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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored Moving with family? Here’s how to cut health costs in Thailand
Relocating to Thailand with your family brings exciting new opportunities, but it also comes with the challenge of managing healthcare costs in a new system. Thailand has both public and private healthcare options, each offering different prices and quality of...
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Weather warning issued as rain soaks Phuket traffic
PHUKET: Heavy rain across Phuket this morning has caused minor flooding in some areas and severely hampered traffic flow during the morning rush hour.The Phuket Gazette has received reports of minor flooding in Phuket Town, as well as some parts of Chalong and Patong.The news comes as the Thai Meteorological Department (MD) at 5am today issued its eighth consecutive “heavy…
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Go-Eco Phuket dives for biggest reef cleanup in world
PHUKET: Qualifiers keep dropping with Go-Eco Phuket as the environmental group prepares for its official launch on September 30 with the biggest reef cleanup of any kind in the world. “On September 30, the eyes of the world will be attracted to Phuket,” Tony Andrews, Thailand’s West coast PADI Regional Manager and Project AWARE Ambassador, said at a press conference…
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Phuket’s “Pink Panther’ Paiboon denies “last stage’ cancer rumors
PHUKET: Paiboon Upatising, the president of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO), today replied personally by email to the Phuket Gazette to deny rumors that he has last stage cancer.“Don’t listen to all the rumors. I do not have final stage cancer, and thank you to everybody for your concern,” he wrote.Mr Paiboon said that he went to Bangkok Hospital…
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Phuket landowner denies “ghosting’ land titles
PHUKET: Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Secretary-General Col Dusadee Arayawuth encountered an unusual experience during his inspection of four plots in Phuket yesterday. The named landowner, for two plots along the coastal road north of Patong, denied any knowledge of owning the land under investigation and expressed no intention of even wanting to claim ownership of the plots in question.…
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World News: LA hikers find skull and torso; 2nd in 8 months
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hikers find human skull, torso near canyon trail in Los Angeles Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Hikers along a canyon trail in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades on Saturday discovered a human skull and a torso, more than eight months after a similar discovery was…
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Phuket Investor: Excuse me, what is QE3?
PHUKET: Being a regular on the sun soaked shores of Phuket, watching the many boats sail by on a frequent basis, one may start thinking that QE3 is a new luxury cruise liner replacing the old QE2 that was recently decommissioned. Not the case. In the never ending roller-coaster ride that is the world of finance, this is the latest…
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Phuket Business: Let’s go back and review the basics
PHUKET: Every once in a while I think it’s good to go back and review the basics. This is especially important in a world where the rate of change keeps increasing. Ever since the financial crisis began we have heard a lot of saber rattling with regards to offshore financial centers, banking secrecy, tax information exchange agreements and so forth.…
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Phuket Live Wire: iPhone 5 – Caveat emptor
PHUKET: Last week I talked about the importance of fast internet speeds and the evolution of technology in Phuket. This week, man oh man, the pigeons came home to roost. If you’re thinking about buying an iPhone 5, it would behoove you to read and understand this and next week’s column. The money you save could be your own. I…
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World News: Schoolgirl runaway believed to be in France
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community British girl, 15, thought to have run away to France with teacher Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: A 15-year-old British girl is believed to have run away to France with her 30-year-old math teacher, police said yesterday as her parents made an emotional appeal. The…
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World News: 11 now confirmed dead in avalanche
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Climbers’ death toll in Nepal avalanche reaches 11 Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: The death toll has reached eleven while a number of others remain missing after a group of foreign and national climbers were buried under an avalanche in Nepal, local authorities said.The avalanche occurred on…
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New hospital wing rises in Patong
PHUKET: Construction of a new 69-million-baht wing at Patong Hospital, that will double the facility’s inpatient capacity, is well underway and scheduled for completion by August next year.The new building, under construction by Pornthisan Co Ltd, will provide room for 60 more inpatient beds and another 13 private rooms, Hospital Director Phumin Silapunt explained to Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa…
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Phuket Immigration launches online queue for “one-year visas’
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration currently has no plans of launching an online queue system for re-entry permits similar to the one recently launched by Immigration Division 1 on Cheng Wattana Road in Bangkok, the busiest Immigration office in Thailand. However, Phuket Immigration has quietly launched a queue system for people applying for one-year permits-to-stay. “Even though we don’t have an online…
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Patong security guard arrested on Deep South terrorism charges
PHUKET: Phuket police have arrested a security guard in Patong wanted on an outstanding warrant for charges related to terrorist activities in Thailand’s restive Deep South. The man had a bounty on his head of more than one million baht for his capture, said police. Mahamasakree Mahama-useng, 29, was arrested at a rented house in the Soi Bang Thong area…
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Phuket Police identify body of woman found in roadside ditch
PHUKET: Police have identified the woman whose body was found alongside her motorbike in a roadside ditch opposite Ladthi Wanaram Temple (Wat Tai) on Chao Fa East Road this morning as that of 26-year-old Chanupan Sawangewit. Police suspect that Ms Chanupan lost control of her motorbike while riding back to Phuket Town after visiting her mother’s house in Soi Koktanod,…
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Phuket Business: New trade surplus milestone achieved
PHUKET: A new milestone was set for Phuket’s international trade last month with the the island’s annual surplus of exports over imports peaking at 11 billion baht – more than 700 million baht clear of last year’s full-year, record figure.According to Phuket Customs’ receipts for the 2012 fiscal year (October 2011 to September 2012), accounting through to the end of…
