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Phuket begins registering illegal migrant workers
PHUKET: The first wave of illegal migrant workers made their way to Phuket Provincial Community Hall today to apply for legal working status at the one-stop registration center. The center opened at 8:30am and will operate every day until August 21, as instructed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to streamline the process of registering illegal migrant…
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Breaking News: Police bust Phuket drug dealer found with B3.5mn worth of ya ice
PHUKET: Police nabbed a big-time Phuket drug dealer yesterday afternoon with 3.5* million baht worth of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) stashed away in his house in Rawai. “Suphap Somphak, 30, was wanted for his involvement in an island drug network. Investigators were able to gather enough information about him to secure a search warrant for his house in Soi Sarika…
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No life-time ban for overstays
PHUKET: Thailand’s Immigration Bureau has dropped its proposal for a lifetime ban on foreigners re-entering the country if they are caught overstaying their permits-to-stay by 10 years or more. The Immigration Division 1 in Bangkok announced the news by posting a special notice on its website this morning (click here). Under the new proposed rules, there is no re-entry ban…
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Pinot plays down Bardet rivalry ahead of Pyrenees
THIBAUT Pinot has played down an all-French rivalry with fellow youngster Romain Bardet by saying his compatriot is not his biggest threat for a rare home podium finish on the Tour de France. Pinot, who is fourth just behind third-placed Bardet, believes Spain’s second-placed Alejandro Valverde, American Tejay van Garderen in fifth and France’s Jean-Christophe Peraud have greater time-trial prowess…
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South Korea ferry disaster: Body of fugitive boss found
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Korea ferry disaster: Body of fugitive boss found Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korean police said on Tuesday that a body found last month in the south of the country was that of a fugitive businessman who headed the family that owned the operator…
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Media groups call on junta to repeal ban threat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media groups call on junta to repeal ban threat The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Media groups have called on the National Council for Peace and Order to revoke or change its latest announcement on control measures over the industry. Of particular concern is the immediate…
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Bodies, black boxes handed over from Ukraine crash site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bodies, black boxes handed over from Ukraine crash site Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The remains of some of the nearly 300 victims of the Malaysia Airlines plane downed over Ukraine were making their way to the Netherlands on Tuesday as a senior Ukrainian separatist leader…
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Gaza death toll tops 500 as U.S. steps up ceasefire efforts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gaza death toll tops 500 as U.S. steps up ceasefire efforts Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Palestinian death toll in an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip jumped to more than 500 on Monday, as the United States, alarmed by escalating civilian bloodshed, took a…
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Angry Rawai residents demand water
PHUKET: A group of angry residents from the Saiyuan Med Village housing estate in Rawai descended on the Phuket Water Authority (PWA) office at Bang Wad Reservoir today to demand action to fix their water supply. Water supply had been intermittent since the start of the year, and for the past two months 55 homes in the estate have had…
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Phuket teen confesses to fatal stabbing
PHUKET: A Phuket teen turned in to police by his parents has confessed to the fatal stabbing of another young man in the heat of a fistfight early yesterday morning. “The parents of Suppachai Mattanung, 19, called me this morning and told me they were bringing their son to the station, as he had confessed to them that he had…
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Soi Paradise staff tested for drugs in police sweep
PHUKET: An 88-strong brigade of Phuket police, military officers and local officials took to the streets of Patong’s gay quarter last night to conduct random drugs tests on Soi Paradise bar staffers. “We arrived at Soi Paradise at about 9pm and were finished by about 10pm,” Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Khunnadet Nanongkhai told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “During the…
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Woman shot dead in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police are hunting for the suspect of a shooting on the east side of Phuket Town last night that ended in the death of a woman from Trang. Local residents who heard the sounds of gunfire in Soi Hatchananivet, near the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) Hospital in Rassada, notified Phuket City Police of the incident by at about…
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Drug dealer serves time in Pattalung, arrested in Phuket for dealing again
PHUKET: A drug dealer who had recently been released from a six-year stint in prison was arrested in Phuket yesterday in possession of 105,000 baht of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Jakkarin Songpet, 33, was stopped by Thalang Police at the Baan Bang Jo checkpoint on Thepkrasattri Road at about 5:30pm. “We pulled him over because he was driving a motorbike…
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First Hole-in-One at Laguna Phuket Golf Club new course
PHUKET: Soon after Laguna Phuket Golf Club unveiled the first half of their completely redesigned golf course, a new opportunity to celebrate presented itself. This time it was thanks to German golf player Juergen John who scored a hole-in-one on July 9 – both his and the course’s first. Stepping onto the Blue Tee, Juergen flushed an 8 iron on…
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Call from abroad leads to discovery of Australian tourist’s body in Phuket
PHUKET: An international phone call led Phuket hotel staff to find an Australian guest dead in his room yesterday afternoon. The phone call was from a friend who said he had been unable to contact Adam Arthur Sahyoun, 31, said Lert Paiboon, an employee at the Happy Cottages Phuket resort in Chalong. Hotel staff checked the room of Mr Sahyoun,…
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Bosnia buries 284 war victims unearthed from gruesome death pit
