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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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50 largest landholders control 14.3% of Phuket
PHUKET: Land ownership in Phuket is highly concentrated in the hands of a relatively small group of wealthy landowners, according to a prominent Thammasat University economics professor. Prof Duangmani Laowakul, a member of the watch-dog committee Policy Watch, said the top 50 largest landholders in Phuket control 14.3% of the island’s total area. A report published in Krungthep Turakij, the…
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More Dragons for Phuket; Siam Makro expanding
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. More Dragons for Phuket PHUKET: Dragon Air intends to increase services on its Hong Kong-Phuket route. Cathay Pacific Airways, parent company of Dragon Air, says traffic to Phuket is robust with an average load factor of 90…
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High-tech drug detectors too expensive for Phuket
PHUKET: Top provincial officers have balked at a plan to install a drug-detecting “X-ray machine” at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint after learning the cost would run well over 250 million baht. The drug problem was the main topic at the monthly meeting of the Phuket Provincial Peacekeeping Committee chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday.…
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Chuan slams money politics
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket leaders and ordinary residents put their heads together at a meeting Saturday to consider how Thailand can reform itself and resolve the ongoing political crisis that caused this year’s violent red-shirt protests. The seminar, “Reforming the Country at a Time of Change“, was the fourth of five organized by the National Economic and Social Advisory Council (Nesac)…
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Phuket attempted murder suspect arrested
PHUKET: A man suspected of an attempted murder in Phuket last year was arrested by Lampang police on Saturday after more than a year on the run. But it wasn’t all woe for the suspect, 41-year-old Bangkok resident Prasop Homhuan. Prasop told officers escorting him to Phuket from Chiang Mai that despite his arrest he was very excited – at…
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Blackout in Rawai, Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET: Residents of Rawai be warned: the Provincial Electricity Authority has announced a scheduled blackout in parts of the municipality from 9am to 4pm tomorrow to work on high-voltage power lines. The affected area includes Saiyuan Road, from Wiset Rd to Nai Harn Beach, including Soi Khok Yang, Soi Hua Pru, Soi Khok Makham and Soi Naya. Much of Saiyaun…
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Arson considered in Phuket pawnshop blaze
PHUKET: Police have not ruled out arson for a pre-dawn blaze that gutted a Phuket pawnshop warehouse today. No one was reported as injured in the fire, although it took five firetrucks 30 minutes to extinguish the inferno on Sri Sena Road in Rassada. An initial investigation suggests that an electrical short circuit might have started the fire, but the…
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Stealers’ Wheel: missing in Phuket
PHUKET: A retired teacher and his family on a weekend trip to Phuket had an unpleasant surprise yesterday, when they checked out of their Phuket Town hotel to find the spare tire of their pickup had been stolen during the night Niphon Phetkong, 62, a former director of Ban Tha Chang school in his home province of Ranong, said he…
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Chuan Leekpai defends democracy at Phuket seminar
PHUKET: Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai said in a speech in Phuket on Saturday that Thailand’s political crisis stems not from flaws in the democratic system, but from the self-serving actions of some individuals. Mr Chuan, a senior advisor to the Democrat Party, was speaking at Royal Phuket City Hotel at a seminar entitled “Reforming the Country at a Time…
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OPINION: Should Phuket be more of a colony?
PHUKET: Consider the humble ant. Ever industrious and capable of astonishing engineering feats, she comfortably air conditions her entire polity, maintains traffic control so no one ever experiences a fatal collision, and supports avidly the concepts of sufficiency economy and Gross Domestic Happiness.She lives in a crime-free, environmentally friendly colony, without recourse to burning hydrocarbons.On Phuket, we too are highly…
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Phuket respects hungry ghosts
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality hosted the annual Por Tor festival this week (August 26-27) to appease spirits said to be visiting families and roaming the streets of the island throughout their month-long reprieve from the spirit world. The festival – chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, his wife Taisika, Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana and Phuket MP Raywat Areerob –…
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Another Phuket drug bust: more than 6,000 pills seized
PHUKET: Phuket’s governor and top police brass held a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday to announce the arrest of a four-man drug ring and the seizure of over 6,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills. The arrest was the result of an investigation ordered by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and spearheaded by Lt Col Sutthirat Thochampa, who heads the Provincial…
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Phuket newborn dead in a dump truck
PHUKET: A garbage truck driver came across the dead body of a newborn baby while separating trash in the back of his truck in Pa Khlok this morning. Thalang police were notified of the grim discovery by a Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) officer around 8:30am. “The baby was wrapped in a T-shirt and pieces of newspaper and put…
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Phuket maid murder re-enactment sparks outrage
PHUKET: Emotions ran high in Thalang yesterday afternoon as local villagers and relatives of Sunee Premprasert, the maid whose throat was slashed by an intruder on July 22, reacted angrily to the re-enactment of her murder. Mrs Sunee, 43, was stabbed some 80 times before her throat was slit and she was left to die bleeding on the floor at…
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Snake removed from Norwegian’s Phuket bungalow
PHUKET: Rescue workers from the Phuket Ruamjai Kupai Foundation yesterday removed a large snake from the home of an elderly Norwegian tourist. Chalong Police received a report at 11:30am that a large snake had entered the man’s bungalow on Soi Suki in Chalong Village 9. When workers from the foundation arrived, they found the 78-year-old Norwegian standing inside the dwelling.…
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Phuket Police sting meth dealers
