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Phuket Police lay down the law for Songkran
PHUKET: No sexy outfits, sexy dancing, alcohol in water-play zones and no rolling water-fight trucks are allowed in Phuket during the Thai New Year Songkran festival on April 13-14, the island’s top cop has announced. Also banned is the mixing of powder, ice or foam with water used to ‘bless’ fellow Songkran celebrants, said Phuket City Police Superintendent Col Kraithong…
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Health office launches campaign to stem child drownings
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has called on all local administrations on the island to take steps to prevent any further child drownings in their areas. The move to ramp up water safety throughout Phuket follows Public Health Minister Dr Ratchata Ratchatanawin on Monday issuing a nationwide order for all relevant agencies to launch water-safety campaigns. Dr Ratchata…
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Breaking News: Phuket bans beach sand
PHUKET: In the latest and likely final move to clear undesirables from Phuket’s beaches, the island’s local authorities today began a massive operation to remove the sand from key tourist hotspots along the west coast. The beach cleanup campaign that began last year under military protection is expected to be complete by the end of this year, said Kaikun Kluaeyao,…
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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…
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Iran nuclear talks miss deadline, US threatens to walk away
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iran nuclear talks miss deadline, US threatens to walk away Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Six world powers and Iran negotiated past a March 31 deadline into the wee hours of Wednesday, struggling to conclude an outline accord on Tehran’s nuclear program in the face of…
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Charter flights by five airlines hit amid aviation safety concerns
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Charter flights by five airlines hit amid aviation safety concerns The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: AT least five airlines operating from Thailand to Japan, China and South Korea, and expected to carry about 150,000 passengers, will be affected in the wake of safety concerns expressed…
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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…
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Southern Andaman Sea closed to fishing during spawning season
PHUKET: Large fishing vessels will be banned from working in the southern Andaman Sea from April 1 to June 30, it has been announced. A total of 4,696 square kilometers from Phuket to Trang will be closed during the spawning season. “According to our research, most marine life in the Andaman is breeding between April and June. This is a…
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Phuket Cycling Fest hailed for “eco-tourism peddle power’
PHUKET: The Phuket Cycling Fest returned for its second year last weekend with more than 680 cyclists joining a 46km fun-ride tour of the south of the island on Sunday. Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong chaired the opening ceremony at Saphan Hin on Saturday evening, joined by Uthit Limsakul, deputy director of the Tourism of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office. Governor Nisit…
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Last chance: Lay Pang restaurant owners given seven-day demolition deadline
PHUKET: The owners of a group of restaurants still standing on Lay Pang Beach have been given seven days to demolish their illegal structures, or be charged with encroachment. Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) officials, along with officers from the Thalang District Office and military personnel, inspected Lay Pang Beach and handed out the final demolition orders yesterday. “We…
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Phuket swimmers dominate Thanyapura Invitational
PHUKET: Phuket swimmers dominated the Thanyapura Invitational Swim Meet presented by Rocket Science Sports over the weekend. Local young swimmers competed against athletes and school teams from Bangkok and Samui, as well as Shanghai, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Singapore and elsewhere abroad. Kornkarnjana ‘Golf’ Sapianchai of the Thanyapura Phuket International Academy (PIA) Swim Team finished top of the podium in the Girls…
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Thai airlines take hit as Phuket flight to China plunges from sky
PHUKET: An Orient Thai airlines flight en route from Phuket to Chengdu, China, reportedly suffered an engine failure and plunged from the sky, before levelling out and safely making an emergency landing at Kunming Airport on Saturday. UK daily newspaper The Daily Mail reported that an engine failure sent the aircraft into a dramatic plunge, prompting oxygen masks to be…
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Reward offered for alleged Phuket tour company fraudster
PHUKET: A 10,000-baht reward has been put on the head of a man who left hundreds of tourists stranded on their holiday, and is now wanted for allegedly defrauding a Phuket tour company of about 1.5 million baht. Peerapat ‘Deer’ Singhon, 25, was working as a freelance sales representative for Phuket Diamond Tours as he sold extraordinarily cheap holiday packages…
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Canadian tourists rescued after speedboat capsizes
PHUKET: Two Canadian tourists were safely rescued after their speedboat capsized off Krabi yesterday afternoon. The boat overturned near Koh Dang and Hang Nak Cape, to the west of the tourist-popular beach resort town of Ao Nang. The two tourists and their Thai driver were safely rescued by a nearby fishing boat. “We were fishing around Koh Dang, and a…
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Phuket beach wedding nightmare as couple’s plans bounced
