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    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...

  • Phuket Gazette Sports: London does it; EPL nail-biters; Vettel wins | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Sports: London does it; EPL nail-biters; Vettel wins

    Big crowds, black ribbons for Boston at London Marathon Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Undaunted by the Boston Marathon bombings, big crowds lined the route of London’s mass road race to cheer on around 36,000 runners, many of whom wore black ribbons to remember the dead and wounded. Hundreds of extra police were deployed to secure the first race in…

  • Tennis Update: Chang-SAT ITF Pro Circuit 2013 | Thaiger

    Tennis Update: Chang-SAT ITF Pro Circuit 2013

    PHUKET: Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) is currently hosting a round of the prestigious International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro tennis circuit. Scroll down for today’s schedule and yesterday’s results. The 2013 ITF round consists of two consecutive women’s tournaments from April 20 to April 27 and April 27 to May 4. The highlight of the Chang-SAT ITF Pro Circuit…

  • Thai Football: Phuket FC buries Khon Kaen’s ‘T-Rex’ in injury time | Thaiger

    Thai Football: Phuket FC buries Khon Kaen’s ‘T-Rex’ in injury time

    PHUKET: A late winner by Brazilian striker Luiz “Dudu” Purcino secured all three points for Phuket FC in their home match against Yamaha League One rivals, Khon Kaen FC, last night. Phuket wasted a number of chances throughout the game and the match looked destined to end 0-0, until Dudu scored his last gasp winner with one of the last…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Boston bomber conscious; Paraguay goes right; Europe told to work harder; March of the Living | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Boston bomber conscious; Paraguay goes right; Europe told to work harder; March of the Living

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hospitalized suspect in Boston bombings awaits charges under guard Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Federal prosecutors prepared criminal charges yesterday against an ethnic Chechen suspected in the deadly Boston Marathon bombings as he lay severely wounded, unable to speak and hospitalised under heavy guard two days after his…

  • Dead dugong discovered east of Phuket prompts local resident action | Thaiger

    Dead dugong discovered east of Phuket prompts local resident action

    PHUKET: A dead dugong was found floating just off the coast of Koh Pu in Krabi by a local crab fisherman yesterday morning, prompting villagers to take action.The young marine mammal was discovered with a long gash across its snout in front of the Baan Koh Pu village port and was dragged to shore by villagers before it was reported…

  • Earth Day celebrated with Phuket beach cleanup | Thaiger

    Earth Day celebrated with Phuket beach cleanup

    PHUKET: Earth Day, underway in Phuket and around the world Monday, will see local residents, tourists and island visitors take to Kata Beach in an effort to preserve the island’s environment with Go Eco Phuket’s beach cleanup. Those wanting to take part in the Earth Day activity on Kata Beach are encouraged to meet at 8:30am at the north end…

  • Phuket Oilfield Classic drives new record | Thaiger

    Phuket Oilfield Classic drives new record

    PHUKET: THE 5th annual Phuket Oilfield Classic (POC) charity golf tournament attracted more than 130 oil and gas executives from around the world, who gathered on the island earlier this month for four days of golf and entertainment (click here for final results table). After the welcome cocktail party on April 4, teams of four enjoyed a great first day…

  • London Marathon is on | Thaiger

    London Marathon is on

    London lays on 40 percent more police for marathon Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Britain is increasing police numbers by 40 percent for tomorrow’s London marathon as part of an effort to reassure competitors and spectators after bombs devastated the Boston race on Monday (click here for the latest update). Two explosions near the finish line of the Boston race…

  • Phuket Laguna Golf Club cuts green fees | Thaiger

    Phuket Laguna Golf Club cuts green fees

    PHUKET: Laguna Phuket Golf Club is offering Thai and expat golfers cut-price green fees of 1,800 baht for 18 holes during the current low season – less than half the usual 4,200 baht visitor rate. This offer is available until October 2013, but the green fees exclude caddy fee. Meanwhile, Laguna Phuket Golf Club recently hosted the second match of…

  • Phuket policeman charged with attempted murder still on active duty | Thaiger

    Phuket policeman charged with attempted murder still on active duty

    PHUKET: A Phuket policeman charged with attempted murder after a violent attack on Valentine’s Day remains on active duty in Thalang, while police prepare their case for the prosecutor. Sen Sgt Maj Wichit Dada of the Thalang Police was charged with attempted murder after he was accused of restraining a teenager while his son threatened the teen with his father’s…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Second suspect in Boston bombings captured | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Second suspect in Boston bombings captured

