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5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
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Day Two evacuations underway
Evacuations are now well underway in day two of the process to extract the 13 players from inside the cave. Four were extracted from the cave last evening, according to an official announcement by former Governor of Chiang Rai Narongsak Osottanakorn. Yesterday divers and rescuers succeeded in recovering four of the 12 young players after divers headed into the cavern, prepared…
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Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa announces their new GM
Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa have today announced the appointment of Markus Kosch as the new GM. Markus most recently served as General Manager of Conrad Guangzhou in China. Commenting on his appointment, Markus said, “I am excited to have the opportunity to be at the helm of one of the largest resorts in Phuket.” A 22 year veteran in the…
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Chiang Rai: This afternoon’s media briefing
Snippets from this afternoon’s media briefing: • Governor says first four boys out of the cave are healthy and remain at hospital • They have been separated from relative. at this stage to prevent any potential infection • The boys have asked for Pat Ka Prao – Basil stir fried with rice • Officer’s radio frequency have now been jammed…
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Boat captains facing charges after Phuket boat disasters
The captains of the two boats ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Seraneta’, that sank off Phuket on Thursday early evening (July 5), have been charged. Read more HERE. 41 people are now confirmed dead, 15 still missing with hopes fading that any more survivors will be found. One body of a Chinese man has washed up on the shores of a Phang Nga beach…
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Phuket boat sinking ‘unlikely to hamper tourism’
In the wake of last Thursday afternoon’s tragedy, where more than 50 people have perished, mostly Chinese tourists, tourism officials, economist and tour boat operators are scrambling to keep the Great Chinese Tourism Money Machine on track in Phuket. The Nation is reporting that the tour boat ‘catastrophe’ in Phuket was unlikely to harm the Thai tourism industry, but the…
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Chinese join search for 14 missing. PM visits Phuket today.
PHOTO: A centre has been established at Phuket International Airport to ensure smooth flow of information and help for tourist victims and their relatives. by Salinee Parp Thai and Chinese authorities are continuing the search for the remaining 14 Chinese tourists still on the missing list after the “Phoenix” diving yacht sank into 47 metres of rough seas on the…
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Phuket: 42 found dead, 14 still missing – 13 were children
As we emerge into a wet and soggy Monday morning in Phuket, after three full days of frantic searching in the waters south west of the island, 13 bodies, of 41 which have already been recovered, were children who have drowned in the tragedy – 8 boys and 5 girls. Searching has been expanding to Phang Nga Bay and the waters…
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Two fishermen missing after Phuket storm
Two local fishermen from Rawai have been missing since heading out fishing on Thursday (July 5). The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command (NAC3) officers were notified yesterday morning (July 7) of the missing men. The two fishermen who remain missing are Prawit Salee and Saksri Naoprai. They headed off to the east of Koh Racha Yai at 2pm on…
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First two players now safe at Chiang Rai hospital. Two more emerge from cave.
The first two trapped footballers have been safely evacuated out of Tham Luang cave, a military news source has confirmed. Meanwhile the Thai Navy Seals Facebook page reported that at 7.47pm two more boys emerged from the cave, one needing medical assistance, but his condition is not fully known at this time. The Royal Thai Airforce’s Facebook fanpage “Air Force…
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First Mu Pa members emerge from Tham Luang cave
File Photo Police chatter at the Tham Luang cave suggests that the first two team members have emerged from the cave mouth. The first at 5.40pm and the second one 10 minutes later. They walked out on their own feet. Their successful retrieval bodes well for the other 11 members The Governor, acting as the official spokesperson, has not confirmed…
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15 people remain missing from the Phoenix boat sinking
PHOTO: Thai PBS It is now well into the third day of searching for the remaining 15 missing people following Thursday evening’s capsize and sinking of the boats ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Serenata’. Passengers on the Serenata were all recovered but 105 people off the Phoenix – passengers, crew, tour guides and captain – were either trapped inside or ended up in…
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Chiang Rai: They will start coming out tonight at 9pm
PHOTO: Thai PBS “Today is D-Day,” says the Chiang Rai Governor, adding that 13 international cave divers and 5 Navy SEAL members have gone into the cave to bring out the Mu Pa Football Academy members. “Each of the survivors will be escorted by two rescue divers. He told a media briefing that the first survivor should be brought out,…
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Chiang Rai: The rescue is on
The evacuation is currently underway. The Chiang Rai Governor says the rescue mission started at 10am this morning and could take all of today and into tonight to complete. If all goes well they expect to bring the first footballer out around 9pm. The 13 trapped football team members are said to be ‘ready to go home’. They are…
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220 rescuers looking for crevices and tunnels into the cave
Whilst a plan has firmed to get the trapped footballers out of Tham Luang cave using a ‘buddy’ system and staged triage along the exit route, many others are still trying to find entry points from above the cave. More than 220 rescue operation officials will camp on top of the mountain above the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai…
