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  • Bulgarian ATM hackers arrested in Phuket

    Bulgarian ATM hackers arrested in Phuket

    PHUKET: Phuket Police last night arrested two Bulgarian men who were caught removing a “skimming device” from an ATM in Karon, on Phuket’s west coast.Tourist Police moved in and arrested Tervel Kaloyanov Dimitrov, 31, and Ancho Stankov, 33, at about 8pm while they were removing the panel from a Kasikornbank (KBank) ATM machine on Patak Road.The men used a “skimmer”…

  • World News: Heartbeat could power pacemakers

    World News: Heartbeat could power pacemakers

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Experimental device lets heartbeat, not battery, power pacemakers Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: An experimental device that converts energy from a beating heart could provide enough electricity to power a pacemaker, eliminating the need for expensive surgeries to replace pacemakers with depleted batteries, according to results from…

  • Phuket Business: Andaman tourism campaign aims for 20 million

    Phuket Business: Andaman tourism campaign aims for 20 million

    PHUKET: Woravat Auapinyakul, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, has told the Phuket Gazette that he expects the “Andaman – The World Experience” tourism initiative to attract more than 20 million tourists to the region. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall held recently to chart the progress of the tourism initiative, Mr Woravat said that intense competition within the…

  • Phuket Business: Makro – now bigger and better

    Phuket Business: Makro – now bigger and better

    PHUKET: The newly renovated Makro Phuket has reopened its doors, announcing that it is better equipped to meet the cooking and catering needs of local hotels, restaurants and cafés (HoReCa).With an emphasis on enhancing the capabilities of businesses to maintain international standards, the membership-based wholesaler has increased the quantity and diversity of its consumer products, which include both fresh and…

  • Lucky escape for mother, baby as Phuket hillside resort wall collapses

    Lucky escape for mother, baby as Phuket hillside resort wall collapses

    PHUKET: A mother and her 3-month-old baby boy made a lucky escape as a wall from a Phuket hillside resort came crashing down on their home in Patong on Saturday morning. Responding to a call at 9:45am, Patong Police officers led by Lt Col Pratuang Polmana and rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation rushed to the scene, below The Senses…

  • International Sports: Liverpool draw; Lotus wins; Ferrer’s first

    International Sports: Liverpool draw; Lotus wins; Ferrer’s first

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World sporting news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suarez goal gives Liverpool draw with Newcastle Phuket Gazette / ReutersPHUKET: Liverpool failed to mark captain Steven Gerrard’s 600th appearance for the club with a win when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle United in the Premier League at Anfield which leaves them…

  • World News: Housing crisis for victims of Hurricane Sandy

    World News: Housing crisis for victims of Hurricane Sandy

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US storm victims face housing crisis as cold snap hits Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A housing crisis loomed in New York City as victims of superstorm Sandy struggled without heat in near-freezing temperatures yesterday and nearly 1 million people in neighboring New Jersey shivered in…

  • Futsal World Cup: Thailand falls to Ukraine

    Futsal World Cup: Thailand falls to Ukraine

    BANGKOK: Reinforced by a loud and synergetic home crowd, the ‘War Elephants’ climbed back from a five goal deficit, only to fall 3-5 to Ukraine in the two sides’ second group-stage match of the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup. Played last night at a full-capacity Huamark Indoor Stadium in East Bangkok, the match’s first half was dominated by the world’s…

  • Phuket land raids spread, two resorts seized in Krabi land probe

    Phuket land raids spread, two resorts seized in Krabi land probe

    PHUKET: Two beachfront resorts on Koh Si Boya, an island just offshore from Krabi Town and across the bay from Phuket, were raided and seized for allegedly encroaching on a protected forest area. The Krabi raids come after 366 officials were named to carry out a huge investigation into every plot of privately owned land along the border of Phuket’s…

  • Human Rights Commission investigates Racha Yai land titles

    Human Rights Commission investigates Racha Yai land titles

    PHUKET: The Human Rights Commission of Thailand is investigating claims by villagers on Koh Racha Yai that the Phuket Land Office is refusing to issue title deeds for plots that families there have been living on for generations. The land in question is not in a national park and is not registered as any type of protected area. The villagers…