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Phuket Sports: Unity USA douses Rising Stars in basketball finals
PHUKET: American ballers on Saturday showed basketball lovers why they continue to dominate the sport, with USA’s Team Unity securing a gold medal in Phuket’s first international basketball tournament. Held between September 14-22, the TOA Thailand Open 2012 Phuket Championship featured six teams – two from Thailand and a team each from USA, Australia, Indonesia and Brunei – who played…
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Phuket Sports: Warlords conquer the Islanders
PHUKET: A poorly coordinated and lackluster Phuket FC defense conceded five consecutive goals in a devastating 5-1 away loss last night to Saraburi FC. Played in front of 1,328 fans at Saraburi’s OrBorJor Stadium in Saraburi province, about an hour’s drive northeast of Bangkok, the match was both side’s 28th of 34 scheduled fixtures. Though playing without their key Brazilian…
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Phuket ‘jellyfish attack’ report eludes hospitals, confounds experts
PHUKET: Local hospital staff and experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) are confounded by the story of a British woman, reported in sensational fashion yesterday, as suffering extreme injuries in a jellyfish attack “somewhere near Phuket”. Although the story, published by the Daily Mail in the UK, showed that British mum Sam Webster, 37, clearly suffered serious injuries,…
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Phuket Burmese decry gold shop bandits
PHUKET: A crowd of onlookers at the re-enactment of the robbery of Yong Chuan gold shop in Rassada shouted disparaging remarks and denounced the prime suspect as he retraced his getaway from the Karn Keha Housing estate yesterday. “You have shamed our community” and “We’re glad you finally surrendered,” were shouted at the suspect, named by police only as “Koson”.…
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Woman cheats death with fake funeral
PHUKET: Friends and family of 80-year-old Kulap Chomduang gathered at Sop Tui Temple in the northern province of Lampang for her funeral in early August. Mrs Kulap had been suffering from a variety of health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer of the uterus. But there was a catch: Mrs Kulap wasn’t dead. Since then, Mrs Kulap has…
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Weird World News: You never know what you’ll get, from a baby to false gold
PHUKET: Forrest Gump famously said, “My Mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.'” In honor of Mrs Gump’s timeless wisdom, this week’s Phuket Gazette Weird World News roundup is popping out a baby, drilling for gold and counting its carats in diamonds all in the name of getting more, or…
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American aircraft carrier to arrive in Phuket
PHUKET: The American aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis (CVN-74), dispatched four months ahead of schedule back in August, will arrive in Phuket early next month along with two US warships and 3,500 sailors.The Washington-state-based aircraft carrier’s current mission is to ensure security and stability in the “vital Asia-Pacific region”, according to the ship’s Facebook page. The departure of the…
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Phuket Sports: International sporting round-up
PHUKET: THE ICC World Twenty20 started in Sri Lanka on Tuesday and runs until October 7. The fourth edition of the tournament features ten ICC full members and two other ICC members who had to qualify for the tournament. India, England and Afghanistan are in Group A. Ireland are in group B with the West Indies and Australia. Group C…
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World News: 19 dead as anti-Islam film protests turn violent
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Anti-Islam film protests in Pakistan turn violent, at least 19 killed Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: At least nineteen people were killed and scores injured across Pakistan as widespread protests against the anti-Islam film turned violent, local media reported yesterday. In the southern port city…
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United Nations launches initiative to plug ‘gaps’ in Thai disaster management
PHUKET: Marking nearly one year ago since floodwaters inundated most of Thailand and its capital Bangkok, the Royal Thai Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched a new initiative today to boost the capacity of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to be able to respond to large-scale floods and other natural disasters. The DDPM is…
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Phuket gold thief surrenders to see ‘dying wife’
PHUKET: One of the two men wanted for making off with millions of baht in jewelry from a Phuket gold shop on Monday surrendered to police today, saying that he wanted to see his wife again before she died from a heart condition. The man, a Burmese national named by police only as “Mr Koson”, arrived in front of Phuket…
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Cabinet cuts it close with announcement of new Phuket Governor
PHUKET: A last-minute announcement of Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha’s successor is expected to be made on Tuesday, less than a week before the incumbent takes office.Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the Cabinet on Tuesday were given a list of 19 provincial governor positions that will be available come October 1, according to the Cabinet meeting’s minutes.Governor Tri and 16 others…
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Phuket Sports: Ballers rock Saphan Hin
PHUKET: Thailand’s most significant international basketball tournament has livened up Phuket Town’s brand new 4,000 seat Gymnasium with some fast-paced, slam-dunk and swooshing action this past week. The third and fourth playoff will see PEA (THAI) take on CLS Knights (INA) at 2pm with the final to be played at 4pm which will test the Rising Stars (Thai) against the…
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Phuket City to spend more than B100mn on flood defense
PHUKET: In the wake of floodwaters inundating Phuket Town in August, Phuket City Municipality is looking to spend 100 million baht on flood defense measures, starting with a 10-million-baht study conducted by a private consultant. The news was delivered at a public meeting chaired by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town on Wednesday.…
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Official probe finds Tiger Disco failed to meet fire-safety regulations
PHUKET: The findings of an official investigation into the Tiger Discotheque fire that killed four people on August 17 were publicly released yesterday. They cite failure by nightclub management to adhere to multiple fire-safety regulations. The report, compiled by the Building Society Inspectors and Officers Association (BSA) and the Association of Siamese Architects (ASA), did not cite the cause of…
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