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Top 5 luxury villas in Phuket and Koh Samui for your next holiday
Ask people to name the most beautiful places in Thailand, and you'll often hear Phuket and Koh Samui being mentioned. Who would disagree? One is renowned for its bustling nightlife, vibrant culture, and lively beach scene, while the other is...
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Toyota races back to Phuket
PHUKET: The Toyota Motor Sport Series is set to return to Phuket with organizers hoping to repeat the resounding success of last year’s edition. This year’s program was announced last week at a press conference held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. Presiding over the conference were Phuket V/Gov Sommai Prijasilpa and Vice Director of Toyota Motor Thailand Company Nikorn…
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Two elephants join Phuket migrant labor force
PHUKET: Two young elephants were approved to work in Phuket this week, bringing the total number of registered pachyderms on the island to 190, which is 14 more than the existing limit set by the Provincial Office in 2003. The increase in the number of elephants beyond the set limit was noted during the meeting by Phuket Provincial Livestock Chief…
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Phuket FC scorched by ‘Fire Power’, Joksic resigns
PHUKET: Serbian national Milos Joksic has resigned from his post as Phuket FC head coach, with a former Thai national team defender expected to fill in the vacancy immediately. First reported in Thai language on the Nok Sanarm website, the announcement comes at the climax of a tiring week marked by three back to back losses – the last two…
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Harsher sentencing the best approach to violent crime: Phuket poll
PHUKET: Readers see harsher sentences for convicted criminals as the best deterrent to violent crime in Phuket, the results of the latest Phuket Gazette online readers poll revealed. The poll was launched in the wake of a particularly heinous crime that rocked the island last month: the slaying of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith in Kata. Given these crimes and…
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Phuket mob bays for blood at ‘Nong Som’ murder reenactment
PHUKET: There was a wild scene in a normally quiet Phuket suburb this morning, where more than 60 security officers were needed to prevent an irate crowd from lynching the man who murdered 17-year-old Sunisa “Nong Som” Saiyoy on Tuesday. Confessed killer Kittikhun Wonghajak arrived at the home of the late Nong Som at 10am today under the protection of…
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National Parks Dept to charge Phuket resort owner with encroachment
PHUKET: The owners of a Phuket beach resort project will likely face legal action for encroaching on national park land following an inspection of the site this week by the Director General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). The resort is one of ten the agency will be investigating for possible land encroachment. “In May…
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Phuket Sports: F1 – A quick look back
PHUKET: The next race will be at the Hockenheimring and will mark the half way point of the F1 season, so it’s a good time to sit back and review where everyone is. At the start of the season, McLaren looked unbeatable except by error. They seemed exhausted by Silverstone. Why? Because Ferrari and Red Bull had upgraded their aerodynamics,…
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‘Creative Tourism’ seminar in Phuket next week
PHUKET: In preparation for the measures of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) set to take effect in less than three years, the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) will host a seminar on Friday, July 20 to promote sustainable tourism under the concept of “creative tourism”. Among the distinguished guests invited to speak are former Bangkok Governor and current Democrat Party deputy…
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B500 million Phuket Historical Park approval given
PHUKET: The approval for the 500 million baht Phuket Historical Park project was announced in a meeting at Provincial Hall on Tuesday. The project, which is to be established on 96 rai of land in Thalang, will be managed by the Public Works, and Town and Country Planning, Phuket Office with the cooperation of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports,…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket boy, 6, drowns in wastewater pool
PHUKET: A six-year-old boy who went missing this morning was found drowned in a water treatment pool at the Patong Municipality Water Treatment Plant this afternoon. The child, Yutthakarn “Marvin” Limtek, was staying with his aunt Siriwan Noothong, who lives near the water treatment plant on an unnamed soi that connects Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi and Phang Muang roads. Ms Siriwan…
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Full budget for Chalong hospital project unlikely to materialize
PHUKET: The mayor of Chalong handed a formal letter of complaint to Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri for the ministry’s failure to provide 186 million baht in funding for the establishment of a new hospital. The financial package, provisionally agreed to by the Cabinet at the mobile meeting on Phuket in March, was to turn the “Chalong Health Promoting Station”…
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Drug-addicted thief confesses to murder of Phuket teen “Nong Som’
PHUKET: Security is expected to be very tight in Chalong this morning, when police and the confessed drug-addicted killer of 17-year-old Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy re-enact the brutal strangling, attempted rape and robbery that took place on Tuesday. Confessed murderer Kittikhun Wonghajak, who goes by multiple aliases including “Aek”, “Mac” and “Goong”, told the press yesterday that he did not intentionally…
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Combating rising crime in Rawai
PHUKET: CHALONG Police are boosting public safety on the southern streets of Phuket by enlisting the help of local government officers, volunteers, and other island residents, business people. Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Narong Laksanawimon told the Gazette that more than 20 officers from Rawai Municipality and local residents are joining police efforts in patrolling the streets, reporting any suspicious activities…
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Phuket Gazette: U.S. companies to do business in Myanmar
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama allows U.S. companies to do business in Myanmar Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced his administration has eased certain financial and investment sanctions on Myanmar, allowing American companies to do business in the Asian country for the first…
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Navy rescue drills off Phuket declared a success
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy conducted training drills on Tuesday with the aim of improving coordination among the different emergency response units in Phuket. The exercise, which ran from 9am to midday, was staged on the beach in front of the Third Naval Area Command base at Cape Panwa. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Vice Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan, Commander of…
