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 jabs ‘Swine Flu’
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Around 700 service people in Phuket, comprising drivers of taxis, tuk tuks, motorbike taxis, and other vehicles for hire, along with their family members, were vaccinated against the A H1N1 virus earlier this week. The free inoculations were…
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Score one for Phuket football
PHUKET: Officials from the newly-formed Phuket Football Association (PFA) have committed themselves to develop football in the province following an AFC Vision Asia team’s assessment visit to initiate their Vision Thailand Project in Phuket. Football officials in Phuket have high hopes that the island will become the next haven for the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC’s) Vision Asia program. The AFC,…
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Swedish tourist slashed in Phuket robbery
KARON, PHUKET: Police are hunting a bandit who slashed a young Swedish tourist’s wrist after she resisted his efforts to steal her bag. The victim, 22-year-old Emilia Therese Andersson, needed several stitches at Patong Hospital after the attack, which took place near the tsunami warning tower on the beach road. Miss Andersson told Lt Chachawan Phoonareumit of Chalong Police she…
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Thai, Korean to be charged in Phuket horror smash
PHUKET: The driver of an 18-wheel truck who may have caused the death of a young Thai couple on Tuesday is expected to surrender himself to Phuket City Police next week. Thirty-year-old Faosi Samakij and Korean national Lee Joong Park, 40, will both face charges for their part in the accident. Mr Faosi was allegedly reversing the truck at night…
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Backhoe saved from Phuket mire
RASSADA, PHUKET: A machine operator is crediting divine intervention for the safe recovery of his backhoe, which was successfully pulled from a saltwater mud flat after a 15-hour operation yesterday. Backhoe owner-operator Prasert Nakhaphan was contracted by Rassada Municipality to dredge a drainage ditch from a tin mining pond into Phuket Bay in Rassada Village 7. Access to the work…
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FCO softens travel advice
PHUKET: The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office is no longer advising against travel to Phuket after changing its travel advice for Thailand. A message on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s travel advice page for Thailand reads: “The overall level of the advice has changed; we no longer advise against all but essential travel to the whole country. We advise against…
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Reporter shot dead in Phuket
WICHIT, PHUKET: Police have launched a manhunt for a killer after a local reporter was found riddled with bullets in Phuket this morning. The bloodied body of Somchai Kuamsap, 37, was discovered by the side of Chao Fa East Road outside Seemum Market around 4am. Police found a slip in his wallet indicating Mr Somchai, a reporter at a local…
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New flights for Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Opodo Travel News announced yesterday that Air Berlin will add an extra weekly flight into Phuket toward the end of this year. A new Airbus A330-200 aircraft will be stationed at Berlin-Tegel airport to fly the sector. The…
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More taxis, minivans at Phuket Airport
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: While occupancy rates on the island continue to plummet, Airports of Thailand (AoT) has agreed to allow 60 more taxis and minivans to operate out of Phuket International Airport. A two-hour meeting was held at the airport today to work out a compromise between two rival concessionaires offering door-to-door limousine and minivan services from concession booths inside…
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123 dengue cases in Phuket
PHUKET: There are 123 confirmed cases of dengue fever in Phuket, public health workers have confirmed. Dr Narinrat Pitchayakamint of the Phuket Public Health Office said the number of cases is higher now than this time last year. According to Ministry of Public Health statistics, Phuket currently ranks 11th out of Thailand’s 76 provinces in terms of incidence of infection,…
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Beware “The Next Phuket”
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: A lead story on major travel site CNN Go this morning says that Phuket is set to receive some stiff competition as a number of other destinations are being touted by developers and local governments as the “next-generation”…
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Ferret outruns Fox in Pattaya regatta
PHUKET: Local sailor Scott Duncanson and his crew on The Ferret left it until the last two races on the final day of racing to win the 2010 Platu Coronation Cup at the Top of the Gulf (TOTG) Regatta held off Jomtien Beach, near Pattaya, April 30 to May 4. The Ferret was one point behind main rival Rolf Heemskerk’s…
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Phuket tourism: tax threat adds to island’s woes
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The tourism industry in Thailand, most notably Phuket, is bracing itself for the negative impact of the UK government’s proposed further increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD), scheduled for November 2010. Travel Daily News reports that members of…
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Free ICT training in Phuket tomorrow
WICHIT, PHUKET: Software Park Phuket is holding free weekly activities for people interested in building the local ICT community and putting the latest, most effective computer technology to work on the island. The organizers are trying to bring together people who want to learn state-of-the-art techniques with sessions that range from explaining new technology to real-life experiences with computer systems…
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Ill winds for Phuket property? Watch China
PHUKET OPINION: Asian stocks were mixed yesterday due to investor concerns that Chinese moves to slow a soaring property market will undermine economic growth and recovery for the region, including Phuket. On Monday, China increased the deposit reserve requirement ratio for most banks for the third time this year, the latest in a series of measures aimed at cooling the…
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Phuket needs marketing independence: PTA
PHUKET: With the local economy continuing to suffer because of political strife elsewhere in the country, it is time for Phuket to take a more independent approach to destination marketing, one tourism industry analyst says. Bhuritt Maswongsa, vice president for marketing of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA), said the average occupancy rate in Phuket for April 2010 was about 70…
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Phuket fighting for Aussies
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Noting that new flights are one of the biggest drivers of competition between resort destinations, the Sydney Morning Herald reports this morning that Phuket and Fiji, which are receiving new services from Jetstar and V Australia, are offering…
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Last chance for peace?
