Phuket News
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Phuket war weapons owners urged to lay down their arms
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has made a plea for anyone harboring weapons of war to hand them over to authorities by the June 10 deadline rather than risk court martial and 20 years in jail. “No citizens are permitted to own weapons of war. There is no license that allows such weapons to be owned,” Governor Maitri told the Phuket…
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Nadal sets up semi-final with Murray
PHUKET: There is not much that spooks Rafa Nadal at the French Open, but David Ferrer managed to do just that – for 49 bewitching minutes – before watching in despair as his fellow Spaniard turned into a man possessed to set up a semi-final with Andy Murray. Facing a rival who had beaten him the last time they had…
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Army invades Phuket to clear violent, illegal taxi drivers
PHUKET: A deployment of 100 soldiers from Southern Thailand today provided military support to a huge task force of 1,110 police officers and 40 volunteers who swept along the west coast of Phuket to purge the island of illegal, violent, abusive and cheating taxi, tuk-tuk and minivan drivers. The soldiers were acting under orders from Maj Gen Peerapol Wiriyakul, Commanding…
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No power rationing in Phuket during gas field shutdown
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Energy Office and Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut have both confirmed that there will be no enforced blackouts or power rationing in Phuket when a major gas field supply line goes offline next week. Supply of natural gas from field A-18 in the Joint Development Area (JDA) between Thailand and Malaysia in the Gulf of…
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Breaking News: At least one dead in Phuket cement truck smash
PHUKET: At least one person died when a cement truck slammed into a pick-up truck and sedan on Kata Hill at about 5:19pm today. The cause of the fatal accident and number of other injuries or fatalities that occurred has yet to be confirmed by the Phuket Gazette. — Chutharat Plerin
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Breaking News: Army leads blitz on illegal Phuket taxi, tuk-tuk drivers
PHUKET: A huge force of 1,150 police, volunteers and army personnel arrived in Phuket today and so far have arrested 73 illegal drivers of taxis, tuk-tuks and other commercial vehicles that prey on vacationing foreigners holidaying on the island. The arrests were carried out along the west coast of Phuket, in the Thalang, Kata-Karon, Cherng Talay, Kamala police precincts. No…
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Karon Mayor arrested for taxi-mafia connections
PHUKET: Tawee Thongcham, mayor of Phuket’s tourist-popular beach area Kata-Karon, was arrested today for his alleged connection to the powerful taxi mafia. “Mr Tawee surrendered himself to police after a warrant for his arrest was issued,” said Maj Gen Paween Pongsirin, who once served as Phuket City Police and is now a deputy commander of the Royal Thai Police Region…
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Lampard to lead out England at World Cup warm-up
PHUKET: England’s Frank Lampard will proudly lead out his country against Ecuador in a World Cup warm-up match at the Sun Life Stadium on Wednesday determined to savor every moment in the twilight of his career. The 35-year-old knows the sands of time are running out on his illustrious career at the very top of the game with a possible…
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Prison Products Fair returns to Phuket
PHUKET: The 11th Annual Prison Products Fair will get underway on Friday at Saphan Hin, on the outskirts of Phuket Town. “The fair is held to showcase the inmates’ hard work and offer their handmade products for people to buy,” said Phuket Provincial Prison Chief Rapin Nichanon. On display and for sale will be a wide range of products handcrafted…
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Video Report: Phuket light-rail garners support, residents query impact on Old Town
PHUKET: The effects Phuket’s long-awaited light-rail system will have on Phuket Old Town was a point of contention during the second public hearing for the project yesterday. Of the 370 Phuket residents in attendance, many voiced their support for the project, while others expressed their concern on how the tracks, which are planned to dominate some roadways through the heart…
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Phuket property and island promoter Graham Doven dies
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket expat and property guru Graham Doven, 62, died at Mission Hospital in Bangkok at 4pm today after a long illness. The Phuket Gazette has yet to be informed of arrangements to mark Graham’s passing, though a memorial ceremony is expected to be held on the island to honor a man who helped propel Phuket into the major…
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Lack of political violence gets Phuket an essential curfew pass
PHUKET: Phuket’s lack of history for political violence and the province’s heavy reliance on the tourism industry were cited as the key reasons for the island’s special treatment in the lifting of the curfew. “It’s great that the curfew was lifted in Phuket. There is no history of political violence here. Additionally, 70 per cent of the province’s revenue is…
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Emerald EPL Masters Tour comes to Phuket
PHUKET: They might be past their prime, but still have a lot to prove to themselves, their fellow footballers and the spectators. “Once you’re on the pitch, the fighting spirit kicks in and you give your best. These guys don’t want to make fools of themselves,” says Paul Parker, former Manchester United player, and member of England’s national football team,…
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Phuket Governor assures Patong that NCPO wants to get the party re-started
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut paid a visit to Phuket’s premier party town last night to personally receive a formal request from Patong nightlife venue operators for the curfew to be lifted, and assure them that progress was being made to further relax the curfew. The governor was greeted by hundreds of business operators at about 7pm, many of whom were…
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Phuket’s new top cop to arrive today
PHUKET: A deputy commander at the Royal Thai Police Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani is to arrive in Phuket this morning to be installed as Phuket’s new top-ranking police officer later today. Maj Gen Krajang Suwannarat was officially promoted to the post of Phuket Provincial Police Commander in an order promulgated yesterday. “Maj Gen Krajang is to arrive in…
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Chelsea great Lampard ends 13-year spell at club
