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Sponsored A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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Time to build a Phuket bus culture
PHUKET: Efforts by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to rid Phuket of its notorious transport syndicates and establish safe, reasonably-priced public transport took another big step forward with the recent introduction of real metered taxis. The term “real metered taxis” refers to those allowed to pick up and drop off passengers anywhere, as is normal in Bangkok…
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Phuket coconut collector takes fatal plunge
PHUKET: A Phuket man collecting coconuts died today after about a 14-meter fall from the top of a tree. Rescue workers arrived at the scene at Baan Bang Lieng coconut farm at about 9:30am to find Thammanoon Prateep Na Talang, 34, unconscious on the ground. “Mr Thammanoon was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where a medical team did their best…
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Maimed sea turtle found tangled in net on Phuket beach
PHUKET: A maimed sea turtle tangled in a fishing net washed up on Phuket’s popular Kamala Beach yesterday afternoon. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene by locals, and brought the badly injured Olive Ridley sea turtle to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa. “The turtle had grown tired from dealing with the big waves…
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Motorbike crashes into group of Chinese tourists in Phuket
PHUKET: A motorbike driver plowed into a group of five Chinese tourist standing at the Thalang-Bandon intersection in Phuket last night. Two tourists, Xuxlao Qlano, 32, and Xiaomei Kang, 29, both received minor injuries after the motorbike struck them – three of their companions managed to avoid being hit. “The 21-year-old driver, Peerapong Soisai, told us that it was very…
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Lucky escape as foreigner dives out of path Phuket tour bus
PHUKET: A foreigner escaped being run over by a Phuket tour bus loaded with Chinese tourists in Rawai this afternoon as he dumped his motorbike and dived to safety. The foreigner, who asked not to be named, was waiting to turn right at the intersection in front of the Rawai Municipality offices. “The tour bus crossed the center of the…
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Phuket dolphin park link to Taiji massacre confirmed: Sea Shepherd [video]
PHUKET: A direct connection between five wild caught dolphins bound for Phuket’s dolphinarium and the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins at the Taiji cove in Japan has been confirmed, the Asia Director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society told the Phuket Gazette by email today. Initial reports said that a total of six dolphins would be transported to Phuket…
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Phuket workers save Polish man from hanging
PHUKET: Two workers wiring up an internet connection inside a house in Chalong yesterday came outside to find a foreigner, who lived in the house they were working in, hanging from a tree in the front yard. “We saw him walking around the yard when we went in to the house,” said one of the 3BB Internet workers, who asked…
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Phuket Classic Bodybuilding Event 2014 aims to promote healthy lifestyle (video)
PHUKET: Last year’s “Phuket Classic”, an annual bodybuilding and modeling competition and the first of its kind in the south of Thailand, was held at Central Festival. The event was heralded as an outstanding success with the numbers of participants and audience in excess of expectations. According to Wilaiporn Wannaklang, President of the Phuket Bodybuilding Club, organizer of the event,…
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Phuket dive tour boat ablaze, sinks in Chalong Bay
PHUKET: Phuket boat Chok Somboon 15, of local dive tour company Andaman Ocean Safari, caught fire and sank in Chalong Bay before dawn this morning. Marine Police were notified of the fire at about 2am, and responded by dispatching a boat and eight officers to douse the blaze. “While trying to put the fire out, we dragged it away from…
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‘Men in black’ arrested
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Men in black’ arrested The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested four men and one woman in connection with the killings of several soldiers in Bangkok, including Colonel Romklao Thuvatham, during the political unrest in 2010, and are hunting for two more suspects. Romklao…
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Dutch national quarantined for suspected Ebola
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch national quarantined for suspected Ebola The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has quarantined a 52-year-old Dutch national, who had high fever after returning from a business trip to Ebola-hit Nigeria, said Dr Sophon Mekthon, director general of the Disease Control Department.…
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Army palms off reports of Phuket massage parlor crackdown
PHUKET: The island’s leading Army officer today debunked reports that soldiers in Phuket were raiding massage parlors in Patong. “We have no intention of cracking down on massage parlors or any other service businesses at the moment,” assured Col Somchai Ponatong of the 41st Military Circle. “Officers from the Revenue Department were carrying out inspections to ensure that massage parlors…
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Phuket lifeguards bring home gold from Vietnam
PHUKET: The island’s own Phuket Lifeguard Club brought home gold on behalf of Thailand from the Da Nang International Lifeguard Competition in Vietnam, held on September 7. Seventeen rescue teams, including the Phuket team representing Thailand, took part in Vietnam’s first-ever lifeguard competition. “We won the first-place trophy in the three-man rescue board relay. This activity is one of the…
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Myanmar national mysteriously drowns during Phuket fishing trip
PHUKET: A Myanmar national mysteriously drowned in Phuket while on a fishing expedition with his friends yesterday. Mew Ow, 25, was last seen fishing at a large pond located near Yokkekeng Shrine in Rassada with four friends, before he suddenly disappeared. His friends, also Myanmar nationals, called the Kulsoldharm Foundation for assistance. “The Kulsoldharm Foundation diving team took only about…
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Phuket Marine chief ramps up AIS tracking order for foreign-registered yachts
PHUKET: Owners of foreign-registered yachts in Thai waters will face six months jail time if they fail to fit their boats with AIS (Automatic Identification System) transceivers by October 1, Phuripat Theerakulpisut, chief of the Phuket Marine Office, said yesterday. Instead of small yachts needing to carry only AIS receivers, as Mr Phuripat told the Phuket Gazette last week (story…
