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Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort puts sustainability at its heart
The term sustainability is often thrown around as a buzzword in the hospitality industry, but at Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort, it’s genuinely part of their mission. Located in Makham Bay, just south of Phuket Town, the beautiful resort puts...
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Russian expat likely killed in shallow-water blackout, says expert
PHUKET: A freediving expert believes that long-term Phuket expat and Russian freediver Denis Lipatov, 39, drowned off Koh Racha Noi on Saturday afternoon after diving alone and suffering a shallow-water blackout. Mr Lipatov, freediving alone, made his last descent at 3:50pm, to 25.5 meters according to his dive computer. The computer also recorded a very fast ascent, explained one of…
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Seat belt saves Phuket chief judge in auto wreck
PHUKET: Phuket Court Chief Judge Parinya Chaowalittawin became a traffic-accident statistic over the weekend when he survived an accident en route to Krabi. “I was on my way to see my parents in Trang, and had left Phuket at about 4:30am on Saturday,” Mr Parinya told the Phuket Gazette.“It was about 6am and I was some two kilometers past Krabi…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US shutdown with no end in sight
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community In first day of U.S. shutdown, no end in sight Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans came no closer to ending a standoff yesterday that has forced the first government shutdown in 17 years and thrown hundreds of thousands of federal employees out…
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![Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Threat from typhoon eases [VIDEO] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/thailandnews_Photo_The_Nation_22388_HnPqPsmRGL_jpeg.jpg)
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Threat from typhoon eases [VIDEO]
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Threat from typhoon eases The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: With Typhoon Wutip rapidly heading for a downgrade to a low-pressure ridge yesterday, some Thais heaved a sigh of relief but many remained on the lookout for another coming storm. Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, who…
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Bangla daylight raid nets Phuket slow loris
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol yesterday led a team of officers along Patong’s Soi Bangla in a daylight raid that netted one slow loris tout.Warawuth Saiudom, 20, from Kalasin province, was caught in the act of receiving money from a tourist for having a photo taken with one of the nocturnal creatures.“An undercover officer informed us that a slow…
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Phuket’s “Brother Pom’ leads Central taxi flock to legal co-op
PHUKET: The informal network of taxi drivers operating at Central Festival Phuket shopping mall will be registered as a formal co-operative as part of the drivers’ efforts to work as part of a fully-legal entity by November 30. The co-operative will call itself the Andaman Taxi Service Co-operative, explained network leader Pom Sukkasam, also known as “Brother Pom”. “We have…
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Tour operators warned of imposters in Similian National Park
PHUKET: The Similan Islands National Park authority has warned tour operators over a group of people posing as park officers and offering reduced entry fees to the islands. “A couple of weeks ago, a number of tour operators informed me that there was a group of people who approached them, claiming to be national park officers,” Similan Islands National Park…
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Phuket wild boars ravage football-golf greens
PHUKET: A sounder of wild boar has settled on an 18-hole “Football Golf Course” in Chalong as their preferred dining area, but in the pigs’ quest for cuisine, they’ve left damaging divots on the greens. “Our course is currently under attack by wild boars, which are rampaging through it at night and ripping up our greens,” said Neil Simmons of…
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Go Eco Phuket starts eco-warrior recruitment
PHUKET: The first fifty people to contact local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket will earn a spot at the Go Eco Camp, which plans on certifying and training islanders to be active marine conservationists. “Go Eco camp is now open for applicants. Applications will be accepted from expats, students and locals until November,” Jirayu Naragoonphithak, the project’s coordinator, told…
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Phuket jet-ski thug gets first taste of swift tourist court justice
PHUKET: The first cases heard in Phuket’s tourist court, which involved a jet-ski operator who attacked two tourists on Kata Beach, were resolved less than 36 hours after the incidents happened. Danaichet Yomjinda, 25, who pled guilty to charges of assaulting the two men on Friday with a “No Swimming” flagpole, was issued a 1,000-baht fine and put on probation…
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Krabi’s Andaman Eagles swoop down on Phuket FC
PHUKET: The Islanders fell into 11th place of the 18-team Yamaha League One (YL1) as a result of their latest defeat, 3-1 to Krabi FC in a tense “Andaman derby” match on Saturday evening in Krabi Town. As a result, Phuket FC and the Krabi “Andaman Eagles” swapped rankings, the latter moving up to 9th place with 38 points –…
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Phuket hitman Rambo denies death squad charges
PHUKET: Joseph Manuel Hunter, 48 – nicknamed “Rambo” and arrested at his rented Phuket home last Thursday, as originally reported by the Phuket Gazette (story here) – has denied charges of recruiting a team of former military snipers to commit murders on behalf of two Colombian drug cartel leaders. The cartel leaders were, in fact, Drug Enforcement Administration informants posing…
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Phuket’s new ‘top cop’ arrives on the island
PHUKET: Phuket’s new Provincial Police Commander, Maj Genl Ong-art Phiewruangnont, has arrived in Phuket. On arriving here yesterday evening, in a convoy of nine police vehicles, Maj Gen Ong-art first visited Baan Muang Mai stone and then the Heroines Monument, to pay his respects to Phuket’s illustrious history and cultural heritage. Speaking to the Phuket Gazette before his arrival, Maj…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Berlusconi plunges Italy into chaos; Air strike on Syrian school; US faces Fed Govt shutdown; Nigerian massacre; Space FalconX launches
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Italian politics in crisis after Berlusconi pulls support Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Silvio Berlusconi’s bid to push Italy into new elections faces a test on Monday when he meets lawmakers from his centre-right party who have shown growing unease over his shock decision to pull support from…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Floods hit, more rain coming; High hopes for baby panda; Govt urged to consider BRN proposal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM visits Prachin Buri as flood crisis intensifies The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The flood crisis in Prachin Buri was the focus of attention yesterday amid forecasts of more rain on the way and fears that local industrial estates could be submerged.The eastern province has been the…
