News
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Singapore’s ruling party contends with new voting majority
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Singapore’s ruling party contends with new voting majority Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: When Singapore celebrates its50th year of independence on Aug. 9 and its older citizens eulogise the country’s economic feats, its ruling party founded by the late Lee Kuan Yew faces an unprecedented wave…
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A Decade Ago: West coast marina marked for Phuket
PHUKET: With a 2-billion-baht investment, there would be 150 condo units, 45 villas, and a marina with a berth for 30 boats – not a terribly exciting point for a page one story… so was news slow coming into July 23, 2005? No. The twist, and there was a twist, to the project that eventually represented the potential for the…
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Phuket honors the Crown Prince’s 63rd birthday
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong led public officials in an alms-offering ceremony with 63 monks this morning in honor of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 63rd birthday. The blessing ceremony, which took place at Sanam Chai in Phuket Town, was the first of a few events to take place on the Crown Prince’s birthday today. Governor Nisit was joined by Phuket…
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Opinion: Sterilizing Phuket strays
John Dalley, originally from Leeds in the United Kingdom, is the president of the Soi Dog Foundation. John worked as a chemical plant manager for many years before retiring in 2002. In September 2003, he became involved with the Soi Foundation when it first started in Phuket. Here, he talks about the soi dog problem in Phuket, and Thailand, the…
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Russian faces charges in fiance’s death
PHUKET: A Russian man who has recovered from a coma resulting from a road accident in Kata on July 4 faces charges of reckless driving causing the death of his fiance. Sergey Koltsov, 24, and Marina Smirnova, 19, were driving their rented motorbike on Taina Road in Kata when they crashed into a Karon Police patrol car. “According to eyewitnesses,…
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Myanmar worker dies in road smash
PHUKET: A Myanmar worker died after falling off the rear of a pick-up truck when it was slammed by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) near Baan Jee Teng on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday morning. “At the scene we found a Myanmar worker named Soe Thue, 25, critically injured on the ground,” Lt Col Sanit Nukong of the Thalang Police told the…
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Seriously injured Chinese tourists remain in hospital after bus crash
PHUKET: Four Chinese tourists who were seriously injured when their tour bus flipped on Phuket’s bypass road yesterday are still in hospital recovering from their injuries. The accident occurred at about noon, opposite the Premium Outlet on the southbound side of the road (story here). The bus was transporting 16 Chinese tourists, along with a tour guide, a guide assistant…
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Phuket to observe two-day alcohol ban
PHUKET: The sale of alcohol will be prohibited nationwide on Thursday and Friday in honor of Buddhist holiday Asarnha Bucha and the beginning of Buddhist Lent. The ban will begin at midnight on Thursday and will last until midnight on Saturday, Capt Prudsatorn Yoothon of the Phuket Tourist Police told Phuket Gazette this morning. “We have been doing our rounds…
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Alleged love triangle leads man to slash cousin’s neck
PHUKET: Police have yet to press charges against two cousins who got into a fight last night in Nai Yang, leaving one with a slashed neck and the other with a bruised face. Police first learned of the incident when Halem Dami, 26, ran up to an area police box looking for help. “At about 8pm last night, Halem Dami,…
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SIM card registration deadline swiftly approaching
PHUKET: Prepaid SIM card users have six days left to register their cards or else be blocked from accessing data services and placing calls. “All users who have yet to register their SIM cards must do so before July 31. If you do not, you will be blocked from making any calls, other than those to emergency numbers,” says Wanna…
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New prison construction to begin next month
PHUKET: Construction of the long-awaited Phuket Provincial Prison is set to break ground next month, the prison chief confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. The new prison will relieve some of the pressure on the current facility, which has a capacity of 800 prisoners but currently detains more than 3,000. “The new facility will be a top-of-the-line design and have…
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Alcohol relief: National ban details cleared up for businesses
PHUKET: A collective sigh of relief could be heard from Phuket officials as clarification of a national alcohol-sales ban officially arrived this week. The ban, passed by the Cabinet and signed into law by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, forbids the sale of alcohol within 300 meters of an ‘educational institution’. However, what qualifies as an educational institution was originally…
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Finance: Providing the best in the business
PHUKET: Following on from my article about the Millennium fund, I am writing this week about some Wall Street legendary fund managers that you can now access with relatively small allocation in a portfolio. Belmont has made its main business out of selecting the absolutely best managers in the world and offering access to them at reduced minimums. While the…
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Opinion: War on drink
PHUKET: Enforcement of Thailand’s Alcohol Beverage Control Act has been inconsistent since it was passed in 2008. Restricting it further will penalize those who play by the rules, while heaping more reward on those who do not. Some of the more rational aspects of the act, such as banning the sale of alcohol at roadside service stations, have been fairly…
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Governor leads Big Cleaning Day event
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong led about 300 people in a ‘Big Cleaning Day’ event along Thepkrasattri Road on Thursday morning in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 83rd birthday on August 12. Participants picked up trash along 2 kilometers of Thepkrasattri Road heading southbound toward Big C Thepkrasattri branch. “These sorts of activities are a way to inform people on the…
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PM Prayut pauses hotly-debated Krabi power plant project
