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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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Phuket police slap seahorse, illegal coral vendor with conservation lesson
PHUKET: A vendor selling several pieces of illegal black coral jewellery in a Sea Gypsy village in Phuket was given a stern warning and a lesson on conservation Saturday afternoon. “We got a tip-off about the vendor near Rawai Pier, and asked Chalong Police officers to check it out,” Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources…
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Police beat war drum as arrest warrants issued for ‘untouchables’
PHUKET: Officers are ready to go to war when serving the arrest warrants issued for the “untouchables” of Patong, Deputy Commander of Regional Police Paween Pongsirin told the Phuket Gazette today. “We have enough information to arrest some ‘big people’, including politicians,” Maj Gen Paween said. “At this stage, I cannot reveal how many officers will participate or when we…
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Flooding delays Phuket underpass trial run
PHUKET: The trial opening of Phuket’s first underpass, at the Darasamuth Intersection on the bypass road, will not begin until at least next month, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The 600-million-baht underpass, located beside the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, missed its mid-May trial deadline after heavy rains flooded the road’s not yet complete drainage system. “The water pumps were…
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Aussie surf safety expert to teach how to survive Phuket’s deadly rip currents
International specialist on rip currents and beach safety Associate Professor Robert Brander will stage a dramatic visual demonstration of the power of rip currents at Phuket’s deadliest stretch of sand, Karon Beach, this Thursday. Dr Brander is a coastal geomorphologist and senior lecturer at the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales in…
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Phuket Airport Bus plan to use van drivers reveals the road ahead
PHUKET: The chief official in charge of drafting key policy changes affecting Phuket’s public transport has revealed that he will present a request for an airport bus operator to hire van drivers to deliver tourists from Phuket International Airport directly to the taxi-mafia hotbed of Kata-Karon. Jaturong Kaewkasi, the chief policy adviser at the Phuket Land Transport Office, confirmed to…
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Phuket hotel worker dies after being stabbed in head in gang attack
PHUKET: A staffer at a hotel in Karon has died from his injuries after being stabbed in the head during a gang attack north of Phuket Town on Saturday night. Surasri Jupmatta, 19, from Prachuap Khiri Khan, and a male friend were pushing their motorbike along Thepkrasattri Road looking for petrol when they were set upon by a gang on…
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Phuket storms prompt flash flood, landslide warnings
PHUKET: Scattered thunderstorms and isolated downpours forecast for today through Wednesday have prompted disaster officials to issue flash flood and landslide warnings for risk areas throughout Phuket. “We issued a warning to every local administration in Phuket to watch out for flash floods and landslides and to be prepared to respond to emergencies in their areas,” Department of Disaster Prevention…
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Coup confidence sparks rally on stock market, stabilises baht
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Coup generates confidence, sparks a rally on stock market and stabilises baht The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Consumers and investors have regained their confidence and banks are seeing a rise in demand for loans just one month after a coup saw the National Council for…
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South Korea conscript who killed five comrades continues standoff with troops
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Korea conscript who killed five comrades continues standoff with troops Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A South Korean conscript soldier who killed five of his comrades in a grenade and gun attack continued a standoff on Monday with troops trying to capture him in a…
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Fighting strains Ukraine ceasefire, Putin urges dialogue
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fighting strains Ukraine ceasefire, Putin urges dialogue Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fighting flared between Ukrainian and pro-Moscow separatist forces, both sides reported on Sunday, further straining a unilateral ceasefire declared by Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin pressed Kiev to talk to the rebels. Putin…
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Last-gasp equalizer keeps Portugal World Cup hopes alive
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Last-gasp equalizer keeps Portugal World Cup hopes alive Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Portuguese substitute Silvestre Varela grabbed a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer to secure a 2-2 draw with the United States in World Cup Group G on Sunday. Just as it looked as though the Americans…
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Police nab 22 young racers on motorbikes
PHUKET: A late-night teenage motorcycle race was nipped in the bud last night after local residents tipped off Phuket City Police after reading about the event in a Facebook post. “Local residents called yesterday afternoon and told officers about a race that was planned – as advertised on Facebook – for 10pm last night,” said Maj Rattaket Munmuang of the…
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Costa Rica stun Italy, France crush Switzerland
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Costa Rica stun Italy, France crush Switzerland Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Another European heavyweight fell to Latin American opposition on Friday as Costa Rica shocked Italy 1-0, putting the four-times champions’ qualification in peril, but France thumped Switzerland 5-2 in an imperious World Cup display.…
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Brit expat takes out power pole in high-speed crash, escapes with life
PHUKET: A British expat managed to escape life-threatening injury early this morning after a high-speed collision with a power pole in Koh Kaew left his Toyota Fortuner destroyed and the pole in a pile of rubble. Maj Kittiphum Tinthalang of the Thalang Police was notified of the accident on Thepkrasattri Road northbound, about 100 meters south of the Tah Rua…
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US downgrades Thailand to be among worst human trafficking hubs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand downgraded to be among worst trafficking centres The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The US State Department yesterday downgraded Thailand to the lowest level in its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report – a move that could trigger sanctions by the United States. After years…
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Brazilian family cross extra fingers for sixth World Cup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazilian family cross extra fingers for sixth World Cup Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Brazil have won a handful of World Cups but for one local family five is not enough. Fourteen members of the Da Silva family were born with six fingers on each hand…
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British embassy rolls out passport extensions
PHUKET: The British Embassy in Bangkok has announced that it will begin conducting appointments on Monday so that British nationals in need of an extension to their current passport can be issued them. Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) in London is dealing with the highest demand for passports in 12 years and has issued more than three million passports so…
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Mother wanted for abducting own British-Thai children believed to be in Phuket
PHUKET: The mother wanted for abducting her two British-Thai daughters from their natural father in Pattaya is believed to be heading to Phuket. On Tuesday, Pattaya Police were issued an arrest warrant for 36-year-old Onwarat Gamlem, who is the non-custodial mother of the children. The warrant orders police officers around the country to arrest Ms Onwarat on charges of child…
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Phuket Poll: Beach land for Phuket’s beach clubs?
