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 Police road safety crackdown underway
PATONG, PHUKET: Scores of motorists were stopped and charged with road safety violations at a police road checkpoint set up on Patong Hill at midnight on Sunday. The violators, mostly foreign tourists, had to make their way to Kathu Police Station to pay fines for a variety of infractions including operating a motorbike without a helmet, driving without a license…
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Heroic rescues prevent Phuket beach tragedy
RAWAI, PHUKET: A Thai man who helped save four children from drowning yesterday is being treated in hospital after being pulled unconscious from the water by an Italian kayaker. The near-tragedy occurred when four Phuket City youths were swept out to sea at the South end of Nai Harn Beach, the same area where 10-year-old Apichet ‘Nong Max’ Srinakarak drowned…
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Increase in flights to Phuket Intl Airport: AOT
PHUKET CITY: The effect of the political turmoil on passenger traffic at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport has thus far been limited, with increased traffic at Phuket International Airport making up for some of the shortfall, Airports of Thailand (AoT) has announced. Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Niran Theeranatsin said that before the protests 16 international and domestic carriers had requested an additional…
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Hong Kong shuns Bangkok, Phuket not affected
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Hong Kong travel agents yesterday announced the cancellation of all tours to Bangkok until at least April 21 because of the political violence in the Thai capital. Earth Times reports that around 80 tour groups with more than…
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Phuket Tourism at Ground Zero
PHUKET: While the term ‘ground zero’ became the idiom for the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001, the phrase is far older than that, dating at least as far back as the Manhattan Project and the World War II bombing of Hiroshima. On the heels of Saturday’s tragic events in Bangkok, Thailand’s tourism industry has become the global poster…
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Phuket Bike Week 2010 rolls on
PATONG, PHUKET: Big bike enthusiasts have been enjoying Phuket Big Bike Week 2010, which started with a mechanical roar in Patong on Friday. Riders will today take a break from the many organized activities and prepare for Songkran festivities that start tomorrow. Over the past few days, riders have enjoyed concerts, beach parties, beauty and tattoo contests and convoy rides…
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Phuket safe, but warnings on ‘Thailand’ vary widely
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Germany advised travelers yesterday to avoid going near large crowds when visiting Thailand. The update to the travel advisory, reported by Earth Times, notes that the Foreign Ministry website says Germans should “stay well away from demonstrations” and…
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Phuket-bound tourists may file insurance claims
PHUKET TOWN: Foreign tourists affected by recent rioting in Bangkok may be eligible for financial compensation of up to US$ 10,000 through a state-run insurance scheme. According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) website, the Royal Thai Government in May 2009 set up an insurance scheme for foreigners visiting the Kingdom ‘who are affected by losses or harms…
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OPINION: Catching the safety wave in Phuket
PHUKET: A key reason for Phuket’s success as a tourist destination is the wide variety of leisure activities available: sailing, golf, bowling, cricket, volleyball, windsurfing, mountain hiking, jet-skiing, go-carting, parasailing, paragliding, billiards, darts – name a pastime and you’re likely to be able to enjoy it here. The news feature in the current issue of the Phuket Gazette, (see pages…
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A THAI LAMENTS: “Our darkest hour”
PHUKET: The saddest thing is everyone had predicted this and there were so many opportunities to prevent it. In the end, either the curse was too strong or the dark wills of some of those involved to see it happen simply overwhelmed efforts to stop it from happening. A nation that once thought it had matured learned the hardest way…
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‘Normal’ Songkran expected for Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Songkran celebrations in Phuket as well as 13 other Thai provinces are scheduled to take place as planned, despite the current state of emergency and cancellation of official celebrations in Bangkok. Asia One News reports that China has…
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15 dead as Bangkok protests explode
PHUKET: Fifteen people have been killed and more than 650 injured in clashes between troops and anti-government protesters in Bangkok. Five soldiers are being held hostage by demonstrators and a journalist with Reuters news agency is among the dead. In a report filed at 3am in Thailand today, Sky.com says soldiers fired rubber bullets and some live rounds at opposition…
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Phuket bank accounts plundered
PHUKET: Phuket police are warning of fraudulent phone calls informing members of the public they are “lucky winners” and promising them large cash prizes. The criminals ask victims to transfer a small sum of money in order to claim the reward, which is never seen. In some cases, the hapless victims are instructed to make the transaction at a specific…
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Meditation training in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Middle Way will resume its free meditation training with a special pre-Songkran session at the Phuket Meditation Center starting at 3pm tomorrow. The teaching monk will be Phra River Bhaddako, a Theravadan Buddhist monk for three years with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Swansea University where he founded that school’s Open Meditation Society. Phra River has…
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Phuket protest over Club Med wall
KATA, PHUKET: More than 100 local residents yesterday gathered at the Club Med Hotel in Phuket to protest construction of a concrete wall enclosing the resort’s property. Protester Pradit Thamwatthana said hotel staff began staking out the position of the wall with bamboo poles two weeks ago. The 1.5-meter-high wall would seal off six rai of land that in recent…
