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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PM slapped by censure; Tourism may lose B25bn; Bullion bonanza; More rain for South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt fights censure, protests The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A political battle took place on two fronts yesterday, with anti-government protesters besieging more government ministries and the opposition beginning its no-confidence onslaught against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in the House.Thousands of demonstrators, protesting against a government-backed bill…
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Triathlon champion Chris McCormack takes reins of Thanyapura Phuket
PHUKET: Thanyapura Phuket has appointed multiple world champion athlete, Chris McCormack, as Executive Chairman of the island’s world-class megaplex as it takes a big stride into the future with the establishment of Thanyapura International to take its unique and ground-breaking “Thanyapura Active Healthy Lifestyle” concept to the world.Mr McCormack will take up the reins at Thanyapura Phuket on December, 1,…
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Buakaw breaking it down in Phuket
PHUKET: Muay Thai is Thailand’s signature sport, and its most famous active practitioner is Buakaw Banchamek, the rock-hard pugilist from Surin who first stepped into the ring at the tender age of eight and has been fighting regularly ever since – last Monday (November 18) right here in Phuket. Thailand has produced some great fighters over the years: Khaosai Galaxy…
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Slashed woman dies after Phuket hotel fall, roommate found dead
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist has died after falling from the second-floor balcony of a Phuket Town hotel this morning while bleeding heavily from deep lacerations.Jiang Chengyuem, 42, left a suicide note behind before leaping from The Pago hotel balcony with cuts across her throat, wrists, chest and stomach, said Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Prawit Engchuan.Chinese tourists who were part…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PM Yingluck extends ISA; Suthep calls for people’s government; Floods ease in South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM extends ISA and insists she won’t resign or dissolve House The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last night extended the invocation of special internal security law to cover entire Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district and Pathum Thani’s Ladlumkaew district.Since October 18,…
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Marine safety summit sails forward with local, international support
PHUKET: Safer Phuket, a new marine-safety non-government organization (NGO), made a splash today with the announcement of the Coastal Water Safety Summit in January at the PIMEX Boat Show. The announcement comes in the wake of over 200 tourists being stranded on nearby islands over the weekend due to heavy weather (story here), and fatal rip currents on Phuket’s west-coast…
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Phuket Heartbreak: Father identifies Gao Yang’s body
PHUKET: The father of Gao Yang underwent the heart-wrenching process of identifying his son’s body today. The 20-year-old Chinese national Gao Yang slipped from the rocks at Promthep Cape and fell into the sea at the iconic promontory last Wednesday. His body was recovered after it was spotted by a passing speedboat on Friday (story here). Gao Haiming, 49, arrived…
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Victory is Sweet for Swiss Olympian at 20th Laguna Phuket Triathlon
PHUKET: Swiss Olympian Ruedi Wild has triumphed once again at the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, successfully defending his title from his debut performance in the iconic endurance event last year. In the women’s field, Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest’s headliner from Australia, Melissa Hauschildt, newly-crowned 2013 ITU Long distance World Championship and 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, who made her LPT debut…
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Don’t risk tourists’ lives, warns Royal Thai Navy
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has warned all tour operators to obey orders to stay in port during dangerous weather conditions following navy ships being dispatched to rescue tourists stranded at Koh Racha and the Similan Islands over the weekend.“If the ports are ordered to close due to the weather, please do not launch your vessels. We understand it is…
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Man with throat slashed found in Patong pond
PHUKET: Police are looking to identify a man whose body was found in a lagoon behind the Patong Municipality offices early yesterday morning. The man’s throat had been slashed and his torso had been stabbed at least 17 times, reported officers at the scene (map here). “The body was found at 8am by local tuk-tuk driver Pattanapong Sombat, 36,” Maj…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Iran nuclear breakthrough; Children slain in Syria; AK47 runs riot at Yemeni Gangnam Style wedding; Philippine Maoists on hold for Haiyan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Breakthrough deal curbs Iran’s nuclear activity Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Iran and six world powers clinched a deal on Sunday to curb the Iranian nuclear programme in exchange for initial sanctions relief, signalling the start of a game-changing rapprochement that would reduce the risk of a wider…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok braces for huge protests; Pheu Thai calls emergency meeting; Floods ravage South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Huge marches to gridlock Bangkok The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Bangkok faces paralysis today as huge crowds of anti-government protesters set out on symbolic marches across the capital in a move that protest leaders are calling an attempt to overthrow the so-called “Thaksin Shinawatra regime”.The enormous crowd…
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Storm sinks Phi Phi ferry, ravages longtail, speedboat fleet
PHUKET: Heavy seas at Phi Phi Island this morning sunk a large passenger ferry, beached a cargo boat and heavily damaged at least six speedboats and 20 longtail boats, officials have confirmed. The Andaman Jet Wave ferry, registered to carry 250 passengers, had yet to begin its daily operations of carrying tourists to and from Krabi and Phi Phi, explained…
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Phuket Airport resumes domestic flights as storm abates
PHUKET: Flights at Phuket International Airport have resumed normal service after the storm this morning resulted in hours-long delays, forcing at least hundreds of travellers to seek refuge in the departure lounge. “From about 9am to 11am some domestic flights had to be delayed because of the weather,” Phuket Airport Director Pratuang Sornkham confirmed. “However, all the flights are back…
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Phuket yachties in dramatic boat rescue from sea wall
PHUKET: A handful of brave members at Phuket’s Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) scrambled to save a French expat’s yacht from smashing into the sea wall in front of the clubhouse this morning. The onslaught of strong waves saw the 30-foot yacht break free from its anchor at about 11am, sending the boat pitching dangerously toward the sea wall (map…
