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 truck driver killed in roadside crash
PHUKET: The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed last night when his fully-loaded rig crashed into the back of another large truck parked along the side of Thepkrasattri Road in Phuket. The driver’s girlfriend, who was asleep in the back of the cab, survived the crash but is being treated for serious injuries at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Thalang Police identified…
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Elephant rampage: Tragedy strikes Phuket honeymooners
PHUKET: A Ukrainian couple’s honeymoon turned to tragedy when a bull elephant went berserk on a Phuket trekking tour, attacking the female elephant she and her husband were riding. Tetiana Meia, 26, suffered clean breaks to her left femur, right tibia (shin bone) and right fibula, along with scrapes and bruises all over her body when “Captain”, a bull elephant…
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Phuket “Number 3′ in Thailand for AIDS
PHUKET: Phuket has the third-highest reported incidence per capita of HIV/AIDS in Thailand, with Patong having one of the highest concentrations of people in the province contracting the virus, the Health Office has revealed. “The current statistics for HIV/AIDS-infected patients in Phuket is quite shocking,” Dr Wiwat Seetamanotch, Deputy Director of the Phuket Public Health Office, told a recent meeting…
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Quiksilver surfing competition opens in Phuket
PHUKET: Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surf Competition hit Patong Beach today with an early morning wake up call and the first day of action. Almost 100 competitors from nine different countries have signed up to compete in the four-day Asian Surfing Championship sanctioned 3-star Quiksilver Thailand 2011 Surf Competition. America, Australia, Burma, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and of…
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Thanyapura nets international tennis event
PHUKET: Tennis on Phuket has received a spectacular boon with Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) announcing that their facility will host one round of the Chang International Tennis Federation (ITF) Thailand Pro Circuit 2011 tournament. The competition will run from October 29 to November 12 and is the very first tennis event of this caliber to be held in…
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Police seize 400kg of marijuana in single haul
PHUKET : Phuket police yesterday seized 400 kilograms of marijuana worth an estimated 20 million baht in a raid in Rawai. Phuket Provincial Police presented suspected drug dealer Sompong “Pet” Tham-u-tok, 23, at a press conference this morning presided by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Chalong Police Superintendent Krittapad Dej-intorrasorn. Also presented were 400…
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PATA, Skal join forces to forge Phuket Chapter
PHUKET: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will hold a joint seminar on developing tourism in Phuket at the Movenpick Resort & Spa on Saturday. Joining forces with the formidable Skål business network, PATA’s aim for the event is to lay the foundation to form a Phuket chapter. PATA CEO Bill Calderwood, who will be attending the event, explained that…
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Phuket’s Pariwat scores a home first
PHUKET: Golfing prodigy Pariwat Pinsawat returned from Hong Kong recently, victorious at the international junior team tournament, The Lion City Cup, to claim yet another first. He was subsequently named the inaugural Brand Ambassador for his home course, Phuket Country Club. The announcement, made on September 10 at a presentation dinner that quickly evolved into an appreciation event, drew attendance…
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Phuket Poll: What’s your favorite Thai dish?
PHUKET: In the latest online readers poll, the Phuket Gazette lightens up the subject matter to ask readers which of six popular Thai dishes they would choose to dine on exclusively if stuck on an island for two weeks. To vote in the poll click here or on the icon at the top right of this page. We understand that…
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Quiksilver surf competition underway in Phuket
PHUKET: The Quiksilver Surf Phuket Thailand Competition 2011 started today, with famous surfers from around the region taking part in the first round of the men’s long board event. There were 24 men taking part in the first round, which got underway off Loma Park in Patong at 2pm. Tomorrow will see both men and women take to the gnarly,…
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Phuket update: ‘Kru Kiew’ denies torture charge
PHUKET: A daycare center worker caught on tape hitting her students has confessed to assault, but denies the more serious charge of torture under the Child Protection Action, the Phuket Gazette has learned. Phuket City Police Officer Wirat Tenthong said the teacher, Pranee “Kru Kiew” Jantalert, confessed to harming the children, but denied the abuse constituted a violation of Article…
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Paiboon calls for “dam healthy Phuket’
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization President Paiboon Upatising has called for plans to redevelop Bang Wad Dam and Bang Neaw Dam – Phuket’s two main water reservoirs – to include jogging tracks and bike lanes as key recreational features at the sites. Mr Paiboon called for the healthy additions yesterday at a public hearing at Kathu Municipality offices to announce…
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Use of force “necessary’ in Phuket beach eviction: Police
PHUKET: Local police have defended their use of force in removing vendors from a Phuket beach on Sunday, saying that the officers present did only what was needed to arrest the ringleader. Tensions flared when police and municipal officers staged a dawn raid to tear down three restaurants deemed to be encroaching on government land at Karon Beach. The three…
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Street shooting leaves Phuket mother of two in disbelief
PHUKET: A young mother is contemplating her future after her partner and the father of her two children was gunned down outside their rented room in Phuket on Sunday night. “I was watching television with our two children at about 10pm when I heard two loud blasts. I rushed outside and saw my husband lying on the cement, covered with…
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Phuket Live Wire: Getting connected
PHUKET: WHEN it comes to Internet connections in Phuket, there are three major considerations: reliability, speed and price. In that order. It’s almost impossible to measure reliability. Why? Because glitches in Internet connections these days tend to be one-off. It’s rare to see the whole island go down. Most reliability problems I’ve seen have to do with poorly strung wires,…
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More wet weather for Phuket: TMD