PHUKET: There are no solutions for a distraught wedding couple who already booked everything for a beach wedding before discovering through a Phuket Gazette story (click here) that such ceremonies were banned on the island, confirmed Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak. “We’ve a small beach wedding planned for the end of March. When we paid deposits three weeks ago, nobody warned…
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Air strike kills at least 40 at Yemen camp for displaced
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Air strike kills at least 40 at Yemen camp for displaced Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An air strike killed at least 40 people at a camp for displaced people in north Yemen on Monday, humanitarian workers said, in an attack which apparently targeted nearby Houthi…
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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…
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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…
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Germanwings crash pilot had been treated for suicidal tendencies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Germanwings crash pilot had been treated for suicidal tendencies Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The German pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a plane in the French Alps last week was treated for suicidal tendencies years ago before he received his pilot’s license, German prosecutors said on…
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Elephants banned from Nikki Beach Club Phuket following firestorm
PHUKET: Nikki Beach Club Phuket has vowed to stop granting requests for elephants at its parties, following public outcry about photographs surfacing of a baby elephant being ridden by patrons at the club. The pictures of the baby elephant being paraded around the club sparked a firestorm of negative reactions on various social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.…
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Phuket man killed in motorbike crash with parked 18-wheeler
PHUKET: A man died after crashing his motorbike into an 18-wheeled truck parked near Siam Niramit on the bypass road yesterday afternoon. At the scene, police found the body of Warodom Withayanithidilok, 25, with a broken neck and injuries to his face, said Maj Rachan Punwai of the Phuket City Police. The visor of Mr Warodom’s helmet was completely shattered…
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Opinion: Help tourists discover true Thainess
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently launched a multi-million-baht tourism campaign to lure foreign visitors to the Land of Smiles under the banner ‘Discover Thainess’. What they did not do is explain what “Thainess” is before unleashing their latest marketing ploy. A catchy campaign and slogan with so much potential was immediately lost in translation. Tourists new to…
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Phuket fighters score gold at national youth games
PHUKET: Youngsters from Phuket won gold in seven competitions at the 31st National Youth Games, held in Chanthaburi last week. Thammawat Wongcharoenyot, president of Phuket Sports Association of Thailand Phuket office, was proud of the squad’s performance, especially in the martial arts events. “Phuket won 39 medals this year: 7 gold, 10 silver and 22 bronze. Now Phuket is ranked…
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Finance: Drop in oil prices can be a good thing
PHUKET: When it comes to investing, many make it more complicated than it actually is. What I try to do is use common sense and simplify the process. The two big factors driving global markets right now are central banks and the drop in oil prices. Banks have been pumping trillions of dollars into the global financial system ever since…
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Germanwings crash pilot was psychiatric patient, planned big gesture
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Germanwings crash pilot was psychiatric patient, planned big gesture Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing an airliner, killing 150 people, had told his girlfriend he was planning a spectacular gesture so “everyone will know my name”, a German daily said on…
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Fighting and air strikes across Yemen; dialogue remains distant
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fighting and air strikes across Yemen; dialogue remains distant Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Yemeni fighters loyal to the Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi clashed with Iranian-allied Houthi fighters on Sunday in Aden, the absent leader’s last major foothold in the country. Hadi loyalists in the…
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Major 7.7 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Major 7.7 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A major earthquake with a magnitude 7.7 struck off Papua New Guinea on Monday, official monitors said, and a tsunami warning was issued soon after. The epicenter of the 33km…
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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…
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Half-buried body of British national found on Phuket beach
PHUKET: Locals discovered the half-buried body of a British national on Nai Yang Beach this morning. The fully clothed body of Simon Lian Hua Soh, 67, was still partially covered in sand when rescue workers and police arrived at the scene. “We believe that he died about 10 hours before he was discovered. There was no sign of a struggle,”…
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![Expert fears Phuket touts feeding meth to slow lorises [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_201532814735855_MJaHOSbtiFjelOfaruqgPAIKPhIyuEIBMLmZyqZM_jpeg.jpeg)
Expert fears Phuket touts feeding meth to slow lorises [video]
PHUKET: Police are looking into a wildlife expert’s concerns that slow lorises being touted in Phuket and other popular tourist destinations in Thailand are being drugged with methamphetamine or another stimulant. “My officers will be keeping an eye out for slow loris touts. After we make an arrest, we will be questioning them about whether or not they are drugging…
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