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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World News: Formal warning to Tehran for attack on drone
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iranian warplanes fired on U.S. drone over Gulf – Pentagon Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Iranian warplanes fired at an unarmed U.S. drone in international airspace last week but did not hit the aircraft, the Pentagon said yesterday, disclosing details of an unprecedented incident that triggered…
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Work on Phuket’s B600mn underpass to start November 21
PHUKET: The leading engineer heading the project to build Phuket’s first underpass at the Darasamuth Intersection, located in front of the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, today confirmed that work will commence on November 21. Speaking at a meeting at the Phuket Highways Office in Phuket Town this morning, Itiwatra Kritsanavanich said that the inside lanes on the north side…
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Phuket youth crime blitz nets 220 arrests for weapons, drugs charges
PHUKET: In a 12-day blitz on youth crime in Phuket Town, Phuket City Police arrested 220 people on drugs and weapons charges – and six youths for attempted murder after being caught in two separate gang sword fights at Saphan Hin.Phuket City Police chief Col Sermphan Sirikong told the Phuket Gazette today that the campaign began on October 25 and…
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Phuket Sport: Jones Lang LaSalle Cricket league launched
PHUKET: The Jones Lang LaSalle Cricket League was launched last Sunday, complementing a fun family day at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG). Teams with players representing the Southern and Northern hemispheres, as well as the Subcontinent vied for the inaugural 10 over tri-series crown. The first match of the round robin structured tourney set the pace for the day, with…
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Phuket Andaman Culture Festival deferred until December
PHUKET: The deputy chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Relations Department Sophon Kiemkarn today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the Andaman Culture Festival, which was due to start tomorrow, has been postponed until December. “We have yet to be informed of the exact dates when the festival will be held,” Mr Sophon told the Gazette. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck…
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Phuket Sports: F1 – Gremlins, graunches, gruffness, grit and glory
PHUKET: After qualifying the script for the Abu Dhabi race was clear; Lewis Hamilton would coast around to win. Sebastian Vettel, starting at the back would make no impression; Fernando Alonso would take his customary third, while Kimi Räikkönen and Jenson Button would take some good points. It would be boring, but could open up both championships. I had fortified…
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Futsal World Cup: Thailand may still qualify for second round despite losing
PHUKET: Despite losing two of their group stage matches, hosts of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012, Thailand, still have a chance to make history by advancing to the second round of the prestigious tournament. If Thailand does advance, it would be the first time in its four appearances. Going into the match last with a world ranking of 13,…
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Governor urges prompt completion of Phuket mangrove flyover
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday urged officials to complete the Klong Koh Pee flyover, which will traverse 600 meters of protected mangrove forest on the border of Phuket Town, as quickly as possible.During an inspection visit to the site at Saphan Hin, officials told Governor Maitri that Cabinet had approved a budget of 170-million-baht for the project and that…
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Phuket Sports: BIS football tourney kicks-off tomorrow
PHUKET: British International School (BIS) Phuket opens its gates to the local and international community tomorrow, hosting for the eleventh year, the BIS Phuket International 7-a-side Football Tournament. Mr Rex Grey, event organizer and athletic director at BIS Phuket says: “We know from previous tournaments that competition will be keen, but first and foremost there is always good sportsmanship. We…
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The Andaman Culture Festival starts tomorrow
PHUKET: Six local provinces are preparing to host the Andaman Culture Festival. From tomorrow until Sunday the event will highlight the cultural identity of the region under the theme “Andaman – The World Experience”. Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa said that Minister Worawat Ua-Apinyakul has instructed the six coastal provinces of the region, which include Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi,…
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World Sports: Man Utd through; Celtic hold-up Barca
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World sporting news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Barca stunned by Celtic as United reach last 16 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Barcelona wasted their first chance to reach the Champions League last 16 after a surprise defeat by Celtic but Manchester United edged through and six-goal Bayern Munich rocketed closer to progression…
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World News: Turkey to ask for Patriot missiles; Britian hardens stance on Syria
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Turkey to ask NATO for Patriot missiles – report Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Turkey will imminently lodge an official request with NATO asking the military alliance to deploy Patriot missiles along its border with Syria to guard against violence spilling over, a senior Turkish foreign…
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Patong Hill road repairs on hold until March
PHUKET: Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad has revealed that the much-anticipated 22-million-baht permanent repairs to Patong Hill road may not begin until March. The section of road, just west of the Chinese shrine at the top of the hill, first collapsed during heavy rains last October, then again in early May with the advent of this year’s monsoon season.…
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Phuket dugong dies from hit by boat propeller
PHUKET: A dugong spotted injured off Cape Yamu, on Phuket’s east coast, last Saturday has died from its injuries after suffering severe cuts to its head and body inflicted by a boat propeller.Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, head of the Marine Endangered Species Unit at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), told the Phuket Gazette that the sea cow was an adult female…
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President Obama survives re-election
PHUKET: President Barack Obama rolled to re-election and a second term in the White House on Tuesday, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney and overcoming deep doubts about his handling of the US economy.Obama defeated Romney in a series of key swing states despite a weak economic recovery and persistently high unemployment as US voters decided to stick with the first…
