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 Air – another flight abandoned
LONDON (Scotsman): An airline which twice grounded a holiday jet bound for Britain with fuel gushing from a wing yesterday abandoned another flight in a safety scare.Phuket Air was forced to return a Boeing 747 service bound for Bangkok to London Gatwick three hours into a journey yesterday morning.The company said the aircraft was struck with a hydraulic problem and forced…
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Police coax would-be jumper to safety
PATONG: A drunken man horrified people in the Soi Kebsap area of Patong this morning by threatening to jump to his death from the 18th floor of the Patong Tower.The drama started at about 8:30 am after the man, identified by police only by his nickname “Aek”, put one leg over the balcony railing and began flailing his arms wildly.…
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Sipa launches fast-track system for IT workers
BANGKOK: Foreign IT workers coming to Thailand will be the envy of employees in all other sectors with the launch today of a new online system by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa). The system will allow the government to process foreign IT workers’ applications for work permits and extensions of stay in just three hours. Chalermcharn Yotviriyapanit, Head of…
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Drive to break transport “mafia’ launched
PHUKET: In an attempt to improve public transport on the island, Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has announced his support for a new project aimed at putting hundreds of metered taxis on Phuket roads and launching an Airport Bus service.On April 1, the Governor presided over the launch of the “Taxi Phuket Development Project” at Central Festival, during which he also announced…
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Abbot defrocked for bad habit
NAKHON PATHOM: An abbot and well-known fortune teller was defrocked after offering to perform a lewd “good-luck” ritual on a young woman in a short-time hotel. The woman, 20, told police she had gone with her boyfriend to pay respect to the monks at Wat Maeng Mum Hill Temple (Temple on Spider Hill). While there, the woman’s boyfriend had his…
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Missing millions probe “making progress’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police say they are making progress in the investigation into the alleged theft of 2.05 million baht in tsunami-relief funds from Phuket Provincial Hall – but have yet to name any suspects in the case. Phuket City Police Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin told the Gazette yesterday that his department would “clear up” the case before…
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US trade reps assess investment aid
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura met with US trade representatives and the head of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP) on Sunday to discuss ways in which the US private sector might assist in Thailand’s recovery following the December 26 tsunami. The talks focused on ways to channel private-sector investment from the US to affected businesses,…
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Drug use “could rise’ in tsunami aftermath
PHUKET: Drug use and drug-related crime could rise as people lose their jobs because of the slump in tourism brought on by the tsunami, the Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police has warned.Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart said, “The tsunami affected so many people. Employees of big, medium-sized and small companies, laborers and the self-employed have all found themselves out of…
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Phuket girls scoop literary awards
BANGKOK: It was a moment for Phuket to be proud of: the two winners of the Southern Thailand round of the Second Junior Impac Dublin Literary Awards last night scooped all-comers in the overall competition for Thailand.Thipratri Saenkam, 18, and Ella Micheler, 17, won 10,000 baht apiece for their entries in the Southern Thailand round, topping a field of 69…
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Austria to fund health care center
PHUKET CITY: The government of Austria has pledged to spend 500,000 Euros – around 25 million baht – on establishing a health center for the fishing community of Tambon Rassada.Austria will fund the construction of the centre and provide money for staffing, too.The initial purpose of the center will be to improve the health of the fishermen and their families,…
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Patong tsunami warning system by end of April
PHUKET CITY: Dr Smith Thammasaroj, the chief of the investigation into the government’s handling of the December 26 tsunami disaster, has announced that three tsunami warning towers will be operational in Patong by the end of this month.Speaking at The Metropole hotel after a meeting with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Deputy Chairman, Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT Region 4 Chief Suwalai…
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Unidentified man stabbed to death
PHUKET CITY: A man was found dead in Tambon Rassada on the night of March 30, shortly after he was seen being attacked by three others.The man, who has not yet been identified, was found at the entrance to Moo Baan Niramit, Moo 3, Trang Road, Tambon Rassada, not far from the area that has been dubbed “the Burmese Cemetery”…
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Work advice center to open in Patong
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office (PESO) is to open a one-stop shop for advice on employment matters at Patong Hospital.Visitors to the center, which will open next Monday (April 4), will be able to study boards carrying information on jobs in Thailand and overseas, find out about training courses, speak with consultants about employment, work permit and social insurance…
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Shoppers urged to report cheating vendors
PHUKET: People who believe they have been ripped off by shops overcharging – and blaming the hike in diesel prices – are being urged to report the shopkeepers to the Phuket Internal Trade Office (PITO), on Tel: 1569.The office has also issued a checklist to help customers “Buy clever and save money” after the price of diesel soared by 24%,…
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Danish royals to visit Phang Nga
PHUKET CITY: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and his Australian-born wife, Crown Princess Mary, accompanied by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his wife Anne-Matte, are to visit Phang Nga on April 15 and 16.The party will inspect areas devastated by the December 26 tsunami and take part in a memorial service for those who died.Mr Anders Rasmussen has…
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Gov asks US to help tsunami-hit businesses
