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Whale shark’s fins stolen by villagers postmortem, say experts
PHUKET: Experts do not believe that the young whale shark found dead yesterday near Koh Pu (story here), off the coast of Krabi, was a victim of the widely denounced shark-finning industry. “We received a report from the village headman about local fishermen having spotted the whale shark and dragging it to shore,” said Dr Rachawadee Jantra of the Phuket…
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Critical underpass intersection to remain closed until end of year
PHUKET: Traffic lanes at the Samkong Intersection, site of the Tesco Lotus underpass, between Kathu and Samkong will remain closed until the end of this year, confirmed the Phuket Highways Office director today. The Phuket City Police announced in December that the lanes of traffic flowing between Kathu and Samkong would be closed until March 1 in order to carry…
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Hotel owner delays Koh Racha Yai canal-dredging project
PHUKET: The completion of the Patok Canal dredging project on Koh Racha Yai has been delayed until the end of the month, after a hotel owner refilled part of the canal and attempted to prevent government workers from returning to the site. The dredging, which began on March 7 and was expected to be completed on Tuesday, came after years…
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Phuket landfill fire posed no health risks, says environment official
PHUKET: Smoke from the fire that broke out at Phuket’s overloaded landfill site Tuesday night did not pose health risks to the island’s residents, confirmed Dr Pornsri Suthanaruk, director of the Phuket Environment Office Region 15. “It was windy on Tuesday, and the wind blew all of the smoke toward the ocean,” he told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. Two rai…
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Phuket Cycling Fest peddles back into view (video)
PHUKET: The Phuket Cycling Fest returns for its second edition on March 28-29 with a weekend of cycling fun, including a 46km tour of the south of the island. The event is being held to promote tourism by bike in Phuket, with the primary goal of tourists and cycling enthusiasts seeing new areas and places to cycle, while promoting the…
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Phuket lifeguards vie for Vietnam contest selection
PHUKET: Members of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, best known for their life-saving role patrolling the island’s beaches, are in training for an international life-saving skills competition in Vietnam at the end of April. Last year, Phuket lifeguards won gold in the three-man board rescue relay and placed second overall at the annual event, called the Da Nang International Lifeguard Competition…
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Records tumble at Andaman Freedive Challenge
PHUKET: Freedivers from Phuket showed well as 12 national records were smashed at the three-day Andaman Freediving Challenge by Blue Planet Apnea from Blue Planet Divers on Koh Lanta, Krabi. “Among the competitors, we had a few known faces who had competed in Phuket before and some competitors who were completely new to competitive freediving,” said Association Internationale pour le…
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Jet-ski Pro Tour comes to Phuket
PHUKET: The opening round of the G-Shock Pro Tour 2015, the premier jet-ski competition in Thailand, will be held off the Sarasin Bridge at the northern tip of Phuket on March 28-29. Joining the competition will be Chaowalit Kuajaroon, Pro Sport 800 Superstock 2004 world champion and the Thailand Pro-Am Runabout 0-1200 Open champion 2005, Phang Nga Governor Prayoon Rattanasenee…
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No figures on civilians being tried by military court
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No figures on civilians being tried by military court The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: At the heart of the fierce debate over whether civilians should face a military tribunal under martial law is the mystery and disagreement on the exact number of civilians who are…
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Woman held over court attack may be key operative
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Woman held over court attack may be key operative The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police believe a suspect arrested for her alleged role in the March 7 hand-grenade attack on the Criminal Court is a key operative coordinating with a high-profile US-based suspect who has…
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Stop hiring relatives, NRC members told
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Stop hiring relatives, NRC members told The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Reform Council has instructed its members to terminate the employment of their relatives after it was revealed that 12 NRC members had hired family members to work for them, Wanchai Sornsiri, spokesman…
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Iranian arrested as DSI busts fake-passport syndicate
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iranian arrested as DSI busts fake-passport syndicate The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday arrested an Iranian as it cracked down on a syndicate engaged in making fake passports, and possibly linked to international human trafficking. S Rafil Bonda, a…
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Fishing net suspected of killing whale shark near Phuket
PHUKET: A fishing net may have caused the death of a 500-kilogram whale shark whose carcass was found near Koh Pu, off the coast of Krabi, this morning. A veterinary team from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) arrived on scene after receiving a report that local fisherman had found the five-meter-long fish and dragged it to shore. On examining…
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Helmet-less motorcyclist killed in Phuket crash
PHUKET: A Myanmar national driving without a helmet was killed in a motorbike accident on Chao Fa West Road last night. The victim was named by police as Than Htay Aung, 24. “He was driving his motorbike with a friend riding pillion at about 11:30pm when he lost control on a bend in the road and crashed into a traffic-light…
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Fire breaks out at Phuket landfill
PHUKET: Two rai of the overflowing 120-rai Sapan Hin landfill were destroyed in a fire yesterday evening. Five firetrucks immediately responded to the fire and were able to contain and douse the flames within two hours, said Phuket City Municipality Environmental Division chief Prachum Suriya. “We are unsure of the cause of the fire, it might have been caused by…
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Phuket lifeguard contract in dire straits – again