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Port closed, yachts beached as storm lashes Phuket
PHUKET: Local authorities this morning ordered Phuket Rassada Port closed as strong wind and waves lashed the coast and driving rain wreaked havoc with motorists across the island.Hundreds of tourists waited dockside as the ban took effect, as Rassada Port, located on the east side of Phuket Town, is a major jump-off point for tourists boarding ferries and tour boats…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Flood scheme talks turn fracas; Pheu Thai vows tit for tat; Typhoon donation scamsters caught
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tensions boil over at flood scheme hearing The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A melee occurred at a public hearing yesterday in Samut Songkhram on the effects of the government’s Bt350-billion flood-prevention and water-management programme, after a large number of protesting residents angrily pressured government officials in charge…
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Phuket Customs catch Indian drug mule with B15mn of ya ice
PHUKET: Customs officers arrested a drug mule attempting to smuggle 4.5 kilograms of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) into Phuket from Delhi, India, yesterday.The 37-year-old Indian woman, Aizawl Lalchhuanthangi, was presented at a press conference yesterday at Phuket International Airport.“When Ms Lalchhuanthangi’s suitcase went through the x-ray machine our officers were suspicious, as it showed up all black inside – making…
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Friends fail to identify body of Gao Yang, parents en route to Phuket
PHUKET: The parents of Chinese national and Singaporean student Gao Yang, who slipped from the rocks at Phuket’s Promthep Cape late Wednesday afternoon, are on their way to the island. “We expect them to arrive in Phuket tomorrow or Sunday,” Qin Jian, Vice Consul of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China, told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. A…
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Imprisoned Russian pays B310k for damage to statue of Phuket abbot
PHUKET: The Russian tourist who damaged a statue of a revered Phuket abbot during a drunken spree last month has had relatives wire in 310,000 baht to pay for a new statue to be built. Oleg Fomenko, 31, remains incarcerated at Phuket Prison following his arrest on October 24. He faces charges for damaging a statue of revered historical abbot…
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Chinese tourists on Phuket ladyboy tour safe after bus dies on Patong Hill
PHUKET: An entire busload of 35 Chinese tourists were quickly and safely evacuated from a tour bus after its engine died while climbing the steep road up Patong Hill last night. The tourists were en route from the Aphrodite ladyboy show on the bypass road to the famed Simon Cabaret ladyboy show in Patong when the bus broke down just…
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Body found off Phuket believed to be missing Singaporean student
PHUKET: A Phuket speedboat returning from dropping tourists off at Koh Hei today reported the grisly discovery of a body floating about seven kilometers south of Phuket. Police suspect that the body found is that of missing Chinese national and Singaporean student Gao Yang, who slipped from the rocks at Phuket’s Promthep Cape late Wednesday afternoon (story here). Officers from…
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Phuket Opinion: Purchasing votes to run the island
Kittipong Thiengkunakrit, 57, has been the Director of the Phuket Election Commission for three years. He has a science degree from Prince of Songkhla University, an advanced diploma from the University of Paris and a master’s degree in public administration from the National Institute of Development Administration. Mr Kittipong is a lecturer on how to run elections, election law and…
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Phuket Opinion: Russian cold warms memories of Phuket
PHUKET: With all the recent talk about the influx of Russian tourists and expats to our island, I jumped at the chance to attend a Phuket Gazette exhibition in Moscow and see how the other half lives, as it were. Moscow, like any other large European city, has a wealth of grand historic architecture, museums, galleries and cultural attractions –…
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British tourist alleges attacker in hotel room before balcony fall
PHUKET: Police are waiting for the results of a toxicology report for British tourist Romany Mitchell after she told them her drink in Phuket was spiked. The tests were ordered after the 21-year-old student from Edinburgh reported to police that she was fleeing an assailant in her hotel room before she plunged from the second-floor balcony of the building on…
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Police arrest man for rape of 10-year-old in Phuket
PHUKET: Police arrested an alleged pedophile for the rape of a 10-year-old girl in Phuket on November 11.The 24-year-old man, who lived across the street from the girl and her parents, faces charges of separating the child from her parents, molesting a person under the age of 15 and rape.Police took the man from Nakhon Sri Thammarat into custody under…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Myanmar rejects UN Rohingya resolve; Central Africa on brink of genocide; US-Afghan security deal waylaid; Colorado shooter trial postponed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar rejects U.N. resolution on Rohingya Muslims Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Myanmar rejected on Thursday a U.N. resolution urging it to grant citizenship to the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority group, and accused the United Nations of impinging on its sovereignty.The U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Scams, accidents place tourism at risk; Pheu Thai blasts court; House accepts censure; Jakkrit’s wife probed over safe deposit; Hollywood set on fire
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scams, accidents scare away tourists The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Thailand’s attractiveness to foreign tourists is under threat from fraud and poor safety standards.After a recent bus accident in Chon Buri that injured 26 Russian tourists, the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RUTI) recently urged Thai authorities…
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Runaway Phuket Thai Post truck slams into cars on Patong Hill [Video]
PHUKET: A Thai Post lorry that failed to make the steep climb up Patong Hill yesterday afternoon, faltered then careened backward down the hill, slamming into cars and pickups as it went. “The truck slid down the hill at about 2:15pm. It ended up stopping at almost the same spot as the student bus that rolled backward down the hill…
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Python snared near Phuket Town park
PHUKET: A Phuket City street sweeper raised the alarm in Phuket Town earlier this week when he spotted a five-meter python hiding in a storm drain near Saphan Hin Park. “Many people were exercising in the area. I was afraid it posed a danger to them,” the street sweeper told the Phuket Gazette. Saphan Hin Park (map here) is renowned…
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