News
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Phuket City’s Kaset Market gets a hose down
PHUKET CITY: A ‘big cleaning day’ was held at Kaset Market as part of celebrations marking the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit on Wednesday. Municipal workers, shopkeepers and volunteers all got behind the effort, spraying the floors of the market with high-pressure hoses, picking up garbage and scrubbing the filthy floors with detergent. Targeted for extermination by poison as part…
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New swine flu cases down 50% in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The number of new swine flu cases reported in Phuket has been reduced by almost half, with 271 reported cases and the death toll still at two. To help people who contract the type A(H1N1) virus that causes the disease, the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) has signed contracts with 12 private clinics to distribute the the antiviral…
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Phuket’s “little mermaid’ breathing on her own
PHUKET CITY: There have been encouraging signs for the Burmese baby born in Phuket with ‘mermaid syndrome’ last Sunday: the infant has been taken off a respirator and is now breathing on her own. According to the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Songkhla, where the baby girl is being treated, she has now been given the name ‘Nichapa’ by…
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Hua Hin, not Phuket, to host Asean+3 summit
PHUKET CITY: The 15th Asean summit in October will be held in Cha-Am and Hua Hin, not Phuket as originally planned.“After consulting with the security agencies concerned, we decided to choose Cha-Am and Hua Hin for the meeting,” Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.The 15th summit of Asean leaders and partners from Asia and Pacific will be held October 23…
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Rajabhat Phuket to host science fair
PHUKET: Phuket Rajabhat University will host a science fair from August 18 to 20.The event is aimed at getting youngsters more interested in science and technology.A part of ‘Thailand Science Week’, the fair will be dedicated to the memory of King Mongkut (Rama IV), known as the ‘Father of Thai Science and Technology’.King Mongkut (1804 – 1864) embraced Western science and…
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Vegetable Festival takes the fall for Phuket’s Asean loss
PHUKET: The 15th Asean summit in October will be held in Cha-Am/Hua Hin, a shift from Phuket where it had originally been scheduled to happen. The big loss for Phuket was chalked up to security concerns, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said this afternoon. “After consultation with security agencies, we decided to choose Cha-am/Hua Hin for the summit meeting,” he said,…
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Phuket yellow shirts sue red shirts over petition
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s yellow shirt leaders have filed police charges against the island’s red shirt organizers for gathering signatures seeking a royal pardon for exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The move echoes similar actions taken by People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders around the country. Led by Phuket PAD coordinator Aparat Chartchutikumjorn, around 30 PAD members filed complaints at…
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Phuket could lose Asean summit: PM
PHUKET CITY: Thailand is considering moving the ‘Asean plus three summit’ scheduled for October from Phuket to the resort town of Hua Hin in Prachuab Khiri Khan province, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed yesterday. Leaders from ten Asean member states, plus South Korea, Japan and China, were tentatively scheduled to meet in Phuket from October 19 to 22. However, some…
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Back surgery success for cliff-jumping belly dancer
PHUKET CITY: Just one week after major spinal surgery following a cliff-jumping accident on Koh Phi Phi, American tourist Melissa Kelman flew home today. Ms Kelman, 28, a dance and English teacher from St Louis, Missouri, shattered three vertebrae in her back when she jumped into the sea from a height of 20 meters as part of a Phi Phi…
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PM supports new Saphan Hin road: Phuket governor
PHUKET CITY: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva supports the controversial plan to build a new road connecting Saphan Hin and Sakdidet Road, according to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop. Speaking at the project’s opening ceremony held near Chalermprakiat Somdejprasrinakarin Phuket School yesterday, Gov Wichai said he discussed the project with PM Abhisit last month. “The prime minister agreed with my project proposals,”…
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Phuket FC take on Krabi on Saturday
PHUKET CITY: Phuket FC will face Krabi at Surakul Stadium on Saturday in what will be their final chance for a home win this season. In six home matches so far, Phuket FC have failed to accumulate a single point, losing all six encounters – many in heartbreaking fashion. Saturday’s match, which kicks off at 7pm, is the home side’s…
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A safety hint for visitors to Phuket, with love from Bangkok
PHUKET: The coach of the Afghan judo squad attending the Asian Martial Arts Games in Bangkok was robbed of hundreds of thousands of baht after falling for a ladyboy he met in the notorious Nana Plaza adult entertainment complex. ‘Ladyboy’ is the widely-used English word for the Thai katoey, generally understood to mean a male-to-female transgender person. Assaladee Sakala, 43,…
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Afghan judo coach loses to ladyboy
BANGKOK: The coach of the Afghan judo squad attending the Asian Martial Arts Games in the Thai capital was robbed of hundreds of thousands of baht after falling for a ladyboy he met in the notorious Nana Plaza adult entertainment complex. Assaladee Sakala, 43, told police he and his team checked into the Grand Ayudhaya Hotel Bangkok in the Ratchada area and…
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Thick thief returns car
BANGKOK: A car thief was arrested last Thursday after phoning the dealer he had stolen the car from to complain when it broke down. Car dealer Thonchok Singnuwongsa said the thief waited around his showroom until a genuine customer came in to put a deposit on a car. He then persuaded a staff member to hand over the keys to…
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July crime statistics for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Statistics for July released by the Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling was the most common criminal offense, with 177 people arrested in 47 cases. The figure represents a 42.5% increase year-on-year. There were also 23 arrests for involvement in the underground lottery, statistics for which are tabulated separately. There were 137 drug arrests for the period, an…
