News
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Ukranian arrested in Phuket on child porn charges
PHUKET: Police on Saturday announced the arrest of a Ukrainian man allegedly involved in the international distribution of child pornography over the Internet. The suspect, 31-year-old Maxsim Shynkarenko, was arrested by Tourist Police on Friday at a luxury rented house on Saiyaun Road in Chalong. He has denied the charges.Announcing the arrest were Tourist Police Commander Attakrit Thaneechat, Phuket Provincial Police…
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Eclipse today
PHUKET: The paths of the moon and sun will cross above Thailand later today, causing a solar eclipse that will be visible throughout several provinces, including Phuket. The eclipse, which falls on the first day of the Lunar New Year, is set to begin at 4.05pm and last until 5.53pm.
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Norwegian survives eight-story plunge
PHUKET, PATONG: A young Norwegian tourist who fell from his eighth-story hotel room Tuesday morning miraculously survived with only minor injuries. At about 8 am, Kathu Police were informed that a foreign tourist had fallen from his room on the eighth floor of the Phuket Palace Hotel, at the south end of Patong on the road to Karon. Fearing the…
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British man dies in motorbike smash
PHUKET, KAMALA: A British tourist was killed in a head-on collision with a passenger van near the entrance to the Tavorn Beach Village and Spa yesterday morning. Peter Stephenson, 52, had been in Thailand for two months and was planning to marry his Thai girlfriend, according to Duty Officer Chansarawut Saengarun of Kamala Police. The owner and driver of the…
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Thais vs Danes in King’s Cup final
PHUKET CITY: Thailand will take on a highly favored Denmark side in the finals of the King’s Cup soccer tournament, with kick-off at Surakul Stadium at 7 pm tomorrow. Thailand made it through to the final after beating Lebanon in a game marred by a series of ugly second-half brawls. The match, televised nationwide by Thai TV Channel 7, saw…
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Navy denies human rights violations
PHUKET: In response to allegations regarding the mistreatment of Rohingya boat people trying to gain entry into Thailand, officials from the Third Area Naval Command headquarters in Phang Nga have defended their actions.Chief of Staff Admiral Songkitti Jakabat on Sunday told the Gazette that those attempting to gain unlawful entry must be prohibited from doing so.“Once the refugees are in…
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World’s largest nam prik at food festival
PHUKET CITY (SAPHAN HIN): The four-day “Phuket Local Food Festival” started on Tuesday with the preparation of what the organizers have declared is the largest batch of nam prik (chili dipping sauce) the world has ever seen. The festival, organized by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor), aims to promote Thai food to holiday makers to demonstrate that Thai cuisine…
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Local Food Festival starts today
PHUKET CITY (SAPHAN HIN): A four-day ‘Phuket Local Food Festival’ starts today at Saphan Hin.The festival, organized by the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor), aims to promote Thai food to holiday makers and other travelers to demonstrate that Thai cuisine is not only delicious, but that it is prepared with exemplary standards of hygiene.All vendors at the festival will prepare…
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Argentine nabbed for motorbike theft
PHUKET CITY: While motorbike theft is a common crime in Phuket, the perpetrators are typically students of local vocational schools – not graphic artists from a country whose people are better known for their skills at soccer than thievery. A press conference at Phuket City Police Station late last week proved once again, however, that when it comes to crime…
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German killed in motorbike crash
PHUKET (KATHU): A German man was killed and a young Thai man seriously injured in a head-on collision between two motorbikes last night. The deceased was identified by Tung Tong Police as German national Peter Baregienda, aged 53. Mr Baregienda died of severe head injuries sustained when he crashed head-on with a motorbike driven by 20-year-old Thaweechai Boonruam, a resident…
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Hundreds attend Phuket Airpark Fly-In
PHUKET (PA KHLOK): Phuket’s first private airport got off to a flying start yesterday, the key day in a three-day Fly-In celebration to mark the opening of Phuket Airpark. Covering 116 rai about six kilometers east of the Heroine’s Monument, the 500-meter airstrip forms the central attraction to what its developers hope will be Phuket’s most unique real estate development…
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Farang Restaurant owner shot in Phuket
PHUKET: The owner of the Phuket-based Farang restaurant chain was shot dead while sitting with friends at one of his dining venues on Friday night. The victim, Chit Raknanga, a successful and popular Thai national known to his friends as ‘Tik’, was shot at close range by a man who had arrived at the restaurant on the back of a…
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Phuket not on Bird Flu risk list
BANGKOK / PHUKET (The Nation): The Public Health Ministry has listed 14 provinces as being at risk from a reappearance of the H5N1 bird flu virus. “The cool weather provides a good environment for it,” said Deputy Permanent Secretary Dr Paijit Warachit. He named Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Chai Nat, Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Suphan Buri, Kanchanaburi,…
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MPs pay respects at Phuket funeral
PHUKET: Dignitaries and VIPs from around the nation, including Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban, gathered at Chalong Temple on January 14 to pay their respects during the funeral of Viroj Areerob, father of Phuket Democrat Member of Parliament Rewat Areerob. The cremation ceremony took place at about 12.30 pm.