PHUKET: Is the light at the end of the tunnel that of a train coming our way? The answer depends on how the red shirts, who have been tired, dispirited and discredited, respond today to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s unexpected offer to hold a general election on November 14. Whether the 30-minute national address last night is a game-changing moment…
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Fino finito: arson in Phuket
KATHU, PHUKET: Police are investigating a fire in Phuket early Sunday morning that destroyed a roadside tour counter and a motorbike. Kathu Police Duty Officer Jongserm Preecha today confirmed reports of an arson attack at about 4:30am at the Krisda Travel Service counter on Soi Chaiwat, off Phra Barami Road at the north end of Patong. The fire was reported…
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Patong split over tunnel plan
PHUKET: Patong residents are divided over the controversial plan to bore a road tunnel under Patong Hill, a recent public hearing revealed. Local residents voiced their opinions on April 27 when a public hearing on the issue was held at the Phuket Graceland Resort. Around 700 residents, municipal officers from Patong and Kathu, the project development team and other stakeholders…
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Thai airways in U-turn over Phuket?
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Phuket may benefit as THAI Airways ponders several measures to stem an alarming surge in ticket cancellations (10-20% in the last fortnight) and a plunge in new bookings triggered by Thailand’s escalating political turmoil. The Bangkok Post reports…
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Tsunami safety: Phuket not ready
PHUKET OPINION: The confusion following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in northern Sumatra last month highlights the urgent need for better disaster preparedness at every level in Thailand, from the people at the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) right on down to local Phuket officials and hotel staff. The latest (April 7) false alarm was not the first. The public panic…
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Phuket tragedy ends in hope
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Noah Yelizarov, the 18-year-old who died in a freak accident in Phuket in October 2004, can rest in peace knowing that others will be spared his tragic fate. He was electrocuted when he inadvertently touched a live wire…
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Phuket not immune to red damage
PHUKET: The toxicity for tourism of the Bangkok protests, initially characterized in some quarters of the Phuket hospitality industry as being for Bangkok only – or certainly for Bangkok mainly – has now come home to roost. The cost to Thai tourism nationally since the red shirt protests began is now estimated at 233 million dollars (7.7 billion baht) in…
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SUDDEN IMPACT: Phuket helmet law crackdown starts today
PHUKET: Phuket City Traffic Police have been ordered to take more serious action against motorcyclists riding without helmets by fining passengers as well as drivers. The order was issued by Phuket Police Commander Pekad Tantipong as part of a crackdown that starts today. In May and June, 50 officers will crack down more heavily on motorcycle drivers without helmets and…
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Fake gun, real crime in Phuket
PHUKET: Two young men carried out at least 10 muggings using a gun-shaped cigarette lighter before their arrest in Phuket on the morning of April 25, according to Phuket Police. Chaiyut ‘Daeng’ Sangthong and Umpon ‘Bao’ Meelert, both 21, were picked up by Phuket City Police officers after allegedly robbing a couple the night before. The suspects allegedly attacked Chitpon…
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Phuket to see fewer Singaporeans
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Holidaymakers from Singapore have been avoiding crisis-stricken Thailand, most notably Phuket which is only an hour and a half’s direct flight away from the Lion City. Outbound tour agencies in Singapore are reporting a decline of up to…
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Danish steakhouse blaze in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: Damages from a fire that broke out in the kitchen of a Danish steakhouse yesterday could run as high as one million baht, the owner says. The fire started about 10:30am in the kitchen of the Fundue House restaurant on Soi Patong Resort, off Soi Bangla. No one was harmed in the blaze. The fire caused extensive damage…
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Swimming with sharks: Phuket debt reduction plan moves forward
PHUKET: The government is trying to help 2,000 heavily indebted Phuket residents escape the clutches of loan sharks as part of an ambitious nationwide program. The people selected owe between 50,000 and 200,000 baht each and were chosen from 4,000 island residents identified as being in debt to unofficial lenders. Their debts total at least 228 million baht. For our…
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Lost shopping bag still with Phuket Governor
PHUKET TOWN: Will the owner of two newly-purchased women’s purses please step forward? The Phuket governor is holding them for you. The handbags were among a small cache of items returned by an honest taxi driver in Patong last week. The purses were found in a paper bag along with two pearl rings, a pair of sunglasses and a slip…
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