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 Sports: Buakaw draws thousands to Patong fight
PHUKET: Buakaw ‘Dam Dot Com’ performed an artistic demonstration of ancient Muay Thai against two opponents at once, at the Patong Boxing Stadium recently, in front of thousands of cheering fans.Buakaw’s demonstration began at 10:45pm, after a number of opening fights featuring local fighters. Formerly known as ‘Buakaw Por Pramuk’, before a longstanding dispute with his former gym forced his…
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Live Wire: Making the right connections
PHUKET: In last week’s Live Wire, I stepped you through an exhaustive list of the internet packages available in Phuket. I say “exhaustive” because, at this point, the only way to get a list of all of the internet packages is to physically schlep to all of the internet service providers’ offices, pick up brochures, and grill the staff on…
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World News: I killed Afghan insurgents – Prince Harry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Britain’s Prince Harry says he killed Afghan insurgents during tour Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Britain’s Prince Harry says he killed Afghan insurgents during sorties against the Taliban while on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan where he was a gunner in Apache attack helicopters.Queen Elizabeth’s 28-year-old…
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Banking for Phuket Expats carries special charges, risks
PHUKET: For expats in Phuket and across Thailand who intend to stay permanently or for most of the year in the country, opening a Thai bank account makes financial sense. After all, except for a few ATMs owned by AEON (a large Japanese conglomerate) and Citibank, Thai ATMs will charge a 150 baht fee per foreign transaction and there are…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: Sven wants Becks
Eriksson agrees Al Nasr deal, eyes Beckham Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Sven-Goran Eriksson will try to convince former England captain David Beckham to join him at Al Nasr after the experienced Swedish coach signed an 18-month contract as a technical advisor of the United Arab Emirates club.“If he wants to come I’m sure they would open the gates for him,”…
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Welfare shelter north of Phuket calls for food, item donations to help Rohingya women and children
PHUKET: A family refuge shelter in Khukkhak, just north of the popular Phang Nga tourist area of Khao Lak Beach, is calling for item donations to aid 46 Rohingya women and children who are now in the shelter’s care. “Most of them are children,” Dararat Suthet, the director of the Phang Nga Shelter for Children and Family, told the Phuket…
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Phuket Police now suspect motorbike assassins in Jintana execution
PHUKET: Phuket Police on the hunt for the killers of Jintana Mahattanapak now have a description of the gunman and his driver accomplice, as well as the motorbike the killers were riding. Contrary to earlier reports, in which police announced they were searching for a black Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck and a white sedan (story here), Phuket Provincial Police Commander…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: 49ers crunch the numbers to meet Ravens in Superbowl
Brilliant brothers set up unique Super Bowl showdown Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens won their National Football League championships in stunning fashion to set up an extraordinary sibling rivalry in next month’s 47th Super Bowl.The 49ers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, overturned a 17 point deficit to beat the Atlanta falcons 28-24 in the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US teenager kills 5 family members; Assault rifle used
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Five shot dead in Albuquerque, teen charged Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: New Mexico police yesterday identified the teenager accused of killing five people in an Albuquerque home as Nehemiah Griego, the son and brother of the victims. Griego, 15, used multiple weapons, including an assault…
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Phuket Business: Laguna Dusit Thani ready for influx of MICE
PHUKET: THE Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has re-launched its renovated and revitalized meeting space in response to an increase in demand for 2013. The renovation cost 10 million baht and took two months to complete. The 2,408 square-foot Dusit Laguna Hall can now accommodate up to 300 people in a theater-style setting and is able to host 150 people for…
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Rising number of Rohingya crossing borders north of Phuket to flee persecution
PHUKET: Increased violence in Myanmar’s volatile Rakhine State has already forced an “abnormal number” of Rohingya refugees across the Thai border in hopes of finding better lives, said Major General Manas Kongpan of Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) at an emergency meeting on Saturday. Nearly 3,000 Rohingya have been caught entering Thailand as they take advantage of the calmer…
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Phuket Business: FDI shifting from China to ASEAN
PHUKET: Rising costs from higher wages and currency appreciation in China over the last two decades are prompting multinationals to look at expanding elsewhere, with ASEAN countries – particularly Vietnam – poised to benefit most. A recent report published by HSBC Global Research, titled “The great migration – how FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] is moving to ASEAN and India”, outlined…
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Phuket FC draw with Trang while Phuket United advance in FA Cup
PHUKET: About 1,000 fans chanced the looming threat of rain on Saturday evening to come out and see the new-look Phuket FC in action against an unexpectedly strong Trang FC, in a friendly match in Phuket Town. Played under overcast skies at Surakul Stadium, the pre-season friendly did not end up getting washed out by the rain, nor did it…
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World News: Man runs 7km to catch train and not a cold
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian man falls off train, chases it for 7 km in extreme cold Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Wearing only sweat pants and a t-shirt, a Russian man was forced to run approximately seven kilometers (4.3 miles) at minus 40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) after he…
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Phuket Police investigate “work conflict’ as motive for Jintana murder
PHUKET: Police are pursuing the possibility that Phuket mother-of-two Jintana Mahattanapak, may have been murdered over a conflict at work. Mrs Jintana was executed with a single gunshot to head while waiting at traffic lights on Chao Fa West Road last night (story here). She was the Human Resources director at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort & Spa at Karon…