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second suspect in Boston bombings captured after huge manhunt Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police captured a 19-year-old man suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings with his older brother after a day-long manhunt on Friday that closed down the city and turned a working-class suburb into…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: One suspect in Boston bombing dead, manhunt underway for second suspect | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: One suspect in Boston bombing dead, manhunt underway for second suspect

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community One suspect in Boston bombing dead, manhunt underway for second suspect Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police killed one suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing during a shootout and were engaged in a house-to-house search for the other on Friday in the Boston suburb of Watertown.Authorities warned people…

  • Chonburi top AFC qualifiers | Thaiger

    Chonburi top AFC qualifiers

    PHUKET: Thailand’s Futsal Premier League (TFPL) champions, Chonburi Bluewave finished top of the AFC Futsal Club Championship 2013 Zone 2 Qualifiers. The Zone 2 qualifying groups comprised of ASEAN and East Asian teams, while Zone 1 has West, South and Central Asian teams. Zone 2 featured two groups, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semifinals.…

  • Phuket Police pursuit nets drug suspect from fish pond | Thaiger

    Phuket Police pursuit nets drug suspect from fish pond

    PHUKET: Phuket City Police in hot pursuit of a drug suspect yesterday finally arrested their man after hauling him out of a fish pond in Rassada.Police were alerted to the suspect when officers at a checkpoint on Palian Road in Phuket Town saw a new Toyota Vios, still bearing red license plates, pull over just short of the checkpoint at…

  • Laguna Phuket to host record-breaking Nu Skin incentives meeting | Thaiger

    Laguna Phuket to host record-breaking Nu Skin incentives meeting

    PHUKET: Laguna Phuket is playing a major role in a record-breaking annual incentive program being staged over six days, from Sunday April 21, for 4,000 delegates and staff of anti-aging products company NU SKIN Greater China. The delegation is expected to generate a business boom for Phuket and Thailand.NU SKIN delegates from seven cities in mainland China, as well as…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Police say one suspect in Boston Marathon bombing dead, one at large | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Police say one suspect in Boston Marathon bombing dead, one at large

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police say one suspect in Boston Marathon bombing dead, one at large Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police believe they have shot dead one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing and were searching for another who was at large in the Boston suburb of Watertown, officials…

  • Malaysian biker dies en route to Phuket Bike Week | Thaiger

    Malaysian biker dies en route to Phuket Bike Week

    PHUKET: A Malaysian biker died in a road accident in Phattalung yesterday afternoon while riding to Phuket to join Phuket Bike Week. Lt Boonthip Wunfai of the Khao Chaison Police told the Phuket Gazette this morning that the accident occurred on Petchkasem Road, the main highway from the southern Thai border to Bangkok, at about 2:30pm. Officers and rescue workers…

  • Thailand News: Preah Vihear land dispute update | Thaiger

    Thailand News: Preah Vihear land dispute update

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Romanian expert becomes star at the ICJ Supalak Ganjanakhundee / Budsarakham Sinlapalavan / The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Alina Miron, co-counsel on the Thai legal team that is presenting the country’s case in the Preah Vihear land dispute before the world court, smiled in surprise…

  • Phuket Justice: Hope fades for finding Jintana’s executioners | Thaiger

    Phuket Justice: Hope fades for finding Jintana’s executioners

    PHUKET: Police officers’ hopes are dissipating as they once again turn to the public for help in finding the executioners of Jintana Mahattanapak, who was shot in the head on her way home from work in January. With leads running out earlier this year, police were banking on CCTV footage captured in the area to help identify the killers or…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Texas reels from blast, Boston bomb suspects wanted; UN slams Syria crisis; NASA finds life planets | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Texas reels from blast, Boston bomb suspects wanted; UN slams Syria crisis; NASA finds life planets

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rescuers search for survivors of Texas fertilizer plant blast Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Rescuers worked in cold rain on Thursday to find survivors amid the rubble of houses destroyed in a fiery explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant filled with hazardous chemical tanks.The death toll in West,…