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Russian dive instructor drowns at Racha Noi Island
PHUKET: A Russian dive instructor who worked in Phuket drowned off Racha Noi Island on Saturday afternoon.Denis Lipatov, 39, was at the island with friends when he developed a cramp while swimming at about 5pm. By the time he was rescued he was unconscious, and efforts to resuscitate him failed.His friends returned to Chalong pier with his body, where they…
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Kata jet-ski operator attacks Israeli tourists
PHUKET: Two Israelis, a father and son, were attacked and injured by a jet-ski operator wielding a “No Swimming” flag-pole on Kata Beach yesterday afternoon. The attack was motivated by damage to the jet-ski the pair had rented, the attacker – who was arrested soon afterward – told the police. “When we arrived at the scene, we found a lot…
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Samkong underpass construction set to begin in November
PHUKET: Construction is to start on the 850-million-baht underpass at the Samkong intersection in mid-November.“We have already started to clear the area in preparation for the construction,” Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad told the Phuket Gazette this week.“We will start by digging up the median strip on the bypass road north of the Samkong intersection,” he said.Drivers should be…
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Iran paying it back; Anti-coco mission crashes; Sudanese hit with tear gas; Global warming mankind’s fault
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iran makes payments on old loans to World Bank Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Iran resumed payments on old loans to the World Bank, the bank said on Friday, just as the country held the highest level conversation with the United States in more than three decades.The poverty-fighting…
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Army to battle pad kaphrao; Abhist warns PM over amendment; Big three to reduce prices
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai Army ready: We shall fight them in the kitchens Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Royal Thai Army has declared war on pad kaphrao. A sign banning the spicy stir-fried basil dish has appeared in the canteen at the Office of the Army Secretary in Bangkok. Evidently…
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Poll: Phuket prefers Coke
PHUKET: Just under half (49.6%) of respondents to a recent Gazette poll said they prefer the taste of Coca-Cola (Coke) over that of three other competing brands on the market – Pepsi, Est and Big Cola. The poll, which ran online from August 2 to September 1, was answered by 514 unique respondents, who were asked which cola brand (sold…
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All invited to Islamic New Year fiesta in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Everyone, regardless of faith, has been invited to mark the Islamic New Year with a fiesta and keynote speakers in Phuket Town on November 8 and 9. “The event to honor Hijrah 1435 [the upcoming Islamic New Year] will be held on November 8 and 9 at Sanaam Chai Field (map here), opposite Provincial Hall in Phuket Town,” said…
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Police boost ranks as high season approaches
PHUKET: Much needed police boots will march onto the island in mid-November to help protect the swelling numbers of tourists and the general population of Phuket as officers ready for high season. “Our ranks will grow by 146 officers by mid-November,” said Phuket Provincial Deputy Commander Saneh Yawila. On September 25, 49 more officers will take station on Phuket and…
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Phuket Opinion: Hailing a new era
Prasat Pechwang, 56, is a Phuket native. He earned a BA from King Mongkut’s University of Technology in North Bangkok, majoring in Electrical Engineering. He started working at Saudi Oger Company Ltd in 1981 and moved to We-Ef Lighting Company Ltd in 1987. He has been a taxi driver with Phuket Taxi Meter Service Company Limited for ten years. Here,…
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Phuket Opinion: “Tis the season to crack down
PHUKET: A recent crackdown on Westerners working illegally in the marine leisure industry has generated a great deal of comment from readers, yet the debate focused almost solely on Thailand’s notoriously vague definition of what constitutes work, while missing out on some fundamental aspects of the issue.Comments posted on the Gazette website failed to reference the fact that arrests of…
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Police ordered to carry out weekend blitz on crime
PHUKET: One of Thailand’s top-ranking police officers has ordered Phuket law-enforcement authorities to ramp up their crackdown on all forms of crime over the weekend as part of a blitz to improve tourists’ confidence in safety. Gen Wuthi Liptapallop, a national-level adviser to the Royal Thai Police, was in Phuket yesterday to review progress made in the island-wide crackdown launched…
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Gunman Dj Bee on the run
PHUKET: Police suspect Dj Bee and his two alleged accomplices in the gunning down of man in Phuket’s party town of Patong on Sunday have fled the island. “The court issued an arrest warrant yesterday for Wanchit Sornsaree (also known as Dj Bee), Tookta Saleekoop and Moe Than Daroo for attempted murder and the possession of an illegal firearm and…
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Strict firework controls put in place for upcoming Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Officials agreed on Wednesday to adapt extra measures to control the use and sale of fireworks during the Vegetarian Festival next week, with special emphasis on keeping particularly loud and quick-to-ignite pyrotechnics off the streets.The small red strings of firecrackers will be allowed, said Chaiwat Taephee, Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad). But only at shrines and during parades.Officials…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bank security boost; Floods unabated; Granny kratom grower gets 3 years in jail
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Banks to up security in wake of robberies The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Royal Thai Police has held a meeting with 16 banks and six security-truck firms to discuss the recent spate of bank, gold-shop and convenience-store robberies (story here), deputy police spokesman Thana…
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Enraged villagers protest over-sized truck nuisance, get results
PHUKET: Villagers on Soi Han Farang finally lost their patience with the constant stream of over-sized trucks rumbling past their homes and held a protest yesterday afternoon to demand an end to what they view as a serious nuisance and health hazard. The road is used many times a day by trucks bringing soil and construction materials to about half-a-dozen…
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