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41 year old Malaysian man might be charged with polygamy
“Zaini said the groom could be charged under Section 23 and 19 of the Syariah enactment.” Religious authorities say the bridegroom in the child marriage controversy is “not off the hook” although elements of force, violence and criminal intimidation have been ruled out. Read original story HERE. They also ruled out sex, lust and elements of coercion in a report…
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Coral planted in Maya Bay
By Sitthichai Sikhawat “Officials said they would use a drone to follow up the coral growth on a monthly basis.” As the famous Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi in Krabi’s Muang district is now until September 30 to allow nature to recover, officials on Thursday brought 400 coral pieces to be planted onto the degraded reef at the bay.…
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Five more bodies recovered – 18 remain missing
Phuket’s Governor has updated the media of the current toll from the sinking of boats off Koh Hei on Thursday afternoon. The official death toll issued by the Phuket PR Office is 38 people with 18 people still missing. The identification process is underway on the bodies that have been retrieved from the waters off Koh Hei, south-west of Phuket.…
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Situation ‘perfect’ for evacuation – Narongsak Osottanakorn
Narongsak Osottanakorn, chief of the rescue operation, is saying that conditions are ‘perfect’ for an attempted evacuation. He says that the weather should be OK, in the next few days, for an attempted evacuation. Any longer than this and the rains will return along with conditions inside the cave becoming more challenging as well. This is a more upbeat mood…
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Khao Sam Roi Yot caves get pro-active with safety audit
Khao Sam Roi Yot national park in Prachuap Khiri Khan province has accelerated the exploration of four caves to gather information on cave conditions as a database to determine safety measures for tourists. Khao Sam Roi Yot national park chief Rungroj Assawakultharin disclosed that Sam Roi Yot National Park is exploring those caves in order to prepare information on their…
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Pattaya 19 year old busted for pimping out underage girls
The Pattaya Mail is reporting that a 19 year old man has been arrested for allegedly pimping out underage girls via a LINE account on his smartphone. Supachai Kokhum was arrested last week and charged with human trafficking – running a LINE app group chat called “Swinging Mapa” offering underage girls to Thais and foreign tourists at 2-3,000 baht each.…
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Drilling down into the cave – 100 tunnels drilled so far
As the frantic effort continues around the Tham Luang caves to find alternative ways to get to the cave chamber where the 13 footballers have been waiting since two weeks ago, ‘chimneys’ or tunnels from the top or side of the mountain, down into the cave, are being established. AFP are reporting that there have been more than 100 of…
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Heavy rain forecast forcing rescuers to act, or wait
Outgoing Chiang Rai governor, Narongsak, at a media briefing held at midnight last night, has admitted that oxygen supply within the section of the cave where the 13 footballers are waiting, has become a major concern. He also mentioned the threat from potential heavy rains in the next few days that is forcing the rescue teams to consider a premature…
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Messages from inside the Tham Luang Caves
Whilst they’re waiting for the rescue to start, the 13 trapped footballers have been taking time to write some messages to their families and the outside world, with a special note for their teachers. One message read… “Don’t worry. We are all healthy. We want to eat many kinds of food from outside. When we are out from the cave,…
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Chalong boats must stay at port
The Phuket Marine Office has announced that, today (July 7), all boats are not permitted to leave from the Chalong Pier, except boats that are involved with the search teams which are under instruction from the search operation centre. The search for missing people started again this morning at 5am after being stopped late last evening. The focus of today’s…
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Search continues today for survivors. 23 remain missing.
With the body count numbers still in flux, as the recovery mission continues, the Phuket PR Office says the official death toll is 33 tourists that have died with dozens still missing. Strong winds and high waves sunk the dive yacht Phoenix, packed with mainly Chinese visitors, late on Thursday afternoon when a weather front came in from the Andaman…
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Thaiger TV: Update on the two big stories from Thailand today
https://www.facebook.com/thethaigernews/videos/1774414402636380/
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Boat victims will receive 300,000 baht from Thai Government
As the search continues off the south-west coast of Phuket for survivors from tour boats that sank yesterday afternoon, Thai officials are already rolling out the PR machine. The Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat has already promised that families of the victims of the boat accidents in Phuket will receive 300,000 baht (9,000 USD) each from the Thai government.…
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Deputy PM foreshadows legal action against captain and owner of ‘Phoenix’
PHOTO: ‘Phoenix’ from Siraphop Srakaew Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan is threatening legal action against the captain and the owner of the ‘Phoenix’, the ill-fated tourist boat that sank yesterday evening off the south-west coast of Phuket. General Prawit says the captain and owner of the Phoenix boat will be held responsible for the accident. ‘Phoenix’ sank with 105 people on…
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Phuket: UPDATE. What we know 2.15pm
Friday, 2.15pm • 21 dead bodies have now been recovered from near Koh Maiton and just off the coast of Koh Keaw (east Phuket) • Up to 35 remain missing (figure is continually being revised) • A Chinese female tourist has been pulled out of the Andaman Sea, alive. She has been taken to Vachira Hospital in Phuket Town in…
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