News
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How much is Thai health insurance?
Health insurance in Thailand is essential for expats and locals, providing financial protection and access to quality care. Costs depend on age, health, and coverage level, with basic plans being cheaper but limited and comprehensive plans offering more benefits at...
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Fresh wave of Rohingya refugees arrive south of Phuket
PHUKET: An estimated 200 Rohingya refugees landed on Koh Racha Noi this morning, as reports simultaneously flooded in of another convoy, carrying about 180 men, women and children, coming ashore at Koh Phra Thong on the Phang Nga coast. “We have received reports of about 200 men, women and children travelling in two open boats landing on Koh Racha Noi,”…
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Phuket Poll: Thais, expats call for parking spaces to be mandatory
PHUKET: In our latest Phuket Gazette online reader poll, nearly 80% of readers voted that all new buildings in Phuket must provide at least some parking spaces as a requirement for being given a building permit. Of the 590 people who voted in the poll, launched on December 25 (story here), more than half (58.3%) voted “Yes. Parking in Phuket…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Queen Beatrix to abdicate Dutch throne
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch Queen Beatrix to abdicate throne after 33 years Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Dutch Queen Beatrix announced that she will abdicate on Queen’s Day in April after more than three decades as head of state, allowing her eldest son Willem-Alexander to become the kingdom’s…
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World News: Monkey back in space; Arms intercepted; Italian plane probably downed by missile
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Iran said yesterday it had launched a live monkey into space, seeking to show off missile systems that have alarmed the West because the technology could potentially be used to deliver a nuclear…
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Taxi driver mob tears down Russian tour agency sign, forces closure
PHUKET: Phuket taxi drivers in the popular tourist beach area of Bang Tao today successfully staged their second protest against Russian tour companies operating in the area. The mob of angry taxi drivers from the Baan Bangtao Taxi Club pulled down the signs of one of their primary targets, Alex Holiday Tour Co Ltd in Cherng Talay, alleging that the…
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Phuket Business: New car owners due B1.2bn
PHUKET: More than 14,300 new car owners in Phuket took advantage of the government’s first-car rebate scheme, with the combined value of due rebates amounting to more than 1.2 billion baht. According to figures from the Phuket Excise Department (PED), a total of 14,327 eligible applications were filed in the province from September 16, 2011 to December 31, 2012. These…
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Thailand Futsal: Chonburi Sharks devour Phuket Pearl
PHUKET: Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL) runaway table toppers Chonburi TOS RBAC FC, brushed aside Phuket United in their match on Saturday evening, with Chonburi winning at home 5-1. Played at the Chon Kanyanukoon School in the heart of Chonburi city, the match was both side’s 16th of a 30-fixture season. Going into the game, the Chonburi ‘Sharks’ were ranked…
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Scottish tourist drowns at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A Scottish tourist on holiday in Phuket drowned early yesterday morning at the secluded beach at Ao Sane (map here), on Phuket’s southwest coast. Police named the victim as Neil Gray, 36. Mr Gray was swimming at the scenic beach at about 8 am when his friends noticed him signalling that he was in distress, Capt Chienchai Duangsuwan of…
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World News: Brazilian nightclub fire kills at least 233
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nightclub fire kills 233 in Brazil Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A nightclub fire killed at least 233 people in southern Brazil early yesterday morning when a band’s pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing party-goers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits in the ensuing…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: FA Cup Shocks
Liverpool stunned by Oldham to cap FA Cup shocks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Third-tier Oldham Athletic rekindled memories of happier days by slaying seven-times winners Liverpool 3-2 at home yesterday, capping a weekend of FA Cup fourth-round shocks that gave the Premier League a bloody nose. The hard-up League One side, who put three backroom staff on gardening leave…
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Phuket villagers demand pistol whipping police officer be transferred
PHUKET: About 200 angry Phuket villagers Thursday night demanded that the Kamala police officer who allegedly pistol whipped a teenager in an angry mob be immediately transferred. The boy was allegedly struck across the face by the officer as he joined other teenagers in beating an alleged bag snatcher, who had just been put under “citizen arrests”. At about 9pm,…
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More Rohingya refugees found adrift off Thailand’s coast
PHUKET: Another group of desperate Rohingya refugees found shelter along the Khura Buri coast north of Phuket yesterday after 25 days at sea, making them the third group to land along Thailand’s Andaman coast this month. The 96 refugees shared the same harrowing story as the 179 who came ashore on January 23: days at sea surviving on scant rations…
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Phuket Islamic Council calls for desperately needed essentials for Rohingya refugees
PHUKET: The Phuket Islamic Council is collecting donations at their office in Koh Kaew for the hundreds of Rohingya refugees being held in detention centers across Southern Thailand. The Islamic Council is asking for blankets, dried food and toiletries. Kitti Islam, a member of the Phuket Islamic Council, told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that the council has already received a…
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Phuket job fair opens
PHUKET: The annual Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) job fair began today at the Central Festival East shopping complex on the bypass road, with 3,538 jobs available for job-seekers. Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa declared the event open at 11am, and was accompanied by Phuket Democrat MP Raywat Areerob, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arayapan Pukbuakao and PPEO chief Yawapa…
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Phuket charity drive cooks up a family-fun entertainment extravaganza
PHUKET: Tomorrow, Saturday January 26, the Royal Phuket Marina will be the place to be in Phuket for fabulous food, fun and games for the kids and superb live music. The first-of-its-kind Phuket Family & Gourmet Festival, a charity event, is being staged by Jagota Foods to raise valuable funds for the Andaman region’s less fortunate kids. From 10:30am to…
