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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Airlines voice confidence in Phuket Airport emergency evacuation measures
PHUKET: Following the evacuation of Phuket International Airport after the 8.6-Richter earthquake on April 11, several airlines on Friday expressed their confidence in how officials handle the emergency exercise. At a press conference at the airport chaired by Airport Director Prathuang Sornkham, Thai Airways representative Jittrapong Narongwanich said all airlines that use Phuket Airport remain confident in the evacuation procedures…
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Phuket Opinion: Tsunami evacuation shortfalls resurface
PHUKET: THE pair of powerful earthquakes that struck off the coast of Sumatra on April 11 served as the perfect ‘live test’ of Thailand’s preparedness to conduct emergency evacuation of tsunami risk areas, exposing, once again, serious shortcomings in the government’s ability to relay important information to the public in a timely fashion. The 8.6-magnitude quake that hit at 3:38pm…
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FC Phuket 0 – 0 Suphanburi FC
PHUKET: FC Phuket played Suphanburi FC to a scoreless draw on soggy pitch at Surakul Stadium yesterday afternoon. Just over 1,700 turned up for the match, including a busload of orange-clad Suphanburi supporers who turned up for the match. FC Phuket’s best chance of the match came at 13 minutes, when Suphanburi keeper Prasit Nuamsala dived to his right to…
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Buses roll out of Phuket Bus Terminal 2
PHUKET: The Phuket Bus Terminal 2 finally went into operation this morning – more than 28 months after the completion of the structure. “I think the first day has gone well so far,” said Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) chief Teerayut Prasertpol. Mr Teerayut estimated that about 70 per cent of the public is already aware that almost all inter-provincial…
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FC Phuket ready for Suphanburi elephant charge
PHUKET: FC Phuket are back into action with a tough match against Suphanburi FC this afternoon at Surakul Stadium. The field should be sloppy, as the stadium was hit with heavy rains last night and again this afternoon. Coming into the sixth fixture for the 2012 Thai Yamaha 1 league, Phuket are in 10th place with a win, three draws…
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Phuket pickup crash: Thalang trembles
PHUKET: A speeding pickup truck crashed into a pedestrian footbridge in Phuket last night, spreading fear of yet another earthquake tremor and causing a one-hour traffic tailback. Thalang Police were notified of the crash in front of the Muang Thalang School on Thepkrasattri Road northbound at 5:45pm yesterday. Arriving at the scene, Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers found the wreckage…
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Phuket Bike Week comes of age
PHUKET: It was postponed for a couple of weeks, but now Phuket Bike Week is on and raring to go. The 18th Phuket Bike Week kicked off today with a shed-load of activities in Patong. The festival started at 3pm at Patong Beach football field where the Motorcycle Exhibition Festival will carry on until midnight. However there’s plenty of other…
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Villagers worry as aftershocks continue to rock Phuket
PHUKET: The fourth and largest tremor of the day hit Phuket at 3:10pm today, a 3.3 magnitude tremor clearly felt across the island with a large sonic boom clearly heard at the offices of the Phuket Gazette, about eight kilometers southeast of the epicenter near the municipal market in Thalang. Other tremors recorded by the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) earthquake…
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ICT Ministry plans disaster communications fix for Phuket
PHUKET: A team of Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts yesterday consulted with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on how to improve communications during future disaster evacuations. The team, led by ICT communications expert Chaiyun Pengkiatpairot, aims to prevent a mobile phone network overload, such as that which hindered communications during the evacuation of tsunami-risk areas on April 11.…
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Brother claims sister’s body from Phuket hospital
PHUKET: A relative of the young Burmese construction worker whose body was left unidentified at Thalang Hospital has come to claim her remains, Phuket Police have confirmed. Thalang Police duty officer Patiwat Yodkwan told the Phuket Gazette that the body of the woman, identified only as “Ms Way”, was claimed by a man named “Mr Jorso”, her brother. Ms Way,…
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Tesco Lotus launches “green bag’ campaign in Phuket
PHUKET: Tesco Lotus is gearing up for Earth Day 2012 on Saturday with a special event at its Tesco Thalang mall this afternoon to launch a new campaign to reduce the use of plastic bags at all Tesco stores in Phuket. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak will officially open the event at 2pm. In addition to fun activities promoting “green…
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Fear of recurring earthquake stresses Phuket villagers
PHUKET: A team of mental health professionals on Wednesday visited villagers at Srisoonthorn Moo 2 to provide counselling after the 4.3-Richter earthquake struck fear into their hearts on Monday. Data from the Thai Meteorological Department has identified Thalang as the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake, with the villagers being rattled several times a day since by recurring aftershocks. Leading the team…
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Phuket opens ‘village watch’ earthquake monitoring center
PHUKET: Srisoonthorn Municipality have set up an ‘earthquake monitoring center’ after discovering that Thalang was at the epicenter of the recent aftershocks that rattled Phuket. The center aims to provide accurate information and to warn local villagers in the case of an emergency, said Srisoonthorn Mayor Worawut Songyot. “The earthquake monitoring center has been established to coordinate efforts in the…
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Phuket gears up for opening of new bus terminal
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) is in the process of negotiating set fares for all forms of local transportation that will operate out of the new Phuket bus terminal in Rassada, which will open on Saturday. “We will set standard fares for all types of local transportation, with tickets that passengers can buy at a counter in the…
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Phuket Business: Transit proposals keep coming
PHUKET: Two more parties have engaged the Phuket provincial government about the prospect of developing the island’s multi-billion baht light rail and tunnel mega projects. A multinational delegation from the Chinese construction giant China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) visited with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha recently. “We are the biggest company in China and the 80th largest company of the top…