PHUKET: Chalong Police nabbed two alleged ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers in a sting operation in Phuket yesterday. Rawai resident Sanchai “Mack” Phetphlanurak, 21, and Kriangkrai “Krai” Sukprasert, 37, from Nonthaburi, are in police custody and are being charged with possession of a Class 1 narcotic with intent to supply. Chalong Police led by Superintendent Wichit Intorrasorn announced the arrests at…
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Girlfriend helped Aldhouse escape from Phuket, Thailand
PHUKET: The girlfriend of fugitive murder suspect Lee Aldhouse played a key role in helping the Englishman escape Thailand, Phuket Police said earlier today. Chalong Police Inspector Jaran Bangprasert said the girl, a native of the northeastern province of Udon Thani, disappeared with Aldhouse from their shared room on Soi Khok Makham in Rawai soon after the murder of 23-year-old…
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Phuket tourism: UK growth in 2nd Q augurs well for Phuket
PHUKET: Despite the current woes of the pound, new economic statistics and forecasts for the UK lend credence to the Thai Tourism Authority’s recently stepped up efforts to market Phuket in that country. With growth hitting a nine-year high, The Mail Online reports this evening that Britain’s economy expanded at a faster pace than first thought in the second quarter…
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Phuket roads claim another victim
PHUKET: A motorcyclist died early this morning after his motorbike collided head-on with a pickup truck on Chao Fa East Rd in Chalong. Police identified the deceased as Chaiya Choatang, 29, originally from Takua Tung District in Phang Nga. Mr Chaiya’s motorbike collided with the pick-up, truck driven by Chalong resident Kitti Lukchan, at about 3:30am. Driving southbound at the…
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Phuket murder suspect Lee Aldhouse arrested at UK airport
PHUKET: Fugitive murder suspect Lee Aldhouse has been detained by airport authorities while trying to enter the UK, the Gazette has learned. Lt Col Anukul Nuket, investigating officer in the case, confirmed that Chalong Police received the news from British officials yesterday. Aldhouse is said to have departed Thailand from a small border crossing in Khlong Yai, Trat province, on…
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247kg woman rescued, may be bound for Phuket
PHUKET: Overjoyed that she got to leave her apartment for the first time in three years, 40-year-old Amnuayporn Thongprapai, who weighs 247 kilograms (544 pounds) said she was confident that doctors at Central General Hospital would help her to walk again. Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who was present while the woman was being helped out of her apartment yesterday, said…
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Phuket car crash fatality was Russian
PHUKET: The woman who died in a high-speed car crash collision on the bypass road in Phuket earlier today was a 30-year-old Russian, police have confirmed. For our previous report of the accident, which took place near Tesco-Lotus at 4:20am, click here. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of kin.
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Korean firm ready to invest in Phuket tunnel
PHUKET: Representatives of a Korean firm are the latest potential East Asian investors to meet the Phuket Governor to discuss involvement in a Phuket transport mega-project, this time the proposed Patong Tunnel. Accompanied by Phuket MP Raywat Areerob, a delegation from the AZ Worth Trust Company was received by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop at his office in Phuket Provincial Hall…
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Phuket Software Park announces “Tech Talk” schedule
PHUKET: Software Park Phuket has announced the schedule for its “Tech Talk” seminars for September as follows: September 2: “Blogspot: An easy way to create a website,” by Phuket Innovation Incubation Center, Software Park Phuket. Thai-language presentation. September 23: “Creating a blog with WordPress,” by Kudos Technovation. Thai-language presentation with English-language slides. September 30: “Business on Facebook / Fan Page,”…
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50 foreigners dead in Phuket this year
PHUKET: More than 50 foreign tourists have died in Phuket so far this year, according to statistics released by the island’s top police officer at this week’s consuls’ meeting. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said 52 foreigners died between January 1 and August 17 this year. By contrast, just 28 deaths of foreigners were recorded in all of 2009.…
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Phuket firm wins national award
PHUKET: The Phuket Software Factory has won a Ticta Award for its iPP health-information software. Ticta is a national software competition jointly organized by Thailand’s Information and Communications Technology Ministry and the Association of Thai ICT Industries. The Phuket-developed iPP is used as a clinical tool to generate information ranging from personal health data to overall medical data. The data…
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Nude, Rude in Phuket; Isaan air link; Phuket leads recovery
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Nude is rude in Phuket Phuket is to host a fashion runway show to benefit the ‘Phuket Has Been Good To Us’ foundation, a children’s education charity. The event will debut ‘Nude is Rude’, the new label…
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Chinese interested in Phuket light rail project
PHUKET: The island’s dream of having a reasonably-priced, efficient public transport system took a small step forward on Monday, when representatives of a Chinese construction conglomerate confirmed their desire to build a light rail network for Phuket. Phuket MP Raywat Areerob on Monday brought representatives of the Ershisanye Construction Group for a second meeting with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngob. It…
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Phuket Airport expansion on track: AoT
PHUKET: The 5.8-billion-baht expansion of Phuket International Airport will increase annual passenger traffic capacity to 12.5 million by 2013, Airports of Thailand (AOT) officials confirmed at a meeting on Monday. AOT President Serirat Prasutanond said the expansion is needed to cope with steadily increasing air traffic and to cement Thailand’s status as a regional air hub. Mr Serirat was speaking…
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Phuket Tourism: Thailand Fan Club launched
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand is setting up the Thailand Fan Club in Europe to help draw tourists to Phuket and other key destinations in the Kingdom, including Bangkok. “The TAT feels confident the club will encourage tourists from Europe to return to Thailand this peak season,” TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni said yesterday. More than 5,000 tourists from major…
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