News
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Ukraine attacks rebel city, helicopter shot down
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine attacks rebel city, helicopter shot down Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ukrainian forces attacked the rebel-held city of Slaviansk before dawn on Friday and pro-Russia separatists shot down at least one attack helicopter, killing a pilot, in a sharp escalation of the conflict. Describing the…
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Australian police minister resigns over corruption inquiry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australian police minister resigns over corruption inquiry Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The police minister of Australia’s most populous state resigned on Friday after being linked to a plot to illegally funnel political donations from a property development group owned by embattled Australian tycoon Nathan Tinkler.…
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Video Report: Phuket farmers gearing up for National Goat Fair
PHUKET: Local farmers are gearing up for the 11th annual National Goat Fair, which will be held in Cherng Talay from May 23-25. The fair will provide an opportunity for farmers to exchange knowledge, learn from experts and showcase their products. “The main goal of the event is to urge goat farmers to continue developing better breeding techniques to maximize…
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Former Phuket art teacher, turned alcoholic, found dead at public park
PHUKET: A former art teacher at Phuket Rajabhat University was found dead near the new indoor sports stadium in Saphan Hin yesterday. The body of Prasit Songkramma, 57, was found at about 2pm by Ngaojai Kusuya, a 50-year-old cleaner at the stadium. “At this stage we believed he died from heatstroke and, from what we have learned, he was an…
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Malaysia releases missing plane report, reveals confusion
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Malaysia releases missing plane report, reveals confusion Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Malaysia on Thursday released its most comprehensive account yet of what happened to missing Flight MH370, in a preliminary report that detailed the route the plane probably took as it veered off course and…
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Pro-Russians storm prosecutor’s office in Ukraine’s Donetsk
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pro-Russians storm prosecutor’s office in Ukraine’s Donetsk Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-Russian protesters stormed the prosecutor’s office in the separatist-held city of Donetsk on Thursday, hurling rocks, firecrackers and teargas at riot police defending officials the rebels accused of working for Kiev’s Western-backed leaders. To…
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Thailand News: Lese Majeste upheld; Thailand slammed over Rohingya; DSI seeks to arrest 58 protest leaders
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Appeals Court upholds lese majeste sentence The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Appeals Court yesterday upheld a two-year lese majeste prison sentence against Jeng Dokjik for his speech during a red-shirt rally on March 29, 2010. The court said the sentence would not be suspended…
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Road-rage bus driver lynched, stabbed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Road-rage bus driver lynched, stabbed The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A bus driver was lynched and fatally stabbed after he allegedly stole a minibus and crashed into 12 vehicles – including four taxies, a motorcycle and a fruit-vending cart – during a road-rage incident in…
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Cambodian police find body believed to be missing Canadian journalist
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cambodian police find body believed to be missing Canadian journalist Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Cambodian police discovered a body on Thursday thought to be that of being missing Canadian journalist and author Dave Walker who disappeared in February, police and friend of Walker’s said. Veteran…
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China bombing: Two attackers among three killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two attackers among three killed in China bombing Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two of the assailants who carried out a bombing in western China were among the three people killed, state media said on Thursday, in an attack which also wounded 79 and has raised…
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Former Phuket police volunteer jailed for dealing meth
PHUKET: Long-term expat and former Tourist Police Volunteer Garry Halpin was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison for overstaying his visa and dealing a Category 1 Drug to teenagers in southern Phuket. Because Mr Halpin confessed to the charges during his trial, his sentence was halved. The original fine of 500,000 baht is now 250,000 baht, and…
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Royal Phuket Yacht Club to close in wake of takeover
PHUKET: The Royal Phuket Yacht Club, the iconic resort that has drawn tourists to Nai Harn Beach for 28 years, will close its doors on May 31 for a major refit following a takeover by foreign investors. The news was confirmed today by staff at the resort who have received formal notice that employment of all staff will be terminated.…
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Meth-head monks defrocked after Phuket raid
PHUKET: Five monks from Northern Thailand were defrocked in Phuket and volunteered to go to a drug-rehabilitation camp after testing positive for ya bah (methamphetamine) during a Thalang Police raid yesterday. Police were notified of the behavior of the group of monks by residents in Moo 5 of Thepkrasattri Sub-district. “Residents suspected that the men were fake monks because they…
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Chalong cooks up Phuket favorites at annual food fair
PHUKET: The annual “Chalong Food and Entertainment Festival” kicked off last night opposite Wat Ladthiwanaram (Wat Tai) on Chao Fa East Road. The fair’s opening night boasted a cooking show, dance competition and concerts. “I would like to personally invite everyone to attend the fair,” said Chalong Mayor Samran Jindaphol. After a show from the Elderly Club and a grand…
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French Embassy pushes Phuket Police to find Frenchman’s killer
PHUKET: Officers from the French Embassy are pushing for justice for Frenchman Fabrice Boigel, who was murdered in his sleep on April 18. Embassy officials met with Phuket’s top police officers yesterday to urge them to apprehend the prime suspect. Myanmar national Shwe Oo was arrested last Saturday and confessed to stealing from the murdered Frenchman (story here), but blamed…