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Senate seeks action on foreign tour guides in Phuket
PHUKET: An adviser to the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism has spoken out against the long-standing problem of foreign tour guides operating in Phuket. Phanomphon Thammachartniyom, an honorary adviser to the upper house committee, told a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall that he had been working for 10 years to solve the problem of Russians, Chinese and Koreans working as…
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Nepal tourism opportunities promoted in Phuket
PHUKET: Members of the media, local officials and other invited guests enjoyed a fine cultural show and dinner on Tuesday, courtesy of the Nepal Embassy from Bangkok, which is promoting that country’s many tourism opportunities as part of its ‘Visit Lumbini Year’ campaign for 2012. The event, which took place in the grand ballroom of the Royal Phuket City Hotel,…
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Krabi Police search for mother of murdered newborn
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a brutally-murdered newborn found in a plastic trash bag on a Krabi roadside yesterday morning. The baby, thought to be less than a day old at the time of death, was discovered by an Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization sanitation worker sorting trash destined for the Ao Nang landfill. “This morning there…
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Phuket Gazette: Hackers release more than 420,000 passwords
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hackers release more than 420,000 Formspring passwords Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The questions and answers website Formspring yesterday disabled the passwords of its more than 29 million registered users as a precaution after nearly half a million of them were posted on a website,…
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Phuket Customs director: Illegal diesel probably used to support terrorism
PHUKET: Customs officials who seized over 200,000 liters of smuggled diesel fuel off Phuket on Monday suspect the profits from such sales are likely being channeled to support terrorist activities. “Customs have been cracking down on illegally imported goods, especially fuel, which is probably being used to support terrorism,” said Rakob Srisupa, director of the Customs Department Marine Investigation and…
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Police arrest suspect for murder of Phuket teen
PHUKET: A suspect arrested last night has confessed to strangling Phuket teenager Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, 17, in her Chalong home on Tuesday, but denies charges that he raped her. The suspect, 28-year-old Kittikhun Wonghajak, was arrested by the Phuket Provincial Police investigation team early this morning and was presented to the press briefly at 10am at provincial police headquarters. A…
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Phuket Sports: An endless summer
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette recently caught up with hometown hero Miss Annissa Tita Flynn, to talk about her recent accomplishments. If you haven’t heard much about this 14 year old surfing starlet, “Anni”, as her friends call her, has been travelling and competing in recent months on the 2012 Asian Surfing Championship tour (ASC).Phuket Gazette: What is it like to…
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Phuket Sports: Bitter cup exit for Phuket FC
PHUKET: Phuket FC were one of five losers among the seven southern teams contesting the Thailand Toyota League Cup second round played last night. The losers included all four Yamaha League One (Division 1) southern representatives – Phatthalung FC, Songkhla FC, Krabi FC and Phuket FC – the latter three of whom lost in penalty shootouts. Phuket’s 4-3 defeat on…
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Gimme shelter: Phi Phi run delayed by big waves
PHUKET: More than 100 tourists on their way to Phi Phi Don Island were forced to shelter from heavy seas at Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh Island, east of Phuket, yesterday morning. At about 10 am, several speedboats and longtail boats were forced to seek protection in the bay, where the movie ‘The Beach’, starring Leonardo Di Caprio, was…
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Phuket teen strangled in rape and robbery attack
PHUKET: Chalong Police investigating the murder of a 17-year-old girl in her home yesterday suspect the attack was carried out by a neighbor who knew she was there alone. The police were notified at about 5:30pm by relatives of the victim, 17-year-old Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, who was found lying face-down on a bed in the family’s detached home in a…
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Three slow lorises rescued in Phuket bust
PHUKET: Law enforcement officers on Saturday night arrested two men for illegal possession of three slow lorises, which they were using as props to entice Phuket tourists to pay to have photographs taken with them.The officers, led by Sub Lt Jedsada Lugieng of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED), moved in to make the arrest after spotting…
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Democrat Party brainstorms for ASEAN in Phuket
PHUKET: Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other Democrat Party heavyweights are scheduled to chair a seminar to develop a “Phuket model” for tourism on the island tomorrow.The event, scheduled to begin at 1pm, is intended to boost Phuket’s preparedness for measures of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community, or AEC, which will take effect in…
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Phuket Sports: More hulls means more fun
PHUKET: The Rawai-Nai Harn Multihull Regatta returns to Phuket’s shores next weekend for its fifth straight year. This popular sailor’s regatta is unique in that it’s only for multihull yachts; crews that normally sail on monohull boats get the chance to try multis – often for the first time. The event will take place in Chalong Bay, under the auspices…
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Phuket Live Wire: Scratch that, CAT is back
PHUKET: Three weeks ago, I lamented the imminent passing of CAT’s EV-DO service – the original high speed wireless “AirCard” that ushered in a new, faster way of surfing the web without getting plugged in. At the time, I was told that EV-DO would continue to work through the end of the year. Today, I found out differently. CAT’s going…
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Belanger Deaths: Probe finds more information but no clues
PHUKET: The lack of information publicly released on the deaths of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger on Phi Phi Island last month prompted the sisters’ father, Carl Belanger, to accuse the Thai authorities of covering up the true circumstances of their deaths.The leading investigators in the case have now refuted the allegation. The Phuket Gazette’s Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai and Orawin…
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