News
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Flood of candidates register for OrBorJor election
PHUKET: Scores of people arrived at Phuket Community Hall on Tuesday as candidate registration for the August 26 Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) council election opened. A total of 24 council seats are up for grabs, with 15 for Muang district, six for Thalang district and three for Kathu. OrBorJor Chief Administrative Officer Manop Leelasuthanon told the Phuket Gazette that…
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Foreigners urged to give blood at Phuket Immigration
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) will host a special blood donation drive at Phuket Immigration Headquarters on August 9 to honor the 80th birthday of HM The Queen three days later. PRBC Director Pornthip Rattajak told the Gazette her agency hopes the drive will help the center stock up its supply of rare Rhesus negative (Rh-) blood types…
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Phuket Sports: Badminton scandal rocks London Olympics
PHUKET: The badminton scandal that has rocked the London Olympics not only reflects badly on the players involved, but also on the sport as a whole. Speaking to iSportconnect, before the eight players were disqualified from the women’s doubles, President of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Dr Kang Young-Joong was confident the sport would be successful at the Olympics, and…
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Thailand News: Parliament opens; More advice for parents; Thai boxers in last 16
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Parliament prioritizes 10 bills before putting up reconciliation draft Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: The House will keep the Reconciliation Bill on its agenda but it will only be considered after 10 other bills have been debated upon, it was resolved at the first parliamentary session yesterday.…
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Two-day booze ban in effect in Phuket from tomorrow
PHUKET: Retail sales of alcohol will banned in Phuket tomorrow and Friday, when Buddhists will celebrate Asarnha Bucha Day and Khao Pansa Day, the start of Buddhist Lent. Provincial Police Deputy Commander Peerayut Karajedee confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today that alcohol sales will be banned on both days under the Prohibition of Alcoholic Beverage Sales Act of 2009. “Thursday…
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World News: Heads rolling at Deutsche Bank; 1,900 to be laid off
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Deutsche Bank to cut 1,900 jobs after profits drop 46 percent Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Deutsche Bank said yesterday that it plans to cut 1,900 jobs, most of them at its investment bank, as part of an effort to save approximately 3 billion euros ($3.69 billion).…
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More problems for the London Olympics
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Swiss Olympian kicked off team after racist tweet Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A Swiss football star was kicked off the men’s Olympic team Monday after sending out a tweet deemed to be racist, sports officials said. It comes just days after a Greek triple jumper was…
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Phuket’s first “Safety Zone’ set up in Patong
PHUKET: In the wake of several high-profile violent crimes that have rocked Phuket over the past few months, Phuket Police are moving ahead with their plan to set up “safety zones” in key tourist areas, starting with Patong. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul delivered the news to more than 800 people from different walks of life in Patong, all…
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Thailand News: More bomb blasts; Opposition to file motion on South; Yingluck in censure debate
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two major blasts hit Pattani Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: A car-bomb exploded behind the CS Pattani Hotel late last night and was followed by a blast at a power station which plunged several areas into darkness for several hours.The blast at the hotel damaged a wall…
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TAT Phuket Director steps up to Bangkok
PHUKET: Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, Director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), bade her final farewell to Governor Tri Augkaradacha at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning before her move to Bangkok.Ms Bangonrat leaves the island on August 1 to take up her new position in Bangkok as Director of Attractions Promotion Division.“My new department is responsible for…
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Phuket expat Dokset murder trial: all charges denied
PHUKET: In a day for denying criminal charges at Phuket Provincial Court, Norwegian national and long-term Phuket expat Stein Havard Dokset yesterday denied all charges against him for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong. Dokset was arrested in a police raid on his luxury villa in Kata on February 28. Officers searching the house found the remains of a…
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Krabi killers escape after ‘M16 ambush’
PHUKET: Krabi Police suspect revenge was the motive for a shooting in Khlong Kanan subdistrict on Saturday, when gunmen opened fire on a moving pickup truck in a well-planned ambush. One person was killed and five others were injured in the attack. The murder victim, driving an Isuzu D-Max, was identified by police as Paruhas Kongbannuek, village headman of Baan…
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Intellectual Property: Dildos, porn and sex pills seized in massive haul
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Members of Thailand’s largest ring of traders in aphrodisiacs and sex toys were apprehended in Bangkok with goods worth more than 100 million baht, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief said yesterday. DSI Director-General Tharit Pengdit and Pol Lt-Col Chinnachot Daengsurisri, commander of the Intellectual…
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Michelle Smith “killers’ reject confession
PHUKET: The two men charged with the death of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith, who died from a stab wound inflicted in a bag-snatch in June, yesterday denied all charges against them. Surasak Suwannachote, 26, and Surin Tadthong, 37, were presented at Phuket Provincial Court to enter pleas to the charges, which collectively accuse the men of murder and gang…
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Murder suspect arrested in Phuket flown to Bangkok
PHUKET: A murder suspect arrested in Phuket yesterday was flown to Bangkok* last night, flying out of Phuket at 9pm. Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette that 57-year-old Marc De Schutter was arrested at a home on Soi Samakee 2 in Rawai, where he was living with his Thai girlfriend. Phuket Immigration Police and Chalong Police both…
