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 Answers to the most common questions about international health insurance
If you’ve been thinking of staying in Thailand long-term, you’ve probably already asked the big question, “Do I actually need international health insurance?” It’s a question that often comes up among expats, digital nomads, retirees, and even frequent travellers. Sure,...
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Fatal crash on Kata Hill
KATA: One motorcycle rider was killed and several motorists were injured when a water truck careened into traffic and overturned by Ban Kata School on Kata Hill, at around 2 pm on November 10.The K-Tech construction company lorry collided with two cars and a motorcycle, trapping the bike and its rider, Kittipong Aiyarak, under it. The injured man was rushed…
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432 entrants so far for tsunami memorial contest
BANGKOK: An astonishing 432 entrants from 44 countries have registered so far for Thailand’s Tsunami Memorial Design Competition. Registration closes next Tuesday (November 15). The aim of the competition is to gather conceptual designs for building a memorial at Khao Lak that will be “appropriate and interactive” and “serve as a permanent tribute” to those who lost their lives in…
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Red tape mix-up stalls tsunami aid theft case
PHUKET: Nine months after 2.05 million baht in tsunami aid money went missing from a strongbox at Phuket Provincial Hall, the investigation into the theft has apparently stalled temporarily due to poor communication between the police and the regional court now in charge of the case. The Region 8 Prosecutor’s Office in Surat Thani says it approved a request by…
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Surin Beach gets facelift, Nai Yang muddles on
PHUKET: In an effort to beautify the Surin and Nai Yang beach fronts for the high season, 100 police volunteers and three local government officials helped to clear the illegal stalls at both beaches yesterday.Cherng Talay OrBorTor (Tambon Administration Organization) Chief Administative Officer Suwat Pakobporn explained to the Gazette that it is provincial government policy to remove illegal stalls and…
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Tour of Siam draws 150 top cyclists
PHUKET: Twenty-six teams have confirmed that they will compete in the 870-kilometer Bangkok-to-Phuket Tour of Siam 2006 bicycle race, to be held from January 15 to January 21. The event is being organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale and the Asia Cycling Federation. More than 150 international entrants are to participate, from South Africa, Australia, Denmark, Japan, USA, Singapore, the…
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Tourist complaints spark zoo check
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura inspected the Phuket Zoo on Friday after receiving written complaints from about 10 tourists about the maltreatment of animals and the quality of water in pools there.The Thailand Zoological Park Organization (TZPO), the Tourism Authority of Thailand and a number of NGOs have also received similar complaints about the private zoo, which opened in 1997.The…
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Award for Phuket from vegetarian mag
SAN FRANCISCO: Phuket during the Vegetarian Festival has been named as one of the “10 Best Veg Destinations in the World” by the San-Francisco-based VegNews magazine.In its third annual Veggie Awards, the magazine also singles out places, tours or events in Morocco, Italy, the UK, Mexico, Kenya, Maine in the US, the US Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Costa Rica.Of the…
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Top Condé Nast award for Phuket
NEW YORK CITY: Phuket Island has received the “Top Island in Asia 2005” award from New York-based Condé Nast Traveler magazine in its 18th annual Readers’ Choice Award. Bangkok won the “Best Asian City” award.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket Office said, “We sent representatives from Thailand to the event. It is the first time Phuket…
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Nation V event “a huge success’
KARON: Nearly 2,000 people, mostly from Thailand, Singapore, Japan and the US, joined the first day and night of Asia’s largest gay and lesbian party, the three-day Nation V, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel yesterday.The event features nine parties, each with a different theme, with 18 DJs from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the USA, Malaysia and Australia manning the turntables.Events…
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Clinton praises Tilly the heroine
NEW YORK: The 10-year-old British schoolgirl whose prompt action saved an estimated 100 lives on Phuket last December 26 has been praised by former US President Bill Clinton.Tilly Smith was welcomed at UN headquarters in New York on November 3 by staff of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, a Geneva-based UN agency that is trying to educate people worldwide…
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Gambling tops arrest statistics again
PHUKET: September statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling again topped the list, with 137 people arrested for the offense. Twenty-two cases involved the sale of underground lottery numbers.Four murders were reported during the month with two cases solved, resulting in the arrests of two people. One case of attempted murder was also solved, leading to the arrests…
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19 die on Phuket roads in September
PHUKET: Official figures from Ruampaet and Phuket International private hospitals and Wachira Phuket, Thalang and Patong government hospitals show that 19 people died on Phuket’s roads in September – seven more than in August.Eighteen people died in motorcycle crashes and one was killed in a car crash, whereas in August, 11 died in motorcycle collisions and one in a car…
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Soi Dog Foundation “now official’
PHUKET: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) announced on October 31 that it has been granted official foundation status in Thailand. Margot Homburg Park, President of the SDF, said that it was a huge breakthrough for the charity, and that the move would allow it to expand its operations in Phuket. She added that she looked forward to working closely with…
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Gov takes tough line on airport taxis
PHUKET: Within two weeks meter taxis will have a desk inside the arrivals hall of Phuket International Airport, and three cabs at a time will be allowed to park right outside arrivals – the sacred territory of the island’s airport limousines.The decision was made by Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura after a meeting yesterday to discuss the simmering dispute between meter taxis…
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Phuket Carnival kicks off in Patong
