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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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Phuket’s Paiboon calls for snap election
PHUKET: Paiboon Upatising, who earlier today announced his shock resignation as president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), this afternoon explained that his resignation is to pave the way for elections before April 20. Mr Paiboon officially resigned from his position yesterday. “I submitted my resignation to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha yesterday. My term as president was scheduled to…
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Phuket officials set agenda for Cabinet visit
PHUKET: Local government officials and private sector groups will tomorrow finalize which projects will be presented to the Cabinet during the top-level ministerial visit to Phuket on March 19-20. The news comes following a brainstorming session in on Tuesday. “We discussed the monorail project, Patong tunnel project, the Convention and Exhibition Center and the airport expansion,” said Phuket Governor Tri…
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Chinese government eyes interest in Phuket light rail
PHUKET: A state enterprise from the People’s Republic of China is the latest party to express interest in investing in Phuket’s light-rail project.An administration and engineering team from Mashucon Co Ltd announced the news in a meeting with Phuket Governor Tri Augaradacha at Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon.Executive Chairman Nopphon Tansakul told the governor that his team came on behalf of…
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Phuket’s Paiboon resigns in shock move
PHUKET: Paiboon Upatising has resigned his position as president of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor). More details about the shock resignation will be revealed at a press conference this afternoon, the Phuket Gazette has been told. Mr Paiboon was elected to office in April 2008, and was cleared of vote-buying allegations by the Appeals Court in Bangkok on September…
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Phuket on high alert in wake of Bangkok terror bombs
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has ordered all police units on the island to be on high alert following the arrests of three Iranians for the bomb blasts in Bangkok on Tuesday. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul has also ordered all police to boost patrols in Phuket’s popular tourist areas. The move follows the police learning that at least…
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Phuket Gazette: Bangkok bomb plot update
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bangkok bomb plot deepens PHUKET (The Nation): Iran and Israel dropped diplomatic bombshells on each other yesterday, accusing one another of being behind Tuesday’s bomb blasts in Bangkok. Israel was quick to implicate Iran in the bomb incidents. “The attempted attack in Bangkok proves once again…
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Phuket Gazette: Fisherman murdered by police; 272 prisoners dead; 54 rhinos poached
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sri Lanka police open fire on protesters, killing one PHUKET (News Wires): One demonstrator was killed yesterday morning when police officers opened fire on fishermen who were protesting against fuel prices in northwestern Sri Lanka, local media reported. Thousands of fishermen clashed with police during the…
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Bahrain F1 get Bernie’s backing
PHUKET: “I don’t think it’s anything serious at all. It doesn’t change our position in any shape or form.” Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, told British media that despite recent outbreaks of violence in Bahrain, the scheduled April 22 Grand Prix (GP) should take place. He added that if he was advised by the government in Bahrain not to…
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Phuket Business: Toyota Sure opens shop
PHUKET: With so many new cars hitting the streets, the island’s used car and trade-in market is rapidly growing – particularly good news for car owners having second thoughts about a recently purchased or leased vehicle. Benchmarking market growth, Phuket’s Toyota Pearl recently held the soft opening of Toyota Sure, the brand’s renowned second-hand car dealership, located off Chalermprakiat (Bypass)…
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Phuket Business: Medical tours vital to economy
PHUKET: Medical tourism in Phuket is flourishing and contributing greatly to the local economy, a representative from one of Phuket’s major international hospitals has said. Speaking exclusively with the Phuket Gazette, Peter Davidson, assistant manager of international services at Phuket International Hospital, said that “the number of people coming to Phuket for dental work and plastic surgery continues to expand…
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130 couples wed at Phuket Muang District Office on Valentine’s Day
PHUKET: Hearts were aflutter at Muang Phuket District Office yesterday, as 130 couples appeared to register marriages on Valentine’s Day 2012. Muang District Chief Supachai Pochanukul told the Phuket Gazette, “We prepared a special registration desk for the couples and gave them all Valentine’s Day gifts. We issued certificates to 130 couples; it was a very lovely day.”Among the newlyweds…
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Phuket Gazette: Thai Deputy Premier wants fast execution of drug convicts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET (The Nation): A legal study is underway on orders from Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung to determine whether drug-related convicts on death row can be executed within 60 days after final verdicts have been reached. With national drug-related crime statistics reflecting the surge in arrests…
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Phuket Gazette: ‘Morality Police’ nail Valentines couples; Google gobble of Motorola moving forward
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Malaysian police arrest couples on Valentine’s Day PHUKET (News Wires): Islamic “morality police” have arrested at least five couples in a Malaysian city for being intimate on Valentine’s Day, local media reported last night. It follows similar operations in previous years. The Star, the country’s largest…
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Phuket Gazette: Bomb blasts in Bangkok
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Arab-looking man launches two bomb attacks in Bangkok PHUKET (News Wires): Pol Lt Col Witthaya Poonsin, deputy commander of Klong Tan traffic police, said a foreigner, who has yet to be identified, threw the first bomb at a taxi on Soi Pridi Panomyong. The taxi was…
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Phuket mass wedding goes off – with a hitch
PHUKET: Organizer have confirmed the mass wedding at Phromthep Cape is going ahead today, even though some government agencies wanted it canceled. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak received a letter of complaint claiming that the private sector shouldn’t be allowed to use public land for commercial purposes. Part of the event includes a flower exhibit that would remain on the…
