News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Phuket Opinion: Taxis – a decade of blocking progress
PHUKET: The recent police-ordered closure of tour counters run by Russian nationals in Kata-Karon is just the latest in a long series of protest-related events in Phuket that undermine the rule of law by rewarding law-breakers and punishing those who play by the rules.The closure of the counters followed a blockade of the Karon beachfront by members of a so-called…
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Love sick member of the Royal Thai Navy found hanged in Phuket
PHUKET: A member the Thai Royal Navy was found hanged in his Phuket garage, just days after he discovered his girlfriend was having an affair.The body of Wanchai Sripangmol, 23, was found hanging from a rafter in his Kathu garage by his parents yesterday morning.“He took leave over New Year to visit his girlfriend in Kalasin Province only to find…
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Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (Reuters): President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed yesterday (January 11) to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama’s determination to wind down a long, unpopular…
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Australian tourist found dead from possible drug overdose in Phuket resort
PHUKET: Patong police believe an Australian tourist who was found dead in his Phuket hotel room yesterday died from a drug overdose. The 45-year-old, whose name has yet to be released to the public by police, was staying at a resort in the Patong beach area. Captain Teerasak Boonsang of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette the man’s body…
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Phuket Sports: Julian Seal’s journey passing the baton
PHUKET: Julian Seal is a man on a mission. Inspired originally by “Met Track”, a London Metropolitan police initiative to get disaffected teenagers off the streets by using sport, his enthusiasm was galvanized by the success of the 2012 Olympic Games, and the inspiring way in which it showed how sport can foster not only excellence, but can instill in…
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No one seriously injured in Children’s Day car crash
PHUKET: A single car crash on the bypass road is slowing down morning traffic on Children’s Day (today) as Phuket commuters and others pause to look at the wreckage. The driver, sitting stiffly on the slope of the ditch where his Suzuki Swift came to its final rest, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that he was “okay”, given the circumstances.…
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Phuket Media Watch: China sends troops to Myanmar border
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China sends troops to border with conflict-torn Myanmar Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: China has sent soldiers to its border with Myanmar amid concern that escalating violence between the Southeast Asian country’s government and ethnic separatists is spilling over, an official Chinese newspaper reported yesterday. The…
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Phuket Police have balls, promise to be gentle with ticket sales
PHUKET: The Karon Police do have balls, but heavy-handed tactics in selling the tickets will stop, the Karon acting police chief confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. The news follows a mob of angry residents in the popular Phuket tourist area of Karon Beach gathering at the newly-established Karon Police Station yesterday. Their complaint: the “strong tactics” used to sell…
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Phuket Sports: PCC start new year in style
PHUKET: After a short break for the festive season, the fourth match of the Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Cricket League was played last weekend (January 7). Patong Cricket Club (PCC) squared off against the Village Cricket Team, with PCC claiming an all important victory in emphatic style. Opener Mike Khan (41), who was well supported by his partner Raju Seemant…
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Phuket Sports: Phuket FC flies in Dudu for new season
PHUKET: Phuket FC has signed 25-year-old Brazilian striker Luiz Eduardo Porcino, better known as “Dudu”, from Osotspa FC. Dudu scored 10 goals in 28 games for Buriram PEA FC in 2010.“We told Dudu that if he plays in the Thai Premier League there will be strong competition with footballers of his caliber. But if he joins us in Phuket and…
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Phuket Sports: Andaman Pearl continue to shine
PHUKET: The Andaman Pearl’s last away game against CAT FC at Grand Sport Park, Bangkok, was played without their head coach issuing instructions from the sidelines. Suphol Senapeng was admitted to hospital in the early hours of Wednesday morning suffering from a severe stomach ache. Phuket United used coach Suphol’s absence as an added incentive to continue their fine form…
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Hot-headed somtam vendor wanted for Phuket shooting
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for a somtam (spicy Thai salad) vendor following a local building supplies shop staffer being shot in the head at point-blank range with a homemade zip gun south of Phuket Town last night. Somjit Chueajan, 21, from Lampang province in northern Thailand, remains in the intensive care unit at Vachira Hospital Phuket, in…
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Snake hitches ride on Qantas flight to Papua New Guinea
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (News Wires): Qantas had its very own dramatic ‘snakes on a plane’ episode yesterday (January 10) when a three metre python joined passengers onboard an early morning flight from Australia to Papua New Guinea.But unlike Samuel L. Jackson’s 2006 fictional Hollywood blockbuster in which a nest of…
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101 dead and 200 injured in Pakistan bombings
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (Reuters): At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two Pakistani cities yesterday (January 10) in one of the country’s bloodiest days in recent years, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in Quetta.The bombings underscored the myriad threats Pakistani security forces face from…
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One student injured in California school shooting
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (Reuters) – A student armed with a 12-gauge shotgun opened fire in a California high school yesterday (January 10), critically wounding a fellow student before two staff members talked the boy into putting down his weapon, authorities said.The suspected sole gunman, a 16-year-old boy, was arrested by…
