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This Christmas, give the gift of health: essential options for expats in Thailand
The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
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Man stabs boy, 7, in head with screwdriver on Phuket Town street
PHUKET: Police this afternoon arrested a man after he randomly stabbed a 7-year-old boy in the head with a screwdriver while the child was playing with friends in Phuket Town Still in tears and shocked by the attack, the boy’s mother, Chareerat Naksri, told the Phuket Gazette that the stab wound narrowly missed the right ear of her son, Krittamet…
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Monk defrocked after alleged drunk, drugged altercation at funeral
PHUKET: A monk has been defrocked in Phuket and is being held by police after a violent and possibly drug-induced incident at a cremation ceremony this morning.At about 10am Anusit Kulphonmuang, 52, from Udon Thani, reportedly leapt from a wall at Wat Saensuk temple in Phuket Town and seized a 12-year-old girl by her neck.Mr Anusit was reportedly seen drunk…
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Phuket rape suspect has not confessed: Chalong Police
PHUKET: Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri at 2:35pm today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that Sakchai Thongseedam has not confessed to the rape of a young German tourist in Phuket on Thursday. Mr Sakchai was arrested on Thursday following a German tourist filing a complaint with police. “The Centara Karon Resort Phuket receptionist Mr Sakchai has yet not confessed to…
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Bangkok Hospital Phuket celebrates 17 years
PHUKET: Bangkok Hospital Phuket today launched a two-week health fair to mark the facility’s 17th anniversary. During the fair, which runs until June 3, the hospital is offering special discounts on a range of patient services, including checkups and cancer checks, said Hospital Director Dr Narongrit Havarungsi. “We are also offering special prices on physio-therapy equipment and other recovery items,…
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FC Phuket host Airforce United tonight at Surakul Stadium, new president to be announced
PHUKET: FC PHUKET are looking to get their first home win of the season this evening against Airforce United FC. Kickoff is set for 6:30pm. Going into the 10th weekend of league play, Phuket are now in 17th place of the 18-team Thai Yamaha 1 league with one win, five draws and three losses. Their opponents, the Airforce United “Blue…
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French tourist drowns as Phuket surf danger season begins
PHUKET: One tourist has drowned and a Thai woman narrowly escaped a similar tragedy after being caught in strong surf on Phuket’s west coast this afternoon. Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club team at Kata-Karon, told the Phuket Gazette that a lifeguard pulled a Thai woman, aged about 30, from the surf in front of Karon Circle at…
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Phuket’s Bangla street touts warned: “Hands off tourists’
PHUKET: Patong Police have warned touts plying Phuket’s renowned Soi Bangla that they are not to touch tourists whilst soliciting. “And they are not to drink alcohol while they are working,” said Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat. Lt Col Akanit explained to the Phuket Gazette that the new rules for working the streets of Patong are the orders of…
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Thailand’s national ID database crash attributed to “server problem’
PHUKET: The system crash of Thailand’s Department of Provincial Administration central database in Bangkok, affecting Phuket and the rest of the country yesterday and this morning, has been attributed to a “server problem”. Phuket City Municipality was informed yesterday by the Region 8 Bureau of Registration Administration in Surat Thani of the problem, saying that some of the database system’s…
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Phuket takes drug war to the coffee shop
PHUKET: In a marked departure from the usual line in tackling drugs on the island, Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada yesterday took time out to sit down with local village leaders and discuss the drug problem over a cup of coffee. Joined by Col Jirasak Siemsak of Cherng Talay Police Station and Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) Vice President…
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Hanging on jugs at Krabi Rock and Fire Climbing Comp 2012
PHUKET: The karst topography and stunning beach-side limestone edifices of Krabi once again played host to the Krabi Rock and Fire International Contest on April 28 and 29. The 2012 event, organized by the Krabi Rock Climbing Club and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, is designed to highlight Railey and Ton Sai as world-class rock climbing destinations. The contest was…
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Phuket readies for Phuket Games 2012
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa today opened a “coordination center” to act as an information kiosk and souvenir shop for the Thailand National Youth Games 2012, dubbed the “Phuket Games 2012”. An estimated 14,000 athletes, fans, spectators, supporters and coaching staff expected to arrive in Phuket during the coming week for the event, which will run from May 26…
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Phuket sports: Premiership league season review 2011/12
PHUKET: This season’s Premier League has been one of, if not the most exciting seasons in recent memory. Not since the title decider between Arsenal and Liverpool in 1989 has a season ended with so much drama.The battle between the two Manchester clubs for supremacy was of course the highlight of the show, with both sides stretching out eight point…
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Two accidents on Thepkrasattri Road as bad weather hits Phuket
PHUKET: Although the adverse weather is not thought to have directly caused either accident, it may well have been a factor in at least one of the two accidents that occurred along Phuket’s notorious Thepkrasattri Road yesterday.The first incident, shortly after midnight, involved a modified Isuzu D-Max pickup which struck an electricity pole on Thepkrasattri Road in the vicinity of…
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Heavy rains prompt Phuket flood, landslide warning
PHUKET: While the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) today upgraded its “heavy rain warning” for Phuket and the Andaman coast to a flood caution, the Phuket provincial office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) has issued a flood warning for risk areas across the island “We sent the warning letter to every local administration yesterday, warning of possible…
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Phuket sports: Bang Jo boys bring it home
PHUKET: Youth futsal teams comprised of boys from Bang Jo and Cherng Talay on the North of the Phuket came in second and forth place at the Honda Super Cup Futsal Championship recently. The teams qualified for the tournament after winning at Nai Yang, Patong and Kathu. Bang Jo United’s ‘Under 11 years old’ (u11) Team A was awarded a…
