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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...
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Police beat war drum as arrest warrants issued for ‘untouchables’
PHUKET: Officers are ready to go to war when serving the arrest warrants issued for the “untouchables” of Patong, Deputy Commander of Regional Police Paween Pongsirin told the Phuket Gazette today. “We have enough information to arrest some ‘big people’, including politicians,” Maj Gen Paween said. “At this stage, I cannot reveal how many officers will participate or when we…
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Flooding delays Phuket underpass trial run
PHUKET: The trial opening of Phuket’s first underpass, at the Darasamuth Intersection on the bypass road, will not begin until at least next month, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The 600-million-baht underpass, located beside the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, missed its mid-May trial deadline after heavy rains flooded the road’s not yet complete drainage system. “The water pumps were…
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Aussie surf safety expert to teach how to survive Phuket’s deadly rip currents
International specialist on rip currents and beach safety Associate Professor Robert Brander will stage a dramatic visual demonstration of the power of rip currents at Phuket’s deadliest stretch of sand, Karon Beach, this Thursday. Dr Brander is a coastal geomorphologist and senior lecturer at the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales in…
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Slip on Phuket rocks costs fisherman his life
PHUKET: A man fishing on rocks at Laem Sing promontory, on Phuket’s west coast, slipped and fell to his death yesterday afternoon. Sakorn Lamnaonan, 35, had taken a neighbor’s 10-year-old son to fish with him at about noon, Lt Prasert Thongprom of Kamala Police told the Phuket Gazette. “It was very windy and big waves were washing over the rocks,…
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Phuket hotel worker dies after being stabbed in head in gang attack
PHUKET: A staffer at a hotel in Karon has died from his injuries after being stabbed in the head during a gang attack north of Phuket Town on Saturday night. Surasri Jupmatta, 19, from Prachuap Khiri Khan, and a male friend were pushing their motorbike along Thepkrasattri Road looking for petrol when they were set upon by a gang on…
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Phuket storms prompt flash flood, landslide warnings
PHUKET: Scattered thunderstorms and isolated downpours forecast for today through Wednesday have prompted disaster officials to issue flash flood and landslide warnings for risk areas throughout Phuket. “We issued a warning to every local administration in Phuket to watch out for flash floods and landslides and to be prepared to respond to emergencies in their areas,” Department of Disaster Prevention…
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Coup confidence sparks rally on stock market, stabilises baht
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Coup generates confidence, sparks a rally on stock market and stabilises baht The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Consumers and investors have regained their confidence and banks are seeing a rise in demand for loans just one month after a coup saw the National Council for…
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Polish foreign minister: ‘We gave the US a blow job’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Polish foreign minister called ties to USA ‘worthless’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Polish news magazine said on Sunday it had obtained a secret recording of Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, in contention for a senior European Union job, saying that Poland’s relationship with the United…
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Fighting strains Ukraine ceasefire, Putin urges dialogue
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fighting strains Ukraine ceasefire, Putin urges dialogue Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fighting flared between Ukrainian and pro-Moscow separatist forces, both sides reported on Sunday, further straining a unilateral ceasefire declared by Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin pressed Kiev to talk to the rebels. Putin…
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Last-gasp equalizer keeps Portugal World Cup hopes alive
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Last-gasp equalizer keeps Portugal World Cup hopes alive Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Portuguese substitute Silvestre Varela grabbed a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer to secure a 2-2 draw with the United States in World Cup Group G on Sunday. Just as it looked as though the Americans…
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Police nab 22 young racers on motorbikes
PHUKET: A late-night teenage motorcycle race was nipped in the bud last night after local residents tipped off Phuket City Police after reading about the event in a Facebook post. “Local residents called yesterday afternoon and told officers about a race that was planned – as advertised on Facebook – for 10pm last night,” said Maj Rattaket Munmuang of the…
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Krabi tourist dies after sunbathing on beach
PHUKET: A tourist was pronounced dead on arrival at Krabi Hospital yesterday after other tourists found her unconscious on Ao Nang Beach with waves washing over her body. Thidarat Roh, 37, from Yasothon province in Northeastern Thailand, was sunbathing by herself when the tide came in and washed over her, witnesses told Lt Pithak Wongdet of Krabi City Police. “Beachgoers…
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Brit expat takes out power pole in high-speed crash, escapes with life
PHUKET: A British expat managed to escape life-threatening injury early this morning after a high-speed collision with a power pole in Koh Kaew left his Toyota Fortuner destroyed and the pole in a pile of rubble. Maj Kittiphum Tinthalang of the Thalang Police was notified of the accident on Thepkrasattri Road northbound, about 100 meters south of the Tah Rua…
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US downgrades Thailand to be among worst human trafficking hubs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand downgraded to be among worst trafficking centres The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The US State Department yesterday downgraded Thailand to the lowest level in its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report – a move that could trigger sanctions by the United States. After years…
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Brazilian family cross extra fingers for sixth World Cup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazilian family cross extra fingers for sixth World Cup Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Brazil have won a handful of World Cups but for one local family five is not enough. Fourteen members of the Da Silva family were born with six fingers on each hand…
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Korean woman jumps bail in B10mn Phuket fraud case, swept up 3 years later
PHUKET: A Korean woman who was wanted for jumping bail in a 10-million-baht fraud case three years ago was swept up today in a National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) campaign to rid Phuket of crime. Lee Mikyong, 48, was arrested at a Korean restaurant on Chao Fa West Road in Wichit at about 11am, Phuket Immigration Inspector Tianchai…
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Mother wanted for abducting own British-Thai children believed to be in Phuket
PHUKET: The mother wanted for abducting her two British-Thai daughters from their natural father in Pattaya is believed to be heading to Phuket. On Tuesday, Pattaya Police were issued an arrest warrant for 36-year-old Onwarat Gamlem, who is the non-custodial mother of the children. The warrant orders police officers around the country to arrest Ms Onwarat on charges of child…
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Phuket Poll: Beach land for Phuket’s beach clubs?