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Influx of Rohingya straining Phang Nga Immigration facilities
PHUKET: The mass influx of Rohingya refugees – 400 within four days – landing in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, this week is straining the capacity of immigration detention centers in the province, said Phang Nga Governor Thamrong Charoenkul. The news follows an initial 171 Rohingya refugees, fleeing persecution in their homeland in Myanmar, being taken into custody in Phang…
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Phuket Opinion: Curing the festering sores of “public’ transport
PHUKET: Efforts by the international diplomatic community to pressure authorities in Bangkok to tackle the festering crime in the Phuket public transport sector and improve Phuket’s reputation as a tourist destination are laudable and have the full support of the Phuket Gazette. No subject has been the topic of more futile editorializing in this space than Phuket’s bizarre patchwork of…
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Phuket woman executed was beloved mother, wife, friend
PHUKET: The life of a beloved mother, wife and friend was taken away by a killer on Chao Fa West Road, south of Phuket Town, last night. Police have identified Mrs Jintana ‘Nong’ Mahattanapak, 42, a resident of Yaowarat Road in Phuket Town, as the victim of the execution-style slaying (story here). Mrs Jintana was director of Human Resources at…
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Phuket Island View: No taxi experience impossible
PHUKET: Imagine this headline: “Taxi driver returns money to customer; says she overpaid.” Impossible? It happened to me. All the taxi news seems negative recently, what with high fares, delays in getting illegal drivers to register as legal, and metered cabs being pushed out of some markets (story here). The problem is apparently so bad that even the British Ambassador…
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Phuket Sports: Expecting the unexpected – NFL
PHUKET: After a regular season filled with the unforeseen, I decided to expect the unexpected while watching the Division Playoffs – and that’s exactly what I got. Predicting exactly how it would play out was not part of the equation, foreseeing that I would continue to bare witness to the amazement of the NFL’s 2012 season was a guarantee. Baltimore…
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Phuket Sports: Laguna continue to dominate island cricket
PHUKET: In a hotly contested fifth match of Phuket’s Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels League on January 13, reigning champions Laguna Cricket Club faced early league contenders Patong Cricket Club (PCC). Dominance seesawed throughout both innings and it was only fitting for the winner to be decided in the last over of the second innings. Despite a determined effort by PCC,…
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PHUKET BREAKING NEWS: Woman executed with single gunshot to head
UPDATE: Police are now searching for a black Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck without license plates, which pulled alongside the victim’s vehicle when the shooting occurred. Police have yet to obtain descriptions of the gunman or the driver. PHUKET: A woman driving alone south of Phuket Town was killed by a single gunshot into her head this evening. Police arrived at…
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Phuket Police release sketch of resort safe box heist robber
PHUKET: Police today released a composite image of one of the two men wanted for the robbery of the guests’ safe boxes at the Karon Place Hotel, on Phuket’s west coast, in the early hours of Monday morning (story here). An arrest warrant has been issued for the man, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Col Arun Kleawwatee told a press…
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Phuket taxi driver rushes to his death
PHUKET: A taxi driver speeding from JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa at Mai Khao Beach to pick up a passenger at the airport died after losing control of his car on Thepkrasattri Road early this afternoon.Witnesses reported that Warongsak Rungsawang, 29, entered one of the sharp curves in Baan Mak Prok at high speed southbound, lost control and hit…
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New-look Phuket FC to take on Trang in pre-season friendly
PHUKET: Football fans will get a chance to see the new-look Phuket FC in action for the first time this year, with the Islanders set to take on Division 2 Southern regional champions Trang FC later today. The pre-season friendly match will be played at Surukal Stadium with a 4pm kickoff. Admission is free for all. Operating with an estimated…
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World Sports: Venus trapped as Sharapova flies
Merciless Sharapova eclipses Venus to reach fourth round Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Maria Sharapova missed out on a third successive ‘double-bagel’ but humbled Venus Williams 6-1 6-3 to charge into the fourth round of the Australian Open today.The center court crowd was left stunned as the second-seeded Russian scorched to a 4-0 lead in the first set to rattle her…
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Phuket safety police blitz nets 8 drug, 3 gun arrests in first week
PHUKET: The first seven days of the month-long police safety boost (story here) in Phuket has yielded eight arrests on gun and drug charges in road checkpoint stops alone. Maj Gen Kittisan Detsunthonwat, Deputy Commander of Provincial Police Region 8, announced yesterday that so far his officers had seized over 300 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine), 2,031 pills of…
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Phuket blood bank grateful for urgent donations, calls for more in case
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) received two units of Rh-negative blood and two single-platelet donations yesterday, in response to urgent requests on behalf of a foreigner due to undergo heart surgery (story here). “We do not know what condition the patient is in. However, I think the patient will be okay… “The hospital itself has seven units of…
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Two Phuket motorcyclists die in separate accidents
PHUKET: The deadly stretch of Thepkrasattri Road that runs through the northern Phuket village of Kor En claimed another life before dawn today after months of no serious accidents. An unidentified man was riding in the northbound lane at about 3am when he lost control of his motorbike and hit a pole, breaking his neck. When Tah Chat Chai Police…
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Phuket Immigration arrests French chef for alleged rape of disabled woman
PHUKET: A French chef working in Phuket’s premier party town, Patong, was arrested yesterday for the alleged rape of a disabled woman in his home country in 2004.Christopher Pierre Verdino, 28, slipped into Thailand in 2007 three years after French authorities issued an arrest warrant. His exact whereabouts became known to the French Embassy in Bangkok after he made a…
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