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Phuket Live Wire: How Windows 8 will roll out
PHUKET: Even if you have no intention of getting Windows 8, there are currently forces at work in the computer industry that will have an enormous impact on what kinds of computers are available in the near future, and how much they will cost. If you’re thinking about buying a new computer, you need to understand what’s about to happen.…
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Phuket Gazette: Four sentenced to death in Iran’s biggest bank fraud case
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four sentenced to death in Iran’s biggest ever bank fraud case Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A court in Iran has sentenced four people to be executed for their role in what has been described as the country’s largest ever bank fraud case, judicial officials said yestersday.…
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Election alcohol bans to cost Patong venues B5mn a night
PHUKET: The mandatory ban on the sale of alcohol for upcoming elections at the end of this month will cost Patong’s nightlife industry at least 5 million baht a night, the Phuket Gazette has been told. The sale of alcohol will be banned across Phuket on August 26 and again in Patong on September 2 as voters go to the…
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Olympic: Shooter Sutiya misfires; Thai lifts silver; Phuket’s Maneepong progresses
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Phuket’s Maneepong progresses to knockout stagesPhuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Despite bitter disappointment for world No 22 Boonsak Ponsana, Thailand’s badminton team have kept the flag flying in the 30th Olympic Games, with the men’s duo of Bodin Isara and Phuket’s Maneepong Jongjit storming their…
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Decomposing body recovered off Koh Racha, Phuket
PHUKET: Chalong Police are trying to identify a badly-decomposed human body found washed ashore at Koh Racha Yai early this morning, and now in storage on Phuket.After the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center at Chalong Pier was notified of the discovery at 7am, they dispatched a speedboat marked as operated by the “Chalong Tambon Administration Organization” (now called Chalong Municipality) to…
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Restaurant, resort ordered removed from Phuket protected forests
PHUKET: More than 150 officers from the Royal Forest Department (RFD) led raids on three sites in Phuket on Saturday.In Thalang, officers discovered a resort under construction within the boundaries of the protected Bang Kanoon Forest.“We found buildings that looked like a resort under construction on land inside the forest. However, there was no one at the site to declare…
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Boonthaworn Phuket showroom to open by October 1
PHUKET: After years of delay, Bangkok-based construction materials retailer Boonthavorn is moving forward with its plans to enter the Phuket market with the opening of a “mini-showroom”.The new facility will be located between Songkhla and Yaowarat roads, near the Tesco-Lotus junction in Rassada.Speaking to the Gazette at the project site, Boonthavorn architect Jiravut Kararun said the company is currently renovating…
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Yamaha Division One: Phuket 0 – 1 PTT Rayong
PHUKET: A single goal was all that PTT Rayong FC needed to prevail over Phuket FC on Saturday night at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town. It was the second time the two sides met this season; exactly two weeks earlier Phuket endured a 6-0 thrashing at Rayong. It was the last straw for former coach Milos Josic of Serbia, who…
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Phuket Business: New trade surplus high; FDI jumps 66%; Foreign shares to be scrutinized
PHUKET: Three-quarters of the way into the government’s current fiscal year, international trade in Phuket is thriving, with this year’s trade surplus already surpassing last year’s record high. Phuket Customs House’ records through June 30 show that the value of exports in the 2012 government fiscal year (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012) is now at 12.06 billion baht…
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Phuket man rescued from dire drunk dozing decision
PHUKET: A drunken man chose an exceptionally bad place to sleep off the effects of alcohol over the weekend: in the middle of the busiest and most deadly road in Phuket.A good citizen called the Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation at 6:45pm yesterday to report that a man was asleep in the left lane of Thepkrasattri Road outbound in Srisoonthorn, opposite the…
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National News: Three arrested for shootings; Govt criticized; Olympics update
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three arrested in shooting deaths of soldiers in Pattani Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Three men have been arrested for their alleged role in Saturday’s fatal shooting of four soldiers in Pattani, according to Pattani Governor Thira Mintarasak. “We have also retrieved 9mm guns stolen…
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At least 78 killed in western Myanmar clashes – UN
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 78 killed in western Myanmar clashes – UN Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities in western Myanmar have reportedly killed at least 78 people and displaced thousands last month, the United Nations (UN) said on Friday. UN High Commissioner…
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Kenyan Sammy Ridrond wins Phuket Marathon
PHUKET: Kenyan runner Sammy Ridrond won the open division of The Phuket Health International Marathon in a time of just over 2 hours, 35 minutes this morning. The 42-kilometer event, which got underway at 4am at the Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization offices, finished at Phuket Provincial Hall in Phuket Town. Two other events, a 13-kilometer mini-marathon and a 4.5-kilometer…
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Wildlife activist supports Forestry, National Parks merger
PHUKET: A well-known wildlife activist has told the Phuket Gazette that he supports the planned merger of the Royal Forest Department and the Department of National Parks (DNP), Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The merger was announced on July 11 by Preecha Rengsomboonsuk, who heads the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry that controls both departments. Once the merger gets the green…
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Krabi drug rehab student drowned in escape, says friend
PHUKET: Eyewitness reports are now indicating that the student who died after escaping a youth drug rehab facility in Krabi last week was not beaten to death by teaching assistants, as initially reported, but rather drowned during his escape. Allegations that student Maha Manitaya was beaten to death by the teaching assistants at Por Noh Klong Gom School prompted more…
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