News
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Highways Office chief told to speed up Chalong Circle removal
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima has told Saroj Suwinchai, the chief of the Phuket Provincial Highways Office, and Paiboon Upatising, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), to get going on removing Chalong Circle.At the monthly Governor Meets Press meeting at Provincial Hall yesterday, V/Gov Worapoj said, “It’s too old and not attractive for people who pass by…
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Phuket ICT a “no show” at Chinese expo
PHUKET: The project to have representatives from Phuket businesses and other organizations promote Phuket’s information and communications technology (ICT) prowess at the 5th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning City, Guangxi, China, next month has failed due to lack of interest. The Department of Export Promotion (DEP) aimed to run 69 presentation booths at the event (click here for earlier report).…
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Japanese tourists cancel trips to Phuket
PHUKET: More than half of the Japanese tourists who planned to visit Phuket over the next week have canceled their bookings due to concerns over political unrest in Thailand.Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) President Somboon Chirayus yesterday told the Gazette that despite the reopening of Phuket International Airport on Sunday, there have been many cancellations among foreign tour groups. Cancellation rates…
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Phuket PAD assembling at Provincial Hall
PHUKET CITY: People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters began gathering at Phuket Provincial Hall (Sala Klaang) at 8 am this morning, their numbers increasing all morning to reach about 500 by 11:30 am. The protesters, taking cover from the sun under six tents, plan to board five tour buses to Bangkok to join fellow PAD protesters in the capital. The…
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Lost in Transit: airport closure cost B250m a day
PHUKET AIRPORT: Losses of an estimated 250 million baht per day have been reported to an ad-hoc committee set up to monitor and control safety at Phuket International Airport following the Peoples Alliance for Democracy (PAD) anti-government protests. Phuket International Airport was closed at 4:50 pm on Friday and did not re-open until 11 am yesterday. Marking the return to…
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“Bang Hem’ wins Pa Khlok OrBorTor presidency
PA KHLOK: In unofficial results of balloting held yesterday, Athipong Khongnam defeated incumbent Panya Samphaorat by 261 votes to win the presidency of the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor). Turnout saw 6,307 of the sub-district’s 8,131 eligible voters (77.6 %) making it to the six polling stations, which were open from 8 am to 3 pm. Voters also cast…
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Airport closure work of infiltrators: Phuket PAD
PHUKET CITY: In a stunning development, the Phuket chapter of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and its affiliate Phuket Watch have denied involvement in the violence and forced closure of Phuket International Airport that left thousands of tourists stranded over the weekend. At a press conference at the Phuket office of Manager newspaper today, Phuket PAD leader Natjarong Ekpermsup…
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Thousands head home as airport re-opens
PHUKET AIRPORT: Phuket International Airport re-opened yesterday, with thousands of tourists crowding the departures hall while arrivals started to trickle in. Marking the return of inbound flights at about 3:30 pm was the arrival of a THAI Airways 777 from Bangkok with more than two hundred tourists aboard, the first plane to land on the island since Peoples Alliance for Democracy protesters forced…
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Phuket Airport still locked down
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport continues closed. An airport official who asked not to be named told the Gazette this this morning that although the furor of the protesters has abated somewhat, the mob’s dedication to keeping the airport closed remains firm.The same trusted source notes that it is not possible for airport management to make an estimate as to when the facility might be open again.The number of outbound…
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Phuket Airport remains shut
PHUKET AIRPORT (Nation and Gazette reporters): Phuket and Krabi airports remained closed yesterday as the People’s Alliance for Democracy [PAD] protesters occupying them insisted they would continue to do so until the prime minister resigned or PAD leaders said otherwise.In Phuket, some 400 police and volunteers were on hand to ensure security and safety. Deputy Phuket Governor Worapoj Ratthasima affirmed that…
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Phuket International Airport still shut
PHUKET AIRPORT (Nation and Gazette reporters): Phuket and Krabi airports remained closed yesterday as People’s Alliance for Democracy [PAD] protesters occupying them insisted they would continue to do so until the prime minister resigned or PAD leaders said otherwise.In Phuket, some 400 police and volunteers were on hand to ensure security and safety. Deputy Phuket Governor Worapoj Ratthasima affirmed that no…
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PAD PROTEST: Gov calls emergency meeting
PHUKET AIRPORT: Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit has called an emergency meeting of his top staff, including Vice-Governors Smith Palawatwichai, Worapoj Ratthasima and Tri Augkaradacha.
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PAD PROTEST: Phuket Airport overrun, runways blocked
PHUKET AIRPORT: At about 4:45 pm today, People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters breached the main gate at Phuket International Airport, made their way into the main terminal and smashed the windows of the VIP lounge. Several hundred protesters stormed the runways and airport officials have ordered a halt to all air traffic. Police have been called in from around…
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Police gear up for Veggiefest 2008
PHUKET CITY: With the start of the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival just a month away, Phuket City Police met representatives of all participating Chinese shrines to ask for their co-operation in keeping this year’s event as safe and orderly as possible. Attending the meeting on August 25 were Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Chalit Tinthanee, Phuket City Police Superintendent Nos…
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Spaniard falls to his death in Patong
PATONG: Police are treating the death of a Spanish man who this morning fell from the balcony of his room on the seventh floor of the Club Andaman Beach Resort as a likely suicide.He fell from the same floor where a female US marine fell to her death in June.Kathu Police Duty Officer Patak Khwunna told the Gazette that he…
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Anti-government rally crowd at Phuket Airport reaches 1,000
PHUKET: More police have been called in from around the province to supervise anti-government protesters at Phuket International Airport as crowd numbers reach 1,000. No reports of violence.