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FIFA Futsal World Cup: Do or die for Thailand and Paraguay
PHUKET: It’s do or die for the Thailand national futsal squad, who are set to play Paraguay in their final group stage match of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012. To be played at Bangkok’s Huamark Indoor Stadium this evening, the match-up is certain to be tense and full of high energy as both sides fight for passage onto the…
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Phuket Police impostor arrested, says he stole B1.5mn in “donations’
PHUKET: Police on Monday arrested a man for impersonating a police officer after he was caught in a sting operation soliciting 8,500 baht from a “victim” who was asked to pay for a dinner hosted by Phuket police chief Choti Chavaviwat.Chaowaroj Jangjob, 44, was arrested near Phun Phol Plaza in Phuket Town after police received a report from a person,…
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Phuket Business: The economic realities of 2015
PHUKET: A lot of people in Phuket have been talking about the drastic changes, which are meant to happen in the region come 2015, when the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), is to adopt a common economic community (the ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC) similar to the Euro Economic Area. There are some obvious differences such as the…
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Breaking News: Myanmar drug smugglers sentenced to death for murder of Chinese on the Mekong
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China sentences four to death for murders on the MekongPhuket Gazette / ReutersPHUKET: A court in southwestern China today sentenced a Myanmar drug smuggler and three members of his gang to death for murdering 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River in a case marking China’s growing…
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World Sports: Green Moon gives great feeling
PHUKET: Green Moon thundered down the straight to win the A$6.2 million (192 million baht) Melbourne Cup today, upsetting a host of highly-fancied foreign entrants to bring Australia’s most coveted racing prize back into local hands. The Robert Hickmott-trained stallion charged to the front with 300 meters to the line and held off fast-finishing runner-up Fiorente to win the two-mile…
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World Sports: Melbourne Cup overshadowed by betting scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World sporting news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Betting scandal overshadows Melbourne Cup Reuters PHUKET: Australian jockey Damien Oliver, who will ride Americain in the Melbourne Cup later today, has admitted to placing an illegal bet on a rival horse and could face a lengthy ban, local media reported. The allegations have cast…
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World News: All eyes on Ohio in frantic final day of campaigning
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama, Romney focus on swing states in late campaigning Phuket Gazette / ReutersPHUKET: President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney engaged in frantic get-out-the-vote efforts and made final pleas to voters in a sprint through battleground states that will determine who wins their agonizingly close White…
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Phuket Yellow Shirts protest “Red Shirt Village’ project
PHUKET: A small group of protesters turned out at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town yesterday to burn images of key local red-shirt leaders in protest of an anticipated official opening of a Red Shirt Village in Phuket. “Our protest was organized after we heard the news that the red shirts planned to announce the ‘opening’ of a Red Shirt…
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One Burmese dead, four seriously poisoned by “generator fumes’
PHUKET: One Burmese laborer is dead and four others are still in hospital after they spent the night guarding a construction site property, including a running generator in a closed room, police say.“Burmese told us that the five workers were ordered to stay in the office to look after equipment because items were being stolen,” said Lt Col Yongyuth Krongmalai…
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Bulgarian ATM hackers arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police last night arrested two Bulgarian men who were caught removing a “skimming device” from an ATM in Karon, on Phuket’s west coast.Tourist Police moved in and arrested Tervel Kaloyanov Dimitrov, 31, and Ancho Stankov, 33, at about 8pm while they were removing the panel from a Kasikornbank (KBank) ATM machine on Patak Road.The men used a “skimmer”…
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World News: Heartbeat could power pacemakers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Experimental device lets heartbeat, not battery, power pacemakers Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: An experimental device that converts energy from a beating heart could provide enough electricity to power a pacemaker, eliminating the need for expensive surgeries to replace pacemakers with depleted batteries, according to results from…
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Phuket Business: Andaman tourism campaign aims for 20 million
PHUKET: Woravat Auapinyakul, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, has told the Phuket Gazette that he expects the “Andaman – The World Experience” tourism initiative to attract more than 20 million tourists to the region. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall held recently to chart the progress of the tourism initiative, Mr Woravat said that intense competition within the…
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Phuket Business: Makro – now bigger and better
PHUKET: The newly renovated Makro Phuket has reopened its doors, announcing that it is better equipped to meet the cooking and catering needs of local hotels, restaurants and cafés (HoReCa).With an emphasis on enhancing the capabilities of businesses to maintain international standards, the membership-based wholesaler has increased the quantity and diversity of its consumer products, which include both fresh and…
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Lucky escape for mother, baby as Phuket hillside resort wall collapses
PHUKET: A mother and her 3-month-old baby boy made a lucky escape as a wall from a Phuket hillside resort came crashing down on their home in Patong on Saturday morning. Responding to a call at 9:45am, Patong Police officers led by Lt Col Pratuang Polmana and rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation rushed to the scene, below The Senses…
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International Sports: Liverpool draw; Lotus wins; Ferrer’s first
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World sporting news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suarez goal gives Liverpool draw with Newcastle Phuket Gazette / ReutersPHUKET: Liverpool failed to mark captain Steven Gerrard’s 600th appearance for the club with a win when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle United in the Premier League at Anfield which leaves them…
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