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Taxis blockade Phuket cruise passengers – again
PHUKET: The latest taxi and tuk-tuk blockade at the Phuket Deep Sea Port led to a victory for the drivers, who from today will be given a “50-50 share” of access to disembarking cruise ship passengers. Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat, Phuket City Police chief Chote Chitchai and local Marine Police brokered the agreement at about noon today, four hours after…
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Phuket Rotary clubs hit the streets tonight for Japan relief
PHUKET: All six Rotary Clubs in Phuket will take to the streets of Patong tonight, collecting donations for Japan relief. Rotarians will gather at The Port area in the center of the Jungceylon shopping complex, from where they will set out at 9pm. All are invited to join the collection effort. Participants should be easily identified by their white Rotary…
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Canadian seeks support for B900mn Phuket aquarium project
PHUKET: A Canadian expat is seeking support from the Phuket Provincial Office for his plan to develop a 900-million-baht aquarium in Rawai. Accompanied by Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos, businessman Daniel McDaniel today presented his proposal to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at Provincial Hall. As managing director of Phuket Ocean Front Co Ltd, Mr McDaniel said Phuket still possesses huge tourism…
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Phuket’s Thung Thong Walking Street opens
PHUKET: Kathu Municipality is hosting a street fair until tomorrow evening to boost the local Phuket economy, entertain tourists and showcase the area’s unique local history. The event is taking place on Thung Thong Road, located off Wichit Songkram Road westbound between the entrances to Phuket Country Club and Bang Wad Reservoir. Local food stalls, stage performances, handmade local products…
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Phuket YouTube girl “not dead’, but another woman’s body found
PHUKET: Phuket authorities have dismissed as inaccurate a video clip posted on You Tube today showing a woman lying beside a road in Rawai – presented by whomever made the clip as if she were dead. The video clip is labelled “Body of a young girl found in Rawai / Phuket on 4th of April” “The woman certainly was not…
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Burmese laborer dies from fever
PHUKET: The body of a Burmese rubber tapper was recovered from a rubber plantation high above a public water reservoir in Phuket today. The man’s son-in-law, a Burmese who identified himself only as “Mr Pha”, identified the deceased only as “Mr Sorapong”. Mr Sorapong, 45, died at about 11pm on Thursday after a month of fever, coughing and lack of…
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Phuket tailor shop goes up in flames
PHUKET: Fire ravaged a two-storey tailor shop and damaged other units in a row of shophouses on the Patong beach road, on Phuket’s west coast, early this morning. Motorbike taxi driver Wirote Thongthep alerted the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation division of Patong Municipality of the blaze at about 3:45am. Eight fire trucks and 18 officials from the division rushed to…
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Serial rapist confesses to Phuket Police
PHUKET: A serial rapist who preyed on young female members of the Phuket ethnic Nepali community is behind bars tonight after confessing to multiple charges of sexual assault, robbery and impersonating a policeman. The accused, 30-year-old Phakpoom Maneerat, was presented to the media at a press conference at Patong Police Station at 10:30am. The gravity of the case was evidenced…
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Phuket experts treating sick dolphin
PHUKET: Experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) are nursing a sick bottlenose dolphin back to health after it was found floating in the polluted shallows of Klong Tha Cheen in Rassada yesterday. The dolphin, fully grown at around two metres long, is being looked after by the Marine Endangered Species Unit at the PMBC, located at Cape Panwa.…
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Phuket Opinion: Phuket moving forward in tsunami preparedness
PHUKET: The earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan last month once again forces us here in Phuket to review our readiness for a potential repeat of the events of December 2004. The death toll from the 9.0-magnitude quake off the coast of Honshu is now approaching 12,000, with more than 16,000 people listed as missing. The entire world empathizes with…
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Nepalis protest rape, extortion at Phuket police station
PHUKET: Over 200 ethnic Nepalese converged at Patong Police Station last night to protest the actions of a Thai man they allege raped at least four members of their community and stole and extorted valuables of several other Nepali women. The alleged rapist, 29-year-old Phakpoom Maneerat, was arrested in Phuket Town at about noon yesterday. A native of Nonthaburi province,…
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No landslides in Phuket: Officials
PHUKET: Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat and Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Chief San Jantharawong yesterday dispelled landslide warnings for two areas in the north of Phuket. The two top officials inspected Baan Phru Somparn in Thepkrasattri Subdistrict and Baan Mak Prok in Mai Khao, both in Thalang District, after the government Disaster Relief Committee included the two villages on its…
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Phuket LIve Wire: TOT shuts off international downloads
PHUKET: Out of the blue last week a friend of mine sent a panic message: Suddenly, for no reason he could discern, he was unable to download the security update to Adobe Flash. He was sure he had a virus, and the virus was blocking Flash updates. It’s a reasonable concern – in fact, my first reaction was to run…
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Thai floods: AirAsia re-routes to Phuket
PHUKET: Thai AirAsia has issued an announcement that any passengers heading to the flooded southern province of Nakhon Sri Thammarat should re-route to other airports, including Phuket, or cancel travel plans altogether. “Due to flood situation in southern Thailand, extreme conditions have caused difficulties in road transportation. Nakhon Sri Thammarat airport remains closed. “Bus services previously offered by the Public…
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Phuket joins relief efforts for flood, landslide victims
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) today shipped 1,000 medical kits to hard-hit Nakhon Sri Thammarat province as part of its efforts to provide assistance to flood and landslide victims throughout Southern Thailand. Today’s effort follows the PPHO delivering 1,050 first-aid kits to flood-stricken areas yesterday. The kits were shipped to Weingsra Hospital and Phra-saeng Hospital in Surat Thani…
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PM visits, Phuket rescue teams assist in flooded South
