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  • Phuket rubber tapper fatally felled by tree branch

    Phuket rubber tapper fatally felled by tree branch

    PHUKET: A Phuket rubber farmer was struck and killed by a falling tree branch while tapping his trees early yesterday morning in Thalang.Jaroon Tankongkoy, 67, left for the rubber plantation at 3am, said his wife, Pranom Tankongkoy.“I was waiting to have lunch with him, but he didn’t come back. At 3pm, I went out to look for him,” Mrs Pranom…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: First rally leader detained; Labour Ministry compiles human-trafficking report; Threat to block rice storage

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: First rally leader detained; Labour Ministry compiles human-trafficking report; Threat to block rice storage

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sonthiyarn arrested; first rally leader to be detained The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Sonthiyarn Chuenruethai-naitham, owner and director of T-news agency, yesterday became the first anti-government protest leader to be arrested. He was having a meal alone in the Central Lat Phrao shopping complex when apprehended by…

  • Asylum seekers accuse Australian navy of abuse as boat towed to Indonesia

    Asylum seekers accuse Australian navy of abuse as boat towed to Indonesia

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Asylum seekers accuse Australian navy of abuse as boat towed to Indonesia Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: On New Year’s day, 45 asylum seekers in a ramshackle wooden boat slid ashore on a small island off the Australian city of Darwin. Four others had been swept overboard that…

  • China in rare crackdown on sex industry in southern vice hub

    China in rare crackdown on sex industry in southern vice hub

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China in rare crackdown on sex industry in southern vice hub Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Chinese authorities have carried out a rare crackdown on the sex trade in the “sin city” of Dongguan following a candid report by the state broadcaster on the underground industry.China outlawed prostitution…

  • All safe after Phuket dive boat sinks off Myanmar

    All safe after Phuket dive boat sinks off Myanmar

    PHUKET: Everyone has been safely rescued from a Phuket dive boat that sank in Myanmar waters, said the Managing Director of Chalong Sea Sports, Pekka Torri. However, the cause of the fire that erupted aboard the MV Blue Star and led to its sinking has yet to be confirmed. Mr Pekka declined to reveal any details about the incident, other…

  • Argument leads to fatal fight outside Phuket karaoke bar

    Argument leads to fatal fight outside Phuket karaoke bar

    PHUKET: A violent argument in a Phuket karaoke bar on Saturday ended in the death of a fisherman.The unidentified man was drinking with friends at Nong Man Karaoke bar on Sri Sena Road when they began arguing with four fisherman at a nearby table, witnesses told police.“They started fighting outside the karaoke bar,” said Capt Udom Petcharat of the Phuket…

  • Phuket Passport Office re-opens despite protesters

    Phuket Passport Office re-opens despite protesters

    PHUKET:The Phuket Passport Office opened its doors today despite the fact that Provincial Hall remains closed due to anti-government protests. The office closed last month after the Passport Division in Bangkok terminated its server connection with provincial passport offices as a precaution during protests in the capital (story here). Many of the people who queued for service today were turned…

  • Mueang Thalang win inaugural Phuket Youth Cup

    Mueang Thalang win inaugural Phuket Youth Cup

    PHUKET: The inaugural Phuket Youth Cup concluded last Sunday with two exciting matches at Surakul Stadium.In the grand finale, it was Mueang Thalang School prevailing 3-1 over the OrBorJor Talad Neua team to win the grand trophy and 20,000-baht prize money. The runners up would have to be content with their slightly smaller trophy and 10,000 baht purse. Two of…

  • Phuket United ready for futsal season opener

    Phuket United ready for futsal season opener

    PHUKET: Get ready for one of the most exciting indoor team sports in the country – the Futsal Thailand Premier League (FTPL) kicks off this weekend, with the island’s pro five-a-side squad, Phuket United to host CAT FC in their season opener on Sunday night. To be played at Saphan Hin’s two-year-new 4,000-seat Indoor Gymnasium, the match will kick off…

  • Phuket FC give local expats a lickin’ – soccer superstars get ready

    Phuket FC give local expats a lickin’ – soccer superstars get ready

    PHUKET: Following their epic 1-1 draw with Thai Premier League powerhouse Chonburi FC last weekend, (click here for video highlights), the island’s pro soccer outfit Phuket FC had a much easier pre-season friendly work-out this past weekend, squashing local expat team Pluto Ice Cream in a 5-1 drubbing at Surakul Stadium. With only several scattered pockets of supporters turning out,…

