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Why health insurance costs more each year and how expats in Thailand can save more money
Each year, many expats living in Thailand see their health insurance premiums go up and often without a clear reason. This can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to plan your budget. But by understanding why prices rise and learning...
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Man survives high-tension drama in Phuket
PHUKET: A man in search of food sent shivers up the spines of Phuket residents yesterday, when he began dangling from power cables strung up above a bus stop in Thalang District. Thalang Police were notified of the man’s strange behavior at about 4:30pm. Arriving at the site, in front of the TAT office opposite the municipal market on Ban…
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Phuket Sports: Mydeen knocks first ACG ton
PHUKET: Recovered from their recent defeat at the hands of the Laguna CC, the Village showed no mercy to Phuket’s youth development cricket team in dishing out a 235 run demolition of the Leopards. This season’s 15th match of the Island Furniture League became batting practice for several of the Village players while the Leopards were hoping to gain valuable…
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Phuket Sports: She’s “Dear’ to the heart of Indigo Pearl
PHUKET: Tennis played well at any level is an enviable pursuit. Those with the physical skill and coordination required to spot a ball traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour, then choose a shot before returning the two and a half inch diameter projectile over a three foot obstacle and land it accurately within a 27ft by 39ft area,…
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Phuket Gazette: Ceremony rehearsal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ceremony rehearsal PHUKET (The Nation): Soliders marched during the second major rehearsal yesterday of the cremation of HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda at Sanam Luang on April 9. The Maha Pichai Ratcharot chariot will carry the royal urn. Princess Bejaratana, the only child of King Rama VI,…
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Phuket Sports: Plans for Rassada futsal pitch benched
PHUKET: Rassada residents scored a goal by benching the plans for Rassada futsal field in Phuket’s Kanjanapisek Park until a public hearing can be scheduled. A letter of complaint was filed by local residents against the development of the Rassada futsal field to Rassada Municipality Administrative Office (OrBorTor) Chief Dechakanee Leelanont. “We will have less area for exercising because the…
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Phuket Sports: Pulsating play in round six of PSSL
PHUKET: The Pita Bar Phuketeers and Eden FC got the ball rolling for round six of the Phuket Super Six League (PSSL) last Wednesday evening at Headstart’s Football Island. The Phuketeers grabbed an early 2-0 lead when Yannik Christll tapped in after Fabian Kleiner Scniedelmann’s shot was spilled by the goalkeeper. Christll doubled his team’s advantage with a fine solo…
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Phuket elections: Phudit wins Rassada; Samran retains Chalong seat
PHUKET: Preliminary results of two local elections in Phuket yesterday indicate that Phudit “Ko Noi” Raksarat will take over administration of Rassada Municipality, while Somran Jindapol has been elected Mayor of Chalong Municipality. Before yesterday’s election, Mr Somran was incumbent president of the Chalong Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), which was upgraded to municipal status on October 1 last year. In…
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Phuket Gazette World News Update: Chile Earthquake
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Powerful earthquake strikes central Chile, injuring 3 PHUKET (News Wires): A powerful earthquake struck the central region of Chile early Sunday evening, injuring at least three people and prompting a brief tsunami alert for coastal areas, officials and witnesses said. There were no reports of fatalities.The 6.8-magnitude…
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Phuket Opinion: A tiny price tag for saving the mangroves
PHUKET: It is a pity that regional mass transport issues, and ‘mega-projects’ to whoosh ever-more tourists around the island, trumped the need for more sustainable tourism development during Tuesday’s mobile Cabinet meeting here in Phuket. In the first-ever official visit to the island by a female Thai premier, PM Yingluck Shinawatra performed admirably. She was smiling and charismatic throughout, despite…
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Phuket Gazette Special Report: Thai military unveils plan to stop Rohingya landings
PHUKET: Region 4 of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) has formulated a “Protecting the Andaman” strategy to prevent Rohingya boat people from illegally entering Thailand in Ranong, Phuket and other Andaman Coastal provinces. Maj Gen Manas Khongpanin, director of the ISOC region, revealed that the security plan is to stop the Rohingya from entering Thailand, especially along the coastline…
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Phuket Gazette World News Roundup: Australia shakes; $15bn in China-Indonesia deals; 5 killed in San Francisco shootings; EU raises heat on Syria
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Strong earthquake strikes central Australia, no damage Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: The central region of Australia was struck by the country’s largest earthquake in nearly 15 years on Friday evening, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.The 6.1-magnitude earthquake at 7:55pm local…
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Poll: Which Cabinet-approved project will most help Phuket?
