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 Sports: Boots, boredom and bluster – F1
PHUKET: What a boring race! The second drag reduction system (DRS) did not enliven Catalunya. Pirelli caved-in to pressure and supplied 2012-style hard tyres. They degraded anyway. Pirelli’s intention is to create two and three stop strategy options for each race; four stops is too many. The race became a shambles that even drivers could not follow. Pirelli has said…
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Education Ministry launches nationwide drug-free schools campaign in Phuket
PHUKET: Three schools in Phuket yesterday became the launch focus of a new Ministry of Education campaign to rid schools nationwide of drugs.Deputy Education Minister Sermsak Pongpanit, joined by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and 850 other participants, including education officials from throughout the Andaman provinces, announced the “White School” anti-drugs campaign at Satree Phuket School in Phuket Town.Mr Sermsak explained…
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Phuket’s Laguna win the JLL Hotels cricket league
PHUKET: It was a much anticipated match between Patong CC and Laguna last Sunday as they met to decide Phuket’s Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Cricket League champions 2013, at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG). In a thrilling game Laguna got off to a terrible start, but they dug deep to post a defendable total of 165 runs against a very…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US chides Russia; US train crash; Crucial evidence withheld from ex-Russian spy’s inquest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. chides Russia over missiles as peace plans suffer Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The United States chided Russia for sending missiles to the Syrian government as plans for a peace conference promoted by Washington and Moscow were hit by diplomatic rifts over its scope and purpose.Sectarian bloodshed…
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Officials stage rapid-response drill to bird flu outbreak
PHUKET: Officials in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, yesterday staged a rapid-response exercise simulating an outbreak of bird flu.“Phang Nga is a well-known tourist destination. A lot of tourists come from China, where a new strain of bird flu is spreading,” said Kuraburi District Chief Manit Pianthong.“About 35 Chinese have died in roughly six weeks from this new strain,” he…
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Phuket FC need to tame the Wild Horses
PHUKET: The Islanders will face newly promoted Rayong FC at Surakul Stadium tomorrow and will look to return to winning ways. Phuket’s push for promotion has stalled recently due to the club failing to win any of their last three games, which included two draws and a loss. Phuket currently sit sixth in the league, five points behind top of…
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Police urge Phuket tourists to use Tourist Buddy app
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Police are urging visitors to the island to download and register the agency’s Tourist Buddy application, which is now available on Google Play for devices running the Android platform (click here). The Tourist Police launched its Tourist Buddy app on Apple’s iTunes store last month, making it instantly available for iPhone and iPad users (click here).…
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Monsoon weather brings trash to Phuket shore
PHUKET: Broken glass, plastic and wood with protruding nails washing ashore on Patong Beach have alarmed Phuket tourists, but local authorities say they our powerless to prevent the dangerous flotsam.Though officers from Patong Municipality’s Public Health Office collect trash strewn along the beach every morning, they are finding it difficult to keep the sand clear of debris.“It’s the same problem…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Marriage could end conflict; True, CTH battle for TV top spot; Haircut changes raise eyebrows
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Will this marriage end conflicts? The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Chayapa Wongsawat and Lynal Nam, an official attached to the Office of the Cambodian Cabinet, will be tying the knot at Plaza Athenee in Bangkok tomorrow.Lynal is the son of Uan Wanlee and tycoon Seang Nam, who…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Texas tornado kills six; Nepal passenger plane crash – all survive; Mayan pyramid bulldozed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Monster Texas tornado kills six, seven people missing Reuters/ Phuket GazettePHUKET: Six people were dead and seven missing after a powerful tornado ripped through a neighbourhood that included housing for the poor in the north Texas town of Granbury, marking the deadliest severe storm outbreak in the…
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Phuket coral restoration begins as seawalking continues
PHUKET: Marine officers and volunteer divers who headed to Khai Nai island on Tuesday to help restore damaged coral – allegedly wrecked by a seawalking tour company (story here) – found the company back on site leading a tour when they arrived. “We saw a ship named Sea Lion in the area with a speedboat alongside. People were on the…
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Phuket high-speed pursuit ends in fight, heroin bust
PHUKET: Two policemen on motorbikes chased two men believed to be carrying drugs through the early morning streets of Thalang today, fought with the pair and eventually arrested one of them – a vegetable seller – with almost 50 grams of heroin.Alerted by a tip-off that Wig Nillawan, 52, and another man would be picking up drugs delivered on the…
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Aspiring marathoner opens new chapter for Laguna Phuket fundraising
PHUKET: Athletes booking their slots in Laguna Phuket’s 2013 marathon and triathlon series are being asked to raise funds through donations and sponsorships for the resort’s long established Laguna Phuket Foundation. The foundation aims to collecting one million baht per year to operate its various charitable programs. A partnership with Ban Yaan Sabaa School in Phang Nga province, the latest…
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Resorts north of Phuket lose beachfront to raging sea
PHUKET: Waves two meters high have caused damage along 13 kilometers of beachfront at Bang Niang Beach in Phang Nga.The coastal erosion has forced at least one hotel owner to set up sandbags to protect against the sea and prompted the local mayor to call for help from the Phang Nga Governor.“Hotels in the area were damaged and a wall…
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Krabi farmers threaten airport blockade
PHUKET: Krabi palm oil and rubber plantation workers have threatened to blockade Krabi Airport if the government does not increase the legal minimum prices for their produce by next Thursday.More than 500 plantation workers gathered in front of Krabi Provincial Hall on Tuesday morning to file a complaint to be handed to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.The complaint calls for the…