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Phuket pawnshop bolstered with B130mn as students head back to school
PHUKET: The state-run Phuket City Municipality pawnshop has been granted a budget of 130 million baht to exchange for goods as poor parents scratch to find the funds to send their children back to school. The budget last year was just 50mn baht, explained Suriya Ngasamun, an assistant at the Phuket City Municipality Pawnshop on Komarapat Road in Phuket Town.…
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Thailand News: Courts orders Bt587mn damages in BMA scandal; Suthep names Monday last stand; Record 5-ton dope haul
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Court orders Pracha, Samak’s family to pay damages in BMA fire-vehicle purchase The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fugitive former deputy interior minister Pracha Maleenont and the heirs of late former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej were yesterday ordered by the Central Administrative Court each to pay…
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Phuket marina canal dredging stirs ire
PHUKET: The 12-million-baht project to deepen the Koh Kaew Canal and the existing approach channel from Phang Nga Bay has come under fire by villagers who claim that the method of dredging is endangering mangroves, marine life and residents’ livelihoods. The project, aimed primarily at facilitating large-boat access to two private marinas – Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina –…
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Air strike on Aleppo school kills 18
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Air strike on Aleppo school kills 18 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An air strike on a school in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces killed at least 18 people on Wednesday, mainly children, a day after attacks on government-controlled cities killed…
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Research team collecting Phuket corals mistaken as poachers
PHUKET: A group of six researchers studying the possibility of corals containing the key to curing cancer were mistaken as coral poachers by recreational divers at the popular Phuket dive spot Koh Dok Mai on Monday. “The divers were using tools to remove hard and soft corals and fans from the wall on the east side of Koh Dok Mai,”…
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July 20 set for national election
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community July 20 set for national election The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The government and the Election Commission agreed today to set July 20 as the date for the new election. EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen said the atmosphere in the meeting was good and the caretaker…
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We all have the swing in us
PHUKET: Gilles Duboueix, a professional golf coach and mental trainer, claims that we all have the swing in us, we just need to discover it, and he’s here to help. Having spent the past seven years working both with amateurs and professionals, he shares the secrets of his technique with the Gazette, proving that the most important part of a…
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Phuket woman impaled by her mattress
PHUKET: Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation responded to an unusual plea for help yesterday afternoon: a woman had been impaled by her mattress. The rescue team arrived at an unnamed apartment building opposite the Bangkok Bank branch on Thepkrasattri Road, south of Satree Phuket School in Phuket Town, at about 5:30pm. “When we arrived, we heard a woman howling…
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Brunei adopts sharia law, others in region consider it
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brunei adopts sharia law, others in region consider it Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The sultanate of Brunei this week becomes the first East Asian country to introduce Islamic criminal law, the latest example of a deepening religious conservatism that has also taken root in parts…
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Thailand News: Police to replace soldiers in Bangkok; EC warms to Abhisit’s reforms; NACC refuses more Yingluck witnesses
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth against use of force to end impasse The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday voiced concerns about some local leaders and political groups opting for violence to end the prolonged political conflict. “There are several groups that talk about violence.…
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Egypt mass death sentences will bring down government, warns Brotherhood
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt’s Brotherhood says mass death sentences will bring down government Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The senior leader of Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood said on Tuesday that the mass death sentences against him and other members will cause the government’s downfall. “This ruling is the last…
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Thailand News: Thawil pledges to rethink Deep South policy; Pregnant official slain; Bt2.9mn ATM robbery; Warrants sought for red shirt poet killers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thawil to review Deep South policy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri says his first mission will be to review policy on the unrest in the Deep South and national security work there. The guideline of having a peace dialogue…
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Phuket ice truck flips, causes massive tailback
PHUKET: An ice truck flipped at the busy Bangkhu Intersection, at the north end of the bypass road, during rush hour this morning, causing massive tailbacks on Phuket’s critical Thepkrasattri Road. The Gazette has not received any reports of injuries in the accident. Traffic remains blocked across both lanes southbound as far back as the Baan Keha public housing estate…
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MH370 Search: Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community MH370 Search: Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A private company said it had found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal that should be investigated as possible debris from the missing…
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What if Phuket’s roads took you?
PHUKET: Over the last decade the number of well-known, and often very well-liked, expats who have perished on Phuket’s deadly roads seems to have increased at an alarming rate. Indeed, the most recent case has given me cause to revisit a topic nobody likes to speak about, yet the failure to address it could lead to some rather horrible consequences…
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