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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Opinion: Sterilizing Phuket strays
John Dalley, originally from Leeds in the United Kingdom, is the president of the Soi Dog Foundation. John worked as a chemical plant manager for many years before retiring in 2002. In September 2003, he became involved with the Soi Foundation when it first started in Phuket. Here, he talks about the soi dog problem in Phuket, and Thailand, the…
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Opinion: Gambling in Thailand: Out with the old, in with the new
PHUKET: There has been a lot in the news lately about gambling. One recent Gazette article discussed the history that Thailand has had with this recreational activity and noted that it originally came here with Chinese immigrants. As late 19th century western leaders found gambling to be crude and thought it synonymous with crime, King Rama V led the government…
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Russian faces charges in fiance’s death
PHUKET: A Russian man who has recovered from a coma resulting from a road accident in Kata on July 4 faces charges of reckless driving causing the death of his fiance. Sergey Koltsov, 24, and Marina Smirnova, 19, were driving their rented motorbike on Taina Road in Kata when they crashed into a Karon Police patrol car. “According to eyewitnesses,…
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Myanmar worker dies in road smash
PHUKET: A Myanmar worker died after falling off the rear of a pick-up truck when it was slammed by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) near Baan Jee Teng on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday morning. “At the scene we found a Myanmar worker named Soe Thue, 25, critically injured on the ground,” Lt Col Sanit Nukong of the Thalang Police told the…
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Phuket to observe two-day alcohol ban
PHUKET: The sale of alcohol will be prohibited nationwide on Thursday and Friday in honor of Buddhist holiday Asarnha Bucha and the beginning of Buddhist Lent. The ban will begin at midnight on Thursday and will last until midnight on Saturday, Capt Prudsatorn Yoothon of the Phuket Tourist Police told Phuket Gazette this morning. “We have been doing our rounds…
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Chinese tour bus flips on bypass road
PHUKET: A tour bus carrying Chinese tourists flipped over and crashed onto its side on the bypass road, opposite Premium Outlet Phuket, at about noon today. The bus, which was carrying 17 tourists and two tour guides, was heading northbound when the accident occurred. The crash trapped one Chinese tour guide and one tourist inside the bus, but rescue workers…
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Alleged love triangle leads man to slash cousin’s neck
PHUKET: Police have yet to press charges against two cousins who got into a fight last night in Nai Yang, leaving one with a slashed neck and the other with a bruised face. Police first learned of the incident when Halem Dami, 26, ran up to an area police box looking for help. “At about 8pm last night, Halem Dami,…
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SIM card registration deadline swiftly approaching
PHUKET: Prepaid SIM card users have six days left to register their cards or else be blocked from accessing data services and placing calls. “All users who have yet to register their SIM cards must do so before July 31. If you do not, you will be blocked from making any calls, other than those to emergency numbers,” says Wanna…
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Alcohol relief: National ban details cleared up for businesses
PHUKET: A collective sigh of relief could be heard from Phuket officials as clarification of a national alcohol-sales ban officially arrived this week. The ban, passed by the Cabinet and signed into law by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, forbids the sale of alcohol within 300 meters of an ‘educational institution’. However, what qualifies as an educational institution was originally…
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Business Buzz: Social media automation brings success on a platter
PHUKET: Is your business taking advantage of social media automation? These days, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of different applications and platforms that we can choose from on social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram are some of the most commonly known sites, but have you heard of SnapChat, Reddit, Quick-R, Flickr, Picasa,…
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Finance: Providing the best in the business
PHUKET: Following on from my article about the Millennium fund, I am writing this week about some Wall Street legendary fund managers that you can now access with relatively small allocation in a portfolio. Belmont has made its main business out of selecting the absolutely best managers in the world and offering access to them at reduced minimums. While the…
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Opinion: War on drink
PHUKET: Enforcement of Thailand’s Alcohol Beverage Control Act has been inconsistent since it was passed in 2008. Restricting it further will penalize those who play by the rules, while heaping more reward on those who do not. Some of the more rational aspects of the act, such as banning the sale of alcohol at roadside service stations, have been fairly…
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PM Prayut pauses hotly-debated Krabi power plant project
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the hotly-debated coal-fired power plant project in Krabi to be put on hold until a joint committee can ensure that all steps of the pre-construction process have been legally carried out. The prime minister’s order ended a 14-day protest yesterday in Bangkok. About 100 Krabi residents and environmental activists had gathered to…
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Man killed saving co-worker from electric shock
PHUKET: One man was killed and another injured by an electric shock which occurred when a crane they were using to move a tree in Cherng Talay hit electrical wires. Supakit Kaewnarin, 30, and Bhumi Boonyapitak, 40, were found lying on the ground near the crane when police arrived. “We saw one man lying near the crane, but not moving,…
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Phuket windshield smasher may have been ‘lovelorn’
PHUKET: Police believe a man’s unrequited affection for a woman may have led him to break the windshield of her car in Phuket last night. Matira Nantimaruj, 32, told Thalang Police that she discovered the damage to her Toyota Yaris when she went downstairs from her third floor apartment to investigate a loud noise. “Upon receiving the call at about…
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Media, PR pros hammer out new strategies
