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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Dead foreigner found floating off Phi Phi Islands
PHUKET: Police on Koh Phi Phi are trying to identify the remains of a foreign man whose body was found floating about 3 nautical miles off the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi. The body was recovered by workers from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s Tourist Rescue Center, which operates out of Chalong Pier in Phuket. The exact time of the body’s…
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Another corpse found in Phuket’s Rasada area
RASSADA, PHUKET: Police have yet to identify the remains of a man whose badly decomposing body was discovered in a wooded area off the access road to Rassada Harbor on Wednesday. Local residents found the deceased lying in a thicket about 100 meters from the road. They called police, who found no signs of a struggle at the scene. Phuket…
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Phuket Marine Biological Center launches turtle project
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: Researchers from Bangkok and Phuket are preparing to launch Thailand’s first artificial insemination project for sea turtles at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC). Researcher Kanjana Adulyanukosol, who heads the PMBC Endangered Species Unit, said her team will work with researchers from Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science to extract semen from male sea turtles and store…
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Hilton Phuket Arcadia tipped to host Asean summit
KARON, PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban today leads the defense minister, commanders of the armed forces and the national police chief to visit Phuket ahead of the upcoming Asean summit. The group is meeting with tourism industry leaders and local government officials at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa this afternoon. However, it has yet to be formally…
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Type “O’ negative donation urgently needed
PHUKET CITY: Friends of an American man injured in a road accident are appealing for anyone with type ‘O’ negative blood to contact Vachira Phuket Hospital immediately.Steve Swan, 48-year-old proprietor of the Crows Nest bar in Patong, was seriously injured on Wednesday night after his motorcycle collided with a car.He suffered a broken hip and broken pelvis. The driver of the car…
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Phuket charity box bandit nabbed by The Magnet
PHUKET CITY: For a combination of stupidity and lack of ethics, few crimes in Phuket in recent years match that of a man who tried to steal a charity donation box placed on the main counter of the Phuket City Police Station. At 12:30pm on April 21, a police officer noticed that the charity donation box for the Foundation for…
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Phuket dive site damaged by trawler
PHUKET: One of the airplanes at the artificial reef dive site off Phuket known as the “Coral Reef Squadron” has been damaged after being hit by the anchor of a fishing trawler. Rainer Gottwald, CEO of the Thai Dive Association (TDA) technical committee, said the damage probably occurred on the night of April 10. It was discovered the following day. A…
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Good support for Phuket Summer Season campaign
PHUKET: Key Phuket tourism industry executives and Tourism officials gathered at The Chedi hotel on Surin Beach yesterday to show their support for the recently launched public relations campaign to promote Phuket Summer Season. The event, organized by Summer in Phuket campaign leader Nick Anthony, attracted about 200 participants who pledged to join forces in “canceling Low Season” and promoting the…
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Second Phuket Airport road a top priority
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop will make construction of a second north-south artery the top priority among the four new road projects he will push for the island. Presently, Phuket has only Thepkrasattri Road to connect Phuket International Airport to most parts of the the island. With the airport’s planned upgrade allowing it to accommodate 11.5 million passengers a…
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Phuket Police gear up for planned Asean summit
PHUKET CITY: It was a busy day yesterday at Phuket City Police headquarters, where some 300 officers began two days of special training in how to deal forcefully but effectively with large crowds and riots.The training, ordered by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pigad Thantipong, was in reaction to the political turmoil in the capital and other parts of the country.It…
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Phuket dive boat accident relatives urged to file claims
PHUKET CITY: Relatives of several European victims of the Choke Somboon 19 disaster off Phuket Island have yet to file insurance claims with underwriter AIG, which is waiting to pay out 200,000 baht for each of the deceased.The seven victims – Swiss, German and Austrian – were covered under a mandatory group insurance policy taken out by Dive Asia Phuket,…
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Three Phuket businessmen charged with encroachment
PHUKET CITY: Three prominent Phuket businessmen yesterday morning presented themselves at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) headquarters in Bangkok to face allegations of land encroachment at Koh Yao Yai in Phang Nga. Pol Lt Col Prawuth Wongsrinil, head of the DSI’s consumer and environment protection unit, identified the businessmen as Thawat, Tara and Prasit Tantipiriyakij. A fourth man, Bumrung…
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Charity box bandit nabbed by The Magnet
PHUKET CITY: For a combination of stupidity and lack of ethics, few crimes in Phuket in recent years match that of a man who tried to steal a charity donation box placed on the main counter of the Phuket City Police Station on April 21.At 12:30pm that day, a police officer noticed that the charity donation box for the Foundation…
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Pollution solution due in October, 2010
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Municipality last week held a hearing to present to the public its plan to build a second waste-to-energy incinerator, scheduled to go on-line in October, 2010. About 300 government officers and members of the public attended the session, held last Thursday afternoon at the Phuket Merlin Hotel. Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima chaired the hearing and Phuket…
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Social security contributions lowered
PHUKET: In a bid to increase spending, the Thai Social Security Fund (SSF) plans to lower monthly contributions from both employers and employees during the ongoing economic crisis. The Social Security Office board, which manages the fund, is scheduled to meet today to conclude details of the contribution reduction. “The reduction should be applicable for six months starting from June,”…
