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Merry Christmas Phuket! Governor to announce bypass road speed limit
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut on December 25 will announce the speed limit for motorists travelling along the bypass road, officially called Chalermprakiat Ror IX Road and unofficially one of Phuket’s deadliest motorways. The move will be the first of many measures taken in the hope of achieving zero fatalities over the new year holidays. “The usual ‘Seven Days of…
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Bad egg arrested at Phuket Prison
PHUKET: A woman delivering an omelet to an inmate at Phuket Prison was arrested yesterday when guards discovered that the food concealed anti-anxiety pills.When Thitiporn Janerop, 20, was in the prison visiting room, officers conducted a routine search of the food that she had brought. Inside the omelet they found 40 pills of Alprazolam – popularly known as Xanax –…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Spain graft probe bites hard; Putin critic Khodorkovsky free; Indian push to lift gay sex ban
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Spanish police raid ruling party HQ in graft probe Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Spanish police searched the headquarters of the ruling People’s Party (PP) for 14 hours on Thursday and Friday as part of a corruption investigation that earlier this year threatened to destabilize the government of…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep for cash; Baht falls; Temperatures plummet; Feb 2 polls to go ahead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community People show support by handing over cash to Suthep The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Apart from addressing social issues, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee led by former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban has now started focusing on collecting donations.During the march down Bangkok yesterday, Suthep was seen waving…
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More human remains found believed to be those of missing Phuket 7-year-old
PHUKET: More human remains were found today in the pine woods where family members of missing 7-year-old Nong Dear and villagers yesterday discovered fragments of a human skull, along with shorts and a pair of slippers that matched those the girl was wearing at the time of her disappearance. It was a spirit medium who led the family to the…
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Phuket truck tumbles off Kata Hill
PHUKET: An empty holiday home narrowly avoided heavy damage yesterday afternoon when a truck loaded with pallets of cement bags plunged down Kata Hill. The six-wheeled truck rolled down the steep slope, spilling its load of cement bags as it tumbled. It came to rest after bumping into the front of the vacant house. “We arrived at about 1:45pm to…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Scores injured in London theatre collapse; Castro praises Obama handshake; World Bank names corruption Public Enemy No 1
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scores injured in London theatre collapse Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Emergency services said nearly 90 people were injured on Thursday when part of the ceiling collapsed during a performance at a packed London theatre, bringing the city’s West End entertainment district to a standstill.The audience was showered…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: EC calls to reconsider election date; Yingluck accused of using state funds; DSI to press sedition charges against PDRC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Reconsider poll date: EC The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Election Commission yesterday appealed for cooling-off period out of fears that the wrangling over when the snap election should be held could lead to an escalation in unrest and a dispute over the poll results.“The Election Commission…
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Four injured in Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa fire
PHUKET: Three staffers and a carpenter were injured in a fire that broke out yesterday afternoon in the laundry facilities at the Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa in Patong. “When I realized there was a fire, I order hotel staffers to notify guests to evacuate the hotel. We were at about 70 to 80 per cent occupancy, but got all…
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Phuket Opinion: When democracy requires protest
Thitinan Pongsudhirak is a political science professor and Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and an MA from Johns Hopkins University, and from 1998 to 2005, worked at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Here, he explains the recent Thai protests as a battle between those…
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Phuket Opinion: Seduced by parking
PHUKET: I didn’t know what the Thai Watsadu superstore in Thalang sold when I pulled into the parking lot over the weekend, but I wasn’t there to shop in any case. I went just to enjoy the parking lot, which I had admired from the road. It’s completely covered, offering protection rain or shine, and very well laid out. That…
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Phuket Opinion: Hold the icy judgments of police volunteers
PHUKET: The arrest of well-known former Tourist Police Volunteer Gary Halpin, and the very serious charge of selling the illegal narcotic ya ice (crystal methamphetamine), rocked the Phuket expat community this week (story here). For many people in the local English-language media, the New Zealander was relied on as a valuable and trusted source of information on numerous high-profile cases…
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Moonlighting Phuket electrician falls asleep at wheel, kills motorbike driver
PHUKET: A moonlighting electrician fell asleep at the wheel on his way home from work early this morning, striking and dragging a motorbike taxi driver to his death on Thepkrasattri – Nai Yang Road. Police called to the scene at 6:30am found a pickup truck with a badly damaged hood in a ditch alongside the road. The taxi driver vest…
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German tourist collapses, dies at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A German man collapsed and died in knee-deep water only meters from the shore at Patong Beach just before sunset yesterday. Patong Police officers were called to the scene, in front the police box at the end of Soi Bangla (map here), at 6pm. “When we arrived, lifeguards were administering CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation]. They continued for about 10 minutes,…
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Phuket FC gets new blood for new year
