News
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Sponsored Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?
Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...
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Phuket Gazette World News: UK has new prince; Belguim has new king; Moroccan king to get new government
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Baby boy for Prince William and wife Kate Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prince William’s wife Kate gave birth to a boy yesterday afternoon, the couple’s first child and the third in line to the British throne, heralding celebrations in London and messages of goodwill from across the…
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Phang Nga bus crash leaves 22 injured
PHUKET: More than 20 passengers were injured when a bus en route from Bangkok to Phang Nga, north of Phuket, overshot a curve and crashed into a road barrier in Pranburi in Prachuap Khiri Khan province yesterday. A reported 21 passengers and the driver were sent for emergency medical treatment at Pranburi and Thanarat hospitals. Three were sent to Hua…
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Phuket rain and rockslides in Ranong
PHUKET: More than 90mm of rain fell at Phuket International Airport overnight and more rain is on its way, according to the latest weather report from the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD). More than 41mm of rain fell across Phuket Town while wind speeds gusted above 32km/h, brought on by a low pressure system reaching all the way from the Philippines,…
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Phuket office identifies 82 “foreign-owned’ businesses suspected of using Thai nominees
PHUKET: The Phuket Business Development Office (BDO) has identified 82 businesses suspected of breaching the Foreign Business Act (FBA) by using Thais as nominees so that foreigners can hold majority control. The businesses were identified ahead of raids by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) set for this week, targeting illegal foreign businesses in Phuket (story here). “After checking our…
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Headstrong Phuket buffalo causes three accidents
PHUKET: A pregnant buffalo that wandered onto the bypass road late Saturday night withstood the blows of three cars before dying in the median strip.Kusoldharm rescue workers were called to the bypass road in front of Porntip Sea Store at 1am yesterday to aid the injured motorists.The first vehicle to strike the buffalo was a taxi carrying passengers from the…
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Aussie Oi! breezes in to Phuket Raceweek win
PHUKET: Winds gusting to 20 knots made for a perfect end to what has turned into one of the best Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek regattas yet. The weather conditions delivered fast and exciting racing throughout, leaving the sailors of more than 15 nationalities tired but happy. Two races for all except the Classic class made for a hectic schedule…
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Russian tourist saved from Phuket killer rip, flash warning issued
PHUKET: A proposal to post “Double Red Flag Rip Current” warnings at Phuket beaches gained momentum yesterday after a fit Russian tourist ignored a red warning flag and was caught in a flash rip, leading to a daring and dangerous rescue by members of the Surin-Bangtao Surf Lifesaving Club.The incident prompted lifeguards to issue a flash rip warning at all…
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Phuket alcohol ban for Buddhist holiday, Gazette office closed
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to inform our readers and advertisers that our office in Koh Kaew is closed today in observance of Asarnha Bucha Day (story here). Asarnha Bucha Day, the full-moon day of the eighth lunar month, commemorates the Lord Buddha’s first sermon to his first five disciples after attaining Enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago. Evening…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Health Ministry ramps up War on Dengue; Amnesty bill held to ransom; 2 slain in South; Monks moved
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New strategy adopted to fight dengue: spray areas promptly The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has ramped up its fight against dengue fever and now requires hospitals to report to the area disease control department within three hours every time a dengue-fever…
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Close racing, clean sheets on Day Three of Phuket Raceweek
PHUKET: Lightairs beckoned on Day Three of Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, but by starttime a solid 10 knots was blowing and Principle Race Officer (PRO) Simon Jamesgot the fleet underway on time yesterday. A single race was in order for IRCCruising and the Classic classes, while the rest enjoyed the solid breeze tocomplete two races. The wind held throughout…
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Kathu Culture Street Festival kicks off tomorrow
PHUKET: The Kathu Culture Street Festival, showcasing the blended cultural heritage of the area, starts tomorrow with a parade beginning at 4:00pm at the Kathu market followed by an opening ceremony at 7pm at the main stage at the Kathu Public Health Center.“The goal of the festival is to preserve Kathu’s cultures and traditions, as well as to encourage locals…
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Phuket Gazette Queer News: Northern women rub it for lucky numbers
PHUKET: A tree that bears a remarkable resemblance to a man’s nether regions is setting pulses racing in a village in the province of Kamphaeng Phet. The mango tree, which was found on land belonging to 50-year-old Mrs Lot Panthap, appears to have two legs, an arse, and a dork (or ‘penis’) hanging in the balance. Local villagers have been…
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Phuket Opinion: Enigmatic beach flags
PHUKET: You arrive at the beach ready for a day of sun, sea and sand, but you are greeted by a line of different colored flags lining the shoreline: red, red and yellow, yellow, blue, red and white chequered. Most people, myself included, aim for the area away from the red flag as they know what that means. The others…
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Phuket Opinion: Sea change in mindset needed to avoid dire straits
PHUKET: The recent discovery and subsequent removal of a large fishing net from the well-known dive site Shark Point (story here) is just the latest in a long series of indicators that the marine environment off Phuket is in dire straits. Government researchers at the ‘National Parks and Protected Area Innovation Institute’ told a recent seminar that coral bleaching had…
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Phuket Opinion: Saving swimmers by keeping them out of the sea
Phang Nga native Uten Singsom, 37, has been working as a lifeguard for 14 years, first at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Patong and for the past three years on Karon Beach. Today, he is the head of the Kata-Karon Lifeguard Club. Here he talks about what government and hotels should do to make Phuket beaches safer and stop…
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Child rapist confesses to raping stepdaughter repeatedly for years
