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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Phuket Gazette World News: Turkish PM Erdogan wins polls, warns enemies they will pay a price
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Turkish PM Erdogan wins polls, warns enemies they will pay a price Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in local polls that had become a referendum on his rule and said he would “enter the lair” of enemies who have…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Parties wrangle for Senate control; Yingluck to face NACC; Relief for Isarn drought
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM yet to confirm appearance before NACC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she has not decided whether she will defend herself in person today before the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) over the rice-pledging scheme corruption case, or send…
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Body of Russian expat, kidnapped in Phuket, believed found
PHUKET: Police have found a body they believe is that of missing Russian expat Alexey Slabinskiy, first reported as suspected of being kidnapped three weeks ago (story here). “We learned that the suspects – Russians Oleksandr Boychuk, 44, and Aleksandr Novichkov, 58 – had rented a house in Soi Koktanode in Cherng Talay,” Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiwruangnont told the…
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Phuket officials call for healthy turnout for “Senate poll Sunday’
PHUKET: About 100 officials led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak gathered yesterday to call on the people of Phuket to vote in the nationwide Senate election on Sunday. Speaking at Sanam Chai, the field in front of Provincial Hall that is occupied by anti-government protesters every night, Vice Governor Somkiet reminded passers-by that the polls will be open across…
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Phuket PDRC factions unite for mass protest
PHUKET: The two factions of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) anti-government protesters in Phuket united today to march through Phuket Town and stage a motorcade along Phuket’s west coast. The Krabot Rak Chart faction led by former Rassada Mayor Suratin Lian-udom massed in front of the Phuket Revenue Office on Narisorn Road, before joining fellow PDRC supporters led by…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Fresh objects seen in new Malaysia jet search area
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fresh objects seen in new Malaysia jet search area Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fresh objects spotted by planes searching for a missing Malaysian passenger jet in a new area of the southern Indian Ocean have again raised hopes of unravelling the three-week old mystery. Australian…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok rallies underway; Chamber warns of economic collapse; Child rapist killer gets life
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PDRC mass rallies in Bangkok take hold The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The People’s Democratic Reform committee led by Suthep Thaugsuban march from Lumpini Park to the Royal Plaza and Parliament began this morning to affirm its stand that reform must be done before the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Brazilian airliner lands with no front wheels
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazilian plane makes emergency landing with no front wheels Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An Avianca Airlines passenger jet safely made an emergency landing in Brasilia on Friday after its front landing gear failed to deploy, authorities said. None of the 49 passengers and crew of…
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Death of workers in sewer both accident and mistake, says manager
PHUKET: Workplace health and safety officials will investigate the deaths of four sewer maintenance workers who died of asphyxiation in a Phuket Town sewer on Wednesday morning. “We will start our investigation on Tuesday, when we will interview representatives from the contractor and the municipality to establish precisely what happened,” Yudhakarn Ovasith, chief of the Phuket Provincial Labour Protection and…
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Karon black water strikes again, flows across trash-covered beach
PHUKET: The Karon black water saga continued today as a fresh wave of rank, dirty water flowed over a long line of trash that has also been cursing the beach. “This is a failure on the part of Karon Municipality. I have not seen them do anything to try to resolve the problem,” said Karon Subdistrict Chief (Kamnan) Winai Chidchiew.…
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Officials to sue 29 for Phuket national park encroachment
PHUKET: Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) announced a plan on Wednesday to sue 29 landowners found to be encroaching on Phuket’s Sirinath Marine National Park land. “Right now we plan to sue the landowners for encroachment onto a total of 1,500 rai. I want to get back as much of Sirinath National Park as we…
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Blood Heroes Unite: Phuket Regional Blood Center announces April donation opportunities
PHUKET: Those looking to be “Blood Heroes” will find it hard not to stumble upon a willing needle as the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) will offer a plethora of opportunities to donate in April. “We are calling for donations in anticipation of an increased number of accidents, and thus a higher demand for blood during Songkran,” said PRBC Chief…
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Stop killing sharks
PHUKET: I came across awful images of a man gutting a juvenile blacktip reef shark on Facebook via Go Eco Phuket and was horrified to see that it happened on one of our local beaches, Kata Noi (story here). It was clear that this man was a spear fisherman from the wetsuit he was wearing and the spear hole on…
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Hooked on saving sea life
Wisit Itthiwarapornkul, 50, is the president of Go Eco Phuket. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine science from Kasetsart University and has worked in the dive industry for more than 10 years. Here, he talks about ways to resolve conflicting local interests in the sea and makes suggestions about what we all can do to preserve the health…
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Corralling young Phuket minds for a collective economic community
PHUKET: After years of apparent neglect, it is good to see the Embassy of Myanmar’s Labour Attache taking steps to ensure that at least some of the untold thousands of Myanmar workers on the island are being treated fairly by their Thai employers (story here). The history of Myanmar workers in Phuket is a tale of sadness and suffering that…
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Brazen thief steals Phuket Police officer’s motorbike