PHUKET: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday visited parts of Krabi where rescue teams from Phuket are assisting victims of devastating mudslides and flooding earlier this week. The Thai premier, accompanied by high-ranking military staff including Royal Thai Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayut Chan-O-Cha, toured a shelter at Wat Tam Kob in Na Khao subdistrict, offering consolation and encouragement to victims staying…
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Phuket expats to get microchip implants in new surveillance scheme
As of today, all foreigners living permanently in Phuket are to receive mandatory microchip implants in a move designed to keep track of their movements with new GPS technology. Phuket will be the first province to launch such a system, with the rest of the country expected to follow suit in the coming months. Retired expats will be the first…
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Phuket Business: Corruption and Customs practices seen as major deterrent to trade
PHUKET: In a report released yesterday by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Thai Customs Department comes under fire as a barrier to trade, and does so to the disadvantage of both countries. Corruption is seen to be at the root of the problem. Herewith, some brief extracts from the report: “The United States continues to…
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Storms smash Phuket fishing boats
PHUKET: This week’s storms have put the livelihoods of many of Phuket fishermen at risk after violent waves damaged more than 30 fishing boats and left fish farming pens washed up onto shoreline rocks. Kawi Saranakhomkun of the Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office yesterday said that villagers from all three districts of Phuket had asked the office for help after their…
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Phuket officials deny “mudslide in paradise’
PHUKET: Authorities have dismissed media reports that an “immediate evacuation” was called for Phuket earlier today due to the risk of landslides. Officials at both the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) in Bangkok and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office in Phuket (DDPM-Phuket) said reports of an evacuation order for Phuket carried on Thai television news programs and…
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Navy rescues stranded tourists as Phuket storms continue
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command yesterday rescued Thai and foreign holidaymakers, including many bound for Phuket, who were stranded on the Similan and Surin islands due to the heavy seas. HTMS Bangpakong, under the command of Joint Rear Admiral Rangsarit Sattayanukul, at 2pm sailed to the Similans from its port at the navy base in Thap Lamu,…
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Krabi landslide: 12 dead, 30 missing
PHUKET: The death toll in the Krabi landslide disaster has risen to 12, while 30 people remain unaccounted for, a Krabi official confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. Khao Phanom District Chief Adminstrative Officer Trithawat Rakmuang said that one of the dead has been identified as 31-year-old Paisarn Chusri. He added that 24 people have been injured so far.…
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Phuket Update: One dead, four injured in Krabi mudslides
PHUKET: Officials in Khao Phanom District, Krabi, have dismissed Phuket-based media reports that “thousands are missing” following two landslides in the district. The confirmed toll this morning is one dead and four injured, two seriously, they say. An officer at the Khao Phanom District Office internal security division in Krabi told the Phuket Gazette, “The first mudslide occurred yesterday in…
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‘Japan crisis won’t hit Phuket tourism’: PTA
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) believes the crisis in Japan will not have serious effects on the island’s economy, though it has cautioned that numbers of visitors from affected areas are likely to fall. Somboon Jirayus, president of the PTA, said the 9.0-Richter earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan would have psychological effects in the short term.…
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Double down: Ex-con nabbed in Phuket drug bust
PHUKET: Thalang Police on Friday night arrested a man they described as an “important” ya bah (methamphetamine) dealer who previously served an eight-year stretch in jail on drug charges. Panya Kumanchan, 39, told police he had been smuggling the ya bah from Bangkok to Phuket for two years before his capture. Mr Panya, alias “Nueng Mueang Non” (Neung from Nonthaburi),…
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PHUKET WEATHER ALERT: PM’s office warns of flooding
PHUKET: The Prime Minister’s Office has warned residents in Phuket to brace for flooding, which has already stalled services at Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Samui airports. Thousands of passengers were stranded on Koh Samui in Surat Thani province yesterday, while Nakhon Sri Thammarat Airport has been closed since Sunday. Bangkok Airways canceled all 36 domestic and international flights in and…
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Phuket storm: Gov orders landslide watch
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha today ordered all government officers to be on the lookout in high risk areas where the onslaught of rain may cause landslides. “As it has been raining heavily in Phuket for the past few days, it may cause problems with flooding and landslides,” said Gov Tri. Specifically, he ordered all three District Offices in Phuket…
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Phuket storm winds rip yachts off their moorings
PHUKET: Severe weather conditions in Phuket today broke several boats from their moorings and pushed them ashore at Ao Yon, near Cape Panwa. Many boat owners were caught unaware by the force of the storm as the bay had long been considered a safe shelter at this time of year. “Last night, very strong winds challenged the moorings and quite…
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Southern storms delay Love Aid Phuket
PHUKET: The Love Aid Phuket concert due to take place this Saturday has been postponed because of wild weather that has wreaked havoc over Phuket and other southern provinces in recent days. The music event was being held to raise money for survivors of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. In a formal announcement this afternoon, organizers said the decision had…
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Phuket Airport remains open as wild weather ravages South
PHUKET: Phuket Airport remains open today despite winds gusting to more than 30 kilometers per hour and a flood warning issued early this morning. “A low pressure [system] is covering the middle of southern Thailand. Torrential rain with heavy to very heavy fall in many areas remains over the south,” read the warning issued this morning by the Thai Meteorological…
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