News
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Drunk man rails against Phuket police, damages vehicles
PHUKET: Officers stationed at the Pa Khlok Police Box were in for a startling surprise last night when a drunk man arrived to report his son missing, but erupted in a violent rampage after police could not immediately locate the missing son.The man, identified as 41-year-old Pa Khlok villager Sunchai Fordkaew, arrived at the police box at 8pm.“He said his…
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Belarus woman hospitalized in Phuket after slamming motorbike into tree
PHUKET: A Phuket tourist from the Republic of Belarus was injured on Friday night when she lost control of her motorbike and slammed into a pine tree close to Patong Beach at about 10pm.“The accident took place at the entrance to Lai Mai Beach Resort. The injured woman was Yuliya Kavaliova, a 26-year-old. When we arrived, she was crying in…
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Detention of Rohingya north of Phuket a human rights issue, Minister says
PHUKET: The Minister of Social Development and Human Security declared the detention and trafficking of Rohingya through Thailand to be the subject of clear human rights issues and a national security threat after her visit to the Phang Nga facilities north of Phuket on Saturday. “After listening to senior officials dealing directly with the refugee influx of Rohingya in Phang…
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Phuket car care lasts 10 minutes
PHUKET: A local resident at Nai Yang Beach, on Phuket’s west coast, yesterday spent 20 minutes waiting for a team of car detailers to perfect the shine on his white Toyota Fortuner – only then to roll the vehicle upside-down into a ditch 10 minutes later. Concerned villagers called the Kusoldharm Foundation at 10:45am, reporting a car had crashed into…
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Police on lookout for Toyota in Phuket shop hit-and-run
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for the driver of a Toyota vehicle – make and model unknown – that slammed into a motorbike repair shop in Thalang early yesterday morning.The driver reportedly backed his vehicle out of the shop and fled the scene, leaving behind as evidence his front bumper and the Toyota logo badge usually found fixed…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Hun Sen holds Cambodia; 36 dead in Italy tour bus plunge; Gaza talks are back; JJ Cale is dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hun Sen wins Cambodia election, majority slashed Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen won Sunday’s election, taking 68 seats to the main opposition party’s 55, the government spokesman said, announcing a much-reduced majority for the ruling party.Khieu Kanharith,…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Thai Gulf oil spill; Special Admin Zone on cards for Deep South; Drug lord extradited; School caught in mudslide
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Legal action sought over oil spill The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Environmental activists are pushing for legal action and compensation against PTT Global Chemical following an oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand, which experts say could cause severe damage to the marine ecosystem.PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC)…
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Phuket head-on collision claims lives of two sisters
PHUKET: Two sisters were killed this morning when a car belonging to the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) collided with the motorbike they were riding. The tragedy occurred on Rassada Nusorn Road, opposite Baan Kuku School, just north of Phuket Town. The motorbike driver, Warangkana Angsakul, a 51-year-old teacher at Muang Phuket Municipal School, died instantly as a result of…
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DSI stops the music, seizes illegal Phuket karaoke machines
PHUKET: Officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani landed on the island last night to raid nine karaoke bars for music rights infringement. Led by DSI Region 8 Director Udom Phetcharakut, the officers raided venues in Phuket Town and Kathu, starting at 8:30pm. Along for the ride were legal representatives of the music…
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Phuket traffic cop run down by speeding motorcyclist
PHUKET: A Phuket City Police traffic officer was run down by a speeding motorcyclist late yesterday afternoon while trying to clear a rush-hour traffic jam near Vachira Phuket Hospital on Yaowarat Road. Sen Sgt Maj Somsak Chuenbangbah was en route to Saphan Hin, where he was to make sure no trouble erupted at the “birthday funeral” being held there by…
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Phuket Gazette Queer News: Man snores traffic to a halt
PHUKET: Motorists in Phuket who think traffic is bad here should prepare themselves if they are planning a visit to Pattaya, where a man last week caused a huge tailback on a major road after falling asleep at the wheel of his Jeep. It took other citizens and police officers an hour to awaken the dozing driver, who clung to…
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V-Phuket burns Thaksin’s coffin to mark ex-PM’s birthday
PHUKET: About 100 members of the V-Phuket protest group gathered at the Phuket Town waterfront in Saphan Hin to denounce former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and burn his “coffin” to mark his 64th birthday yesterday. The event was set up like a Thai-style funeral ceremony, which featured a coffin with a wreath in laid in front of it. The makeshift…
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Phuket Sports: Going from strength to strength – Bodybuilding
PHUKET: In the 21st century, when women increasingly have the same rights as men, body image ideals have also been increasingly questioned and many women in modern society have become more open, and indeed, proud of their individual body characteristics. One thing is now certain, having a muscular body is no longer an ideal sought only by men. Many women…
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Phuket Sports: A tour de force for Froome – Cycling
PHUKET: First, the bald facts: Chris Froome has triumphed in the hundredth edition of the Tour de France. Last year, victory was claimed by Froome’s Sky team-mate, Sir Bradley Wiggins. Remarkable? Absolutely. They are the first Englishmen to win the world’s most prestigious and demanding cycle race since its inception. By any standards, it is a most extraordinary achievement.Not only…
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Phuket Sports: Hungary, hunters and hunches – F1
PHUKET: The Lions destroyed Australia, England is cruising through a shattered Australia in the Ashes, Andy Murray triumphed at Wimbledon and Chris Froome won the Tour de France. As Britons tower over world sports, Lewis Hamilton must be considering his chance of continuing this newfound tradition, starting with a win in Hungary this weekend. Can he do it? Mercedes has…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Israel blocks EU aid; Snowden won’t be tortured, executed – US; Strauss-Kahn on pimp charges; Pink Panther jailbreak; Tunisia, Syria sectarian divide deepens
