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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Topless Russians and other illegals scooped up in Phuket nightclub raid
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Employment officers arrested 35 Russians in four nightclubs last night following reports of topless dance shows in Phuket’s infamous nightlife destination, Soi Bangla in Patong. “We received reports of topless shows at nightclubs in the area and suspected there were also illegal workers operating,” said Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol, who led the raid on the four…
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Phuket Gazette Exclusive: Aldhouse – A view from the inside
PHUKET: Looking exhausted, Lee Aldhouse cut a lonely figure in his faded prison-issue overalls, surrounded by about 20 Thai inmates. He waited for the signal from the prison guard controlling the communication between visitors and inmates – a telephone – before picking up his receiver. The first thing he said was, “I cannot talk about my impending court case, but…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: NSC rejects BRN demands at Deep South peace talks; Yingluck slams agencies for abusing power
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NSC rejects BRN demands at peace talks Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Thai authorities on Monday rejected demands by the southern Muslim separatists in their second round of talks, but both sides agreed to hold another meeting on June 13.National Security Council secretary general Lt-General Paradorn Pattanatabut, who headed…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Myanmar Rohingya’s uncertain future
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Muslim victims of Myanmar unrest face uncertain future Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: In Myanmar’s central heartlands, justice and security is elusive for thousands of Muslims who lost their homes in a deadly rampage by Buddhist mobs in March.Many are detained in prison-like camps, unable to return to…
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Phuket Business: Small appliances see big growth in SE Asia
PHUKET: The Small Domestic Appliances (SDA) markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand grew by nearly 6% in value over a recent 12-month period, when compared to the same period the previous year. SDA sales in the five markets, tracked from February 2012 to March 2013, had a combined value of more than US$804 million. The survey by GfK,…
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Phuket Investor: The last time the markets were here
PHUKET: I recently read a report that had a comparative list of statistics from the last time the stock markets were up at these levels, which was just before the crash at the start of the financial crisis. Early this march, the DOW reached a previous high level of 14164.5 and then surpassed that level. I thought it might be…
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Phuket Business: Replicating your life savings
PHUKET: The new hot sector for technology investors is in the rapidly growing 3D printer business. 3D printing is the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printers use a 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) file to create objects using a sequential layering process. This technology is used in jewelry; footwear;…
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Phuket Business: Head of airport expects arrivals to exceed 10.5mn
PHUKET: The director of Phuket International Airport (HKT) expects passenger arrivals to exceed 10.5 million by the end of this year, with related profits expected to be no less than two billion baht. HKT director Prathuang Sorn-kham said that the airport is fully prepared to provide increased conveniences for passengers ahead of the its 5 billion baht expansion project, due…
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Phuket Video Report: Lucky sidecar driver saved by call of nature
PHUKET: A Phuket Town security guard heading home from work late last night had a lucky escape from becoming another Phuket road statistic after an 18-wheeled truck and trailer obliterated his motorbike with sidecar on Phuket’s busy Thepkrasattri Road. The truck driver did not stop at the scene. Kitti Muongthong, 35, pulled over near the u-turn about 200 meters north…
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Phuket boob job holiday? This round’s on me
PHUKET: A cosmetic surgery holiday company in Australia is now raffling off a trip to Phuket, complete with the option of breast augmentation surgery – all for the price of a round of drinks.The company, ID Rejuvenation, has paired up with the popular local nightclub Tryst, in Mackay on the Central Queensland coast, to offer the deal, reported the local…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: 5 dead in bridge collapse; NSC rebuts BRN demands; Scrap flood plan – academics
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 5 dead in Ayutthaya bridge collapse The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A suspension bridge over Pa Sak River in Ayutthaya collapsed yesterday evening, crushing five people to death underneath a pillar on one side, while wounding 15 others.The collapse also sent a large number of pedestrians and…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: 5 dead in Ayutthaya bridge collapse; NSC rebuts BRN demands; Academics call to scrap flood plan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 5 dead in Ayutthaya bridge collapse The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A suspension bridge over Pa Sak River in Ayutthaya collapsed yesterday evening, crushing five people to death underneath a pillar on one side, while wounding 15 others.The collapse also sent a large number of pedestrians and…
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Armed robbers of Phuket yacht attempt escape from police
PHUKET: The two men* who were arrested for the armed robbery of the well-known Davinci catamaran last night attempted to escape from a police vehicle while being transported to court today, the Chalong Police confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “The suspects broke the cage door at the rear of the vehicle while it was stopped at a traffic light on…
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Phuket police catch up with Songkran bike burner
PHUKET: : A man who was drunkenly celebrating Songkran on April 13 was picked up by police yesterday after being tracked down through CCTV images that showed him setting a motorbike on fire with a cigarette butt. Panuphon Prutisarn, 36, confessed to Kathu Police yesterday that he torched the bike, but claims it was unintentional. “It was Songkran Day and…
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Monk impersonator run out of town
PHUKET: A shambolic fake monk recently attracted the suspicions of local people in Nakhon Ratchasima Province – and the attention of the police – by trying to collect alms in the afternoon. Villagers called officers at Phimai Police Station to investigate a man who claimed to be a monk, but was improperly dressed, collecting alms late and sometimes even asking…
