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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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Phuket Town water cuts start today
PHUKET: Phuket City Waterworks (PCW) begins a series of scheduled daytime pressure cuts today in order to conduct system maintenance and install new water mains. The pressure cuts will run from 9am to 6pm daily in affected areas. The PCW advises customers to store sufficient amounts of water, so as not to be affected during the cuts, which will run…
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Phuket teen strangled in rape and robbery attack
PHUKET: Chalong Police investigating the murder of a 17-year-old girl in her home yesterday suspect the attack was carried out by a neighbor who knew she was there alone. The police were notified at about 5:30pm by relatives of the victim, 17-year-old Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, who was found lying face-down on a bed in the family’s detached home in a…
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Three slow lorises rescued in Phuket bust
PHUKET: Law enforcement officers on Saturday night arrested two men for illegal possession of three slow lorises, which they were using as props to entice Phuket tourists to pay to have photographs taken with them.The officers, led by Sub Lt Jedsada Lugieng of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED), moved in to make the arrest after spotting…
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Democrat Party brainstorms for ASEAN in Phuket
PHUKET: Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other Democrat Party heavyweights are scheduled to chair a seminar to develop a “Phuket model” for tourism on the island tomorrow.The event, scheduled to begin at 1pm, is intended to boost Phuket’s preparedness for measures of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community, or AEC, which will take effect in…
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Phuket Business: Sunken Deep Sea Port upgrade project resurfaces at meeting
PHUKET: Transport Minister Charupong Ruangsuwanm has told a consortium of Phuket officials and the operator of Phuket’s Deep Sea Port that he will raise the problem of the stalled 100-million-baht plan to develop the facility with Cabinet.However, Mr Charupong said the project must clearly provide benefits for local people if the plan is to go ahead.Mr Charupong was in Phuket…
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Phuket Live Wire: Scratch that, CAT is back
PHUKET: Three weeks ago, I lamented the imminent passing of CAT’s EV-DO service – the original high speed wireless “AirCard” that ushered in a new, faster way of surfing the web without getting plugged in. At the time, I was told that EV-DO would continue to work through the end of the year. Today, I found out differently. CAT’s going…
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Belanger Deaths: Probe finds more information but no clues
PHUKET: The lack of information publicly released on the deaths of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger on Phi Phi Island last month prompted the sisters’ father, Carl Belanger, to accuse the Thai authorities of covering up the true circumstances of their deaths.The leading investigators in the case have now refuted the allegation. The Phuket Gazette’s Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai and Orawin…
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Drugs seized in Phuket revealed to be “normal” crystal meth
PHUKET: Reports that a “new kind” of methamphetamine was recovered in a Phuket drug bust last week were false, according to arresting officers in Thalang. Thalang Police Inspector Pisit Chunpet on July 7 confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the suspected “new drug” was “simply” ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) with unusually large crystals.The announcement of the possibility of a new…
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Ombudsman’s Office investigates Phuket sea gypsies’ land issue
PHUKET: Investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman were on the island last week to study a complaint by the sea gypsy community in Rawai, who fear eviction from the land they have called home for decades after a title deed for the land was issued to a private party. The investigators, led by Investigation Bureau 3 Director Tavin Inchamnong,…
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Youth in ICU after Phuket Town shooting attack
PHUKET: A man is in critical condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital after being shot twice in the back of the head in downtown Phuket Town over the weekend. Phuket City Police were notified of a shooting in front of the Rattana Mansion apartment block on Chana Jaroen Road at 3pm on Saturday. Duty Officer Sermpan Sirikong identified the victim as…
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Phuket Opinion: Beach warnings drowned out, but there’s hope in the sky
PHUKET: A recent poll conducted by the Phuket Gazette reveals that readers are evenly divided on which of six possible approaches would be most effective to minimize the number of lives lost to drownings during the monsoon season every year. For details of the poll and its results, click here. As noted by many who commented in our readers’ forum,…
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7th Phuket OTOP Fair starts Tuesday
PHUKET: The 7th annual ‘One Tambon One Product’ (OTOP) Fair starts at Saphan Hin public park in Phuket Town on Tuesday. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha said yesterday that the event is just one of many nationwide to improve OTOP product standards and have producers reach more consumers. Total provincial revenue from OTOP sales, including those from SMEs and various souvenir…
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Thailand News: Alleged call center scam; ASEAN update; Govt seeks release of more than 80 Thais detained in Burma
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police crack call-centre scam, 15 arrested Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Police have arrested 15 foreigners in Bangkok, most of them from Europe, for allegedly running a call-center scam and duping several people into wiring more than 320 million baht into their accounts. Of the…
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Phuket Gazette: Remains found of U.S. service members from Vietnam War
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Found: Remains of U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam War plane crash Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The remains of six U.S. service members who went missing when their plane disappeared during the Vietnam War 46 years ago have been recovered, the U.S. Department of Defense…
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Graft-busters probe plunder of Phuket forests
PHUKET: A team of National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) officers stopped in Phuket this week as part of a nationwide inspection tour aimed at putting an end to widespread encroachment on state forest reserves. Kajadpai Burutpat, president of an NACC subcommittee investigating forest encroachment nationwide, said after a meeting at Provincial Hall with Phuket Land Office and Forest Department officers that…
