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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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Phuket underpass roadwork sparks fears over ambulance access to hospitals
PHUKET: Staff at Phuket International Hospital and officers from the Phuket City Police Traffic Division are working together to come up with viable routes for ambulances to make sure they can get patients to the facility in an emergency during rush hour. The news follows project contractor Italian-Thai Development Co’s placement on Friday night of concrete blocks on the inside…
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Pressure builds on organizer over Paris Hilton New Year beach party
PHUKET: Pressure is building on event organizer Sydictive Element to win over local authorities in order to gain approval for the three-day New Year Phuket beach party announced by Paris Hilton in Bangkok last month. Speaking with the Phuket Gazette on Thursday, Governor Maitri said he had reservations about the depth of the effort and resources being committed to make…
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Phuket Police not “preventing’ protesters from joining Bangkok rally
PHUKET: Police at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint, the only road linking Phuket with the mainland, have confirmed they are not stopping or discouraging any people from Phuket from joining the Pitak Siam mass protest in Bangkok. The news follows Phang Nga Governor Thamrong Charoenkul saying yesterday that he had received an order from the government to keep an eye…
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Phuket Opinion: Deep South needs more than trading big stick for carrots
PHUKET: While facing the current unrest on the streets of Bangkok this weekend, the time has also come for the Pheu Thai government of Yingluck Shinawatra to devote more effort to addressing the ever-mounting problems facing Phuket and the rest of the South – and re-examining its erratic strategy in dealing with the ongoing unrest in the Deep South. It…
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Bangkok Police fire tear gas to disperse Pitak Siam rally
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Police have fired tear gas into the crowds of Pitak Siam protesters gathering in Bangkok in an attempt to stop the mass anti-government rally today. Apharat Chartchutikumjorn, the Pitak Siam coordinator for Phuket, told the Phuket Gazette by phone this morning that police action started last night, steering groups of protesters away from the main stage…
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Phuket United ready for home-debut tonight against Bangkok Futsal Club
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team, Phuket United are set to play their inaugural home match in the GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL), tonight against Bangkok Futsal Club. The match will be played at Phuket Town’s brand new, 4,000-seat Indoor Sports Complex in Saphan Hin with a 7pm kickoff. It will be the third fixture of the TFPL…
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Vicious Gang Attack: Krabi teens yet to stand trial
PHUKET: The two youngsters charged with the vicious attack on a British couple on holiday in Krabi last month have yet to stand trial, the Phuket Gazette learned yesterday. Lt Col Niwat Pimket of the Ao Nang Police, who is the leading investigator into the attack on British tourists Jack Cole and April Clifton, yesterday told the Gazette that both…
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Phuket Governor reveals his “Seven Wonders’
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut in an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette this week revealed his personal philosophy in handling the high-level decisions and complicated issues that facing the resort province .“This is my seventh week as the Governor of Phuket and the Phuket Gazette is the first English-language publication I have had a chance to talk to exclusively.Friendly,…
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Phuket Sports: F1 – Interruptions and Interlagos
PHUKET: Austin was a great race for McLaren. Lewis Hamilton, on the dirty side, lost ground on the first corner, but after four laps passed Mark Webber. Then he hunted down Sebastian Vettel and when Narain Karthikeyan momentarily slowed Vettel, swooped into the lead on lap 42. Jenson Button started on the dirty side, dropped to 15th and fought back…
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Laguna Phuket Triathlon attracts world-class field
PHUKET: The 19th Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) takes place this Sunday at 6:30am. The event has attracted a world class international field to Asia’s premier destination triathlon. The LPT consists of a 1.8 kilometer swim, 55km bike ride and 12km run through the tropical scenery of Laguna. Australian Chris “Macca” McCormack, the two-time Ironman World Champion and one of the…
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Phuket heartbreak blamed for Burmese worker suicide
PHUKET: Police believe a Burmese teenager took his own life early this morning after his girlfriend left him for another man.Named only as “Mr Tum”, the 19-year-old was found dead with a nylon rope wrapped around his neck hanging from a ceiling hook in his bedroom at about 4:45am, Patong Police Capt Jakkrapong Luang-aon told the Phuket Gazette.Mr Tum was…
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Phuket Finance: No fund is risk free… but
PHUKET: I recently began using a very interesting fund with retirees who need a steady income called Lavaux Capital, which is run out of the very well-regulated jurisdiction of Switzerland. The managers have all been involved in trade finance for many years and basically specialize in bridge financing backed by insurance contracts. The fund pays 8% simple interest in quarterly…
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Work to commence on the Phuket underpass tonight, footbridge to go
PHUKET: The concrete blocks that will block lanes in front Central Festival Phuket so that work can commence on Phuket’s first underpass will be put in place tonight, the contractor’s project manager confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. “At about 10pm, we will start by installing the barriers to close off the lanes we will be working on,” explained project…
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Phuket teaching assistant suspended over “child hitting’ allegation
PHUKET: A female teaching assistant at Koh Kaew Child Development Center has been suspended pending an investigation over a mother’s claim that the assistant slapped her 4-year-old son in the face.Ratkaphat Tonnum, the 41-year-old mother of the student at the center of the incident, told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that she had originally filed a complaint with the Koh Kaew…
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PM Yingluck addresses nation ahead of fears of violence at Bangkok protest
PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra this evening addressed the nation in a televised broadcast to explain the Thai Government’s reasons for invoking the Internal Security Act ahead of this weekend’s mass anti-government rally in Bangkok. To see the address, complete with English subtitles, click here. Chief among the Prime Minister’s concerns were: “Public gatherings and protests, especially those arising from…
