News
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Men fire on Phuket armored van transporting B10mn, then flee as van gives chase
PHUKET: Three suspects who opened fire on an armored van carrying 10 million baht yesterday afternoon were chased down by the van driver, but managed to escape. The van had left Tesco Lotus in Phuket Town and was northbound on Thepkrasattri Road, headed to refill ATMs in Bang Tao and at the Phuket International Airport when the men fired on…
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Tempest in a longtail
PHUKET: I could feel the Sea Sheperd weekend warrior rising up in me, ready for battle, after reading about the “Yamu Night Fishing Game.” As a sunny-weather marine conservationist, I have no issues with sport fishing competitions. However, I suffered a knee-jerk reaction to seeing “sharks and rays” listed as a category for the Yamu fishing tournament. Glimpses of proud…
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Safeguarding health in a shifting populace
Kajohnsak Kaewjarus, 49, took up the position of chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office on October 1 last year. Phang Nga born and raised, Dr Kajohnsak graduated from Mahidol University with a master’s degree in general surgery. Here, he talks about Phuket’s top health concerns and gives his prognosis on how to treat them. PHUKET: After spending only a…
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Essence of life endangered in Phuket
PHUKET: It is sad, but not surprising, that it took a recent public intervention to finally stop a well-known local Phuket businessman from backfilling an important water storage reservoir on the island. Given our nation’s growing reputation internationally as a hotspot for protests, it is difficult to fathom why so few demonstrations on the island are ever fomented by the…
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Video Report: Phuket crepe maker meets the stranger who saved him from sharks
PHUKET: It was an emotional meeting last week between the man who lost his only source of livelihood – a sidecar outfitted to make crepes – and the New Zealand woman who gave him the money he needed to avoid borrowing cash from loan sharks to buy a new one. Crepe vendor Prayoon Impuang, whose sidecar was consumed by flames…
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Foreigners in Phuket: Dive shop blitz clarifies instructors’ work descriptions
PHUKET: Foreign dive instructors’ job descriptions were clarified during an inspection led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut in Patong today, as the Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) investigates allegations that police were extorting money from them due to ambiguities in work permits (story here). “We only came to check work permits and clarify the information within them to the employees.…
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Phuket Marine Police volunteers’ numbers swell ahead of Songkran
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police have garnered 97 trained volunteers to bolster their ranks ahead of the Songkran Festival. “Boat captains, crews and tour guides were called to join in safety-training seminars and volunteer to support the Marine Police, as they are the ones who have the best chance of rescuing people in the water,” Phuket Marine Police Superintendent Pumin…
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Another Phuket workplace fatality: Shrimp farm worker found dead in boat
PHUKET: A Myanmar national was found dead this afternoon at the Sri Soonthorn shrimp farm where he worked, marking the fifth work-related death within two weeks in Phuket. The body of Nyi Paing, 25, was found on a boat in one of the farm’s ponds by a co-worker after he did not return from his morning work routine, Lt Col…
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Tomorrow at Surakul Stadium: Phuket FC VS Bangkok FC
Brave the rain and come join the thousands who will make it out to Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town tomorrow to cheer on your local professional football team, Phuket FC. The number five Phuket FC Ronins will host number three Bangkok FC with kick-off at 6:30. Tickets are 100 baht. Bring enthusiasm and an umbrella!
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Phuket lifeguard president threatens to cut number of guards
PHUKET: The president of the island’s lifeguard club is threatening to slash the number of guards on Phuket beaches by 20 per cent, despite a 10 per cent increase in government funding. “We have yet to decide whether we will agree to the 22mn baht contract,” Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told the Phuket Gazette. “If we renew the…
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Two red cards in Phuket’s DNF We Freedive Suunto Series
PHUKET: The Dynamic Without Fins (DNF) event at the We Freedive Suunto Series saw two red cards as contestants pushed to cover as much horizontal distance as possible in the Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l’Apnee (AIDA) event. Malaysian champion Azam Hamid, who holds records in several other freediving disciplines, crossed the marker for the Malaysia National record at…
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Teenagers arrested for Phuket gang execution
PHUKET: Police have arrested nine gang members, including six juveniles, for the murder of a rival teenager who was gunned down and hacked to death in Rassada early yesterday morning. Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of the Phuket City Police named the adult suspects as Kiat Phanthong, 21; Panumas Ladnalao, 19; and Warawoth Malsu, 18. “We are still searching for Saksit…
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Phuket Gazette World News: U.S. Army names Fort Hood shooter, says had mental illness
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Army names Fort Hood shooter, says had mental illness Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The soldier suspected of shooting dead three people before killing himself at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas was identified as Ivan Lopez, a man battling mental illness when he…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: WWII bombs found; Red shirts in Bangkok; PDRC warrants revoked
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Authorities warn of more buried WWII bombs The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Live World War II aerial bombs have been excavated at various construction sites, prompting authorities to warn against any attempts to tinker with strange metal objects. One was found during construction of the…
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Bandit betrays drug business buddy in Phuket
PHUKET: Police arrested an armed drug dealer in Pa Khlok this week after an inmate at Phuket Provincial Prison had his girlfriend spill the beans on the prisoner’s former business associate. Officers arrested Surasak Paewparn, 28, at the Promphan housing estate at about 7pm on Tuesday, said Lt Col Jarun Bangprasert of the Phuket Provincial Police. “Officers staked out the…
