News
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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Police: case of missing Phuket woman romantic, not criminal
PHUKET: Police confirmed today that they do not consider the disappearance of Bunyanee Sungparn, 29 (story here), to be a criminal case. “After her brother reported her missing on July 1, I checked her Facebook page,” said Capt Rattanatorn Bumrungthin of the Thung Thong Police. “I read a conversation between Ms Bunyanee and her brother, Weerawit Sungparn, that mentioned a…
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Phuket Hajj pilgrims line up for free vaccines
PHUKET: More than 200 Muslims planning to make the Hajj this year took advantage of free vaccinations at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization Hospital on Saturday. “The Provincial Hospital has partnered with the Phuket Public Health Office to offer free meningococcal meningitis and influenza vaccines to people in Phuket and nearby provinces who plan to travel to Mecca for the…
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Foul play not suspected in death of Microsoft engineer at Phuket villa
PHUKET: Phuket Police see no reason to open a murder investigation in the case of a former Microsoft engineer found dead at his villa at Ao Makham last week (story here). The man, American-born Clifford Nelson Bamford, was found floating in his villa pool by his housekeeper on July 1. “There were no signs of a fight at the scene…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: High hopes for Ramadan peace; Thaksin clip a hit; DSI wants missing monk disrobed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hopes for Ramadan peace hold The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Thai authorities and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) hope that the initiative taken by the government and Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), aimed at cutting on violence in the deep South, will yield results from the first…
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Relatives cry murder, Phuket police disagree
PHUKET: Relatives of a woman found dead in her car in an old tin mining pond on Monday believe she was murdered, but police do not agree.Wattana Itthisan, the 27-year-old owner of Fasai Minimart in Chalong, was found in her submerged car in an old tin mining pond behind Chalong Temple on Monday morning.“The driver’s window was open and the…
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Phuket man confesses to suffocating “nagging’ mother-in-law
PHUKET: A man who suffocated his mother-in-law after an argument in Phuket confessed to the killing several hours after the horrific encounter.The body of Prayad Phawaphutanon, 50, was found half-clothed and lying on her bed by her 14-year-old son when he returned from school yesterday evening, said Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri today.“After finding his mother dead in bed, he…
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Phuket chief denies drug payoff, developer extortion claims
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol has denounced accusations claiming that he accepted cash from drug suspects to overlook test results and that he attempted to extort money from developers by holding their machinery for ransom.Chief Veera flatly denied the allegations: “I have never sought benefits, money or otherwise, to release drug suspects. It’s not true, and all the other…
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Phuket health officials brace for MERS
Special Report MIDDLE East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was first identified in Saudi Arabia in September last year. At least 80 people have since contracted the disease; 44 of them died. The most recent deaths, both in Saudi Arabia, were diagnosed on June 28. Both patients were dead five days later. MERS spreads more easily than its relative, the notorious SARS…
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American surfer dies in Phuket
PHUKET: A 60-year-old American surfing on Phuket’s popular break at Kata Beach died after falling from his board into the water.Mark Carroll arrived in Thailand yesterday and immediately hit Kata’s surf alone after checking into his hotel.“Mr Carroll appeared to have lost consciousness while surfing and fell into the water,” Pichai Wattanawalan of the Karon Police told the Phuket Gazette.The…
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Phuket teenager shot in gang attack
PHUKET: A 16-year-old boy from Rawai was shot in the leg four times by a gang of teenagers in a reprisal attack in Phuket Town last night. The teenager, given the pseudonym “Korn” by police, was shot multiple times at the Esso gas station near the busy Slaughterhouse Intersection (map here) at about 9:20pm. “When we arrived at the gas…
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Chula United’s Big Bang neutralizes Phuket FC’s glory
PHUKET: An ever-determined 10-sided Phuket FC let their 2-1 lead against Yamaha League One (YL1) rivals Big Bang Chula United, slip away in the final minute of added time in a highly-charged fixture. Played on Saturday evening at Surakul Stadium, just under 4,000 spectators turned out, including some 300 pink-shirted BBCU fans – some rumored to be locals coerced to…
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Search for MV Hope Bangladeshi crew called off as salvage efforts begin
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy today called off its search for the remaining missing crewmen of the Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope, which capsized in heavy seas south of Phuket on Thursday night (story here). The news comes after the search yesterday failed to locate any more of the missing crewmen, Capt Thammawat Malaisukkarin, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Asiana Air crash unravels; China stays corruption death sentence; Egypt rumbles; Brazil referee decapitated; Pope prays for humble cars; Five dead in Canada train disaster
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Crew tried to abort landing before San Francisco air crash Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crashed at San Francisco’s airport on Saturday, leaving two teenage Chinese students dead and more than 180 people injured.The aircraft was travelling “significantly below” its intended speed and…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Four die in police cell fire; American hacked to death over B51; Yingluck declines to step down
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four detainees die in blaze at Nonthaburi police station The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Four cellmates jailed for a range of minor offences died yesterday when a police station in Nonthaburi went up in flames and a guard fled with them still locked up.The four men were…
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Phuket police move to snare wanted rapist stepfather from Laos
PHUKET: Police have requested an arrest warrant for the Laotian man wanted for repeatedly raping and impregnating his 15-year-old handicapped stepdaughter in Phuket. “The stepfather has left the country,” Patong Police Officer Teerasak Boonsaeng told the Phuket Gazette. The 40-year-old man, originally from Laos, has been at large since June 29, when his wife discovered what he had done (story…