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Swine flu scanner installed at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport and two other major Thai aviation gateways have installed thermo-scanners to screen foreign passengers for swine flu. The two other locations now using the infrared sensors are Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Chiang Mai International Airport. Travellers found with suspicious flu symptoms that could develop into the swine influenza will be asked to undergo treatment at the…
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Mother of murder suspect alleges corruption
PHUKET CITY: The mother of a suspect in the high-profile killing of Matichon journalist Athiwut Chainurat has accused a senior policeman of taking a bribe to secure her son’s release. Prasert Kaowseesot, 53-year-old mother of murder suspect Lamduan Kaowseesot, 31, took the case to the Nakhon Sri Thammarat Justice Center after the police officer allegedly failed to follow through with…
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Tourism businesses urged to join Phuket re-branding launch
PHUKET, Thailand: A group of local hoteliers and businesses in Phuket have “cancelled” Low Season – April 15 through November 1 – and are renaming the period more appropriately as “Summer Season”, to better reflect the fact that Phuket is one of the world’s top year-round vacation and second home destinations. For further details about Summer in Phuket, visit www.summerinphuket.com…
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Samkong Bridge project nears completion
PHUKET CITY: Workers from the Phuket Rock Company toiled hard over the weekend making repairs to part of the Samkong Bridge, which supports two lanes of traffic on Yaowarat Road.The bridge, built in 1970, passes over Klong Bangyai near Bangkok Hospital in the busy Samkong part of Phuket City.Klong Bangyai, Phuket largest watercourse, drains water from large parts of Muang…
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Phuket may gain from bullish view on Thai markets
PHUKET: Renowned investment guru Mark Mobius remains upbeat about the Thai stock market, due to its “undervalued prices and high dividend yields”. Speaking on Friday at a seminar in Bangkok entitled “The Thai Economy: If It Can Recover”, Mobius said the dividend yield on Thai shares currently averages about 5.5%, well above that of other emerging markets, which are at…
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Private sector hails lifting of emergency decree
PHUKET CITY: The government’s lifting of the State of Emergency Decree in Bangkok and surrounding areas yesterday has drawn applause from the private-sector.Federation of Thai Industries chairman Santi Vilassakdanont said the move would help restore confidence in the country.The situation would return to normal in two weeks, he predictedHowever the government must move more quickly to explain the situation to…
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Tourism outlook positive after lifting of emergency rule
PHUKET: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has pledged to ensure peace and normalcy by relying on relevant laws following the lifting of emergency rule in Greater Bangkok yesterday. “It is the duty of my government to keep the peace, and I pledge to allay public concerns about security by invoking relevant laws without taking any extra measures,” he said. PM Abhisit…
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Frogmen plug leaking oil tank in Satun
PHUKET CITY: A team of frogmen yesterday sealed a hole in the tank of a sunken fishing vessel off Satun’s Koh Lipe, stopping an oil leak that left some island beaches blackened earlier in the week. The oil leak was first noticed early last Saturday morning at Ao Pramong, on the north coast of Koh Lipe. In an all-day operation…
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Game shop killer surrenders
PHUKET CITY: Ekawood Pipatratana, the video game center owner who accidentally shot and killed a 12-year-old boy in his shop on Wednesday, handed himself in to police today. Mr Ekawood, 43, dumped Amornthep “Gaga” Panya-sirikul’s body in marshland near Phuket International Airport before fleeing in his car to his wife in Bangkok. At a press conference at Phuket City Police…
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Gaga’s mom talks to the Gazette, issues ultimatum to police
CHERNG TALAY: The mother of slain schoolboy Amornthep “Gaga” Panya-sirikul is giving police five days to bring to justice the man who took her son’s life by shooting him in the head inside a computer game center yesterday afternoon. Gaga’s mother, Mrs Somjai Sudjit, told the Gazette today she took the boy’s remains home at 11am today after identifying Gaga…
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Cherng Talay protesters finally disband
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: An adamant group of protesters continued to block a 300-meter stretch of Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Bang Tao most of today, demanding police catch the man responsible for the shooting murder of 12-year-old Amornthep “Gaga” Panya-sirikul. The group finally disbanded late this afternoon following unconfirmed reports that the shooter was about to turn himself in to authorities.…
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Boy killed in gun play gone wrong
PHUKET, CHERNG TALAY: A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed following a gun play accident at an internet and games shop in Baan Bang Tao, Cherng Talay at about noon yesterday.The shooting occurred at Dr Com Electronic Center located opposite Baan Bang Tao School on Srisoonthorn Road when the owner of the cafe, Ekawood Pipatratana, 34, was showing off his…
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Phuket cancels ‘low season’
PHUKET: A group of local hotels and other businesses in Phuket have “canceled” Low Season – April 15 through November 1 – and are renaming the period more appropriately: “Summer Season”. The new designation (‘re-branding’) is being undertaken to better reflect the fact that Phuket is one of the world’s top year-round vacation and second-home destinations. “We’re going to have…
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Gov Wichai to push for reservoir at Kathu Waterfall
KATHU, PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Office will seek a budget from the central government to construct a new reservoir at Kathu Waterfall in order to solve chronic dry season drought problems in the area. On Monday, Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop toured the proposed project site, also a popular tourist destination. He was accompanied by Kathu District Chief Siripath Patakul, Kathu…
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PM confirms plan for Phuket to host Asean summit in June
PHUKET: The government has tentatively chosen Phuket to host the Asean summit with six dialogue partners from the Asia-Pacific region in June, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday. The summit, initially to be held from April 10-12, had to be canceled after it was stormed by red-shirt protesters in Pattaya. Dates for the next summit could not be fixed yet because several…
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