News
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Chinese takes top honors in Phuket programming meet
PHUKET CITY: IT whizzes from universities across Asia convened in Phuket last week to compete in an international computer programming contest. The Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM-ICPC) took place at Prince of Songkla University on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sixty teams of three students each from universities in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, South…
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Road to encroachment divides Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Villagers and local officials are at odds over whether a new road in Mai Khao caused the destruction of 25 rai of peat swamp forest – or stopped the encroachment from being much worse. Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization built the 28-million-baht road, which is 3.5 kilometers long and skirts the boundary of Jik Forest. Mai Khao…
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Americans cash in on Phuket volleyball win
KARON, PHUKET: With a masterful performance, the American pair of Jen Kessy and April Ross captured their second-straight Phuket Thailand Open title on Karon Beach yesterday, walking off the sand with the winners’ check of US$30,000.The top-seeded Kessy and Ross finished their four days of competition by downing compatriots Angie Akers and Tyra Turner with clinical precision in the 37-minute…
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All-American volleyball final in Phuket
KARON, PHUKET: The US teams of Jen Kessy/April Ross and Angie Akers/Tyra Turner will square off in the championship match of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open this afternoon. The top two-seeded teams scored semi-final victories yesterday afternoon to advance to the ‘final four’ of the final women’s event on the 2009 world tour. The third-place final will see another US…
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Phuket Thailand Open: World’s largest women’s beach volleyball event!
KARON, PHUKET: Top seeds powered their way into the semi-finals of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open on Karon Beach yesterday, with April Ross and Jen Kessy-Boss of the US surviving a sturdy challenge from the Netherlands. The FIVB announced yesterday that the Phuket Thailand Open was officially the largest event in women’s beach volleyball, having attracted a record-breaking 66 teams…
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Shooting murder in Phuket flower shop
CHALONG, PHUKET: A middle-aged man found shot to death in a Chalong flower shop early this morning is thought to be the victim of a jealousy-inspired murder. Police identified the victim as 38-year-old Surat Thani resident Weerathep Kamchan. Chalong Police received a report of the shooting at about 4:30am from the victim’s alleged mistress, 36-year-old Boonruen Buasi. Investigators including Chalong…
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MV Doulos Phuket visit cancelled
PHUKET: It has been announced that the ‘library ship’ MV Doulos has cancelled her visit to Phuket. MV Doulos was due to port in Phuket from November 19 to 26. However, planned maintenance and repairs on the ship, currently berthed in Singapore, have run into unexpected delays. The advance preparation team regret the delay and apologizes for any inconveniences caused.…
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Favorite teams drop like flies in Phuket Thailand Open volleyball tourney
KARON, PHUKET: After the posting of the seeds for this week’s SWATCH FIVB World Tour event in Karon, pundits figured that the gold medal participants at last week’s international stop in China would face each other in the third-round of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open. Instead, only one of the final two teams advanced as expected, as Switzerland’s Simone Kuhn…
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Phuket punters sit for cops of coffee
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police Station’s very own coffee shop, The Seat, opened its doors on Monday, selling hot beverages, cakes – and earning extra cash for the city’s underpaid cops. The enterprise is a ‘police welfare project’ organized by station superintendent, Col Wanchai Ekpornpit. All profits from the shop will be shared by Phuket City Police officers, supplementing their…
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Phuket Open: All Thai teams out
KARON, PHUKET: All five Thai teams in the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open volleyball tournament have been eliminated from competition. Defending Phuket Thailand Open champions Jen Kessy-Boss and April Ross of the US opened defense of their title by defeating 32nd seeds Julaluk Radarong and Manerat Udomchavee of Thailand 21-15 and 21-13 today. More bad news for the Thais came when…
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Woman arrested for Phuket FantaSea jewel heist
PHUKET CITY: After analyzing DNA evidence, police on Monday arrested a cashier at Phuket FantaSea for the theft of more than two million baht’s worth of diamond jewelry from the souvenir shop safe in May. Police said a sample of 26-year-old Khuanrue-thai Chartnarong’s hair matched those found near the safe shortly after the robbery, which took place at Phuket FantaSea…
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Software police target Phuket businesses
PHUKET: As part of a nationwide investigation, Phuket businesses are being investigated closely by police for using illegal computer software. A Gazette source said a ‘high profile’ property investment firm was raided earlier this week. Police are said to have seized hardware and software, all allegedly unlicensed. The company was given a million baht fine, the source said. Following news…
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Patong nightspots under curfew scrutiny
PATONG, PHUKET: Following many reports that certain nightlife establishments in Patong are not closing by the mandatory 2am curfew, the Phuket’s governor and the island’s top police officer say the situation is being closely monitored. This follows a report in a local Thai language newspaper that three unspecified nightclubs were habitually operating until 6am. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial…
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New Swedish Honorary Consul for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: A doctor at Bangkok Hospital Phuket is the new go-to man in times of trouble for the Andaman region’s sizable Swedish community. Dr Sompoch Nipakanont, assistant director of Bangkok Hospital Phuket, was formally appointed as the new Swedish honorary consul on Monday. Swedish Ambassador to Thailand Lennard Linner presented a letter of appointment to Dr Sompoch from HM…
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Phuket Police crack down on loan sharks
