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Sponsored Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand
Moving to Thailand offers a prospect full of excitement and adventure, but in the same vein, if any injuries were to occur (and god forbid it does), the local healthcare system can be confusing at first glance for many expats...
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Safety, hygiene at Phuket worker camps to be regulated: Gov Nisit
PHUKET: A special committee will be set up to manage and oversee security and safety at Phuket’s numerous construction worker camps following a spate of violent clashes, Phuket Governer Nisit Jansomwong announced yesterday. The move follows a massive gang brawl on January 1 between construction workers from Cambodia and Myanmar at a camp for workers involved in the expansion of…
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Minivans bound for nearby provinces back at Bus Terminal 1
PHUKET: Those catching minivans from Phuket to nearby provinces now need to go to Bus Terminal 1, the old bus terminal, the Phuket Gazette was told this week. The change took place on December 15, after the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) received complaints from Phuket passengers. “Customers said that because Bus Terminal 2 is situated outside of…
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Local president pleas for help, patience concerning filthy Phuket beach
PHUKET: The president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has made a plea for help concerning the piles of trash at Surin Beach and the untreated wastewater flowing into the swimming area there. “Although we have trash bins there, people don’t use them,” said Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay OrBorTor. “There’s a lot of garbage strewn…
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Stateless children make plea for Thai nationality, rights
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Stateless children make plea for Thai nationality, rights Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: As New Year and National Children’s Day gifts, homeless and migrant children in Thailand are asking for Thai nationality and basic rights. Kaloh Ma-yeur, a 21-year-old freshman at Loei Rajabhat University, recalled…
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Video Report: Phuket International Hospital organizes charity run
PHUKET: Phuket International Hospital will hold its annual “Run for Health, Run for Charity Mini Marathon” this February 22, with the winners receiving trophies presented by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. “This is the third year that Phuket International Hospital has organized this event. It will be a great honor to have HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn taking…
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NFL: Hunt for Super Bowl rings goes to division playoff rounds
PHUKET: With the wild card weekend finished, eight teams remain on the hunt for the pinnacle of success in American sports: the Super Bowl Championship. So, let’s have a look at this weekend’s divisional playoff round, which will determine which four teams will go on to play in the AFC and NFC championships and, if successful, represent their conference in…
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Letter from the Governor: Let your children know you care
Nisit Jansomwong, 52, from Ratchaburi, landed on the island in October to take up the position of Phuket Governor. He has a master’s degree in administration from Chulalongkorn University, where he graduated with honors. Before coming to Phuket, Governor Nisit was governor of Ratchaburi province for one year. PHUKET: Children’s Day gives us the chance to show children just how…
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Phuket B12mn marina canal extension completed
PHUKET: The extension of the Koh Kaew canal, which leads to Royal Phuket Marina and Boat Lagoon, was completed on December 28, allowing easier passage for big boats and yachts to the area. “We no longer have to worry about big boats getting stuck in the canal. We can also better manage our boat departure and arrival schedules; it is…
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Video Report: Children’s Day kicks off in Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET: Put the youngsters to bed early tonight, because tomorrow is Children’s Day, which means Phuket will be aflutter with fun activities and entertainment. The first Children’s Day in Thailand was in 1956, since then, government leaders have annually branded the event with a slogan. This year, the slogan created by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is “knowledge and virtue…
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Laguna Phuket wins “Best Tourists Destination in Asia’ award
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket was voted one of the “2014 Best Tourists Destination in Asia” at the 11th Annual Golden Pillow Awards, held in Hangzhu, China, under the award’s category for overseas destinations and hotels. Occupying some 600 acres (2.4 square kilometers) of tropical beachfront parkland on the the northwest coast of Phuket, Laguna Phuket wins its first ever Chinese award.…
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Phuket light rail is a game changer, says property expert [video]
PHUKET: The long-awaited project to build a “light rail” mass-transit system to ferry tourists and residents the length of the island passed its third and final public hearing on Tuesday, when it was revealed that construction is slated to begin in 2021. The 23.5-billion-baht project has been heralded as an enormous development for the island’s tourism and property industries, with…
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Thai charter clause to prevent media domination
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Charter clause to prevent media domination The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The new constitution will have a clause that is designed to prevent investor domination over media businesses through hostile takeovers, a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) said yesterday. The move follows the…
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Vendors to be allowed back on three Phuket beaches
PHUKET: Three of Phuket’s most popular beaches, which have been given the green light for a three-month beach vendor trial period, were inspected by officials yesterday to establish vendor-friendly zones. The trial period was announced at a meeting in Provincial Hall last month by Governor Nisit Jansomwong, during which he laid down a stringent list of conditions under which vendors…
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Finance: The perfect investment for retirees
PHUKET: The headlines for the past few weeks have not been pleasant. Stocks have been dropping, oil crashed and if that wasn’t bad enough we had the Ebola crisis. When news like this hits, some people want to run and hide, but I look at it as an opportunity to put money to work. I never invest 100% of my…
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Corpse found in Phuket coconut grove