  • Russian tourist, 42, drops dead while chatting with friends

    Russian tourist, 42, drops dead while chatting with friends

    PHUKET: Police have yet to determine why a Russian tourist died suddenly in a Phuket hotel room early yesterday morning.Timur Ivanov and his two traveling companions were eating fruit and drinking a hot beverage together at a hotel at Bang Tao Beach when he suddenly passed out. The friends called hotel staff for help, and rescue workers were summoned to…

  • Phuket Sailing: The Bay Regatta 2014 starts this week

    Phuket Sailing: The Bay Regatta 2014 starts this week

    PHUKET: With this year’s Bay Regatta set to kick-off this Wednesday and run through to Saturday, the entry list is growing daily with over 32 yachts currently entered, many joining the event for the first time. The Racing Class will be headed by the largest monohull yacht on the course – first time entrant, X-Yacht X-55 Pine Pacific – helmed…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Falling rock derails train in French Alps, two dead

    Phuket Gazette World News: Falling rock derails train in French Alps, two dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Falling rock derails train in French Alps, two dead Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A huge falling rock derailed a train in the French Alps on Saturday, killing two people and partly pushing one of its carriages over the edge of a mountain slope, local officials said.At least…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Spanish princess questioned in corruption investigation

    Phuket Gazette World News: Spanish princess questioned in corruption investigation

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Spanish princess questioned in corruption investigation Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Spain’s Princess Cristina was questioned by a judge on Saturday in a corruption case that has deepened public anger over graft among the ruling class and discontent with the royal family.It was the first time that a…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rice rally violence alert; Police seek Lak Si gunmen, arrest Kwanchai shooter; EC petitions PM on new poll

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rice rally violence alert; Police seek Lak Si gunmen, arrest Kwanchai shooter; EC petitions PM on new poll

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NSC warns of violence over rice rally The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The National Security Council (NSC) yesterday warned of a possible escalation in violence as rice farmers link up with anti-government protesters to mount pressure on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her crew to step down.…

  • German man, 70, found dead with sex drug

    German man, 70, found dead with sex drug

    PHUKET: The discovery of a 70-year-old German man who appears to have died after taking a generic version of Viagra has prompted public health officials in Phuket to issue a warning about such drugs.“People should take care when taking erectile dysfunction drugs, especially if they are older and have underlying medical conditions,” said Orachorn Atthaveelarp of the Phuket Provincial Health…

  • Tourist Police evade Phuket shakedown claims

    Tourist Police evade Phuket shakedown claims

    PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Tourist Police has branded allegations that three of his officers extorted 20,000 baht from an Italian man in Patong as a “big misunderstanding”. The news follows protesters staging a blockade of the Patong beach road last weekend after word of the shakedown spread through the resort town. “The case will not be pursued because…

  • Phuket boat crews protest after access denied to Chalong Pier

    Phuket boat crews protest after access denied to Chalong Pier

    PHUKET: A group of local boat handlers this morning staged a protest at Chalong Pier to call for unrestricted access to boats moored along the pier. The gathering at the popular terminal for Phuket tour boats (map here) came as officials enforced existing regulations banning motorcycles and motorcycles with sidecars from being driven along the pier. “These people know they…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Russian Winter Games open amid security scares, arrests

    Phuket Gazette World News: Russian Winter Games open amid security scares, arrests

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian Winter Games open amid security scares, arrests Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Russia’s Winter Olympics got underway on Friday with a grandiose opening ceremony watched by President Vladimir Putin, who will be keen to calm fears of militant attacks and move on from a row over gay…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PDRC sows seeds of rice farmer alliance; Finance Ministry silent on payment methods; Army ramps up lese majeste action

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PDRC sows seeds of rice farmer alliance; Finance Ministry silent on payment methods; Army ramps up lese majeste action

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suthep keen for alliance with angry farmers The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The anti-government movement led by Suthep Thaugsuban appears to be seeking an alliance with rice farmers as the embattled caretaker government struggles to find the money owed to the farmers under the price-pledge scheme.Yesterday, Suthep,…

