News
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Phuket FC outgunned as Yokohama level pre-season series
PHUKET: Yokohama FC eventually outclassed Phuket FC to run out 2-0 winners at Surakul Stadium on Sunday, claiming a respectable 3-3 on aggregate against the islanders over two friendlies played in the past week. The home side, who have officially taken on the nickname “The Ronins”, held out the visiting J-League squad for the first half, but the superior skills…
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Slow police response to Phuket drive-by robbery draws ire
PHUKET: Relatives of a man who was robbed while lying injured on the road have lodged a complaint with the Phuket Provincial Police Commander after the Thalang Police failed to respond to the case. Akkarapol Chumnummanee, 27, was robbed on Sunday at about 3.30am after he fell off his motorbike near the entrance to Bang Kanoon Forest, on the northbound…
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Brit expat skull cracked for failing to pay Phuket bar bill
PHUKET: Police are investigating an attack on a British man who is lying in a Phuket hospital with a fractured skull after allegedly being beaten with a baseball bat for not having enough cash to pay his drinking bill. Christopher Stark, a 64-year-old English teacher at Phuket Montessori progressive school, told police that he was attacked by Sarawuth Kongphat, 37,…
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Bullet fails to penetrate skull, Phuket teen survives
PHUKET: A teenager was discharged from hospital yesterday after being shot in the back of the head with a homemade handgun near the entrance of Kathu Wittaya School on Sunday. Pongchanasit Amtaisong, 19, walked into the Thung Thong Police Station after he was shot. “We immediately called an ambulance to take him to Vachira Phuket Hospital,” said Lt Sawanya Eiadtrong…
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Man to stand trial for attempted rape of Australian tourist
PHUKET: The Office of the Phuket Public Prosecutor has confirmed that it will prosecute a man for the attempted rape of an Australian tourist on Koh Maphrao, east of Phuket, in November. The man, who has yet to be named by police, surrendered to officers after staff at a resort on the island notified police of the incident, and officers…
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US brands Yingluck impeachment ‘politically driven’, calls to lift martial law
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US: Impeachment ‘politically driven’, calls to lift martial law The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United States yesterday branded the former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s impeachment as being “politically driven” and called on the junta to lift martial law as well as push for “inclusive”…
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Kurds push Islamic State out of Syria’s strategic Kobani
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Kurds push Islamic State out of Syria’s strategic Kobani Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Kurdish forces took control of the Syrian town of Kobani on Monday after driving out Islamic State fighters, a monitoring group and Syrian state media said, although Washington said the four-month battle…
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US charges three in alleged Russian spy ring in NYC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US charges three in alleged Russian spy ring in NYC Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. government on Monday unveiled criminal charges against three men for their alleged involvement in a Russian spy ring operating in New York City. Evgeny Buryakov, Igor Sporyshev and Victor…
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Phuket Town lights up with LED streetlamps
PHUKET: More than 1,000 low-energy LED lights have been installed on the streets of Phuket Town to replace last-century sodium streetlamps, Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana announced over the weekend. The LED lamps – numbering 1,176 in total – were installed last week as part of the nationwide “Road to LED” project that aims to cut down on public electricity…
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Opinion: Re-focus hunt from hormonal teens to gun-making enablers
PHUKET: Since mid-December, there have been four drive-by shootings reported in Phuket – three of which were fatal, and at least two of which were carried out by gangs of motorcycle-riding teenagers. The fact that these latest three attacks have occurred within the past month is truly horrifying, and is a far-from-comforting thought as the island’s tourism season continues to…
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Myanmar nationals nabbed at Phuket cockfight
PHUKET: Despite seeing more than 30 people run off as police raided a cockfight in Thalang yesterday, officers managed to arrest only four Myanmar nationals for gambling in the bloodsport. Officers raided an unregistered building near the Baan Lipon substation on Thepkrasattri Road at about 2pm, said Deputy Superintendent Amnuay Kraiwutanan of the Thalang Police. “We had been informed that…
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Nightclub security guard dies in motorbike crash
PHUKET: A security guard at Hollywood Discotheque on Soi Bangla, Patong, died in a motorbike accident this weekend in what police believe was a case of “falling asleep while riding”. Anuchat Phoemphun, 37, died after sustaining severe head injuries when his motorbike slammed into a tree near the Go-Kart track at the bottom of Patong Hill at about 8:20am on…
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Yingluck will be arrested if she tries to flee: NACC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck will be arrested if she tries to flee: NACC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who now faces criminal charges over the rice-pledging scheme, could be arrested if she shows any intention of leaving the country to avoid the court…
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Greek leftist leader Tsipras claims victory over austerity
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Greek leftist leader Tsipras claims victory over austerity Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras promised on Sunday that five years of austerity, “humiliation and suffering” imposed by international creditors were over after his Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election…
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New York braces for ‘biggest blizzard in its history’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New York braces for ‘biggest blizzard in its history’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A swath of the US east coast from Philadelphia to New York City to Maine was bracing for a potentially historic blizzard on Monday expected to dump as much as 3 feet…
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Frenchwoman confesses to false snatch report
