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Phuket Gazette: Syria – First high-ranking official joins uprising
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Syria’s deputy oil minister defects from Assad PHUKET (News Wires): Syrian Deputy Oil Minister Abdu Hussameddin yesterday announced his defection from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, becoming the first high-ranking civilian official to join the uprising which began a year ago. Hussameddin, 58, appeared in…
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Phuket Gazette: British Royal Navy submariner charged with ‘leaking’ secrets
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Leaky submarine’?: British Royal Navy crewman charged with communicating secrets PHUKET (News Wires): A British Royal Navy submariner was arrested in southwestern England earlier this week and is being accused of leaking classified information, police said on Thursday. He has been charged with breaching the Official…
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Phuket gears up for PIMEX 2012
PHUKET: The Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX), to be held March 29 to April 1 at the award-winning Royal Phuket Marina, is set to showcase top global boat brands. The leading consumer boat show in Asia, PIMEX has the largest in-water boat display. More than 50 boats representing the leading boat brands from around the world, will be on display.…
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Phuket tourist electrocution brings probe, safety blitz
PHUKET: The electrocution of 45-year-old Russian tourist Fedor Samsonov at a high-end Phuket resort last night has prompted an investigation by police and a full-scale safety inspection of the resort’s electrical system. “This is very tragic and we feel very much for the family,” said Lars Ydmark of resort management company Tri-Asia, which manages the Dewa Karon Beach Resort. The…
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Phuket Crime: Dokset DNA results show human skull hit with heavy object
PHUKET: Preliminary results from forensics tests conducted on remains found at the home of Norwegian Stein Dokset have found that they are those of a human female. They have yet to be confirmed as those of Rungnapa Suktong, however, the Phuket Gazette has been told. The remains were found in the locked basement bathroom at Mr Dokset’s luxury villa in…
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Phuket Gazette: Four Troops killed in Thai bomb attack; Quick probe into criminal cases crucial
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four troops killed, another injured in Narathiwat bomb attack PHUKET (The Nation): The unit was returning home after providing security to Buddhist devotees and monks at a temple in the evening of Maka Puja Day when the explosion occurred at 10:40pm yesterday. The explosion occurred on…
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Wet Phuket: blame La Niña
PHUKET: Unseasonably heavy rains along the Andaman coast are the result of the La Niña effect, a forecaster at the Southern Meteorological Center at Phuket Airport has confirmed. The forecaster, asking that his name not be used, told the Phuket Gazette that this was the second year running that La Niña had brought heavy rainfall during what are typically Phuket’s…
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Phuket workers have new hospital option under social security
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital is accepting applications from workers who want the new hospital to be their primary healthcare provider under the Social Security insurance scheme. The OrBorJor hospital, located on the east side of Phuket Town, has been actively courting new patients since its opening in May last year. Darawan Jinda, who heads the hospital’s…
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Phuket Gazette: Huge solar storm to hit Earth
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Huge solar storm to hit Earth – could disrupt power grids, satellite navigation systems and plane routes PHUKET: The BBC has reported a strong solar storm is expected to hit Earth shortly, and experts warn it could disrupt power grids, satellite navigation systems and plane routes.…
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Phuket Police to start patrols with the “All Blacks’
PHUKET: Phuket Police will soon be patrolling the streets of Phuket in brand-new all black Mazda2 cars. The 10 new patrol cars were bought with 5.9 million baht provided by Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok, said Phuket City Police administrator Charturong Laddayam. “The new patrol vehicles are expected to improve our international image and help our relations with tourists,”…
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Phuket Gazette: Seventh person executed in the US this year
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Texas executes man for killing estranged wife, her boyfriend PHUKET (News Wires): A Texas man was executed yesterday for murdering his estranged wife and her new boyfriend in the Houston area in September 2001, officials said. He is the seventh person to be executed in the…
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Phuket Gazette: Expert says Western lifestyle spawns ‘global public health disaster’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UN expert says globalization of Western lifestyle spawns ‘global public health disaster’ PHUKET (News Wires): A United Nations independent expert on Tuesday said an international public health disaster persists as undernourishment and overweight problems have spawned from the globalization of western lifestyles. UN Special Rapporteur on…
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Phuket Gazette: Bomb kills six British servicemen
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Roadside bomb kills 6 British troops in southern Afghanistan PHUKET (News Wires): Six British service members were killed on Tuesday when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, Britain’s Ministry of Defense confirmed yesterday. It is the worst day for British troops in Afghanistan since…
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Phuket Convention Center project up in the air – again
PHUKET: Efforts to build a world-class convention and exhibition center in Phuket remain mired in red tape, and a recent visit to the proposed project site by two Government advisers raises little hope that the work will begin any time soon – if ever. The latest twist in the decades-old saga came with a visit to the proposed project site…
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Phuket Gazette: Earthquake threat for Japanese nuclear plant
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fault under Japanese nuclear plant could trigger powerful earthquake PHUKET (News Wires): A fault under the reactors of a nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan could trigger a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of up to 7.4 on the Richter scale, experts warned yesterday. The Urasoko…
