News
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Sponsored Top 5 luxury villas in Phuket and Koh Samui for your next holiday
Ask people to name the most beautiful places in Thailand, and you'll often hear Phuket and Koh Samui being mentioned. Who would disagree? One is renowned for its bustling nightlife, vibrant culture, and lively beach scene, while the other is...
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Why Phuket needs a new beach safety education program (video)
Robert Brander is a coastal geomorphologist and senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Dr Brander completed a master’s degree at the University of Toronto and a PhD on the morpho-dynamics of rip currents at the University of Sydney. He has been studying beaches and surf science since 1986. Here, he talks about what can…
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Phuket road safety: Time to tank it in
PHUKET: Recent developments on our roads seem to indicate that the law enforcement campaign ordered by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) may be pushing up against a serious limit: Thai society’s deeply ingrained “culture of carelessness”. The past week in Phuket has seen an unprecedented spate of high-speed vehicle tragedies resulting in deaths, serious injuries and property…
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ATM skimming scam cashes in for 1.4 million across bay from Phuket
PHUKET: More than 1.4 million baht was skimmed from the accounts of 43 ATM card holders across the bay from Phuket in Krabi since August 7, Krabi City Police revealed today. “After questioning victims, it appears that the skimming has mostly targeted Bank of Ayudhaya customers,” Col Wittaya Meksai of the Krabi City Police told the Phuket Gazette this morning.…
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Military bulldozes Phuket beach structure, owners to face charges
PHUKET: Military personnel armed with tear-down orders and official charges are swarming Phuket’s west coast beaches today as a 30-day deadline to remove illegal seaside structures comes to an end. “We are following orders from the National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO]. Multiple business owners have ignored the order to remove their establishments, so we are doing it for…
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Police arrest two for stuffing American body into suitcase in Bali
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police arrest two for stuffing American body into a suitcase in Bali Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The body of an American tourist from Chicago has been found stuffed into a suitcase in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali and the victim’s daughter and her boyfriend have…
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Patong Police deny Mother’s Day shakedown on Soi Bangla
PHUKET: Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan has denied reports that his officers yesterday ordered bar owners in Patong to shut down – or face a fine of 75,000 baht. “None of my officers ordered bars to close yesterday, and they did not threaten bar owners with a fine of up to 75,000 baht if they did not close,” Col Chiraphat…
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Police search for Phuket ladyboy after Russian tourist slashed, stabbed to death
PHUKET: Patong Police have not ruled out suicide or murder after the bloody body of a Russian tourist was found stabbed and slashed in his hotel bedroom on Nanai Road this morning. The tourist*, a 33-year-old from the Sakha Republic, arrived in Phuket on July 19 with a tour group and was scheduled to return to Russia this morning. Hotel…
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Flights to whisk more than 300 stranded Phuket tourists back to Hong Kong
PHUKET: Two flights today will whisk away the 300 passengers destined for Hong Kong who were stranded at Phuket International Airport for days due to the Thai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) decision to revoke the landing rights of City Airways. The DCA revoked the rights on August 9 after a report found that maintenance was not being properly carried…
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Visa fees waived, more Chinese visitors expected
PHUKET: Tourism operators serving visitors from Taiwan and mainland China have been advised to prepare for an influx of arrivals during an upcoming 90-day visa-fee exemption. In a bid to revitalize the tourism industry after the political crisis, the National Council for Peace and Order announced that visa fees would be waived for tourists from those markets. “Numerous Chinese from…
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Police to charge contractors in deadly building collapse with negligence
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police to charge contractors with negligence The Nation/ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police will charge contractors of the building that collapsed on Monday in Pathum Thani province for negligence causing deaths and injuries. At least eight people, including a mother and her baby, were killed, while about…
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DNA tests show 9 babies fathered by same man
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DNA tests show 9 babies fathered by same man The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The nine infants discovered in a police raid last week at a Bangkok condominium in connection with unauthorised surrogacy were fathered by the same man. However, a DNA link between them…
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Tragic end to building collapse in Pathum Thani
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tragic end to building collapse in Pathum Thani The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Buri Ram woman who made a desperate dash from the northeast to Pathum Thani in search of her husband – trapped in a building that collapsed late on Monday – was…
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Phuket turtles take on Hungry Ghosts as festival gets underway
PHUKET: Phuket Town launched into the annual Por Tor Festival today with a parade through the city streets followed by merit-making ceremonies and other activities in the heart of the island. Phuket is honoring its Chinese cultural roots by celebrating the festival, more widely known as the Hungry Ghost festival, during which a variety of cultural displays and activities will…
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Top-ranked Lee battling injury ahead of world champs
PHUKET: World badminton number one Lee Chong Wei has revealed that injury concerns are leaving him low on confidence ahead of the World Championships in Denmark at the end of the month. Malaysian Lee was unable to defend his Commonwealth Games title in Scotland last month due to a hamstring injury and although he is back in training, he admitted…
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Farah returns for European championships after scare
PHUKET: Double Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah returns to action at this week’s European athletics championships where the high jump showdown between world champion Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine and Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov of Russia should also dominate. Farah is expected to run in Wednesday’s 10,000 metres and the 5,000 metres on Sunday having missed Glasgow’s recent Commonwealth Games with…