  • A rescuer: Ultralight engine did not explode in fatal Phuket crash

    A rescuer: Ultralight engine did not explode in fatal Phuket crash

    PHUKET: The engine of the ultralight flying boat that crashed in the sea near Rawai on Wednesday, killing its pilot, did not explode, says an expat who took part in the recovery effort. “There were no signs of explosive damage to the engine,” Singaporean Marshall Ong told the Phuket Gazette. Mr Ong saw the engine when he entered the water…

  • Phuket Opinion: Happy days again

    Phuket Opinion: Happy days again

    PHUKET: Do you miss your childhood? Wish you were young once again? You can be… just move to another country. It feels not only like moving in space, but also like moving back in time – to the happy days when everything was new, exciting and mysterious. Since I moved to Thailand I have often felt like a toddler as…

  • Phuket Opinion: Boosting Phuket tourism through sport

    Phuket Opinion: Boosting Phuket tourism through sport

    Virat Patee, 55, is a native of Phuket. He has served as the director of the Sport Authority of Thailand’s Phuket office for five years, and formerly served as the director of the SAT Krabi office for 12 years. Here, he talks about the valuable contribution sports make to tourism and suggests how Phuket can do more to promote sport…

  • Governor eyes Phuket goat market potential [VIDEO] | Thaiger

    Governor eyes Phuket goat market potential [VIDEO]

    PHUKET: Goat meat and milk produced in Phuket could provide local farmers with up to a million baht in annual revenue, the governor has estimated. On Tuesday, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa led officers on a tour of Akarah goat farm in Baan Pru Cham Pa in Thalang and discussed the future of the goat industry…

  • Special Report: If there’s something strange and it don’t look good”¦ who ya gonna call?

    Special Report: If there’s something strange and it don’t look good”¦ who ya gonna call?

    Special Report Early last Saturday morning, a female tourist spent 45 minutes trying to contact the police. Repeated calls to the Tourist Police hotline 1155 went unanswered until a man picked up and told her he could not speak English and advised her to call the Thalang Police, who put her on hold. The Phuket Gazette’s Chutharat Plerin investigates emergency…

  • Australian superyacht industry seeks closer ties with Phuket

    Australian superyacht industry seeks closer ties with Phuket

    PHUKET: Representatives of peak industry body Superyacht Australia, along with several Australian-based marine companies recently toured Phuket as part of a program aimed at fostering business relations in the marine industry. The tour was hosted by the Australian Trade Commission and funded through the Australian Government’s Asian Century Business Engagement Plan grant program. During the visit, the group toured all…

  • Tourist Police face harsh words in Phuket

    Tourist Police face harsh words in Phuket

    PHUKET: Tourist Police in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Surat Thani have received a public tongue-lashing over a lack of patrols in tourist areas.“I never see Tourist Police out on patrol when I visit – they are only working in their small police boxes,” said Gen Wuthi Liptapallop, a top-flight Adviser to the Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Adul Saengsingkaew.“How are…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Italy rescues more than 1,100 migrants in rafts south of Sicily

    Phuket Gazette World News: Italy rescues more than 1,100 migrants in rafts south of Sicily

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Italy rescues more than 1,100 migrants in rafts south of Sicily Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Italian navy has rescued more than 1,100 migrants from nine large rafts in the waters south of Sicily, the latest arrivals from North Africa.Patrol helicopters identified the overcrowded rafts on Wednesday…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: EC tackles poll problems; CMPO seeks 39 arrest warrants; Grenades fired at rally site

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: EC tackles poll problems; CMPO seeks 39 arrest warrants; Grenades fired at rally site

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Farmers raise pressure The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Furious rice farmers yesterday piled pressure on the government by taking their protest to the capital, amid claims that they were part of a plot to bring down the government.Thousands of farmers from the Northeast, the Central and the…

  • Phuket baby arrives with sad message for expectant parents

    Phuket baby arrives with sad message for expectant parents

    PHUKET: A baby born in Phuket with her intestines protruding from her abdomen underscores the need for regular prenatal care and serves as a reminder of the limits of modern medicine, said Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Jessada Chungpaibulpatana. “About 1 in 1,000 babies are born with gastroschisis. About 30 per cent of those cases cannot be detected on an ultrasound,”…