at the Royal Phuket Marina. The exhibition is organized in conjunction with the Australian Education Assessment Services and supported by the…
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Seized toothfish ship flees Phuket with illegal cargo
PHUKET: An illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) toothfishing vessel that was seized in Phuket in March slipped through officials fingers this week. “The ship is gone,” said Charoen Chamniklang, the Thai Customs Investigation and Suppression Bureau (ISB) team leader. “It just disappeared in the blink of an eye.” The Royal Thai Navy held an emergency meeting yesterday to determine what action…
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Storm-sunk ship salvaged for dive site
PHUKET: A large section of the Cambodian-flagged cargo vessel that sank near Coral Island has been moved to Koh Racha Yai in the government’s effort to support the scuba diving industry in Phuket and Krabi. The piece of Sinaran Andaman was placed on sand at a depth of about 30 meters, far from where it could impact coral reefs in…
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