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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Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: House pushes Amnesty Bill through
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community How the bill was pushed through The Nation/Phuket GazettePHUKET: Since the Senate is expected to debate the amnesty bill by Friday or next Monday, with the deadline for the bill’s final passage set at 60 days, the House pushed the bill through to its third and final…
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Phuket Gazette World News: One killed in LA airport; U.S. drone kills Pakistani Taliban leader; Man sentenced in rape, murder that shocked South Africa; Call to cease excessive surveillance
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community TSA agent killed, 6 hurt in Los Angeles airport shooting Reuters/Phuket GazettePHUKET: A gunman opened fire with an assault rifle in a terminal of Los Angeles International airport on Friday, killing a Transportation Security Agent and wounding at least six other people before he was shot and…
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Phuket taxi driver killer turns himself in
PHUKET: The man who fatally stabbed a Karon taxi driver in Samkong early yesterday morning turned himself in today.Jirawat Kongtanote, 22, has been charged for the murder of his neighbor, Teeranan Phongkrathin, 29 (story here). Mr Jirawat accepted the charge, saying, “We were friends and I stabbed him.”The two men had a long-running argument that involved, at least in part,…
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Phuket Opinion: It’s everyone’s job to improve cyclists’ safety
Danny Ruangkanch, 54, is a Narathiwat native. He graduated from the California College of the Arts 29 years ago, and spent 10 years working abroad before coming back to Thailand. He came to Phuket 15 years ago and works as a freelance artist and Moderator of Thaimtb.com. He joined the Phuket Bicycle Club in 2000. Here he talks about how…
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Phuket Opinion: Slicing up Thailand’s cash cow
PHUKET: Reports of government plans to raise both arrival and departure taxes on foreign tourists reflect an almost complete lack of cohesion on tourism policy by government officials, and fly in the face of previous pronouncements that Thailand stands at the ready to become the “tourism hub” of the Asean region.The proposed increases, a 100-baht hike in airport departure tax…
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UK backs cross-cultural negotiation education for Phuket government officials
PHUKET: High-ranking local government officers in Phuket will start an English language and cross-cultural negotiation course this month as part of the ongoing cooperation between the United Kingdom and Thailand, said British Ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent. The announcement of the course came after a closed-door meeting between Amb Kent and Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday afternoon. “The UK embassy…
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Letters from Abu Dhabi: It’s the F1 pits and a flying circus
Abu Dhabi: The motorway to the Yas Marina Circuit hops from Abu Dhabi onto Sadiyaat Island, en-route they are building a Guggenheim Museum, a Louvre, and lots of expensive housing. Right now Sadiyaat Island it is a flat naked barren sun-blasted atoll interspersed with cranes, but when Abu Dhabi has a will, there is a way. Then we crossed onto…
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New gun, security guard laws aim to improve tourist safety
PHUKET: Gun owners with permission to carry their weapons in public may no longer do so in tourist areas, it was announced on Tuesday. The order issued by the Royal Thai Police applies nationwide and is part of an ongoing effort to improve tourist safety. Carrying guns in tourist areas or in areas where crowds gather is no longer allowed,…
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Russian found dead in Phuket resort pool
PHUKET: A 38-year-old Russian man was found dead in a Phuket resort swimming pool early this morning.Royal Crown Hotel & Palm Spa Resort staffers informed Patong police of the death at 4:30am.Police and Kusoldharm rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the man floating face down in the pool.“He was only wearing swimming trunks, and there was a bottle…
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Jet-ski operators sorted out ahead of Phuket’s high season
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut stepped out onto the sand yesterday to inspect Patong Beach jet-ski operators. As the island gears up for an increased number of tourists during the high season, the governor made it clear that jet-ski safety was of utmost importance. “Jet-skiing is a popular activity for tourists in Phuket, and it can also be dangerous,” Gov Maitri…
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Phuket airport taxi collides with tipsy motorbiker
PHUKET: An airport taxi driver rushing to pick up a tourist at the airport collided with an inebriated motorbike driver in Thalang yesterday.The man on the motorbike suffered minor injuries.The taxi driver, Wattana Patan, 36, told police that he was en route to the airport and saw the motorbike riding in the left lane on the Cherng Thalay-Baan Don Road,…
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Royal Thai Navy keep eye on young seawolves – Phuket Youth Sailing
PHUKET: Organized by Phuket Youth Sailing Club (PYSC), 28 sailors from Phuket and Sattahip between the ages of 6 and 18 years took part in the inaugural Phuket Youth Week Training Camp & Regatta 2013. The two-day regatta sponsored by The Sponsorship Experts – PP(SEA)CL and Topper Sail Phuket produced some exciting and close racing across the four divisions. Eighteen…
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Thailand’s favorites keep local hopes alive at Phuket Open
PHUKET: Thailand’s favorites Varapatsorn Radarong and Tanarattha Udomchavee are through to the knock-out stage taking two wins in Pool A, at the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Phuket Open on Thursday. Thailand has hosted over 10 women’s and one men’s FIVB tournament and the Open is back for an eighth consecutive year. Despite losing their final pool match to Dutch pair…
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More historical heroes coming to Phuket
PHUKET: Nine important figures in Phuket’s history will be honored with statues in Thalang by the beginning of next year.The goal of the 26-million-baht project is to remind Phuketians of their brave ancestors who defended Phuket from Burmese invaders, said Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa.“We chose nine figures to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej because he is the ninth king…
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Letters from Abu Dhabi: Chapter One: Circuses – F1
Abu Dhabi: There are three kinds of sports; men against distance, men against men, and man-and-machine against man-and machine. Athletics is the first type, rugby and boxing are of the second. Motor Sports and horse racing are of the third. So which does history say is the most popular? Greece, Rome and Byzantium had all these sporting types. In Rome…
