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Phuket Marine Office launches New Year boat safety drive
PHUKET: Officers from the local Marine Office led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut today conducted safety inspections of ferries and other tourist boats operating out of Rassada Pier as part of a safety drive for the new year. Rassada Pier, located on the east side of Phuket Town (map here), is a major jump-off point for tourists boarding ferries and…
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Phuket Red Cross Fair 2013 kicks off with B1.5mn golden touch
PHUKET: The Phuket Annual Red Cross fair kicks off at Saphan Hin tonight and runs until January 5, offering over 1.5 million baht in gold lucky draw prizes and 14 motorcycles for anyone who buys a ticket to support the Red Cross. The popular 11-day fair features hundreds of stalls selling local delicacies, knickknacks, clothing and a huge variety of…
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Phuket Police chief calls to play down bomb scare
PHUKET: The commander of the Phuket Provincial Police has called for the media to not “help suspects” by publishing news of the car bomb found in Phuket Town last weekend. Maj Gen Ong-art Phiewruangnont’s call for media silence follows police confirmation that a pickup truck rigged as a bomb discovered in Phuket Town last Saturday was stolen from a man…
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Phuket bomb fears disarmed by shrimp paste
PHUKET: Fears that an abandoned bag might contain a bomb sent ordnance disposal experts racing to Baan Laem Hin yesterday. However, the team quickly discovered that the bag contained only shrimp paste. A bus driver who had just finished his shift discovered the bag and, with the recent news of the explosives-laden pickup truck found last Saturday (store here), called…
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Ukrainian motorcyclist first death in Phuket safety campaign
PHUKET: Phuket skated by the first day of the Ten Days of Danger campaign with zero deaths, but a big bike accident that killed a Ukrainian* early this morning puts the goal of zero road deaths out of reach. The traditional Seven Days of Danger campaign was bumped to ten days in hopes of saving more lives during the extended…
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Phuket Blood Bank’s vaults low on Rh- blood ahead of New Year demand
PHUKET: As Phuket enters the 10 Days of Danger (story here), the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) scrambles to boost low stocks of Rhesus-negative blood, calling on blood donors to come forward and save lives this holiday season. “We have no AB- blood in stock at all,” PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette today. “We have a lot…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Dour Christmas for Philippines typhoon survivors; China down on Mao birthday; Russia releases Greenpeace activists
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Remittances throw lifeline to Philippines’ typhoon survivors Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A sister living on the other side of the world gave Roberto Retanal what he needed most to piece his humble home back together after the devastating typhoon that tore through his village in the central…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protesters storm Bangkok stadium; Yingluck plan shot down; Thaksin calls for calm; DSI shoots for PRDC arrests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police battle protesters at Thai-Japanese Stadium The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police used teargases and rubber bullets to fend off protesters from storming into the compound of the Thai-Japanese Stadium Thursday morning.Police started firing teargases at about 7:20 am after protesters led by the Students and People…
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Phuket’s top politicians send holiday wishes
PHUKET: The island’s top two officials, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising, took a few minutes out of their busy schedules today to wish everyone in fair Phuket happy holidays. In addition, President Paiboon invited one and all to celebrate Christmas with the OrBorJor at 6pm on Friday at Surakul stadium (map here).…
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Phuket’s Nai Harn Bay gets artificial coral reef
PHUKET: Villagers and marine officers joined together yesterday to drop concrete frames into the sea at Nai Harn Bay as substructures for artificial coral reefs.“There were over 50 people there to help drop 200 concrete frame-cubes,” said Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Phuket Office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).“Coral reefs are important resources for marine animals.…
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Beautiful Christmas weather, but stay safe in the water, says lifeguard
PHUKET: On another stunning sunny day in Phuket, the head lifeguard at the island’s deadliest beach wishes all a happy holiday and a very safe New Year.“It is a beautiful day in Kata, Karon and across the island, and it will remain beautiful for the holiday season. There are no rip currents to worry about right now,” Kata-Karon head lifeguard…
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Phuket taxi drivers join forces for good, not evil
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday officiated the launch of a new consortium of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers at Kata Noi that may herald a new era for taxi services on the island. The Kata Noi Community Taxi Service was formed by the 63 drivers who serve four taxi and tuk-tuk ranks stationed along the length of Kata Noi Beach…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Aleppo air strikes slay 300; AK-47 inventor dies; St Valentine beast jailed; UAE jails man for YouTube parody
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More than 300 dead in week-long Aleppo air raids Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: More than 300 people have died in a week of air raids on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and nearby towns by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, a monitoring group said on Monday.Many of…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protests disrupt poll registrations; Red Shirts say dump Yingluck; Baht lowest in four years
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Protesters disrupt poll registration The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Anti-government protesters yesterday managed to interrupt the first day of candidate registration for the February 2 election, which demonstrators have vowed to disrupt as they push for national reform by a people’s council.Hundreds of protesters began to besiege…
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Phuket car bomb linked to dead man in Deep South
PHUKET: The pickup truck rigged with a bomb that was found parked at Phuket City Police Station over the weekend belonged to a man who was shot dead in Pattani on May 9, police have confirmed. The truck, found on Saturday (story here), was loaded with 180kg of explosive material. “The registered owner was Withan Yachumnan, 34, from Songkhla,” Phuket…
