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    Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?

    Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...

  • Malaysian arrested for hacked credit cards in Phuket

    Malaysian arrested for hacked credit cards in Phuket

    PHUKET: Tourist Police arrested a Malaysian man at Phuket International Airport this weekend for having hacked credit cards in his possession. Mohd Jaris Tan Bin Abdullah, 50, was arrested shortly after landing on board AirAsia flight FD3017 at 5:05pm, said Phuket Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit. The arrest followed a tip-off by Kasikornbank (Kbank). “When he arrived, we searched him…

  • British tourist found dead in Patong hotel bathtub

    British tourist found dead in Patong hotel bathtub

    PHUKET: Police believe that a combination of two common drugs, Alprazolam and Nytol, may have led to the death of a British man in the bathtub at his Patong hotel room last night. Hotel staffers at the Baan Yin Dee Boutique Resort on Muean Ngen Road found the body of Arif Abdul Khalid Ukaye, 33, in his guest room at…

  • Rolling Stone to be sued for retracted rape story

    Rolling Stone to be sued for retracted rape story

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rolling Stone to be sued for retracted rape story Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The University of Virginia fraternity at the center of Rolling Stone’s retracted article “A Rape on Campus” said on Monday it planned to sue the magazine for what it called “reckless” reporting…

  • Medical official slams new malpractice bill | Thaiger

    Medical official slams new malpractice bill

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Medical official slams new malpractice bill The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Doctors are continuing their campaign against the controversial Protection of Victims of Medical Mistreatment Bill, saying the draft law will further complicate issues surrounding malpractice and sow seeds of reluctance among medical workers when…

  • Students confess to Narathiwat blasts | Thaiger

    Students confess to Narathiwat blasts

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Students confess to Narathiwat blasts The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Narathiwat police chief Pol Maj Gen Patthanawuth Angkhanawin confirmed yesterday that the four Princess of Naradhiwas University students in detention had confessed that they were behind the three bombings in Narathiwat Municipality area on February…

  • Russian PM arrives today on official visit | Thaiger

    Russian PM arrives today on official visit

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian PM arrives today on official visit The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is to arrive in Bangkok today to cement ties with Thailand in various domains including politics, economy, security, energy, science and technology, education, tourism and culture. Foreign Minister…

  • South Korea bans Thai airlines over safety concerns | Thaiger

    South Korea bans Thai airlines over safety concerns

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Korea bans Thai airlines over safety concerns The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korea has started banning charter flights from Thailand over safety concerns after Thai negotiators from the Civil Aviation Department failed to convince officials to ease restrictions. A source in the Civil…

  • Phuket manhunt launched for alleged rapist, baby killer

    Phuket manhunt launched for alleged rapist, baby killer

    PHUKET: Police are hunting a male nanny who allegedly raped and killed a 1-year-old boy in Phuket Town on April 3. The 38-year-old man, Somsak Yakob, called the child’s mother on Friday night to tell her that the baby had fallen to his death. Mr Somsak met the baby’s mother, named by police only as ‘Mon’, that night at the…

  • #SaveVasilisa campaign launched for comatose 3-year-old girl

    #SaveVasilisa campaign launched for comatose 3-year-old girl

    PHUKET: An online campaign is gaining momentum to raise funds for a 3-year-old Russian girl who lies comatose in hospital after falling unnoticed into a swimming pool at a Phuket resort. Vasilisa Sagunova arrived in Phuket with her parents on March 27. That same day she fell into a pool at the resort where they were staying, reports the Save…

  • Phuket’s first underpass officially open to traffic

    Phuket’s first underpass officially open to traffic

    PHUKET: The island’s first underpass, dubbed ‘Darasamuth Underpass’, officially opens to traffic today, after two years in the making. The grand opening event has drawn high-ranking officials, both local and national, to the site of the 600-million-baht underpass. In attendance were both Minister of Transport Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong and Minister of Finance Sommai Pasri, as well as Phuket…