PHUKET: Police have yet to rule out foul play after a decomposed corpse was found in a Mai Khao coconut plantation yesterday evening. A local resident cutting grass at the site discovered the remains at about 6pm, said Lt Thanom Thongpan of the Tah Chat Chai Police. “When we arrived, there were quite a few locals at the scene trying…
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Human traffickers claim B300k payoffs to clear police checkpoints
PHUKET: Corrupt Thai officials allegedly accepted bribes of about 300,000 baht per truckload of trafficked people in order to allow smugglers past checkpoints, it has been revealed. The revelation comes after police on Tuesday arrested two of three men who attempted to smuggle more than 50 Rohingya through Takuapa, Phang Nga, north of Phuket, to Malaysia on Monday (story here).…
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Fighters arrive for Pencak Silat World Championships in Phuket
PHUKET: Fighters from 38 countries arrived in Phuket on Tuesday to take part in the 16th Pencak Silat World Championship, which will get under way at Saphan Hin this weekend. “There will be about 1,000 people, including athletes and support staff, coming to Phuket for the competition,” Nakrob Thongdaeng, deputy secretary general Pencak Silat Association of Thailand (PSAT), announced on…
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Phuket parasailer plunges from sky in free fall
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong has vowed to order the Phuket Marine Office to investigate a parasailing accident that saw a staffer free fall from a parachute off Bang Tao Beach on New Year’s Eve. After losing his grip on the parachute ropes, he plunged about 30 meters into the water below. “I will have the Phuket Marine Office look into…
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Hotel compulsory buffets are hard to swallow
PHUKET: There are some things we take for granted in life as being inherently part of it. Death and taxes are two of the most obvious examples, but there are again certain givens foisted on us that have absolutely no right to be there, yet we blithely accept them as being part and parcel of existence. Tourists in foreign climes…
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Phuket’s monkey business flouting the law
Edwin Wiek is founder and director of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), an NGO protecting wildlife and nature in Thailand and Laos. He has been living in Thailand since 1989 and in 2001, founded WFFT. Here he talks about the mammoth problems facing wildlife protection forces, including systematic corruption at local level. PHUKET: While most people visit Phuket for…
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Police hunt three Frenchmen after 12 killed in Paris attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police hunt three Frenchmen after 12 killed in Paris attack Reuters / Phuket Gazette PARIS: Police are hunting three French nationals, including two brothers from the Paris region, after suspected Islamist gunmen killed 12 people at a satirical magazine on Wednesday, a police official and government…
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Fifty-nine Bangkok police station chiefs face transfer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fifty-nine Bangkok police station chiefs face transfer The nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The planned transfers of a large number of police-station chiefs in Bangkok, accused of benefiting from the unlawful display of electronic advertising signboards, went closer to final approval when the Police Commission yesterday…
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Drought stalking many provinces, over 1,800 villages hit
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drought stalking many provinces, over 1,800 villages hit The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Drought is now haunting many parts of the country sooner than expected, raising concern that water shortages will be worse this year than ever before. Praphan Upata, a former village head in…
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NMG executives brief NRC panel on takeover risk
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NMG executives brief NRC panel on takeover risk The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Top executives of Nation Multimedia Group (NMG), which includes The Nation newspaper, met yesterday with the Media Reform Committee of the National Reform Council (NRC) to express concern over a possible hostile…
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Police corruption scandal: DSI agent sacked, faces charges; 2 others face probes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: DSI agent sacked, faces charges; 2 others face probes The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two Department of Special Investigation agents face disciplinary probes after initial findings showed they were involved in the contraband petrol trade in the far South, associated with racketeering…
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Fugitive bomber Singh arrested, faces extradition
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fugitive bomber Singh arrested, faces extradition The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thai Police have arrested a Pakistani passport holder convicted of involvement in a high-profile bomb attack in India two decades ago that killed 18 people, including the Punjab chief minister at the time, Beant…
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US navy commander pleads guilty in Glenn Defense corruption scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US navy commander pleads guilty in Glenn Defense corruption scandal Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A U.S. Navy commander pleaded guilty on Tuesday to bribery charges in connection with a wide-ranging corruption investigation of Singapore-based defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Jose Luis Sanchez, 42, was…
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Patong immigration officer removed amid corruption claims
PHUKET: An official at the immigration office in Patong has been removed after complaints were filed against him for charging foreigners for services that should be free, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong confirmed today. The news comes more than two and half months after Governor Nisit gave the Patong Immigration chief 15 days to explain why his office was charging for…
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Mass worker brawl delays Phuket airport expansion
PHUKET: Work on the Phuket International Airport expansion project was delayed yesterday due to a gang brawl between construction workers from Cambodia and another group from Myanmar on January 1. The fight took place in the workers’ camp, about 300 meters from the PTT aviation fuel warehouse, which is located about two kilometers from the airport. The melee left more…
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Phuket’s Boat Lagoon rebrands, sets sail for lifestyle destination
PHUKET: Do you know why the iPod succeeded? After all, it’s just another MP3 player. Yet it’s so much more than that: a fashion accessory, an icon of a certain lifestyle, a symbol of fun and, of course, a music player. It looks beyond the obvious and expands the concept that leads to such a hit. Here in Phuket, it’s…
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