  • Phuket Opinion: Taking responsibility for Phuket’s garbage | Thaiger

    Phuket Opinion: Taking responsibility for Phuket’s garbage

    Environmental specialist Nutthakrit Polpetch, 45, is the director of the Phuket office of Natural Resources and Environment. He has a bachelor’s degree in Forestry from Kasetsart University. A native of Phattalung, he has lived in Phuket for 20 years. Here he talks about how managing organic garbage in Phuket can reduce garbage and also create useful products. PHUKET: I am…

  • Phuket Opinion: Seeing through the muck | Thaiger

    Phuket Opinion: Seeing through the muck

    PHUKET: Pollution levels in the Bang Yai Canal strong enough to make residents of Phuket Town’s Samkong area physically ill should spur authorities in all relevant jurisdictions to work together to pinpoint the source of the contaminants and punish any violators. Unfortunately, the official response on all sides has been the opposite. Some local officials are firing off knee-jerk denials,…

  • Phuket’s first underpass to open early next year | Thaiger

    Phuket’s first underpass to open early next year

    PHUKET: To alleviate the ongoing traffic tailbacks at the construction site of Phuket’s first underpass (story here), the project managers will open all three lanes of the underpass at the beginning of next year. “So far, the underpass is 11 per cent complete. At the beginning of next year, it will be opened for road users,” Department of Highways’ Bureau…

  • Phuket Tiger Disco fire charges parried, delayed | Thaiger

    Phuket Tiger Disco fire charges parried, delayed

    PHUKET: The Phuket Chief Public Prosecutor’s attempt to levy a series of charges against Tiger Group CEO Piya Isaramalai and Sara Entertainment Co Ltd after a fatal blaze killed four people at Patong’s famous Tiger Disco nightclub on August 17 have been delayed for a second time. “The charges were originally given the green light last month [story here],” Phuket…

  • Russian teen student still in coma after horrific motorbike crash | Thaiger

    Russian teen student still in coma after horrific motorbike crash

    PHUKET: Vlad Abrashko, the Russian student who was driving the motorbike involved in the high-speed accident on the bypass road two weeks ago (story here), has been discharged from hospital with a broken leg. His passenger Sevastian Lukashov, however, remains comatose at Phuket International Hospital, a source close to the teens has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. With Mr Abrashko…

  • Phuket chef charged with setting alight motorbikes | Thaiger

    Phuket chef charged with setting alight motorbikes

    PHUKET: A chef at a seafood restaurant in Karon has confessed to setting alight three motorbikes after he was shown CCTV footage of himself throwing a live cigarette butt at one of the vehicles.Karon Police arrested Ek Musika, 39, at 5:30pm yesterday after officers tracked him down through the CCTV footage of the incident and by questioning local residents.The incident…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Gold sales soar as price falls; Teachers charged for toddler’s death; Police corruption probe continues | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Gold sales soar as price falls; Teachers charged for toddler’s death; Police corruption probe continues

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gold sales soar as price dips below Bt20,000 per baht weight The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Local gold has been sold below Bt20,000 per baht weight for the first time since 2011, following a sharp fall in global prices over the past few days.Bullion for immediate delivery…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Boston bomb suspect identified; Assad threatens West; Suu Kyi on Myanmar tensions | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Boston bomb suspect identified; Assad threatens West; Suu Kyi on Myanmar tensions

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boston bomb suspect identified on video, no arrest made Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Investigators believe they have spotted a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing from security video, a U.S. law enforcement source said on Wednesday, but no arrest had yet been made.Police may make an appeal…

  • Tourists offer high praise for rescue efforts after storm sinks dive boat north of Phuket | Thaiger

    Tourists offer high praise for rescue efforts after storm sinks dive boat north of Phuket

    PHUKET: Tourists have heaped high praise on all those involved in the rescue of 30 people from a sinking dive boat and the safe recovery of 425 others after a severe storm left a flotilla of tour boats returning from the Similan Islands stranded at Koh Ta Chai, north of Phuket. The 24-meter dive boat Little Princess, with 30 people…

  • Phuket’s first fatality of Songkran Seven Days of Danger hits on day six | Thaiger

    Phuket’s first fatality of Songkran Seven Days of Danger hits on day six

    PHUKET: Phuket’s run of zero road fatalities during the Songkran Seven Days of Danger holiday period ended early this morning, when 75-year-old Phuket native Jingiang Jamreunnam died from injuries sustained in a motorbike accident.Mr Jingiang was riding an unsafe motorbike when it collided with a pickup truck in Phuket Town at 8:30am yesterday.He suffered a serious head injury and died…