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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Air strike on Aleppo school kills 18
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Air strike on Aleppo school kills 18 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An air strike on a school in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces killed at least 18 people on Wednesday, mainly children, a day after attacks on government-controlled cities killed…
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Research team collecting Phuket corals mistaken as poachers
PHUKET: A group of six researchers studying the possibility of corals containing the key to curing cancer were mistaken as coral poachers by recreational divers at the popular Phuket dive spot Koh Dok Mai on Monday. “The divers were using tools to remove hard and soft corals and fans from the wall on the east side of Koh Dok Mai,”…
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Phuket residents warned about sewage dumping
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has warned residents and restaurant owners in the Soi Paniang area, north of Phuket Town, that they will be prosecuted if they are caught releasing untreated waste water into the Bang Yai Canal. “If Rassada residents are so concerned about environmental standards, they shouldn’t release untreated waste water into a public waterway,” he told a community…
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July 20 set for national election
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community July 20 set for national election The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The government and the Election Commission agreed today to set July 20 as the date for the new election. EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen said the atmosphere in the meeting was good and the caretaker…
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Phuket woman impaled by her mattress
PHUKET: Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation responded to an unusual plea for help yesterday afternoon: a woman had been impaled by her mattress. The rescue team arrived at an unnamed apartment building opposite the Bangkok Bank branch on Thepkrasattri Road, south of Satree Phuket School in Phuket Town, at about 5:30pm. “When we arrived, we heard a woman howling…
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Brunei adopts sharia law, others in region consider it
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brunei adopts sharia law, others in region consider it Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The sultanate of Brunei this week becomes the first East Asian country to introduce Islamic criminal law, the latest example of a deepening religious conservatism that has also taken root in parts…
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Air France pilots plan daily strikes in May
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Air France pilots plan daily strikes in May Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pilots of Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM plan to strike for several hours per day in May to protest against what they say are limits on their right to strike. Air France said the…
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Thailand News: Police to replace soldiers in Bangkok; EC warms to Abhisit’s reforms; NACC refuses more Yingluck witnesses
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth against use of force to end impasse The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday voiced concerns about some local leaders and political groups opting for violence to end the prolonged political conflict. “There are several groups that talk about violence.…
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Thailand News: Thawil pledges to rethink Deep South policy; Pregnant official slain; Bt2.9mn ATM robbery; Warrants sought for red shirt poet killers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thawil to review Deep South policy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri says his first mission will be to review policy on the unrest in the Deep South and national security work there. The guideline of having a peace dialogue…
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Phuket ice truck flips, causes massive tailback
PHUKET: An ice truck flipped at the busy Bangkhu Intersection, at the north end of the bypass road, during rush hour this morning, causing massive tailbacks on Phuket’s critical Thepkrasattri Road. The Gazette has not received any reports of injuries in the accident. Traffic remains blocked across both lanes southbound as far back as the Baan Keha public housing estate…
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Driver who mowed down three police officers released on bail
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Driver who mowed down three police officers released on bail The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The driver, who allegedly mowed down three police officers and wounded three others in a car accident in downtown Bangkok on Sunday (story here), was released on bail yesterday after…
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MH370 Search: Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community MH370 Search: Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A private company said it had found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal that should be investigated as possible debris from the missing…
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Light-fingered Phuket woman undone by iPhone app
PHUKET: Phuket Police used a location app today to track down within 10 minutes a woman who had stolen a Danish tourist’s iPhone. Michael Dybdahl, 51, from Denmark, reported that his iPhone was missing to the Patong Police at 11:30am. “He said a woman visited his room at Bangla House last night, but he could not find his phone after…
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Local flowboarders head to Singapore
PHUKET: Phuket’s rising stars are set to depart our sunny shores for another installment in the new sport of flowboarding (surfing on an artificial wave) when they head to Singapore for the the final round of the Asian FlowJam series at Sentosa Island, Singapore. Locals may know that Annissa Flynn, who won the Asian Women’s surfing trophy in 2012 when…
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Chinese tourists, skipper injured in speedboat collision off Phuket
PHUKET: Four Chinese tourists and one Thai national were injured yesterday after two speedboats collided at the docks on Koh Khai Nok, off the east coast of Phuket. “The Nontasak was heading toward the pier at about 3pm and crashed into the Star Andaman, which was carrying 32 Chinese tourists, as it was reversing from the pier,” said Lt Col…
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Thailand News: Driver runs Bangkok checkpoint, kills 3 police; Storms lash capital; Red shirts set for May rally
