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 Gazette World News: US deal today – maybe; Russian police round up 1600 migrants; Major quake hits Philippines, no tsunami threat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. senators hint at possible fiscal deal today Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A month of combat in the U.S. Congress over government spending showed signs of giving way to a Senate deal to reopen shuttered federal agencies and prevent an economically damaging default on federal…
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Dozens charged over illegal fireworks at Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Phuket City Police arrested 21 people for setting off dangerous fireworks during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which drew to a close at midnight on Sunday. A further seven people were arrested for selling firecrackers without a permit. Phuket City Police chief Sermpan Sirikong said celebrants were warned before the annual festival that police would be taking a dim view…
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Phuket roadworks driving motorists to alternatives
PHUKET: The local authorities responsible for main roads across Phuket will spend hundreds of millions of baht in road upgrades to make commuting in Phuket safer and faster. The news was delivered by the chiefs of the Department of Rural Roads Phuket Office and the Phuket Highways Office at a meeting with Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut at Provincial Hall this…
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Phang Nga officer charged with trafficking kicked off force, awaits trial
PHUKET: The first police officer in Thailand to be charged with human trafficking has been discharged from the Royal Thai Police force. Weerayuth Feuangfu, formerly a sergeant major with the Phang Nga police, is free on bail as he awaits his trial in early November on charges of human trafficking, helping a refugee leave a shelter and abusing his position…
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Construction worker drowns on northern Phuket Beach
PHUKET: Phuket’s surf claimed another life over the weekend when a construction worker from Sisaket province drowned at Nai Yang Beach.Pech Pengjam, 40, had been relaxing on the beach and drinking with friends when he decided to take a swim, his friends told police yesterday.“He went into the water still wearing his jeans, then disappeared from sight,” said Lt Thanom…
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Phuket Sports: BISP and Cruzeiro unite
PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BISP) will be announcing the launch of its new football academy at the forthcoming international seven-a-side football tournament (November 8-9, 2013), which is held annually on the school campus. The aim is to develop a center of footballing excellence in Asia under the coaching auspices of the premier Brazilian football club, Cruzeiro EC. An essential…
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Racha islander: Health center necessary to save tourists’ lives
PHUKET: Racha Yai islanders on Saturday urged Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut to build a health center on the popular day-trip isle as one way to solve the problem of tourist drownings there. The Chinese embassy has already promised money to support the construction of the center, they said. “To save tourists’ lives, we need a health center on the island.…
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Phuket officials arrest bar owner behind Rihanna fiasco
PHUKET: Local Phuket officials on Saturday night arrested the Patong bar owner who staged the lewd show at the epicenter of comments posted online by global celebrity Rihanna. The international pop star stirred an online furore last month after she posted photos on Instagram of slow loris touts on Bangla, and posted a Twitter message about a “shocking” adult show…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Moscow riots; Eiffel Tower evacuated; Colombian talks stall; 89 dead in Hindu temple stampede
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rioting erupts in Moscow after killing blamed on migrant Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Demonstrators, some chanting racist slogans, vandalised a shopping centre and scuffled with police in a Moscow neighbourhood on Sunday after the killing of a young man that residents blamed on a migrant from the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Govt House sealed off; Flood victims get counselling; Red Shirts remember 1973
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt House sealed off after threat of protest The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police yesterday began closing 14 roads around Government House to traffic for fear that anti-government protesters may move their rally to the area.The move came as an anti-government group threatened to hold a large…
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Man slain in Phuket kindergarten shooting
PHUKET: A business partner at a popular local kindergarten in central Phuket was shot dead this morning after an argument escalated over noise and dust caused by an electric sander drifting into a neighbor’s house. Pairote Sompet, 48, who lives in a house next to the school, presented himself to police before officers had the chance to arrest him for…
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Phuket Town restaurants grilled over grease traps
PHUKET: Heavy pollution in the waterways throughout Phuket Town has prompted officials to lay down the law against all restaurants that do not install grease traps. Any restaurants that do not have grease traps installed will not have their permits to operate renewed, Phuket City Deputy Mayor Dr Kosol Tang-Uthai warned yesterday. “Part of the flooding problem in Phuket Town…
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Phuket aircon technician survives three-storey fall
PHUKET: A man luckily survived a fall from a multi-storey bookstore in the heart of Phuket Town yesterday evening, after landing on the company pickup truck he drove to the store. Lt Phoom Semmaworanon of the Phuket City Police arrived at the scene, a shop called The Book Shop on Yaowarat Road, with Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers at 6:20pm. “Mr…
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Phuket Airport taxis face overhaul, upgrade
PHUKET: An open meeting at the Airports of Thailand (AoT) Phuket office yesterday morning has resulted in a slew of new measures to be introduced to improve the quality of service of taxis serving Phuket International Airport. The news follows weeks of controversy over current arrangements. “What has been agreed on is that each taxi operating to and from the…
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Phuket Sports: Talking tennis with a pro
PHUKET: Darran Ferre was recently appointed as a tennis pro by the Regent Phuket Cape Panwa where he will be launching an academy aimed at coaching young players to a high level. We spoke to Darren about his passion for tennis and his new role at the Regent.Who is your favourite player and why?Darran Ferre: Players inspire me for different…
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Phuket to sport armed patrol cars for night duty
