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 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
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Phuket Finance: Endurance and persistence
PHUKET: Recently Phuket saw some of the best triathletes in the world descend on the island to participate in the Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 Triathlon. While I am extremely slow, I am a very keen endurance athlete. I do this race every year, as well as the marathon here, and am currently registered for my second full Ironman race next…
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Phuket Business: Reusable future
“We live in a world where every 12 seconds, a child dies because of dirty water and insanitation. CO2 continues to build up and forests are depleting. We live in a resource-constrained world. There are limits.” – Peter Bakker.PHUKET: These chilling words from Peter Bakker at a recent Bangkok symposium held by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)…
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Phuket Business: Say it in Chinese
An exclusive interview with the Kopi Chinese Language Training Center reveals some of Phuket’s past and looks towards the future of foreign language learning. PHUKET: The business of education in Phuket continues on an upward trend, with one local Chinese language center preparing for the integration of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The Phuket Gazette’s student intern Wisuwat…
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Australian heat wave sears new colors onto weather maps
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET (Reuters): Australia’s record-breaking heat wave has sent temperatures soaring, melting road tar and setting off hundreds of wildfires – as well as searing new colors onto weather maps. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has added dark purple and magenta to its color-coded weather forecasting map to…
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World News: US doesn’t rule out removing troops from Afghanistan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US does not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Obama administration does not rule out a complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after 2014, the White House said yesterday (January 8), just days before President Barack Obama is…
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Tuk-tuk, jet-ski, taxi scams: Ambassadors name the bane of Phuket
PHUKET: In their first official visit to Phuket, the British, Canadian and Dutch Ambassadors to Thailand today plainly described their chief concerns about the scams and cheats continuing to plague Phuket’s tourism industry. Speaking with Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut at Provincial Hall this afternoon, ambassadors Mark Kent of the UK, Philip Calvert of Canada and Joan Boer of the Netherlands…
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Iranian tourist attacks Phuket parking attendant
PHUKET: Iranian tourist Khalili Sina today attacked a Phuket parking service operator who was trying to shift the tourist’s rented jeep.Khalili Sina allegedly smashed a broken beer bottle over the head of Muhammad Manoch, 21, and slashed his cheek.The incident happened on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road in Patong at about 12:45am, Lt Col Jongserm Preecha of the Patong Police said.“Witnesses…
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DNP seeks funds for reforestation
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DNP seeks 9bn baht for reforestation The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A 9-billion baht budget is being sought for forestation projects across the country while plans are being put in place for a nationwide crackdown on encroachers, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant…
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Phuket Gazette World News – Rioting in Belfast for fifth night
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Northern Irish police clash with rioters for fifth night Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police in Northern Ireland came under attack for a fifth straight night yesterday as the province’s police chief urged politicians and parents to act to halt the riots on Belfast streets. The…
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Phuket Live Wire: Infections of epidemic proportions
PHUKET: My fellow editor at InfoWorld, Robert Lemos, published a story in eWeek last month that took Thailand to task for its incredibly lousy record with different kinds of malware. Quoting a study from antivirus company Sophos, Lemos says that Thailand is the third worst country in the world for PC infections. According to the eWeek report: “A user surfing…
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Police offer B100,000 reward for gun-point bank robber
PHUKET: Police have offered a 100,000 baht reward for any information leading to the arrest of a man who made a fast-cash “withdraw” of over a quarter million baht at gun point from a Phuket bank yesterday afternoon. The robbery, which took place at the Kasikornbank (KBank) branch at the Tesco Chao Fa Park shopping complex (map here)on Chao Fa…
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Two locals attacked by Russian men in Surin
PHUKET: An allegedly unprovoked attack by several Russian men at a Phuket beach club early this morning has left two well-known local residents in hospital awaiting surgery.Canadian Tom Travers, managing partner of Indigo Real Estate agency, was knocked unconscious and had his cheekbone broken in three places during the attack. His girlfriend Jen Khamsorn suffered a broken nose when she…
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World Sports: Messi named the best – again
PHUKET: Lionel Messi, still only 25, was named the world’s best player for the fourth time in a row last night after a year in which finally produced his best form for Argentina as well as Barcelona. Messi was handed the award after a typically cheesy ceremony which featured a performance from a giant dancing armadillo named Fuleco, the mascot…
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UK, Canadian ambassadors put tourist safety on agenda
PHUKET: British Ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent and fellow ambassador Philip Calvert of Canada today placed their tourists’ safety squarely on their agenda with official visits to Phuket.This morning, Ambassador Kent and British Consul Michael Hancock focused their talks with Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa on what measures authorities have taken to help protect tourists on holiday in Phuket.“We are…
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Phuket Red Cross Fair lucky draw winner yet to claim B500k in gold
PHUKET: The lucky person who holds the winning ticket for the Red Cross Fair lucky draw top prize has yet to step forward and claim gold valued at nearly half a million baht. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led the draw for the prize at 10:30pm on Saturday night at the central stage area at Saphan Hin (map here), where the…