PHUKET: A bold campaign spearheaded by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada and backed by the Army has led to the recent deconstruction of some parts of Phuket’s most popular west coast beach clubs, such as Catch Beach Club (story here). Though beach clubs aren’t the only targets in the bid to return Phuket’s public beach land to the people, they…
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South African arrested for running ATM card scam in Phuket
PHUKET: Police arrested a South African in possession of 72 bank cards early this morning for allegedly skimming ATMs at popular tourist beach towns along Phuket’s west coast. “Manquba Parker Ngcobo, from the Republic of South Africa, was identified as a suspected ATM skimmer after a police investigation revealed that he had been withdrawing money using multiple bank cards in…
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Phuket rainy day must-do: people watching
PHUKET: Let me set the scene for you: it is Sunday afternoon and a sizable rainstorm has just swooped in and killed the power at Central Festival. The only sources of light are provided by the gray sky and the fluorescent glow emanating from laptop screens, tablets and smartphones. I am sitting in front of my Mac at a table…
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Saving Phuket park is more than battling land encroachers
Kitiphat Taraphiban, 53, a native of Bangkok, is the new Chief of Sirinath National Park. He has a bachelor’s degree in Forest Management from Kasetsart University, and before coming to Phuket, served as chief of Mae Ping National Park in Chiang Mai for one year. Here, he talks about his plans to clean, protect and upgrade the beach, forest and…
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Phuket benefits from NCPO’s no-nonsense measures
PHUKET: Following the unprecedented crackdown on the island’s notorious transport syndicates in recent weeks, it is becoming clear that few provinces in Thailand are benefitting more from the no-nonsense measures ordered by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) than Phuket. Now the cleanup, aimed at ending illegal businesses in Phuket, has targeted another scourge that has increasingly tarnished…
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Armed Navy personnel lead 200-strong Phuket land raid
PHUKET: More than 200 officers under armed escort by Royal Thai Navy personnel arrested five suspects for violent intimidation of villagers in Phuket’s Soi Palai area early this morning. The three-hour raid, which began before dawn, targeted a gang of about 20 men who attacked 14 local villagers’ homes yesterday and destroyed property in broad daylight. Police and Navy officers…
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Obama sends military advisers as Iraq refinery battle rages
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama sends U.S. military advisers to Iraq as battle rages over refinery Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was sending up to 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq but stressed the need for a political solution to the country’s crisis…
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Gun battle erupts as Israeli soldiers search for missing teens
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gun battle erupts as Israeli soldiers search for missing teens Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Israeli forces traded gunfire with Palestinians on Thursday, the military said, in the fiercest street battles in the occupied West Bank since a search began for three Israeli teenagers missing for…
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In wake of World Cup viewer bombings, Nigeria says militants plan petrol lorry attacks on capital
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community In wake of World Cup viewer bombings, Nigeria says militants plan petrol lorry attacks on capital Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Islamist militants are planning to attack Nigeria’s capital with bombs loaded on petrol lorries, the Nigerian government said, stoking fears of a sustained push to…
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Junta takes key role for peace talks in South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Junta takes key role for peace talks in South The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Almost a month after seizing power from a civilian government, the military has taken on the role of initiating peace talks with separatists in the southern border region. The move is…
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Missing Karen activist ‘filed petition with Palace’ before disappearing
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Missing Karen activist ‘filed petition with Palace’ before disappearing The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Missing Karen activist Pholachi “Billy” Rakchongcharoen made a heartfelt plea for a return of his home in the forests of Phetchaburi to His Majesty the King in a petition sent before…
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Senior labour officials transferred as migrant worker exodus slows
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two senior labour officials transferred as migrant exodus slows The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday transferred two senior labour officials in charge of employment of migrant workers. Employment Department director-general Prawit Khiangpol was transferred to an inactive…
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