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three police officers killed after young driver loses control of his Pajero SUV The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three police were killed and three others injured in a crash when a young man drove a sports utility vehicle through a police checkpoint on the outbound…
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Deaths on EU roads halve in a decade
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Deaths on EU roads halve in a decade – report Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Car deaths on Europe’s roads have halved over the last decade, but campaigners say tougher EU laws could prevent many more people from dying needlessly. Figures from the European Transport Safety…
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Russia says Marshall Islands’ nuclear lawsuits ‘baseless’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russia says Marshall Islands’ nuclear lawsuits ‘baseless’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Russia said on Monday that lawsuits in which the Marshall Islands accused nine nations with nuclear weapons capability of failing in their obligation to negotiate disarmament are “baseless” and would not help rid the…
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At least 16 killed by tornadoes in American Midwest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 16 killed by tornadoes in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Iowa Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Rescue workers searched for survivors on Monday in the rubble left by a wave of tornadoes that ripped through the south-central United States a day earlier, killing at least 16…
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Assad seeks re-election as Syrian civil war rages
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Assad seeks re-election as Syrian civil war rages Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared on Monday he would seek re-election in June, defying calls from his opponents to step aside and allow a political solution to the country’s devastating civil war. Assad…
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Short-term solutions underway for perilous Phuket curve
PHUKET: Short-term safety measures are now being implemented to slow down motorists approaching the dangerous “100 bodies curve” and should be completed within a week, confirmed officials. The construction follows a blockade of Chao Fa West Road between Wang Talang Jewelry and Rolly Tasker Sails that was staged on Sunday by villagers, angry about the conditions of the road and…
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PACC anti-graft squad begins investigation of Phuket police extortion allegations
PHUKET: More than 10 officers from the Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) are on the island investigating allegations that Chalong Police officers extorted money from the Phuket dive community. The team arrived in Phuket yesterday and have yet to set a date for their departure, the team’s lead investigator, who asked not to be named, told the Phuket Gazette. “We…
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Frenchman murdered in his sleep, confesses suspect
PHUKET: French tourist Fabrice Boigeol was bludgeoned to death in his sleep, Myanmar national Shwe Oo confessed yesterday. The body of Mr Boigeol, 37, was found in a pool of blood partially under a mattress in a room at the Moragot Resort, located off Saiyuan Road in Rawai, on April 18 (story here). After days scouring the area for clues,…
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Lifeguards walk off Phuket beaches as PPAO drops ball on contract
PHUKET: Lifeguards abandoned the island’s tourist beaches today after the Phuket Provincial Administration Office (PPAO) failed to break the deadlock surrounding a 22-million-baht lifeguard contract that expired yesterday. “Since the contract has ended, it is no longer our responsibility to patrol the beaches. All 108 lifeguards have quit their jobs,” Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told the Phuket Gazette…
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Saudi Arabia MERS cases spiral to 339 infected, 10 dead; Egypt marks first
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Saudi Arabia MERS cases spiral to 339 infected, 10 dead; Egypt marks first Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Saudi Arabia confirmed 26 more cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has killed nearly a third of sufferers, and said 10 more people have died from…
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South Korean PM resigns over government response to ferry disaster
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Korean PM resigns over government response to ferry disaster Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned on Sunday over the government’s response to the April 16 ferry disaster. The Sewol ferry sank on a routine trip south from the port…
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Ukraine rebels free Swedish hostage; Obama seeks unity against Russia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine rebels free Swedish hostage; Obama seeks unity against Russia Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine freed a Swedish observer on Sunday, but said they had no plans to release seven other European monitors they have been holding for three days. On the…
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Abbas calls Holocaust ‘most heinous crime’ against humanity
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abbas calls Holocaust ‘most heinous crime’ against humanity Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the Nazi Holocaust “the most heinous crime” against humanity in modern times in a statement released on Sunday, an apparent bid to build bridges with Israel days after…
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Chinese spies read Australian MPs’ emails for a year: report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chinese spies read Australian MPs’ emails for a year: report Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A cyber attack on the Australian parliamentary computer network in 2011 may have given Chinese intelligence agencies access to lawmakers’ private emails for an entire year, the Australian Financial Review reported…
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Pian ousted as Chalermluck voted Patong Mayor
PHUKET: Unofficial results are in and Phuket Democrat Chalermluck Kebsab has won the race for the coveted position of Patong Mayor. Ms Chalermluck received a total of 4,390 votes, defeating former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, who garnered 3,330 votes. Kittisan Kuru of the Patong Gao Na (Patong Progress) Party scored a total of 580 votes. Ms Chalermluck, a Phuket native,…
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