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Royal Pardon: 155 released from Phuket Prison today
PHUKET: Over 150 inmates were released from Phuket Provincial Prison this morning following the Royal Pardon decreed by HM The King on the occasion of his 84th birthday on December 5. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Phuket Provincial Prison Director Rapin Nichanon presided over the release ceremony this morning, when 155 inmates were freed. A Buddhist monk was on hand…
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Phuket Police need help from tourists: investigator
PHUKET: Foreign tourists who are victims of crime in Phuket all too often leave the country before police can investigate their claims, allowing perpetrators to continue roaming the streets in search of new victims, a Patong Police investigator has said. “I want foreign tourists who are victims of crimes in Phuket to cooperate with us when we investigate their cases,…
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Phuket Media: Gazette iPad App goes ‘top of chart’ for Phuket
PHUKET: With close to 4,000 downloads since it’s launch, the Phuket Gazette‘s latest iPad App has soared to the top of the App store’s search results for “Phuket”. The new version (1.1), launched just ten days ago, on November 28, is rated 4.5 and boasts greatly expanded content over its predecessor (1.0) launched in March of this year. Among the…
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Phuket’s Klong Krata reservoir project delayed by rain
PHUKET: Work on Phuket’s third major reservoir is behind schedule, but officials expect the Klong Krata project in Chalong to be completed on schedule by January next year. Project engineer Nattakom Nookhom of the Region 15 Irrigation Office in Surat Thani said rain has put the work significantly behind schedule. “According to the work schedule we should be near the…
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Missing Swede may be in Phuket: daughter
PHUKET: A Swedish woman is asking Phuket Gazette readers for information to help locate her father who has gone missing and is believed to be in Thailand. The father, Tommy Nyberg, is 60 years old with blue eyes and thinning reddish-brown hair, thin on the top of his head but still thick on the sides. He has a birthmark the…
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Thanyapura Phuket to host Holiday Night Market
PHUKET: Phuket’s Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) will host a “Holiday Night Market and Festival of Lights” on Friday from 5pm onwards. Those attending can enjoy an array of canapé delicacies, drinks from the bar and live acoustic sounds as the sun sets while awaiting the lighting of a uniquely decorated Christmas Tree at 7pm. Also on the same…
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Royal Thai Navy 1 leads Phuket King’s Cup Regatta after day three
PHUKET: The third day of racing at the 2011 Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, hosted by Kata Group Resorts Thailand, set sail in the best weather conditions of the week so far, with winds up to 16 knots providing some exciting racing. In the IRC 2 Class, it was Wiwat Poonpat skippering Royal Thai Navy 1 who triumphed with two wins…
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Phuket called on for urgent blood donation to help Russian tourist
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital is in urgent need of donations of blood type A-negative so doctors can perform an operation on a Russian tourist injured in a motorcycle accident. “Anyone who has – or knows of anyone with – blood group A-negative is urged to visit Vachira Phuket Hospital and donate blood in order to allow the tourist to receive…
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Phuket Yacht Haven staff praised for averting marina fireball
PHUKET: A power boat berthed at Yacht Haven Marina in Phuket went up in flames last night, but heroic action by staff at the facility minimized the damage to surrounding vessels as they were able to tow it safely out to deeper water. No injuries were reported. Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation emergency rescue workers, called to the scene at 7:45pm, watched…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Pong rebounds with win, Premier leads the way
PHUKET: Hannes Weimer’s Team Premier surged to the top of the IRC Zero standings to lead the class with five points after the second day of yacht racing today in the 25th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Frank Pong’s Jelik II fought back from two fourth-place finishes yesterday to win today’s Race Three in good winds at the start line, easing…
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Prompong returns, inspects Phuket mangrove encroachment
PHUKET: Pheu Thai Party spokesman and party list MP Prompong Nopparit, who is also the vice president of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee, returned to Phuket on Saturday to inspect alleged encroachment on a protected mangrove forest in Rassada. The inspection visit follows Mr Prompong heading a public meeting at Phuket Rajabhat University on November 26. At the meeting, Mr Prompong…
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Phuket police step up student road safety campaign
PHUKET: Officers at Phuket’s Kathu Police Station today stepped up their campaign to have students at Kathu Witthaya School use the pedestrian bridge instead of risking life and limb by crossing the busy road in front of the school. Tung Tong Police Superintendent Col Kraitong Chantongbai told the Phuket Gazette that nearly every day he receives reports of students being…
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Pardoned: Phuket Prison population to plummet 10%
PHUKET: More than 200 inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison will be back on the streets soon, following the Royal Pardon decreed by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the occasion of his 84th birthday yesterday. Phuket Provincial Prison Director Rapin Nichanon said prison officials were still reviewing the paperwork and could not give an exact figure on how many inmates would…
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Phuket Marine Office to set up holiday safety center
PHUKET: To ensure tourist safety during the upcoming New Year holiday period, the Phuket Marine Department office will step up inspections and open a safety center at its office in Wichit, the agency has announced. Phuripat Theerakulpisut, chief of the Marine Department Region 5 office, said his agency is gearing up for an expected large influx of tourists over the…
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Phuket Skywatch: Total lunar eclipse to mark Thai Constitution Day
PHUKET: The second lunar eclipse to be visible from Phuket this year will occur on the night of December 10, a date annually observed in Thailand as the Constitution Day public holiday. Weather permitting, the entire eclipse should be visible from Asia and Australia. However, North America and Canada will witness only the start of totality as the moon dips…
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Raelert and Rollison reign supreme at Laguna Phuket Ironman
