News
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Sponsored Top 5 luxury villas in Phuket and Koh Samui for your next holiday
Ask people to name the most beautiful places in Thailand, and you'll often hear Phuket and Koh Samui being mentioned. Who would disagree? One is renowned for its bustling nightlife, vibrant culture, and lively beach scene, while the other is...
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Siblings drown off Krabi on Children’s Day
PHUKET: A pair of siblings drowned after they were swept out to sea off Nopparat Thara Beach in Krabi on Children’s Day. Vimvipa Keawyai, 14, and her 12-year-old brother, Vongvut, were swimming with friends in the Son Canal, about 20 meters from their parents, when the accident occurred. “My wife and I stayed on the beach while the children went…
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Phuket cyclist arrested for robbing store with lighter gun
PHUKET: Police tracked down and arrested a known cyclist early this morning after he robbed his local Family Mart convenience store with a lighter gun to buy some beer a few hours earlier. Key to finding the suspect, Narin Gamegaeman, 26, was that he made his getaway on his bicycle, said Maj Col Thitirat Arsakij of the Thung Thong Police.…
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Phuket officials scramble to avoid Chalong underpass traffic mayhem
PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office and consultancy experts are scrambling to find alternative routes for motorists to avoid serious congestion once construction of the Chalong underpass begins next year. Slated to cost up to 800 million baht, construction of the underpass is expected to have a damning effect on traffic at the critical southern roundabout, Chalong Circle, said Samak Luedwonghad,…
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Man slain, body dumped in Phuket mangroves
PHUKET: Police are attempting to identify a man whose body was found in a mangrove swamp in northern Phuket late last night. A local fisherman discovered the body among mangroves in Tah Chat Chai, at the northern end of Mai Khao, at about 10:30pm. “The body is of an Asian male, dressed in a black t-shirt and purple shorts. He…
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Bull elephant causing strife at Khao Yai
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bull elephant causing strife at Khao Yai The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: In just 10 days, a wild bull elephant has damaged four vehicles and caused alarm among tourists at Khao Yai National Park. Fortunately, no one has been harmed in the two shocking encounters…
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Millions, world leaders, join Paris protest against attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Millions, world leaders, march in Paris to protest attacks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: World leaders including Muslim and Jewish statesmen linked arms to lead more than a million French citizens through Paris in an unprecedented march to pay tribute to victims of Islamist militant attacks.…
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Three foreign neighbors robbed in one night
PHUKET: Three foreign neighbors were robbed last night of cash and valuables amounting to more than 100,0000 baht. This morning, Thalang Police were called to the scene, the Baan Bang Rong Community. “The three bungalows are located next door to each other and were robbed sometime last night or early this morning,” said Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri. “The owners…
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Safety, hygiene at Phuket worker camps to be regulated: Gov Nisit
PHUKET: A special committee will be set up to manage and oversee security and safety at Phuket’s numerous construction worker camps following a spate of violent clashes, Phuket Governer Nisit Jansomwong announced yesterday. The move follows a massive gang brawl on January 1 between construction workers from Cambodia and Myanmar at a camp for workers involved in the expansion of…
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Local president pleas for help, patience concerning filthy Phuket beach
PHUKET: The president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has made a plea for help concerning the piles of trash at Surin Beach and the untreated wastewater flowing into the swimming area there. “Although we have trash bins there, people don’t use them,” said Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay OrBorTor. “There’s a lot of garbage strewn…
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Stateless children make plea for Thai nationality, rights
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Stateless children make plea for Thai nationality, rights Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: As New Year and National Children’s Day gifts, homeless and migrant children in Thailand are asking for Thai nationality and basic rights. Kaloh Ma-yeur, a 21-year-old freshman at Loei Rajabhat University, recalled…
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Phuket driver’s licence tests start rolling toward privatization
PHUKET: The Department of Land Transport (DLT) has begun rolling out its campaign to privatize driving tests, with the goal of having private-company driving schools conduct all the practical and theory tests on the government’s behalf by 2017. People applying for their first driver’s licence will soon be able to watch the mandatory training video at a driving school instead…
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Video Report: Phuket International Hospital organizes charity run
PHUKET: Phuket International Hospital will hold its annual “Run for Health, Run for Charity Mini Marathon” this February 22, with the winners receiving trophies presented by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. “This is the third year that Phuket International Hospital has organized this event. It will be a great honor to have HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn taking…
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Letter from the Governor: Let your children know you care
Nisit Jansomwong, 52, from Ratchaburi, landed on the island in October to take up the position of Phuket Governor. He has a master’s degree in administration from Chulalongkorn University, where he graduated with honors. Before coming to Phuket, Governor Nisit was governor of Ratchaburi province for one year. PHUKET: Children’s Day gives us the chance to show children just how…
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Phuket B12mn marina canal extension completed
PHUKET: The extension of the Koh Kaew canal, which leads to Royal Phuket Marina and Boat Lagoon, was completed on December 28, allowing easier passage for big boats and yachts to the area. “We no longer have to worry about big boats getting stuck in the canal. We can also better manage our boat departure and arrival schedules; it is…
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Opinion: Time to tackle Phuket’s ever-growing trash dumps
PHUKET: We started 2015 with breaking news of a “private” dump site in coastal Kamala (story here), which is still serving as a pungent reminder that Phuket’s waste disposal problems remain a dire threat to the island’s future. Now, as everyone returns to work and the year begins in earnest, we must face the fact that current strategies are not…
