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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 Thailand News: Farmer credit fails; DSI ups Nenkham hunt; Cabinet to tackle violent oil palm land grab
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Credit cards fail to win over farmers The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Launched two years ago, the farmers’ credit-card scheme has proved to be anything but a success. As of June, only about Bt10 billion of credit was outstanding in the first phase from the…
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Phuket Opinion: Keeping Chinese tourists safe by certifying more guides
Chaifu Saelee, 43, is a Chiang Mai native with a diploma in tourism from Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok. He worked as an interpreter for two years before joining Phuket Huang Tai Tour as a guide. He is now a guide with Phuket Super Holiday Travel. Here, he talks about how to increase safety for Chinese tourists in Phuket by helping…
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Phuket Opinion: Thanks giving for 4th of July celebrations at Phuket Airpark
PHUKET: We would like to extend a most heartfelt thanks to every one of the many volunteer groups who worked together so well to make last weekend’s inaugural Phuket Airshow and Family Picnic such a successful charity event. The splendid festivities, timed to celebrate the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence 237 years ago, had so much going…
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Phuket Opinion: It doesn’t hurt to give
PHUKET: On this lovely island renowned for its wonderful spas, the place I’ve felt most pampered is not one. It’s the sleek and modern Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) next to the employment office, staffed by professionals delivering five-star service to those of us who give about 45 minutes of our time and about 10 per cent of our blood.…
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Phuket Poll: Chalong underpass: six routes diverge in chaos and I choose”¦ eh, um, err….
PHUKET: Underpasses are the new mega-project craze on Phuket as officials scramble to find long-term solutions to the island’s mounting traffic congestion. Work is already well underway for Phuket’s first underpass at the Darasamuth Intersection in front of the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, which was started on November 23 last year (story here). The newest addition to several underpass…
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DSI denounces con artists’ use of department name to squeeze criminals for “protection money’
PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation denied providing “protection services” for illegal businesses in a notification released yesterday, which claimed that con artists in Phuket were using the department’s name to squeeze people for protection money. “We received reports that there are people using the DSI’s name to collect money from business owners who are involved in the illegal employment…
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Man caught on CCTV nicking clean Phuket knickers
PHUKET: Police are now sniffing out the trail of a chronic underwear thief who was caught on CCTV stealing over twenty pairs of drying panties from an apartment complex in Phuket Town.After receiving multiple complaints from residents of Chaloemlarp Apartment about their underwear being stolen, the owner of the complex set up a CCTV camera system.“On July 2 at about…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Army will not meddle in politics; Ramadan peace push; Monk to return with “bigger greatness”
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army will have nothing to do with Thaksin return: Thanasak The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Supreme Commander General Thanasak Pratimapakorn said yesterday that the issue of whether former PM Thaksin Shinawatra will be allowed to return as a free man was not up to the…
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Phuket Sports: Twenty20 season opener sees old rivalries resumed
PHUKET: THE Outrigger T20 league kicked off at the ACG cricket ground last Sunday with an action-packed double header. In the first match, The Village took on last season’s finalists Island Cricket Club (ICC) while the second match saw defending champions Laguna take on arch rivals Patong. After a disappointing showing in the recently completed senior league season, the Village…
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Phuket Airport Express bus ready to roll on July 19
PHUKET: In what seems to be the last shuffle of dates for the launch of the long-awaited Phuket Airport Express bus service, wheels are now to be rolling by July 19, operator Prakob Panyawai confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “The airport buses will be ready to run on July 19. We thought we could start on July 15, but we…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Northern Ireland troubles flare-up; al Qaeda attack means war; French train crash – 6 dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Violence flares around Northern Ireland marches Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Protestant marchers in Belfast threw objects at police, who responded with water cannon as Northern Ireland’s annual parade season descended into violence on yesterday. Pro-British Protestants march every summer in the British-ruled province, a regular…
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Phuket Poll: blimp takes back seat to light-rail system
PHUKET: In response to the 2.6 billion baht that remains unaccounted for after Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi last month confirmed that Phuket will not be bestowed an International Convention and Exhibition Center “unless they vote for Pheu Thai” (story here) – readers of the Phuket Gazette have opted to have a light-rail system built instead. The latest Phuket Gazette…
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Phuket mother in debt sells daughter for sex
PHUKET: Phuket police yesterday arrested a mother for selling her daughter for sex. Upon learning that a karaoke bar on Kwang Road in Wichit (map here) was offering sexual services to its customers, police staged a sting operation. “An undercover policeman arranged to purchase sex from a 14-year-old girl in the bar for 3,000 baht,” said Wichit Police officer Passakorn…
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Thailand’s Human Rights Commission silent on Rohingya shootings
PHUKET: Thailand’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) yesterday told the Phuket Gazette they were “unable to report” on their own investigation into reports of Royal Thai Navy sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya, allegedly killing at least two of the refugees, in February. The news comes four months after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised the international press the allegations…
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Phuket’s footy club turnover doubles
PHUKET: Ticketing and merchandising revenue for the island’s pro soccer club, Phuket FC, doubled year-on-year, while the club’s fan turnout has swelled by 93% during the same period. Now at the mid-season point, business seems to booming for the island’s pro soccer club, at least compared to this time last year when fan support for the club was dwindling. But…
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Woman rescued two hours after fall from Phuket bridge