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Phuket Airpark ready for grand opening
PHUKET (PA KHLOK): Phuket’s first-ever Fly-in starts tomorrow with ten aircraft scheduled to take part in a weekend of celebrations, games, contests and aerial stunts to mark the grand opening of Phuket Airpark. About 50 pilots from at least a score of nations are expected to be on hand, among them world-renowned American bush pilot Tom Claytor who flew in…
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Pro-Thaksin TV channel available in Phuket
BANGKOK / PHUKET (The Nation): Politicians linked to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will on Monday launch the DTV satellite television station, with the goal, they say, of advancing democracy and opposing coups. Banned Thai Rak Thai Party executive Adisorn Piangket said yesterday that the station would be managed by D Station, with himself as chairman. It is being co-founded…
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OrBorJor, Nation Group organize free cram sessions
PHUKET: In implicit recognition that the mainstream education system is not sufficiently preparing students for entry into higher education, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has joined with the Phuket Educational Service Office and the Nation Multimedia Group, (of which the Phuket Gazette is a part), to hold the 1st Educational Skills Improvement Seminar at Phuket Rajabhat University. The project,…
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Killer of volunteer cop still at large
PHUKET CITY: A volunteer police officer was shot in the forehead and died in a pool of blood in Phuket City in the early hours of January 11. His alleged killer remains at large.Police believe Teeradet “Boy” Rakwong, 28, was killed by suspect Piyawat “Bang Hem” Pleeta, a member of a rival group, following a fight over a woman.Phuket City…
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Bat-tling the cold, Isarn style
KALASIN: While temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius may not seem so cold to expats from more northerly climes, for poor Thais living in unheated shacks without warm bedding the cold season is still a real trial.Every year charity appeals are launched to find warm clothing for poor families in the North and Northeast.Villagers in the Isarn have developed alternative methods…
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Drug disco monk defrocked
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: In an interesting story that until now has not been reported in the English language press, a monk was arrested on November 17 after police discovered he had converted his cell at the temple into a mini disco and was having drug parties. After receiving a tip off that a monk at Wat Mukhathara, in Tambon Pak…
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Giant Clam population in danger
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: With the colorful shell of the giant clam highly prized by aquarium owners, the lucrative but illegal trade in the species is causing the population of this marine mollusk to decrease dramatically and experts fear it may become extinct in its natural habitat. Out of the eight known species of giant clam in the world, five species…
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Gazette Online smashes visitor records
PHUKET: With 82,882 visitors to its news pages in the 24 hours ending at midnight yesterday, the Gazette Online set a record for single-day traffic since the site was launched in September 1997. The statistics are prepared independently and published daily on the home page of the newspaper’s website. In yesterday’s record-breaking log, the leading contributors to the site’s traffic…
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Light-fingered Aussie couple nabbed in Patong
PATONG, PHUKET: An Australian man and his wife were arrested yesterday afternoon for shoplifting gold and diamond jewelry from shops in Patong and other parts of the island. Pol Lt Col Sakhon Bandisak of the Kathu Police identified the couple as 32-year-old Kimberley Clintjames and his wife Tran Anhchi Thi, age 34. The pair were arrested at 4 pm as…
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Phuket man confesses to Koh Pha Ngan tourist murder
PHUKET: A Phuket man has confessed to the strangling murder of a female German tourist on Koh Phangan on the night of the island’s famous Full Moon Party, local police said. Tattoo artist Tiwat “Ood” Kasemchoke, 29, yesterday confessed that he strangled Astrid Al-Assaad Schachmer on Koh Phangan and disposed of her body in the water at Baan Naiwok Beach,…
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Tourist found dead after island rave party
KOH SAMUI / KOH PHA-NGAN (The Nation): Police are hunting for the person believed responsible for the death of a German woman at the full-moon party on Ko Pha-ngan, a satellite island off Samui Island, at the weekend. “An investigation suggests she might have been raped and killed,” Maj Pissanu Bia-kaew, a Tourist Police inspector, said. The tourist, in her…
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Cement spill threatens Racha reef
RACHA YAI, PHUKET: A barge loaded with building materials almost capsized in Phlap Phla Bay off Racha Yai island early Thursday afternoon, causing the captain to offload 30 sacks of cement into the sea over an artificial coral reef. Paitoon Praechaiyaphum of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department Region 5 office, who has visited the site, said that officials were mounting…
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The Times: realistic or romantic about Phuket?
PHUKET: In a world-beating feature in the travel section of the New York Times this weekend, Phuket makes the grade as one of the world’s 44 “most compelling” destinations to visit in 2009. See the rankings here. Interesting and encouraging indeed. But local residents may find an agent provocateur lurking just below the surface in an editorial sub-ranking where it’s…
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Phuket’s kids enjoy Children’s Day
PHUKET: Youngsters are today enjoying free games, activities, stage performances and food and drink around the island for Thailand’s annual Children’s Day. Events dedicated to giving kids a good time are taking place at shopping malls, military installations, government offices, schools, hospitals and public areas all over the island.
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Children’s day activities round-up
PHUKET CITY: This year’s Children’s Day falls on January 10 – tomorrow – with activities for the whole family all around the island. The Phuket City municipality has arranged a host of events to take place at the Municipal Youth Health Center at Saphan Hin. Local schools and parents’ associations will have their own tents, where presents, sweets, ice cream…
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One man, one game, two holes-in-one in Phuket
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket resident John Connelly, 58, smashed all records Saturday morning when he carded two holes-in-one in a single round of golf at Phuket’s Blue Canyon Country Club. According to an estimate published in Golf Digest magazine, the odds of such an occurrence are about one in 67 million! Connelly, with a handicap of 13, achieved the feat while…
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