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Rescued baby dolphin and mother losing deadly battle at Phuket Marine Biological Center
PHUKET: Serious internal infections have left a mother striped dolphin and her baby in critical condition, despite the pair being rescued on January 4 in Phang Nga and receiving round the clock care at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC). “The mother dolphin has been unable to swim since she was first rescued. She had wounds on her skin and…
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Phuket Sports: Aussie fly-half to take on Thai heavyweight
Cooper pitted against Muay Thai veteran in pro-boxing debut Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Australia flyhalf Quade Cooper was pitted against Muay Thai veteran Barry Dunnett for his professional boxing debut scheduled in Brisbane next month. The 24-year-old New Zealand-born back is currently honing his punching skills in Brisbane ahead of the charity bout which will keep him out of…
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Unidentified body found in Phuket canal
PHUKET: The body of an unidentified Asian man with head wounds and heavy bruising was found floating in a canal near Layan Beach (map here) on Phuket’s west coast, in the early hours of this morning. “We received a report at about 3am from the fisherman who discovered the body. We believe the body was in the water for about…
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Police reinforcements to bolster Phuket tourist safety
PHUKET: A 30-day boost in tourist-safety measures on Phuket sees an additional 400 Royal Thai Police, sourced from every division of the force, stepping foot on the island today. The desperately needed extra “troops” on the ground comes days after Ambassadors to Thailand from Canada, the Netherlands and UK visited Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut to voice their concerns about tourist…
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Queen changes rule; royal baby will be a princess
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: (News wires): Queen Elizabeth has decided if the baby Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge are expecting is a girl, she will be a princess. Under the current rules, the first born son of the couple would become a prince, but a daughter would not…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Chelsea slump to shock home loss to Swansea in Cup
Swansea upset Chelsea in League Cup Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Swansea City inflicted the second shock home defeat in eight days on Chelsea, goals from Michu and Danny Graham giving the Welsh club a 2-0 win in their Capital One (League) Cup semi-final first leg last night. Michael Laudrup’s Swansea, playing in their first major semi-final for 49 years,…
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Live Wire – Help! my email is not sending
PHUKET: Reader ‘PS’ wrote in with an interesting question that frequently dogs local residents and visitors alike: “Hi Woody, I thought you might be interested in this, but knowing you, you already know about it! The problem I have been having is sending e-mails through True, because sometimes they will not go for a couple of days and other times…
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Phuket Finance: Endurance and persistence
PHUKET: Recently Phuket saw some of the best triathletes in the world descend on the island to participate in the Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 Triathlon. While I am extremely slow, I am a very keen endurance athlete. I do this race every year, as well as the marathon here, and am currently registered for my second full Ironman race next…
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Phuket Business: Reusable future
“We live in a world where every 12 seconds, a child dies because of dirty water and insanitation. CO2 continues to build up and forests are depleting. We live in a resource-constrained world. There are limits.” – Peter Bakker.PHUKET: These chilling words from Peter Bakker at a recent Bangkok symposium held by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)…
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Australian heat wave sears new colors onto weather maps
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET (Reuters): Australia’s record-breaking heat wave has sent temperatures soaring, melting road tar and setting off hundreds of wildfires – as well as searing new colors onto weather maps. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has added dark purple and magenta to its color-coded weather forecasting map to…
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Migrant worker deportations still on hold: Phuket Employment chief
PHUKET: Migrant workers in Phuket still waiting to complete the nationality verification process, in order to become legally registered laborers, have at least a one-week reprieve from any deportation crackdown, the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) chief Yawapa Pibulpol confirmed this morning. The news follows the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, not discussing the issue of whether or…
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World News: US doesn’t rule out removing troops from Afghanistan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US does not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Obama administration does not rule out a complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after 2014, the White House said yesterday (January 8), just days before President Barack Obama is…
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Tuk-tuk, jet-ski, taxi scams: Ambassadors name the bane of Phuket
PHUKET: In their first official visit to Phuket, the British, Canadian and Dutch Ambassadors to Thailand today plainly described their chief concerns about the scams and cheats continuing to plague Phuket’s tourism industry. Speaking with Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut at Provincial Hall this afternoon, ambassadors Mark Kent of the UK, Philip Calvert of Canada and Joan Boer of the Netherlands…
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DNP seeks funds for reforestation
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DNP seeks 9bn baht for reforestation The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A 9-billion baht budget is being sought for forestation projects across the country while plans are being put in place for a nationwide crackdown on encroachers, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Minimum wage costing jobs – Official statistics
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Over 3,400 have lost jobs in 6 months The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The 300 baht wage policy has cost at least 3,434 workers their jobs during the past six months, according to official statistics. The minimum daily wage was first hiked in April in…
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