News
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Sponsored Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?
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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Krabi farm owners pleads for return of fossils
PHUKET: The owner of a plot of land in Krabi, believed to be the site of a massive shell fossil discovery, has asked for people to return the fossils stolen from his land and not to steal any more of them . Chob Pankaew, 55, announced news of the discovery of a huge collection of fossil shells on his farm…
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Phuket Business: AirAsia shift to reap Chinese pie
PHUKET: As part of its latest strategic marketing shift, Low Cost Carrier (LCC) AirAsia recently canceled its Phuket flights to Ubon Ratchathani and Bali, topped off with the cancellation last week of its Thailand-Sri Lanka route. Meanwhile, the leading LCC has reinstated its Phuket-Udon Thani route, while revealing additional plans to shift and expand regional focus to the high-volume, high-growth,…
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Phuket Business: Challenges ahead of ASEAN’s young union
PHUKET: Eliminating tariffs that financially penalize members of ASEAN, is one of the stated long-term goals of the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community).When economic unions were proposed in the United States and Europe, tariffs became a defining factor that would later determine the outcome of those unions.Now that ASEAN has decided to form an economic union – the AEC – in…
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Phuket Business: Calculating the Sharpe ratio
PHUKET: One statistic you will often see when looking at a fund’s performance is the “Sharpe ratio”. This is an attempt to quantify the excess return for a given level of risk. For example, two funds may both return 12%. If one returns a steady 1% every month while the other swings up and down, common sense and our blood…
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Brazen Phuket snatch artist targets Russian tourist
PHUKET: A Russian tourist in Phuket Town became the latest victim of a snatch theft yesterday when an unidentified man stole her bag in broad daylight. Phuket City Police inspector Lt Col Yongyuth Krongmalai received a report of the snatch at about 3:30pm. Arriving at a retail store on Patipat Road, Col Yongyuth was confronted with the victim, a rather…
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World News: Cameron joins Twitter promising not to tweet too much
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UK Prime Minister David Cameron joins Twitter Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: After famously criticizing Twitter during a radio interview three years ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday evening joined the social networking website, instantly attracting tens of thousands of followers from around…
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Phuket Airport to suffer overcrowding during expansion project
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport director Prathuang Sornkham, speaking at the airport’s 24th anniversary yesterday, offered an advance apology for passenger delays anticipated while the complex undergoes expansion and renovation over the next three years. Mr Prathuang told the media that the already overcrowded airport would be even more jammed than usual as, adding to the 35 regular airlines and eight…
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New Phuket Police chief ramps up island security
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat today announced that inspections of vehicles passing through the Tah Chat Chai police checkpoint – located on the only road linking Phuket with mainland Thailand – will be subjected to more stringent searches in order to boost security.“The Tah Chat Chai checkpoint is on the only road in and out of Phuket, so…
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Phuket FC fall in Cavalry charge, stumble on road to survival
PHUKET: The Islanders suffered their third straight loss and subsequently slipped into 15th place of the 18-team team league, following a 2-0 scoreline away at Suphanburi on Saturday night. One goal in each half by the Suphanburi FC Elephant Cavalry’s Yodrak Namangrak and Phaisan Pona on 23 and 53 minutes, respectively, sealed the result, securing the home side’s second-place standing…
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Rescued Phuket dolphin’s health improves
PHUKET: The condition of the injured Spinner dolphin rescued from Mai Khao Beach last month has improved, albeit slightly, thanks to the efforts of staff at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC). However, the one-year-old female dolphin still has only a 50:50 chance of surviving, said Dr Patcharaporn Gaewmong, a veterinarian at the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit (ESU). “We have…
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Rare “hairy leg mountain crab’ spotted in Phuket
PHUKET: A rare type of crab, thought to be extinct on Phuket, was recently found on the island, years after any previous confirmed sightings were reported. An officer at the Phuket Marine National Park Research Center caught a “hairy leg mountain crab” in a mangrove forest at Tah Chat Chai, at the northern tip of Phuket, last Wednesday. “This kind…
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Fire damage to Phuket LPG cargo ship estimated at B400k
PHUKET: Damage to the liquid propane gas (LPG) cargo ship that caught fire off Phuket yesterday may reach up to 400,000 baht, the Phuket Gazette was told today.“The communications room was heavily damaged by the fire. We believe that’s where it started. The radio and radar systems were damaged, as were a storeroom and one room in the crew’s quarters,”…
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“Ruptured my right testicle….”