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bosnia buries 284 war victims unearthed from gruesome death pit Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The remains of 284 victims of the Bosnian war were laid to rest on Sunday having been unearthed from what is believed to be the largest mass grave of Europe’s worst…
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Costa Concordia almost ready for final voyage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Costa Concordia almost ready for final voyage Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The massive hulk of the Costa Concordia is nearly ready to be towed away from the Italian island where it struck a rock and capsized two-and-a-half years ago, killing 32 people, officials said on…
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Israel shells Gaza militants as death toll climbs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel shells Gaza militants as death toll climbs Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Israeli tanks shelled militant targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and a woman died in an air strike after the bloodiest day for both sides of a nearly two-week military offensive that…
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Nakhon Ratchasima tackles underprivileged kids’ issues
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nakhon Ratchasima tackles underprivileged kids’ issues The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Six-year-old Yot (not his real name) was described by his scavenger mum as a problem child. He hated going to school and was so addicted to computer games he began begging to cover the…
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AMLO follows money trail to bring down Siamese rosewood smuggling cartel
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AMLO follows money trail to bring down Siamese rosewood smuggling cartel The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: With the anti-money laundering law covering trade in endangered Siamese rosewood, investigators have been able to follow the money trail related to the timber smuggling gangs and have come…
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Thais split on whether Yingluck will come back
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thais split on whether Yingluck will come back The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: About half of the people who responded in a recent survey support the junta’s granting of permission for ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to take a short trip out of the country,…
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Tourists injured in Pattaya banana boat crash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tourists injured in Pattaya banana boat crash The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A 12-year-old girl and another Chinese tourist were sent to hospital yesterday after their banana boat crashed into a sightseeing ship off Pattaya. Two other Chinese holidaymakers riding the inflatable boat were dislodged…
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U.S. presses case against Russia on downed jet as horror deepens
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. presses case against Russia on downed jet as horror deepens Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry laid out what he called overwhelming evidence of Russian complicity in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 as international horror deepened over…
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Phuket Raceweek: Foxy Lady breezes to victory
PHUKET: Bill Bremner’s Foxy Lady VI breezed around the course off the east coast of Phuket today to win the IRC Racing I Class of the 2014 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek Regatta. Placing fourth in today’s race was little more than a formality for the too-hot-to-handle Foxy Lady (story here) crew to ensure they had enough points to allow…
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Phuket Police launch 10pm street curfew for minors
PHUKET: Following the recent spate of violent teenage attacks throughout Phuket, the island’s top-ranking police officer has ordered a 10pm curfew for all minors, effective immediately. “I have ordered officers from every police station in Phuket to start cracking down on children under 18 years old who are found roaming the streets at night,” Provincial Police Commander Krajang Suwannarat told…
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Phuket Raceweek: Doldrums leave fleet hanging on for final day
PHUKET: The signs were ominous as the boats left the anchorage this morning for Day 3 of the 2014 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. Grey skies, no rustling in the trees and confusing reports from the weather professionals. Wind Guru was predicting anything from zero to four knots and Windfinder were predicting in the eight knot range, while the Thai…
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Phuket Governor prepared to cry “disaster zone’ to combat coastal erosion
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut has pledged to support all budget requests by local authorities to combat the resurgence of coastal erosion that has plagued Phuket’s beaches during the past week. If need be, the governor is willing to specifically declare Surin Beach a disaster zone in order to be able to release money from a disaster-relief fund in order…
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Phuket migrant worker center to combat slavery to open July 22, as deadline looms
PHUKET: Phuket’s one-stop registration center where employers will be able register their illegal migrant workers will be open for 30 days, starting on July 22. “The center will be located at the Phuket Provincial Community Hall in Phuket Town,” Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) Chief Yaowapa Pibulpol confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. “The one-stop center will be open from…
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Phuket beach tear-down debris stabs tourist through foot
PHUKET: A Phuket tourist exercising barefoot on Kamala Beach yesterday was stabbed through the foot by a one-foot-long metal rod that was hidden beneath the sand. Local rescue workers called to the scene near the Kamala Cemetery found Benedict Tauber, 55, sitting on the ground with the metal rod sticking through the bottom of his foot. “We had to cut…
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Protest over Club Med lease brings promise of public hearing
PHUKET: A protest in April over renewing the lease for Club Med’s beachfront property in Kata has won locals the promise of a public hearing before any decision is made. “We will have a hearing next month,” Phuket Provincial Administration Organization [PPAO] Vice President Chawalit Na Nakorn told the Phuket Gazette this week. “The interest of the majority is our…
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