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PHUKET GEM HEIST UPDATE: Turk to face drug charges first
PHUKET: The Turkish national who was arrested in connection with the 30-million-baht gem and jewelry heist in Phuket on Monday will face drug possession charges before being handed over to the Phuket Police to face charges related to the gem heist. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul told the Phuket Gazette that Riza Balkan, 49, was found in possession of…
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Phuket Gazette: Soyuz spacecraft launches successfully to join ISS
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Soyuz spacecraft launches successfully to join ISSPhuket Gazette / News WiresThe Soyuz spacecraft launched from a facility in Kazakhstan yesterday morning to carry three new members of Expedition 31 to the International Space Station (ISS).They replace three astronauts who returned to Earth last month.The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft…
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Weather warning for Phuket, Andaman coast
PHUKET: With heavy downpours causing traffic tailbacks and minor flooding across Phuket roads this morning, the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued a “Heavy Weather Warning” covering Phuket and other provinces along the Andaman coast. The warning, issued at 5:03am, explained, “The ridge of high pressure area covers upper northeastern Thailand and the moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman…
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PHUKET GEM HEIST: B5mn in jewelry still missing
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul this afternoon confirmed that 173 items have yet to be recovered from the jewelry and gem heist in Phuket yesterday morning, despite police having three foreigners in custody. The missing valuables are estimated to be worth about 5 million baht, he told a press conference at Phuket City Police Station today. Presented to…
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Mexican, Malaysian suspects named in Phuket gem heist
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have released the names of two suspects arrested in connection with the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry, diamonds and other gems from a parked car in Phuket yesterday morning. Mexican national Ruben Dario Zapata Gonzalez and Malaysian national Rosulina Binti Abu Bakar were presented at Phuket City Police Station at 10am today. Also present…
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Police arrest three foreigners for B30mn jewelry heist
PHUKET: Police have arrested four people in connection with the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry in Phuket yesterday morning while they were heading for the Malaysian border. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the suspects were arrested by Trang Highway Police officers at a checkpoint in Sikao District, in Trang province. The…
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Phuket Election: Aroon Solos re-elected Rawai Mayor
PHUKET: According to preliminary results of the local election yesterday in Rawai, at the southern end of Phuket, Aroon Solos has been re-elected Mayor of Rawai Municipality. The preliminary count gave Mr Aroon with 3,715 votes, said Kittipong Thiengkunagrit, director of the Phuket Election Commission. Mr Aroon’s only opponent, Yutthana Jundee, garnered 1,972 votes. Just over 60 per cent of…
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Phuket Sports: FC Phuket in southern stalemate
FC Phuket played Southern regional rivals Phatthalung FC, which ended in a 1-1 draw, in a heated match last night in Phatthalung Town. Following a tense yet scoreless first half, Phatthalung’s leading scorer Siwapong Jarersin broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half, his sixth of the season. Phuket answered seven minutes later with a strike by Thawadech Aunthong…
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Phuket Police dragnet fails to recover B30mn in stolen jewelry
PHUKET: Police are searching vehicles leaving the island and passengers departing via Phuket International Airport are being subjected to more rigorous bag searches following the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry from a parked van near Phuket Town this morning. The theft was discovered at about 9:45am by Thongsak Chintakanroek, whose Toyota Alphard Hybrid had a window smashed and…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket Police launch manhunt for three foreigners in B30mn jewelry heist
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has received confirmed reports that police have launched a manhunt for three foreign men who carried out a smash-and-grab robbery of about 30 million baht in jewelry this morning. The three men allegedly smashed the windows of a Toyota Avanza parked behind the Big C supercenter on the bypass road at 9:45am with an umbrella and…
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Phuket discount products fair to counter rising prices
PHUKET: In a bid to offer some relief from the spiralling cost of living in Phuket, the Phuket Provincial Cooperatives Office is holding a “discount products fair” in front of its offices in Phuket Town. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak yesterday officiated the opening of the week-long fair on Damrong Road, in the old government quarter of the town around…
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Poll: Will Bang Khu underpass project improve Phuket traffic?
PHUKET: The final design for the 450-million-baht underpass at the Bang Khu Intersection in Koh Kaew has been approved. Although Thepkrasattri Road will be widened to eight lanes in the area, southbound traffic will still have to wait at a stop light before accessing the bypass road. In our new poll, the Phuket Gazette asks readers how this project will…
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PHUKET OPINION: Few winners in war against the sea
PHUKET: Funding for projects to “combat” erosion along the Andaman coast through construction of seawalls, jetties and similar structures would be better deployed on environmentally-sound projects like sand-dune stabilization, mangrove reforestation and enforcement of laws that regulate shoreline construction. Trying to conquer the forces of time and tide is the quintessential exercise in futility. This is especially true along Phuket’s…
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Phuket Town power cables going underground
PHUKET: Phase two of the project to remove the unsightly cables that have been obscuring the classic Sino-Portuguese shopfronts along the streets of Old Phuket Town for decades continues today as workers pull down the power poles along Deebuk Road. The removal of the power poles on Deebuk Road today follows the removal of overhead power cables and the corresponding…
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Phuket authorities call for peaceful red-shirt rally on Sunday
PHUKET: With concerns of 500 members arriving to join the red-shirt rally in Phuket on Sunday, and at least 1,500 yellow-shirt supporters staging a mass rally at Phuket Provincial Hall at the same time, Phuket authorities yesterday called for both sides to respect each other group’s democratic rights and to not engage in any conflict. The news came at a…
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