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the hotly-debated coal-fired power plant project in Krabi to be put on hold until a joint committee can ensure that all steps of the pre-construction process have been legally carried out. The prime minister’s order ended a 14-day protest yesterday in Bangkok. About 100 Krabi residents and environmental activists had gathered to…
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Phuket windshield smasher may have been ‘lovelorn’
PHUKET: Police believe a man’s unrequited affection for a woman may have led him to break the windshield of her car in Phuket last night. Matira Nantimaruj, 32, told Thalang Police that she discovered the damage to her Toyota Yaris when she went downstairs from her third floor apartment to investigate a loud noise. “Upon receiving the call at about…
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Media, PR pros hammer out new strategies
PHUKET: The Thai Public Relations Department (PRD) called media from the southern provinces to a seminar in Krabi last week in an effort to strategize ways to keep pace with international media and help foreigners understand the goings-on in Thailand. “We held the meeting so we could exchange thoughts and make sure local media and public relations professionals are on…
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Officials investigate rank pig farms in Chalong
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam inspected a group of pig farms in Chalong yesterday after villagers had filed a complaint about foul smells and the pollution of a local canal. “About 100 locals filed a complaint with me about the farms, so I took the case to the Damrongtham Center,” said Kokchai Sae-iew, Moo 9 village headman. “There are…
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Japanese company to compensate for wartime forced labor – Kyodo
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Japanese company to compensate for wartime forced labor – Kyodo Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Japanese construction company Mitsubishi Materials Corp plans to apologize and pay compensation to Chinese people over its use of forced labor during World War Two, Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported. The…
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Nigeria marks polio-free year, raising global eradication hopes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nigeria marks polio-free year, raising global eradication hopes Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Nigeria marked its first year without a single case of polio on Friday, reaching a milestonemany experts had thought would elude it as internal conflict hampered the battle against the crippling disease. It means the…
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Section of Kathu-Koh Kaew shortcut road closed
PHUKET: Access to Soi Koh Kaew 33 from Thepkrasattri Road, behind the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, has been closed off as repairs are made to a roadside retaining wall. Construction is expected to be complete within 60 days. “During construction the road will be closed. There will only be one lane for exiting to Thepkrasattri Road. We can not…
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China’s carbon exchanges bend the rules to meet compliance targets
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China’s carbon exchanges bend the rules to meet compliance targets Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: The vast majority of firms covered by China’s pilot carbon emission exchanges met theirtargets this year, but success was achieved largely by flexible regulations and a supply glut that kept permits…
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Defence gets access to evidence for DNA tests in Thailand backpackers murder trial – lawyer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Defence gets access to evidence for DNA tests in Thailand backpackers murder trial -lawyer Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A Thai court has given defense lawyers access to evidence for DNA testing in the trial of twoMyanmar workers accused of murdering two British tourists in Thailand,…
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Australian nurse who aided ISIS heading home, could face arrest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australian nurse who aided ISIS heading home, could face arrest Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: An Australian male nurse alleged to have given medical assistance to Islamic State militants fighting in Syria could face arrest for violating tough new security laws when he lands in Sydney…
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Thailand indicts 72 human trafficking suspects ahead of U.S. report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand indicts 72 human trafficking suspects ahead of U.S. report Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Bangkok on Friday indicted 72 people suspected of involvement in human trafficking, just days before the United States issues its latest assessment of the country’s anti-trafficking efforts next week. Bangkok launched…
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GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares catch gloomy mood from Wall Street
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares catch gloomy mood from Wall Street Phuket Gazette / Reuters Phuket: Asian shares edged down in early trading today, on track for a weekly loss, while U.S. jobs data underpinned the dollar as it bolstered bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve is…
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Twelve hurt after truck flips in Thalang
PHUKET: A dozen people were injured today when a pick-up truck hauling migrant workers and a trailer with a backhoe flipped in northern Phuket. “At the scene we found a pick-up truck flipped over on the side of the road. Nearby, there was a trailer and a backhoe also flipped,” said Lt Kraisorn Boonprasob of Thalang Police. “There were 12…
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Pink chicks outrage animal activist on Koh Lanta
PHUKET: A group of brightly colored baby chickens tied up in a plastic bag has outraged foreigners visiting Koh Lanta, south of Phuket. Tourist Gina Jones, 33, and her husband were strolling down a beach on Koh Lanta when the bright colored fowl being sold as kids toys caught their attention, reported The Daily Mail on Monday. The pair then…
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Phuket Governor promotes production of local fruit
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Nisit Jamsomwong signed an agreement on Monday to boost production of the local jungle fruit ‘som kwai‘ (garcinia atroviridis). During a meeting on Knowledge-Based One Tambon One Product (KBO), which is aimed at integrating relevant sectors to boost the value of its products, Governor Nisit noted that som kwai have excellent nutritional and medicinal properties. “This agreement…
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