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  • Father of the Nation

    Father of the Nation

    PHUKET: Today, HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty, turns 85 years old.Looking back in time, the circumstances surrounding HM King Bhumibol’s 1946 ascension to the throne couldn’t have been more remarkable. Born the second son to Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, the brother of King Prachadhipok (Rama VII), neither the King nor his elder brother…

  • Phuket honors HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 85th birthday

    Phuket honors HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 85th birthday

    PHUKET: A host of special ceremonies are being held across Phuket today to honor and celebrate HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 85th birthday, as well as Father’s Day. The ceremonies kicked off at 6:30am with Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and a host of other public dignitaries leading the offering of alms to 86 monks as part of a blessing ceremony to…

  • Nationwide manhunt for alleged killer of Hungarian businessman

    Nationwide manhunt for alleged killer of Hungarian businessman

    PHUKET: A nationwide manhunt was launched for the alleged executioner of Hungarian businessman Peter Reisz, whose body was found hidden with hands bound in a rubber plantation on Patong Hill on November 29. “We have contacted every local police station on the island, and immigration offices nationwide, with information about the arrest warrant for dual Israeli-Hungarian national Moshe David,” said…

  • World News: Children killed by Vietnam war-era shell

    World News: Children killed by Vietnam war-era shell

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Old U.S. mortar shell kills 4 kids in southern Vietnam Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: An old mortar shell, which was dropped by the United States Air Force on a village in southern Vietnam during the Vietnam War, exploded on Sunday afternoon, killing four young…

  • Phuket residents urged to support Christmas blood drive

    Phuket residents urged to support Christmas blood drive

    PHUKET: As the Christmas and New Year festive season draws closer, Phuket’s residents are being asked to donate blood to ensure an adequate supply is available for hospitals to deal with emergencies. The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) mobile donation clinic will be out and about during December to collect blood donations from the public. “We need all blood types,…

  • Phuket Business: Chapel bells boost dress sales

    Phuket Business: Chapel bells boost dress sales

    PHUKET: The business of love continues on an upward trend, with Phuket’s Modern Wedding Studio reporting a spike in monthly sales volume by as much as 75% over the last three years. “Business shot through the roof after we were featured on a game show called ‘SME Tee Tak‘ a few years ago.” Mr Narin explained that the nationally televised…

  • Krabi police seize 9 cars, M16 as meth ring crumbles

    Krabi police seize 9 cars, M16 as meth ring crumbles

    PHUKET: Police believe they have broken a major local drug network with the arrests of 13 suspects and the seizure of more than 6 million baht in drugs in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket.During the raids, police also seized more than 5mn baht in assets, including nine cars and five firearms, Krabi Provincial Police Commander Nantadech Yoinuan…

  • Phuket King’s Cup begins

    Phuket King’s Cup begins

    PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is once more putting on a spectacular display of the finest sailing talent, with a total of 168 boats entering from over 35 countries, each striving to win the ‘must-have’ racing trophy of Asia. Beginning today and continuing through to this Saturday, December 8, the full complement of classes for the 2012 race year…

  • International Cricket: Ponting given honor guard for final innings | Thaiger

    International Cricket: Ponting given honor guard for final innings

    PHUKET: Ricky Ponting’s test career came to a close with an anticlimactic innings of eight runs to leave Australia, chasing an improbable 632 for victory, struggling at 110 for three at lunch on the fourth day of the third test against South Africa today. The loss of David Warner for 29 and Shane Watson for 25 brought the former Australia…

  • Aldhouse denies Phuket murder charge

    Aldhouse denies Phuket murder charge

    PHUKET: British national Lee Aldhouse, charged with the murder of former US Marine Dashawn Longfellow in Phuket in 2010, has confessed to police to stabbing Mr Longfellow, but has denied any intention to kill him. Mr Aldhouse was extradited from the United Kingdom on Friday to stand trial in Phuket. He arrived at Phuket Airport on Saturday and was taken…

  • Flames engulf Phuket dive shop

    Flames engulf Phuket dive shop

    PHUKET: A newly constructed scuba diving shop and bar near the Kamala beachfront went up in flames early Sunday morning, causing an estimated one million baht in damage. It took the Kamala Fire Department about 20 minutes to dowse the flames that had engulfed Sunset Scuba and Snorkeling Center, but by that point the entire building had been gutted, Kamala…