PHUKET: A 43-year-old woman was rescued from the fast-flowing water in the channel separating Phuket from the mainland two hours after she was seen standing at the railing of Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge. Rescue workers and Tah Chat Chai Police rushed to the scene soon after 10pm, when villagers reported seeing a woman stop her car halfway across Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge…
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Low Cost Carriers: Save us from safety savings
PHUKET: Dying in an airplane crash is not exactly my idea of heading off into the hereafter with a veritable big bang. Much less trying to escape from a burning plane about to explode in a widescreen Bruce Willis Die Hard epic. But perhaps let me wind this back a little to pre-Grantville. Last Thursday, a last minute business meeting…
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Trail cold but Phuket mother still hopes to meet daughter missing since 2011
PHUKET: A girl who seemed to have vanished into thin air after a Facebook session in Phuket Town in December 2011 remains missing, confirmed Chalong Police. The girl, Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya, was 12 years old at the time of her disappearance (story here). “I transferred the case to the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok before I was transferred to…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Microsoft implicated in NSA Prism scandal; Ireland passes limited abortion law; Russia alleges Syrian rebels used chemical weapons
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Microsoft helped NSA, FBI access user info – Guardian Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Microsoft Corp worked closely with U.S. intelligence services to help them intercept users’ communications, including letting the National Security Agency circumvent email encryption, the Guardian reported on Thursday.Citing top-secret documents provided by former U.S.…
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Call for A- blood after Brit expat suffers motorbike crash head injury
PHUKET: The Phuket blood bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital is calling for donations of A- blood following an operation on British national Marc Harrington yesterday. Mr Harrington, 66, was admitted to hospital for a head injury sustained in a motorbike accident in Phuket on June 22. “He underwent an operation yesterday, in which we needed to use A- blood. He…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Ramadan peace blown; Credit Union chief got B3bn; PM Yingluck in show of solidarity; Vietnam cat smuggler nabbed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Blast in Yala injures eight soldiers The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Eight soldiers were slightly wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Yala’s Raman district yesterday and authorities believe an insurgent group led by Saifulloh Balor might be behind the attack.Even though it was agreed at the…
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Phuket beauty salon owner overwhelmed by debt, found dead
PHUKET: The 28-year-old owner of a Phuket beauty salon is believed to have committed suicide due to the stress of overwhelming debt. Local residents spotted the body of Dussadee Ngoy-phutorn, from Sakon Nakhon, in a lagoon behind Phuket Rajabhat University (map here) at 7:20am today. Ms Dussadee, owner of the My Mint beauty salon in Samkong, Phuket Town, was last…
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Laguna Phuket Marathon to be still bigger and better next year
PHUKET: Now in its ninth year, the Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) is going from strength to strength with numbers of participants expected to break 6,000 next year including runners from Asia, Europe and the Americas. LPIM is the largest destination marathon in Southeast Asia and sees participants push themselves to the limit in order to raise money for charity.…
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Islander’s Thai FA cup hopes crushed by Muang Thong
PHUKET: The Islanders Thai FA Cup dream came to an abrupt halt last night as they were knocked out 5-0 by current Thai Premier League champions Muang Thong United. The round 16 match was played north of Bangkok at Muang Thong’s 15,000 seat SCG Stadium. The first half finished scoreless, but Mario Djurovski put the home team 1-0 up straight…
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Phuket Waste 101 – Dousing the burning issue
PHUKET: As you begin to read this article, try to recall your consumer decisions and habits today. Did you go to the convenience store? What did you buy? Was it put in a plastic bag? When you were done consuming, how did you dispose of your waste? What about lunch – did you have takeaway scooped into one of those…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Quebec grieves in wake of train crash; Asiana victims told not to evacuate; No Facebook, no CIA – says Venez minister; UN hits Vatican over child abuse; Mandela responding
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Quebec train set too few brakes, with deadly result Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The handbrake is the railroad industry’s ultimate fail-safe mechanism. It is supposed to help avert disasters like the one that engulfed a Canadian town on Saturday, when a runaway train loaded with oil hurtled…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: B12bn credit union embezzlement charge; Monk’s B95mn cars; Ramadan soldiers turn civil; HK sex slaves saved; Thailand to honor 119yo man
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Credit Union execs accused of embezzling Bt12 billion The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Mounting evidence that Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative Ltd embezzled nearly Bt12 billion has led the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to launch an investigation into…
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Cat alerts home owner to 5-meter python house call
PHUKET: A woman was alerted to the presence of a giant snake in the carport of her home in Phuket Town yesterday by her cat. “When I went out to hang my clothes up to dry, I saw my cat staring at something,” said Saisamorn Sungmek. “It was a snake,” she said. Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation workers responded to Mrs Saisamorn’s…
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Police: case of missing Phuket woman romantic, not criminal
PHUKET: Police confirmed today that they do not consider the disappearance of Bunyanee Sungparn, 29 (story here), to be a criminal case. “After her brother reported her missing on July 1, I checked her Facebook page,” said Capt Rattanatorn Bumrungthin of the Thung Thong Police. “I read a conversation between Ms Bunyanee and her brother, Weerawit Sungparn, that mentioned a…
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Phuket Hajj pilgrims line up for free vaccines
PHUKET: More than 200 Muslims planning to make the Hajj this year took advantage of free vaccinations at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization Hospital on Saturday. “The Provincial Hospital has partnered with the Phuket Public Health Office to offer free meningococcal meningitis and influenza vaccines to people in Phuket and nearby provinces who plan to travel to Mecca for the…
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