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Phuket Gazette: Ministers without porno?; Toxic bootleg liquor; Fighter jet crashes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three Indian ministers resign after porno scandal PHUKET (News Wires): Three ministers in southwestern India resigned yesterday after being accused of watching pornography during a debate in the state’s assembly, local media reported today. Women and child development minister CC Patil and cooperation minister Laxman Savadi,…
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Surprise tuna catch off Phuket, Krabi
PHUKET: Fisherman have been catching unusually large longtail tuna in the waters south of Phuket recently, experts say. One of the fish, so large it was originally thought to be a “little tunny” or “false albacore”, was brought for examination to the Andaman Sea Fisheries Management Center Krabi on Tuesday. The specimen, weighing in at 5kg, is a good sign…
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Phuket Police nab alleged pickup thief in Thalang
PHUKET: It took Phuket Police just half an hour to arrest a suspect for the theft of a pickup in Thalang District this morning. They think the man may have been deranged or under the influence of drugs. Cherng Talay Police were notified of the theft of the pickup truck at 10:30am by vehicle owner Sakhon Chalermwanphenyo. Mr Sakhon said…
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Crime and Phuket Tourism: Getting it into context
PHUKET: In an editorial in August last year, the Phuket Gazette asked readers to consider whether or not our island’s tourism industry would die from all the deaths. The deaths referred not only to violent crime but also to more ‘natural’ events such as drowning and road fatalities. But crime was of course the focus amid a wave of murders…
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Phuket update: Volunteers continue sea search for missing Aussie
PHUKET: Friends of an Australian woman who fell overboard from a yacht sailing to Phuket late last week are not giving up hope that she may still be alive and are calling on volunteers to continue the search off the coast of Trang. Australian national Carmel Brooks is known to have fallen overboard from the sailboat Moondancer last Thursday night…
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Phuket Gazette: Mississippi executes man; Last World War I vet dies; Teenage suicide in Moscow
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mississippi executes man for convenience store killingsPHUKET (News Wires): A Mississippi man convicted of killing two men during a robbery spree in December 1995 was executed this morning, officials said. A U.S. Court of Appeals declined to halt the execution based on claims he was mentally ill.Edwin…
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Phuket Gazette: EU’s aviation agency orders Airbus A380 wing inspection
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EU’s aviation agency orders Airbus A380 wing inspection PHUKET (News Wires): The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) yesterday issued a mandate to further inspect the wings of all Airbus A380 aircraft currently in service. The published Airworthiness Directive to mandate a so-called High Frequency Eddy Current…
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Contador is beaten by meat
PHUKET: “The simple fact is that anyone who has a prohibited substance in their system is a cheat.” John Fahey, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said that champion Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador should now be considered a “cheat” after being found guilty of doping, having tested positive for clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France. The Spaniard was handed…
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Phuket Sports: Cricket ground is bowled over by plaudits
PHUKET: Sport enjoys more than its fair share of ceremony from presentations to event openings and their eventual finales.Every one of these occasions first heralds, then celebrates the victorious and also commiserates with those that will have to try again, in order to achieve that title, trophy or winning time. Leopard attack bowler.One sporting occasion that inspires hope and limitless…
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Phuket Update: Sea search called off for missing Australian
PHUKET: A sea search for an Australian woman reported to have fallen overboard from a yacht sailing to Phuket late last week was called off today. News that a search was underway for Carmel Brookes, an Australian-born resident of Langkawi Island in Malaysia, was first reported to the Phuket Gazette by her close friend Michelle Black yesterday. Ms Black was…
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Samui hideaway secret unveiled
PHUKET: Ready to lift the veil on Koh Samui’s “best-kept secret”, the boutique Akaryn Samui is set to welcome its first guests next month. As the fourth and latest venture by Thailand hospitality pioneer Anchalika Kijkanakorn, the Akaryn Samui looks to redefine the boutique resort experience. The largely undiscovered, Hanuman Bay is a pristine crescent cove with a 500-meter powder…
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Bob Brindley passes away in Phuket
PHUKET: Friends and family of Bob Brindley are mourning his passing in Phuket on Sunday. Grenville Fordham, commodore of the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC), informed members of the club of Mr Brindley’s passing with the following announcement: “It is with great regret that I have to inform you that one of ACYC’s staunchest supporters and valued members, Bob Brindley,…
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Phuket Gazette: Shark attacks surge; Iran grabs ‘BBC journalists’; Teacher facing death for drugs; Five missing in Japan tunnel collapse
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Study: Shark attack deaths worldwide highest since 1993 PHUKET (News Wires): Sharks killed at least a dozen people worldwide last year, the highest number in nearly two decades, according to statistics released by the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the University of Florida on Tuesday.…
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“Possessed’ girl leads cops to naught
PHUKET: Police spent hours dredging a pond in Songkhla province earlier this month after a 17-year-old girl told them she had been possessed by the spirit of a young boy whose murdered body was dumped there.Officers eventually abandoned the search after failing to find any remains – except for the skeleton of a dead dog.Mrs Ploi said her daughter Fa…
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Aussie woman falls overboard from yacht near Phuket
PHUKET: Friends of an Australian woman who fell overboard from a yacht on its way to Phuket last Thursday, and who is still missing, are puzzled as to how such an accident could have occurred. Michelle Black, a friend of the woman, said Dr Gerald Goeden and his partner Carmel Brookes were sailing from Lankawai Island to Phuket aboard the…
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Phuket Gazette: 12,000 tweets per second; Victory for Giants & Madonna; Whales sue SeaWorld
