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Phuket’s sea gypsies face strict regime to repay debt
RAWAI, PHUKET: Many Moken sea gypsies living in a village close to Rawai Beach are still heavily in debt to violent loan sharks, despite the actions of a community organization which paid off more than half a million baht’s worth of their debts earlier this month. Now, the villagers have agreed to strict new rules aimed at helping them pay…
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Phuket school celebrates a century of “cultivating knowledge’
PHUKET CITY: Plukpanya Municipal School celebrated its 100th birthday on Saturday with a special Buddhist ceremony attended by pupils, teachers, alumni and other well-wishers. On April 29, 1909, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) opened the school, naming it Plukpanya, which means ‘cultivating knowledge’. The birthday celebration may have taken place a few months late, but it was nevertheless well attended, with more…
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Power cuts in Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced there will be power cuts in some areas of the island tomorrow between 9am and 4pm. The cuts are required so maintenance on high-voltage wires can be carried out. Affected areas will include: Chao Fah West Road, east of Phuket Power Distribution Control Center 2, Thinawut Village Project 2, Thinawut…
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Phuket tsunami drill a success: Suthep
PHUKET: Phuket’s tsunami warning towers sounded the alert yesterday morning, sending crowds running down Soi Bangla to the higher ground further inshore. The exercise was all part of a full-scale tsunami warning and evacuation drill, which Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban pronounced a resounding success. “This will help tourists trust our tsunami warning system and encourage them to return to…
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Phuket’s ‘Coral Reef Squadron’ 90% destroyed: TDA
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s ‘Coral Reef Squadron’ sunk off Bang Tao Bay last November is 90 percent missing or destroyed, the Thai Dive Association admitted today. Rainer Gottwald, head of the Thai Dive Association (TDA) technical committee, said TDA divers visited the site on Wednesday and were only able to find one of the 10 aircraft that formed the artificial reef.…
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Racha Reef to be expanded off Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: Plans are afoot to expand an artificial reef off the coast of Koh Racha Yai Island, south of Phuket. Paitoon Panchaiyaphum, director of the Phuket-based southern regional office of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Department (MCRCD), said the artificial reef had been a great success since its construction three years ago. “Our research shows lots of marine…
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Phuket tsunami evacuation drill this morning
PHUKET CITY: There will be a a full-scale tsunami warning and evacuation exercise in Phuket this morning starting at 10am, the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has announced.The drill, to run until 12 noon, will also be conducted in Phang-Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, and Satun provinces. This is only a drill. Warning tower alarms will go off in all participating areas. The Phuket exercises…
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Phuket’s men of the cloth in plastic purgatory
PHUKET CITY: With the landfill at Saphan Hin continuing to pile up at the alarming rate of about 300 tonnes of waste per day, the provincial government hopes a new campaign promoting the use of cloth bags will help cut down the waste stream until a second incinerator is completed. The island’s sole incinerator, built and operated by Phuket City…
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Mangroves planted in Phuket to honor HM The Queen
PA KHLOK, PHUKET: More than 200 villagers took part in a mangrove planting ceremony in Phuket yesterday to mark the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit. The event was organized by the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization and presided over by its president, Atipong Kongnam. Also taking part were students from the Weerasatri Anusorn Primary School, Phuket Panyanukul School for special…
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Phuket’s ‘little mermaid’ putting on weight
PHUKET CITY: The Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ in Phuket last week is now nursing on her own and putting on weight, doctors say. Doctors at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Haad Yai, where the child is in her ninth day of treatment, said little Nichapa is now in stable condition. Last week doctors at the hospital…
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Dangerous dogs rounded up in Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City vets rounded up a group of vicious stray dogs at a temple today following complaints that the dogs were biting worshipers and killing local cats. Phuket City Municipality veterinarian Boonsom Roongudom and two helpers took away at least 10 dangerous dogs from the grounds of Wat Langsarn in Phuket City this morning. The dogs were taken…
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Asean summit venue to be finalized on Monday
PHUKET CITY: Confusion reigns over the siting of the Asean Summit scheduled for October 23 to 25, with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva telling the state-run Thai News Agency that the venue site will not be finalized until next Monday. Mr Abhisit said yesterday that the agencies involved will meet on August 24 to consider the timetable and venue for the…
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Asean summit not coming to Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The 15th Asean Summit meeting in October will take place in the twin resorts of Cha-am and Hua Hin, not Phuket, the government has confirmed.Suthep Thaugsuban, deputy prime minister in charge of security issues, confirmed the decision this morning.With the island’s successful hosting of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meetings at the Laguna Phuket resort complex in Cherng Talay…
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Annissa Flynn wins surf titles in Kamala, Phuket
KAMALA, PHUKET: Eleven-year-old surf sensation Annissa Flynn stole the show on the final day of the King of the Jungle 2009 Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series event on Sunday, claiming both the women’s open and groms divisions on a great day of competition at Kamala Beach. Kata-based Flynn, who learned how to surf just two years ago, successfully defended the groms…
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Community group helps pay off Phuket sea gypsy loans
RAWAI, PHUKET: Threats of beatings and electrocution by loan sharks have abated for scores of Moken sea gypsies since a Phuket-based community organization stepped in to help. The ‘Poor’s Right to Develop Phuket Network’ (PRDPN) paid off debts worth more than half a million baht for 162 Rawai sea gypsies earlier this month. Nevertheless, hundreds of residents of the sea…