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Glue-huffing monk on holiday in Phuket also a thief
PHUKET: A monk who came to Phuket to visit a friend was arrested in Rassada yesterday and charged with sniffing glue and theft. Police were alerted by villagers at about 6pm yesterday that a monk was sniffing glue in a pavilion at Pa Aram Rattanaram Temple, near Mission Hospital (map here). When police arrived at the temple, they found Chaiyasit…
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Phuket Opinion: Shooting for Island Justice
PHUKET: The failure of police to bring to justice the man who shot and killed 21-year-old Ekkasit Sangangam in the heart of Phuket Town in early May last year will come as little surprise to veteran observers of Thailand’s criminal justice system. A low-ranking officer assigned to the Patong Police was arrested and charged within minutes of the shooting, which…
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Phuket Gazette Queer News: Lucky mutants usher in lottery luck – twice
PHUKET: Villagers in two provinces at the opposite ends of Thailand are celebrating the births of mutant piglets – after successfully using the lucky freaks to divine winning lottery numbers. The first queer porker was born in a village in the Lamplaimat District in Buriram Province in the Northeast. The animal had five legs, two tongues and fangs sticking out…
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MV Hope: Three more survivors rescued, two bodies brought ashore Phuket
PHUKET: Three more survivors were plucked from the sea yesterday as the Royal Thai Navy continued its search for the crewmen still missing from the Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope, which capsized in heavy seas south of Phuket on Thursday night (story here). The three survivors – named as 2nd Officer Mohammad Mobarak Hossain and Cadets Raeq Fairooz and Mushfiqur…
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Phuket Opinion: Refugee runaways – shelters aren’t jails
Jiranun Cheamcharoen, 46, from Ratchaburi, received a BA from Thammasat University and an MA from Ramkhamhaeng University. She has been a social worker since 1991 and the director of the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families on Koh Sireh for four years. Here, she talks about the difficulties of housing Rohingya children and what action she took after they ran…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Venezuela offers Snowden asylum; 24 dead in Egypt clashes; EU warns US over spying; Mali Army in Tuareg town; 16th century Paris tower opens
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Venezuela offers asylum to Snowden Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday he had decided to offer asylum to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who has petitioned several countries to avoid capture by Washington.“In the name of America’s dignity … I have…
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Close encounter of the rugby kind – Phuket Sports
PHUKET: In a nail-bitingly close encounter, the Wallabies triumphed in the second Melbourne Test. 16-15. A solitary point between the two teams. A series now level at 1-1. Over two games, a total score of 38- 37. Some match-up! Before the game, Lions captain Sam Warburton had referred to “the biggest game of my life.” After the final whistle, Wallabies…
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Sea survivor: Bangladeshi cargo shipman recounts ordeal
PHUKET: Crewman Abu Bakar Siddique lies resting in a ward in Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, recovering from his ordeal of being washed overboard from the cargo ship MV Hope amid heavy seas late Thursday night. The MV Hope was overpowered by rough seas while en route from Penang, Malaysia, to Chittagong, Bangladesh. The ship was about 25 nautical…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Deep South strategy wins support; Human trafficking reports slammed; Monk’s millions mount; White Masks to dance July 14
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck’s Deep South strategy wins support The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Measures introduced by the military to end insurgency in the deep South are well underway and should make good progress under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s concurrent role as defence minister, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Thanathip Sawangsaeng…
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Sarong unravels mystery of body dumped near Phuket school
PHUKET: The sarong wrapped around the head of the man found dead in a field near a prominent Phuket school has led police to arrest a murder suspect. Police have declined to reveal any information about the suspect, except that he was male. “This is an ongoing investigation. We believe more than two people were involved in the murder and…
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Phuket Airshow & Family Picnic ready for takeoff
PHUKET: On behalf of the U.S. Navy League, the organizers, suppliers, sponsors,pilots, cooks, clowns, face painters and the scores of others engaged in presenting the Airshow & Family Picnic at Phuket Airpark this weekend, we at the Phuket Gazette would like to invite you to join us. Phuket has never seen anything like this. Entry is FREE; the shows are…
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Local fisherman’s body found in Phuket lagoon
PHUKET: The body of a local fisherman feared drowned was pulled out of a lagoon by rescue divers in Cherng Talay yesterday.Daorueng Lekon, 41, was last seen at about 5pm on Wednesday, walking into the water to place a fish trap in the pond, said Sub Lt Prasert Tongphrom of the Cherng Talay Police.“Villagers said he always went fishing at…
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Seminar aims to develop potential of Phuket Muslim women
PHUKET: Recognizing the importance of women’s role in the family and in society, Phuket officials this week held a two-day seminar aimed at developing the leadership potential of Phuket Muslim women.The seminar, held on Wednesday and Thursday and organized by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO), aimed to improve Muslim women’s knowledge about their rights, roles and responsibilities, and to…
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Phuket FC reinforced for TPL promotion push
PHUKET: In their dedicated drive to get promoted to the Thai Premier League (TPL), Phuket FC have regrouped mid-season, signing 10 new players to help them in the final 17 matches of the Yamaha League One (YL1) 2013 season. The new signings include seven Thais, a Brazilian, North Korean and Cameroonian. The club has not made any official announcements about…
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Phuket Navy resumes sea-rescue search for Bangladeshi crew
PHUKET: Officers from the Royal Thai Navy Phuket base resumed their search this morning for 11 crewmen still missing from the Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope, which remains foundering in the Andaman Sea south of Phuket. “We sent out two helicopters and the HTMS Pattani at 6am,” Capt Thammawat Malaisukkarin, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs told the Phuket Gazette.…
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