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Phuket Gazette: Don Mueang; Yala bombing; Sex ‘trade’ not ‘traffic’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Passengers give top marks to Don Mueang restart PHUKET (The Nation): According to a survey conducted by The Nation, only budget airline Nok Air was in operation at the airport. Passengers said they found the service convenient. Security guards said there had been no disruption since…
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Phuket tin smelter Thaisarco under probe
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak today led a team of local officials to investigate claims that the Thaisarco tin smelter at Cape Panwa was releasing contaminants into the air, causing lung cancer and other health issues among local residents. Prapan Kanprasang, head of the Damrongtham Center, which acts as the provincial ombudsman’s office, said his office received a letter…
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Phuket alcohol ban for Makha Bucha Day
PHUKET: Phuket Police have confirmed that a 24-hour ban on selling alcohol will come into effect from midnight tonight in respect of tomorrow being the Buddhist holiday Makha Bucha Day. Lt Col Pisit Chuenpetch, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this afternoon that the ban will be enforced across Phuket. “This a nationwide ban…
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Laguna Phuket denies ‘wrongdoing’ in baby elephant trade
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket today issued a public statement in response to a two-year-old baby elephant being seized at the elephant camp at the resort complex late last month. The statement, marked as attributable to Mark Breit, Regional Director, Laguna Tours & Quest, read: “Laguna Phuket houses and employs domesticated Asian elephants, which, due to habitat loss and poaching, have no…
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Phuket Gazette: McCain calls for airstrikes; Suicide bombing; Kofi Annan visits Syria
– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Senator McCain calls for U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria PHUKET (News Wires): U.S. Senator John McCain yesterday called for a U.S.-led military operation to establish and defend safe havens in Syria, using airstrikes to protect civilians and rebels from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. There have been…
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Phuket rail link gathers steam
PHUKET: The move to build a rail link from Surat Thani to a point just north of the bridges onto Phuket gained momentum on Friday when it was confirmed as one of the projects to be presented to the Cabinet during the minister’s meeting in Phuket on March 19-20. The news was announced at a meeting chaired by Phuket Governor…
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Pla-Wan attack: “Eight is enough’, say Phuket police
PHUKET: Phuket City Police are not pursuing their investigation into whether any more suspects are to be arrested in connection with the attack on Vorasit “Pla-wan” Issara. Mr Vorasit is the general manager of the Sri Panwa resort. He was brutally attacked by staff at the Rachada pub in Phuket Town in December. Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chidchai today…
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Phuket Customs officers seize crystal meth in Thai Post parcel
PHUKET: Customs officers seized a parcel containing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) last week from a transportation company in Rassada, north of Phuket Town. The drugs had an estimated a street value of more than 150,000 baht. Officers from the Royal Thai Customs Investigation and Suppression Bureau (ISB) were conducting a search of the transportation company’s premises when the Thai Post…
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Phuket Gazette: Don Mueang Airport ready to resume operations
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Don Mueang Airport ready to resume operations PHUKET (The Nation): Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today presided over a re-opening ceremony. The government allocated 392 million baht to the Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AoT), with the AoT spending 1.2 billion of its own budget to…
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Phuket Live Wire: Shutter island
PHUKET: I’m going to change topic a bit. At the Computer Clinics we used to talk about all sorts of technology, including TVs, tablet computers, cameras and phones – much to the chagrin of several Windows die-hards. The simple fact is that all of the technology is converging, with more-powerful and more-mobile computer chips making all sorts of magic possible.…
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Phuket business: Luxury auto dealer projects 25% growth
PHUKET: Highlighting the European high-end car market’s upward trend in Phuket, a major luxury car dealer has set its sales target to be 25% higher than last year. Sureeporn Udompolvanich, CEO of TSL Auto Corporation Co Ltd, revealed that the company was able to sell 800 cars in 2011 with a 15% increase in total revenue when compared to 2010.…
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Phuket business: Alien laborer deadline gets extension
PHUKET: More than 20,000 unregistered migrant workers in Phuket now have until mid-June to register with the government, thanks to a Cabinet resolution earlier this month extending the deadline by five months. The extension gives employers time to obtain two-year work permits for unregistered alien workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, said Phuket Provincial Employment Office Chief Noppadol Ployudee. Workers…
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Phuket business: Multi-billion baht deal signed
PHUKET: Ruea Yacht, the luxury yacht building division of Phuket-Bangkok based Yacht Solutions, has joined forces with Northrop and Johnson – one of the world’s largest independent yacht brokerage firms. Highlighting the increased demand, supply and overall growth in Thailand’s superyacht industry, the new partnership will generate billions for the local economy. Director of Northrop and Johnson said: “Over the…
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FC Phuket crush Tuk Tuks
PHUKET: A new-look FC Phuket played their first pre-season, friendly match recently with Tuk Tuk FC, an outfit of the Le Meridian resort, resulting in a 7-0 goal fest for the home boys. The free-admission match played at Surakul Stadium was a confidence-booster for the Southern Sea Kirin if anything. It was a chance for fans to see their new…
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Phuket Gazette: ‘Star Wars’ conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie dies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Star Wars’ conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie dies PHUKET (News Wires): Ralph McQuarrie, the Academy Award-winning conceptual designer and illustrator who was instrumental in defining the look of ‘Star Wars’ icons, died at his home in California on Saturday. He was 82. A statement posted on McQuarrie’s…
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