  • EPL: Swans fire 2 past Gunners as they blank; Weekend’s action review

    EPL: Swans fire 2 past Gunners as they blank; Weekend’s action review

    PHUKET: Manchester United moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League after an extraordinary 4-3 victory at Reading on Saturday in which all seven goals arrived in the first 34 minutes of the match. Defensive manuals were ripped up as United trailed 1-0 and 3-2 but once again they showed their trademark resilience as two goals from…

  • McCormack wins Ironman 70.3 Laguna Phuket

    McCormack wins Ironman 70.3 Laguna Phuket

    PHUKET: Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack made up for his poor showing at last weekend’s Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) by winning this morning’s Laguna IronMan 70.3 in a time of four hours and four minutes. He fended off the challenge of LPT winner Reudi Wild to mark his debut with a win. In the women’s event, Melissa Hauschildt won her second title,…

  • Aldhouse back in Phuket

    Aldhouse back in Phuket

    PHUKET: Accused murderer Lee Aldhouse arrived back in Phuket tonight at 8:11pm, on Flight 221 from Bangkok.Dressed in a black t-shirt and carrying his personal belongings in a large, clear plastic sack, the shaven-headed Aldhouse looked defiant and focused.He was accompanied by a large contingent of police officers, including members of the Tourist Police and Special Operations Unit. Aldhouse was…

  • Go Eco Phuket brings students, community together for Kata cleanup

    Go Eco Phuket brings students, community together for Kata cleanup

    PHUKET: Go Eco Phuket, known on the island for staging the world’s biggest reef cleanup earlier this year, are gathering again with fellow community members, Kata Municipality workers, Hilton staff and an estimated 500 students from local schools for a Kata-Karon Beach and reef cleanup. Participants in the event will target both the beaches and the associated reefs that are…

  • Police tentatively identify body found in Phuket rubber plantation

    Police tentatively identify body found in Phuket rubber plantation

    PHUKET: Phuket Police tentatively identified the man murdered execution style and left in a rubber plantation on Patong Hill as Hungarian businessman Peter Reisz, 47. A missing person complaint was filed with the Koh Samui Tourist police stating that Mr Reisz had gone missing from a rented room in Phuket on November 23, Phuket Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat said. “The…

  • No Immigration fees, fines E-payment option in Phuket

    No Immigration fees, fines E-payment option in Phuket

    PHUKET: The system of E-payments for Immigration fees and fines will not be launched in Phuket for the time being, Phuket Immigration chief Napat Nusen told the Phuket Gazette yesterday.The new system, which allows visitors to pay with a credit or debit card at the Immigration office, will only be launched in the Bangkok area, a Bangkok Immigration Bureau officer…

  • Father appeals to Phuket public to help locate missing son

    Father appeals to Phuket public to help locate missing son

    PHUKET: A distressed father is appealing to the Phuket public for help in finding his 43-year-old son who failed to make connection flights home to the US on Wednesday.Wayne Bean expected his son to arrive back in Los Angeles on November 28.However, after checking with the airlines it became obvious that his son, Brett Bean, had not made his 8:25am…

  • Unidentified foreigner found tied up, dead in Patong Hill rubber plantation | Thaiger

    Unidentified foreigner found tied up, dead in Patong Hill rubber plantation

    PHUKET: The body of an unidentified foreigner was found in a rubber plantation on Patong Hill tied up and wrapped in a black plastic bag yesterday afternoon. “The body was that of a Caucasian man. A plastic bag covered the top half of his body and he was found face down on the ground. His face had obviously been struck…

  • Phuket Sports: Futsal – Capitals outshine Pearl

    Phuket Sports: Futsal – Capitals outshine Pearl

    PHUKET: The island’s professional five-a-side soccer club fell 3-5 to Bangkok FC, in an intense match-up in Phuket Town last Saturday. Played in front of nearly 1,000 spectators at Phuket’s 4,000-seat Indoor sports complex in Saphan Hin, the game was both sides’ third match of the 30-fixture, GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL) 2012-2013 season. Marking the Andaman Pearl’s…