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Video Report: Children’s Day kicks off in Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET: Put the youngsters to bed early tonight, because tomorrow is Children’s Day, which means Phuket will be aflutter with fun activities and entertainment. The first Children’s Day in Thailand was in 1956, since then, government leaders have annually branded the event with a slogan. This year, the slogan created by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is “knowledge and virtue…
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Phuket light rail is a game changer, says property expert [video]
PHUKET: The long-awaited project to build a “light rail” mass-transit system to ferry tourists and residents the length of the island passed its third and final public hearing on Tuesday, when it was revealed that construction is slated to begin in 2021. The 23.5-billion-baht project has been heralded as an enormous development for the island’s tourism and property industries, with…
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Thai charter clause to prevent media domination
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Charter clause to prevent media domination The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The new constitution will have a clause that is designed to prevent investor domination over media businesses through hostile takeovers, a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) said yesterday. The move follows the…
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Armed French gendarmes swoop on villages in manhunt for newspaper attackers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Armed French gendarmes swoop on villages in manhunt for newspaper attackers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Armed and masked anti-terrorism police swooped on woodland villages northeast of Paris on Thursday in a manhunt for two brothers suspected of being the Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people…
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Vendors to be allowed back on three Phuket beaches
PHUKET: Three of Phuket’s most popular beaches, which have been given the green light for a three-month beach vendor trial period, were inspected by officials yesterday to establish vendor-friendly zones. The trial period was announced at a meeting in Provincial Hall last month by Governor Nisit Jansomwong, during which he laid down a stringent list of conditions under which vendors…
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Corpse found in Phuket coconut grove
PHUKET: Police have yet to rule out foul play after a decomposed corpse was found in a Mai Khao coconut plantation yesterday evening. A local resident cutting grass at the site discovered the remains at about 6pm, said Lt Thanom Thongpan of the Tah Chat Chai Police. “When we arrived, there were quite a few locals at the scene trying…
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Human traffickers claim B300k payoffs to clear police checkpoints
PHUKET: Corrupt Thai officials allegedly accepted bribes of about 300,000 baht per truckload of trafficked people in order to allow smugglers past checkpoints, it has been revealed. The revelation comes after police on Tuesday arrested two of three men who attempted to smuggle more than 50 Rohingya through Takuapa, Phang Nga, north of Phuket, to Malaysia on Monday (story here).…
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Police take DNA samples in karaoke waitress rape, murder case
PHUKET: Police investigating the rape and murder of a karaoke waitress in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, are collecting DNA samples from suspects in the hope of identifying the woman’s killer or killers. The manhunt began on Sunday after the body of Ploipailin Ketkeaw, 26, was found in a palm plantation just 300 meters from the Tiew Phai karaoke, where…
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Fighters arrive for Pencak Silat World Championships in Phuket
PHUKET: Fighters from 38 countries arrived in Phuket on Tuesday to take part in the 16th Pencak Silat World Championship, which will get under way at Saphan Hin this weekend. “There will be about 1,000 people, including athletes and support staff, coming to Phuket for the competition,” Nakrob Thongdaeng, deputy secretary general Pencak Silat Association of Thailand (PSAT), announced on…
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Hotel compulsory buffets are hard to swallow
PHUKET: There are some things we take for granted in life as being inherently part of it. Death and taxes are two of the most obvious examples, but there are again certain givens foisted on us that have absolutely no right to be there, yet we blithely accept them as being part and parcel of existence. Tourists in foreign climes…
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Phuket’s monkey business flouting the law
Edwin Wiek is founder and director of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), an NGO protecting wildlife and nature in Thailand and Laos. He has been living in Thailand since 1989 and in 2001, founded WFFT. Here he talks about the mammoth problems facing wildlife protection forces, including systematic corruption at local level. PHUKET: While most people visit Phuket for…
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Actress ‘Pinky’ questioned by police, cleared in B1.5bn embezzlement case
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Actress ‘Pinky’ questioned by police, cleared in B1.5bn embezzlement case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Actress Savika “Pinky” Chaiyadej yesterday told police that she didn’t know Kittisak Mattujad, who is believed to be a key person in the Bt1.5-billion embezzlement from the King Mongkut Institute…
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Police hunt three Frenchmen after 12 killed in Paris attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police hunt three Frenchmen after 12 killed in Paris attack Reuters / Phuket Gazette PARIS: Police are hunting three French nationals, including two brothers from the Paris region, after suspected Islamist gunmen killed 12 people at a satirical magazine on Wednesday, a police official and government…
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Drought stalking many provinces, over 1,800 villages hit
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drought stalking many provinces, over 1,800 villages hit The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Drought is now haunting many parts of the country sooner than expected, raising concern that water shortages will be worse this year than ever before. Praphan Upata, a former village head in…
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NMG executives brief NRC panel on takeover risk
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NMG executives brief NRC panel on takeover risk The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Top executives of Nation Multimedia Group (NMG), which includes The Nation newspaper, met yesterday with the Media Reform Committee of the National Reform Council (NRC) to express concern over a possible hostile…
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