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Ghost riding Russian injured in Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A ghost-riding Russian was injured in a crash just after midnight yesterday on Thepkasattri Road.Eyewitnesses told police that the man was driving as if he was drunk. He allegedly took a spill near the Thai Watsadu megastore, then got back on his bike and drove toward the Heroine’s Monument, where he continued heading south toward Phuket Town, but in…
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Suspected Deep South bomb truck found in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Bomb disposal experts this morning are inspecting a pickup truck that was found parked in front of Phuket City Police Station with two gas cylinders in the back seat connected by electrical wires.Officers discovered the pickup truck on Saturday while clearing the police station car park for the annual police assembly held each year to launch the new year’s…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Khodorkovsky challenges Putin; Bus bomb in Israel; Sweden rallies; Sudan war; Iran nuclear talks pause for Christmas
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Khodorkovsky challenges Putin over political prisoners Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Sunday promised not to seek power in Russia but said he would fight for the freedom of people he considered political prisoners, challenging Vladimir Putin two days after a presidential pardon…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok seized by protest; Bomb blasts rock Sadao; THAI president resigns; Bankruptcies forecast
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bangkok overrun by huge protest The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Thailand’s vast urban-rural divide was never more obvious than the contrasting images from the two major events yesterday: Bangkok overrun by a massive anti-government protest and the caretaker prime minister greeting admirers on a tour of the…
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Cement truck juggernaut demolishes small car, driver safe [Video]
PHUKET: A cement truck jumped a median strip at an intersection near Phuket Town last night and rammed a small car coming towards it. The truck was headed south on Chao Fa East Road and had reached the intersection at the Dowroong Wittaya School (map here). In the dramatic police CCTV footage (click here), the juggernaut can be seen entering…
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Facebook group aims to keep Phuket visa runners safe
PHUKET: A new Phuket Facebook group was born on Thursday night with the goal of protecting the lives of resident expats during visa runs. The group “Phuket Visa Run Ride Share Network” (click here) was started by long-term expat Joe Blazy to unite residents who travel to the popular visa destinations of Ranong and Penang, Malyasia. “Some friends and I…
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Phuket beach pollution readings to remain secret
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) will not post the pollution readings of its seawater quality tests online, the Phuket Gazette has confirmed. Instead, the center will publish only its self-determined star rating system, PMBC Director Ukkrit Satapoomin told the Gazette this week. The PMBC issued a press release last week announcing that the reports were now available online…
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“Evil man of Krabi’ eligible for bail during appeal process
PHUKET: A tour guide was sentenced to 20 years in jail last week for the rape and assault of a Dutch tourist in Krabi last year. However, Chumpol Khanonuang, 27, can appeal the case in the Appeals Court, said Krabi Provincial Police Commander Nantadech Yoinuan. “Chumpol’s bail has been set at 700,000 baht,” he added. It was this bail that…
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Police raids uncover drug dens in Soi Ya Bah, Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested two men after separate raids on the same small street in Samkong, Phuket Town, resulted in the seizure of 1,818 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) and 4.99 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Acting on a tip-off, officers arrived at the house of Worasak Bamrung, 30, in Soi Prayoon 3/1 (map here) at 3am. A search…
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Bad egg arrested at Phuket Prison
PHUKET: A woman delivering an omelet to an inmate at Phuket Prison was arrested yesterday when guards discovered that the food concealed anti-anxiety pills.When Thitiporn Janerop, 20, was in the prison visiting room, officers conducted a routine search of the food that she had brought. Inside the omelet they found 40 pills of Alprazolam – popularly known as Xanax –…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Spain graft probe bites hard; Putin critic Khodorkovsky free; Indian push to lift gay sex ban
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Spanish police raid ruling party HQ in graft probe Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Spanish police searched the headquarters of the ruling People’s Party (PP) for 14 hours on Thursday and Friday as part of a corruption investigation that earlier this year threatened to destabilize the government of…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep for cash; Baht falls; Temperatures plummet; Feb 2 polls to go ahead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community People show support by handing over cash to Suthep The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Apart from addressing social issues, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee led by former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban has now started focusing on collecting donations.During the march down Bangkok yesterday, Suthep was seen waving…
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Colorful New Year coming to Phuket
PHUKET: “Colorful Countdown Phuket 2014” is set to usher in the new year with light shows and live concerts at Sanam Chai Park (map here) from December 29 to 31. This year’s theme for the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) event is “The Charm Wonderland of Light”, explained PPAO President Paiboon Upatising, also known as “the pink panther” for his…
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Phuket truck tumbles off Kata Hill
PHUKET: An empty holiday home narrowly avoided heavy damage yesterday afternoon when a truck loaded with pallets of cement bags plunged down Kata Hill. The six-wheeled truck rolled down the steep slope, spilling its load of cement bags as it tumbled. It came to rest after bumping into the front of the vacant house. “We arrived at about 1:45pm to…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Scores injured in London theatre collapse; Castro praises Obama handshake; World Bank names corruption Public Enemy No 1
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scores injured in London theatre collapse Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Emergency services said nearly 90 people were injured on Thursday when part of the ceiling collapsed during a performance at a packed London theatre, bringing the city’s West End entertainment district to a standstill.The audience was showered…
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