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Bangkok officers in Phuket to stamp out public butts
PHUKET: Flagrant disregard for non-smoking laws in Phuket has prompted officers from the Bureau of Tobacco Control in Bangkok to plaster Phuket International Airport, Phuket Bus Terminal 2 and a variety of private businesses across the island with no-smoking stickers.“Most public areas are smoke-free areas by law, yet we still have found many tourists and local business operators disobeying the…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Chelsea take European victory with late goal
Late Ivanovic goal wins Europa League for Chelsea Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Branislav Ivanovic made up for the heartbreak of missing last year’s Champions League triumph by heading a dramatic stoppage-time goal to lead Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Benfica in the Europa League final last night.The Serbian defender, sidelined for the final against Bayern Munich 12 months ago…
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New school year means busy Phuket pawnshops
PHUKET: As the new school year started in Phuket yesterday, parents turned to the Phuket City Municipality Pawnshop to cash in items to pay for their children’s school supplies. Trade was brisk at the government pawnshop, up 20 per cent on last year, said staff. The occasion brought Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and local officials to the pawnshop on Komarapat…
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Phuket teens deny attacking Burmese man, motorbike arson
PHUKET: Three Phuket teenagers arrested last night have denied police charges of beating a Burmese man and setting his motorbike on fire.A fourth member of the gang is still being sought by police.The suspects, Vechayun Boonsit, 19, as well as a 16-year-old minor and a 18-year-old, whose names police asked to be withheld, allegedly attacked a Burmese man and threatened…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Syria savagery as soldier rips out, bites heart; Rohingya drown in Cyclone Mahasen; Saudi SARS; Japanese sex slave outrage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rohingya Muslims drown off Myanmar trying to flee storm Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A boat carrying about 100 Rohingya Muslims capsized off western Myanmar and many were feared drowned at the beginning of a mass evacuation from low-lying regions ahead of a powerful storm, a United Nations…
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Phuket taxi meter cheats under fire
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) will seek help from the Highway Police to tackle metered taxi drivers who refuse to use their meters. “I am aware that many tourists are unhappy with taxi drivers. We are going to talk about how to stop metered taxi drivers from cheating,” PLTO Chief Terayout Prasertphol told the Phuket Gazette. The PLTO…
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Australians consider opening consulate on Phuket
PHUKET: A decision on whether or not to open an Australian consulate in Phuket is expected to be made within a month, Australian Honorary Consul Larry Cunningham told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “We have more deaths in Phuket than we have in Bali. We certainly need extra staffing,” he said. Mr Cunningham discussed the issue with Australian Ambassador James…
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After Phuket, Capt Tan makes record-breaking landing in Malaysia
PHUKET: Captain James Anthony Tan of Malaysia has completed the world’s youngest solo flight circumnavigation after departing Phuket at 11am today to land safely in Kuala Lumpur at 4:51pm local time. Capt Tan arrived in Phuket yesterday and attended a party in his honor at the Dewa Phuket Beach Resort in Nai Yang last night, hosted by Tourism Malaysia, which…
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Phuket real estate used as bait in gambling ring
PHUKET: Five people have been arrested for operating a real estate scam in which they lured potential customers into illegally gambling on a game of “fan tan”. The scammers used the same ploy as that used by a group arrested in Phuket in February (story here). Massage shop owner Uraiporn Sae-Tung wanted to sell her massage shop in Rawai and…
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Phuket Finance: Gold plunges to 33 year low
PHUKET: The past month has not been kind to anyone who has bought gold recently. With a nearly 9% loss since its January peak, and nearly 14% from last September’s, the precious metal has been anything but. Last week it had its largest one-day percentage decline since February 28, 1983. For the past 20 months, the price of gold has…
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Phuket teen motorbike rider survives slam into juggernaut
PHUKET: A Phuket teenager is in hospital this morning after the motorbike he was riding slammed into the back of a cement truck near the Heroines Monument in Thalang (map here) late last night. Lt Col Apidet Chuaykue said Thalang Police were notified of the accident at one minute past midnight. Police arrived quickly at the scene, along with an…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: School closures bite; Forecast for abundance; Seh Daeng revival; Sudarat says no
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community School closings pressure parents The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Enrolling students every other year at primary school level could be one solution to the government’s controversial policy of closing small schools, a leading educator told a Bangkok seminar yesterday. Other proposals included teaching three two-year…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Turkish bombs spark Syrian fear; EU in doubt; OJ Simpson returns; SARS-like virus to spread
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Syrian refugees fear backlash in Turkey after bombings Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Syrian refugees in Turkey say they fear a backlash after car bombings that killed 50 people and wounded many others over the weekend in a border town.Turkey is home to some 400,000 refugees from the…
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Middle-aged Phuket meth dealer goes quietly
PHUKET: Acting on a tip off about frequent drug transactions at the entrance to a soi in Thalang, police arrested a drug dealer in possession of ya bah (methamphetamine), and ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) yesterday. Police questioning led to the confession of Nirun Yokcharern, 58, at the entrance to Soi Lak Muang 2 off of Thepkrasattri Road, said Thalang District…
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British national’s extended holiday goes to pot at Phuket “dope hotel’
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration officers today arrested a British man for drug possession and for overstaying his visa by more than two* years. The arrest was made at the same resort, off Taina Road in Karon, where a Swedish man was arrested on drug charges last Thursday (story here). “At 11:30am, we received a report from our undercover officers to investigate…
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