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Ritz Carlton Reserve rises in Phang Nga
PHUKET: Luxury brand Ritz-Carlton is set to debut in Phang Nga with the recent signing of Similan Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.Located in Bo Dan, just north of Tha Sai, the 79-villa resort will open by the fourth quarter of 2011. Developed by an institutional private equity firm, the site was previously owned by Kingdom Hotel Investments and had been earmarked…
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Aussie carrier launches Phuket service
PHUKET CITY: Australian long-haul carrier V Australia yesterday announced Phuket as one of its two new destinations, with direct flights to the island from Brisbane and Melbourne set to begin later this year. Twice weekly flights to Phuket from Brisbane will begin on November 22, while once weekly flights from Melbourne will begin on December 3. As part of its…
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Jilted lover stabs girlfriend, plunges to death
KOH RACHA, PHUKET: A luxury resort on Racha Yai Island was left reeling after one of its employees stabbed another to death before plunging to his own demise. Harin Tipnarong, an electrician at The Racha resort, planned the murder after his girlfriend and colleague Voraporn Pithom told him she wanted to end their relationship, police said. Superintendent Chinarat Rittakananon of…
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Dane drowns in Phuket
KARON, PHUKET: A Danish tourist is the latest victim to have drowned in Phuket. Chalong Police investigator Boonlert Onklang identified the victim as 57-year-old Jorgen Hauge Andersen, who was vacationing in Phuket with his son Emil, 20. Both were staying at the Marina Phuket Resort, at the south end of Karon Beach. Mr Andersen and his son ignored the red…
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More Phuket mangroves destroyed
RASSADA, PHUKET: In the latest assault on Phuket’s natural environment, more than 10 rai of mangrove forest has been felled by encroachers. The encroachment was reported to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMRC) Phuket office on Thursday afternoon. Led by office chief Surachat Chararat, DMRC officers visited the site, located near the confluence of the Tha Chine and…
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Phuket still in contention for Asean summit: PM
PHUKET CITY: It has not yet been finalized whether the 15th Asean Summit in October will be moved out of Phuket, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a surprise announcement on Saturday. Pending further information from the state agencies concerned, the government would make the decision about the venue later this week, the prime minister said. The comments contradict a…
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Phuket FC record historic first point at Surakul
PHUKET CITY: Phuket FC registered their first ever point at home at Surakul Stadium following a keenly contested match against Krabi on Saturday night that ended 0-0. Phuket enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the first 45 minutes, but it was Krabi who had the best chance to open the scoring when their striker was given time and space…
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British tourist in Phuket faces life for forgery
PHUKET CITY: A British tourist faces life in prison after being charged with forging English pound notes and trying to exchange them for Thai baht. According to Chalong Police, Martin William Pritchard, 52, from Bristol, went to the Karon branch of the Nakorn Luang Thai Bank and tried to exchange twenty 20-pound notes for 21,972 baht. The teller became suspicious…
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Is Phuket challenged in grasping the gist?
(PHUKET): The GAT (General Achievement Test) and PAT (Professional Aptitude Test) results for July, officially released yesterday, have Thai educators scratching their heads over some very grim results. The July tests were the second round for Thai students this year, the first having been in March. The National Institute of Education’s Testing Service (NIETS) is probing the causes of the…
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New swine flu cases down 50% in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The number of new swine flu cases reported in Phuket has been reduced by almost half, with 271 reported cases and the death toll still at two. To help people who contract the type A(H1N1) virus that causes the disease, the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) has signed contracts with 12 private clinics to distribute the the antiviral…
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Phuket’s “little mermaid’ breathing on her own
PHUKET CITY: There have been encouraging signs for the Burmese baby born in Phuket with ‘mermaid syndrome’ last Sunday: the infant has been taken off a respirator and is now breathing on her own. According to the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Songkhla, where the baby girl is being treated, she has now been given the name ‘Nichapa’ by…
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Hua Hin, not Phuket, to host Asean+3 summit
PHUKET CITY: The 15th Asean summit in October will be held in Cha-Am and Hua Hin, not Phuket as originally planned.“After consulting with the security agencies concerned, we decided to choose Cha-Am and Hua Hin for the meeting,” Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.The 15th summit of Asean leaders and partners from Asia and Pacific will be held October 23…
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Emergency response plan coming for Phuket Airport
PHUKET CITY: A provincial committee will draw up an emergency response plan for Phuket International Airport (PIA), the first of its kind in Thailand.The announcement came at a meeting chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop at Phuket Provincial Hall on Thursday.Representing the airport at the meeting was PIA Deputy Director Sutheep Sansiripan.Governor Wichai said the need for an emergency response…
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Vegetable Festival takes the fall for Phuket’s Asean loss
PHUKET: The 15th Asean summit in October will be held in Cha-Am/Hua Hin, a shift from Phuket where it had originally been scheduled to happen. The big loss for Phuket was chalked up to security concerns, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said this afternoon. “After consultation with security agencies, we decided to choose Cha-am/Hua Hin for the summit meeting,” he said,…
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Phuket yellow shirts sue red shirts over petition
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s yellow shirt leaders have filed police charges against the island’s red shirt organizers for gathering signatures seeking a royal pardon for exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The move echoes similar actions taken by People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders around the country. Led by Phuket PAD coordinator Aparat Chartchutikumjorn, around 30 PAD members filed complaints at…
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