PHUKET: Michael Raelert’s dazzling performance and character shone through at a wet and overcast Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship for the German to take the 2011 title at Laguna Phuket and in the process demolished the course record. When most consider a cautious approach to navigating Phuket during inclement conditions, the two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion powered through the 1.9km swim,…
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Phuket news: 26,000 prisoners get Royal Pardon
PHUKET: In a show of compassion, HM The King today issued a royal command pardoning some 26,000 prisoners nationwide. The decree, signed by His Majesty, was based on the one initiated last year by the Democrat Party-led government. In a statement published in the Royal Gazette, His Majesty said the convicts should be given a second chance. This year’s pardon…
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Phuket united in birthday wishes for HM The King
PHUKET: Scores of civil servants dressed in pink gathered at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town this morning to take part in an alms-giving ceremony to honor the 84th birthday of Thailand’s beloved monarch HRH King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The ceremony, which got underway at 7am, was presided over by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and his wife Mrs Nalinee Augkaradacha in…
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Phuket Live Wire – Need for speed
PHUKET: From time to time, I get messages from people who have looked at the Phuket Internet Speed Reporting site and wonder why we’re measuring international download speeds, using one specific test (DSLReports) to one destination, Los Angeles. Here’s a typical comment: Woody, why should I care how fast this test runs to Los Angeles? I’m happy. My torrents download…
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Boats to show at PIMEX 2012 valued at US$50mn
PHUKET: Boats confirmed for display at the Phuket International Boat Show 2012 (PIMEX) have a combined value of more than US$ 50 million (approx 1.5 billion baht). To be held at the Royal Phuket Marina from March 29 to April 1 2012, this ninth edition of PIMEX is organized by Informa Yacht Group. PIMEX brings leading boat brands, yachting products…
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Phuket Business: Uncertain future for electronic billboards
PHUKET: Commuters in Phuket have witnessed a gradual upgrade in roadside scenery over the last few years. Advertising and media communications are steadily evolving, and many will have noticed traditional print billboards gradually being replaced with animated, digital versions at various traffic junctions around the island. Indeed, the emergence of Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology represents a sign of the…
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Korean tour operators to partner with Phuket
PHUKET: Korean honorary consul Tossaporn Thepabutr recently warned local officials to prepare for an influx of Korean tourism operators coming to set up shop in Phuket. “More Korean company owners are looking at moving their operations to Phuket because of the floods in Bangkok. Phuket is considered much safer,” he said. “Many Korean businesses will join Thai operators to form…
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Wage hikes postponed for Phuket and others
PHUKET: The Cabinet has approved the postponement until April 1 of the controversial 300 baht daily minimum wage hike in Phuket, Bangkok, and five other provinces. The decision to postpone from the initial target of January 1 was made in light of the recent flooding, which has dealt a body blow to the manufacturing sector in much of the country.…
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Dewa Phuket wins 7 awards
PHUKET: Dewa Phuket, the boutique resort at Nai Yang beach, bagged seven awards at the ‘2011–2013 Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards’, or HAPA. The HAPA Southeast Asian regional ceremony, which took place on November 17 and 18 in Singapore, welcomed hospitality sector representatives from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Created by World Asia Publications in 2002, HAPA recognizes…
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MP questions love for flood victims
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Love motel floated boats for flood relief Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An opposition MP Friday came up with “new information” to support his allegation of irregularities involving the government’s Flood Relief Operation Centre (FROC). Phuket Gazette partner newspaper The Nation reports that at a press conference at…
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Phuket Property: Corrupt land ownership cannot be ‘revoked’
PHUKET: While the Andaman Travel Trade 2011 expo was winding to a close at Phuket Rajabhat University last Saturday, a sinister irony pervaded the venue and brought conflict to ‘Brand Phuket’. Tucked away in a small conference room in the same building as the jovial expo was Pheu Thai Party Spokesman and MP Prompong Nopparit, who was holding a public…
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Aussie pays Bt40mn ‘boybride’ price
PHUKET: An Australian man wed his young Thai boyfriend in Chiang Mai yesterday, forking over 40 million baht in “boybride price” to the man’s family for the privilege. The traditional ceremony took place at the Chiang Mai home of Mr Chaiyanon “Un” Worasilp, a 27-year-old from Chachoengsao province, whose first name is unfortunately translated by the on-line Google Translation service…
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Survival of Phuket tourist snorkeler in doubt
PHUKET: Doubts linger over the survival of a man pulled from the water at Yanui Beach, on Phuket’s southwestern coast, this afternoon after he failed to regain consciousness en route to hospital. Jula Nontree, chief lifeguard for Kata, Karon, Nai Harn and Patong Beaches, told the Phuket Gazette he was notified of the incident at 2:50pm. “When I arrived, lifeguards…
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Phuket marks international day for the disabled
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) yesterday held an event to mark International Day for Persons with Disabilities, observed by the United Nations and countries around the world today, December 3. “The annual observance of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities on December 3 was established by the International Year for Disabled Persons 1981,” said Phuket Provincial Chief…
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Delhi Viceroys get their revenge over Phuket
PHUKET: The Delhi Viceroys, on the final day of their hastily rearranged cricket tour due to the flooding in Bangkok, gained vengeance over revised hosts the Phuket Cricket Group today. After a comprehensive defeat on day one, by all ten wickets in a Twenty20 match at the Alan Cooke Ground, the Viceroys got revenge in very similar fashion, though in…
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