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 Gazette: Salmonella strain might reinfect kids
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Salmonella strain might reinfect kids Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A drug-resistant strain of Salmonella bacteria, found in eggs causing 500 schoolchildren to fall ill, might continue lingering and re-infect them for another three months. The provincial health office will send a team to tackle…
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Nepal tourism opportunities promoted in Phuket
PHUKET: Members of the media, local officials and other invited guests enjoyed a fine cultural show and dinner on Tuesday, courtesy of the Nepal Embassy from Bangkok, which is promoting that country’s many tourism opportunities as part of its ‘Visit Lumbini Year’ campaign for 2012. The event, which took place in the grand ballroom of the Royal Phuket City Hotel,…
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Krabi Police search for mother of murdered newborn
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a brutally-murdered newborn found in a plastic trash bag on a Krabi roadside yesterday morning. The baby, thought to be less than a day old at the time of death, was discovered by an Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization sanitation worker sorting trash destined for the Ao Nang landfill. “This morning there…
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Phuket Gazette: Hackers release more than 420,000 passwords
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hackers release more than 420,000 Formspring passwords Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The questions and answers website Formspring yesterday disabled the passwords of its more than 29 million registered users as a precaution after nearly half a million of them were posted on a website,…
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Phuket Sports: Lance gets a shot in the arm with extended deadline
PHUKET: Seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was given an extended deadline of 30 days to answer charges last month that he used performance enhancing drugs during his illustrious cycling career.The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) originally gave Armstrong until Saturday to answer the charges. If found guilty he could be stripped of his tour titles and face a…
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Police arrest suspect for murder of Phuket teen
PHUKET: A suspect arrested last night has confessed to strangling Phuket teenager Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, 17, in her Chalong home on Tuesday, but denies charges that he raped her. The suspect, 28-year-old Kittikhun Wonghajak, was arrested by the Phuket Provincial Police investigation team early this morning and was presented to the press briefly at 10am at provincial police headquarters. A…
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Phuket Sports: An endless summer
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette recently caught up with hometown hero Miss Annissa Tita Flynn, to talk about her recent accomplishments. If you haven’t heard much about this 14 year old surfing starlet, “Anni”, as her friends call her, has been travelling and competing in recent months on the 2012 Asian Surfing Championship tour (ASC).Phuket Gazette: What is it like to…
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Phuket Sports: Bitter cup exit for Phuket FC
PHUKET: Phuket FC were one of five losers among the seven southern teams contesting the Thailand Toyota League Cup second round played last night. The losers included all four Yamaha League One (Division 1) southern representatives – Phatthalung FC, Songkhla FC, Krabi FC and Phuket FC – the latter three of whom lost in penalty shootouts. Phuket’s 4-3 defeat on…
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Phuket Town water cuts start today
PHUKET: Phuket City Waterworks (PCW) begins a series of scheduled daytime pressure cuts today in order to conduct system maintenance and install new water mains. The pressure cuts will run from 9am to 6pm daily in affected areas. The PCW advises customers to store sufficient amounts of water, so as not to be affected during the cuts, which will run…
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Phuket teen strangled in rape and robbery attack
PHUKET: Chalong Police investigating the murder of a 17-year-old girl in her home yesterday suspect the attack was carried out by a neighbor who knew she was there alone. The police were notified at about 5:30pm by relatives of the victim, 17-year-old Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, who was found lying face-down on a bed in the family’s detached home in a…
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Three slow lorises rescued in Phuket bust
PHUKET: Law enforcement officers on Saturday night arrested two men for illegal possession of three slow lorises, which they were using as props to entice Phuket tourists to pay to have photographs taken with them.The officers, led by Sub Lt Jedsada Lugieng of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED), moved in to make the arrest after spotting…
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Democrat Party brainstorms for ASEAN in Phuket
PHUKET: Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other Democrat Party heavyweights are scheduled to chair a seminar to develop a “Phuket model” for tourism on the island tomorrow.The event, scheduled to begin at 1pm, is intended to boost Phuket’s preparedness for measures of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community, or AEC, which will take effect in…
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Phuket Business: Sunken Deep Sea Port upgrade project resurfaces at meeting
PHUKET: Transport Minister Charupong Ruangsuwanm has told a consortium of Phuket officials and the operator of Phuket’s Deep Sea Port that he will raise the problem of the stalled 100-million-baht plan to develop the facility with Cabinet.However, Mr Charupong said the project must clearly provide benefits for local people if the plan is to go ahead.Mr Charupong was in Phuket…
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Phuket Live Wire: Scratch that, CAT is back
PHUKET: Three weeks ago, I lamented the imminent passing of CAT’s EV-DO service – the original high speed wireless “AirCard” that ushered in a new, faster way of surfing the web without getting plugged in. At the time, I was told that EV-DO would continue to work through the end of the year. Today, I found out differently. CAT’s going…
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Belanger Deaths: Probe finds more information but no clues
PHUKET: The lack of information publicly released on the deaths of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger on Phi Phi Island last month prompted the sisters’ father, Carl Belanger, to accuse the Thai authorities of covering up the true circumstances of their deaths.The leading investigators in the case have now refuted the allegation. The Phuket Gazette’s Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai and Orawin…
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Drugs seized in Phuket revealed to be “normal” crystal meth
