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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Youth dinghy racers lead the way
PHUKET: Promising young Thai sailors took to the waters in Optimist and Laser dinghies to mark the first competitive class racing action under the umbrella of this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, in the 5th Phuket Dinghy Series. Twelve back-to-back races ran in front of the Sailing Club at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Command at Cape Panwa, on…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta shows appreciation to sponsors with grand opening ceremony
PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee, led by its president, Kevin Whitcraft, hosted the official opening ceremony of the 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta yesterday. The event was held at Kata Beach Resort & Spa, the spiritual home of Asia’s classic race, and was attended by VIPs, media guests and hundreds of sailors from around the world. Joining…
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Thai veteran wins King’s Cup golf tourney for record 18th title
PHUKET: Thaworn Wiratchant crafted his way to the best birdie putt of the year to beat India’s Anirban Lahiri for his long-awaited King’s Cup title and a record 18th Asian Tour victory at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Course yesterday. A stroke ahead of the current No 2 on the Asian Tour Order of Merit ranking, the 47-year-old Thai…
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AIDS campaigners say pandemic has finally reached tipping point
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AIDS campaigners say pandemic has finally reached tipping point Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The world has finally reached “the beginning of the end” of the AIDS pandemic that has infected and killed millions in the past 30 years, according to a leading campaign group fighting…
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Hong Kong police clash with protesters near financial district
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hong Kong protesters clash with police near heart of financial district Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists clashed with police early on Monday as they tried to encircle government headquarters, defying orders from authorities to retreat after more than two months…
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Debt collectors arrested in police corruption scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two civilians arrested in CIB chief graft case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The roundup of accomplices of the former Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief facing corruption probe continues with the arrests of two civilians yesterday and the scheduled surrender today of two soldiers to…
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Here they come! Big guns line up for Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: Neil Pryde’s Hi-Fi and Frank Pong’s Jelik, both out of Hong Kong, are lined up to go head to head in the leading racing division of the King’s Cup Regatta 2014, which begins in earnest on Monday. Looking to cause an upset are Karl Kwok’s Team Beau Geste and Ahern, Bailey, Wilmer’s Oi!, both from Australia. Fellow Aussie Ray…
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“Tourists, bring your own umbrellas,’ says Phuket beach town president
PHUKET: The chief of the local authority governing the beaches in Cherng Talay has called for tourists to bring their own umbrellas and beach mats to enjoy on the sands. “For now, tourists are allowed to bring their own umbrellas to the beach,” said Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor). “Mats are allowed too, but…
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From Sweden with love: Cyclists on final stretch to Phuket tsunami orphanage
PHUKET: A group of cyclists raising funds for a post-tsunami orphanage are on the final stretch toward Phuket after having departed Sweden in March. Calle Wollgard and his team have already conquered 18 countries (including Iran), almost 16,000 kilometers of questionable roads, insane traffic, mountain passes, visa issues and countless other unexpected setbacks that lurk within the pages of an…
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Phuket beach club to be demolished
PHUKET: The owners of five businesses at Nai Yang Beach have been given just 11 days to pull down their buildings – or else have the might of a military-backed demolition team do it for them. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak issued the deadline at a meeting on Thursday, when he explained that the Court of Appeal had dismissed the…
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American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested an American man for sex crimes allegedly committed in the United States and Thailand. Thomas Andrew Erickson, 47, who is also known as Andrew McLean or Barry…
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Hunt continues for more corrupt officials
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt continues for more corrupt officials The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are tracing more corrupt officials after probing lists of bribe-takers seized from a fugitive, Pattani-based businessman who ran an illegal band petrol trade in the far South. Initial findings showed some 12 million…
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Phuket man robbed of B1mn worth of amulets
PHUKET: A local resident is pleading with police to track down those responsible for stealing amulets and other valuables worth more than 1 million baht from his home in Chalong last week. Charoen Chamnanyon, 56, even put a large, vinyl sign in front of his house on Soi Chao Fa 45 addressing the thieves. It reads: “To my dearest thieves…
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Navy backs Patong jet-ski plan as model for Phuket
PHUKET: Patong’s management system for jet-skis will be the model for the rest of Phuket, the Royal Thai Navy announced yesterday. “Zones separating swimmers from jet-skis will be applied in Patong first, and then at other beaches on the island,” said Vice Admiral Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command. “The order has already been signed…
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Phuket King’s Cup: The countdown is on (video)
PHUKET: The countdown to the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2014 is on, with official sail measurement for boats entering the annual beginning this morning. A total of 150 boats from 40 countries are registered to take part in the annual regatta, which will begin off Kata Beach on Monday and conclude on December 6. Competing sailors come from the USA,…
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Navy approves umbrellas for Phuket beaches