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued a “heavy rain” warning for Phuket and almost all of Thailand. The warning, simply entitled “Heavy Rain over Thailand”, was issued at 5am today by the TMD’s Weather Forecast Bureau in Bangkok. The source of all the precipitation over the central plains region is a monsoon trough slowly moving across central Thailand,…
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MoF voices support for Phuket convention center
PHUKET: Ministry of Finance General Inspector Prasit Suebchana met Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak today to reaffirm that his ministry will fight for Phuket’s convention center to go ahead. The international convention and exhibition center (ICEC) project stalled early this month when the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) announced that the project’s plan had failed its initial environmental…
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Boy, 15, stabbed at Phuket’s Chalong Pier
PHUKET: A 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the back last night while sitting with friends on Chalong Pier, a main departure point for tourists and divers heading out to the islands and reefs off Phuket. One of the security guards at the scene told the Phuket Gazette that the incident happened at about midnight. “Taweechai [Jansamud] probably had a fight…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: DNA tests proposed for migrant workers; Rubber farmers fight on; Mahouts fear losing elephants
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Proposal to DNA-test migrant workers panned The Nation/Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prompted by concerns over the ease with which foreigners will be able to travel in and out of Thailand once the Asean Economic Community (AEC) commences in 2015, the Institute for Forensic Medicine (IFM) is calling on the…
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Hotel supply cap “pointless’ for Phuket
PHUKET: Hotel operators are lukewarm to an effort by the Thai Hotels Association to lobby the government to limit the number of new hotel licenses it issues, saying the real problem is the number of accommodation establishments that operate illegally. Following reports that the association planned to lobby returning Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa to help develop the industry…
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FC Phuket trump Songkhla in deep south battle
PHUKET: FC PHUKET got their second road win of the season last night, with a well-deserved 1-0 win against Songkhla FC in a hard-fought match at Tinsulanond Stadium in Songkhla Town. The lively match was played under clear skies, following light showers earlier in the day. Some 23,000 fans turned out making it the largest crowd Phuket has played in…
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Beach Volleyball: Phuket Thailand Open ready to decide World Number One
PHUKET: Seventeen of the world’s top 20-ranked teams have confirmed their participation in the PTT Phuket Thailand Open, the final round of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour, which will take place on Phuket’s Karon Beach from November 1 to 6. The Phuket tournament is the world’s largest women’s beach volleyball event and will see the teams competing this…
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Phuket Tourism: Miracle Years for ‘Amazing Phuket’?
PHUKET: The latest obstacle in Phuket’s never-ending effort to build a world-class International Conference and Exhibition Center came with the rejection of the project’s Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONR). Given all the work and money spent on planning and drawing up the design for the Center, to be built…
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Phuket ‘security guard’ confesses to stabbing murder
PHUKET: A security guard has confessed to the murder of a maid at a workers’ guesthouse in Phuket last night. Patong Police duty officer Weerapong Rakkito identified the deceased as 39-year-old Nuanchawee Sarating, until the time of her death the maid at a workers’ guesthouse in Kalim. At about 9:45pm, her body was found face-up outside her room under the…
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Battle for Phuket’s Surin Beach goes on
PHUKET: The saga over the stalled clearing of a restaurant encroaching on Surin Beach continues, with the restaurant owners refusing to remove structures and local authorities planning to file yet another report. Pla Restaurant was spared from a raid on Wednesday morning when a multi-agency task force of no less than 30 officers acting under an order from the Governor…
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Clarification sought over car tax rebate plan: Phuket Excise Office
PHUKET: First-time car buyers should wait until rules regarding the much-publicized tax rebate are clarified before signing off on purchases, Phuket’s Excise Office has advised. Thanongsak Booncluab, Acting Director of the Phuket Excise Office, told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that a senior specialist will be arriving on Phuket on Monday to explain the populist program. “Ministry of Finance Inspector General…
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Luang Pu Supha marks 115th birthday
PHUKET: Phuket’s best-known monk Luang Pu Supha marked the grand old age of 115 years yesterday and received an honorary doctorate in Buddhist theology from Chulalongkorn University. Representatives from the Buddhist clergy were joined by Phuket Governor Tri Augkadachara in presiding over the merit-making ceremony at the temple in Chalong that bears Luang Pu Supha’s name. Also in attendance were…
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Road work clogs Phuket’s main artery
PHUKET: Motorists commuting along Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Road northbound should try to avoid rush hour as resurfacing work is causing long tailbacks and dirty conditions. The work is part of a three-month, 42-million-baht contract to improve the road from in front of the Seventh Day Adventist Church near Super Cheap to Srisoonthorn Temple, which is 12 kilometers to the north. The…
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AFL Phuket dishes out another night of thrills
PHUKET: Round three of Phuket’s Adult Futsal League (AFL) season eight presented by Thanachart Bank Premier Division kicked off with much anticipation for an action packed night on Thursday at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club. Reigning champions Portrait FC played Honda in the first match of the evening’s schedule. Portrait’s top scorer Pongsatorn got his team off to the perfect…
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Phuket Police help nab drug kingpin in Krabi
PHUKET: After a gunfight and a chase through a rubber plantation, police on Wednesday arrested two men in connection with a drug-trafficking network that allegedly spanned from Phuket to Malaysia. One of the men was a known kingpin already wanted by police in Bangkok. Police presented the suspects – Krabi resident Songchai “Aied” Chumpon, 51, and alleged associate Paechon Navadej,…
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