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Twitter users post more than 12,000 tweets per second during Super Bowl PHUKET (News Wires): Twitter users posted more than 12,000 tweets per second during the last moments of the Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, the company said yesterday. It is one of the highest ever…
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Civil servant seeks missing mom in Phuket
PHUKET: A civil servant in Nakhon Ratchasima is appealing to the public for help in finding his mother, last seen in Phuket in early June last year. Kriengsak Muangkod, the Director of Bureau of Rural Roads Region 5 Office in Nakhon Ratchasima, said his 65-year-old mother Boonna Muangkod was last seen at his niece’s home in Karon on June 3…
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Alleged “call center’ gang of expats busted in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Tourist Police arrested three Filipino members of an alleged ‘call center’ gang for fraud, but the alleged mastermind, a Briton, remains at large. Nakkaphan Phota of the regional Tourist Police office in Phuket Town told the Gazette yesterday that all of the suspects were foreigners. Following a tip-off from the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, three suspects were…
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Phuket ‘White Prison’ raid reveals rectal stashing of telephones
PHUKET: More than 200 officers conducted a surprise inspection at Phuket Provincial Prison yesterday as part of an effort to gain “White Prison” status, said Phuket Prison Chief Rapin Nichanon. The search for drugs was carried out at 5am by officers drawn from all units of the Phuket police, who also targeted mobile telephones, some of which had been smuggled…
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Swedish tourist drowns across the bay from Phuket
PHUKET: An elderly Swedish woman was found dead in the waters off Ao Nang in Krabi yesterday, one of many recent drownings in Phuket and Krabi.The unnamed 68-year-old, was found face down 10 meters off of Long Beach in Ao Nang at about 1:00pm, said Muang Krabi Police Lt Niwat Timket.“Our tentative investigation revealed that she had been staying in…
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Transportation still the number one issue over Phuket airport’s expansion project
PHUKET: The tricky subject of ground transportation overshadowed other matters at a meeting intended to address concerns over Phuket International Airport’s expansion project. The meeting, which was held at Kata Beach Resort last Thursday, was well attended by both public and private sector representatives from Phang Nga, Krabi and Phuket. Chairing the meeting were Tuyaratt Achariyachai, Chairwoman of the Senate…
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Phuket Live Wire: Why are we being throttled?
PHUKET: Continuing my series of articles answering questions that I hear most often… the next question has to do with internet speeds here in Phuket, as measured on the Phuket Internet Speed reporting site phuketinternetspeed.com: “Woody, I’ve read your articles in the Phuket Gazette. I understand why we’re measuring international download speeds – for most farang and many Thais, international…
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Phuket Sports: King’s Cup bolsters Thai sailing interest
PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta (PKCR) attracts more and more Thai sailors each year and the 2011 event saw Thai sailors taking podium places throughout the series. There were 74 Thai sailors who took part in the competition, making Thailand the fourth most highly represented nation in the whole regatta. The Royal Thai Navy entered two boats into the…
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Phuket Sports: Portrait hit six
PHUKET: Round two of the Phuket Adult Futsal League season nine, presented by Thanachart Bank, played out under the floodlights of Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club’s (TSLC) full-sized synthetic pitch on January 26. First on the Premier Division pitch were Jitjongrut opening their campaign against Portrait FC. Fast flowing and attacking football from Portrait resulted in a commanding 5-1 lead…
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Phuket Sports: Cream of Thai cricket
PHUKET: In celebration of the ACG opening, a Cricket Authority of Thailand (CAT) Select XI took on a mixed selection organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in a 40 over exhibition match. Having won the toss, CAT decided to bat and sent in local boys Martin Foster of the Village CC and Val Guiraud of Laguna CC to open…
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Phuket Business: Cool solutions to cut costs
PHUKET: Despite rising energy prices and the scorching heat outside, home and business owners in Phuket can reduce their electric and utilities overheads by taking advantage of the latest energy saving innovations. Up until recently, Phuket’s green energy market has been supplied with only a limited offering of environmentally friendly technologies and energy saving solutions. Notably, a handful of key…
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DaVinci charters steps forward for 2012 Bay Regatta
PHUKET: It’s not unusual when marinas and yacht brokers cross over into the restaurant business, but co-sponsor of the Bay Regatta 2012, Phuket’s iconic Italian restaurant DaVinci – scored a first when they crossed in the opposite direction. Sponsoring yachting and yacht racing is one thing – and DaVinci has shown other island businesses how that should be done –…
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PIMEX boosts marine-triangle tourism
PHUKET: At the forefront of Asia’s growing marine leisure industry, Phuket island is one of the top five cruising destinations in the world, and lies in the heart of the emerging ‘Andaman Marine Triangle’. Consisting of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi provinces, the Andaman Marine Triangle is home to some of the most stunning sailing grounds in the world. Indeed,…
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Russian tourists stranded including 340 in Phuket
PHUKET: The bankruptcy of one of the largest tour operators in Russia has left thousands of Russian tourists stranded around the globe, including 340 in Phuket. Soopakij Chearavanont, Russian Honorary Consul for Greater Phuket, said the sudden bankruptcy of Lanta Tour Voyage has cost Phuket resorts from tens to hundreds of thousands of baht. Most of the Russians stranded bought…
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“Spider bite victim’ likely drank himself to death
PHUKET: THE man who died after allegedly being bitten by a spider in Phuket more likely died from complications brought on from excessive drinking, a preliminary examination has revealed. Phuket Public Health Office Deputy Director Wiwat Seetamanotch told the Gazette on Tuesday that the preliminary findings of an autopsy on the body of 30-year-old fruit vendor Wanchai Wonglakorn, revealed that…
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