  • Phuket “Minute Man’ bank robber re-enacts heist, gives advice to banks

    Phuket “Minute Man’ bank robber re-enacts heist, gives advice to banks

    PHUKET: The Phuket “Minute Man” re-enacted both of his armed bank robberies, which he has confessed to, in front of police this morning after they tracked him down and arrested him late yesterday. A reported 2.7 million baht was stolen in Anusit Kaewmookda’s latest Kasikorn Bank branch heist, and about 650,000 was stolen in the January 29 robbery at a…

  • World News: Colin Duffy arrested over prison officer’s murder

    World News: Colin Duffy arrested over prison officer’s murder

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prominent Irish nationalist arrested over Northern Ireland shooting Reuters PHUKET: An Irish nationalist acquitted earlier this year of the murder of two British soldiers in Northern Ireland was arrested yesterday in connection with the fatal shooting of a prison officer, a security source said. The murder…

  • A Muslim voice lost in translation

    A Muslim voice lost in translation

    SPECIAL REPORT PHUKET: Seven banners have appeared in Rawai in front of Muslim shops, houses and even a mosque. The English words dominating the banners are jarring to many. However, the Thai translation and the meaning behind the signs tells a very different story. The Phuket Gazette‘s Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai reports. The signs appeared overnight in a Rawai Muslim community with…

  • World News: Freddie Starr arrested in Savile sex scandal

    World News: Freddie Starr arrested in Savile sex scandal

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community British police arrest second celebrity in Savile sex scandal Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: British police on Thursday arrested well-known comedian Freddie Starr in connection with an investigation into allegations that the late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile and others were involved in the sexual abuse of…

  • Phuket Opinion: Electric smile

    Phuket Opinion: Electric smile

    PHUKET: Every now and then, Phuket takes a small step that can make all the difference. The small news story noting that Phuket has a new power substation to manage more effectively its array of step-down transformers foreshadows the likelihood of greater amplitude and reliability in the island’s supply of electricity. The Koh Kaew power station is one of only…

  • World News: New York marathon canceled

    World News: New York marathon canceled

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New York cancels Sunday marathon in wake of deadly storm Reuters PHUKET: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg abruptly reversed course and canceled Sunday’s marathon, a beloved annual race that had become a lightning rod for people frustrated by the disastrous aftermath of megastorm Sandy. The…

  • Phuket B2.7mn KBank robber arrested, confesses

    Phuket B2.7mn KBank robber arrested, confesses

    PHUKET: Police late this afternoon arrested Anusit Kaewmookda, the man wanted for the armed robbery of a Kasikornbank (KBank) branch north of Phuket Town on Wednesday. A reported 2.7 million baht was stolen in the heist. Police moved in and made the arrest soon after 5pm at an apartment behind Surakul Stadium where Mr Anusit was in hiding with one…

  • Phuket Court to try Swedish “killing’ duo separately

    Phuket Court to try Swedish “killing’ duo separately

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Court today ruled that it will hear the cases of Swedish nationals Johan Sebastian Ljung and Tommy Viktor Soderlund separately. The pair both stand charged with the premeditated murder of Maksim Schantz, collaboration in robbery and carrying a knife and an unlicensed firearm with ammunition on August 2 last year. The court made its ruling after…

  • Phuket Sports: Premier League round up and look ahead

    Phuket Sports: Premier League round up and look ahead

    PHUKET: Top flight referee Mark Clattenburg, has been accused by Chelsea of using “inappropriate language”, including alleged racist comments to John Obi Mikel and Juan Mata during last weekend’s loss to Manchester United. The official caused controversy during the game before these allegations came to light by sending off Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres in Chelsea’s 3-2 defeat. To compound…

  • Phuket Sports: Red Bull’s Indian take-away keeps them ahead

    Phuket Sports: Red Bull’s Indian take-away keeps them ahead

    PHUKET: The 2012 season was McLaren’s to lose, and they lost it. In a smoggy and boring Indian GP, Red Bull reaffirmed its control. As in Korea, Sebastian Vettel dominated for the second successive year. Mark Webber had a KERS problem, so Fernando Alonso managed second place for Ferrari. McLaren chose the wrong tyre strategy and underperformed until they switched…