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Judgement day for Oscar Pistorius
PHUKET: After 41 days of tears, anguish and at times gruesome testimony in the Pretoria High Court, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee who became one of the biggest names in athletics, will learn this week whether he will spend the next 25 years behind bars. In a fitting reminder of how South Africa has changed in the 20 years since…
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Price of Cabinet audio slashed to just B53mn after public outcry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Price of Cabinet audio slashed after public outcry The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Following a public and media outcry, the price of 89 microphones intended for communication in the Cabinet meeting room at Government House has been reduced by 35 per cent. Monthon Sudprasert, director…
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Man boards Chiang Mai plane with fake gun
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man boards Chiang Mai plane with fake gun The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Chiang Mai International Airport has launched an investigation into reports that a passenger managed to board a flight with a fake gun inside his bag. The passenger, flying from Chiang Mai to…
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Governor orders monk’s rescue from coffin
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Governor orders monk’s rescue from coffin The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A renowned monk who was imposing his own death was rescued yesterday from a coffin at the order of the Chaiyaphum governor, who cited humanitarian reasons. Luang Pu Phim, the abbot of Wat Weluwan…
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Helmet-less motorbike rider in head-on collision dies instantly
PHUKET: A woman was killed in Phuket early this morning after the motorbike she was riding hit a pick-up truck head-on. “We were called to the scene on Patak Road in Kata in front of a Siam Commercial Bank at about 3:30am,” confirmed Lt Channarong Prakongkeua of the Karon Police. “There we found the body of Kodchaporn Kongruang, 32, from…
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AMCHAM Forum: Staying ahead of the game in the ‘New Phuket’
PHUKET: For the last few decades, Phuket has been evolving into a mainstream, mass-market tourist destination. Now the island’s beaches have undergone extreme makeovers and some even more dramatic changes are on the horizon. “In the aftermath of Thailand’s political crisis, which saw martial law and a nationwide curfew imposed in May, Phuket experienced a sharp drop in visitor arrivals.…
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Shigeta ‘wants 20 babies to run his empire’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Shigeta ‘wants 20 babies to run his empire’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Japanese man at the centre of a surrogacy scandal has fathered 12 babies through Thai surrogates because he wants children to take care of his many family businesses, his lawyer has…
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Property owners charged for Phi Phi beach encroachment
PHUKET: Two property owners have been charged with encroaching on national park land on the popular party island of Phi Phi following a mass inspection of beach properties there last week. On September 3, 60 national park officers took to Phi Phi beaches to talk with seaside vendors and inspect buildings suspected of encroaching on national park land (story here).…
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Phuket Police arrest “spat on, shot back’ suspect
PHUKET: The man wanted for shooting dead his “friend” in a drunken spat early yesterday morning has been arrested. Acting on a tip-off, a team of Thalang Police officers led by Lt Col Pisit Chunpet raided a house in Nabon, Wichit, at 7:30 last night. At the scene, officers arrested Ong-art Meepap, a 37-year-old cement truck driver from Sakon Nakhon.…
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Phuket under flash-flood and heavy rains alert
PHUKET: People living in low-lying areas of Phuket should prepare for potential flash-floods due to heavy monsoon rains, the local Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) office has warned. “We are on alert for potential emergencies over the next 24 hours. Any serious flooding should be reported to us immediately so that we can provide immediate assistance,” said DDPM-Phuket…
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Phuket beach vendors seek help from Governor
PHUKET: Hundreds of beach vendors today presented a formal letter to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, demanding fair treatment and requesting that the complaint be submitted to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The group, led by Palat Jantarasopin, leader of the Tourism Service Operators Club and beach vendor Chakkarin Charoenjit, outlined nine key requests to facilitate vendors to…
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Phuket Governor inks B500mn contract to build new Provincial Hall
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut today signed a 449.9-million-baht contract to begin construction of the new Phuket Provincial Hall. Governor Maitri inked the contract at 2pm, signifying that Chun Eiw Team Ruamka Ltd Partnership may commence construction at the 50-rai site on Phang Muang Sai Kor in Wichit. The construction firm has 995 days to complete the project. The original…
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Phuket Russian woman fights death-penalty drug charge in Vietnam
PHUKET: Friends and family of Phuket expat Maria Dapirka are fighting to prevent a possible death penalty for the Russian after she was arrested in Vietnam for attempting to smuggle in nearly 3 kilograms of cocaine in her carry-on luggage. Ms Dapirka, 28, who had been living in Rawai, at the southern end of Phuket, was detained in Ho Chi…
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Man kills friend after drunken spat
PHUKET: A man shot dead his friend this morning in a fit of rage following a drunken argument that turned deadly. The victim, 38-year-old Smingdam Phollawong, a rubber plantation worker from Mukdahan, was found lying dead in front of the suspect’s house, with a fatal gunshot wound to his left shoulder, Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette.…
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Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket named one of AsiaRooms.com Top Rated 2014
PHUKET: Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has been named the “Top Rated 2014” by AsiaRooms.com, the online travel accommodation website. In order to be certified, a hotel must receive an average review score of 80per cent based on five criteria including customer service, cleanliness, quality of rooms, quality of food, family friendliness and value for money. The resort averaged a score…
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