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No Phuket tsunami alert after Sumatra earthquake
PHUKET: No tsunami alert has been issued for Phuket or other provinces along the Andaman Coast following a 5.2 earthquake off the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia, at 10:50am today, the head of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office has confirmed. “The National Disaster Warning Center has not issued a tsunami warning alert. We expect that the…
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Bad vibes over Phuket Sydictive party shift to Patong
PHUKET: Leading Phuket tourism figure Sarayuth Mallam has voiced grave concerns about the Sydictive Element New Year’s Eve beach party being moved from Surin Beach to Patong, citing strong resistance from local businesses and Patong Mayor Pian Keesin. “As far as I know, the party organizer wants to change the party venue from Surin Beach to Patong Beach since they…
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Tsunami Memorial Wall ready for remembrance
PHUKET: The Phuket chapter of the US Navy League has announced that the Tsunami Memorial Wall, which in years past has fallen into a deplorable state, has been readied for this year’s tsunami remembrance service on December 26. The Navy League volunteered for the role of caretaker for the remembrance site last year, and the volunteers organized a community project…
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Phuket Sports: Man Utd get Real in last 16 of Champions League
Ronaldo returns to Man United in Champions League Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Cristiano Ronaldo will return with nine-time winners Real Madrid to Manchester United, where he developed into one of the world’s greatest forwards, and Lionel Messi’s Barcelona take on AC Milan in the Champions League last 16.Bayern Munich, last season’s beaten finalists, play Arsenal and Juventus take on surprise…
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Phuket Sports: Fergie scoffs at talk of retirement for trio
Ferguson scoffs at talk of Scholes retirement Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has dismissed media reports that his long-serving trio of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand will leave the Premier League leaders at the end of the season.After newspaper headlines had declared the end of an era, with reports that 38-year-old Scholes had told…
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Aldhouse trial pending UK documents
PHUKET: The trial of British national Lee Aldhouse, charged with the murder of former US Marine Dashawn Longfellow in Phuket in 2010, has yet to be put in motion as the Phuket Prosecutor’s Office is awaiting the arrival of further documentation from the UK, the Phuket Gazette has been told. Aldhouse confessed to police to stabbing Mr Longfellow, but denied…
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Ladyboy survivor sole link to lethal Phuket motorbike crash mystery
PHUKET: Police have released the name of the man who died in a motorbike accident near Chalong Circle just after midnight on Wednesday as 51-year-old American tourist Theodore Paul Roe. Chalong Police Capt Thada Sodarak told the Phuket Gazette that he was notified of the accident, near the base of the hill near Friendship Beach, at 12:30am. “Mr Roe was…
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Stranded Air Berlin travellers airlifted from Phuket
PHUKET: All 249 Air Berlin passengers stranded in Phuket after their plane was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff last night have been airlifted off the island and are currently en route to their original destination: Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Prathuang Sornkham, Director at Phuket International Airport, told the Phuket Gazette that Air Berlin…
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Phuket yachties to honor Stafford Steer tonight
PHUKET: The Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) will honor the memory of well-known Phuket expat Stafford Steer, who died of cancer on December 8, with a memorial this evening. “He was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer about four weeks ago in Brisbane hospital [in Queensland, Australia]. Tonight at the ACYC we will have a memorial get-together to honor him,” said…
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Phuket Airport closure leaves more than 1,000 stranded
PHUKET: More than 1,000 passengers were stranded at Phuket International Airport last night after an emergency landing by an Air Berlin flight forced authorities to cancel all inbound and outbound flights. Air Berlin flight AB-7425 from Phuket to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, took off from Phuket at its scheduled time of 9:26pm, but was forced to make…
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Phuket blood center needs donors for New Year
PHUKET: A New Year blood drive will start tapping veins to save lives on December 24, and will run to January 6 at the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC). With the national road safety campaign of the deadly “Seven Days of Danger” just around the corner, anyone who wants to boost their karma as they head into the new year…
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Live Wire: Stumbling at high speeds
PHUKET: People frequently ask me, what’s the best internet connection in Phuket? The short answer is… there’s no way to know for sure. Much depends on your exact location, and luck. Over the years I have run a free speed reporting site, PhuketInternetSpeed.com, which is an attempt at quantifying the real-world internet international download speeds here in Phuket. For quite…
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Phuket artificial reef project continues off Kata, Karon bays
PHUKET: The ongoing project to develop artificial reefs off the west coast of Phuket continued today as the process of dropping 1,880 concrete frames to the sea floor began off Karon Beach. Over the next several days, the concrete frames will be dropped in clusters over a total area of 24 square kilometers, stretching from the north end of Karon…
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World News: Ethnic Maya say tomorrow will just be another day
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mayan Apocalypse nears, doomsday prophecy may “Not Be Real” Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Mayan calendar that ends tomorrow has prompted discussion of a possible Apocalypse but according to Yahoo.com the ancient people’s fabled date may not hold any weight. Yahoo is reporting that the…
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Wife missing after husband found stabbed
PHUKET: Police are searching for the wife of Baan Don villager Boonsri Kummongkhun after he was found stabbed in the stomach at his central Phuket home last night. Thalang Police were notified of the incident by Baan Don village headman Sirichat Junthawat at about 9:30pm, after neighbors heard Mr Boonsri’s cries for help. Rushing to Mr Boonsri’s assistance, neighbors found…
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Andaman Pearl stung by Killer Bees