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Triathlon: Laguna to take on new Challenge
PHUKET: The Challenge Family recently announced a partnership with Asia’s longest running triathlon, Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT), and in doing so, revealed its commitment to developing a series of half and full distance events throughout the region. LPT has been attracting the the sport’s legends and age groupers alike to the stunning tropical island for two decades. In 2013 it…
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Football: Phuket FC defeat Dredger’s Army in friendly
The Islanders continued their pre-season preparation ahead of the upcoming 2013 Yamaha League 1 season by playing PhangNga FC in a friendly at Surakul Stadium last night. The match gave Phuket’s new signings the chance to get to know each other in a match situation, and with unlimited subs and three 35-minute period, instead of the standard two 45-minute halves,…
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Phuket Police search for drive-by target “Dannie’ Knudsen
PHUKET: Patong Police are searching for Danish national Dennis Mark Knudsen, 24, the intended target in the drive-by shooting in Patong on Tuesday night that saw two German tourists accidentally wounded (story here). The news follows Australians John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, opening fire in Soi Sansabai, near the tourist-popular Soi Bangla. Their intended target was a man…
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Phang Nga immigration overloaded, Rohingya relocated to centers across Southern Thailand
PHUKET: The 179 Rohingya refugees who arrived in Khura Buri District, north of Phuket, on January 23 have taken the Phang Nga Immigration facilities past breaking point, forcing authorities to relocate hundreds of Rohingya already being held at the Phang Nga detention center to immigration centers elsewhere in Southern Thailand. “Yesterday, we brought 179 Rohingya from Khura Buri police station…
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Burmese dies rushing from Phuket Town to Thalang party
PHUKET: A Burmese man working in Phuket was killed and another injured when the motorbike they were riding slammed into a roadside guard rail at high speed near Baan Sapam Mongkol Wittaya school (map here) Wednesday night. The driver, Zaw Min Oo, 37, died at the scene. His passenger, Myo Aung Chay, also 37, suffered a broken leg and was…
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Man tortured, murdered in mangrove forest near Phuket Town
PHUKET: Phuket Police found the bloodied body of an unidentified man who appeared to have been tortured before being murdered in a mangrove forest near Rassada Port, on the east side of Phuket Town (map here) early this morning. Pieces of a broken beer bottle and a bloodied piece of wood believed to be the murder weapons were found nearby.…
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Rohingya: Only 4 meals in 16 days at sea
PHUKET: The 179 Rohingya taken into custody north of Phuket yesterday survived on four meals of uncooked rice in their 16 days at sea, one of the survivors told officials. Local fishermen spotted the refugees – fleeing escalating ethnic violence in their native Rakhine State in Myanmar – off the Phang Nga coast at about 11am. About 30 officers from…
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Phuket United lose FA Cup match, Islanders to play Phangnga FC
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United had their Thailand FA Cup dream shattered this afternoon, losing 2-3 to Lampang United in a close match up in Bangkok. The match was the fifth FA Cup round-of-16 match to be contested at Fashion Island futsal arena on the north side of the capital today and yesterday. In addition to Lampang,…
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Phuket Sports: Taekwondo tourney
PHUKET: THE national Taekwondo coach, of Thailand, Choi Yong Seok, met with various sporting dignitaries in Phuket last month to discuss the preparations for the first Phuket International Choi Yong Seok Taekwondo Championship. The event will be held at Saphan Hin Indoor Sports Complex this weekend, and is expected to attract competitors from 12 countries, including about 120 from South…
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World News: Women in US, France and India make the headlines
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. to lift ban on women in frontline combat jobs Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. military will formally end its ban on women serving in frontline combat roles, officials said yesterday, in a move that could open thousands of fighting jobs to female service…
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Missing Swiss student tourist alive and well, in Thai prison
PHUKET: A 22-year-old Swiss student tourist reported missing while on holiday in Thailand has been found alive and well. She’s being detained in Ranong Prison for allegedly stealing a camera belonging to an immigration officer. The search for Tscherina Nora Janisch, a foreign-exchange student studying at the National University of Singapore, began on January 15 when her mother, Elizabeth, posted…
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Australians charged with attempted murder: miss “mafia’ target, shoot German tourists
PHUKET: Two Australian tattoo parlor owners have been charged with attempted murder after opening fire with an unregistered firearm in the heart of Phuket’s party town, Patong, yesterday evening. John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, shot two German bystanders in their attempt to “strike first” against an alleged Danish mafioso, named by police only as “Dannie”. “This is not…
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World News: Indian women learning to look after themselves
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Women take up self-defence, pepper spray after India rape Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Women in India’s capital are taking self-defence classes, snapping up pepper sprays, booking cabs with female drivers or leaving work early, all signs of growing insecurity following the brutal gang rape and murder of…
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Thailand News: Preah Vihear Temple; Boy killed in shooting; Call for regional help
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Thais won’t accept ICJ ruling in temple dispute’ Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: A yellow-shirt group yesterday submitted letters to the United Nations, the Army chief and the Supreme Court president, demanding rejection of the ongoing International Court of Justice hearing into the Thai-Cambodian dispute.Hundreds of members…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Australian Open update
Juggernaut Sharapova blasts into Melbourne semi-finals Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Maria Sharapova continued her perfect run in Australian Open quarter-finals by swatting aside Russian compatriot Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday.Sharapova had not lost any of her previous five Australian Open quarter-final matches, a record she extended with ease against the 19th-seeded Makarova with a 6-2 6-2 victory. The pair had met…
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