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QSI Phuket welcomes grrrrrrreat new Tiger Turf
PHUKET: Team Tigers of Quality Schools International (QSI) Phuket are getting ready to unveil their new and improved sports den. The US$120,000 (just over 3.7 million baht) new facilities include a multi-purpose basketball court, a football field enveloped by a 100-meter running track and a new garden and waterfall. In a fitting tribute to the home side, their new football…
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Russian tourists stranded including 340 in Phuket
PHUKET: The bankruptcy of one of the largest tour operators in Russia has left thousands of Russian tourists stranded around the globe, including 340 in Phuket. Soopakij Chearavanont, Russian Honorary Consul for Greater Phuket, said the sudden bankruptcy of Lanta Tour Voyage has cost Phuket resorts from tens to hundreds of thousands of baht. Most of the Russians stranded bought…
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“Spider bite victim’ likely drank himself to death
PHUKET: THE man who died after allegedly being bitten by a spider in Phuket more likely died from complications brought on from excessive drinking, a preliminary examination has revealed. Phuket Public Health Office Deputy Director Wiwat Seetamanotch told the Gazette on Tuesday that the preliminary findings of an autopsy on the body of 30-year-old fruit vendor Wanchai Wonglakorn, revealed that…
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Phuket fire guts Kathu home, eight flats
PHUKET: A large fired completely destroyed a home and a row of rental flats in Phuket last night. Thung Thong Police were notified of a blaze on Soi Bangthong, about 50 meters from the Family Mart convenience store on Phra Barami Road on the Kathu side of Patong Hill, at about 8pm. Arriving at the scene, duty officer Capt Sakchai…
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Phuket regatta heads home for the awards
PHUKET: Day Four of The Bay Regatta saw sailors greeted with sunny skies and good wind as they left their anchorage off the Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort and headed back to Ao Chalong for the regatta’s final party and awards ceremony at the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). The colourful spinnakers stood out proud as the fleet made the crossing…
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Phuket Gazette: US jobs soar; Russians rally for fair polls; Syrian massacre; Cambodia jails jailer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. unemployment rate drops to lowest in 3 years PHUKET (News Wires): The United States unemployment rate for the month of January dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest number in nearly three years, the U.S. Labor Department (DoL) announced. In its January 2012 Employment Situation report,…
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Phuket’s War on Drugs: Why has Bebe gone?
PHUKET: It is sad that Phuket’s two specially-trained drug dogs have been suspended from “active duty” for lack of dedicated handlers, especially given the time invested in their training and the phenomenal results displayed by the beagle Bebe during her first day on the job last July. [See page 6, this week’s issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click…
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Chinese tourist drowns in Phuket
PHUKET: A woman in Phuket with a Chinese tour group drowned in Rawai on Thursday. The body of 57-year-old Xianmei Wang was found floating off of Koh Hei at about 2pm that day, Chalong Police said. Also known as Coral Island, Koh Hei is a popular destination for snorkelers and divers on group tours. Police are uncertain of what factors…
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Phuket update: US lifts terror alert
PHUKET: Good news for the Phuket tourism industry has come with the US warning of a possible terrorist threat in Bangkok having been removed from its website, where it had been on the main page. The warning was replaced with a more general alert for East Asia. The new warning does not name any specific countries or places, but 14…
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Phuket Sports: Epic final in Aussie Open
PHUKET: World number one Novak Djokovic retained the Australian Open title in an exhilarating victory over second seed Rafael Nadal. Not only was the encounter the longest-ever Grand Slam final to date, at five hours and 53 minutes, it also gave tennis archivists numerous other records to rewrite. Nadal is the first man to lose three consecutive Grand Slam finals…
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Phuket Sports: Liverpool double down
PHUKET: Liverpool FC progressed to the last sixteen of the FA Cup thanks to a late winner from Dirk Kuyt. In four days the Reds sent both Manchester outfits out of English domestic cup competitions. Kuyt, left unattended by an absent and constantly jeered Patrice Evra, drove home from inside the United box after Andy Caroll flicked on Pepe Reina’s…
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No change on a new day: Ruby Tuesday still leads the Bay Regatta
PHUKET: Sailors departed from the waters off Paradise Koh Yao Boutique Resort & Spa yesterday for the 2012 Bay Regatta’s second day of racing. Heading south towards Krabi, competitors navigated through the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay, en route to their destination of Ao Nang, where a rest from partying awaited, for a few. Day two Racing Class results…
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Phuket Sports Bag: This week in Sports
PHUKET: Grab your balls, bats and rackets for another nosedive into this week’s world of local and international sports events with the Phuket Gazette. In tennis, read about the final to end all finals that pushed Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to their break points at the Australian Open. Maria Sharapova may need another relaxing visit to Phuket after her…
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Royalists protest Nitirat group in Phuket
PHUKET: A small group of Phuket royalists gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to show their opposition to efforts by the Nitirat group of scholars in Bangkok to amend Chapter 2 of the Constitution and article 112 of the Criminal Code, which deal with lese majeste. The group of about 20 protesters arrived at 10am with a letter of protest, which…
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Weird World News: Boneheaded bandits starring “Spiderman’ burglar, Mexican go-kart drug smuggler and the glacial ice thief
PHUKET: OUTLAWS are finding more imaginative ways to make a fast buck. This week’s Weird World News is a snapshot of life on the wrong side of the law, and the idiotic ruses bandits around the world are concocting to make money, fast. Go-kart bandito’s drug-smuggling ruse foiled A MEXICAN drug runner tried in vain this week to smuggle marijuana…
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Phuket Sports: Laguna bailed out by untimely dismissals
