News
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Phuket holiday: Dane found dead in Kamala
PHUKET: A 62-year-old Danish man was found dead in a resort garden near his Phuket hotel room this morning. Lt Col Anek Mongkol, duty officer at Kamala Police Station, told the Phuket Gazette that staff at the Print Kamala Resort discovered the man’s body at about 6:30am and called the police immediately. “His body was found in gardens beside a…
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Voodoo and Miss Saigon win Phuket’s 2011 Multihull championships
PHUKET: The fourth SEA Property International Phuket Multihull Championship reached an exiting conclusion on Sunday with David Liddell’s Miss Saigon winning the inaugural Corsair Cup and Voodoo skippered by Ian Coulson taking the Firefly 850 One Design Class. Performance Multihull Class (PMC) was an extremely tight contest over the three days. On the first day Paul Larsen skippering the Andaman…
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AIS rolls out 3G coverage for Phuket
PHUKET: AIS is currently rolling out Phuket’s first island-wide full 3G service with a target launch date slated for the end of the month, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The news follows a ground-breaking demonstration of the service by Paiboon Rinsakul, AIS Marketing and Sales Manager for Upper Southern Thailand, at the Woody Leonhard Computer Clinic held in Chalong on…
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Phuket Live Wire: 3G wars start heating up
PHUKET: BANGKOK’S two big English-language newspapers have different takes on the topic, but it’s clear at this point that the 1-2-Call mobile phone company Advanced Information Systems (AIS) and Thai telecommunications services and hardware giant Samart are both going to try to match up with TOT to deliver High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) “3G” service to Thailand, and possibly Phuket.…
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Phuket hospitals join fight against breast, cervical cancer
PHUKET: Two of Phuket’s major international hospitals will be providing discount breast and cervical cancer screening packages throughout August. Urairat Atiset, president of the Phuket chapter of the Business and Professional Women’s Association (BPW) of Thailand, today announced that Bangkok Hospital Phuket (BHP) and Phuket International Hospital (PIH) will be offering the breast and cervical cancer examinations for 3,000 baht.…
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Six Senses Phuket Raceweek off to record start, before the first gun
PHUKET: A record more than 40 yachts are expected to cross the starting line for the eighth Six Senses Phuket Raceweek starting on July 21 in the waters off the Evason Phuket and Koh Bon in Rawai. The regatta, recently bestowed the honor of Best Asian Regatta 2011, is the first event on the Asian Yachting Grand Prix (AYGP) circuit…
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Clarke claims the British Open
PHUKET: Northern Ireland celebrated a second major golf victory of 2011 when Darren Clarke raised aloft the famous claret jug at Royal St. Georges as the 140th Open Champion. With Graeme McDowell winning the US Open in 2010 and 22 year-old Rory McIlroy taking the 2011 title, Clarke’s performance shows the small country to be the golf capital of the…
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Phuket Opinion: Despite the danger, reconciliation on the roads not likely for now
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette wishes Phuket’s Land Transport Chief Teerayout Prasertphol the best of luck in his efforts to end the illegal practice of using salaeng (motorcycles with sidecars) to transport passengers. But we think we’ll be seeing no reduction in the number if these cartoons on the roads – at least not during the current decade. It is difficult…
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Phuket downpours mark arrival of Khao Phansa
PHUKET: A deluge of scattered heavy showers ushered in Buddhist Lent (Khao Phansa) in Phuket today, with the Thai Meteorological Department (MET) forecasting more rain on the way. Khao Phansa is also called the “rains retreat”, when young men traditionally enter Buddhist temples to serve as novice monks for three months. True to the nickname, in the 24 hours preceding…
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Driver plows Phuket trees, hits pole
PHUKET: A businessman driving from Phang Nga to Phuket crashed his pickup truck in Thalang yesterday, taking out six small roadside trees before finally crashing into a power pole. Thalang Police were notified of the accident just after 10am. At the scene, in front of the Yee Teng Mansion on Thepkrasattri Road near the Isuzu dealership, police and rescue workers…
