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Korean Association Phuket calls for donations to aid victims of ferry disaster
PHUKET: The Korean Association in Phuket is collecting money to help those affected by the sinking of the South Korean ferry on Wednesday – both survivors and victims’ families. As many as 271 of the 475 passengers on board when the ship began sinking are still unaccounted for (story here). Many of those missing are schoolchildren. “We have called on…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Captain not at the helm when South Korean ferry capsized
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Captain not at the helm when South Korean ferry capsized Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A junior officer was at the helm of a South Korean ferry when it capsized and the captain may have been away from the bridge, investigators said on Friday as the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: B10mn watch heist; CAPO warns courts; Hezbollah suspects to be deported
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three Chinese sought in B10mn watch heist The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three Chinese suspects have left the country after allegedly stealing a Mont Blanc wristwatch worth over Bt10 million from a luxury shopping mall in the heart of Bangkok, Immigration Police Bureau chief Lt-General…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Students add Easter twist to dwindling Venezuela protests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Students add Easter twist to dwindling Venezuela protests Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Venezuelan students are marching barefoot, building crucifixes and planning to burn effigies of President Nicolas Maduro to try and breathe new life into their protest movement over Easter. The religious-themed demonstrations are the…
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Wolfpack gore the Galahs to retain Cricket 7s title
PHUKET: Australia’s Wolfpack retained their title by winning the 11th Annual Phuket International Cricket Week 2014 Kata Group International Cricket 7s at Republic Phuket Football Ground last weekend. Captained by Australian Indoor Cricket Team champion Will Badger, the Wolfpack fought back to defeat the Galah Cricket Team, who had been admirable opponents during the Kata 7s. Wolfpack had defeated Phuket…
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Phuket survives Day 6 of Songkran road-safety campaign
PHUKET: No road deaths were reported in Phuket yesterday, the sixth day of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign, but one more injury was added to the official tally. During the 24 hours from midnight on April 15 to midnight on April 16, only one victim of a road accident was reported admitted to a hospital for…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Search continues for South Korea ferry sinking survivors
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Search continues for South Korea ferry sinking survivors Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korean coastguard and navy divers resumed searching on Thursday for about 290 people still missing, many of them students from the same high school, after a ferry capsized in sight of land.…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: CAPO calls meet; Hezbollah suspects arrested; Songkran road death toll hits 248
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All eyes on CAPO meeting with top ministry officials The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The spotlight will be on this afternoon’s meeting between the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) and permanent secretaries, as the stance of the top officials might reflect…
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Phuket Gazette World News: More than 300 people missing after South Korean ferry sinks
More than 300 people missing after South Korea ferry sinks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: More than 300 people were missing after a ferry sank off South Korea, the coastguard said on Wednesday, with a three-fold increase in the number of passengers unaccounted for put down to a miscalculation by officials. The ferry was carrying 477 people, of whom 164…
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Phuket Songkran heatwave claims three lives on same day
PHUKET: Doctors at Patong Hospital have confirmed that three foreigners died yesterday after collapsing from heatstroke. Russian tourist Igor Kiselev, 59, was rushed to hospital for medical treatment after he passed out at Karon Beach, Patong Hospital Director Sirichai Silpa-archa confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning. “He died en route to the hospital. Medical staff tried for one hour…
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Road death tally holds steady on fifth day of danger
PHUKET: Phuket’s road death toll remains at one after “five days of danger”, but four injuries were added to the casualty tally after yesterday. Between midnight on April 14 and midnight on April 15, four road accidents were reported, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket). Three involved motorcyclists, two of whom had blood alcohol…
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Dust to Dust: Phuket’s struggle to clear the air
Special Report Each month thousands of people seek treatment at Phuket hospitals for breathing difficulties, eye and nose problems and even nausea – all brought on by dust and other forms of air pollution. The Phuket Gazette‘s Irfarn Jamdukor investigates. PHUKET: The Phuket health chief has revealed the disturbing news that in February alone more than 2,500 people in Phuket…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Prem mediator plan falters; Songkran toll hits 204; Police chief wants proactive officers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Toll hits 204 as revellers start returning The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: As large numbers of people yesterday started to travel back to work from the Songkran holidays – and many others continued to enjoy water splashing in their home towns – the Road Safety…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Hundreds rescued as cruise liner sinks off South Korea
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cruise liner sinks off South Korea Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One person has been found dead in a South Korean ferry that is sinking off the southwest coast, a coast guard official said on Wednesday. There was a loud impact and noise before the ferry…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Jordanian ambassador seized in Libya
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Jordanian ambassador seized in Libya, kidnappers demand prisoner release Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Jordan’s ambassador to Libya was kidnapped on Tuesday by gunmen who demanded an Islamist militant be released from a Jordanian jail in exchange for the diplomat’s freedom. The masked gunmen shot and…