PHUKET: Chelsea’s all-time record goalscorer Frank Lampard announced on Monday he was leaving the Londoners after a 13-year spell with the Stamford Bridge club. The England World Cup midfielder, who joined the Premier League club from London rivals West Ham United in 2001 for a fee of 11 million pounds ($18.43 million), scored 209 goals in all competitions for Chelsea.…
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Cocaine blues: Phuket tourist busted with over 20g of “paradise white’
PHUKET: A Phuket sting operation netted two tourists in possession of more than 21 grams of cocaine last night. “An undercover officer met with the 46-year-old suspect, Nigerian tourist Colins Ifeanyi Ugwoeruchkwu, to buy drugs in Patong,” said Tourist Police Division 5 Superintendent Jirapop Phuridet. “When Mr Ugwoeruchkwu arrived on Soi Nanai 2, off Nanai Road, we searched him.” Officers…
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“I thought I saw MH370 on fire,’ says Phuket yachtie
PHUKET: A British sailor crossing the Indian Ocean en route to Phuket in March has stepped forward to file a report that she may have seen the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. Katherine Tee, 41, was sailing from Cochin, India to Phuket with her husband Marc Horn, 50, when she saw what looked like a plane on fire crossing the…
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Dazed and confused: Swedish tourist loses hotel, saved by police volunteers
PHUKET: A confused Swedish tourist located his guesthouse after two days of being lost in Patong thanks to the combined effort of the Tourist Police Volunteers and Region 8 Police Volunteers. Karl “Tommy” Berglund, 67, left his hotel shortly after checking in on Thursday night to go for a walk, taking just a little cash and leaving his room key…
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Phuket sailor breaks two records
PHUKET: “I’m hoping it will take me no more than 48 hours,” Yassine Darkaou told me when I met him in Ao Yon in Cape Panwa, on Wednesday May 28, minutes before he took off for his record breaking journey. A grueling 77 hours later he reached the shore again, with not one, but two records in his possession, neither…
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Phuket Governor prevents anti-curfew rally, whispers curfew repeal coming
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has vowed to visit Soi Bangla in Patong tonight to personally receive a formal request by nightlife venue operators pleading for the curfew to be lifted. Governor Maitri announced the news after a closed-door meeting with Patong Entertainment Business Association President Weerawit Krueasombut this afternoon. The meeting lasted just a handful of minutes. Mr Weerawit had…
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Breaking News: Furious tour guides protest at Chalong Police Station over arrest
PHUKET: About 100 angry Phuket tour guides descended on Chalong Police Station today to protest the arrest of a legal tour guide. “Police arrested a legal tour guide. Why aren’t they looking for the illegal guides? Why are they targeting us?” asked protest leader Jaifu Sae-lee. An investigation into officers at the Chalong Police Station concluded earlier this year. Shortly…
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Phuket top cop flip-flop: Gen Ong-art gets his marching orders
PHUKET: Phuket’s top-ranking police officer, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiwruangnont, earlier this afternoon received his marching orders to report to the Royal Thai Police Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani – effective immediately. The news comes just hours after Gen Ong-art publicly confirmed that he had not received any transfer orders (story here). However, Gen Ong-art told the Phuket Gazette that…
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Phuket’s top cop to stay – for now
PHUKET: Despite rumors that the island’s top-ranking police officer, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiwruangnont, had been ordered to leave his position as Phuket Provincial Police Commander, Gen Ong-art has confirmed that he has been ordered to stay. “I will remain here until I receive orders stating otherwise,” Gen Ong-art told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “It all depends on my superiors…
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Only seconds in it on final day of Samui Regatta
PHUKET: The sun and wind greeted sailors with equal measure on the morning of the last day of the Samui Regatta last Saturday, May 31. With the best pressure to the north, Principal Race Officer (PRO) Ross Chisholm headed out to lay a start line with two races planned for all – first a trapezoid course followed by a fast…
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Did you win a private Phuket airplane ride?
PHUKET: Two lucky people out of the more than 500 who took part in the Phuket Gazette’s 2014 Reader Survey have won a free ride over the island in the company’s new airplane. Each person who completed the survey was issued a lucky number. The winning numbers, drawn late yesterday, are 8584 and 7546. Maintaining our promise of anonymity in…
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Navy experts disarm Japanese WWII torpedo in Krabi
PHUKET: The WWII Japanese torpedo brought to Krabi’s shores by fisherman on Tuesday was removed from the beach by experts and disarmed on a nearby island yesterday . “Officers from the Thai Navy Ordinance confirmed that the torpedo was from World War II, and that it was capable of destroying everything within a 1 kilometer radius,” Koh Sriboya Kamnan Samran…
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Irish teacher dies after motorbike crash in Phuket
PHUKET: An Irish teacher at Baan Maireab School in Phuket died today from head injuries sustained in a motorbike accident last night. Denis Bates, 30, was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital at about 11pm. The Irishman, originally from Dublin, had been in a coma until he succumbed to his head injury at 12:10pm today. “He died of intracerebral hemorrhaging,” confirmed…
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Kick the habit with Vachira Phuket Hospital’s “No Tobacco Day’ event
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital is holding a “No Tobacco Day” event today to provide advice and strategies for island smokers who want to kick the habit. “The event takes place from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Staff will offer advice to those who want to quit smoking,” Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Jessada Chungpaibulpatana told the Phuket Gazette. “Staff from our International Department…
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Federer, Djokovic struggle as Sharapova blazes through in Paris
PHUKET: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were both put to the test to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday while Maria Sharapova continued to blaze through a thinning women’s draw. Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska was knocked out 6-4 6-4 by Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic, becoming the latest victim of a new generation of talent sweeping through…
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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