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Tonight, tonight: Phuket FC’s derby match with Krabi
PHUKET: A large crowd is expected at Surakul Stadium in Phuket this evening, when a resurgent Phuket side will be gunning for its third consecutive home win against higher-ranked southern rivals Krabi FC. Fans who want a guarantee of keeping dry for the match are advised to arrive at the stadium well ahead of the 6:30pm kickoff, as covered seating…
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Aussie tourist airlifted to Bangkok after fall from Phuket tuk-tuk
PHUKET: An Australian tourist on holiday in Phuket has been flown to Bangkok to receive treatment after suffering a serious head injury from falling off the back of a tuk-tuk in Patong last night. Tuk-tuk driver Paiboon Hemwara, 30, told the Phuket Gazette that he picked up Mr Noble and his wife at the top of Soi Bangla at about…
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New wealth brings new health problems, ASEAN Secretary-General tells Phuket meeting
PHUKET: Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), yesterday warned that the rise in wealth throughout the ASEAN member states will bring a new wave of health issues to the region. “The formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 will make some people richer. With their new lifestyle will come new health issues; non-communicable…
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Phuket Sports: Fighting to save Phuket’s sea turtles
PHUKET: Helping to bring Phuket’s sea turtles back from the brink, today’s WBO Oriental Bantamweight (118lbs) title fight saw Thailand’s boxers maintain their dominance over Filipino fighters in the channel 7 series. The WBO Bantam-weight title belt was flown in by helicopter and carried by armed Thai soldiers, who made a rapid-descent (fast-roping) from their helicopter. Thai boxer Pungluang Sor…
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Phuket Sports: Goal Line Technology
PHUKET: Goal-line technology moved a step closer yesterday when the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved the use of technology in football matches. IFAB approved the use of two different devices to help assist with goal-line decision making in games. Hawk-Eye, already used in cricket and tennis, is based on optical recognition to determine the exact location of the ball,…
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Travel insurance fails as Phuket tourist faces B600k medical bill
PHUKET: Family and friends of New Zealander Sean Kenzie, who suffered extensive injuries after being knocked off his motorbike in Phuket, have launched a campaign to raise funds to pay his spiraling medical bills. Mr Kenzie, 27, was involved in a collision with a taxi van in Patong last Saturday (June 30). He suffered a split liver, two punctured lungs…
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Ferry sinks off Koh Lanta, 80km southeast of Phuket
PHUKET: The project to build a bridge between the two islands Koh Lanta Noi and Koh Lanta Yai took a soggy step backward yesterday morning when a ferry waiting to unload its cargo of construction materials to build the bridge started taking on water in the rough weather currently affecting much of Thailand, including Phuket. No injuries were reported in…
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Man found dead in Phuket Town sala
PHUKET: A man was found dead in a sala [a Thai-style open pavillion] in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon, just 50 meters from where hundreds of people gathered for the first day of the Department of Internal Trade’s ‘Blue Flag Fair. Local residents at 4pm notified Phuket City Police duty officer Sakon Krainara that a man was found dead in the…
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Mysterious disease kills 61 children in Cambodia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mysterious disease kills 61 children in Cambodia Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Health officials in Cambodia are investigating a mysterious disease which has affected more than 60 children over the past three months, killing all but one of them, officials said on Wednesday. There is…
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WBO turns turtle: prize fight moved to Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Due to weather concerns, the venue for the much-anticipated WBO Oriental flyweight fight between Thai boxer Pungluang Sor Singyu and Filipino Rey Migreno has been changed from Nai Yang Beach to the multi-purpose hall at Phuket Airport. The card, staged to raise money for sea turtle conservation efforts, will get underway at 2pm with a bout pitting a female…
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Plan for pregnant migrant workers misguided
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Proposed plan for pregnant migrant workers misguided Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Non-governmental organizations and the academia yesterday spoke up against the Labor Ministry’s plan to deport migrant workers who get pregnant while in Thailand. The ministry initiated this policy as a response to Thailand’s…
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Non-communicable diseases top ASEAN meet
PHUKET: Public Health Ministers and senior officials from the 10 countries in Asean yesterday gathered to discuss ways of tackling chronic noncommunicable diseases, state health-care funds, control of tobacco and alcohol consumption, and the spread of HIV/Aids in urban areas.About 200 participants from regional governments attended the 11th Asean Health Ministers meeting yesterday in Phuket, which continues today.The event includes…
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New faultline discovered
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand’s 15th fault-line discovered in Nakhon Nayok Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: A new fault-line, caused by a previous earthquake, was found in Nakhon Nayok province and could be considered the country’s 15th active fault-line, a seminar of geological professionals and related agencies was told recently. Songpop…
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Phuket Sports: Usain Bolt needs to adjust technique – Michael Johnson
PHUKET: Michael Johnson believes nothing can hold Usain Bolt back at the London Olympics if he adjusts his technique. Johnson, who has won four Olympic gold medals, is confident Usain Bolt could run quicker than 9.5 seconds. “He (Bolt) could break the world record again; he could run 9.5 secs, or lower. Ultimately, if he were to really be focused…
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Phuket’s top-cop denies “media blackout’ in effect
PHUKET: After officers in two different police districts yesterday told Phuket Gazette reporters that a “media blackout” was in effect in the province, Phuket’s top cop today denied that such is the case. The misunderstanding may have been the result of excuses made up by uncooperative officers who don’t want to do their jobs, he said. According to police officers…
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