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy yesterday granted permission for tourists to bring umbrellas to Phuket beaches. The move comes after weeks of pressure from local business owners, foreign governments and tourists themselves. “I am aware that tourists were not allowed to bring their own umbrellas to the beach. However, this is no longer the case,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Patchara…
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Phuket health officials: no need to panic over plague outbreak
PHUKET: Health officials are urging Phuket residents fearing bubonic plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, not to panic following an outbreak of the deadly disease in Madagascar. Krit Sakulpat, deputy chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office has not been alerted to the Madagascan plague endemic by the Ministry of…
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Abuse against women on the rise: study
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abuse against women on the rise: study The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Moves to stem the rising incidents of violence against women have not succeeded and in Thailand there are almost 100 abuse cases reported daily, with most of the attackers a partner or family…
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Deep South death sentences prompt fears of attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Deep South death sentences prompt fears of attacks The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Security officers were tightening security across the deep South amid fears of retaliatory attacks by insurgents following the Pattani Provincial Court’s verdict on Wednesday sentencing five men to deaths for their roles…
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NRC panel in favour of direct election of Cabinet and PM
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC panel in favour of direct election of Cabinet and PM The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A new parliamentary system that has never been seen before in Thailand – separation of the executive and legislative branches where the entire cabinet, including the PM, will be…
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Evidence mounts against 3 DSI agents in police graft scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Evidence mounts against 3 DSI agents in police graft scandal The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three DSI agents have been incriminated in the probe of the petrol-smuggling ring in the Deep South allegedly involving former crime-buster policeman Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan. Suwana Suwanjuta, director-general of…
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Video Report: Dutch diplomat poses tough questions to Phuket Governor
PHUKET: The Dutch Ambassador to Thailand posed some tough questions during a visit with the new governor yesterday, honing in on the island’s biggest problems and the future of Phuket’s tourism sector. Due to numerous complaints that have streamed in to the Embassy from Dutch tourists visiting the island recently, Ambassador Joan Boer focused mainly on the high cost of…
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Testing reveals “female’ body washed up on Surin Beach is male
PHUKET: The unidentified body initially reported to be that of a woman found washed up on Surin Beach in September has turned out to be that of a man, police revealed to the Phuket Gazette today. “DNA testing has now confirmed that this is the body of a man – not a woman,” Lt Jeerasak Sungwisut of the Cherng Talay…
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Opinion: Bad timing for Phuket’s full-scale tsunami drill
PHUKET: The announcement of plans to conduct a full-scale tsunami evacuation drill in Phuket on Christmas Day was a surprise (story here), given that the next day marks the 10th anniversary of the most horrific loss of life and devastation in the island’s recorded history. Thankfully, the inevitable complaints about the timing have been lodged, and hopefully it is not…
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Opinion: Beware of deadly little worms, Phuket
PHUKET: I am surprised that the Department of Disease Control does not inform the public of or educate it about the dangers of eating raw foods. There is a disease, called gnathostomiasis, caused by a nasty little worm that is ingested by eating raw or partially cooked foods, particularly freshwater fish and crustaceans, but also eels, frogs, birds and reptiles.…
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Australian cricketer Hughes dies after being hit by ball
PHUKET: Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died in a Sydney hospital on Thursday, two days after being struck by a ball that led to a “catastrophic” injury which caused “massive” bleeding to his brain and ultimately proved fatal. The international batsman was struck on the neck by a short-pitched delivery when batting in a domestic match on Tuesday, with the force…
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Body of Caucasian man found floating off Phuket beach
PHUKET: Officers are attempting to identify the body of a Caucasian man found floating in the sea off Phuket this morning. The body was spotted by Chaimongkol Yaemaroonpattana, a Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) officer, while he was patrolling the waters near Kata Beach. “I saw the body floating about one kilometer from shore. My colleagues and I retrieved it,…
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Phuket yachts wrap up race series with plain sailing
PHUKET: After the stormy conditions last Saturday, sunny skies and mild conditions greeted the competitors on the Sunday for the Ao Chalong Yacht Club’s (ACYC) Race Series 2 final race day. The final placings came down to who was the most consistent and which boats turned up regularly – persistence and commitment count, helped along for the first time this…
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Five more caught in police graft scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Five more caught in police graft scandal The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Five civilians accused of involvement in the corruption scheme engulfing crime buster Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan have been apprehended and are going through the criminal process, National police chief Gen Somyot Poompanmoung said…
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British man arrested in Udon for sex offences in the UK
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community British man arrested in Udon for sex offences in the UK The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A British man, wanted for 17 counts of sexual violation and molesting girls under 14 in the United Kingdom, was arrested on Tuesday at a local school in Kumphawapi…
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