PHUKET: Provincial Police are currently refitting and upgrading three patrol cars to police known crime hotspots in Phuket in order to enhance tourists’ safety at night during the high season. “Following the appointment of the new Phuket Provincial Commander, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiwruangnont [story here], we have been instructed to redouble our efforts to improve safety for tourists,” Phuket Provincial…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Dozens dead in new migrant boat sinking off Sicily; US inches toward debt deal; Kenya mall attack suspect charged
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dozens killed in new migrant shipwreck south of Sicily Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Dozens of people died on Friday when a boat carrying around 250 migrants capsized between Sicily and Tunisia, in the second such shipwreck this month, the Italian coastguard said. The Italian news…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Firebombs at Bangkok rally; Hospital warns thieves drug patients; Chiang Mai quake; Flood defenses down
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Patients robbed after thieves spike water with animal sedative The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: “Watch out!” the Public Health Ministry is warning all hospital users nationwide, after the recent sedation of a number of patients at major Bangkok hospitals when they unwittingly ingested a dangerous…
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DOG DAYS: Phuket murder fugitive ‘Mick the Pom’ living openly in sunny Philippines
PHUKET: British murder fugitive Michael John Taylor, better known in Phuket as “Mick The Pom”, has been found alive and well in the Philippines, and now uses the online monikers “Mick Doggard”, or just “Mickdog” for short. Taylor, who celebrated his 50th birthday on September 20 this year, remains wanted for the murder of his girlfriend Jantra Weangta, 27, who…
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Phuket Opinion: Keeping the glory
PHUKET: Standing at the top of the tower at Khao Khad View Point, one is surrounded by a breathtaking vista. What a marvelous project it is, with footpaths meandering through the pleasant woods below – and, yet, on closer inspection, this iconic Phuket landmark is crumbling to pieces. The painted cement “boards” of the walkways below have caved in and…
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Phuket project launched to tackle Thailand’s missing shark mystery
PHUKET: One of the largest projects ever designed to document the worrisome trend of declining shark sightings in Thailand was announced today in Phuket. In the wake of professional diver testimonials showing a 95 per cent decrease in shark sightings at Thailand’s renowned dive destination the Similans, the founders UK NGO Shark Guardian have moved forward with the Thailand E-Shark…
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Phuket Opinion: Signs of Chaos
PHUKET: Thailand can claim credit for some of Southeast Asia’s most high-profile land transport boondoggles, yet often overlooked is the long-standing and scandalously in-your-face inadequacy of the Transport Ministry to provide drivers with one of the most basic motoring necessities: accurate and informative road signs. We live in an age of amazing geographic technology. Cars, cameras and other electronic gadgets…
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Patong pharmacy raid targets cough syrup sales to teens
PHUKET: Public health officials are investigating a Patong pharmacy suspected of selling cough syrup to Phuket teenagers for the purpose of making the illegal 4×100 narcotic cocktail. Cough syrup is a key ingredient of the cocktail, which includes kratom leaves. “After receiving worrying reports concerning the Chanulak Pharmacy, I contacted the Phuket Public Health Office [PPHO] to inspect the outlet,”…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival sends hotel occupancy soaring
PHUKET: Occupancy at beach and Phuket Town hotels during the Vegetarian Festival is at 85 per cent or higher, said Governor Maitri Inthusut. As he took part in festivities at the Tha Rua shrine yesterday, the governor noted that hotels along parade routes in Phuket Town were fully booked. Even hotels not on the parade routes – those at island…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US credit default talks begin; West eyes modernizing nukes; German bishop scandal goes to Pope
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Western powers talk nuclear disarmament, upgrade what’s left Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons is a quarter of the size it was at its Cold War peak in the 1980s – but the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain are all considering…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PM seeks Japanese transportation deal; People’s Army on the move; Thaksin no terrorist; Floods not a crisis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM seeks Japanese role in Bt2-tn transportation project The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has invited Japan Inc to take part in Thailand’s Bt2-trillion transportation development project.She also proposed to Myanmar to jointly develop a “trilateral highway”, creating land bridges between India, Myanmar and…
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Phuket teens arrested for dangerous use of firecrackers
PHUKET: Phuket City Police say they have arrested at least 13 teenagers for endangering people by throwing firecrackers into the dense crowds lining the streets for the Vegetarian Festival, now in the sixth day of this annual nine-day event. “I assigned three undercover police teams to patrol Phuket Town, focusing specifically on where we had received complaints about teens using…
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Tourist Police officer stripped of badge over double-homicide shooting
PHUKET: A Phuket Tourist Police officer has been kicked off the force as the prosecutor moves forward in charging him over a double-homicide in a drug-den shootout in March. Pinchai Piyadilok, 34 at the time of the shooting, lost a leg as a result of wounds sustained in the gun battle that left Saran Chaithum, 26, and Chalermpol Tripuk, 26,…
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Officials set sights on Patong water gate
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) will spend over 19 million baht on a water gate to help alleviate flooding in Patong.The news came at a meeting on Tuesday between PPAO President Paiboon Upatising and Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut to discuss strategies to prevent flooding in Phuket.The areas of top concern discussed in the meeting were Patong, Sri Soonthorn…
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Armed man robs 7-Eleven, last seen heading for Wat Chalong
PHUKET: An armed robber made off with 1,000 baht from a Chalong 7-Eleven convenience store early Tuesday morning. The robber fled on a motorbike and is now the subject of a Chalong Police search. The thief entered the 7-Eleven at the entrance to Soi Mae Aum Phan, a few meters in front of the popular Phuket expat shopping mall HomePro…
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