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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Eight injured as Phuket bus overturns in Krabi
PHUKET: Eight passengers received minor injuries when a bus heading from Phuket to Trang ran off the road and overturned in Krabi on Sunday.The accident occurred at about 2pm, Lt Panom Parnmart of Ao Luek Police told the Phuket Gazette.“Rescue workers rushed to the scene to find the bus on its roof in a roadside ditch about two meters deep.“Arjara…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Bombs devastate Boston Marathon, killing 3
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bombs kill three people, wound dozens at Boston Marathon Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Two bombs ripped through the crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday, killing three people and injuring dozens, with some victims suffering amputations in what a White House official said would…
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All silent on Phuket Tourist Police kratom shootout
PHUKET: The two survivors of a lethal shootout at an apartment near Phuket Town last month have both refused to give police statements describing the events that led to the fatal gunfight. Sen Sgt Maj Pinchai Piyadilok of the Phuket Tourist Police remains at the Prince of Songkla University Hospital in Haad Yai, where he is recovering from gunshot wounds…
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Phuket Police bust ATM card fraud gang
PHUKET: Tourist Police have arrested two French nationals and a Tunisian man for operating an ATM card fraud scam in Phuket.The foreigners – named by police as French nationals Mahamond Mhoussin, 22, and Zaidi Ganzouai, 29, and Tunisian national Ramzi Adjemi, 31 – were presented to the press at the Phuket Tourist Police headquarters in Phuket Town this morning.“Tourist Police…
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Phuket seawalkers deny destroying corals
PHUKET: About 200 square meters of coral have been damaged off Khai Nai island in Phang Nga, say local marine officials, in order to create a pathway for tourists to walk on the sea floor. The manager of the seawalking company at the site, however, has defended his business, telling the Phuket Gazette it is environmentally friendly and had not…
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Phuket Songkran: Zero road deaths through Day 3
PHUKET: Phuket maintained its zero death toll for Day 3 of the Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign for the Songkran Thai new year holiday period, while nationwide the death toll grew to 173. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket), which collates all road accident statistics during the campaign, reported nine motorbike accidents, injuring 10…
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Phuket Gazette World News: All safe after Bali airplane ditches into water
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All passengers safe as Lion Air plane lands in water in Bali Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: All 108 passengers and crew survived when a Lion Air Boeing 737 missed the runway on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Saturday and landed in shallow water, an airline…
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Phuket Songkran: 48 hours with no road deaths
PHUKET: The second day of the Seven Days of Danger nationwide road-safety campaign for the Songkran Thai new year holiday period passed on Phuket without recording any deaths, leaving the island’s road toll for the period so far at zero. The Seven Days campaign began at midnight on Wednesday (story here). The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office…
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Filipino caught with 7kg of crystal meth at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Customs officials at Phuket International Airport yesterday arrested a Philippine national trying to smuggle seven kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice) into the country.Officials estimated that the drugs netted had a street value of 30 million baht.The suspect, identified by police as Sonny Pasong Cornel, 31, initially claimed he had no knowledge the bag he was carrying contained drugs.However,…
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Phuket dignatories mark Thai New Year with Songkran mass blessing ceremony
PHUKET: Hundreds of people gathered at Saphan Hin this morning to join a Songkran blessing ceremony to celebrate their Thai New Year.At 7am, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut chaired the opening of the ceremony, joined by Vice Governors Sommai Prijasilpa, Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak and Chamroen Tipayapongtada.Among the other leading Phuket figures to join the mass ceremony, offering alms to 399 monks, were…
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Phuket Songkran starts early, Governor urges ‘Safety First’
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut has called for all officers island-wide to make public safety their top priority during the Songkran celebrations, which unofficially started early in Patong late today.Governor Maitri specifically ordered that extra officers be posted at the six official water-play zones on the island: – Saphan Hin Park, Phuket Town– Kata-Karon beachfront– Soi Bangla and Patong beach…
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British sex fiend arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: British national Hugh Glass, 57, wanted for multiple sex crimes involving children, was arrested yesterday afternoon while walking along the beach road in Phuket’s key tourism town of Patong.Col Chayawut Jansomboon of the Immigration Police in Bangkok led officers to arrest Mr Glass on Thaweewong Road at 3:30pm.The arrest followed a meeting between Jonathan King of the UK-based Serious…
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Phuket Songkran: Four accidents but no deaths on Day 1
PHUKET: The first 24 hours of Phuket Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign for the Songkran holidays passed with zero deaths.The annual road-safety campaign this year began at midnight Wednesday night.In the 24 hours that followed there were four accidents, including two involving drinking and driving, according to statistics released today by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket…
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Phuket Marine officials bolster sea safety for Songkran
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office and Marine Police joined forces yesterday to launch a water-safety campaign aimed at ensuring the well-being of beachgoers and boaters during the Songkran holidays.“Our mission is to be on hand to help people and decrease the risk of marine accidents during the Seven Days of Danger,” said Phuket Marine Police Inspector Chatchai Sakdee, who was…
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Phuket Opinion: Let Songkran sanity prevail
PHUKET: As this edition arrives at newsstands across the island, readers can judge for themselves whether the Royal Thai Police are adequately enforcing the controversial nationwide ban on using pickups and other conveyances to fuel roadside water fights over the Songkran holidays.We sincerely hope that the ban will have a significant impact on the number of deaths and injuries related…
