News
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This Christmas, give the gift of health: essential options for expats in Thailand
The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
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State rail chief rejects calls for resignation
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community SRT governor rejects calls for resignation The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Governor Prapat Chongsanguan yesterday vowed to stay on as SRT chief, saying his resignation would be deemed an escape from the problems surrounding the railways. “I am begging for…
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Victim of rape on train in 2001 speaks up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Victim of rape on train in 2001 speaks up The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Thai woman lost her bright career, her optimism and her ability to continue living in Thailand after a State Railway of Thailand (SRT) employee raped her on a train 13…
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Phuket beach shops fetched B7mn apiece, B400k a year in rent, say officials
PHUKET: Shops and restaurants torn down by officials at Nai Thon Beach yesterday were bought for as much as 7 million baht apiece and fetched rental fees of up to 400,000 baht a year, officials have revealed. “It is obvious that the people who run these shops are business operators, not local people living day by day,” Sirinath National Park…
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Both candidates in Indonesia election claim victory
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Both candidates in Indonesia election claim victory Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Both candidates claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election on Wednesday, suggesting there could be a drawn out constitutional battle to decide who will next lead the world’s third-largest democracy. Just a few hours after…
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Argentina beat Dutch in shootout to reach final
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Argentina beat Dutch in shootout to reach final Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Argentina’s Sergio Romero saved two penalties in a 4-2 shootout win over the Netherlands to seal their first World Cup final place in 24 years after the first ever goalless semi-final at the…
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Rules announced for Phuket beach development
PHUKET: Local residents have been forbidden to make any changes to the island’s new beachscape by order of Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut. “If anyone tries to alter the beach landscapes or is caught violating the details of this order, they will face legal action,” the provincial order read. The order also provided the sole circumstances under which the beach could…
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Ousted Patong beach vendors promised employment-advice meeting
PHUKET: The more than 1,000 Patong beach vendors dislodged from the sands today have been promised a meeting with Patong Municipality and Army officials to discuss how they may continue earning a living without encroaching on public land. The vendors were served eviction notices yesterday and given a Friday deadline for removing all illegal structures from the beach. More permanent…
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No crackdown on Patong nightlife, assures Phuket’s top-ranking soldier
PHUKET: The top-ranking soldier on the island confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today that the army and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) have no plans to crack down on the Patong nightlife industry. “We haven’t even considered it,” Maj Gen Peerapol Wiriyakul said. “We understand that Patong is a tourist destination, and we would prefer to just…
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Breaking News: Phuket beach vendors push back at military attempt to clear Patong Beach
PHUKET: More than 100 Phuket beach vendors surrounded Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsab and Kathu District Chief Sayan Chanachaiwong as they, with the backing of military personnel, attempted to clear Patong Beach this morning. “This is where we earn a living; we have been here for many years. We are not harming anybody. Why would you stop us from earning a…
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Indonesians vote for new president
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesians vote for new president Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indonesians began voting in a presidential election on Wednesday that has become a closely fought contest between the old guard who flourished under decades of autocratic rule and a new breed of politician that has emerged…
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Rape-and-murder convicts must face death: netizens
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rape-and-murder convicts must face death: netizens The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Concerned netizens have called for mandatory death sentence for rape-and-murder crimes, in an angry and swift reaction to the tragic rape and murder on Sunday night of a 13-year-old victim by a State Railway…
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Girl’s killing unleashes media storm for law reform
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Girl’s killing unleashes media storm for law reform; SRT chief under pressure to quit The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Social media has been in overdrive since midnight Monday when Wanchai Sangkhao, 22, an employee of the State Railway of Thailand, allegedly confessed that he had…
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Police-station construction project to go ahead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police-station construction project to go ahead The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Royal Thai Police have decided to go ahead with the construction of new police stations across the country. “The construction should begin in the next 70 days,” Deputy National Police chief General Worapong…
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Eight hurt as Yala insurgents open fire on passenger bus
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Eight hurt as bus guards battle insurgents in Yala The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Suspected insurgents yesterday opened fire at a passenger bus, injuring eight passengers as guards on the bus fought them off in Yala’s Krong Penang district. Bus driver Winai Preechachote told police…
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Ruthless Germany stun the world with rout of Brazil
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ruthless Germany stun the world with rout of Brazil Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Germany inflicted the most shocking result in World Cup history when they crushed hosts Brazil 7-1 in a semi-final that brought grief to millions of home fans and caused utter astonishment around…