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3 injured as water truck flips in Phuket
PHUKET: A water truck flipped and crushed a motorbike, injuring three people when its brakes allegedly failed while descending a small hill in Kata. Police and rescue workers rushed to the scene on Patak Road at about 1:50pm. “The water truck was heading to Karon, and its brakes failed on the small slope there. When it flipped, it crushed a…
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Phuket Songkran road toll stands at 1 dead, 17 injured
PHUKET: After four days of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road safety campaign, Phuket’s death and injury toll stands at one dead and 17 people injured in 17 accidents. Five accidents which resulted in five people being admitted to hospital for treatment of injuries occurred in the 24 hours ending at midnight last night, the Department of Disaster…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Undersea drone hunt for Malaysian plane foiled by depth
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Undersea drone hunt for Malaysian plane foiled by depth Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A U.S. Navy underwater drone sent to search for a missing Malaysian jetliner on the floor of the Indian Ocean had its first mission cut short after exceeding its 4.5 km (2.8…
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Baby sea turtles wash back to shore after annual turtle release
PHUKET: Two baby sea turtles washed ashore two Phuket beaches on Sunday afternoon shortly after a turtle release took place in Mai Khao. “Villagers in Mai Khao and Karon called the Phuket Marine Biological Center [PMBC] after they found the stranded baby turtles on the beach,” an officer from the Marine Endangered Species Unit of the PMBC told the Phuket…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Nigerian bus station bombing kills 71 on edge of capital
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nigerian bus station bombing kills 71 on edge of capital Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A morning rush hour bomb killed at least 71 people at a Nigerian bus station on the outskirts of the capital on Monday, raising concerns about the spread of an Islamist…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Obama blasts Russia in tense call with Putin over Ukraine
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama blasts Russia in tense call with Putin over Ukraine Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Russia’s actions in Ukraine were not conducive to a diplomatic solution of the crisis in that country, and the…
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Body of missing Phuket three-year-old found in Nai Harn lagoon
PHUKET: The body of missing 3-year-old Kongpob “Nong Gorya” Chuerket was found in the lagoon at Nai Harn Beach yesterday afternoon, police confirmed. Nong Gorya went missing on Thursday from his home in Rawai, and was last seen crossing the road while his parents were busy working at their store in the construction camp where they live (story here). “We…
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Ghost rider becomes first Phuket fatality in Songkran Seven Days of Danger
PHUKET: A woman speeding on a motorbike in the wrong lane has become Phuket’s first recorded fatality during this year’s Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign. Nannika Boonchorn, 27, from Chaiyaphum, died after she collided at high speed with a motorbike with a sidecar at about 4pm yesterday. The accident happened on Baan Thungkha – Kuandindaeng Road, which…
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DNA results confirm body of missing Russian kidnap victim
PHUKET: Unofficial DNA results and dental records confirm that the decapitated body found in Cherng Talay on March 29 is that of missing Russian Alexey Slabinskiy, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewvatee announced on Saturday. “We’ve heard unofficially from the Forensic Office in Surat Thani that the remains are those of Mr Slabinskiy, and the teeth found in the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Songkran spirit soaks nation; Koh Tee harbored in Isarn, say Dems; Road toll hits 102
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thais forget their woes The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Songkran festival appears to have cooled down Thai politics, at least for a short while, given the reduction in political violence, and a break in politicians’ activities during the five-day holiday, which began on Saturday.…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Ukraine readies military against pro-Russian rebels
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine readies full military operation against pro-Russian rebels Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ukraine’s armed forces plan to launch a “full-scale anti-terrorist operation” against pro-Russian separatists, acting president Oleksander Turchinov said on Sunday, raising the risk of a military confrontation with Moscow. Angered by the death…
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Search begins for missing Phuket toddler
PHUKET: Police have launched a search for a missing three-year-old boy last seen near the family home in a construction camp in Rawai late Thursday afternoon. Kongpob Chuerket, nicknamed “Nong Gorya”, was wearing a blue singlet emblazoned with an Angry Birds motif and light blue shorts when he disappeared, said Lt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the Chalong Police told the Phuket…
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Phuket police praised as excellent, inspiring
PHUKET: In Phuket to review safety measures for the Songkran holidays, deputy national police chief Gen Aek Angsananont has praised the Phuket Police as “excellent” and “inspiring” in preserving the safety of tourists. Gen Aek explained that Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Adul Saengsingkaew had issued a special directive for officers across the country to boost their efforts to eradicate crime…
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Speed, seats and safety targeted in Songkran bus blitz
PHUKET: Extra buses, drug and alcohol tests for drivers and GPS to monitor speeds have been ordered to ensure that holiday travelers make it home safely for the Songkran holidays. Ten extra buses were on standby at Phuket’s Bus Terminal 2 yesterday to cope with the 50 per cent increase in travelers as officials rolled out new disciplinary regulations for…
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Phuket maintains zero road fatalities in Seven Days of Danger
PHUKET: As of 9am today, no deaths had been reported in Phuket during the Songkran holiday Seven Days of Danger safety campaign. Two motorcycle accidents were reported yesterday, but neither involved serious injuries. At 6:21pm, Ampan Jansanoi, 35, lost control of her motorbike while riding in Phuket Town. Three hours later, at 9:25pm, Pongsakorn Sangkasee, 21, was involved in an…
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