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel blocks EU aid in West Bank Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Israel has blocked the European Union from aiding tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank in retaliation for Brussels’ ban on financial assistance to Israeli organisations in the occupied territories. An Israeli…
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Russian in lucky Phuket escape as car goes off-road, bursts into flames
PHUKET: A Russian man’s car erupted in flames early this morning after he accidentally veered off a road and hit a concrete water tank in the hills near Phuket’s famed Big Buddha, in Chalong. Maxim Kasutin, 27, was on his way to a friend’s house at about 1:30am when he missed a curve in the darkness, explained Capt Patiwat Yodkwan…
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Phuket official moves to create Patong Beach clear zone
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol has requested Patong Municipality to clear all vendors – including sun bed operators – from a large section of Patong Beach. The affected area will stretch more than 500 meters from Loma Park to the area opposite the Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa (map here). “This part of the beach has been taken over…
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Phuket FC derail ‘Locomotive’ soccer squad in friendly
PHUKET: The Islanders got a strong injection of confidence this afternoon after making minced meat out of local college outfit, Rajbhat Phuket “Locomotive”, winning 9-0 in a friendly match at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club in Thalang.Scoring for Phuket FC were Chana Sonwiset (4 goals), Luiz “Dudu” Purcino (3) and Giorgi Tsimakuridze and Koset Gerd-Suk, who each scored a goal.…
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Phuket Opinion: Our environment down the drain
Pornsri Suthanarak, 50, is the director of the Phuket Environmental Office. She has a PhD in environmental engineering from Florida International University, and was formerly the director of the Environmental Quality and Laboratory Division at the Pollution Control Department in Bangkok. Here, she explains how all of us can help to protect the environment by making inexpensive changes at home.…
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Phuket airport bus services pared back, full service to resume in August
PHUKET: The operator of the recently launched Airport Express bus has suspended some services, but expects to return to the full schedule next month. The Airport Express bus, operating a “hop on, hop off” service between Phuket International Airport and Patong, launched last Friday to little fanfare (story here). Since then, the dwindling volume of passengers has forced the operator…
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Phuket firework blast puts teacher in hospital
PHUKET: A beach party in Cape Panwa took a horrific turn after a Phuket English teacher went to light a 49-mortar firework on July 13. Immediately after the fuse was lit, the mostly buried firework exploded, sending one of its rounds directly into the face of Danyel Erickson, 31, while the rest shot off in every direction. Ms Erickson, an…
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Phuket to get B251mn CCTV camera boost for tourist safety
PHUKET: Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak has approved a 251-million-baht budget to have an additional 2,450 CCTV cameras added to Phuket’s current arsenal of 1,419 cameras monitoring the island. “Phuket is the first place about which I have received complaints concerning security from about 20 foreign diplomats [story here], making it clear that we have to boost our efforts…
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Two arrested as Phuket bus delivers nearly 10kg of kratom
PHUKET: Police arrested two men in Wichit last night after they picked up a box of kratom leaves delivered to Phuket by bus. The box had the sender’s and the recipients’ names clearly written on it.The bust came after an informant tipped off the Phuket Internal Security Office (PISO) that a kratom package would be arriving by bus from Chumphon…
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Last Call: A love, loom affair with China
PHUKET: Often, one of the last interview questions to scientists or economic strategists is the ominous, almost motherly line: “What keeps you awake at night?”. In most cases the answer is obtuse and rarely what they call in submarine talk, a direct hit. In my own personal version of Groundhog Day [the blockbuster hit starring Bill Murray] – over and…
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Phuket police arrest armed 7-Eleven drug dealer
PHUKET: Police last night arrested an armed man who confessed to selling ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) to teenagers in front of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Cherng Talay.Lt Col Sommai On-khum and fellow officers moved in and arrested 32-year-old Cherng Talay resident Sitthi Suebprasit in front of the 7-Eleven in Baan Pasak, on the Cherng Talay-Baan Don Road, at 10:30pm.“We…
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Phuket secures B22mn to fix notorious Patong Hill road
PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office (PHO) has secured the 22 million baht needed to permanently fix the large section of the notorious Patong Hill road that washed away nearly two years ago, PHO Director Samak Luedwonghad announced yesterday. “Patong Hill Road in undergoing permanent restoration (story here). A contract was signed on May 15 and the repairs are expected to…
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Phuket policeman escapes injury after slippery road slams pickup into tree
PHUKET: A police officer on his way to work early yesterday morning lost control of his pickup truck on the bypass road and crashed into a tree.Though the impact demolished the front end of his pickup, he narrowly missed a nearby light pole and escaped injury.Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers responding to a 5:30am call found a pickup straddling…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Anti-govt rallies; Bus safety under fire; PM beauty smarts TV; Facebook top Thai news source
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Anti-govt groups plan street protests The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Anti-government groups are firming up plans for street rallies ahead of the parliamentary deliberation on August 7 of an amnesty bill proposed by a group of MPs from the ruling Pheu Thai Party. The protests…
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Cash secured for 22-million-baht permanent Patong Hill road fix
PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office (PHO) secured 22 million baht to permanently fix a large, notoriously derelict section of Patong Hill road, PHO Director Samak Luedwonghad announced yesterday. “Patong Hill road in undergoing permanent restoration [story here]. A contract was signed on May 15, and the repairs are expected to be completed by October 12,” Mr Samak told the Phuket…
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