  • Armed robbers knock over Phuket spa for B500k

    Armed robbers knock over Phuket spa for B500k

    PHUKET: Police are hunting five armed robbers after they held up a spa in Phuket Town and made off with 500,000 baht cash last night. The robbery took place at about 9:45pm at Imperial Spa, near Chaofa Variety market, in Wichit, said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Pinit Sirichai. There were about 10 Chinese customers present at the time, confirmed…

  • Phuket Oilfield Classic golf tourney returns for charity

    Phuket Oilfield Classic golf tourney returns for charity

    PHUKET: The 7th annual Arnco Phuket Oilfield Classic golf tournament will return on April 9-12, with players lining up to tee off at the Red Mountain and Loch Palm golf courses over two days. The competition will begin with the traditional Texas Scramble at Red Mountain on April 10 with an 18-hole shotgun start at 12:30pm. The next day, players…

  • Sansiri says “Now or Never’ with latest Phuket campaign

    Sansiri says “Now or Never’ with latest Phuket campaign

    PHUKET: Sansiri has launched a “Now or Never” sales campaign, which will see some of the best units available in six Phuket developments up for grabs at special prices through June. The property development company held an event launching the campaign at Central Festival Phuket that concluded on April 1. “We have a limited number of units available for the…

  • Finance: UK’s ever-shifting goalposts affecting Phuket expats, retirees

    Finance: UK’s ever-shifting goalposts affecting Phuket expats, retirees

    PHUKET: The UK government is continuing to shake things up for retirees and expatriate workers trying to make long-term plans for the post-work future with yet another shift of the goalposts, one of many in recent months. The most dramatic change announced in the new budget, to go into effect next year, is the reduction in lifetime allowance to one…

  • Bangkok-Phuket bus flips in Krabi, 20 injured

    Bangkok-Phuket bus flips in Krabi, 20 injured

    PHUKET: A bus travelling from Bangkok to Phuket overturned in Krabi early this morning, leaving at least one woman seriously injured. Officers arrived at the scene of the crash, in the Khao To area in Krabi’s northernmost district Plai Praya, at about 6:30am. “The driver had fled the scene,” said Capt Prasert Jamsai of Plai Phraya Police. “The bus belongs…

  • Phuket FC take on Pattaya in Surakul showdown

    Phuket FC take on Pattaya in Surakul showdown

    PHUKET FC will be looking for all three points from their match against the Pattaya Dolphins at Surakul Stadium tomorrow in the hopes of delivering a double blow to their Yamaha League One rivals. Both teams are tied with seven points on the league table, and only goal difference separating the two sides. Pattaya is currently on top in seventh…

  • Cranes help lift moon bears out of Tiger Temple

    Cranes help lift moon bears out of Tiger Temple

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cranes help lift moon bears out of Tiger Temple The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Forest rangers and wildlife protection officials yesterday retrieved six moon bears – a protected species – from dens at a famous temple in Kanchanaburi known to tourists as the Tiger Temple,…

  • Iran president views nuclear deal as start of new relationship with world

    Iran president views nuclear deal as start of new relationship with world

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iran president views nuclear deal as start of new relationship with world Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Iran’s president said on Friday that a framework for a nuclear deal was just the first step toward building a new relationship with the world, after Iranians greeted the…

  • Phuket dealer busted with meth valued at B7mn

    Phuket dealer busted with meth valued at B7mn

    PHUKET: Police arrested a 26-year-old drug dealer found in possession of ya ba (methamphetamine) pills with a street value of more than 4 million baht yesterday. Wuttichai Boonnga, 26, was arrested at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint at about 4am as he attempted to leave Phuket. “Mr Wuttichai’s car was stopped and searched by officers. Inside, police found 10 ya…