“Ruptured my right testicle, got a knee one minute into the second half, had to have it removed.” PHUKET: Warrington prop forward Paul Wood ruptured a testicle during Saturday’s Rugby League Grand Final. Wood suffered the injury at the start of the second half after catching a knee to the groin, but he played on before going to hospital after…
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World News: Black hole detected in Milky Way
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NASA satellite detects previously unknown black hole in Milky Way Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: NASA on Friday announced that its Swift satellite recently detected the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole. A rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the…
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Destination marketing: Heritage experts shed light on Phuket’s cultural identity
PHUKET: The American Chamber of Commerce teamed up with the Phuket PR Network last night to present a fascinating and most entertaining culture-preservation lesson at the Blue Elephant in the heart of Old Phuket Town.The event was headlined by two heritage preservation experts, who gave captivating lectures about the importance of Phuket’s cultural past, present and future.Dr Yongtanit Pimonsathean, a…
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Go Eco Phuket aims to maintain momentum
PHUKET: Go Eco Phuket, the local marine conservation group launched last weekend with the world’s biggest reef cleanup, is looking to maintain its momentum by joining the Royal Thai Navy in scuttling a ship to use as an artificial reef. Group members have already held discussions with local Naval officers about the project, which is expected to ease the pressure…
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PSS show improvement at YFH Soccer Tournament
PHUKET: Phuket Soccer Schools (PSS) participated in the annual Youth Football Home (YFH) Soccer Tournament in Thalang last weekend. The tournament saw the finest juniors teams on the island compete in two age groups, with players represented at Under 11 (U11) and U13 levels. Each age group consisted of 10 teams in two groups of five. Saturday saw each team…
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Phuket Police dubious over Russian tourist’s stolen booty
PHUKET: Phuket Police are treating as suspicious claims by a Russian man that the 400,000 baht in foreign currency he buried for safekeeping on Thursday was stolen.Lt Col Boonlert Onklang of the Chalong Police told the Phuket Gazette that the man, who he declined to name, said he buried the booty beside his rental holiday villa where he was staying…
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Phuket village headmen rally against new election law
PHUKET: More than 200 subdistrict chiefs and village headmen gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday morning to protest the amendment of a law dictating the amount of time between their elections.Previously, the law allowed subdistrict chiefs and village headmen to maintain their position until they reached the age of 60. The new amendment changes the length of the “elected term”…
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Phuket worker’s family compensated after electrocution
PHUKET: The Arrow Media advertising company has agreed to pay 100,000 baht compensation to the family of one of its workers who was electrocuted by a bare high-voltage power line at the Darasamuth Intersection on September 28.Wai Hayoung, 32, was killed instantly after being electrocuted by a 115,000 volt (115kv) power line while climbing an advertising board to make repairs.An…
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Farewell to Phuket Governor Tri
SPECIAL REPORT: Letter from the GovernorPHUKET: Over the years, my top concerns for Phuket have been flooding, traffic and wastewater. Flooding and traffic are no longer grave concerns for me because many projects have already received funding and many are already underway.That said, with the new Phuket Governor due to arrive imminently, I would like him to rate traffic as…
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Phuket Opinion: Public transportation should take a dive
PHUKET: For all the bandying about of the term “sustainable tourism”, Phuket might just have had the victory it needed in the Go Eco Phuket reef cleanup staged last weekend. That single record-breaking feat has provided a model to follow in breaking the mold of inaction and setting island development off in the right direction.(See story, page 5, current issue…
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Outfall of tropical cyclone expected to hit Phuket
PHUKET: A “tropical cyclone” warning was issued by the Thai Meteorological Department this morning for “Gaemi” which is currently in the middle of the South China Sea, but expected to make landfall today. “Strengthening, it will make landfall over central Vietnam by October 6 [today], then downgrade and move pass the lower Northeast, the East and the Central of Thailand.…
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Thailand News: Thaksin visits Hong Kong amid cabinet reshuffles
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thaksin’s Hong Kong visit ‘not linked’ Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s visit to Hong Kong this weekend has nothing to do with the Cabinet reshuffle or the selection of a new Pheu Thai Party leader, the ex-PM’s legal adviser told the media…
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Police re-confirm no further investigation into Belanger sisters’ deaths
PHUKET: Krabi Police re-confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today that they have ceased any further investigation into the deaths of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger. No further investigation into the death of the sisters will be conducted, unless the Public Prosecutor or the Canadian Embassy orders that the police resume their work on the case, explained Lt Col Jongrak…
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Man with gibbon escapes Bangla loris raids
PHUKET: Environmental crime police and Phuket wildlife conservation officers are on the lookout for a man who escaped arrest with a gibbon last night after a raid on Patong’s Soi Bangla netted five touts charging tourists for taking photos with protected animals. A team of officers led by Awat Nitikul, chief of the Environmental Conservation Unit based at Phuket’s Khao…
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Phuket Sports: Turns, turncoats and turnups
PHUKET: The big news last week was that Lewis Hamilton jumped ship after fourteen years with McLaren. I said a few weeks ago that I would be surprised and disappointed if he did so. I’m disappointed, but was less surprised after watching, with a sense of awful foreboding, as his gearbox blew him from winner to DNF in Singapore. Hamilton…
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‘Phuket Today’ soars up to prime time on UBC/True Visions
PHUKET: ‘Phuket Today’, the island’s only national television show, has just been awarded a prime time slot on Thailand’s pre-eminent cable television provider, UBC/True Visions. The weekly half-hour show now kicks off at 7:10pm on Sundays, and is then re-run six times for a total of seven appearances every week. The prime time award comes just six weeks after the…
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Petrol retailers fight Phuket pump price rise
PHUKET: Operators of local gas stations are fighting to stave off a price rise at Phuket pumps following the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) announcement of its intention to impose a local “maintenance tax” on fuel.The surcharge, which would raise costs for operators by no less than 3 satang per liter, was revealed to operators in a letter issued by…
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Phuket Police hunt serial masturbator
PHUKET: Phuket City Police are now searching for a man wanted for sexually harassing restaurant staff in Phuket Town after he exposed himself and masturbated in front of them four times in three days. “We launched a search for him last night, but we have yet to find him. Our officers have been alerted to the car’s license plate number…
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