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Patong floods in downpours
PATONG: Heavy rain this morning flooded Patong’s busy streets.An officer at the Patong Municpality office of the Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation told the Gazette that the flooding was at its worst about midday, as the rains continued to fall and the drains had yet to deal with the deluge that had already hit the resort town.The water was deepest along…
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Bus crash causes injury, commuter misery
THALANG: Four people were injured when a bus with bald tires overturned on Thepkrasattri Rd this morning, leaving commuters stuck in a traffic tailback stretching well over five kilometers long.Seksan Konsakorn of Thalang District Police told the Gazette the six-wheel bus lost control in wet conditions on a curve near Tha Reua Shine, where it crashed into a roadside power…
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17 arrested in gambling den sweep
PHUKET: In the latest bid to crackdown on illegal gambling on the island, 17 people were arrested in two weekend raids led by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongthong. On Saturday, eight were arrested in a suspected “high-low” gambling den in Tung Tong. Police charged four women – Tassanee Klaharn, 37, Thaworn Sudjai, 35, Supawadee Klaharn, 35, and Songsak Buathong,…
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Bars raided over music copyright
PHUKET: Entertainment venues around the island were raided last week in a clampdown on copyright violations. Several bar operators were fined for illegally playing copyrighted music in their bars and ordered to obtain licenses to allow them to play music at their establishments. The raids were instigated by a team of about 20 representatives from RPK Publishing. Music collections and…
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Gen Apirak asks for patience in murder investigations
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongthong has assured the public that investigators are working hard to bring to justice those responsible for a slew of unsolved murders that have shocked the island in recent months. Speaking after a press conference on August 20, Gen Apirak said provincial police investigators and specialists from Bangkok were working hard on three…
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Phuket Reporters Club President dies in car crash
PHUKET: Phuket Reporters Club President Thongtuan Sukmuang and four fellow Thai Rath newspaper reporters died in a fiery road accident in Narathiwat about midday yesterday.Khun Thongtuan, 51, and his colleagues were on their way to Narathiwat for the funeral of fellow reporter Chalee Boonsawat, who died in the August 21 insurgent car bomb attack in Sungai Kolok.Their van overturned after…
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Apirak defends poor progress in catching killers
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongthong has assured the public that investigators are working hard to bring to justice to those responsible for a slew of unsolved murders that have shocked the island in recent months.Speaking after a press conference on August 20, Gen Apirak said provincial police investigators and specialists from Bangkok were working hard on three…
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Phuket protesters join Bangkok Siege, demand PM’s resignation
PHUKET: As the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) makes its final drive to oust Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, media in Bangkok have reported that NBT broadcast stations were being raided around the nation.However, NBT reporter Chaiwut Poungsuwan today told the Gazette that the NBT station in Phuket, located at the top of Rang Hill in Phuket City, is safe and sound.“NBT…
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3G in Phuket by mid-2009: DTAC
PHUKET: Mobile phone service provider DTAC has announced its plans to make third-generation “3G” technology available in Phuket by mid-2009 after being granted a license to provide nationwide 3G service by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).DTAC representative Amarit Thongchai told the Gazette that DTAC will now have a 12-month head start on providing full 3G coverage, which will be made available…
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Hanna Backlund murderer given life sentence
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Court today sentenced Akkaradej (‘Chon’) Tankae to life imprisonment for the murder of Swedish tourist Hanna Backlund, who was stabbed to death at Mai Khao Beach in broad daylight on March 15.The sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment because Chon made a full confession, said the judge, who made reference to the negative…
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Phuket plays its part in War on Terror
AO MAKHAM: An unremarkable, privately-owned ship carrying thousands of tons of military hardware and humanitarian aid sailed quietly into Phuket waters last week, slipping away virtually unnoticed a few days later as the cargo vessel went on to play a supporting role in regional SEACAT (South East Asian Co-operation Against Terrorism) exercises.The privately owned Danish-built ship Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr…
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Navy to beef up regional security
CAPE PANWA: Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief Adm Sathiraphan Keyanon yesterday paid a visit to the Third Naval Area Command, where he announced the Third Fleet will on October 1 begin joint patrol missions in the Malacca Strait with strategic partners Singapore and Malaysia. The patrols, which will have air and land-based radar support, are intended to boost security in regional…
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South Africans confident of ‘Monkey Island’ Plan
PHUKET: Two South African conservationists who hope to open a Monkey Island primate sanctuary off Phuket paid a visit to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, but their goal to open the center as a new tourist attraction by the end of next year still has a lot of red tape to clear before becoming a reality.Zambian-born Tony Blignaut, CEO of Primates…
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Police nab Supercheap employee killer
RASSADA: Phuket City Police yesterday morning announced the arrest of a man who confessed to the murder of his former boss at Supercheap on the bypass road on Tuesday night.Most of the details of the arrest were read out to the press in a statement by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit.The body of the victim, 34-year-old Supercheap employee Kanya Boonprajong, was…
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