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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Opinion: Phuket’s AEC success hangs in the balance
PHUKET: While the past year brought unprecedented developments in reclaiming public beaches from the hands of corrupt local politicians, the fact remains that the days of Phuket getting by solely on its merits as a beach-tourism destination have gone. The terms of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) are set to come into effect in 2015, in theory transforming its 10…
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Daughter warned of suicide before family found poisoned, children hanged
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Daughter warned of suicide before family found poisoned, children hanged The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The former wife of a man who was found dead with four members of his family in a rented house in Bangkok’s Thon Buri district on New Year’s Eve told…
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Search teams battle rough weather in hunt for AirAsia wreck
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Search teams battle rough weather in hunt for AirAsia wreck Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ships and aircraft criss-crossed the seas off Borneo on Friday hunting for the wreck of an Indonesia AirAsia passenger jet, but bad weather again hindered the search for the plane and…
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Police nab armed thugs for Patong gang shootout
PHUKET: Police tracked down and arrested two men at a bus station in Phang Nga yesterday after one of the suspects shot a rival gang member in the face in a shootout on the streets of Patong just hours earlier. Staff at Patong Hospital notified the police of the shooting at 5am after Boonprom Chupeng, 18, was rushed to the…
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After Phuket New Year celebrations, man dodges Seven Days fatality list
PHUKET: A man walked away from a dramatic accident at Heroines Monument early this morning, leaving Phuket’s death toll during this year’s Seven Days of Danger safety campaign for the New Year at just one fatality. Police promptly arrived at the iconic roundabout in central Phuket at about 3:30am after Jamnian Sinthong, 55, called to report that a white Toyota…
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Woman dies from injuries after Russian tour bus crash
PHUKET: The driver of a car that crashed head-on into a tour bus carrying 37 Russian tourists on Tuesday has died from her injuries. Tantima Thaworn, 37, was pronounced dead at 11:35am yesterday, staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town confirmed. However, the hospital staff declined to give further details. Ms Tantima is the sole fatality from the accident,…
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NFL playoffs in Wild Card pre-dawn blitz
PHUKET: The end of the 256-game NFL regular season is bittersweet. Even with the unparalleled excitement of the playoffs still ahead of us, simply knowing that the end of the season is rapidly approaching is enough to set off that tiny first wave of depression in those of us who are hopelessly hooked. Super Bowl Sunday in the US falls…
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Crewman’s body washes ashore Phi Phi coast
PHUKET: Phi Phi locals yesterday discovered the body of a crewman who drowned after the cargo boat he was working on sank in heavy weather on Monday (story here). The body of the man, named by police only as “Mr Au”, was discovered at Ao Rantee on the Phi Phi coast at about 1pm. “Mr Au’s body washed up on…
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Weather stalls search for AirAsia black boxes; first victim buried
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Weather stalls search for AirAsia black boxes; first victim buried Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Heavy seas stopped divers reaching the possible wreck of an AirAsia Indonesia jet off Borneo on Thursday and an aviation official said it could be a week before the black box…
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Myanmar rapist of girl, 14, sentenced to eight years in jail
PHUKET: The pedophile who confessed to raping a 14-year-old undocumented Myanmar migrant worker with the help of his wife in Khao Lak in August has been sentenced to eight years in jail. The wife, as an accomplice to the crime, was sentenced to three years in jail. The couple, named by police only as “Mr Ko Nai” and “Ms Ma…
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Chinese dive tour company shut down at Koh Racha
PHUKET: Officials have shut down a dive tour company serving Chinese tourists at Koh Racha, located about 25km south of Phuket, after confirming that Myanmar nationals were working illegally there as dive instructors. Santi Pawai, director of the Minister of Tourism and Sports Phuket office, announced the forced closure of dive company Hou Hai Diver Co Ltd during his inspection…
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Teen shot dead in New Year drive-by near Governor’s house
PHUKET: Police are searching for six men wanted for shooting dead a 15-year-old on the streets of Phuket Town last night in an attack that began in front of the Governor’s House on Narisorn Road. Police arrived at scene, near Ministry of Finance Phuket Office, shortly after receiving a report of the shooting at 11:15pm. “We arrived to find one…
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Opinion: Phuket, an island haven lost
PHUKET: A couple of weeks ago, I joined some work colleagues for lunch at a Cherng Talay restaurant. The restaurant is Australian-owned and caters mainly to expats who are homesick for stodgy meat pies and other Western fare. While waiting to be served I noticed, among the restaurant memorabilia, an old black-and-white photograph on the wall. It depicted a group…
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Russian expert finds investment paradise in Phuket
An outstanding representative of Phuket’s international community, Sergey Nesterenko – who has a doctorate in business law and an MA in finance – has travelled the world searching for an earthly paradise to invest in property. At a unique Phuket location on secluded Naithon Beach, he is building the exclusive Vista del Mar villas with breathtaking sea and mountain views.…
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Phuket suffers first fatality in New Year “Seven Days of Danger’
PHUKET: A Mercedes-Benz and a motorcycle collided at 12:10am today, resulting in the first fatality of the Seven Days of Danger safety campaign – which targeted zero deaths. The Mercedes, driven by Chaichana Seaong, 40, collided with the motorcycle in front of the Mook Phuket shop on Chao Fa East Road, near the Kwang Road intersection. Witnesses claim the the…