PHUKET: Phuket United suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Nonthaburi “KillerBees” FC in last night’s Thai Futsal Premier League (TFPL) match at their temporary home stadium at Fashion Island, Bangkok Andaman Pearl’s assistant coach, Mr Patt Srivijit, told the Phuket Gazette that confidence within the team was high before this game, after two successive wins against Prachin Futsul Club and…
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Phuket 7-Eleven scythe robber arrested
PHUKET: A man nabbed by police for snatching a Frenchwoman’s bag on Tuesday confessed to having also robbed a Phuket 7-Eleven with a scythe multiple times this year. The suspect, Winai Soimuea, 26, was presented to the press at Phuket City Police Station in Phuket Town on Tuesday. Mr Winai was arrested shortly after grabbing the woman’s bag near Wat…
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Thailand News: TAT expects bumper party for New Year
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community TAT optimistic of new year spending after 2011 disaster Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Travelers during the New Year holidays are expected to spend more than 13.1 billion baht, says the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). That’s good news for the industry compared with last…
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Thailand Sports: War Elephants mauled by the Lions
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand’s title hopes in balance Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Singapore took a big step to a record fourth Suzuki Cup title after deservedly beating Thailand 3-1 at home in a niggly first leg of the Southeast Asian Championships last night. Defender Baihakki Khaizan smashed home…
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World News: White House outlines plans to “get the guns”
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community White House readies gun-control plan as more children laid to rest Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The White House was set to reveal the first steps of a gun-control plan yesterday as the United States grieved for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in…
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Phuket Business: British Airways – 79 years of service to the Kingdom
PHUKET: After 79 years of service to Thailand, British Airways (BA) says it still sees the Kingdom as an important market because more executives, especially from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will fly out to ink business deals.The airline will use its strong network to connect local businessmen not only to its home base in London, but also to other…
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Phuket Business: New “liberalization’ of aviation manufacturing
PHUKET: A new government initiative to allow foreign investors to hold 70 per cent or more of a company manufacturing aviation parts will help promote Thailand as a regional repair center for the industry, says an executive at Thai Airways International.Danuj Bunnag, executive vice president of THAI’s commercial department, welcomed the plan and said it would help strengthen Thailand’s performance…
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Phuket Sports: F1 review – Upgrades, upsets and upstarts
PHUKET: The F1 2012 season was the longest ever, and six World Champions took part; the most ever. Pirelli advanced its ‘made to degrade’ rubber, and managing tyres became a critical driver attribute. The first half of the season was perhaps the most exciting ever. We saw seven different winners in seven races, at the end of which Lewis Hamilton…
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Three Phuket tour van crash victims still in hospital
PHUKET: Two tourists and a tour guide travelling in a tour van that had its roof ripped off by a crane in Chalong yesterday are recovering in hospital, the Phuket Gazette has confirmed. All nine occupants in the van at the time of the accident were taken to hospital, Chalong Police Sub Lt Kraisorn Boonprasob told the Gazette. “A Russian…
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Sports News: Thailand face tough challenge in Singapore tonight
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: Thailand will aim to gain the upper hand over old foes Singapore in the first leg of the ASEAN Championship final today, in a showdown of the tournament’s two most successful sides. Both have won the title three times, with their second championship showdown in five years…
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British ambassador joins fight against tourist scams
PHUKET: The British Ambassador to Thailand, Mark Kent, has joined a campaign by Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism to tackle tourist scams and will be in Phuket in the new year to discuss the issue with high-ranking Phuket officials. Ambassador Kent is being featured in a nationwide television campaign that will run until the end of December. In the video, Ambassador…
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Thailand News: Former PM could face 700 attempted murder charges
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abhisit, Suthep could face 700 attempted murder charges Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: The chief of the Department of Special Investigation will today hold a meeting of DSI and other police investigators to speed up work on more than 700 attempted-murder cases against former prime minister Abhisit…
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No formal change in Non-Imm B visas
PHUKET: The Department of Consular Affairs head office in Bangkok, which coordinates policy for issuing visas at all Royal Thai Embassies around the world, has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that there has been no formal change in policy concerning non-immigrant Business (“B”) visas issued in Malaysia. “The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is still issuing multiple-entry, non-imm B…
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Breaking News: Busted penis prompts Phuket fighter to come forward
PHUKET: Speaking exclusively with the Phuket Gazette, MMA fighter Ray Elbe has come forward about the penis injury he suffered in his Kuala Lumpur condo earlier this month.Ray, who founded and for years ran the MMA program at Phuket’s renowned Tiger Muay Thai training camp in Chalong, urged all men who suffer a similar injury to immediately seek treatment.“I came…
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Karon Mayor: Phuket seafood vendors will be charged with beach encroachment
PHUKET: Karon Mayor Tawee Thongcham warned Phuket seafood vendors with stalls set up along Kata Beach that they will be charged with beach encroachment.The warning follows raids on beach touts led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak on November 28 – Loy Krathong.The raids, which included officers from the Muang District Office, Karon Municipality and local police, specifically targeted the…
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