  • Phuket expats better buckle up – more changes for UK pension plans

    Phuket expats better buckle up – more changes for UK pension plans

    PHUKET: THE UK government is continuing to shake things up for retirees and expatriate workers trying to make long-term plans for the post-work future with yet another shift of the goalposts, one of many in recent months. The most dramatic change announced in the new budget, to go into effect next year, is the reduction in lifetime allowance to one…

  • Phuket yachties help re-float Aussie’s beached boat

    Phuket yachties help re-float Aussie’s beached boat

    PHUKET: Local yachties rendering assistance to a 50-foot ketch stranded on Kata Beach hope to have the classic timber yacht afloat tonight. Two Australians were on board the boat, the Inisfail of the Isles of Scilly, when it was beached by a passing storm on Wednesday. They had recently arrived in Phuket from near Ranong when they were caught out…

  • Phuket Poll: Keeping lifeguards on the beaches

    Phuket Poll: Keeping lifeguards on the beaches

    PHUKET: As regular as the return of the deadly rainy-season surf that will soon lurk off Phuket’s west coast, the island is again facing the reality of not having any lifeguards on the beaches to save and protect swimmers – tourists and residents alike – from drowning. The lifeguards packed up their life-saving equipment and walked off Phuket’s beaches at…

  • Rawai staff boost water safety measures at Nai Harn

    Rawai staff boost water safety measures at Nai Harn

    PHUKET: Rawai staff will be standing watch at Nai Harn lagoon this weekend as part of a move to increase safety measures after the drowning of 9-year-old Sarun Srisongkram last weekend (story here). “School breaks are coming up and I am worried about children drowning in the lagoon,” Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos said. There will be at least one staff…

  • Phuket police warn of arrests for breaking Songkran no alcohol, safety rules

    Phuket police warn of arrests for breaking Songkran no alcohol, safety rules

    PHUKET: Police have warned that drunk revellers and people caught drinking alcohol in water-play zones across Phuket during the Thai New Year Songkran holidays next week will be removed from the zones and may face charges. Phuket Provinical Police Deputy Commander Teeraphol Thipjaroen yesterday pledged that all officers will strictly enforce a zero-tolerance of any people breaking the alcohol ban…

  • Media seek clarity over ‘peacekeeping’ officers

    Media seek clarity over ‘peacekeeping’ officers

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media seek clarity over ‘peacekeeping’ officers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Four media organizations yesterday issued a joint statement asking the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to shed more light on Peace and Order Maintaining (POM) officers in order to ensure that the…

  • WHO launches probe into allegations of domestic worker abuse | Thaiger

    WHO launches probe into allegations of domestic worker abuse

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community WHO ‘seriously’ looking into allegations of abuse The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the alleged abuse of an Ethiopian domestic worker by one of its Thailand-based executives is a matter it is taking “very seriously”. “WHO is aware of allegations…

  • US, UN envoys voice worrying concerns over Article 44

    US, UN envoys voice worrying concerns over Article 44

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New junta order ‘more worrying’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The government may have received some plaudits for lifting martial law from the local business community, notably the tourism sector, but the international community, especially the United States and the United Nations, besides rights groups…

  • CDC to go ahead with merging of rights body with ombudsman | Thaiger

    CDC to go ahead with merging of rights body with ombudsman

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community CDC to go ahead with merging of rights body with ombudsman The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Constitution Drafting Committee yesterday stood by its plan to merge the National Human Rights Commission with the Office of the Ombudsman as stipulated in the new charter’s Article…

  • 147 killed in Kenyan university siege

    147 killed in Kenyan university siege

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gulf Arabs silent after Iran interim nuclear deal Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Gunmen from the Islamist militant group al Shabaab stormed a university in Kenya and killed at least 147 people on Thursday, in the worst attack on Kenyan soil since the U.S. embassy was…

  • NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security | Thaiger

    NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO’s 14-point order on maintaining national security The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) head Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday replaced martial law with its 14-point Order on Maintaining Public Order and National Security. Here is a…