News
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Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Two Aussies plunge from waterfall, one killed
PHUKET: One Australian is dead and another remains under observation in hospital after falling from Nah Muang Song Waterfall in Koh Samui on Sunday evening. Hugh Smith, 24, was pronounced dead on arrival at Bangkok Hospital Samui after he andBenjamin Thomas Kemp, 20, plunged about 60 meters down from the waterfall. Rescue workers spent about two hours transporting the men…
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Phuket Marine Police step up human-trafficking raids on fishing boats
PHUKET: Marine Police searched six Phuket fishing boats today and checked the documentation of 155 crew in their efforts to stamp out human trafficking in the region. The mass raid targeted vessels at the Tah Jeen Canal, near the fishing port area in Rassada, where Marine Police arrested two Myanmar nationals last night. “We found no illegal workers today,” said…
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Video Report: Police raid massage parlors for human trafficking, child prostitution
PHUKET: Police came up empty-handed in a series of raids on massage parlors in Phuket Town in search of human-trafficking victims and underage sex workers last night. “We had more than 300 officers checking massage parlors at Phun Phol Plaza, and along Soi 11 and Phun Pol Road,” Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Khunnadet Nanongkhai told the Phuket Gazette this…
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No change in Phi Phi national park fees
PHUKET: The entrance fees to the national park at Phi Phi Island remain unchanged, with foreign adults charged 400 baht per visit, a top park official there has confirmed. “There have been no changes to the national park entry fees at Phi Phi,” said Boonname Chauyradom, assistant park chief of the Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National…
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Registration of ivory ‘aimed at killing trade in African tusks’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Registration of ivory ‘aimed at killing trade in African tusks’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A new law requiring people who own locally sourced ivory to register with the government is meant to separate them from people who own ivory from Africa, Nipon Chotibal, director-general…
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Six suspects arrested, accused of being part of network to overthrow monarchy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six suspects arrested, accused of being part of network to overthrow monarchy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Six suspects were arrested yesterday in connection with alleged involvement in the Bunpodj network’s plot to overthrow the monarchy. The arrests were carried out by police from the…
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Hunt for Bangkok bombers begins
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt for Bangkok bombers begins The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Security will be heightened across the country following double explosions in Bangkok’s shopping district on Sunday night as police hunt for at least two culprits believed to have been recorded on surveillance cameras. Prime Minister…
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Japan PM calls to consider military undertaking overseas rescues
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Japan PM calls to consider military undertaking overseas rescues Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET:Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he wanted to debate the possibility of Japan’s military rescuing Japanese citizens abroad, a day after Islamic State militants said they had beheaded a Japanese…
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Bill Barnett launches new book: Collective Swag
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette‘s “Island Fever” columnist, Bill Barnett, is back with his third book, Collective Swag, a phantasmagorical collection of rabid essays on everything from the evils of low-cost travel to blunders in modern architecture. Reading his frantic, caffeine-charged chronicle of life on the road throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Asia-Pacific region is a sure cure for elevator…
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Move to merge human rights agency raises concern
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Move to merge rights agency raises concern The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The decision by the charter drafters to merge the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Ombudsman has sparked concerns over what its means for the human rights situation in Thailand and the…
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Ghostrider killed in hit-and-run
PHUKET: Police are hunting the driver of a sedan that killed the passenger on a ghost-riding motorbike in the northbound lane of the bypass road this morning. “Anukul Polrop, the 25-year-old driver of the bike – which was travelling in the wrong direction on the road – was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital,” said Maj Rachan Panwai of the Phuket…
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Taiwanese “bank account mule’ arrested in Patong
PHUKET: Police have arrested a Taiwanese man who was found in the illegal possession of bankbooks and ATM cards for 12 Thai bank accounts opened by local residents. Chen Yu-Chung, 34, was arrested on Saturday, after a tip-off from a Phuket tuk-tuk driver, who told police that he was paid 6,000 baht to open a bank account in Patong. “The…
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Patriots beat Seahawks for first Super Bowl win in 10 years
PHUKET: The New England Patriots were crowned Super Bowl champions on Sunday after defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 to capture their first National Football League title in 10 years. The victory put New England alongside five other teams with at least four Super Bowl wins while Tom Brady joined Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and childhood idol Joe Montana as…
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Djokovic grinds Murray down to win Australian Open
PHUKET: Novak Djokovic ground down Andy Murray 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0 on Sunday to win a record fifth Australian Open title in the professional era and consign the Scot to further grand slam pain Down Under. The pair waged a fierce baseline duel for the opening two sets, but after taking a 2-0 lead in the third set, Murray crumbled…
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Homemade bombs detonate outside Siam Paragon
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Homemade bombs detonate outside Siam Paragon Agencies / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two homemade bombs exploded in front of the Siam Paragon shopping mall on Sunday night, police said. Nobody was injured. The BTS suspended services at the Siam Station at 8.10pm after the two bombs exploded…