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Phuket’s Tri-Asia to launch Dewa Karon Beach resort in November
PHUKET: Phuket-based hospitality management company Tri-Asia has signed a management agreement to launch and run a unique new property at Karon Beach. The resort will be operated as Dewa Karon Beach Phuket, reflecting its status as sister to the highly successful Dewa Nai Yang Beach hotel launched two years ago. The announcement was made by Lars Ydmark, founder and managing…
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Phuket’s Pariwat second at Junior World Golf Championships
PHUKET: Fourteen-year-old Pariwat Pinsawas claimed a share of second place at the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships held at Riverwalk Golf Club in California on Thursday. A two-under-par third round of 70 secured Pariwat a final score of 211 and joint-second place with two other players: Danny Hopoi from Hawaii and Corey Shaun from the US. The three young golf…
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Phuket dive boat ‘did not capsize’
PHUKET: The dive boat that 27 people were safely recovered from yesterday evening is now back in Phuket, a source at the dive company who was on the boat told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “The boat did not capsize. The bilge pump failed, so the captain pulled the boat into calm waters behind an island,” he said. “We were…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket tourists, crew saved from sinking dive boat
PHUKET: A joint rescue effort by the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center and the Royal Thai Navy has safely recovered all 27 people aboard a sinking dive boat off Phuket tonight. A distress call was received from the dive boat Laksanawadee at 6:15pm, an officer at the Tourist Rescue Center in Chalong told the Phuket Gazette. The boat, a large, two-level…
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“Bagged’ American may have been murdered: Phuket Police
PHUKET: Phuket Police have not ruled out foul play in the investigation into the death of an American man whose body was found in his holiday apartment near Karon Beach earlier today. Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat told the Phuket Gazette that a maid at the Mountain Seaview Apartment resort found the guest dead in his room just after…
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Phuket’s Bhuritt calls for return of Sonthaya as Tourism Minister
PHUKET: Leading Phuket tourism business analyst Bhuritt Maswongsa has voiced his approval for the Tourism and Sports Ministry portfolio to go to the newly-formed Palang Chon Party. Mr Maswongsa, who is the Phuket Tourist Association’s Vice President for Marketing, said the Palang Chon Party’s de facto leader Sonthaya Khunplome understands the developmental needs of tourism provinces because of his experiences…
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TrueVisions to expand HD services in Phuket
PHUKET: TrueVisions, Thailand’s leading subscription-based cable television operator, has announced an expansion of high definition (HD) services in a bid to broaden its subscriber base. Managing director Thiti Nantapastsri said yesterday that the company until now had operated three HD channels – Reality HD, HBO HD and True Sport HD – as a pilot project via its digital fiber-optic cable…
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Phuket’s Fourth SEA Properties Multihull Championship
PHUKET: The SEA Properties fourth annual Multihull Challenge is set to impress with an exciting array of yachts competing for honors in the waters of Phuket. Asia’s biggest Multihull regatta offers racing conditions second to none and is hosted by Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). This year’s event sees the introduction of two new classes plus the national championship competition…
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National rugby finals beckon for Lomas
PHUKET: WHILE Phuket Lomas under 13 rugby team was proving itself on the international stage in England a depleted under 17 squad traveled to Krabi for the National 7’s regional play-offs recently. Played at Krabi’s home pitch in Ao Luk, the Lomas faced their regional rivals Krabi RFC and Surat Thani RFC to decide who would progress to the National…
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Phuket prepares for Kathu Cultural Street Festival
PHUKET: The third annual Kathu Culture Street Festival will take place this weekend, showcasing the cultural heritage of one of Phuket’s oldest and most vibrant communities. The fun will begin tomorrow with a parade at 5pm along Wichit Songkraam Rd, from the Ketho Child Development Center to the Kathu Public Health Center. Traffic will be prohibited between Kathu Municipality offices…