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Phuket New Year gifted International Space Station flyby
PHUKET: In addition to the New Year’s Eve celebrations held throughout Phuket tonight, stargazers will be treated to the sight of the International Space Station (ISS) passing overhead. If the skies are clear, the ISS will be visible to the naked eye as its substantial bulk will reflect sunlight during its brief south-southeast trajectory, passing to the west of Phuket,…
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Records tumble at We Freedive Suunto Series final in Phuket
PHUKET: A number of national records were brushed away as the We Free Dive Suunto Series drew to a close on December 21. All eyes were on American Katie Wierenga, who is ranked third among the USA female Dynamic No Fins (DNF) athletes after an outstanding performance in October. Having surpassed the USA DNF record in practice, Wierenga pushed hard…
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Slow lorises touted on Phuket beach
PHUKET: Cherng Talay Police have vowed to search for a pair of beach touts who were taking photographs of tourists with a slow loris at Surin Beach yesterday. “There were issues with touts offering to take photos of tourists with snakes and iguanas on Surin Beach, but we haven’t had a report about this issue since the beach encroachment crackdown,”…
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In Phuket aviation business, the sky is not the limit
PHUKET: Do what you love and make money doing it – how’s that for a business plan? That is exactly what Sky Club Asia co-owners Mark Silverberg and Paul Derstoff did when they turned their passion into a prospering business. Did their leap of faith pay off? One of the things that Mark Silverberg brought with him when he moved…
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Phuket Finance: An expat’s guide to the inevitable
PHUKET: It’s natural to experience culture shock as an expat, but the real shock comes when expats consider just how complicated proper investment or financial planning becomes after they expatriate from their home countries. Here are some of the key areas expats will need to have a plan for and likely consult with knowledgeable experts about. EXCHANGE RATE AND REMITTANCE…
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Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court handed down the death sentence to two of six defendants for murdering high-profile and outspoken businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr last year – but the penalty was commuted to…
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Divers set to search for AirAsia wreckage after debris, bodies found
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Divers set to search for AirAsia wreckage after debris, bodies found Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Divers and ships will search for the wreckage and the all important black boxes of a doomed AirAsia plane on Wednesday after Indonesian rescuers found several bodies and debris floating…
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Patong’s Keesin clan yet to face Phuket mafia charges
PHUKET: The Public Prosecutor has yet to press formal charges against Prab and Pattawee Keesin, both sons of former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, for operating a mafia organization. Pisitpol Phumsawat, chief Phuket public prosecutor, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office was still reviewing evidence presented by the police “I have dedicated a team to investigate the police claims,”…
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Famed director arrested for trespassing to make tsunami horror film
PHUKET: Famed Thai-film director Anon Mingkwanta, better known as Poj Anon, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport last night after allegedly trespassing at a derelict Phuket resort to film a tsunami horror movie. Charges against Mr Anon were filed at Tah Chat Chai Police Station on September 12 by Nipon Rangsimanwong, a representative of the Toon Maha Larp Company, which owns…
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Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indonesian rescuers searching for a missing AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday as relatives of those on…
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Phuket pick-up truck smash near Mission Hospital
PHUKET: Emergency medical orderlies at Mission Hospital, north of Phuket Town, rushed out to rescue several injured people from a road accident directly outside the facility yesterday morning. An Isuzu pick-up truck had hit the back of Honda saloon car opposite the Toyota dealership on the southbound side of the road, causing the car to skid and hit a motorcycle…
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Cargo boat sinks off Phi Phi, crewman believed drowned
PHUKET: Marine Police are continuing their efforts to locate a crewman still missing from a cargo boat that sank in a storm two kilometers off Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. The Sor Jatuporn was carrying goods from Ao Nang on the Krabi coast to Phi Phi Island when it was slammed by a storm, said Krabi Marine Police Inspector Chaiyasit…
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Kiwi arrested in Phuket for drug dealing, wanted for fraud
PHUKET: A Kiwi charged for dealing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and cocaine in Phuket is wanted on fraud charges in his homeland, The New Zealand Herald has reported. The man, named by Patong Police as Taylor Grainge, 41, is in fact Grainge Taylor, after having changed his name in 2010, confirmed Jeff Montgomery, registrar-general and general manager for births, deaths,…
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Phuket expat, Microsoft MVP Henry Habermacher passes away
PHUKET: Long-time Rawai resident Henry Habermacher passed away peacefully on the morning of December 11. Born Heiri Habermacher on July 2, 1961, in Sachseln, Switzerland, he graduated from ETH Zurich in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering, specializing in acoustics project management superconductivity. In 1994, he received a graduate degree in business management from HWV Luzern – IBR University.…
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Phuket’s “naughty maid’ strikes again in Patong
PHUKET: Reports of Phuket’s infamous “naughty maid” surfaced yesterday, following a police warning about her kleptomaniac behavior in May (story here). Patong Police repeated their warning yesterday, cautioning any prospective employers to be on the watch for the still-unidentified woman. “We received a complaint from a hotel on Nanai Road that a woman took a job as a maid and…
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