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Immigration looks to enforce life ban for overstays within weeks
PHUKET: New penalties that will lead to some foreigners caught overstaying their permits-to-stay being blacklisted from re-entering Thailand for life may be introduced before the end of the month. The news follows reports of a new form, titled “The Acknowledgment of Penalties for Visa Overstay”, being distributed to all immigration checkpoints throughout the country. The new proposed penalties are listed…
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Phuket fishermen save severely injured sea turtle
PHUKET: Local fisherman saved an olive ridley sea turtle that washed onto a Phuket beach missing a flipper today. The fishermen notified Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers, who collected the turtle from Sai Kaew Beach and transported it to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa. “The turtle’s shell was damaged and its front flipper had been cut off.…
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Typhoon churns towards Japan, prompting calls to evacuate
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Typhoon churns towards Japan, prompting calls to evacuate Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Japan and more than 500,000 people urged to evacuate as a powerful typhoon brought torrential rain and high winds to southwestern islands and was forecast to reach…
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Myanmar thugs threaten farmers at gunpoint in Phuket land grab
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led about 50 Army and Navy armed personnel yesterday to investigate claims by villagers in Wichit that a gang of thugs from Myanmar hired by an “influential person” had threatened them at gunpoint to vacate their land. The sortie into the Nakkered Hills National Forest, near the Bang Wad Reservoir, took place after 20 families…
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Nicaragua approves route for $40bn canal linking oceans
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nicaragua approves route for $40bn canal linking oceans Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Nicaraguan committee approved a proposed route on Monday for a $40 billion (129.6bn baht) shipping channel across the Central American country that would compete with the Panama Canal. The committee of government…
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Migrant worker registration drive continues
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Migrant worker registration drive continues The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Officials from Thailand and Myanmar will meet next week to try to resolve problems in registering migrant workers, Lt-General Thanchaiyan Srisuwan, chief of the Supreme Command’s Directorate of Operations, said yesterday. In a video conference…
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Ministry looks into Cambodia kidney scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ministry looks into Cambodia kidney scandal The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Thai Public Health Ministry is looking into a report published in The Cambodia Daily about a Cambodian woman allegedly running an organ-transplant racket in which she reportedly persuades people to sell their kidney…
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Girl, 14, raped, body dumped from train
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Girl, 14, raped, body dumped from train The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The body of a 14-year-old Kochakorn “Kaem” Pitakjumnong, who disappeared from an overnight train from Surat Thani to Bangkok on Sunday, was found among bushes about two metres from the tracks in the…
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Brazil without captain as nation awaits Germany clash
PHUKET WORLD SPORT – World sport selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazil without captain as nation awaits Germany clash Reuters/Phuket Gazette Brazil will be without captain Thiago Silva for their World Cup semi-final against Germany after FIFA on Monday rejected an appeal against his yellow card, denting home hopes of lifting the trophy for the sixth time.…
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Israel launches military offensive against Gaza
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel launches military offensive against Gaza Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Israel launched an aerial offensive in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, bombing more than 30 targets including homes and calling it part of a campaign named “Operation Protective Edge” targeting Hamas Islamist militants firing rockets…
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Phuket Airport Immigration denies “express lane’ corruption
PHUKET: Royal Thai Navy officers today called into question alleged corrupt practices by immigration officials at Phuket International Airport, such as soliciting cash payments from tourists. “We have heard that many immigration counters are not open when tourists arrive on international flights, so officers are supposedly soliciting money from them to use a ‘VIP’ lane to avoid the long queues,”…
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Coup leaders invite corruption complaints from Phuket
PHUKET: The island’s representatives of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) are inviting residents and tourists to file anonymous complaints of suspected corruption, as well as suggestions for coup leaders on how to improve the country. Any complaints filed as highly confidential will be treated as such, the island’s leading authorities have assured. “You can report any trouble…
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Phuket Airport shops given three days to clean up, or get out
PHUKET: Owners of the stores operating inside Phuket International Airport have until Thursday to present official proof from the Airports of Thailand (AoT) that they have permission to operate, or see their shops shut down, a Navy captain has warned. “Any airport shops open past the deadline without the appropriate papers posted at the store, or found selling products not…
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Phuket Provincial Hall smoked out during parlor fire
PHUKET: A fire erupted in a private reception room at Phuket Provincial Hall after an air-conditioning unit short-circuited this afternoon, causing about 30,000 baht in damage. “We were notified by an officer in Provincial Hall at about 4pm that a second-storey parlor had caught fire,” said Lt Col Kritsana Jannit of the Phuket City Police. “Firefighters from Phuket City Municipality…
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Italian tourist in Hong Kong graft trial under Phuket Police protection
PHUKET: The Italian tourist stabbed in a random gang attack in Phuket last week has been placed under 24-hour police protection. Antonio Papaleo, 44, was stabbed twice in the abdomen during a bungled bag snatch at 3am last Thursday. At last report, police had arrested seven of the nine suspects, most of them teenagers (story here). Mr Papaleo arrived in…
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