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HM The Queen’s Birthday, Mother’s Day celebrations kick off in Phuket
PHUKET: Mother’s Day kicked off in Phuket this morning with an early morning celebration in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 82nd birthday at Sirikit Park on Thalang Road, Phuket Town. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led the island’s top officials in offering alms to 83 monks. The governor, vice governors, Phuket’s top cop Commander Krajang Suwannarat and a host of other…
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Actor Robin Williams dead at 63 from apparent suicide
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Actor Robin Williams dead at 63 from apparent suicide Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Robin Williams, the versatile actor whose madcap comic style made him one of television and film’s biggest stars, was found dead on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in Northern…
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British siblings “overwhelmed’ by Phuket reunion
PHUKET: Ben and Emily Willgrass have broken their silence to express gratitude to all Thai people for their kindness and generosity after an emotionally overwhelming reunion with their Phuket tsunami saviors last month. Nearly 10 years later and thanks to a successful call for help via Facebook (story here), the Willgrass siblings were able to track down Yupin Sengmuang and…
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No Phuket booze ban on Mother’s Day
PHUKET: There will be no ban on the sale of alcohol in Phuket as island residents join the nation in celebrating HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday and Mother’s Day tomorrow (story here). “Alcohol sales will not be banned,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Peerayuth Karajedee confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “However, taking this opportunity to honor your mother by taking her out…
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Phuket ready to celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday, Mother’s Day
PHUKET: A host of special ceremonies will be held throughout Phuket tomorrow to honor and celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s 82nd birthday, as well as to celebrate Mother’s Day. All government offices will be closed, and activities on the island will be followed by a candlelight ceremony at about 7pm. A selection of the events to be held in Phuket are…
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Radwanska eases past Venus Williams to win Rogers Cup
PHUKET: Agnieszka Radwanska tamed Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Sunday, the third seeded Pole setting herself up as a player to watch at the U.S. Open. The first win of the season for Radwanska, it provided a timely jolt of confidence going into Flushing Meadows and the year’s final grand slam with 11…
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McIlroy wins PGA Championship, claims fourth major
PHUKET: Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy recovered from a stumbling start to overcome a series of challengers and clinch his fourth major title by a shot at the PGA Championship on Sunday. A stroke in front of the chasing pack overnight, the Northern Irish world number one lost the lead but regained control after the turn, signing off with a three-under-par…
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Phuket beach vendors to appeal to NCPO to return to the sands
PHUKET: More than 500 Phuket beach vendors put out of work by the massive beach cleanup campaign spoke up on Saturday about the importance of restarting their seaside businesses. The complaints and proposals were heard at a public forum led by a team of professors and researchers at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus in Kathu. The meeting…
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Fire at Chinese shrine in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Four fire trucks were called to the Mae Ya Nang Shrine on Krabi Road in Phuket Town this morning after fire broke out in a storeroom stocked with firecrackers and prayer papers. Phuket City Police reported no injuries from the blaze. “Firefighters took about 30 minutes to control fire, which broke out at about 8:20am,” said Capt Weerachart Seera…
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Marine office to battle Phuket tar balls on beaches
PHUKET: Officials are set to re-launch a campaign to control used oil being dumped from boats off Phuket’s shore after balls of black tar appeared on the island’s beaches late last month (story here). “I have seen the photos of the substance myself, and can confirm that they are balls of tar,” Phuket Marine Office chief Phuriphat Theerakulpisut told the…
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Treasury Dept challenges claim only 100 Bt10 coins minted in 1990
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Treasury Dept challenges claim only 100 Bt10 coins minted in 1990 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Treasury Department has denied a claim that just 100 Bt10 coins were minted in 1990.The department’s director general, Naris Chaiyasoot, spoke yesterday shortly after there was a Bt100,000…
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Udomdej favoured to take over as the next Army chief
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Udomdej favoured to take over as the next Army chief The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Deputy Army chief General Udomdej Sitabutr appears the front runner candidate to succeed General Prayuth Chan-ocha as the head of the Army. Prayuth, who is in charge of the ruling…
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At least 39 killed in Iranian plane crash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 39 killed in Iranian plane crash Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: At least 39 people were killed on Sunday when an Iran-140 Sepahan Air passenger plane crashed after takeoff from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on a flight to Tabas in northeast Iran, state media reported.…
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NLA to vote on next PM set for August 21, 22
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NLA vote on next PM set for August 21, 22 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Legislative Assembly will call a vote on the next prime minister on August 21 or 22, its deputy chairman said yesterday. Surachai Liengboonlertchai said he supports General Prayuth…
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Israel, Palestinians launch new three-day truce
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel, Palestinians launch new three-day truce Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Israel and the Palestinians held their fire early on Monday at the start of a new 72-hour ceasefire proposed by Egypt that took effect at 2100 GMT (2200 BST). There were no immediate reports of…
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