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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Nine dead in Phuket wedding guest truck crash
PHUKET: Nine died and seven were injured after two pickup trucks – one carrying wedding guests returning to Trang from Phuket and one ferrying road construction workers – collided in Krabi last night. Police were called to the scene at the dangerous curve known as harm tai (“forbidden to die”) in Sai Khao district at 8pm. There they found two…
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Asia’s top sailors set for Samui
PHUKET: The line-up of boats for the 2013 Samui Regatta, set to take place from today to June 1 off Chaweng Beach, features a strong mix of top international racers and regional regatta veterans. Organized by Regattas Asia, a leading regatta and marine-based sporting event management company in Asia, Samui Regatta is celebrating its 12th year. Familiar faces on the…
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Phuket Sports: May the tread be with you – F1
PHUKET: Last week, the world’s press was attacking Pirelli for its tyres. This column supported Pirelli, and received grumpy responses from those who supported the Red Bull tirade (click here for article). When Pirelli agreed to change their tyres from the Canadian GP, Ferrari and Lotus felt Red Bull had pressured Pirelli into conforming to their demands. The ‘Tyre Wars’…
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Governor: Phuket’s billion-baht prison desperately needed
Phuket’s billion-baht prison slated for construction in 2015 will provide welcome relief to the inmates at the current facility, whose number is now more than three times the century-old prison’s original capacity. With Cabinet approval already secured for the funding, all that remains to make the dream prison a reality are for the plans to be finalized and the construction…
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Phuket Opinion: Tourist abduction, another sign of transport greed
PHUKET: The allegations of abduction of a female Chinese tourist by an illegal taxi driver operating out of Phuket International Airport once again highlight the need for a comprehensive overhaul of Phuket’s arcane, baroque and disreputable “public transport system” (story here). The shocking allegations against “independent” taxi driver Paitoon Kruain could not have come at a more conspicuous time: just…
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Phuket Opinion: Do you speak Zulu?
PHUKET: There are very few phone calls non-morning people like myself handle well before 7am. However, when the tour guide to a well-known adventure tour agency rang at 5am to pick up a friend staying at my place for her Similian tour, I was more than pleasant. Two hours of interrupted sleep and nine phone calls later, I wasn’t. In…
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Phuket Sports: Champions League Final preview; Football round-up
PHUKET: Borrussia Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels looks set to be fit for Saturday’s Champions League final against German rivals Bayern Munich, despite an ankle injury picked up in the Bundesliga season finale. Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze, who will join Bayern next season, is also racing to recover from a muscle injury in time for the final at Wembley. Dortmund…
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Phuket Opinion: Proactive CCTV use necessary to protect resorts
Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) Vice President Bhuritt Maswongssa, 51, is also the Vice Chairman of the Patong Resort hotel. He received law degrees from both Ngee Ann College in Singapore and Ramkhamhaeng University in Thailand. In the wake of a recent spate of hotel robberies across the island, he discusses how to boost hotel and resort security. PHUKET: More than…
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Gold shop thefts on the rise, police practice response
PHUKET: With millions of baht worth of gold being snatched from Phuket gold shops over the last year, Phuket police and gold shop owners joined together for a gold shop crime drill earlier this week. “The recent increase in the number of gold shops and supermarket robberies has made it necessary for shop owners and police to know exactly what…
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Phuket Tourist Police murder case on hold
PHUKET: The investigation into a Phuket Tourist Officer involved in a gunfight with neighbors that left two men dead and two, including the officer, injured on March 20 (story here) has come to a standstill. Police are still waiting for results from the Office of Forensic Science Police to determine whether the bullets that killed the two men were fired…
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Visakha Bucha Day underway in Phuket, alcohol sales halted
PHUKET: People gathered across Phuket and Thailand today to offer alms to Buddhist monks at merit-making ceremonies to mark Visakha Bucha Day.The public holiday commemorates three important events in the life of the Buddha: his birth, enlightenment and passing away. These events occur on the same day of the year in the Buddhist calendar: always on the full moon during…
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Phuket Python excites early morning Patong crowd
PHUKET: An excited crowd was drawn to Soi Nanai at the unusual time of 7:40am this morning as Phuket rescue workers attempted to dislodge a three-meter long Python from a drain.A startled shopkeeper had called rescue workers after spotting the moderately sized snake in the drain below her.Rescue workers were able to lift the grate and safely extract the python…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Obama shifts U.S. policy; Religious Oklahoma uses prayer to bring solace
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama shifts U.S. from ‘perpetual war-footing,’ limits drone strikes Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: President Barack Obama yesterday shifted the United States away from a “boundless global war on terror,” restricting deadly drone strikes abroad and signalling that America’s long struggle against al Qaeda will one…
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Dredging clears path for cleaner Phuket Bang Tao Canal water
PHUKET: Bang Tao Canal water, which was blamed for a rash of health problems for Phuket tourists and boatmen, is now flowing more freely with 80 per cent of the canal-dredging process complete. Akkarawat Hirunphun, director of the Phuket-based Regional Environmental Office 15, said tests conducted by his officers in April confirmed that the water in the canal at multiple…
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Mob violently bounces Aussies from Kangaroo Bar
PHUKET: Two drunk Australians were beaten down by a mob on Phuket’s famous party street, Soi Bangla, early yesterday. At about 1:30am Patong Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat arrived on Soi Bangla (map here) to find both Australians sitting in the middle of the road covered in blood. Having only recently arrived in Phuket, the two men* Anotny Souners, 26, and…
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Phuket illegal taxi driver charged with sexual assault