PHUKET: At this week’s highly-publicized ‘mobile Cabinet’ meeting in Phuket, a number of projects were approved for Phuket and other provinces in the Andaman economic development cluster. In the latest on-line Readers’ Poll, the Gazette asks which of six projects approved for Phuket will do the most to help the resort province? The candidates are: – ‘Monkey cheek’ Reservoirs to…
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Tesco Lotus aerobics show in Phuket on Monday
PHUKET: Tesco Lotus is bringing its popular ‘Get Healthy with Tesco Lotus’ exercise campaign to Phuket for the 6th year running ,with a road show at Tesco Lotus Thalang on Monday. Tesco Lotus Senior Corporate Affairs Manager Charkrit Direkwattanachai said 16 million people nationwide have taken part in the activities since the program started. “This year our target is to…
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Phuket elections: no alcohol sales in Chalong, Rassada
PHUKET: Alcohol sales will be banned in Chalong and Rassada from 6pm today till midnight on tomorrow due to local elections to be held tomorrow in those Phuket subdistricts. Phuket Election Commission Director Kittipong Thiengkunakrit told the Phuket Gazette that Chalong has two voting districts with 7,135 and 7,497 eligible voters, respectively. The mayoral candidates are Thanapong Koudom and Somran…
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Phuket Gazette: Extra, Extra – Read all about it!
PHUKET: In this week’s Phuket Gazette, now on newsstands everywhere across the island, and tucked into the Nation newspaper for national distribution, we probe hard into the ongoing land investigations. We’ve also budgeted space for a financial breakdown of what recent Cabinet meetings have bestowed upon Phuket and the other important Andaman provinces. As always, we received our monthly letter…
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Phuket ‘Mobile Cabinet’ budget breakdown, by province
PHUKET: Cabinet approved a total of 628 million baht for 23 provincial projects in the five Andaman Coast provinces during the mobile cabinet meeting held in Phuket earlier this week. In addition to the regional and Phuket-based projects already reported, the breakdown for funding for four other Andaman Coast provinces was announced as follows: Ranong1. Sustainable water management project: 42.26…
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Phuket Gazette: Google Street View launched for Phuket
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Google Street View launched for Phuket PHUKET (The Nation): Six months after starting work on the project, Google Thailand yesterday officially launched the ‘Google Street View’ service in the Kingdom – the second country in Southeast Asia in which it is available, following Singapore. Street view…
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Phuket Business: The European tourist market is dormant, but not done
PHUKET: Local officials and tourism industry representatives are optimistic about the revival of the European tourist market in the near future, following the recent success of a Phuket tourism promotion roadshow in Germany. The Internationale Tourismus – Borse 2012 (ITB 2012), one of the largest tourism trade shows in the world, was held in Berlin, Germany. Representing Phuket at the…
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Phuket Business: Batik operations seek integration
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Industry Office (PPIO) recently led a seminar to reinforce the continued development and integration of the island’s high-potential Batik fabric industry. The industrial promotion event marked the beginning of the second consecutive year of efforts to develop local production, reinforcing momentum from the forming last year of the Phuket Batik Cluster. That initiative was marked by…
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Phuket Business: Income tax filing: Part II
PHUKET: For anyone who generated income in Phuket or elsewhere in Thailand last year, regardless of where or how they were paid, the personal income tax filing deadline is March 31. However, since the last day of this month falls on a Saturday, the last opportunity to file on time will be Friday, March 30. In the first of two-article…
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Phuket Gazette: 15,000 homeless, 2 dead in massive Mexican earthquake