PHUKET: Police arrested a child rapist yesterday after the man’s wife came home early from work and discovered that he had been raping her daughter repeatedly over an eight year period. The girl’s mother, Ms Kai (all family members were given aliases to protect the identity of the victim), reported her discovery first to her village headman, who then took…
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Brainstorming Phuket’s future – indoor soccer stadiums make the list
PHUKET: Participants from almost every segment of Phuket society gathered on July 17 to tell local government leaders what improvements they want to see on the island in the next two years. The ideas ranged from indoor football stadiums in every tambon to solving the island’s traffic problems.Phuket government representatives along with members of state enterprises, private businesses and ordinary…
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Phuket witnesses for Swede murder trial fail to show
PHUKET: The trial of Swede Tommy Soderlund, charged along with fellow countryman Johan Ljung for a murder in Phuket in 2011, did not progress yesterday, as witnesses failed to appear in court. Mr Soderlund and Mr Ljung are accused of stabbing to death Maksim Schantz and then stealing a motorbike in order to escape the scene. Mr Soderlund admits to…
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Phuket Governor denies foreign mafia’s presence in tourism industry
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut denied Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s allegations that foreign mafias are operating in Phuket. The complaint of foreign mafia presence in Phuket was filed by Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak to the DSI headquarters in Bangkok on July 10 (story here). “Phuket does not have any foreign mafia – just some groups of…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Two killed in Egypt; UN seeks proof of peacekeeper, rebel talks; Israel, Palestine lay groundwork for peace talks; Pope looks for Vatican reform
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two killed in clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi protesters Reuters/Phuket GazetteAn Egyptian woman and a 13-year-old boy were killed when supporters and opponents of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi clashed in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, the website of state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on Saturday.Thousands of…
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Phuket supercars dodge second DSI bullet
PHUKET: A second round of the Department of Special Investigation’s (DSI) probe into supercar owners suspected of tax evasion did not turn up any cars registered in Phuket. The second batch of cars under investigation was composed of only about 60 vehicles. However, only 548 (less than 10%) of the 5,834 registered luxury cars suspected of having been issued papers…
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Winds, thrills pick up on Cape Panwa Phuket Raceweek 2013 day 2
PHUKET: The 37-strong fleet at the 10th Anniversary Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek enjoyed some fast and furious racing yesterday off Phuket’s southeast coast. Winds exceeding 15 knots, combined with 2-3 meter swells, made for perfect Phuket sailing conditions on Day One of the award-winning regatta. Classic and IRC Cruising classes raced a single, long ’round-the-islands’ course, enjoying the strong…
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Phuket Islanders look to charge the Bangkok Bulls
PHUKET: Yamaha League One’s fifth placed team, Phuket FC got a boost of confidence on Wednesday, downing bay-neighbors from the second division, Phang Nga FC 3-1 in a friendly match at Thanyapura. Opening the scoring for the Southern friendly was the Islander’s Georgian striker, Giorgi who net the ball on 12 minutes. This was followed by a goal from Thai…
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Phuket Sports: Zack attack as clock is turned back
PHUKET: “It was when I got on the bike that the old racing instincts began to kick in and I got a little bit excited,” says Jürgen Zack, Thanyapura Senior Head Coach of Triathlon Academy and five times Roth winner. At this year’s international triathlon highlight, Zack, Thanyapura’s Triathlon Academy Senior Head Coach and legend of the sport, notched up…
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Phuket’s inflation 10% higher than country
PHUKET: The island continues to outpace most of the rest of the country in terms of inflation, with the cost of living in Phuket during the first six months of the year, growing at a rate 10% faster than Thailand overall. Meanwhile, headline (overall) inflation in the Kingdom’s two main cities in the North and Northeast was more than 40%…
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Officials bow out of Phuket Airport Express bus launch
PHUKET: The long-awaited Phuket airport-to-beach bus hit the road at 9:30am today with little fanfare. Passengers on the inaugural ride from Phuket International Airport to Patong included media, tourists and relatives of bus operator Prakob Panyawai. No Phuket officials were along for the ride. Married couple Ben and Kim, first-time visitors from England, had just arrived from Kuala Lumpur and…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Ex-CIA man nabbed in Panama; Safety alert grounds Dreamliner; 6 new MERS cases in Saudi
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ex-CIA official, convicted of kidnapping in Italy, held in Panama Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Former CIA Milan station chief Robert Seldon Lady, convicted in Italy of kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric, has been arrested in Panama, Italian and Panamanian officials said on Thursday.Italy’s top court last year…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rice tests approved; Abhisit for vox pops amnesty; Ranong border dispute; Nenkham’s 8 tonnes of gold; Chiang Mai trains resume
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rice importers unfazed as tests approved The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: As the government scurries to restore consumer confidence in Thai rice, buyers abroad are unfazed by problems with pesticides and fumigation.“Foreign importers are still placing orders for our rice,” Wallop Pitchyapongsa, secretary-general of the Thai Rice…
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Phuket restaurant built illegally on beach, public land to face charges
PHUKET: Phuket officials were ordered to take action today against a restaurant found to be illegally built and encroaching on the beach south of Patong.“We ordered every relevant government organization to take action against the restaurant’s owner after we established that the restaurant was built on public property,” Chief of the Damrongtham Center Prapan Kanprasang told the Phuket Gazette.Acting on…
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Oi! and Katsu sail ahead early in Phuket Raceweek 2013
PHUKET: Peter Ahern’s TP52 Oi! out of Langkawi drew first blood in IRC Racing I class today in the opening race of the Phuket Raceweek 2013 regatta, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary. With Scott Bailey and Fergus Wilmer on board, Oi! finished the regatta opener on corrected time two minutes ahead of Ben Copley’s Katsu. Roles reversed in the…
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