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No reason for tuk-tuks to block sea taxi project: Phuket Marine Chief
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine office, in an attempt to keep the airport-to-Patong sea taxi project afloat (story here), declared that the project would not affect the livelihoods of current taxi and tuk-tuk drivers. “We do not want to steal customers from tuk-tuk and taxi drivers. We want to attract more tourists to the island by offering them a reasonably priced…
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Phuket Sports: Fergie time is here – again; EPL roundup
PHUKET: Manchester United claimed their 20th top-flight league title last weekend with their 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford. A first half Robin Van Persie hat trick sealed the win for United and ensured that the Premier League title went back to Old Trafford with four games of the season left. Last season’s champions, Manchester City, lost 3-1…
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Phuket Sports: Revelations, rumors and rivalry – F1
PHUKET: Before Bahrain, I said that I believed that, barring accidents, three-time winner Alonso would triumph, followed by The Iceman. Well Alonso did not triumph, thwarted by a jammed DRS wing flap, hammered closed by Ferrari’s mechanics during an emergency pit stop. It jammed open again, Alonso was forced into yet another pit stop and that was the end of…
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Shots fired as Phuket yacht robbery thwarted
PHUKET: Witnesses reported at least two shots fired in the dark on Chalong Bay tonight as a gang of thieves gave chase to a Phuket boat captain who outfoxed the criminals until the police arrived in force. Capt Bruce Issell was warned by a silent alarm at about 11:30pm that intruders had boarded the well-known Davinci catamaran, renowned in local…
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ITF Tournament favorite Luksika Kumkhum reaches final
PHUKET: The final of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) women’s tournament between number one seed Luksika Kumkhum and Lisa Whybourn will be held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) tomorrow, April 27, at 10am. Luksika Kumkhum from Thailand beat Melanie Klaffner 6:2, 6:7, 7:5 in a hard fought semifinal match today. In today’s other semifinal, Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech lost…
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DSI re-opens probe into Phuket Police killing of a thief suspect
PHUKET: Officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday returned to the scene of the fatal shooting by police of a thief on the run in Phuket Town in 2009. Thaweewat Surasit, regional director of the DSI’s Bureau of Special Crime, led a team of officers to Rama IX Park, also known as Suan Luang, on Chao Fa Road…
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Killer gold robber still on the run on Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police received a tip-off today that the armed robber of a Phuket gold shop who gunned down a customer on April 8 was still on the island. “We are continuing to gather information from witnesses [story here]. I got another phone call this morning that confirmed our belief that the robber is still on the run in Phuket,”…
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Pressure from illegal Phuket taxis wins airport reprieve
PHUKET: After days of protests by taxi drivers operating under the Mook Andaman Cooperative, officials at Phuket International Airport will allow 25 of the drivers to serve passengers at the airport without further delay. Airport management, a division of the state enterprise Airports of Thailand (AOT), capitulated yesterday by allowing 25 of the drivers to operate under one of the…
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Phuket Opinion: Speak up for public transport
Jaturong Kaewkasi, a 41-year-old native of Pattani, has been the Chief Transport Technician of the Phuket Land Transport Office for one year. He has a master’s degree in Social Development from Yala Rajabhat University and before coming to Phuket worked as a transport technician in Bangkok. Here, he talks about how to convince people to use buses in order to…
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Phuket teens nabbed for Russian tourist bag snatch
PHUKET: Karon Police yesterday arrested two teenagers for a bag snatch after eight days of tracking down their suspects. Russian tourist Tatiana Suslirova reported to Karon Police on April 18 that her yellow bag had been snatched from her while she was walking near the Karon Princess Hotel. She told the police that two young men riding a motorbike rode…
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Thai FA Cup: Phuket FC shoot down Air Force United
PHUKET: The Islanders kept their Thai FA Cup prospects alive, last Wednesday defeating Yamaha League 1 (YL1) rivals Air Force United 1-0 in the second round. The match was played at Thupatemee Stadium, on the northern side of Bangkok, where the islanders are set to play the Air Force “Blue Eagles” again, tomorrow, April 27, in a YL1 week 8…
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Laguna Phuket’s “Run Paradise” marathon rocks with new theme song
PHUKET: This year’s Laguna Phuket International Marathon is rocking its thousands of runners and fans around the world with a specially-commissioned “Run Paradise” theme song. The upbeat rock anthem was composed by Phuket-based musicians Gary Crause and Rob Cooke at Gary’s Legend Music Studios. The anthem celebrates the event’s unique blend of enthusiasm for running and community fund-raising on the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: NGOs hit West over Bangladesh tragedy; US eyes Syrian chemical weapons; No charges over Mossad spy death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. suspects Syria used chemical weapons, wants proof Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The White House said on Thursday that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has probably used chemical weapons on a small scale in the country’s civil war, but insisted that President Barack Obama needed…
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Thailand News: ASEAN begins to row back on AEC deadline – quietly
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Southeast Asia’s 2015 unity dream collides with reality Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Southeast Asian nations have quietly begun to row back on a deadline of forming an “economic community” by 2015, confirming what many economists and diplomats have suspected for years as the diverse group…
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Phuket Police nab serial snatch thief after hot pursuit
PHUKET: Thalang and Phuket City Police have arrested a bag snatcher who reportedly committed 20 snatch thefts within two weeks, and three yesterday in the hours before his arrest. “We arrested Boonserm Chaluaysri, 22, yesterday after we received a report from Phuket City Police of a bag snatch in Rassada in the morning,” Thalang Police case investigator Chatree Chuwichian told…
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