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Surgery on Phuket’s ‘little mermaid’ a success
PHUKET CITY: Doctors in Haad Yai have successfully completed emergency surgery to create an artificial anus for the Burmese baby born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ in Phuket on Sunday night. For the original report of the baby’s birth, click here. A public relations officer at the Prince of Songkhla University Hospital, where the surgery was carried out yesterday, said the life-saving…
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Drug bust at Phuket Airport
PHUKET CITY: A Thai woman was caught at Phuket International Airport on Monday trying to smuggle a large stash of ya bah (methamphetamine) pills onto the island, police say. Pojjanee Thuptim, 31, was caught with 1,330 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills stashed in a thigh support of the type used for sports injuries, a source at the Phuket branch of the…
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Happy Birthday Queen Sirikit
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette joins the nation in celebrating the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit, the world’s longest serving consort of a monarch, who celebrates her 77th birthday today.August 12 is also marked as Mothers’ Day in Thailand.Born in 1932, Queen Sirikit was married to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on April 28, 1950, only a week before the coronation of…
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Phuket prays for baby with “mermaid syndrome’
PHUKET CITY: Surgeons are working desperately to save a Burmese baby born in Phuket with a rare birth defect known as ‘mermaid syndrome’, a condition in which both legs are fused together from the torso down. The infant, named Sui, was born at Vachira Phuket Hospital at 8:40pm on Sunday. Vachira Phuket Assistant Director Dr Sirichai Silapa-archa said Sui was…
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Bike rider killed in truck crash
KATHU, PHUKET: A man was killed on Sunday morning after his motorbike collided with a 10-wheel truck. Mr Aroon Nopprat, 53, died instantly after his head was crushed under the truck’s wheels. When police arrived at the scene, the newly resurfaced bend of Wichit Songkhram Road between Makro and Ketho Temple in Kathu, the truck driver was nowhere to be…
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No tsunami warning for Phuket
PHUKET / PHANG NGA: A tsunami warning was issued in Phang Nga’s Ban Nam Khem village last night, but there were no warnings or evacuations in Phuket. About 400 residents of the village in Phang Nga’s Takua Pa district were then evacuated early this morning following further warnings that a tsunami could hit their shore. The warning followed a 7.6…
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Mobile cart vendor severely injured on Phuket bypass road
PHUKET: A mobile peanut vendor was seriously injured and a female car driver miraculously escaped harm when their vehicles collided on the Phuket bypass road this morning, sending the vending cart and its owner tumbling into a deep roadside ditch and the car down an embankment on the opposite side of the highway. When rescue volunteers arrived at the scene…
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Phuket landlord arrested for triple homicide
RAWAI, PHUKET: Police have arrested a suspect for the Saturday night murder of three men who were gunned down as they drank beer together outside their Rawai home. A fourth victim, also shot in the attack, is in stable condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Police received a report of the shooting just before midnight on Saturday and were at the…
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Phuket FC stun Nakhon Sri Thammarat, 2-1
PHUKET CITY: Two goals and a vastly improved defensive performance gave Phuket FC a surprise 2-1 road win at fourth-place Nakhon Sri Thammarat yesterday. The victory brought to an end a dismal run of 10 losses for the Sea Dragons. Failure to score the vital second goal has been to blame for the poor run, but a brace by African…
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Budget sought for “monkey viewpoint’ in Phuket
PHUKET: Rassada Municipality is seeking a large central government budget for three tourism development projects in and around the ‘monkey viewpoint’ area on Srisuthat Road. Rassada Mayor Surathin Lianudom said the work, if approved, would include a network of boardwalks through mangrove forest, renovation of the Mali Kaew Dam and Wat Phranon, as well as the construction of a gymnasium,…
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Spinal Patient forced to travel by wheelbarrow
PHUKET: An American tourist who broke her back in a cliff diving accident on Phi Phi last week, was taken to the ferry in a wheelbarrow after doctors at the local hospital were unable to diagnose her condition. Melissa Kelman, 28, from St Louis, Missouri, made it back to Phuket where an X-ray revealed she had shattered three vertebrae in her…
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Phuket warned of torrential rains, flash flooding
PHUKET: The national Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department [DPMD] has warned Phuket of torrential rains. Borne of the strong southwest monsoon currently prevailing over the Andaman region, the deluge, expected to cause flooding, is predicted to hit later today and to continue through tomorrow. The warning was issued late yesterday afternoon and includes three other Andaman provinces: Ranong, Trang and…
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Chinese scam gang banged up in Phuket
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested 40 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals in Phuket who were believed to be involved in an international extortion and money-laundering scam. More than 70 police officers from Phuket and Bangkok raided six homes in Bang Tao, Kathu and Phuket City after following the gang for several months on a trail that began in Chiang Mai. One of the…
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Road closed for Saturday’s Buddhist festivities
PHUKET CITY: Buddhists and Saturday-morning commuters are advised that there will be a large alms-giving ceremony on Wirat Hongyok Road tomorrow from 6am to 8:30. To accommodate the ceremony, the west end of Wirat-Hongyok Road near Wat Naka will be closed to traffic from 4am to 8:30 am. Traffic along Chao Fa West Road should not be affected. The event,…
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Phuket Job Fair returns to HomeWorks
WICHIT, PHUKET: The Department of Employment in Phuket and HomeWorks have once again joined forces to help Phuket job seekers back into the ranks of the employed. More than 2,500 jobs will be up for grabs at a job fair at HomeWorks on the bypass road on August 14. Candidates will be able to apply for positions, be interviewed and…
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