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Phuket Business: ThaiVisa penetrates neighboring markets
PHUKET: ThaiVisa.com, the leading English-language social networking website about Thailand, is expanding its operations to Myanmar and Cambodia.“We have carefully studied internet traffic trends and we see a sharp rise in search traffic and interest about our neighbor Myanmar,” said Barry Main, marketing director of Bangkok-based ThaiVisa Expat Group Co Ltd.“We believe it’s pretty easy for us to get a…
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Stay calm and enjoy your holiday, says Phuket tourism chief
PHUKET: Phuket tourism industry leaders are calling on the local media not to exaggerate in their reporting of the recent seismic activity in Phuket, as doing so could adversely affect the local economy. Phuket Tourist Association President Somboon Jirayus said yesterday that tourists from places like Japan and parts of Europe where earthquakes are common were more likely to view…
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Phuket Songkran road toll ends: 3 dead, 43 injured
PHUKET: The “Seven Days of Danger” Songkran road-safety campaign ended in Phuket yesterday with no road fatalities over the final four days, resulting in a final tally of three dead and 43 injured in 44 reported accidents. As anticipated by many, the most dangerous day was April 13, when two people died and 10 others were injured in 11 reported…
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Patong Mayor pushes for new road to Phuket’s Freedom Beach
PHUKET: THE Patong Municipal Council has agreed to fund a study to look into building a new road to access Freedom Beach, crossing over public forest land in the area. The road was among several proposals unanimously approved by the council during its budget meeting last week. Patong Mayor Pian Keesin presided over the meeting, which was attended by 15…
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Phuket dam passes post-quake safety inspection
PHUKET: Phuket officials have declared the dam at Bang Neaw Dum Reservoir in Thalang structurally sound following a safety inspection earlier today. The inspection was prompted by a series earthquakes centered in Thalang over the past few days, including a 4.3 Richter tremor yesterday morning. That quake left local residents living downstream fearing the structural integrity of the dam might…
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Police crack Phang Nga drug network linked to “kingpin prisoner’
PHUKET: Acting on a tip-off police raided two separate addresses in Phang Nga yesterday resulting in the arrest of six men and the recovery of drugs, weapons, cash and other valuables. The gang was reportedly controlled by an inmate at Nakhon Sri Thammar at Provincial Prison who ordered drugs to be delivered to one of the suspects netted in the…
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Phuket “aftershocks’ likely Sumatra-related: experts
PHUKET: The eight small earthquakes that have rocked Phuket over the past 24 hours are most likely related to the much larger earthquakes off the coast of Sumatra last week, experts from the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) said. The latest quake, which hit at 12:18pm today, was a magnitude of 3.1 on the Richter scale, according to preliminary data released…
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Dane dies of blood loss after Phuket tsunami evacuation
PHUKET: A Danish tourist injured during the evacuation of Patong Beach last Wednesday was found dead of apparent blood loss in his Patong hotel room yesterday afternoon. Patong Police were notified of the death at 5pm by 40-year-old motorbike taxi driver Lamai Ouan – on. Arriving at the scene with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, police found the body of the…
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Tiger Group considers suing MP Chuwit as police probe fails
PHUKET: A spokesman for Phuket’s Tiger Group told the media over the weekend that his company is still considering legal action against politician Chuwit Kamolvisit following his allegation that a casino had operated out of one of the company’s venues in Patong. The threat of legal retribution follows the failure of two police investigations to uncover any wrongdoing at any…
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Amway to deliver B2.5bn boost to Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects the 18,000 Amway sales representatives arriving from China to spend up to 2.5 billion baht during their month-long stay on Phuket.Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak together with Director Bangonrat Shinaprayoon of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office welcomed and gave flowers to the first group of…
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Phuket struck twice by earthquakes
PHUKET: Phuket was struck by a 4.3-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter believed to be in the center of the island just minutes before another quake struck off Sumatra this afternoon. San Jantharawong, chief of the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) said his officers were now working on locating the exact center of the first…
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Phuket Police re-open road to Patong as earthquake fears subside
PHUKET: Police have re-opened the main road over Patong Hill, linking Phuket Town with Patong on Phuket’s west coast.The road was closed as a precaution following the earthquake felt across the island earlier this afternoon.Traffic remains heavy in the area.The Phuket Gazette urges all motorists to exercise caution and patience while travelling through the area.
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Phuket Earthquake: NDWC gives all-clear, removes alert watch
PHUKET: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has removed its “alert watch” order for tsunamis and further earthquakes, the Phuket Gazette has been told.“The NDWC removed the alert watch just before 6pm,” said San Jantharawong, chief of the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket).“The alert was removed because this was a much smaller earthquake than…
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Phuket Opinion: Take off the gloves
PHUKET: The recent ban on mixed martial arts (MMA) events by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) is a sad but unsurprising development, and one which will deprive growing numbers of MMA enthusiasts in Thailand from watching these exciting events live, while costing the country millions of baht in lost revenue. (See current issue of the Phuket Gazette.) Thailand is…
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Blazing a trail through Phuket
PHUKET: AN EXHILARATING new event is coming to Phuket in the form of trail running with the first experience being episode two of the Columbia Trail Masters, 2012 Thailand Trail Running Championship. Organized by Active Management Asia, Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club will host the island’s maiden excursion into the world of off road running on May 6 with Khao…
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