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Krabi resort closes doors, police seeking arrest warrant
PHUKET: Police are seeking an arrest warrant for the managing director of a Krabi resort that recently turned away 50 guests with prepaid bookings (story here). “An arrest warrant for Managing Director Prateep Kaewnont is imminent,” said Krabi Police Superintendent Phrutthipong Nutchanart said. Nitikorn Pissawong, one of two employees assigned by the owner to look after the Phuphranang Resort, explained…
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US embassy consular outreach clinic coming to Phuket
PHUKET: The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will hold an Outreach Visit at Le Meridien Hotel in Karon on April 30. Consular staff will be available from 8am to midday to provide the following services: • Passport renewal applications (US$110 or 3,410 baht for adult passports, US$105 or 3,255 baht for a minor’s passport). • Notarial Services…
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Phuket motorcyclist struck and killed picking up his bike after spill
PHUKET: A 19-year-old fell off his motorbike near Phuket International Airport early this morning and was hit by a car and killed while he was trying to right his bike. Rescuers responded to the call just after midnight and found the body of Atthaphon Prasobsaeng on Route 4026, which joins Thepkrasattri Road to the road to the airport. “The accident…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Suharto family tests Indonesia political comeback on strongman’s legacy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suharto family tests Indonesia political comeback on strongman’s legacy Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: It was Indonesia’s most ubiquitous smile. Once dubbed the smiling general despite his iron rule of more than three decades, the image of former President Suharto now waves genially from the election…
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Phuket Gazette World News: U.S. calls for end to humanitarian curbs in Myanmar’s Rakhine
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. calls for end to humanitarian curbs in Myanmar’s Rakhine Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United States called on Myanmar on Wednesday to lift travel restrictions on U.N. and other humanitarian staff to allow them to resume work in the country’s Rakhine State, which has…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Search for missing Malaysian jet drags on, as probe narrows to crew
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Search for missing Malaysian jet drags on, as probe narrows to crew Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Malaysian police have ruled out involvement of any passengers in the disappearance of a missing jetliner, while Australian officials warned bad weather and a lack of reliable information were…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: WWII bomb kills seven; Court votes for Yingluck trial; CAPO eyes war rooms for Saturday Bangkok rallies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community WWII bomb kills seven The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: an explosion ripped through a scrapyard in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district yesterday, killing seven victims and injuring 20 others, after workers unknowingly cut open an aerial bomb from World War II. “Such a bomb usually weighs…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Fatal gunman rampage at Fort Hood US Army base
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Shooting at Fort Hood Army base in Texas, injuries reported Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One person was killed and 14 wounded in a shooting on Wednesday at a U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas, the site of another rampage in 2009, a U.S. official…
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Video Report: Phuket beach chair mogul pushes solutions to beach space battle
PHUKET: The Nai Harn Beach Chair Club president took to the sand on Saturday in an attempt to dissolve lingering tension between lounge chair operators and a group of expats after a conflict erupted on March 15 over shared beach space. Two weeks ago, during the “Clean the Beach Boot Camp” at Nai Harn Beach, a battle over space flared…
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Phuket top cop confident body found is of missing Russian
PHUKET: Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiewruangnont today said he is “80 per cent sure” that the decomposed body found on Saturday (story here) is that of missing Russian Alexey Slabinskiy. The skull had been separated from the body and was no longer identifiable, and police are seeking to identify the remains with DNA tests and through dental records. “We are…
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Thalang thrash Laguna in Phuket’s JLL League cricket
PHUKET: In the much anticipated JLL League match on March 30, the Thalang Cricket Team defeated Laguna by 90 runs and now have an insurmountable lead in the Jones Lang LaSalle League points championship. Laguna, last year’s champions, haven’t been beaten in a JLL league match in the past two seasons but had no answers to Thalang in this match.…
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Kidnapping of Phuket boy, 4, foiled at bus terminal
PHUKET: Quick action by a Phuket village headman last night stopped a couple about to board a bus to Bangkok with a 4-year-old boy who had been abducted from his home in Koh Kaew. Worried parents of the boy, named by police only as “Nong Ice”, reported their son missing from their home in Koh Kaew Soi 10 at about…
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Phuket Poll: How good is Phuket Airport?
PHUKET: First impressions are critical in how people remember their holidays, and officials at Phuket International Airport are hoping that 12 million travellers judge their facility favorably this year. The sole runway and the main terminal cater to about 210 flights and 32,000 passengers per day. The main terminal can support up to 2,400 passengers per hour, but rush periods…
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Package tour purchasers beware, says TAT
PHUKET: Fifty tourists recently found themselves abandoned by a resort, without rooms to check in to, after buying low-price tour packages, prompting the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Krabi to issue a warning to tour buyers. “Several tourists booked and paid for Krabi tour packages at a travel fair in Bangkok, and even received booking confirmations. But when they arrived…
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Phuket Gazette World News: NATO suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NATO suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia on Tuesday in protest at its annexation of Crimea and ordered military planners to draft measures to strengthen its defences and reassure nervous eastern European countries.…
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