PHUKET: The island’s beaches again may be without lifeguards starting next week, as the government contract for the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) to provide its essential life-saving services expires on March 26. The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) has offered the annual 22-million-baht concession for private operators to provide lifeguard services through the coming year to public bidding twice –…
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Boonsong, 20 others indicted over rice deals
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boonsong, 20 others indicted over rice deals The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and 20 others were indicted by the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) yesterday in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders for alleged wrongdoing over “fake…
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Immigration police round up foreign fugitives
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Immigration police round up foreign fugitives The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Immigration Police have rounded up four foreign fugitives – three Americans wanted for fraud and theft, and a Finn sought for child sexual abuse – as well as a clutch of Somalis. Immigration Bureau…
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Haze worsens with highest ever reading at Doi Saket
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Haze worsens with highest ever reading at Doi Saket The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The haze in Northern Thailand worsened yesterday with Chiang Mai’s Doi Saket district reporting the highest amount of particulate matter (PM10) at 369 micrograms per cubic meter of air. This was…
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We will try to cut use of military courts: Prayut
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community We will try to cut use of military courts: Prayut The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: IN reaction to growing opposition, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday he would try to reduce the use of military courts for trials involving civilians held under martial law…
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Phuket police warn of lid robberies by Mercedes-Benz hopefuls
PHUKET: Police have issued a security warning to convenience store staffers after dozens of Ichitan drink lids – which are part of a promotion to win a free Mercedes-Benz – were stolen from a SuperCheap in Rawai. The warning follows a Facebook post by an employee named Joy Hudrudchai that complained about lids of Ichitan and Yen Yen drinks being…
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Police hunt mysterious Brit burglar Charlie Machin
PHUKET: Police are trying to track down a foreign thief, believed to be a British expat, who is wanted for robbing a Swedish man’s home of about 200,000 baht in valuables in Kata. Known so far only by his alias “Charlie Machin”, the suspect is known to frequent bars in Bang Tao and Rawai. “At this stage, all we know…
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Villa Market opens Boat Lagoon branch
PHUKET: The doors to Villa Market’s third branch on the island open on March 20 with the Grand Opening Ceremony in Boat Lagoon taking place on March 27. The grand opening, organized by Kanittha Prasopsirikul from ‘By Kanittha’, will be the highlight of the Boat Lagoon’s monthly Lighthouse Market, which offers a variety of vendors the opportunity to showcase their…
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Flights to Chiang Mai disrupted as smog levels soar in North
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Flights to Chiang Mai disrupted as smog levels soar in North The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The volume of tiny dust particles in the upper North rose beyond the safety level again yesterday and poor visibility reportedly prevented at least four flights from landing at…
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Malaysia arrests Anwar’s daughter for sedition
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Malaysia arrests Anwar’s daughter for sedition Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Malaysian police arrested opposition politician Nurul Izzah Anwar, daughter of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, for sedition on Monday, prompting the U.S. State Department to express concern over the freedom of expression in Malaysia. The…
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Underboob selfies ban brings threat of jail
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Underboob selfies ban brings threat of jail Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand’s military government warned women on Monday against posting ‘selfie’ photos of the lower half of their breasts – a social media trend that has gone viral – saying their actions could violate the…
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Phuket flight denied landing as smog shrouds Chiang Mai
PHUKET: A flight from Phuket was forced to abort landing at Chiang Mai International Airport today after smog reduced visibility over the northern city to 800 meters, reported The Nation. Air Asia Flight FD3161 departed Phuket on time at 10:35am, but was unable to make its scheduled landing at Chiang Mai at 12:30pm for safety reasons. Bangkok Airways Flight PG241…
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Phuket sailors warned of falling space-launch debris
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy issued a warning today for ships to steer clear of an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) debris-fall zone in the Andaman Sea between March 9 and April 8. The area marked in the warning, about 400km northwest of Phuket, is within the following coordinates: 9°15’00″N 94°45’00″E10°05’00″N 95°05’00″E9°45’00″N 96°00’00″E8°55’00″N 95°40’00″E “All ships, please be careful…
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Phuket masseuse suicide sparks manhunt for brutal boyfriend
PHUKET: Police are looking for a man wanted for beating his masseuse girlfriend who was found dead by apparent suicide in Phuket Town yesterday morning. Friends discovered the body of Taweepat Boontawee, 33, at her apartment at a four-story complex on Phun Pol Road Soi 7. She was found hanged by a bathrobe sash tied to a light fitting. “The…
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Experienced diver’s death at Similans baffles park officials
PHUKET: Officials have yet to learn what was the catalyst for the death of an experienced diver who fell unconscious during a mass-diving volunteer project at the Similan Islands on Saturday. Suthat Suktuk, a 45-year-old businessman from Songkhla province, went into shock while diving beyond recreational depths to 47 meters at a site south of Koh Miang, also called Koh…
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