  • World News: Two toddlers among the dead as toll spirals from Sandy; Fury race to go ahead

    World News: Two toddlers among the dead as toll spirals from Sandy; Fury race to go ahead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scope of Sandy’s destruction widens; Death toll spirals Reuters PHUKET: From New York City’s Staten Island to the popular beach towns of the Jersey Shore, rescuers and officials today faced growing evidence of widespread destruction wrought by super-storm Sandy, mounting anger over delayed relief and a…

  • Islanders appeal to Phuket Governor over “Rape of Racha’ inaction

    Islanders appeal to Phuket Governor over “Rape of Racha’ inaction

    PHUKET: The head of a group of residents on Racha Yai Island, located about 25 kilometers south of Phuket, filed a complaint on Tuesday over alleged inaction by government officials in following up on publicly announced promises to take necessary steps in preserving the island’s natural environment. The complaint, addressed to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, was filed by Racha Yai…

  • Police recover B2.5mn from Phuket bank heist

    Police recover B2.5mn from Phuket bank heist

    PHUKET: Police this morning recovered 2.5 million baht in cash believed to have been stolen during the armed robbery of a suburban bank branch in Phuket on Wednesday. Officers moved in at 9am and raided a house in a street opposite the Tah Reua Shrine in Thalang, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat told the Phuket Gazette. He also revealed…

  • Show some respect – Wenger

    Show some respect – Wenger

    PHUKET: Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has called on fans to “show respect” to Manchester United’s Robin Van Persie when he faces his old club for the first time tomorrow. The Dutch striker spent eight years with the Gunners before shifting to Manchester United in the close season for a reported 24 million pound transfer fee. Arsenal travel north to Old…

  • Market vendors protest relocation from new Phuket hospital site

    Market vendors protest relocation from new Phuket hospital site

    PHUKET: About 50 market vendors gathered at the Phuket Provincial Office yesterday afternoon to protest being relocated to a new market site near Phuket Country Home in Chalong. The vendors are facing eviction from their current site of 10-rai where the Chalong Clinic (also called the “Chalong Health Promoting Station”) now stands, but is hoped to soon become home to…

  • Thailand Sports: 21 goals scored on day 1 of Futsal World Cup, Thailand tops group A

    Thailand Sports: 21 goals scored on day 1 of Futsal World Cup, Thailand tops group A

    BANGKOK: The 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup kicked off in extraordinary fashion last night with four sensational matches in Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasimaj, highlighted by a total of 21 goals scored. Hosts Thailand lived up to the Asian futsal world’s expectations in their Group A opener with CONCACAF champions Costa Rica, in which the War Elephants prevailed by a score…

  • World News: CIA deny calls for help rejected during Benghazi attacks

    World News: CIA deny calls for help rejected during Benghazi attacks

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community CIA officials in Libya made key decisions during Benghazi attacks Reuters PHUKET: CIA officials on the ground in Libya dispatched security forces to the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi within 25 minutes and made other key decisions about how to respond to the waves of attacks…

  • Thailand News: Park fees cut; BMA told to pay; Myanmar opium output rises

    Thailand News: Park fees cut; BMA told to pay; Myanmar opium output rises

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New parks chief cuts entry fees Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Admission fees to 29 national parks have been significantly reduced thanks to an order signed by new Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) chief Rerngchai Prayoonvej. Rerngchai signed documents yesterday canceling rules…

  • Similan National Park opens, fees remain the same for Phuket tourists

    Similan National Park opens, fees remain the same for Phuket tourists

    PHUKET: The Similan National Park officially re-opened today with its park fees remaining unchanged as Phuket’s tourism high season approaches. Admissions fees were expected to take a sharp jump after Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) chief Damrong Phidet, now retired, announced in September the need to increase the price of fees to raise money to carry…

  • “… most successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”

    “… most successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”

    A USADA report that included testimonies from several former team mates against Lance Armstrong and themselves, called it the “most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen”. PHUKET: The International Olympic Committee will launch an investigation into Lance Armstrong‘s 2000 Olympics bronze medal after the American was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in…