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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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Phuket teens nabbed for Russian tourist bag snatch
PHUKET: Karon Police yesterday arrested two teenagers for a bag snatch after eight days of tracking down their suspects. Russian tourist Tatiana Suslirova reported to Karon Police on April 18 that her yellow bag had been snatched from her while she was walking near the Karon Princess Hotel. She told the police that two young men riding a motorbike rode…
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Thai FA Cup: Phuket FC shoot down Air Force United
PHUKET: The Islanders kept their Thai FA Cup prospects alive, last Wednesday defeating Yamaha League 1 (YL1) rivals Air Force United 1-0 in the second round. The match was played at Thupatemee Stadium, on the northern side of Bangkok, where the islanders are set to play the Air Force “Blue Eagles” again, tomorrow, April 27, in a YL1 week 8…
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Laguna Phuket’s “Run Paradise” marathon rocks with new theme song
PHUKET: This year’s Laguna Phuket International Marathon is rocking its thousands of runners and fans around the world with a specially-commissioned “Run Paradise” theme song. The upbeat rock anthem was composed by Phuket-based musicians Gary Crause and Rob Cooke at Gary’s Legend Music Studios. The anthem celebrates the event’s unique blend of enthusiasm for running and community fund-raising on the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: NGOs hit West over Bangladesh tragedy; US eyes Syrian chemical weapons; No charges over Mossad spy death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. suspects Syria used chemical weapons, wants proof Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The White House said on Thursday that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has probably used chemical weapons on a small scale in the country’s civil war, but insisted that President Barack Obama needed…
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Thailand News: ASEAN begins to row back on AEC deadline – quietly
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Southeast Asia’s 2015 unity dream collides with reality Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Southeast Asian nations have quietly begun to row back on a deadline of forming an “economic community” by 2015, confirming what many economists and diplomats have suspected for years as the diverse group…
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Phuket Police nab serial snatch thief after hot pursuit
PHUKET: Thalang and Phuket City Police have arrested a bag snatcher who reportedly committed 20 snatch thefts within two weeks, and three yesterday in the hours before his arrest. “We arrested Boonserm Chaluaysri, 22, yesterday after we received a report from Phuket City Police of a bag snatch in Rassada in the morning,” Thalang Police case investigator Chatree Chuwichian told…
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B1bn Patong Tunnel payout “not enough’, say residents
PHUKET: Residents of the Baan Mon community yesterday continued their opposition to the proposed 6-billion-baht Patong Tunnel project, urging officials to choose a route that would not go right through their neighborhood. The opposition comes in the face of the announcement that the government would be looking to pay a total of about 1 billion baht to some 20 households…
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ITF Phuket Results: Day 3
PHUKET: Wildcard entry Kamonwan Buayam from Thailand caused the biggest shock of the third day’s action at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on April 17, defeating number two seed, Australian Olivia Rogowska. Olivia won the first set 6:2 but Kamonwan fought back to claim the second set 7:6, winning the tie breaker 7:2. The unknown Kamonwan then won the third…
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Woman leaps to her death from Phuket bridge
PHUKET: A woman died after leaping from Phuket’s Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge this afternoon. Police identified the woman as Khemmanit Jantharaapa, 38, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat. Local resident Arun Wanayao, 22, explained that he saw Ms Khemmanit alight from a bus and wait at the roadside passenger shelter in front of the Tah Chat Chai temple. “She was crying and asked…
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Phuket hotels, businesses targeted in dirty beach canal probe
PHUKET: Hotels and businesses located along the canal that empties onto Bang Tao Beach will be inspected and forced to conform to wastewater-treatment standards, Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit has announced. The news follows the public exposure of dirty water in the canal that has caused a rash of health problems for tourists and local boatmen in the area, some of…
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Thai innovation may resolve Phuket’s dirty water woes
PHUKET: Officers at the Phuket Office of Natural Resource and Environment (NRE) are promoting a new mini wastewater treatment machine developed in Thailand as a possible savior for Phuket’s ongoing water-pollution woes. The machine was developed by Kanok Nakaew, the Research and Development chief at the Energy and Environmental Engineering Center (EEEC) of Kasetsart University in Bangkok. “This new wastewater-treatment…
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Rusty ex-con nabbed with modern technology in Phuket
PHUKET: A Songkhla man fresh out of jail for bag-snatching was apparently out of practice and failed in his first attempt to grab a woman’s purse yesterday afternoon. He succeeded on his second try, but landed in the hands of the police shortly thereafter, thanks to the “Find My iPhone” application.Just two days out of prison in Songkhla, Suphada Tuansuwan,…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Army explosives expert says IEDs best defused ‘on-site’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bombs ‘best defused on site’ Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Insurgent bombs should be defused or dismantled at the site instead of being done at military ordnance labs, a senior Army explosives expert said yesterday.He was referring to an explosion on Monday, which killed three…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Myanmar releases political prisoners; FBI grilled on Boston bombers; Ricin letter man freed; France same-sex marriage approved