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has asked members of the United States Congress to back the establishment of a “Flexible Fund” to help small and medium-sized businesses recover from the tsunami.Gov Udomsak told the elected representatives it would be a “great help” if the US would support the fund, which would offer flexible financing with minimum paperwork to traders who…
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Massive casino for Phang Nga Bay
PHANG NGA: In a development likely to be disturbing to some, the government announced this morning that Phang Nga Bay is to become the site for Thailand’s first legal casino.The announcement was made following a hastily-convened session of Cabinet in Bangkok late yesterday evening, at which ministers agreed to invest a whopping 30 billion baht in the mega-facility. It will be built…
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Fishermen to strike over fuel price hike
PHUKET: Members of the Phuket Fishery Association will join a national work stoppage starting Monday (April 4) in protest at the 19% rise in diesel oil prices that came in on March 23. Association Chairman Somyot Boonyakul today told the Gazette that the diesel price hike – coupled with the already high price of regular gasoline – simply makes it…
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Gov calls for greater urgency in tsunami plan
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has ordered the provincial branch of the Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) to speed up its coastal evacuation planning and work more closely with local government bodies in order to prevent a repeat of the confusion that followed last Monday’s tsunami alert. Gov Udomsak made the call at yesterday’s monthly meeting of…
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Gov calls halt to public exorcisms
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura today called a halt to religious ceremonies in public areas held to appease ghosts of tsunami victims, with effect from next Tuesday.At a meeting of provincial government officers this morning, Governor Udomsak said, “There have been enough religious ceremonies [for tsunami victims]. If anyone needs to hold a religious ceremony, they can but only within…
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Thai, German scientists discuss tsunami topics
PHUKET CITY: Thai and German marine geologists gathered at the Royal Phuket City Hotel today for a seminar on a variety of tsunami-related topics.The three-day seminar, from March 29 to 31, covers such topics as sea floor mapping, bathymetric surveys, numerical modeling of tsunami events, seismic surveys of the Andaman Sea, marine ecology and coastal management for handling disaster. Speakers…
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Sixes cricket starts on seventh
KARON: The Lighthouse Phuket International Cricket Sixes tournament gets underway on April 7 at Karon Municipal Stadium. The 18 teams taking part in this year’s tournament include Gauhati Town Cricket Club from India, Lamma CC from Hong Kong and PALPA CC from Pakistan, as well as the Perth Postels and the Warathais from Australia. Local teams include the Green Man…
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UK policeman dies in road smash
TAKUA PA: A British police officer who was a member of the the UK’s Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) team working in Phuket died yesterday in a minibus crash in Phang Nga. Two of his colleagues were seriously injured.The accident happened around 4pm yesterday, when the minibus in which the three officers were travelling was in collision with a Phuket-Bangkok tour…
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Body in sea ‘probably a foreigner’
PHUKET: The body of an unidentified man, probably a foreigner, was found floating in the sea about one mile south of Laem Promthep yesterday. The gruesome discovery was made at about 11 am near Koh Kaew Pissadarn by fisherman Sanée Kreasang, 41.Pol Maj Chana Suttimath of the Chalong Police Station told the Gazette the man was at least 30 years…
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Senators slam banks, bureaucrats
PHUKET CITY: A Senate fact-finding team has found that only half of businesses and individuals affected by the tsunami have received any financial assistance from the Government. For this they blame bank lending policies, red tape and unhelpful officials.The senators, about 20 in all, met for a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on March 26 to discuss problems…
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V/Gov appeals for massive donations
PHUKET CITY: Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit has requested hundreds of millions of baht, along with practical support, from foreign donors, the Thai private sector and the Thai government to help Phuket recover fully from the December 26 tsunami.During a meeting at Provinical Hall on March 24, V/Gov Winai outlined several situations in which the local authorities need help in putting right damage…
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Pre-Songkran re-opening for aquarium
AO MAKHAM: The Phuket Aquarium will reopen to the public on April 9, after being closed for renovations and improvements for two and a half years.The management is marking the reopening by offering free admission to all on April 9 and 10.Wannakiat Tubtimsang, Director of Phuket Marine Biological Center, which runs the aquarium, told the Gazette that 81 million baht…
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Phuket on high alert, but no tsunami
PHUKET: Seaside towns and villages around Phuket were evacuated last night after warnings from the Meteorological Department that there was a high possibility of another tsunami hitting the island. The warnings came after a massive earthquake jolted Sumatra, just 200 kilometers from the site of the temblor that caused the tsunami on December 26 last year. That wave killed an…
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Not-so-lucky charm
PHAYAO: A Phayao man is behind bars after allegedly stealing the preserved corpse of a stillborn baby boy from Phayao Hospital to use as a lucky charm. Jakree Tiemkaew, a 35-year-old builder from Tambon Ban Dam in Muang District, was taken into custody on February 22 after he took the tiny corpse to a local glass cabinetmaker and asked to…
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Dengue outbreak reports “exaggerated’
PHUKET CITY: Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, Chief Of Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), today denied media reports that 100 people in Phuket have contracted dengue fever already this year, saying that only half that number had been confirmed as having the disease.A report by the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA), an arm of the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand, for example,…
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