Phuket News
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Body of Russian tourist washes ashore on Phuket beach
PHUKET: The body of a Russian man last seen spearfishing a few hundred meters offshore from Kata Beach on Friday was found washed ashore at the same beach (map here) this morning. The body, still dressed in a wet suit and sporting flippers, was identified as that of 43-year-old Oleg Udaloi, Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Pachai Matthayan confirmed to the…
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Gazette office closed tomorrow (Tuesday)
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to inform our readers and advertisers that our office in Koh Kaew will be closed tomorrow due to a scheduled, all-day blackout in the area to upgrade power lines. The blackout will affect Soi Harn Farang and Soi Koh Kaew 33, and may affect adjoining areas that are supplied electricity from power cables along…
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Phuket United tread on Highways Department in season closer
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United ended the GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL) 2012-2013 season in fine form on Saturday in Bangkok, beating lowly Highways Department 2-4 to secure a top-five league finish. The season closer comes in contrast to Phuket’s season debut in which they were defeated by the same team on the same pitch.…
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Bank employee surrenders over Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: The bank employee involved in a lethal hit-and-run in central Phuket late last month has surrendered himself to police. Chaowarot Jantarak, 38, was wanted by police after witnesses saw his car hit security guard Jarin Weenada, 21, who died at the scene (story here). Officers arrived at Mr Chaowarot’s house in the Neramit Housing Estate in Pa Khlok within…
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Phuket Sports: PTT Rayong ‘Fire Power’ douses Phuket FC in league cup match
PHUKET: A late added-time goal, was enough for the PTT Rayong “Fire Power” to douse Phuket FC’s Toyota League Cup ambitions in a closely fought match last night in Phuket Town. Played in front of about 4,700 fans at Phuket’s Surakul Stadium, the cup match between the two Yamaha One League (YL1) teams yielded the same score-line the last time…
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After India, Phuket Rohingya face deportation from Thailand
PHUKET: The boatload of 91 Rohingya forced to land yesterday on Koh Lone, off the south end of Phuket, have been taken into custody and will face yet another deportation, this time from Thailand. The group, who were forced to land on Koh Lone because their boat engine seized, told reporters they were taken into custody by Indian authorities on…
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Phuket turned off for Happy Earth Hour
PHUKET: Although there will be no official event tonight to mark Earth Hour 2013, the chief of the Phuket office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) is urging people to join the global event to show their support for conserving energy. “It is a very good campaign that everyone can join. It is easy to do at home, just turn…
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Phuket sets safety plans for Songkran
PHUKET: Police checkpoints and water-play zones will be set up to increase safety on Phuket during the Seven Days of Danger for Songkran, April 11 to April 17. “Police checkpoints will be set up around the clock during the period in order to check on drivers,” says San Jantharawong, chief of the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention…
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Phuket park rangers to step up patrols to stave off tree bandits
PHUKET: Officers at the Khao Phra Thaew wildlife sanctuary in Thalang have vowed to step up their efforts to keep bandits from cutting down valuable eaglewood trees in the park. Eaglewood trees are wanted for the aromatic resin they produce, which is also known as agarwood. The resin is used in making incense and perfumes. The news follows Phuket Governor…
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Phuket Sports: England hit the buffers
PHUKET: The most unpredictable Six Nations Championship of recent years ended with yet more surprises: Wales as champions and France, tipped at the start as possible winners, holders of the ‘wooden spoon’. On the final, decisive Saturday, the shocks continued as Italy, this year’s surprise packet, beat a lack-luster Ireland, clearly hampered by an appalling run of injuries and three…
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Officials scramble as illegal tanker sinks, spills oil into Phuket canal
PHUKET: Marine Police scrambled this morning to contain an oil spill from an abandoned illegal tanker that sank in the Tah Jeen Canal on the east side of Phuket Town last night. The sunken boat, modified into an illegal tanker with the capacity to hold an estimated 20,000 liters of diesel oil, was spotted by local villagers at about 7:30am.…
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Phuket Sports: Trouble on the terraces
PHUKET: THE Thai Premier League Co Ltd (TPL) – the mother company of the Yamaha One league (Division 1, or YL1) – collected a total of 230,000 baht in fines in the first two weeks of the YL1 2013 season. Of this amount, Phuket FC were fined 5,000 baht for only having one ambulance at its first home match against…
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Archers set their sights on Phuket
PHUKET: The front lawn of the Blue Elephant restaurant in Phuket Town hosted a press conference held by the Phuket Archery Club on March 16, to announce the 3rd Phuket Archery Open, to be held April 6. The organizer of the competition, Montree Thammakij, outlined the event saying: “We have 11 types of competition and 57 trophies, along with medals…
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Phuket Sports: Patong pull clear at the top; Round 2 Junior league
PHUKET: After securing a first win of the season in their last match, the Village were confident of another successful outing against Phuket’s senior cricket league leaders, Patong, who loss in their last match to Jabudays (ICC). With only 3 points separating the top four teams, a win for the Village, last seasonfs runners up, would put them back in…
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Phuket sea gypsies unearth human bone under home
PHUKET: Sea gypsies in the southern Phuket beach area of Rawai panicked after discovering a bone believed to be human buried underneath a house.The bone could be up to 100 years old, said Panuwat Uasamal, an archaeologist at the Fine Arts Department Office in Phuket, who was contacted by the sea gypsies.The bone was discovered under Waek Lakkoh’s house while…
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Phuket Tourist Police shootout cop loses leg to gunfight injury