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Five goal thriller puts FC Phuket through to last eight
PHUKET: A 93rd minute strike from Kone Adama sealed victory for FC Phuket in the return leg of their Toyota Cup last 16 round match against Thai Premier League side Sri Racha last night. After a 1-1 draw at Surakul Stadium on July 6, Phuket traveled to Chonburi knowing victory was their only option and that Sri Racha only needed…
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Polish tourist vanishes after Phuket vacation
PHUKET: The Polish Embassy in Bangkok is seeking information to help locate a Polish tourist who visited Phuket recently and has been missing in Thailand for a week. Andrzej Kiezik was last seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at about noon on July 6, after arriving there on a Bangkok Airways flight from Phuket. He stayed at the Serenity Resort…
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Canadian women aim for gold
PHUKET: “You have nothing to lose until you win the gold medal. When you have the gold, you may sit on it and play safe. When you don’t have it, you must do everything to target this prize.” Julie Sauvé, head coach of the Canadian synchronized swimming team, explains how being driven and innovative has placed the national team in…
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Hitman’s 11-year run ends in Phuket
PHUKET: After more than a decade in hiding, the gunman wanted for the shooting murder of Petchaburi journalist Sanan Wannapuk 11 years ago has been arrested in Phuket. Thanin “Dum” Kaewsakul, 46, was listed as the 18th most wanted gunman in Thailand before his arrest by a special operations unit dispatched by Police Region 7. The exact time of his…
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Phuket bars asked to abstain for Buddhist holiday
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Police have requested that all nightlife entertainment venues refrain from selling alcohol this weekend out of respect for Asarnha Bucha Day on Friday and the start of Buddhist Lent (Khao Phansa) on Saturday. Capt Thapakorn Hanumard told the Phuket Gazette that such venues are not legally obliged to close, but are being asked not to sell…
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FC Phuket away to Sri Racha in Toyota Cup
PHUKET: FC Phuket play Sri Racha (Blue Marlins) in the second leg of the Toyota League Cup with the winner securing a place in the quarter-finals, at Suzuki Stadium in Chonburi tonight. A 1-1 draw with the Sponsor Thai Premier League side last Wednesday means that Phuket have to win away from home this evening. A missed penalty at Surakul…
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10,000 liters of smuggled gasoline seized in Phuket
PHUKET: Police made one arrest and seized 10,700 liters of smuggled gasoline in Phuket after following a tip-off yesterday. Col Surisak Wichaidist, Superintendent of the Regional Police Investigations Division, led a group of officers to investigate a speedboat repair facility in Rawai at 11am. They had received a tip-off that Nontasak Marine Co Ltd was hoarding and smuggling gasoline in…
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UK Home Secretary to decide on Aldhouse extradition to Thailand
PHUKET: The decision whether or not to extradite British national Lee Aldhouse from the UK to face murder charges in Thailand will be handed to Home Secretary Theresa May, the Birmingham Mail reports. The decision could take up to two months, the newspaper says. Aldhouse was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport on August 18 last year on an outstanding warrant…
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Phuket “warms up’ for Mother’s Day
PHUKET: Phuket International Hospital is holding a “Warm Family Photo Contest” as part of its celebrations to mark upcoming Mother’s Day, held in Thailand each year on the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit on August 12. Cash and other prizes to be won in the contest, open to Thais and foreigners but not to professional photographers, total 20,000 baht. Entries…
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Phuket drug youth on ‘ice’
PHUKET: In one of the latest drug busts on Phuket, Thalang Police yesterday presented six suspects arrested for possession of ya bah (methamphetamine) with intent to distribute, seizing some 2,000 pills and 200 grams of ya Ice (crystal methamphetamine) in the process. Thalang Police Superintendent Witun Kongsudjai told the press at the Thalang Police Station meeting room that the arrests…
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