PHUKET: A Phuket Police officer has become the latest victim of motorbike theft on the island. Sen Sgt Maj Narong Wilairat reported at 6:30am that his motorbike was stolen from in front of his police accommodation just meters from the main building at Chalong Police Station. “My son used the motorbike – a red Honda Click Phuket license plate ‘Khor…
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Phuket Gazette World News: White House unveils plan to end NSA’s bulk collection of phone data
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community White House unveils plan to end NSA’s bulk collection of phone data Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Obama administration on Thursday announced details of its plan to end the government’s vast bulk collection of data about phone calls made in the United States, including new…
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Phuket Gazette World News: U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.N. General Assembly declares Crimea secession vote invalid Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution declaring invalid Crimea’s Moscow-backed referendum earlier this month on seceding from Ukraine, in a vote that Western nations said highlighted Russia’s isolation. There…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Yingluck graft probe deadline stays; Three arrested for Indonesian Navy murders; Thai satellite spots MH370 debris
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NACC rejects PM’s request to extend deadline The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday refused to extend the deadline for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to file her defence against the charge of dereliction of duty in overseeing the rice-pledging scheme. The NACC…
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Phuket firefighters stage full-scale drill at Patong resort
PHUKET: Patong Municipality held its annual full-scale fire and evacuation drill this week, complete with a Navy helicopter airlifting a survivor to safety from a beachfront resort’s rooftop. Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada presided over the exercise on Wednesday, joined by Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) Chief San Janthawong and Patong…
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Phuket Poll: Better driver training best way to stop Patong Hill carnage
PHUKET: More than half of the respondents to a Phuket Gazette poll said that better training for tour bus drivers was the best way to stop the carnage on Patong Hill. Two people crushed to death by a runaway bus in December (story here) sent officials scrambling for ideas on how to prevent more needless deaths on the notorious slope…
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Phuket lounge chair touts battle boot campers for beach space
PHUKET: A Phuket exercise and beach-cleanup group saw an abrupt end to their activities on March 15 when lounge chair touts battled them for space on Nai Harn Beach. “Clean the Beach Boot Camp” is a free event held every two weeks aimed at bringing together local expats and giving back to the community, explains Krix Luther, the health and…
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Dynamic Without Fins competition next in the Phuket Suunto Series
PHUKET: The We Freedive Suunto Series continues this Sunday at Phuket Country Home in Chalong as competitors line up to participate in the “Dynamic Without Fins (DNF)” event. The event will be monitored by Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l’Apnee (AIDA) judges Sarah Whitcher and Richard Wonka. All competitors’ results will be entering the AIDA International ranking list. Those…
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Phuket protesters to stage mass rally on Saturday
PHUKET: Anti-government protesters will stage a mass rally in the heart of Phuket Town this Saturday in support of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protests in Bangkok. “Our rally will start in front of Provincial Hall [map here] at 8:30am, and from 9am we will parade through Phuket Town to show our strength to the government,” protest co-ordinator Amnuay…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Officials say 90 people still missing in Washington mudslide
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Officials say 90 people still missing in Washington mudslide Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The number of people missing after a landslide sent a wall of mud crashing into dozens of rural Washington state homes dropped to 90 on Wednesday, as officials reported finding more bodies…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Court drops Lese Majeste; Police deny beating Lak Si shooter; Bt3bn Australia-bound heroin bust in Ranong; Activists slam Thai seafood slavery
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Court drops Lese Majeste case over lack of strong proof The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Court of Appeal gave an alleged lese majeste offender the benefit of the doubt yesterday and acquitted him after the man’s computer notebook – confiscated by police – was…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Planes, ships race against bad weather in search for Malaysian jet debris field
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Planes, ships race to beat bad weather in search for Malaysian jet debris field Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Aircraft and ships scouring the southern Indian Ocean for wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 were racing to beat bad weather on Thursday and reach an area…
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Hydrogen sulfide kills four, injures four in Phuket sewer
PHUKET: Four workers were killed by hydrogen sulfide fumes in a Phuket Town sewer this morning, and four others remain hospitalized after attempting to rescue them with inadequate equipment. The four who died had been tasked with maintenance of a sewer access point about 100 meters from Tesco Express on Srisena Road, and they succumbed to the fumes one by…
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Mum’s nightmare a prelude to daughter’s disappearance becoming murder investigation
PHUKET: More than three months after 7-year-old Natthapa “Nong Dear” Papkaew disappeared, her mother had a nightmare that her beloved daughter had been raped by a tall man with a knife. Jaroon Papkaew, Nong Dear’s mother, woke from the horrific vision only to discover a graver nightmare: DNA tests confirming that the human remains found in a Chalong pine field…
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Officials inspect overflowing Phuket landfill, prepare for possible fires
PHUKET: Island officials yesterday visited Phuket’s overloaded waste management facility and took steps to ensure that any fire there could be quickly contained. The inspection followed the news of a blaze that erupted in a garbage disposal site in Samut Prakan province on March 16 (story here) and adversely affected many locals in the area. “I have asked Prachum Suriya,…
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