PHUKET: The Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) officially came into being last weekend with a two day event opened by Phuket’s youth development rugby and cricket teams. A fine display of strength and skills was exhibited by the Lomas (rugby) and Leopards (cricket) for spectators in their finery, who had gathered as part of a grand ceremony that announced the ACG’s…
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Phuket Gazette: Court sentences killers of lesbian; 74 dead in riot
– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South African court sentences killers of lesbian to 18 years PHUKET (News Wires): Four South African men were sentenced to 18 years in prison on Wednesday for stabbing and stoning 19-year-old lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana to death in 2006, local media reported yesterday. The men were found to have brutally…
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Laguna Phuket ready for Amway mega-event
PHUKET: The Laguna Phuket resort complex in Cherng Talay is gearing up for its largest-ever incentives event in April and May, when it will host some 16,000 Amway sales representatives from China. Phakwiphoo Tanpradit, project manager for Laguna, said the Amway employee seminars will run from April 15 to May 14. They will arrive in staggered batches, with about four…
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Phuket Gazette: Canadian authorities arrest 60 in child porn bust
– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Canadian authorities arrest 60 in child porn bust PHUKET (News Wires): Canadian authorities have arrested and charged 60 men this week in connection with a major, ongoing investigation into child pornography offenses in Ontario, police announced yesterday. A total of 76 search warrants have been executed so far, resulting…
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Phuket Bay Regatta 2012 gets a bit of everything for day one of racing
PHUKET: The 15th Bay Regatta got underway yesterday with crews’ patience and skills tested by a mixed bag of conditions on the first day of racing. GoYachting’s Richard Valentine remarked on the unusual weather.”The regatta gave us a little bit of everything,” he said. “Some sunshine with blue skies and wind early on, then the wind died and we were…
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Phuket to launch anti-AIDS campaign on Valentine’s Day
PHUKET: Public health officials will launch a “Getting to Zero AIDS” campaign on Valentine’s Day to combat HIV/AIDS in Phuket, which has the highest incidence of HIV infection in Thailand, according to government statistics. The campaign will kick-off with a festival on February 14 at Phuket Rajabhat University, said Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) chief Sak Tanchaikul. There will be…
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Phuket medical tourism threatened by taxi thuggery
PHUKET: One of Phuket’s leading hospitals has complained that ‘taxi mafia’ are preventing its drivers from picking up patients staying at certain resort hotels. The complaint was one of many aired at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on the topic of tourists being cheated in Phuket. The meeting was chaired by new Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa. Pareeya Jullaphong,…
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American news round-up
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Former LA teacher charged with molesting 23 children Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: U.S. prosecutors have arrested and charged a former Los Angeles teacher with allegedly molesting at least 23 young children over a two-year period, officials said on Tuesday. The allegations have shocked the local…
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Phuket weather radar out of service
PHUKET: The weather radar at Phuket Airport has been out of service for almost a week, but a technician at Phuket Airport says it should be operational again in a few days. According to the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) website, the Phuket weather radar has been out of operation since midday last Friday. Narongsak Gumroob, a radar technician at the…
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Phuket Business: White-collared workers to gain from boom
PHUKET: The local work force and overall economy of Phuket stand to benefit from the ensuing boom in real estate, an executive of a major real estate developer has said. Speaking exclusively with the Phuket Gazette, Suriya Wannabuit, Executive Vice President of the Project Management and Marketing Department of Sansiri Pcl, shared his thoughts about the local economy. “Locals don’t…
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Phuket Business: Hydrofoil pilots
PHUKET: An innovative technology which looks to give a boost to the Andaman coastal region’s sea transport industry, is now being piloted off the shores of Phuket. Benchmarked by the unofficial launch of a hydrofoil sea transport and tour service, swift and seamless day trips from Phuket to distant, offshore havens in Krabi and Phang Nga provinces are not only…
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Phuket Business: Dive center targets “no niche’
PHUKET: THE international appeal of Phuket’s dive industry has seen many dive shops and dive centers on the island honing in on specific niche markets, usually centered around a specific country or nationality. Backed with their well-equipped dive boat and brand new training facilities, Andaman Ocean Safaris’ business model takes niche marketing a step further, by targeting agents, rather than…
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Phuket Update: British tourist ‘stabber’ awaits trial in Krabi
PHUKET: A Thai man accused of stabbing a young British tourist at a beach party on Phi Phi Island last year is in Krabi Provincial Prison awaiting trial. Hamed Poonyung, 23, has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing 22-year-old Nicholas Palmer in October, 2011. The attack, which took place on a crowded beach at Ton Sai Bay, occurred…
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Phuket Business: Save yourself
PHUKET: I am personally a very big fan of Napoleon Hill, and I have just finished re-reading his original work The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons. Each lesson is based on a quality or aspect which was a common denominator amongst all of the various successful men he had studied over a thirty year period, such as Henry Ford…
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Phuket Live Wire: Protect yourself from ATM skimming
PHUKET: Recently the Gazette ran a story about ATM skimming, describing how two long-term Phuket residents lost hundreds of thousands of baht at the hands of clever thieves. The banks involved came up with good advice: use ATMs either inside or at the front of bank branches; use ATMs from major banks as they have better anti-tamper systems and beware…
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