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Central Festival Phuket installs life-saving automatic external defibrillators
PHUKET: Central Festival Phuket has became the first Central shopping mall in Thailand to have Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for use in the treatment of heart attack victims. Motivated by the death of a patron about four months ago, Central Festival made the AEDs available in conjunction with a new medical bay operated by Phuket International Hospital which opened in…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Amnesty Bill heats political conflict to a boil; Anti-ICJ protesters told to avoid border; Ancient hand cannons found
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Amnesty push makes political conflict more likely The Nation/Phuket GazettePHUKET: October has seen important political changes in the past – notably, a student-led uprising in 1973 and a massacre of protesters at Thammasat University in 1976.This year, a new round of political conflict is simmering after the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US to keep spying; Syrian chemical weapons destroyed; Congo rebels on brink of defeat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Senate panel passes plan to restrict but keep mass surveillance Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation yesterday that would tighten controls on the government’s sweeping electronic eavesdropping programs but allow them to continue. In a classified hearing, the panel…
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Phuket – BISP – Cruzeiro football academy announced
PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BISP) have officially announced plans to launch an unprecedented football academy in collaboration with Phuket FC and top-tier Brazilian football club, Cruizeiro EC. The plans (story here) were formally presented to local media at a press conference held this afternoon at the expansive BISP campus in Koh Kaeo, just north of Phuket Town. Presiding over…
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Phuket airport tackles Chinese tourists’ immigration queue congestion
PHUKET: Officials attempted to tackle the issue of immigration congestion at Phuket International Airport caused by the island’s largest inbound tourist market, the Chinese.Chinese tourists who arrive on charter flights are often not given the TM6 arrival and departure card required by immigration. As a result, they are forced to queue up for the card in the immigration arrival hall,…
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Phuket airport aims to bring swift justice to shoplifters
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport has established a new policy for dealing with airport shoplifters.Passengers suspected of shoplifting in the airport who attempt to escape prosecution by boarding their flights will now be asked to deplane to be arrested. However, the arrest and the retrieval of the passenger’s luggage must all be completed within an hour.The announcement, made on October 29,…
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Phuket woman transfers over 2 million baht to alleged Facebook scammer
PHUKET: A woman believed by police to be entangled in an intricate Facebook scam transferred 2 million baht into a Thanachart Bank account and 48,000 baht into a Bangkok Bank account based in Phuket. The 53-year-old woman, named only as “Ms A” by police, filed a complaint to Wichit Police yesterday after being asked to transfer an additional 2.3 million…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Council to name top monk; Nurses apologize; Naomi Campbell pales
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Council to name top monk soon The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: BECAUSE of the position left vacant by the passing away on October 24 of the late Supreme Patriarch, His Holiness Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, at the age of 100, the Sangha Supreme Council would soon…
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King cobra joins guest in hotel room, gets evicted [video report]
PHUKET: A foreign tourist staying at at hotel in Bang Tao on Tuesday night had an uninvited visitor enter his room: a two-meter long king cobra.Thanakorn Puyati, 29, a security guard at Bangtao Beach Gardens, was called to the scene, and quickly summoned Kusoldharm rescue workers. “We rushed to the hotel and found a frightened foreigner and his Thai girlfriend…
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USA’s Kessy joins up with Sweat to top Pool G at Phuket Open
PHUKET: USA’s Jennifer Kessy and Brooke Sweat top Pool G after securing two wins on the first day of pool play at the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Phuket Open yesterday. The penultimate Open of the year is back in Thailand for its eighth consecutive year, taking place from October 28 to November 3. Kessy/Sweat were first on court at 9:00…
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Report: Global wealth has doubled since 2000
PHUKET: A decade of negative real returns on equities, as well as more recent bear markets and housing bubbles bursting, has understandably made commentators cautious, even when there is good economic news. Nevertheless, the 2013 Crédit Suisse Global Wealth Report published recently has concluded that in spite of all this, global wealth has more than doubled since 2000, reaching a…
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Baburina/Mulenko dig deep to knock out top seeded qualifiers at Phuket Open
PHUKET: Svitlana Baburina and Diana Mulenko from Ukraine knocked out top seeded qualifiers Sweden’s Nina Grawender and Karin Lundqvist at the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Phuket Open yesterday. The penultimate Open of the year is back in Thailand for its eighth consecutive year, taking place from October 28 to November 3. Baburina/Mulenko had the longest time on court in the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Dogged by dissent, Israel frees 26; Politicians talk too much – Britain; NSA defends spying
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dogged by dissent, Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday, the second stage of a limited amnesty designed to help U.S.-sponsored peace talks that have been dogged by divisions on both sides.The inmates, convicted of murder in the…
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It’s raining snakes in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Recent heavy rainfall has led to a jump in large snakes being nabbed in Phuket, with four rounded up in Phuket Town in the last 24 hours.One of the four giant snakes, a three-meter python, made a dramatic entry into a Phuket Town bedroom by tumbling through a vent.“I heard noise that sounded like something had fallen off my…
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In memory of “Mrs Palmer of the Phuket Hash House Harriers’
Well-known local healer and Phuket triathlete Richard Patrick Cracknell, 66, passed away in Hawaii in the care of his son Jesse on October 24. He succumbed to complications arising from an idiopathic degenerative motor neuron disease (MND).PHUKET: This singular American athlete and healer, known by the Phuket Hash House Harriers (Phuket HHH) as Mrs Palmer, arrived in Phuket in the…
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