PHUKET: Following a month-long break, Phuket FC last week assembled its new-look squad for pre-season training in preparation for the coming Yamaha League One (YL1) season, which is set to commence in February, 2014. Meanwhile, the club’s chairman and president announced a projected season budget of between 45 to 55 million baht – about the same as the 2013 season,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Putin gambles on Ukraine bailout; White House curbs NSA; South Sudan strife spreads; Tokyo Governor resigns amid money scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community White House review panel proposes curbs on some NSA programs Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A White House-appointed panel on Wednesday proposed curbs on some key National Security Agency surveillance operations, recommending limits on a program to collect records of billions of telephone calls and new tests before…
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Danish tourist mugged for kiteboard on Phuket beach
PHUKET: Police are searching for three foreign men who allegedly threatened a Danish tourist in to handing over his entire kiteboard kit at a Phuket beach. Bjarke Carlsen, 25, reported to police that the incident occurred yesterday at Friendship Beach (map here). “Mr Carlsen said he was robbed on the beach at about 10am, when three men wearing ski masks…
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Phuket teen killed by water truck in front of unopened Makro Rawai
PHUKET: A 15-year-old girl was killed by a water truck at the yet-to-be-opened Makro store in Rawai last night. The 48-year-old driver, Utai Suwannachoti, fled the scene, but surrendered to police this morning. “When we arrived at the scene, we found a water truck stopped in the middle of the road with a lot of onlookers surrounding it,” Capt Wuttiwat…
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Phuket to honor tsunami victims
PHUKET: The Phuket community will honor those who died in the devastating tsunami that struck the island nine years ago with a ceremony at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao followed by the traditional “Light Up Phuket” candle-lighting ceremony on Patong Beach. Thai official figures state that the tsunami killed 5,398 people and that more than 3,700 disappeared in…
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Phuket Gazette World News: India/US spat; South Sudan clashes leave hundreds dead; More Assad; British drug mules get 7 years in Peru
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community India removes U.S. Embassy security barriers in spat Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indian police removed concrete security barriers outside the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday in apparent retaliation for the treatment of an Indian diplomat who was strip-searched after her arrest in New…
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Phuket Police rule out “Nui’ as suspect in missing Nong Dear probe
PHUKET: Chalong Police today ruled out the Bangkok Monster “Nui” as a prime suspect in the Phuket Nong Dear case. Known only as Nui, as police have yet to release his full name, the prime suspect in the case that has outraged the nation confessed on live television to the abduction and rape of “about 10 girls”. He also confessed…
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Drowning of Phuket boy, 9, spurs lifeguard warning
PHUKET: The drowning of a 9-year-old boy at Karon Beach over the weekend has sparked a warning from Phuket lifeguards for parents to never leave children unwatched at the beach. “Children should never be left unattended near the surf, even if no red flags have been posted to mark it as a dangerous area to swim,” Kata-Karon chief lifeguard Uten…
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Phuket Police to target foreigners at night
PHUKET: Foreigners passing through checkpoints at night will be stopped and searched as part of a new effort to ensure the safety of people and property on Phuket, police announced today. The police initiative is motivated by two recent ATM robberies perpetrated by foreigners and the fact that the number of foreign suspects in criminal cases sharply increased this year,…
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Phuket land grab suspect arrested
PHUKET: Police charged a man with encroaching on a protected Phuket forest yesterday after he was found building two houses amid mangroves in Wichit. The arrest came during a raid led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak at a site near Klong Mudong (map here). The raid was inspired by a complaint filed by local villagers, Vice Governor Somkiet told…
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Phuket Gazette World News: China riot leaves 16 dead; UN seeks US$6bn to avoid Syrian catastrophe; NSA tactics ruled unlawful; Philippines bus plunge leaves 22 dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Riot in China’s Xinjiang kills 16, “terror gang” blamed Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Chinese police shot and killed 14 people during a riot near the old Silk Road city of Kashgar in which two policemen were also killed, the local government said on Monday, the latest unrest…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Child killer confesses; Democrats to vote on election boycott; Cold bites hard in North
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lessons learnt in sad fate of 6-year-old girl The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A former convict has confessed to raping and strangling a six-year-old girl in Bangkok earlier this month after she strayed briefly from her father’s attention. Police say she was just one of his many…
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Phuket mother denies rumor that 7-year-old daughter’s body was found
PHUKET: The mother of 7-year-old Natthapa “Nong Dear” Papkaew today dismissed the rumor circulating across Phuket that the body of her missing daughter had been found. “I have heard the rumor, but they’re not true. My little girl has not been found,” Jaroon Papkaew told Phuket Gazette today. Capt Thada Sodarak of the Chalong Police confirmed that his officers had…
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Former Phuket police volunteer denied bail
PHUKET: Long-time expat and well-known Tourist Police Volunteer Garry Halpin has been denied bail by police, the Phuket Gazette was told today. Mr Halpin was arrested on Saturday night in a police sting operation during which he was found in possession of more than 18 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Mr Halpin was placed under arrest after he bought…
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Phuket murder trial of Swedes enters closing stages
PHUKET: Tommy Viktor Soderlund, one of two Swedish nationals charged for the stabbing murder of Maksim Schantz two years ago, reiterated his plea of not guilty at Phuket Provincial Court today. Mr Soderlund, in court to testify, repeated his plea of not guilty and gave his version of events that led to the killing of Russian-born Swedish national Mr Schantz…
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Jetstar begins direct Phuket-Melbourne flights
PHUKET: Jetstar Airways has launched its non-stop service between Phuket and Melbourne, connecting Phuket to one of its most important source markets just in time for the tourism high season to kick off. “The first flight of the service directly to Phuket left the ground on December 14, making it the first direct low-cost carrier service for travellers between the…
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