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Phuket officials target beach management issues
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada has ordered every municipality and local administrative organization on the island to report all of their beach related issues to him by next week. The move is an attempt to redress a slew of problems ranging from floating lanterns affecting air traffic at Phuket Airport to illegal beach vendors counter-suing officials as a “stall…
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Phuket Sports: Brazil top futsal world rankings after winning fifth title
PHUKET: Brazil’s national futsal team have reclaimed their world number 1 ranking after being crowned world champions in Bangkok last Sunday. Meanwhile, the previous number one, Spain unofficially become the world’s second best team after holding the top ranking for the past two years. Brazil concluded their dominance of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012, winning all seven of their…
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Live Wire: Getting wired into Phuket
PHUKET: High season is approaching. Every year about this time I start getting inquiries about connecting to the Internet in Phuket. As people flock to Phuket for vacations and new jobs, many decide to stay for a week or a month or a decade, and one of the very first questions they have is how in the world to get…
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Phuket protesters to bolster ranks of anti-government rally in Bangkok
PHUKET: A group of Phuket anti-government protesters called the “Phuket Mass Power Group” will join the Pitak Siam anti-government rally at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok on Saturday. “We are not happy with the government’s work,” Apharat Chartchutikumjorn, Pitak Siam coordinator for Phuket, told the Phuket Gazette. “Pitak Siam leader Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit will lead thousands of us in a…
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Police identify Russian tourist killed in Phuket car crash
PHUKET: Police have identified the foreign man who died in a high-speed car crash early Saturday morning on a Phuket west-coast road as Andrei Pavlov, a 31-year-old Russian national. (Click here to see Phuket Breaking News report.) Patong Police inspector Pratuang Polmana confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that Mr Pavlov was a tourist living in rented accommodation in Kamala. “He…
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Phuket FC get new head coach ahead of next season
PHUKET: The Islanders, Phuket FC have secured a new Head Coach, with an official announcement expected to be made this Saturday. Paniphon “Tu” Kerdyaem, a former coaching staff member of Thai Premier League team, Army United will fill the vacancy left by Anurak “June” Srikerd, who coached the struggling team in the final six matches of last season, and helped…
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Phuket Business: Tourism growth projected at 15% by Seacon head
PHUKET: Piya Sosothikul, executive director of Seacon Group, and owner of the Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa, recently gave his outlook for Phuket tourism. Mr Piya said he expects tourist arrivals to increase by 15% this year, despite a decline in arrivals from the island’s traditional tourist source markets in Western Europe, due to the economic and financial crises affecting…
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Thailand Futsal League – Phuket United down Samut Prakarn on the road
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team, Phuket United, were victorious in their second match of the Thailand Futsal Premier League 2012-2013 season, winning 3-0 on the road last night against Samut Prakarn United. Goals were scored by both of the club’s foreign players – Brazilian duo, Rogerio Moreira and Jackson Santos – as well as Thai player, Nattaphong Buachary. After…
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Krabi Police clamp down on noisy motorbikes
PHUKET: Krabi Police destroyed more than 600 illegal motorbike exhaust pipes seized during police checks across the bay from Phuket in September. At a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the culmination of a campaign entitled “Youths join together: ride motorbikes without modified exhaust pipes”, Krabi Governor Prasit Osathanon and Krabi Police Commander Nantadech Yoinuan witnessed the crushing of the impounded…
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World News: Fragile truce takes hold; Bus bombing in Tel Aviv
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hamas-Israel ceasefire takes hold but mistrust runs deep Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers finally took hold today after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last.…
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World News: Fallen Gurkhas honoured
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nepal rites to banish ghosts of fallen Gurkha soldiers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Wrapped in white and with their heads shaven, retired Gurkha soldiers sat cross-legged on the stems of dried rice plants for three days of symbolic and traditional mourning, laying to rest the…
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Champions League football: English riches not enough on European stage
PHUKET: Real Madrid and AC Milan led a procession of six teams into the Champions League last 16 last night while big-spending Manchester City failed again on the European stage to further dent English soccer’s standing. Milan qualified with a 3-1 win at Anderlecht, their goals including a spectacular overhead kick by Philippe Mexes which was a near carbon copy…
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Phuket biologists believe stranded dolphin now safely out to sea
PHUKET: Officers at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) who released a stranded Spinner dolphin back into the sea on Saturday are confident that it is now safe. “Our officers monitored the release area after letting the dolphin go on Saturday. We haven’t seen it return to the beach,” Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit, told…
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Phuket Business: Pepsi gets new Andaman arm
PHUKET: Super Cheap Co Ltd has taken over distribution of Pepsi beverage products in Phuket and two other key Andaman coastal provinces, a spokesperson from the local retail giant has confirmed.The development follows the expiration on November 1 of a long-running contract between the Thai subsidiary of Pepsi-Cola (PepsiCo) and local beverage firm Serm Suk.Prior to the split, Bangkok-based Serm…
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Phuket Business: Coca-Cola pouring B200mn into Thai cola battle; New player enters market
PHUKET: Coca-Cola (Coke) is spending 200 million baht on marketing in the final quarter of this year in hopes of surpassing Pepsi to become the undisputed leader of Thailand’s 38.5 billion baht carbonated-drink market.Colas represent about 75% of Thailand’s carbonated drink market. This is followed by flavored drinks (20%) and lemon-lime beverages (5%). The cola segment is also the most…
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