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Egypt frees Al Jazeera journalist Greste, 2 others still held
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt frees Al Jazeera journalist Greste, 2 others still held Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste was released from a Cairo jail on Sunday and left Egypt after 400 days in prison on charges that included aiding a terrorist group, security officials…
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Tourist slashes own throat at Phuket resort
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist attempted to take her own life when she slit her throat with a kitchen knife at Supalai Resort and Spa Phuket in Thalang this morning. Police are investigating the circumstances following 46-year-old Yan Wenhong’s attempted suicide, after rescue workers rushed her to Thalang Hospital. Ms Yan and four of her friends had checked into the resort…
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Unidentified body found with knife lodged in head at Phuket pier
PHUKET: A body was found floating at Rassada Pier yesterday with a knife lodged in the skull and a stab wound in the back. Rescue workers recovered the body from the water, in front of the Fish Marketing Organization, at about 1:45pm. Rescue workers and police found a kitchen knife tucked into the waistband of the unidentified man’s pants. A…
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Phuket university partners with China’s National Space Science Center
PHUKET: Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s National Space Science Center (NSSC) on Tuesday to solidify an agreement for further collaboration between the two organizations. The NSSC is an agency under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that is responsible for planning, developing, launching and operating China’s space science satellite missions.…
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Singapore officials consider Phuket consulate
PHUKET: Phuket is one of several popular tourist destinations in Thailand being considered as the location for a consulate for the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore. Gabriel Liow, a counsellor from the Singapore Embassy, visited Phuket on Wednesday to wish the island’s officials a happy eew year and discuss issues that concern Singaporean tourists and expats in Phuket. “Mr…
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Illegal tour guide swept up in Phuket crackdown
PHUKET: Another illegal tour guide was swept up at the Karon View Point in a recent crackdown aimed at protecting the job for Thai nationals. Liang Yang, 33, has denied the charges of operating an illegal tourism business, working illegally as a tour guide and working without permission. He told officers that the six Chinese nationals he was with were…
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Financial outlook for the year ahead
PHUKET: Looking back at 2014, the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) posted a solid year. The S&P +11.4%, Dow +7.5% and Russell 2000 +3.5%. The “buy the dip” mentality began to take hold as any small correction saw buyers step in and purchase equities. 2014 SUMMARY• Soaring Treasury bond prices• Collapse in global commodity prices (oil)• MH17 airline crash,…
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Patong Police to launch emergency call box service
PHUKET: Patong Police are hoping to launch an emergency call box service in the popular tourist town as an alternative method for tourists needing to get in touch with police. “The call box gives tourists a way to contact police in case they do not have a mobile phone, or if they are lost,” said Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit…
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Government puts end to Myanmar concert plan, cites security concerns
PHUKET: The first concert in Phuket dedicated to entertaining Myanmar nationals has been blocked by the local government, which has cited security concerns. The “Myanmar – Thai Cultural Relationship Concert” was to be held in a field behind Bus Terminal 1 on Phang Nga Road, in Phuket Town, tomorrow night. The event was to feature Myanmar celebrities R Zarni, Ni…
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Interest in Super Bowl undeflated as big game nears
PHUKET: After almost two full weeks of media hype, controversy over “deflated balls” and an orgy of wagering on Super Bowl XLIX, the New England Patriots have emerged as very slight favorites to win their fourth Lombardi Trophy when they play the defending champs the Seattle Seahawks in Glendale Arizona on Super Bowl Sunday [Stupor Bowl Monday for Phuketeers –…
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Opinion: Co-operation is key to keeping us safe
Phuriphat Theerakulpisut, 47, originally from Trang province, is chief of the Phuket Marine Office. He graduated from the Merchant Marine Training Center in 1986. Here, he talks about the duties of the Phuket Marine Office, and the changes and problems he has seen and encountered during his time as chief. PHUKET: It could be said that the Phuket Marine Office…
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Opinion: This isn’t a game of musical chairs
PHUKET: Comfortably nestled into a computer chair in front of a screen, it is hard to fathom why so many people appear to care so deeply about chairs on Phuket’s beaches. Chairs seem to be such a strange household item to polarize a community – except for maybe musical chairs. Nonetheless, the number of people engaged on the Gazette Facebook…
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Phuket sea gypsy, 59, denied hospital treatment for broken leg
PHUKET: A 59-year-old woman from Phuket’s sea gypsy community in Rawai denied treatment at Vachira Phuket Hospital for a broken leg sparked a mass visit to Governor Nisit Jansomwong by more than 30 angry villagers yesterday. “Pohnao Bangjark broke her left leg while collecting shellfish at Rawai Beach on January 16,” sea gypsy Sanit Sae-Thua told Governor Nisit at Phuket…
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Australian Honorary Consul for Phuket officially appointed
PHUKET: The Australian embassy in Bangkok yesterday officially confirmed the appointment of Canadian national Michelle Hawryluk, a partner in the Phuket-based law firm Hawryluk Legal Advisors, as the Australian Honorary Consul for Phuket. Ms Hawryluk has jurisdiction in the provinces of Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga, read a statement from the embassy issued yesterday. An experienced lawyer, Ms Hawryluk has…
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NLA panel to summon US envoy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NLA panel to summon US envoy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The spat between Thailand and the United States looks set to continue with the National Legislative Assembly’s foreign affairs committee planning to summon the US charge d’affaires to explain the recent criticism by a…
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