  • Phuket Sports: Tiger would like more major success

    Phuket Sports: Tiger would like more major success

    PHUKET: Twelve months after ending a two-year victory drought at the tournament he hosts, Tiger Woods is excited about his prospects for 2013 as he prepares to defend his World Challenge title this week. His one-shot triumph over fellow American Zach Johnson at last year’s World Challenge set the tone for a successful 2012 PGA tour campaign highlighted by three…

  • Phuket Sports: F1 -The 2012 season’s “Buttoned’ up

    Phuket Sports: F1 -The 2012 season’s “Buttoned’ up

    PHUKET: Interlagos was a stunning event with weather changes that kept us guessing to the end. It was thrills and spills all the way, to end one of the great F1 seasons in splendid form. Sebastian Vettel had a chance to lose the Drivers’ Championship, and it seemed he had done so at the beginning of the race. Fernando Alonso…

  • Second suspect arrested in Danish abduction, robbery

    Second suspect arrested in Danish abduction, robbery

    PHUKET: Phuket Police arrested on Wednesday a second suspect associated with the abduction and robbery of a Danish woman in the designated Patong Safety Zone on November 26.Diana Muller, 37, reported that on November 26 at about 9:30pm she had been abducted, threatened at knife point and robbed by two men, Patong police said.She told police that the pair had…

  • Phuket busts nab heroin, cocaine suspects

    Phuket busts nab heroin, cocaine suspects

    PHUKET: In a busy two days for drug law enforcement officers in Phuket, a woman was arrested in possession of cocaine at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday and five men with heroin were arrested at an address south of Phuket Town just 24 hours earlier. Lt Col Suthirat Tojumpa, chief of the Phuket branch of the Narcotics Control Board, told…

  • The Curious Case of the Invisible Crown Prince Paras Shah

    The Curious Case of the Invisible Crown Prince Paras Shah

    PHUKET: Journalists trying to catch a glimpse of Nepal’s infamous former crown prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev, who was due to report to Phuket Provincial Court yesterday, were in for a long and ultimately fruitless wait.By midday, reporters who had been waiting since 9:30am, had still not clapped eyes on the former crown prince entering the court to report…

  • World News: U.N. recognises sovereign state of Palestine

    World News: U.N. recognises sovereign state of Palestine

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Palestinians win de facto U.N. recognition of sovereign state Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly yesterday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long…

  • Phuket Sports: Honors even with Anaz champs | Thaiger

    Phuket Sports: Honors even with Anaz champs

    PHUKET: This past weekend the Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) had the opportunity to play two games against another touring team from Singapore, the ANZA Champs. The PCG were victorious on Saturday in the 30-over game, while the more social T20 game on Sunday was won by the ANZA team. After winning the toss, the visitors strode out to face the…

  • Phuket van crash driver to face vehicular manslaughter charge

    Phuket van crash driver to face vehicular manslaughter charge

    PHUKET: Police today confirmed they will charge the driver of the Phuket tour van involved in the accident yesterday morning that claimed the life of a 9-year-old schoolgirl with reckless driving causing death. Sub Lt Kraisorn Boonprasop told the Phuket Gazette this morning that Chalong Police officers were preparing their case against Tuan Russala Samae. However, Lt Kraisorn added,”We have…

  • Thailand News: Biggest drug bust in Thailand’s recent history

    Thailand News: Biggest drug bust in Thailand’s recent history

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pattaya Police arrest Iranians in three hundred million baht drug raid Pattaya Radio 103FM / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The biggest drug raid in Thailand’s recent history took place in Pattaya City yesterday, in a three hundred million baht sting operation. This is without doubt the largest drug sting…

  • Phuket Airport bus forced off the road by repairs

    Phuket Airport bus forced off the road by repairs

    PHUKET: Concerns about whether or not the Airport Bus, which shuttles passengers to and from Phuket Town and Phuket International Airport, had shut down its services this week were answered today with the simplest of answers: one of the buses is off the road for repairs. “We normally have two buses serving the route between Phuket Airport and Phuket Town,”…