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Wolfpack torpedo the Phuket Cricket Group
PHUKET: The Wolfpack, led by Will Badger, deservedly lifted the Kata Group International Cricket 7’s Cup yesterday afternoon at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG), after overcoming local side Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) in the final. The PCG had earlier defeated both Wolfpack and the CBB’s in two exhilarating finishes, but they had no answer to the batting of ‘Player of…
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The fall of sporting idols
PHUKET: Sports stars are among some of the most revered men and women on the planet. Those who excel at their chosen sport are seen as gods among us mere mortals and they are rewarded accordingly. But a fall from grace for someone at the top of their game is viewed with as much, if not more, interest than any…
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Phuket’s ACYC gives notice of race
PHUKET: The Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) has announced the 2013 ACYC Keel Boat and Multihull Club Championship Race Series 1 – FCI Watermaker Series. The fourth race is this Sunday, April 14. Eligibility and entry: The series is open to all keel yachts and multihulls with an overall length greater than six meters. Eligible boats may enter by completing…
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Phuket beefs up bus services, driver drug tests for Songkran
PHUKET: More buses and drug and alcohol tests for drivers have been ordered at the Phuket bus terminal in Rassada to ensure that everyone can travel, and travel safely, during the Songkran holidays.The Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) added 20 per cent more buses to accommodate the crowds returning home for the Thai new year and make sure no one…
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Phuket Opinion: Solving water problems with rain, prisoners, and solar
PHUKET: Many places on this planet, including Phuket, are going through one of the driest spells of the last decade. My home state of Colorado is no exception. Denver, the state’s capital, only two weeks ago declared a stage-two drought, based on a scale on which four is an emergency.With its two prime reservoirs at 59% and 73% capacity (sound…
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Phuket gold shop killing: Leads point police to two suspects
PHUKET: Testimony from witnesses has helped police narrow their focus to two possible suspects in the gold shop shooting on Monday (story here), Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat told the Phuket Gazette today. However, no match has been found for the killer’s fingerprints. “We are continuing to get information from witnesses,” said Gen Choti, “which has led us to…
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Topper Sail Phuket is tops
PHUKET: Topper Sail Phuket is the first sailing school in Southeast Asia to gain Royal Yachting Association (RYA) approval for dinghy sailing and power boating. The center also offers dinghy sailing, keelboat sailing (day boats), power boating, safety boats, and shore-based theory courses. Topper Sail Phuket can now offer RYA qualifications, which are highly regarded worldwide due to the high…
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Phuket’s TSLC will again host International Tennis Federation round
PHUKET: Thanyapura Sports & Leisure Club (TSLC) will once again host a round of the prestigious International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro tennis circuit. The 2013 ITF round, sponsored by Chang (ThaiBev Pcl) and the Sports Association of Thailand (SAT), will consist of two consecutive women’s tournaments, from April 20 to April 27, and then April 27 to May 4. This…
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Phuket gets first Evolution Cinema Planetarium in Thailand
PHUKET: Island residents and tourists alike earlier this week welcomed the opening of the Evolution Cinema Planetarium, a new ‘edutainment’ attraction in Phuket Town. Located in front of Central Festival Phuket’s main entrance, the new mobile cinema planetarium is the first of its kind in Thailand. “The Evolution Planetarium is the newest generation of visualization systems for entertainment and studying,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: South Korea on high alert; Uruguay says yes to gay marriage; Louvre closes to pickpockets; Lufthansa danger flight
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Korea, U.S. remain on missile watch as North lauds Kims Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: South Korea and the United States remained on high alert for any North Korean missile launch on Thursday as the hermit kingdom turned its attention to celebrating its ruling Kim dynasty and…
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Phuket Cricket 7s start in a blaze of glory
PHUKET: Play got under way on a glorious morning of the second running of ACST’s ‘Kata Group International Cricket 7’s at Phuket’s Alan Cooke Cricket Ground (ACG – click here for map). Teams from Australasia and Asia joined local outfits to play in matches consisting of five overs per side. Tournament Director Brad Tarr paid tribute to the facilities on…
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Gold shop owner increases reward for killer-thief; police issue warrant
PHUKET: Though the identity of the man who robbed a gold shop and killed a man on Monday night is still unknown, there is now a warrant out for his arrest, and the bounty on his head has been doubled to 400,000 baht. (Story our earlier story here.) Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat has told the media, “We believe…
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Russian boy, 9, saved from drowning at Phuket beach lagoon
PHUKET: Following a Russian boy about 9 years old almost drowning at Nai Harn lagoon yesterday, the chief lifeguard at the popular Nai Harn Beach (map here) has called for parents to keep a close eye on their children playing in the water over the Songkran holidays this weekend. Nai Harn chief lifeguard Jula Nontree told the Phuket Gazette this…
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Phuket Finance: Buy Priceline and book your visa run
PHUKET: Just the other day I had a client ask me how he can save some money on his next visa run. He wants to explore more of Southeast Asia and has gotten tired of making the usual trip to Cambodia, Laos or Kuala Lumpur. That’s when I told him about Priceline.com. Priceline (PCLN) is the famous “Name Your Price”…
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Victim of Phuket gold shop shooting remembered as good Samaritan
PHUKET: Apichet Chooklang, killed in a gold shop robbery Monday evening (story here), was remembered by his girlfriend as a man who greatly enjoyed helping others. As relatives and friends waited at Vachira Phuket Hospital yesterday for doctors to finish removing the bullets from his chest and release his body for the trip home to Nakhon Sri Thammarat for his…
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