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Phuket Gazette: Reactor temperature rises at Fukushima Daiichi; Schiphol reopened after bomb threat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nuclear reactor at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant rises to 82°CPHUKET (News Wires): The bottom of one of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in eastern Japan rose to 82 degrees Celsius (179.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday afternoon, the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said…
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Phuket Business: “Q day’ is fast approaching
PHUKET: Many expatriates in Phuket with UK pensions have held off on transferring them offshore due to the relative infancy of the industry and the fact that there has been little guidance on some of the more technical aspects relating to the transfers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). That is all changing as the new legislation introduced recently in…
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Phuket Live Wire: Yet another PayPal scam
PHUKET: A reader wrote to me, asking if she’s been scammed. Ends up, she’s been taken for a ride, and the scam artist threatened to sue. Here’s how it happened, in her words, with a few minor edits: “Woody, I ran a series of ads in the Phuket Gazette, advertising an item I have for sale. I got an email…
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Phuket Police keep the heat on drug dealers
PHUKET: Phuket Police are searching for a man-and-wife team of alleged major drug dealers who are on the run after officers unearthed a trove of methamphetamines from the ground outside their home in Mai Khao. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul provided details of the operation at a press conference on Monday. Also attending were his deputies Pornsak Nuannu and…
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Trousers to go on at Phuket Village Health Volunteers Fair
PHUKET: For people looking for a cheap night out on Valentine’s Day, the alternative band Kangkeng (Trousers) will take the stage in a free concert at Saphan Hin tonight as part of activities in the Phuket Village Health Volunteers Association Fair. The little-publicized fair, organized by the Phuket Provincial Health Office and Phuket City Municipality, got underway last Tuesday and…
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New shine for old Phuket shrine
PHUKET: Work is currently underway on a new cultural museum and shrine that will showcase the way of life and traditions of Phuket’s ethnic Hainanese community, which date back to Phuket’s tin mining days. Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai was in Phuket last week to preside over a pillar-laying ceremony at Thni Kong Thua Shrine in Wichit. Built over a…
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Phuket News: Sinkholes threaten Krabi rubber plantation
PHUKET: Sinkholes have hit a rubber plantation in Muang District Krabi, east of Phuket. Officials there are urging the landowner to fill them as soon as possible before they enlarge. The sinkholes were first reported to the Mineral Resources Department Region 4 Office in Surat Thani on February 7. On the afternoon of February 10, office director Tawatchai Thepsuwan and…
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Tough love for street beggars in Phuket
PHUKET: Government departments are coordinating a crack down on street beggars in Phuket this Valentine’s Day. Tomorrow at 1:30pm, Governor Tri Augkaradacha will implement policies to remove beggars in all three Phuket districts. This will be done in accordance with the Control of Beggars Act BE 2484 (1941), which requires that provincial officers arrest vagrants. “To solve the problem of…
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Fish truck driver kills five, gets bail
PHUKET: The driver of a truck whose alleged reckless driving killed four young Swedish tourists and their Thai driver in Phang Nga last week has been released on bail, the Phuket Gazette has learned.An officer at Phang Nga Provincial Court told the Gazette last Wednesday that the driver, 27-year-old Muhummadyukee Jehyusoh, requested bail release on February 3.Released three days later…
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Phuket Sports: Asian kiteboarding gets new media deal
PHUKET: Kiteboard Tour Asia (KTA) and television sailing channel Marine Scene Asia announced recently the signing of a media partnership agreement for the coming season. Marine Scene Asia is a specialist sailing channel that produces programming that covers all aspects of the Asian yachting and boating scene. In particular, it focuses on covering competitive sailing regattas which is an important…
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Phuket Gazette: TV Journalist couple killed; The Sun newspaper staff arrested
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community TV journalist couple murdered in Bangladesh capital PHUKET (News Wires): Two well-known Bangladeshi television journalists were killed at their residence in the capital of Dhaka over the weekend, police said yesterday. The bodies of Golam Mustofa Sarowar and his wife, Meherun Runi, were first discovered on…
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Phuket druggists to restrict sale of ‘Meth Blue’
PHUKET: Phuket pharmacists will restrict the sale of products containing ‘methylene blue’ to minors, following reports of youths taking the compound to avoid testing positive for methamphetamine use during drug tests. The announcement came during a special meeting on Saturday led by Kiattisak Parnrungsri, secretary of the Phuket Pharmacists Club; Duangjai Pasarphan, pharmacist with the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office…
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Phuket Sports: Super six football underway
PHUKET: With a plethora of modern sporting facilities springing up on the island, more and more organized competitions are also appearing to take advantage of the technologies being afforded to the local community. Gone are the days of playing on a hacked out piece of wasteland in the searing afternoon heat because no lighting was available after 6:30pm. A tumble…
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Phuket Sports: Oh Lord, the MCC are coming!
PHUKET: The rise of Phuket in world cricket continues on February 16 with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), from Lords, the home of cricket, starting their Thailand tour with a T20 match at the ACG. Founded in 1787, MCC is the world’s most famous cricket club and its role in the game remains as relevant as ever. The organization is…
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Phuket “Meth blue’ users at risk
PHUKET: Health officials in Phuket have issued a warning to students not to take the chemical “Methylene blue” in an attempt to hide methamphetamine use from authorities in drug testing. Muang district chief Supachai Pochanakul recently described the trend of growing drug abuse by schoolchildren in Muang district as “very worrying”. The statement followed a recent round-up of 19 truant…
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