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Phuket KBank robbed at gunpoint – again
PHUKET: An armed gunman entered the Kasikornbank (KBank) branch at the Tesco Chao Fa Park shopping complex on Chao Fao East Road at about 12:30pm today. He made off with an estimated 260,000 baht, police reported. The man entered the bank wearing a white-and-blue, full-face helmet. He pointed a gun at one of the cashiers and demanded that she place…
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Dubious Dane fined, sentenced but not kicked out of Phuket
PHUKET: The 18-year-old Danish man who was found guilty of falsely reporting a gang attack on Phuket’s Kamala Beach on New Year’s Eve has been fined 500 baht and handed down a two-year suspended jail sentence – but has not been deported.An officer at the Phuket Provincial Court told the Phuket Gazette this morning that Morten Budtz Berthelsen, reportedly the…
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World News: Australia braces for wildfire day
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australia braces for “catastrophic” wildfire day Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Australia was bracing today for days of “catastrophic” fire and heat wave conditions, with fires already burning in five states and as a search continued for people missing after devastating wildfires in the island state of Tasmania.Prime…
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World News: Russian church head urges followers to adopt children
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (Reuters): The head of Russia’s dominant church urged its citizens to adopt children, speaking in a Russian Orthodox Christmas address today after President Vladimir Putin signed a controversial law barring Americans from adopting Russian children.Patriarch Kirill paid particular attention to the issue in a Christmas message, lending…
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World News: Clinton resumes duties today after treatment for clot
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (Reuters): U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will resume her official duties today (January 7), five days after being released from a hospital for treatment of a blood clot.Clinton, 65, was released from New York Presbyterian Hospital last Wednesday, after a stay of several days during which…
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8 injured as Phuket pickup flips, rolls into field
PHUKET: Two youngsters, a 12-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman, are in hospital with serious head injuries after the pickup truck they were travelling in flipped and rolled down an embankment while returning to Phuket from Krabi last night. Natchanon Kaewrua, 12, and Jinta Petchkrua, 18, were thrown out of the back of the pickup when driver Somchai Kaewrua, 48,…
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World News: Armstrong may be on verge of admitting drug use
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (News wires): Lance Armstrong is reportedly on the verge of publicly admitting he used performance enhancing drugs throughout his cycling career.The New York Times is reporting that the disgraced American has told associates and anti-doping officials that he is considering a public admission.The newspaper claims this is…
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World News: Fire fears as temperatures soar in New South Wales
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: Total fire bans remain in place across New South Wales, Australia, as firefighters battle blazes in searing heat.Parts of Tasmania’s east coast have been cut off by bushfires as a blaze on the Tasman Peninsula continues to burn out of control.More than a dozen properties have been…
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Russian tour counters closed in Phuket, pending probe
PHUKET: All Russian tour counters in the Kata-Karon beach areas have been ordered to close until further notice and the local Labor Office has been requested to investigate them for possible breach for foreign worker regulations. The news came at a meeting at Kata-Karon Municipality yesterday, held to resolve the ongoing dispute between local tuk-tuk and taxi drivers and Russian…
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Phuket tourism leaders lambast Sydictive new year party for noise, trash
PHUKET: Leading Phuket tourism and hotel figures yesterday personally brought forward a barrage of complaints to the Phuket Governor about the Sydictive Element new year party, citing complaints that noise forced guests to check out early and trash was left strewn along Patong Beach. The delegation filing the complaint comprised Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) President Ponganun Suwannakarn and PTA Vice…
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Phuket mangrove deforestation probe whittles down encroachment claim
PHUKET: The 70 rai of protected mangrove forests investigated on Phuket yesterday in fear it was being illegally encroached on was whittled down to only two rai after a followup probe this morning. “After I examined the Klong Mudong area in Chalong again today, I was able to determine that only about two rai of the land being reclaimed by…
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Migrant workers can stay “for now’: Phuket Employment Chief
PHUKET: Migrant workers in Phuket will not be deported while waiting to complete the nationality verification process, the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) has confirmed. “Whether or not illegal workers will be deported will be announced after the Cabinet meeting on January 8,” PPEO chief Yawapa Pibulpol told the Phuket Gazette today. “It all depends on the Cabinet. We will…
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Marine police hook Phuket fish smuggler
PHUKET: A local resident in Rawai, at the southern end of Phuket, was arrested yesterday trying to smuggle more than 200 protected-species fish to Bangkok.Marine Police and Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Region 5 office in Phuket arrested Boonsuan Raknawa, 41, after officers received information about protected fish being smuggled to Bangkok via a public bus.“The suspect was…
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World News: Back to school for Sandy Hook Elementary School’s surviving students
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: (Reuters): Classes resumed yesterday (January 3) for more than 400 surviving students of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, 20 days after a massacre at the school that killed 20 first graders and six adults last month.Across Newtown’s sprawling Sandy Hook neighbourhood, home to the school where…
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World News: Eleven killed in Damascus gas station blast
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: (Reuters): At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus yesterday. The station was packed with people queuing for fuel which has become increasingly scarce during the country’s 21-month-long insurgency…
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