PHUKET: The illegal taxi driver accused of holding a 19-year-old Chinese tourist captive in his vehicle for five hours has been charged with sexual assault, the Phuket City Police chief confirmed. Paitoon Kruain, 32, who operated an illegal taxi picking up tourists at Phuket International Airport, presented himself to police for questioning last Saturday (story here). After intensive questioning by…
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Phuket Gazette World News: British soldier beheaded in London attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community British soldier beheaded in suspected Islamist attack Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A British soldier was hacked to death by two men shouting Islamic slogans in a south London street on Wednesday, in what the government said appeared to be a terrorist attack.A dramatic clip filmed by an…
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Phuket shop owners urge mayor to reverse parking ban
PHUKET: More than 30 vendors with stores located opposite Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town have appealed to the Phuket City Mayor to reverse the decision to install no parking signs in front of their shops. The new signs, which prohibit parking in the area from 7am to 6pm, were installed on May 16 as a way to try to…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Businesses rail against blackout; Minister blames lightning; Academics say no excuse
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Businesses demand action as officials downplay power cut The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Tourism officials downplayed the impact of Tuesday night’s power outage in the South, but tourism operators and the country’s biggest private-sector association expressed fears for their business and demanded the government take steps to…
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Chinese arrested for illegally selling souvenirs at Phuket temple
PHUKET: Nine Chinese were arrested on Tuesday for illegally selling amulets and souvenirs at Wat Kathu, one of the oldest temples on the island. Phuket Immigration Office Superintendent Pol Col Sanchai Chokhayaikij led officers to the revered site at about 4:30pm, where they found the Chinese nationals actively selling amulets and souvenirs to visitors at the temple (map here). “We…
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Phuket Governor faces taxi doubleheader at Phuket International airport
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut was met en masse late yesterday by the drivers of a second taxi company after having already been dragged to Phuket International Airport due to an all-night vigil held by the illegal taxi drivers of Mook Andaman co-operative outside his official residence Tuesday night (story here). After concluding his meeting with Mook Andaman, with no…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Regional blackout prompts call for more power stations
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South needs more power plants: Egat The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: More power plants are needed in the South to prevent blackouts like the one that left all of Southern Thailand in the dark last night, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) chief said…
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Phuket drowning victim identified as British national
PHUKET: Police have identified the man whose body washed ashore on Patong Beach early yesterday morning (story here) as 37-year-old Jeremy Thomas O’Neill. Because Mr O’Neill’s body was found without any identifying documents, police circulated a photo of him to hotels in Patong hoping he would be recognized, Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat explained. His identity was confirmed when…
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Phuket illegal taxi drivers stalk Governor, demand resolution
PHUKET: A sortie of about 30 illegal taxi drivers from the Mook Andaman co-operative staged an all-night vigil in front of the Governor’s Residence last night, finally causing the governor to agree to meet with them today to seek a resolution to their demand to serve passengers at Phuket International Airport. Police were called in to ensure the drivers kept…
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Phuket Gazette Thai News: Chalerm to free Yingluck; Health groups plan protest at PM’s home; BKK will get electric racing
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chalerm backs down on reconciliation bill The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung looks to have backed down from his plan to push through a controversial version of the reconciliation bill – although this may just be a tactical retreat.His move to tone down…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Oklahoma search and rescue lowers toll to 24; Rafsanjani barred from Iran poll; Russia angry over ‘stolen’ Eurovision votes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Oklahoma tornado survivor search continues, toll lowered to 24 Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Rescuers went building to building in search of victims and thousands of survivors were homeless on Tuesday, a day after a massive tornado tore through a suburb of Oklahoma City, wiping out whole blocks…
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Power returns to Phuket
PHUKET: Electricity supply was restored to the south of the island after 9:30pm tonight following what was reported as Thailand’s biggest blackout on record. Phuket, along with all 13 other provinces that comprise Southern Thailand, was plunged into darkness just before 7pm. Power was restored to key areas on the island after just one hour, but residents outside major built-up…
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Phuket hit by major blackout
PHUKET: A major power outage struck across Phuket just before 7pm tonight.Phuket Town, Chalong, Koh Kaew and Thalang are three heavily populated areas suffering from the outage, the Phuket Gazette confirmed.The local electricty authority has confirmed the entire south of the island is also affected.The Gazette has recived report of a major blackout in Trang, indicating the blackout may be…
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Thai students awarded for innovation
PHUKET: Thai students have demonstrated their capacity for innovation at the MEF Educational Institutions’ 22nd International Research Projects Competition held in Turkey recently. The students from Somtawin Witeadsuksa Huaymongkhon School near Hua Hin received a special jury award for their ‘Boe-bot in voice command and GPS program’. Students from Slovenia and Italy also received a special jury prize. MEF Educational…
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Unidentified male foreigner found dead on Phuket beach
PHUKET: A bearded male foreigner was found dead on Phuket’s premier party beach of Patong early this morning. The body was found at about 6am across from Loma Park (map here), the site of multiple drownings last year, wearing only a red t-shirt. “We are examining the body, but have found no form of identification and have yet to be…
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