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Police officer injured in a shootout yesterday morning has had his right leg amputated in order to save his life. Sen Sgt Maj Pinchai Piyadilok, 34, was quickly transferred to the Prince of Songkla University Hospital in Haad Yai yesterday after he was shot in the leg and in the stomach in a gunfight at a…
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Russian tour agent in Phuket faces deportation
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration officers arrested a Russian tour saleswoman in Patong yesterday for working illegally and for illegally entering the country. “We inspected the Kathu area for illegal foreign workers,” explained Phuket Immigration Investigator Chidchanok Sakornyen. “As we reached the tour counter of the Leon Speedy Travel company on Thaweewong Road [map here], we found Oleg Tikhomirova, 34, discussing tour…
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Phuket’s international boat show comes of age
PHUKET: The 10th Anniversary Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) opened today to a large gathering of island dignitaries, VIPs, exhibitors, visitors and media. While the traditional boating markets of Europe and the USA continue to struggle in the current economic climate, Phuket is driving Asia’s growth and continues to attract top international boat brands and marine products to exhibit. Pivotal…
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No wildfire warning in Phuket, but fire alert remains
PHUKET: The lack of rainfall across the island in recent weeks has yet to prompt the authorities to issue a wildfire warning for Phuket, but they have called for people to be vigilant as a precaution.“We have not issued a fire warning as there are small packets of rain falling on scattered areas,” Phuket Forest Protection and Fire Control Director…
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Sit still Singapore – Live Wire
PHUKET: I was in Singapore last weekend, and frankly am surprised by the way “4G” technology is being marketed in all sorts of places: the tops of taxis, television ads, magazine and newspaper ads, radio and TV. Everybody, it seems, wants to know more about 4G, and how to can get it. It’s not just Singapore. All over the world,…
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Police arrest 25 Sri Lankan refugees trafficked to Phuket
PHUKET: Police today arrested at least 25 refugees found walking along the busy Chao Fa East Road in Chalong. “The group included 18 men, six women and a 2-year-old boy. Among the six women, one was two months pregnant,” Chalong Police Superintendent Krittapas Det-intarasorn told the Phuket Gazette. None of the refugees could present passports, he explained. Some had United…
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Phuket Russians targeted in Thai New Year crackdown
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Weera Kerdsirimongkol, who took up his position in Phuket less than a month ago, will target Russians, Nepalese and Vietnamese working illegally in Phuket, starting on April 14, the first day of the Thai new Year, he told a Provincial Hall meeting yesterday.“Initially, we will work with Phuket Employment Office and issue warnings to businesses involving…
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Tourist Police hit in Phuket Town shootout, killing two
PHUKET: A Phuket Tourist Police officer is in hospital this morning recovering from wounds sustained after a gunfight in a neighbor’s room which left two men dead early this morning. Sen Sgt Maj Pinchai Piyadilok was shot in the leg and in the stomach in the incident, and is recovering from surgery. Police have yet to question him. Officers received…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Salute, suspicions and sympathy
Katidis banned for rest of Greek season for Nazi salute Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: AEK Athens have suspended Giorgos Katidis for the rest of the season after the 20-year-old midfielder made a Nazi salute to fans during a game at the weekend.The former captain of his country’s under-19 side had already been banned from all international teams for life by…
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Phuket to become land probe role model
PHUKET: A Deputy Ministry of Interior arrived on Phuket yesterday to launch a land title deed investigation geared to establish Phuket as a role model for land probes.“Many plots of land have been acquired through corrupt officials,” Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Prasopdee told the Phuket Gazette.“This investigation, commencing immediately and lasting 30 days, will establish Phuket as a role model…
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Phuket Sports: ‘Imagina na Copa!’
PHUKET: It’s the catchphrase of the year in Brazil: “Imagina na Copa!”It basically means “Imagine what it’ll be like during the World Cup,” and it has become a favourite among Brazilians stuck in traffic or in line at their woefully overcrowded airports.The underlying belief is that the chaos will be worse when Brazil hosts the football tournament in June 2014,…
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Phuket Police deny drug suspect bribe, make “honor arrest’
PHUKET: A senior Phuket City Police officer arrested a woman for tarnishing the name of the Royal Thai Police after she allegedly claimed to have paid him 400,000 baht in bribe money.The news follows Duangporn Luesub, 36, arriving at Phuket City Police Station yesterday to discuss the issue with Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Prawit Engchuan, the sole case officer…
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Phuket Police bag two as snatch turns snitch
PHUKET: A young Thai woman wanted as a bag-snatcher was placed under arrest by Phuket Police yesterday after she presented herself at Thalang Police Station to seek guidance over being beaten by her boyfriend. Rudeemas “Yaem” Sumeng, 22, reported the whereabouts of her partner to Thalang Police after he allegedly beat her. She walked into the police station apparently unaware…
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Ministry of Justice steps up to help Phuket sea gypsies
PHUKET: Thailand’s Ministry of Justice is spearheading a multi-agency effort to provide assistance to sea gyspies in Phuket.Leaders of the small sea gypsy community in Rawai currently face legal action from investors for allegedly encroaching on private land, despite the previously nomadic people having lived there for decades.Many of the indigenous fisherfolk from Rawai have also been arrested, and released…
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Phuket bus driver found dead, pinned by bus door
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a bus driver whose body was found, still standing, pinned by the partially closed door of his own bus this morning.Phuket native Ekkarat Sarapol, 29, from Wichit, arrived and parked his Sawat Travel Company bus alongside other tour buses at the Phuket Boat Lagoon, north of Phuket Town, at 6am.He was last seen…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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