PHUKET: The celebration to launch Phuket’s tourism high season starts today and runs through November 3, from 9 am to midnight daily. Previously known as the Patong Carnival, it has been revamped and dubbed Phuket Carnival 2005.The annual parade, from near Phuket Simon Cabaret, along Prachanukhro Rd to Thaweewong Rd and then north to Soi Bangla, takes place from 4…
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Travel deal “should boost Chinese tourist numbers’
PHUKET: Nineteen Chinese tour operators yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to sell 25 standardized travel packages to Chinese tourists. The MOU, signed at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, will be effective for six months starting today.Prapan Yukumyat, President of the Phuket Office of the Thai-China Tourism Association, told the Gazette that since the year 2000 the number of…
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Rough justice for knicker nicker
SAMUT PRAKAN: Stealing women’s underwear might be considered nothing but a prank in some countries, but it is a serious crime in Samut Prakan’s Muang District, where residents of Tambon Bangpoomai took the law into their own hands and nearly beat to death a man after he was caught pilfering panties. Yoybangpoo District Police reported the man’s arrest, which occurred…
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Croc makes good pillow and a snappy companion
PHICHIT: Some people like to argue about which breed of dog makes the best four-legged home security system, but a coffee vendor in this province has found that his 70-kilogram pet crocodile is just as effective at keeping burglars at bay as any Rottweiler, Pit Bull or Doberman. Prayoon “Khiat” Thong jorn, 43, bought the crocodile for 3,000 baht as…
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The Poodle Poo incident on Soi Green Soda
KARON: The owner of two Karon beer bars has filed a complaint with the Chalong Police against a neighbor who, she says, threw dog excreta at her. Yindee Sutipakdi, 39, filed the complaint against 22-year-old Piyathida Muangbang, after the latter drove up to her home on a motorcycle and hurled a bag containing poodle poo at her. The two women…
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Not so sty-lish behavior
KHON KAEN: A man accused by villagers of having sex with a neighbor’s pig has agreed to pay the owner 500 baht in compensation. Sa-ngad Hapanna, 39, a resident of Baan Tonnoi in Muang district, filed a complaint with the village headman after neighbors alerted her the night before that they saw the man having sex with one of her…
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Local phone book swamps server
PHUKET: Following a bulletin last Wednesday announcing that the deadline for listings in the 2006 Gazette Guide (local “yellow” pages) would be tonight, October 31, the Gazette web server has been under heavy pressure and has suffered sporadic downtime. In what may be a reflection of the recent surge in local business confidence, approximately 480 new listings and/or updates have been entered…
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HRH to return to Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will be in Phuket again from November 12 to 14, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura announced yesterday morning.Although the official itinerary has yet to be announced, he said that the Princess will bring with her eight of the 12 adjudicators of the Prince Mahidol Award, which is given each year in recognition of exemplary contributions to…
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Tourism industry worries about labor shortage
PHUKET: The island’s tourism industry is suffering a shortage of skilled staff because many workers left the island during the slump after the tsunami, Dechar Peukpattanaruk, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Labor Office, said today.He said that although many people are applying for the estimated 4,000 vacancies in Phuket’s tourism industry, very few of them have the appropriate qualifications or…
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Princess enjoys playtime with Thai orphans
PHUKET: Princess Maja Synke von Hohenzollern of Germany was in Phuket yesterday to enjoy a few hours of fun with 23 orphans being taken care of by the Beluga School for Life at Na Nai in Phang Nga. The school was established soon after the tsunami and is being funded for 10 years by Niels Stolberg, the managing director of…
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Tsunami siren test declared a success
PHUKET: One of Patong’s three tsunami warning towers was tested this morning, its siren being triggered remotely from the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) in Nonthaburi, near Bangkok.Adm Thaweesak Daengchai, Adviser to the NDWC, told the Gazette he was pleased with the test and with the fact that, this time, most people seemed to know that it was a drill…
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Frenchman kills self “over debts’
PHUKET: French resident Laurent Huppe was found dead in his house in Ao Yon on Wednesday. Police say they believe he committed suicide, possibly because of heavy debt.Mr Huppe’s landlord, Donraman Srikwan, noticed a bad smell when he visited Mr Huppe’s two-story wooden home on the Baan Borrea-Khao Khad Rd in Wichit district, and found the bedroom door locked. He…
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Princess arrives in Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn arrived in Phuket today to take part in a Tod Kathin ceremony, during which people donated money to Wat Luang Phu Supa in Chalong.The wat is the residence of Abbot Luang Phu Supa who, at 111 years of age, is the oldest Abbot on the island.After the ceremony the Princess traveled to Baan Nam…
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Patong tsunami alarms to be tested
PATONG: The three existing tsunami warning towers along Patong beach will be tested between 10 am and 11:30 am on Friday this week. The testing, to be conducted jointly by the Municipality and officials from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry, is aimed at ensuring that the towers’ direct satellite links to the Nonthaburi-based National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC)…
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Mystery surrounds photographer’s murder
PHUKET CITY: A freelance photographer was gunned down on October 21 while watching TV in his house behind Suan Luang park.Pol Sub Lt Aumporn Musikapan of the Phuket City Police Station named the victim as Thavil Laksanavimol, 36, from Nakorn Sri Thammarat Province.He was watching TV at about 10:15 pm with the 14-year-old daughter of a neighbor when his assailant,…
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Phuket City police chief promoted
PHUKET: The Superintendent of Phuket City Police, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, is one of a number of senior police who are being promoted or transferred as part of the annual national police reshuffle.Col Paween has been promoted to Deputy Commander of the Surat Thani Provincial Police. His replacement is Lt Col Natta Sawaetalaek, formerly Deputy Superintendent of Thalang Police.Also leaving…
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