Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Swine flu begins to spread in Asia
PHUKET (ANN/The Nation): South Korea on Saturday reported East Asia’s second human case of swine flu as other countries in the region sought to minimize the risks of infection by canceling flights and imposing visa requirements on Mexico, the worst-hit country in the outbreak. No cases have been reported in Phuket or elsewhere in Thailand. The 51-year-old nun in South…
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Asean Summit: Phuket residents asked to help make it safe
PHUKET: The government yesterday called upon Phuket residents to ensure that the Asean Summit with its six dialogue partners, scheduled for mid-July, will go off without incident. Thailand was seeking to reassure Asian leaders that the regional summit would not end in chaos like the Asean meeting in Pattaya in April. That summit of leaders from the 10-member Association of…
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Lifestyle: Have mobs become a fashion statement in Phuket?
PHUKET: Just days after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government finally managed to restore order to Bangkok, mob militancy was back on the streets of Thailand. This time, it was closer to home. Protesters blockaded Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Bang Tao for almost 24 hours, causing disruption for both residents of the island and the tourists so crucial to our economy.…
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Blood Type ‘O’ Negative still urgently needed for Phuket accident victim
PHUKET: Donations of blood type O Negative are still urgently needed for Phuket motorcycle accident victim Steve Swan, the proprietor of the Crows Nest bar in Patong. Mr Swan is at Phuket’s Vachira Hospital and is suffering from internal bleeding due to severe leg, hip and pelvic injuries after being hit by a car on the Kata/Karon road near Chalong…
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Another corpse found in Phuket’s Rasada area
RASSADA, PHUKET: Police have yet to identify the remains of a man whose badly decomposing body was discovered in a wooded area off the access road to Rassada Harbor on Wednesday. Local residents found the deceased lying in a thicket about 100 meters from the road. They called police, who found no signs of a struggle at the scene. Phuket…
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Phuket Marine Biological Center launches turtle project
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: Researchers from Bangkok and Phuket are preparing to launch Thailand’s first artificial insemination project for sea turtles at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC). Researcher Kanjana Adulyanukosol, who heads the PMBC Endangered Species Unit, said her team will work with researchers from Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science to extract semen from male sea turtles and store…
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Hilton Phuket Arcadia tipped to host Asean summit
KARON, PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban today leads the defense minister, commanders of the armed forces and the national police chief to visit Phuket ahead of the upcoming Asean summit. The group is meeting with tourism industry leaders and local government officials at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa this afternoon. However, it has yet to be formally…
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Phuket stars in The Dream Hotel TV series
PHUKET: Last month, the cast and crew of TV romance adventure The Dream Hotel celebrated completion of filming in and around Phuket for the German-speaking movie, which will be broadcast in Germany and parts of Scandinavia to approximately 12 million viewers in 2010. Dream Hotel is a popular German-speaking travel documentary TV series that highlights luxury resorts in exotic locations…
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Phuket charity box bandit nabbed by The Magnet
PHUKET CITY: For a combination of stupidity and lack of ethics, few crimes in Phuket in recent years match that of a man who tried to steal a charity donation box placed on the main counter of the Phuket City Police Station. At 12:30pm on April 21, a police officer noticed that the charity donation box for the Foundation for…
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Phuket dive site damaged by trawler
PHUKET: One of the airplanes at the artificial reef dive site off Phuket known as the “Coral Reef Squadron” has been damaged after being hit by the anchor of a fishing trawler. Rainer Gottwald, CEO of the Thai Dive Association (TDA) technical committee, said the damage probably occurred on the night of April 10. It was discovered the following day. A…
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Good support for Phuket Summer Season campaign
PHUKET: Key Phuket tourism industry executives and Tourism officials gathered at The Chedi hotel on Surin Beach yesterday to show their support for the recently launched public relations campaign to promote Phuket Summer Season. The event, organized by Summer in Phuket campaign leader Nick Anthony, attracted about 200 participants who pledged to join forces in “canceling Low Season” and promoting the…
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Phuket well prepared for swine flu outbreak
PHUKET CITY: Despite no cases of “swine flu” being recorded in Thailand, public health officials are taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus into the country through Phuket Airport and other air gateways. Pongsawad Ratanasang, director of the Public Health Office, told the media he is not overly concerned by the danger posed to the island by this…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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