PHUKET: A bold campaign spearheaded by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada and backed by the Army has led to the recent deconstruction of some parts of Phuket’s most popular west coast beach clubs, such as Catch Beach Club (story here). Though beach clubs aren’t the only targets in the bid to return Phuket’s public beach land to the people, they…
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South African arrested for running ATM card scam in Phuket
PHUKET: Police arrested a South African in possession of 72 bank cards early this morning for allegedly skimming ATMs at popular tourist beach towns along Phuket’s west coast. “Manquba Parker Ngcobo, from the Republic of South Africa, was identified as a suspected ATM skimmer after a police investigation revealed that he had been withdrawing money using multiple bank cards in…
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Spoonful of MSG still stirs up fear in Phuket
Special Report Entire websites are devoted to warnings about monosodium glutamate (MSG). Its detractors claim that it causes cancer, headaches, palpitations, excessive neurological excitement, hair loss and more.Is it really not good for us? What are the facts? The Phuket Gazette‘s Leslie Porterfield reports. PHUKET: MSG was first produced in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who wanted to identify…
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Saving Phuket park is more than battling land encroachers
Kitiphat Taraphiban, 53, a native of Bangkok, is the new Chief of Sirinath National Park. He has a bachelor’s degree in Forest Management from Kasetsart University, and before coming to Phuket, served as chief of Mae Ping National Park in Chiang Mai for one year. Here, he talks about his plans to clean, protect and upgrade the beach, forest and…
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Phuket benefits from NCPO’s no-nonsense measures
PHUKET: Following the unprecedented crackdown on the island’s notorious transport syndicates in recent weeks, it is becoming clear that few provinces in Thailand are benefitting more from the no-nonsense measures ordered by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) than Phuket. Now the cleanup, aimed at ending illegal businesses in Phuket, has targeted another scourge that has increasingly tarnished…
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Armed Navy personnel lead 200-strong Phuket land raid
PHUKET: More than 200 officers under armed escort by Royal Thai Navy personnel arrested five suspects for violent intimidation of villagers in Phuket’s Soi Palai area early this morning. The three-hour raid, which began before dawn, targeted a gang of about 20 men who attacked 14 local villagers’ homes yesterday and destroyed property in broad daylight. Police and Navy officers…
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Phuket one-stop yacht shop set to open, for real, July 1
PHUKET: Phuket’s long-awaited 70-million-baht one-stop yacht shop, dubbed the Phuket Yacht Control Center (PYCC), is set to officially open on July 1 after two years of delays. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut confirmed the opening date yesterday. “PYCC will be Phuket’s official check-in point for incoming and outgoing foreign yachts. Additionally, it will ensure effective vessel-traffic management and monitoring; prevent smuggling…
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Gun battle erupts as Israeli soldiers search for missing teens
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gun battle erupts as Israeli soldiers search for missing teens Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Israeli forces traded gunfire with Palestinians on Thursday, the military said, in the fiercest street battles in the occupied West Bank since a search began for three Israeli teenagers missing for…
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In wake of World Cup viewer bombings, Nigeria says militants plan petrol lorry attacks on capital
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community In wake of World Cup viewer bombings, Nigeria says militants plan petrol lorry attacks on capital Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Islamist militants are planning to attack Nigeria’s capital with bombs loaded on petrol lorries, the Nigerian government said, stoking fears of a sustained push to…
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Junta takes key role for peace talks in South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Junta takes key role for peace talks in South The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Almost a month after seizing power from a civilian government, the military has taken on the role of initiating peace talks with separatists in the southern border region. The move is…
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EU may delay signing pact with Thailand
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EU may delay signing pact with Thailand The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The European Union has decided it will delay signing an agreement on closer economic and political ties with Thailand and is demanding a swift return to democracy, a draft document seen by Reuters…
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Senior labour officials transferred as migrant worker exodus slows
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two senior labour officials transferred as migrant exodus slows The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday transferred two senior labour officials in charge of employment of migrant workers. Employment Department director-general Prawit Khiangpol was transferred to an inactive…
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Would-be bomber causing Stockholm lock-down surrenders to police
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Would-be bomber causing Stockholm lock-down surrenders to police Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A man who had threatened to set off explosives in the heart of Stockholm on Thursday, prompting an hours-long lockdown in the Swedish capital, finally gave himself up to police, a spokesman said.…
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