PHUKET: The Thai Public Relations Department (PRD) called media from the southern provinces to a seminar in Krabi last week in an effort to strategize ways to keep pace with international media and help foreigners understand the goings-on in Thailand. “We held the meeting so we could exchange thoughts and make sure local media and public relations professionals are on…
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Japanese company to compensate for wartime forced labor – Kyodo
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Japanese company to compensate for wartime forced labor – Kyodo Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Japanese construction company Mitsubishi Materials Corp plans to apologize and pay compensation to Chinese people over its use of forced labor during World War Two, Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported. The…
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RPT-EXCLUSIVE: Japan eyes British help to sink German bid for Australian submarine – Sources
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community RPT-EXCLUSIVE-Japan eyes British help to sink German bid for Australian submarine-sources Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A Japanese government team is in talks with at least two top British firms to help aJapanese consortium land one of the world’s most lucrative defense contracts, a $50 billion…
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Nigeria marks polio-free year, raising global eradication hopes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nigeria marks polio-free year, raising global eradication hopes Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Nigeria marked its first year without a single case of polio on Friday, reaching a milestonemany experts had thought would elude it as internal conflict hampered the battle against the crippling disease. It means the…
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Section of Kathu-Koh Kaew shortcut road closed
PHUKET: Access to Soi Koh Kaew 33 from Thepkrasattri Road, behind the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, has been closed off as repairs are made to a roadside retaining wall. Construction is expected to be complete within 60 days. “During construction the road will be closed. There will only be one lane for exiting to Thepkrasattri Road. We can not…
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Defence gets access to evidence for DNA tests in Thailand backpackers murder trial – lawyer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Defence gets access to evidence for DNA tests in Thailand backpackers murder trial -lawyer Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A Thai court has given defense lawyers access to evidence for DNA testing in the trial of twoMyanmar workers accused of murdering two British tourists in Thailand,…
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Local swimmers dive into FINA World Championships
PHUKET: Fresh from claiming nine medals at the recent South East Asian (SEA) Games, five members of the BISP JSA Swim Academy, based at British International School Phuket (BISP), are jumping into the pool today to compete in the 16th FINA World Championships. The championships will be held in Kazan, Russia, from July 24 to August 9. “The opportunity for…
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Australian nurse who aided ISIS heading home, could face arrest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australian nurse who aided ISIS heading home, could face arrest Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: An Australian male nurse alleged to have given medical assistance to Islamic State militants fighting in Syria could face arrest for violating tough new security laws when he lands in Sydney…
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Thailand indicts 72 human trafficking suspects ahead of U.S. report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand indicts 72 human trafficking suspects ahead of U.S. report Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Bangkok on Friday indicted 72 people suspected of involvement in human trafficking, just days before the United States issues its latest assessment of the country’s anti-trafficking efforts next week. Bangkok launched…
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Twelve hurt after truck flips in Thalang
PHUKET: A dozen people were injured today when a pick-up truck hauling migrant workers and a trailer with a backhoe flipped in northern Phuket. “At the scene we found a pick-up truck flipped over on the side of the road. Nearby, there was a trailer and a backhoe also flipped,” said Lt Kraisorn Boonprasob of Thalang Police. “There were 12…
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Kiwi wakes up from coma after accident on Patong Hill
PHUKET: New Zealander Paul ‘PJ’ Lupi, who was seriously injured in an accident on Patong Hill on July 6, has woken up from a coma and is recovering from his injuries, his brother told the Phuket Gazette today. The 28-year-old has been moved from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a ward in Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok. “He woke…
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Pink chicks outrage animal activist on Koh Lanta
PHUKET: A group of brightly colored baby chickens tied up in a plastic bag has outraged foreigners visiting Koh Lanta, south of Phuket. Tourist Gina Jones, 33, and her husband were strolling down a beach on Koh Lanta when the bright colored fowl being sold as kids toys caught their attention, reported The Daily Mail on Monday. The pair then…
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Phuket Governor promotes production of local fruit
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Nisit Jamsomwong signed an agreement on Monday to boost production of the local jungle fruit ‘som kwai‘ (garcinia atroviridis). During a meeting on Knowledge-Based One Tambon One Product (KBO), which is aimed at integrating relevant sectors to boost the value of its products, Governor Nisit noted that som kwai have excellent nutritional and medicinal properties. “This agreement…
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Rassada Municipality ordered to remedy damaged homes
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosuttirak ordered Rassada Municipality to repair damaged property or pay compensation within 60 days to villagers whose homes were damaged during a Rassada Municipality drainage ditch construction project in 2013. Vice Governor Somkiet led officials to inspect the homes on Tuesday after homeowners filed a complaint to Governor Nisit Jansomwong that officials had failed to…
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Men flee scene of power-pole crash
PHUKET: Police are searching for two men who fled the scene of an accident which downed a power pole on Srisoonthorn Road near the Heroines’ Monument yesterday. Witnesses of the accident notified Thalang Police at about 4pm. “At the scene, we found a seriously damaged station wagon flipped onto its side next to a collapsed power pole,” said Lt Suporn…
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