PHUKET CITY: Police are cracking down on loan sharks who offer desperate people high interest loans, sometimes backed up with the threat of violence against those who fail to pay back their debts. Four men are accused of offering loans with interest above the legally permissible rates. They were paraded before a press conference at Phuket City Police Station yesterday. Phuket…
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Five Phuket teens accused of gang rape
PHUKET CITY: Five teenagers, including two girls, were arrested yesterday for allegedly gang raping a 14-year-old Thai-Japanese girl at a house in Phuket City last week. Police say the two girls held the victim down while the three boys raped her. All five suspects are 14 to16 years of age. Their faces covered with balaclavas, the youths were presented to…
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MV Doulos back in Phuket in mid-November
PHUKET CITY: On the next leg of its mission to bring books to readers around the globe, the world’s oldest passenger liner will make its fifth port-of-call in Phuket later this month. The MV Doulos, built in the US in 1914, will berth at the Phuket Deep Sea Port for a one-week stay starting on November 19. Built just two…
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Volleyball vixens smashing balls on the beach
KARON, PHUKET: A record number of teams are competing in the 4th Phuket Thailand Open women’s beach volleyball tournament, which began yesterday on Karon Beach. Heading the list of 70 teams competing in the US$190,000 event are April Ross and Jennifer Kessy-Boss, the 2009 Women’s Beach Volleyball World Champions. The US pair, currently ranked third in the world, return to…
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British tourist reported missing, possibly in Phuket
PHUKET: British tourist Jim Leonard Derry, 72, has been reported missing.Mr Derry arrived in Thailand on July 28. His last known address was in Central Road, Pattaya. However, he is known to be a keen fisherman and frequent visitor to Phuket.Anyone with information on Mr Derry’s whereabouts is asked to visit the British Honorary Consulate Office in the Plaza Del…
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Phuket Gov and consuls to talk through problems
PHUKET CITY: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop has agreed to meet with the island’s honorary consuls every three months to discuss problems concerning tourists and expat residents. The move follows a proposal by the German ambassador to Thailand yesterday. German Ambassador Dr Hanns H. Schumacher met with the governor at 2pm at Phuket Provincial Hall. Dr Schumacher was accompanied by German Honorary…
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Snake bite saves man’s life
SRISAKET: A one-legged fisherman fought off two ten-foot pythons he caught in his net by biting them in the throat. Fifty-six-year-old Chachawan Chaowaphithikul said the snakes attacked him when he tried to free them from his net. Mr Chachawan said he placed the net in a brook near his house every day. When he went to check it on the…
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Phuket City CCTV plan hits a snag
PHUKET CITY: A new project at Phuket City Police Station has the worthy goal of providing disabled people with jobs and a salary. Nine disabled volunteers will work eight hour shifts watching monitors in the station’s CCTV control room, alerting officers when they spot traffic offenses, other crimes or suspicious vehicles. But there’s a snag: the control room is on…
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Wired: CCTV expansion in Cherng Talay
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: A construction company has built a new office for Cherng Talay Traffic Police entirely free of charge. Wasi Construction Company spent 400,000 baht on the new building, which includes a CCTV control room for monitoring the 17 CCTV cameras in tambon Cherng Talay. A second room will be used as a ‘one stop service’ center for the…
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Phuket gets ready for Loy Kratong
PHUKET CITY: Scissors are busy clipping banana leaves at resorts and schools around the island as Phuket prepares for the Loy Kratong Festival that takes place at dusk today. The Buddhist festival, held annually on the full moon of the twelfth month, is celebrated throughout Thailand. In addition to venerating the teachings of the Buddha, the ritual act of floating…
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Berlin Air deal a boost for Phuket tourism
PHUKET CITY: More good news for the Phuket tourism industry came earlier this week when it was announced that German carrier Berlin Air has entered into a codeshare agreement with Bangkok Air. A codeshare agreement enables two airlines to sell seats on the same flight. In this case, Air Berlin customers will benefit from a wider choice of flights and…
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Phuket FC take on Thai champs tonight
PHUKET CITY: The Sea Dragons of Phuket will face a stiff challenge this afternoon when they kick off against 2009 Thailand Premier League winners Muang Thong United.The home side will bolster their line-up for the friendly match with former Thailand internationals Sarayud Chuaykhamdee and Somjed Sattabud.Muay Thai star Saenchai Sor Kingstar is also expected to play for the visitors.Phuket FC has been…
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Phuket is not it for Michael Jackson fans
PHUKET: Despite the much anticipated worldwide release of Michal Jackson’s posthumous movie This Is It on October 28, fans in Phuket have been disappointed to learn that the movie is not currently being shown in Phuket cinemas. The Gazette has learned that unlike cinemas in Bangkok, none of Phuket’s cinemas have the necessary projection equipment to show the movie in…
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Phuket students enraged over red shirts
PHUKET CITY: Following protests by students, the director of Phuket Rajabhat University has canceled a controversial red shirt fund-raiser that was scheduled to take place at the university yesterday. Rajabhat Phuket President Dr Prapa Gayee announced the decision this afternoon after around 40 student protesters confronted university staff. “It appears we will have to cancel this and all other political…
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Phuketians turn out for mass show of national pride
RAWAI, PHUKET: Thousands of flag-waving Phuketians braved the threat of rain yesterday evening to join the nationally-televised singing of the Thai National Anthem at Phromthep Cape. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and his wife Thaisika led the stirring rendition, with about 10,000 people and a school band lending support. Yachts and a Royal Thai Navy vessel Bang Prakong from the Navy…
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Snake fever: Another Phuket resident attacked
PHUKET: A 12-foot python attacked a Phuket-based jewelry designer when he returned home to find the aggressive snake outside his front door on Wednesday night. Expat resident Daniel Clark said he and a friend fought with the snake for about two hours, fending it off until they were able to wrestle it to a nearby clearing at Ao Chalong Country…
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