PHUKET: A French tourist has been charged with filing a false police report of a bag snatch in Phuket that never happened in order to claim her lost camera on travel insurance. Delphine Claudia Nicot, 43, yesterday reported to the Chalong Police that she had her bag stolen by two men on a motorbike while she was walking along the…
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Phuket named Thailand’s poster child for tourism
PHUKET: Phuket was named as the poster child of tourism for Thailand by Tourism and Sport Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul in an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette this week. “Phuket is the image of Thailand. Therefore, if Phuket has a good image, so does Thailand,” Ms Kobkarn said. Minister Kobkarn has become a regular visitor to the island following her…
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Beach chair leniency ends in Phuket (video)
PHUKET: Recent leniency concerning beach loungers on Patong Beach has come to an end to prevent further confusion, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup has told the Phuket Gazette. The mayor was originally allowing beachgoers to bring onto the beach their own smaller, collapsible sun loungers, as well as other chairs, during the three-month beach-management trial run (stories here and here). “There…
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Danish tourist, 70, injured in Krabi bus crash
PHUKET: A 70-year-old Danish tourist was injured this morning when the Phuket tour bus he was travelling in hit a central road barrier north of Krabi Town. Suwit Suthimon, the driver of the Pulsiri Travel bus involved in the accident, told police that he swerved to avoid a motorbike that had entered his lane. The emergency maneuver forced him to…
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Drug suspect hunt begins after police blockade dodged
PHUKET: Police are searching for at least two men who dodged a police blockade and then threw 2,060 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) from their car while fleeing officers in pursuit early this morning. The suspects failed to stop at the first checkpoint, set up at at Baan Bangla in Pa Khlok, about two kilometers from the Heroines’ Monument, at…
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Phuket Yacht Show postponed, government support on horizon
PHUKET: The organizers of the new yacht charter show for Asia have announced the postponement of the first edition of the Phuket event. The Phuket Yacht Show was scheduled to take place on February 12-15 at Phuket Yacht Haven Marina, which is being extensively re-developed to make it the biggest superyacht marina in Asia. In a joint statement, the marina…
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ISIS deadline on Japanese captives passes with no word on fate
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ISIS deadline on Japanese captives passes with no word on fate Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Japan said on Friday it was still trying to secure the release of two Japanese hostages held by Islamic State militants after a deadline to pay ransom for their release…
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No signs of foul play in Briton’s death on Koh Tao
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No signs of foul play in Briton’s death on Koh Tao The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Initial investigation has found no foul play in the death of a 23-year-old British woman earlier this week in Surat Thani’s Koh Tao. The body of Christina Annesley, 23,…
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Police warn of car robberies through hacked remote controls
PHUKET: Police are warning motorists throughout Phuket not to leave valuables in their vehicles after a bizarre incident in Surat Thani left about 20 cars immobilized by what police believe was a “hacking” of the remote control signals. Surat Thani Police on Monday were called to the Central Plaza shopping mall in Wat Pradu, where about two dozen people could…
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Artificial reefs to be deployed off Koh Racha
PHUKET: Dive and tour boats visiting Koh Racha, an island about 25km south of Phuket, are urged to exercise caution there early next month, as work continues to expand artificial reefs in the area. “We will deploy artificial-reef modules at Plub Pla Bay and Teu Bay from February 2-7,” said Paitoon Panchaiyaphum, director of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation…
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Thailand, Malaysia to face off at Aussie Rules match in Phuket
PHUKET: It has been 19 years since the first international match of Australian Rules was played in Thailand, between the Thailand Tigers and the Hong Kong Dragons at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University. Since then, the sport has grown significantly in the Kingdom, and it is now coming to Phuket. Saturday, March 7 will see the first-ever Aussie Rules football match played…
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Finance: Advice for my 20-year-old self
PHUKET: I know most people in their twenties are typically not interested in planning financially for their futures. Often, they are not very interested in planning for anything other than Friday night – I remember the days when I thought the same way. What advice would I give myself now if I could go back and make decisions based on…
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Visa, yacht-charter law changes necessary: Tourism Minister
PHUKET: Changes in visa and chartering legislation to secure the island’s position as the top yachting destination in the region are necessary, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told the Phuket Gazette in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. “Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha wants to make Thailand a world-class hub for yachts and cruise boats in Southeast Asia – and…
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Lighthouse Market beacon of light for Boat Lagoon Marina Village
PHUKET: Aiming to appeal to a wider audience and expand its market reach, Phuket’s Boat Lagoon Marina is launching the Lighthouse Market. “We don’t want to focus on one target group or one nationality. This is a market for everyone who enjoys quality – both expats and local Thais,” explained Kanittha Prasopsirikul from By Kanittha, the company behind the new…
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Suspected Phuket ATM-heist getaway truck found dumped
PHUKET: Police believe they have found the pick-up truck used to flee an attempted ATM robbery in Thalang on January 16. The truck was found yesterday abandoned at the entrance of a rubber-tree plantation on the border of Srisoonthorn and Pa Khlok, Lt Suporn Muangkhai of the Thalang Police told the Phuket Gazette. Police began their search for the suspects…
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