PHUKET: Reports that a “new kind” of methamphetamine was recovered in a Phuket drug bust last week were false, according to arresting officers in Thalang. Thalang Police Inspector Pisit Chunpet on July 7 confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the suspected “new drug” was “simply” ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) with unusually large crystals.The announcement of the possibility of a new…
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Ombudsman’s Office investigates Phuket sea gypsies’ land issue
PHUKET: Investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman were on the island last week to study a complaint by the sea gypsy community in Rawai, who fear eviction from the land they have called home for decades after a title deed for the land was issued to a private party. The investigators, led by Investigation Bureau 3 Director Tavin Inchamnong,…
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Youth in ICU after Phuket Town shooting attack
PHUKET: A man is in critical condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital after being shot twice in the back of the head in downtown Phuket Town over the weekend. Phuket City Police were notified of a shooting in front of the Rattana Mansion apartment block on Chana Jaroen Road at 3pm on Saturday. Duty Officer Sermpan Sirikong identified the victim as…
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Phuket Opinion: Beach warnings drowned out, but there’s hope in the sky
PHUKET: A recent poll conducted by the Phuket Gazette reveals that readers are evenly divided on which of six possible approaches would be most effective to minimize the number of lives lost to drownings during the monsoon season every year. For details of the poll and its results, click here. As noted by many who commented in our readers’ forum,…
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7th Phuket OTOP Fair starts Tuesday
PHUKET: The 7th annual ‘One Tambon One Product’ (OTOP) Fair starts at Saphan Hin public park in Phuket Town on Tuesday. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha said yesterday that the event is just one of many nationwide to improve OTOP product standards and have producers reach more consumers. Total provincial revenue from OTOP sales, including those from SMEs and various souvenir…
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Thailand News: Alleged call center scam; ASEAN update; Govt seeks release of more than 80 Thais detained in Burma
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police crack call-centre scam, 15 arrested Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Police have arrested 15 foreigners in Bangkok, most of them from Europe, for allegedly running a call-center scam and duping several people into wiring more than 320 million baht into their accounts. Of the…
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Phuket Gazette: Remains found of U.S. service members from Vietnam War
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Found: Remains of U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam War plane crash Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The remains of six U.S. service members who went missing when their plane disappeared during the Vietnam War 46 years ago have been recovered, the U.S. Department of Defense…
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Graft-busters probe plunder of Phuket forests
PHUKET: A team of National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) officers stopped in Phuket this week as part of a nationwide inspection tour aimed at putting an end to widespread encroachment on state forest reserves. Kajadpai Burutpat, president of an NACC subcommittee investigating forest encroachment nationwide, said after a meeting at Provincial Hall with Phuket Land Office and Forest Department officers that…
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Tonight, tonight: Phuket FC’s derby match with Krabi
PHUKET: A large crowd is expected at Surakul Stadium in Phuket this evening, when a resurgent Phuket side will be gunning for its third consecutive home win against higher-ranked southern rivals Krabi FC. Fans who want a guarantee of keeping dry for the match are advised to arrive at the stadium well ahead of the 6:30pm kickoff, as covered seating…
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Aussie tourist airlifted to Bangkok after fall from Phuket tuk-tuk
PHUKET: An Australian tourist on holiday in Phuket has been flown to Bangkok to receive treatment after suffering a serious head injury from falling off the back of a tuk-tuk in Patong last night. Tuk-tuk driver Paiboon Hemwara, 30, told the Phuket Gazette that he picked up Mr Noble and his wife at the top of Soi Bangla at about…
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New wealth brings new health problems, ASEAN Secretary-General tells Phuket meeting
PHUKET: Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), yesterday warned that the rise in wealth throughout the ASEAN member states will bring a new wave of health issues to the region. “The formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 will make some people richer. With their new lifestyle will come new health issues; non-communicable…
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Phuket Sports: Fighting to save Phuket’s sea turtles
PHUKET: Helping to bring Phuket’s sea turtles back from the brink, today’s WBO Oriental Bantamweight (118lbs) title fight saw Thailand’s boxers maintain their dominance over Filipino fighters in the channel 7 series. The WBO Bantam-weight title belt was flown in by helicopter and carried by armed Thai soldiers, who made a rapid-descent (fast-roping) from their helicopter. Thai boxer Pungluang Sor…
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Phuket Sports: Goal Line Technology
PHUKET: Goal-line technology moved a step closer yesterday when the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved the use of technology in football matches. IFAB approved the use of two different devices to help assist with goal-line decision making in games. Hawk-Eye, already used in cricket and tennis, is based on optical recognition to determine the exact location of the ball,…
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Travel insurance fails as Phuket tourist faces B600k medical bill
PHUKET: Family and friends of New Zealander Sean Kenzie, who suffered extensive injuries after being knocked off his motorbike in Phuket, have launched a campaign to raise funds to pay his spiraling medical bills. Mr Kenzie, 27, was involved in a collision with a taxi van in Patong last Saturday (June 30). He suffered a split liver, two punctured lungs…
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Ferry sinks off Koh Lanta, 80km southeast of Phuket
PHUKET: The project to build a bridge between the two islands Koh Lanta Noi and Koh Lanta Yai took a soggy step backward yesterday morning when a ferry waiting to unload its cargo of construction materials to build the bridge started taking on water in the rough weather currently affecting much of Thailand, including Phuket. No injuries were reported in…
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