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Phuket calm as drama escalates in Bangkok
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The latest development in the month-long standoff in the Bangkok-based anti-government demonstrations saw the protesters storming a satellite television station yesterday. Meanwhile, Phuket remained as calm and seemingly detached from the action as Perth, Pretoria or Pittsburgh. The…
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Ya bah going cheap in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: The arrest of a volunteer soldier on drug charges on Wednesday may indicate the price of ya bah (methamphetamine) is falling on the island. Kathu Police arrested Sornchai Nop in his room at a small hotel on Ratchaprasong Road in Patong at about 2am. Mr Sornchai, an army scout based in Narathiwat, apparently found selling ya bah in…
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Bike in wrong lane causes Phuket truck flip
PHUKET: A motorcyclist driving down the bypass road in the wrong direction caused a truck to flip over in Phuket this morning. The driver of the modified pickup, 27-year-old Niwasan Duangjan, panicked when he saw the bike heading straight for him, and turned sharply on the highway opposite Premium Outlet around 10am. No-one was injured. — Atchaa Khamlo
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Phuket tourism: TAT targets Vietnam
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hopes the establishment of Phuket as a regional air hub will help the country attract more than 400,000 visitors from Vietnam for the first time this year. Pichai Raktasinha, Director of the TAT office in Ho Chi Minh City, said the number of Vietnamese arrivals in Thailand has risen steadily in recent years,…
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Tourists told to visit Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Thailand’s PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has declared a State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. A State of Emergency dramatically increases the power of the government, but it really means little to the average tourist and very much…
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Phuket Lifeguard Club ready to serve
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) plans to sign a 10-month contract with the Phuket Lifeguard Club that will see 83 lifeguards assigned to 13 island beaches by the end of the month. Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut ‘Nut’ Chuayuan said he was still waiting to see the contract and had yet to be contacted by PPAO officials, but…
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Phuket leatherback eggs fail to hatch
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hopes that two clutches of eggs could spell a reversal of fortune for Phuket’s endangered leatherback sea turtle population were dashed last month when the eggs failed to hatch. Mai Khao Sea Turtle Conservation Group member Somporn Anupun said the 130 eggs, laid in mid-January, failed to hatch as expected in March. The two clutches, thought to…
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Malaysia gains edge over Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Etihad Holidays, a division of Etihad Airways, has announced a new cooperative agreement with Tourism Malaysia to promote holiday packages to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu, giving them a clear advantage over Phuket as a popular tourist destination in…
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Songkran splashdown in Old Phuket Town
PHUKET: While getting soaked during Songkran in Patong has long been inevitable, the chances of staying dry in Phuket Old Town used to be somewhat higher. Not this year. In a bid to reduce crowding on Patong Beach, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pushing Phuket Old Town as an alternative setting for the New Year water fight. In…
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Cricket sixes on way to Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Organisers of next week’s (April 14-18) Phuket International Cricket Sixes, to be staged at Karon Beach, today announced that the recently retired captain of Australia, Karen Rolton, will headline the newly introduced Women’s Division at this year’s tournament.…
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Woman charged over Phuket road killing
PHUKET: Chalong Police have charged a 28-year-old Thai woman with causing death by dangerous driving after she ran over a pedestrian in her pick-up truck last night. Sumarin Jaiboon hit Sathit Saenkla, a 57-year-old builder from Phang Nga, at high speed on Chao Fa West Road at the entrance to Soi Yodsane at around 11pm. Mr Sathit, who had just…
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Phuket landlord electrocuted on roof
PHUKET TOWN: A landlord was electrocuted on Saturday while trying to fix the roof of a house in Phuket Town. Phuket native Vissanu Thipsunthornnon, 42, was found dead with his legs dangling off the roof of the house on Wichit Songkhram Road at around 9am. Mr Vissanu’s wife said tenants had complained the roof was damaged in heavy rain the…
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Phuket tours miffed over Phi Phi fee
PHUKET: A 20-baht “entrance fee” levied by the local authority in charge of Koh Phi Phi has sparked a row with Phuket tour operators. On Saturday the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) began collecting the charge from all visitors to fund the cleaning of the island’s piers. Tour operators are complaining the TAO did not officially warn them in…
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Boon for Phuket: Lifeguard training
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The dangers of Phuket’s beaches have been much in the headlines around the world over the past three years amid a spate of drownings and a protracted period during which there were no lifeguards at all. Although safety…
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Phuket murder suspect gets bail
KATHU, PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver who allegedly shot and killed a man last week was released on bail the following day. Two friends of the dead man were injured, one seriously, when the vehicle they used to rush him to hospital crashed on the way. Thung Thong Police were notified of the crash on Phra Phuket Kaew Road at…
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