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Government scrambling to assist the homeless from Mexican quake Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Two deaths were reported on Friday after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Mexico on Tuesday, damaging tens of thousands of houses. The first victim, identified as Ernesto Bernal Ruiz, died…
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SPORTS NEWS FLASH: Noppowan secures Phuket ITF final berth
PHUKET: Thailand’s stellar tennis talent Noppowan Lertcheewakarn defeated number four seed Reka-Luca Jani of Hungary to continue her fantastic run of form at the Phuket Chang ITF Women’s Pro Circuit event being held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC). Having beaten the number one seed Erika Sema in the quarter final yesterday, and previously beaten the Hungarian, the 20-year-old…
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Phuket Gazette: Price rises beginning to bite in Thailand
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Survey shows Thais in the grips of widespread price increases Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Most respondents, 61 per cent, in a poll on the current cost of living in Thailand said they were not confident in the government’s measures to handle the country’s rapidly…
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Phuket Gazette: Aviation deal between Israel and the EU expected to boost tourism
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EU and Israel reach comprehensive aviation deal Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The European Union (EU) announced yesterday that it has finalized negotiations on a comprehensive aviation agreement with Israel. Following eight rounds of negotiations since December 2008, the two sides have agreed to develop…
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Princess Yachts say ‘thank you’ in style
PHUKET: Princess Yachts Thailand held a lavish ‘thank you party’ at Phuket Boat Lagoon on Thursday evening in conjunction with the launch of the Princess Yachts South East Asia network. The annual Princess Rendezvous started on the evening of March 22 before their cruise to Phang Nga Bay and Hong Island in Krabi on March 23. Hundreds of guests attended…
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FC Phuket fired up for first home game
PHUKET: Final preparations for FC Phuket’s first home game in their Thai Yamaha League Division One campaign are underway at Surakul Stadium. Kick off is scheduled for 4pm on Saturday against Rajpracha FC from Nakhon Pathom province, who finished one place ahead of Phuket in eighth spot at the end of last season. Controversy surrounded their first meeting in February…
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Phuket limo driver found dead in rented room
PHUKET: An airport taxi driver and former volunteer member of the Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation was found dead in his rented room in Srisoonthorn subdistrict early yesterday evening. Thalang Police Duty Officer Somkhit Khaosang was notified of the death by neighbors at 7:20pm. At the scene, a rented room in Srisoonthorn Village 5, police found the body of 51-year-old Uthai Chuti-anan…
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Phuket landlord takes life by hanging
PHUKET: A wealthy Phuket landlord took his life by hanging yesterday while his two sons were asleep upstairs, according to a local news report. Thalang Police duty office Somkhit Khaosang was notified of the death by a neighbor in a row of townhouses near the Heroines’ Monument at about 4pm, according to Siangtai Daily. When officers, led by Thalang Police…
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Noppowan powers into semi-final at Phuket ITF tourney
PHUKET: Thai tennis sensation Noppawan Lertcheewakarn upset the form books on Thursday by dismissing number one seed Erika Sema of Japan from the Chang ITF Women’s Pro Circuit event being held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club on Phuket. Sema, ranked at 136 in the world, fought back in the quarter-final after losing the first set to the sixth-seeded, but…
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Eerie silence cloaks the Phuket death of a Swedish tourist
PHUKET: The death of a 35-year-old Swedish tourist, whose body was discovered in his hotel room at Kata Beach, has quietly surfaced on Phuket. The resort involved, the Swedish embassy in Bangkok and police have all confirmed that James Karlsson was found dead in his room at the Serene Resort last Wednesday. However, they have all declined to offer any…
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