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar frees 56 political prisoners one day after sanctions dropped Reuters/ Phuket GazettePHUKET: Myanmar’s president announced an amnesty on Tuesday for about 100 prisoners, a senior official said, 56 of whom were confirmed as political detainees by a group monitoring activists held in the country’s jails.The release…
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Phuket motorbike arson continues to spread
PHUKET: Two more motorbikes and the front of a small restaurant went up in flames in Phuket yesterday, bringing the total number of motorbikes scorched by arson since the beginning of March to nearly 30, say police. At 2pm yesterday, Kamala Police received three reports of fires: two were of motorbikes ablaze and the third was of flames at the…
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Phuket Governor combats dengue with “333′ strategy
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor has branded his new strategy to combat the spread of dengue fever in Phuket with the lucky number 333, representing a sustained campaign of “three days, three weeks, three months”.After witnessing a sharp increase in the number of people contracting the disease in the past three months, Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday called on communities across the…
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Phuket Sports: Day 2 results of the ITF at TSLC
PHUKET: Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) is hosting a round of the prestigious International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro tennis circuit. The 2013 ITF round consists of two consecutive women’s tournaments from April 20 to April 27 and April 27 to May 4. Result for Main Draw 1st round, April 22: Luksika Kumkhum ( THA ) beat Yi Chen (…
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Melbourne Super Kings Win 10th Asia Escape Phuket International Cricket Sixes
PHUKET: The Melbourne Super Kings were crowned Cup champions at the 10th annual Asia Escape Phuket International Cricket Sixes. The Super Kings demolished defending champions MG7 from Kuwait in the Cup final. In other tournament divisions, MG Warriors won the Bowl, Phuket Cricket Group won the Plate and Lamma CC won the Spoon. Eighteen teams from around the world have…
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Polluted water plagues Phuket beach
PHUKET: Dirty water emptied into the canal that separates Phuket’s Bang Tao and Layan Beaches has caused a spate of health problems and has even sent unsuspecting people to the hospital for skin rashes and blood infections, local residents claim.To bring the issue to the public’s awareness, the Bang Tao Longtail Boat Club and local restaurant owner Chaiya Boonyuen on…
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Billionaire’s bones: another skeleton in closet of alleged Phuket killer
PHUKET: Samui police, acting on a tip from their counterparts in Hungary, yesterday dug up a skeleton in the basement of a villa owned by Moshe David, who is currently awaiting trial in Phuket for the murder of Hungarian Peter Reisz last year (story here). The bones are believed to belong to Laszlo Csepai, 39, a Hungarian billionaire and business…
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Teen masseuse falls from fourth floor after argument with boyfriend
PHUKET: A 17-year-old masseuse is in a coma after falling from the fourth floor of a building following an argument with her boyfriend. The young woman was discovered unconscious and severely injured on the ground behind the Phuket Town massage parlor where she worked, a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker told the Phuket Gazette. Rescue workers administered emergency first aid before…
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Rash of motorbike burnings in Phuket continues
PHUKET: Eight more motorbikes have been torched in Phuket, this time in a housing estate off of Vichit Songkram Road, near Prince of Songkla University. At 3:30 this morning, police were called to the C apartment block in the Moo Baan Irawadee Ketho Yee Teng housing estate, where they found eight burned motorbikes. “I believe the fire started from a…
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Phuket’s Autoexpress remains in driving seat
PHUKET: Demand on the island for imported luxury cars does not look like it will subside any time soon. Saksri Kerdphol, GM of Autoexpress, Phuket’s premier foreign automobile dealership and service provider, gives a brief update about local market trends. This is followed by some customer testimonials. Phuket Gazette: What is the current state of the auto luxury import market…
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Singaporean investor sniffs out tuna ops in Phuket
PHUKET: An investor from Singapore has expressed interest in expanding Phuket’s Tuna industry through the establishment of a new commercial longline fishing partnership with local operators. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, along with Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosut-tirak, last week welcomed the Singapore-based businessman, Yong Juang, who came to the island to discuss investment guidelines, regulations and laws. Mr Yong Juang is…
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Phuket Business: The not-so-hidden cost of inflation
PHUKET: If you are an expatriate living in Thailand or considering relocating here, high inflation might be a distant memory from as far back as the late 1970s. However, Thailand has much higher rates of inflation than is seen in most developed countries, and you will need to consider that when you invest and prepare a budget for your Thai…
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Nervous Phuket duo reveal drug bulge in underpants to police
PHUKET: Police stationed at a Thalang checkpoint discovered three packages of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) after they delved into the pants of two “nervous” men on Friday. Officers manning a checkpoint on Thepkrasattri Road in Srisoonthorn stopped Tossawat Meesukanukoon, 22 and Pasit Kittijaruensin, also 22, because they looked “suspiciously nervous” as they approached the checkpoint on their motorbike. “We found…
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Malaysian biker dies in crash on last day of Phuket Bike Week
PHUKET: A second Malaysian biker participating in the Phuket Bike Week died on Sunday morning after losing control of his motorbike on the infamous Baan Kor En curve and crashing into the median strip in Thalang. Zhi Wei Loh, 29, was starting the return journey to Malaysia with a group of friends when he approached Baan Kor En curve on…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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