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 St Patrick’s Day Ball charity event tomorrow
PHUKET: A charity ball marking St Patrick’s Day will be hosted tomorrow evening at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa in Karon. The annual ball is a major fundraising event for the Life Home Project, a local foundation that provides shelter for women and children affected by HIV as well as childcare, vocational training, health education and hospice assistance. The event…
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Phuket Island View: Sidecars extremely dangerous, but not to worry
PHUKET: The crackdown on motorbike passengers having to wear helmets has been excellent, though it hasn’t stopped parents from carrying babies, talking on a mobile phone, or smoking (or all three) while driving.I understand the trusty Honda Dream is the sole mode of transport for many families on Phuket, and that if they could afford something with four wheels they…
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Dr Robert Thurman to lead Buddhist retreat in Phuket this weekend
PHUKET: World-renowned Buddhist scholar Dr Robert Thurman is in Phuket to give a talk and lead a meditation retreat at the Thanyapura Mind Center at Phuket International Academy this weekend. Dr Thurman, Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University in New York City, is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost scholars of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies. A…
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Phuket media coverage takes a leap forward with iApps
PHUKET: Long a leader in online publishing, the Phuket Gazette has taken a leap into the handheld space with crisp and functionally ‘immediate’ new Apps for both the iPad and iPhone. And though only a couple of weeks into these new media, the company is more than pleased with the response. “These were basically R&D-type projects for us. I don’t…
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Phuket beach vendor found hanged
PHUKET: A 25 year old man was found hanged at his rented house in Phuket this morning. Thalang Police named the deceased as Apichart Aoonkaew, a vendor on Nai Yang and Na Thon beaches. A relative discovered the body at the house in Thalang at about 9:30am when he entered the room to wake Mr Apichart for work, police said.…
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Second Phuket hit-and-run killing in a week
PHUKET: A Phuket mechanic was killed instantly last night when his motorbike collided with a pickup truck, the driver of which sped off without stopping. The accident occurred at about 11:30pm on Route 4027, the main road to Pa Khlok from the Heroines’ Monument. At the scene, about one kilometer east of the monument, police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers…
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Phuket’s new hospital to open in May
PHUKET: The hunt is on for qualified medical staff to work at the first Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) Hospital, now scheduled to open by the end of May. The hospital, on Sri Sena Road in Phuket Town, will be the first in the country to be administered by a provincial authority. “The outpatient department will open around the end…
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Phuket Tourist Police in the spotlight
PHUKET: Members of a special government working committee were in Phuket earlier this month to gather information for a study on whether Tourist Police nationwide should be transferred out of the Royal Thai Police for administration by a different government agency or agencies. Among those who visited the Tourist Police station in Phuket Town were committee chairman Asst Prof Noppadon…
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Murder suspect arrested in Phuket after 17 years in hiding
PHUKET: After 17 years on the lam, a suspect wanted for a 1994 stabbing murder of a man in Uthai Thani province was arrested by Phuket City Police yesterday. The suspect, 44-year-old Pornsak “Nu” Ketkaew, was arrested when he took a 10-wheel dump truck for repairs at a garage off Thepkrasattri Road. Mr Pornsak was arrested by officers who confirmed…
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Phuket ATM scams run rife
PHUKET: An English expat has gone public about 814,000 baht allegedly stolen from his bank account in an ATM scam. Following the Phuket Gazette report of the arrest of a Romanian gang for ATM fraud in Patong on March 13, Paul Treherne felt it was time to let other people know about his own ordeal. The four Romanians were arrested…
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Phuket hit-and-run: security guard killed
PHUKET: Phuket Police are searching for the driver of a pickup truck that hit and killed an unidentified motorbike driver in Cherng Talay last night. Cherng Talay Police duty officer Somkhit Khawsung was notified of the fatal accident at 7:35pm. At the scene, the road from Koktanode to Layan near the Laguna Phuket Outrigger resort and villa complex, they found…
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Thai Health Minister Jurin in Phuket
PHUKET: Thai Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit was in Phuket today to inspect first hand the anti-radiation tablets being issued free to passengers at Phuket International Airport bound for Japan. “In the past five days, 71 people – 69 Japanese, one American and one Thai – have each collected a 130mg bottle of Potassium Iodide from the booth,” said Minister…
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Fears of explosion spark Phuket gas shop raid
PHUKET: Fears of a serious explosion at a local store illegally refilling gas cylinders prompted a raid by officials from the Phuket Energy Office this morning. Led by Phuket Energy Office chief Jirasak Tummawetch, the officers arrived at the unnamed gas shop near Kettho Junction on Wichit Songkram Road in Kathu. Energy chief Jirasak said, “Normally, small shops are not…
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Phuket convention center one step closer
PHUKET: Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij told a public hearing in Phuket yesterday that he can “guarantee” the project to build a convention and exhibition center will go ahead if his Democrat Party holds on to power in the upcoming elections. Mr Korn was speaking at a public hearing at The Metropole hotel in Phuket Town to present three architectural plans…
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One dead as Phuket water truck overshoots curve
PHUKET: A water tanker overshot a dangerous curve in Phuket this morning, leaving the passenger dead and the driver badly injured. The accident happened at about 9:30am on Thepkrasattri Road northbound, along a stretch of road known as the “Bang Duk Curve”. The six-wheeled vehicle, owned and operated by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), was on a routine delivery…
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Phuket rescue drill for upcoming Songkran Festival
PHUKET: Phuket officials and rescue organizations are set to begin road accident drills in preparation for the upcoming Songkran water festival. During the Songkran “seven days of danger” road safety campaign last year, Phuket saw 60 reported traffic accidents resulting in two deaths, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office. The “seven days” this year…
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Japan tragedy touches Phuket
PHUKET: Earthquakes are a part of daily life in Japan, so are the ensuing tsunami alerts. This is a country that is a product of 15 million years of tectonic movement that ripped it away from mainland Asia. But nothing – not even the Japanese people’s millenia-long struggle with Mother Nature – could have softened the blow that was dealt…
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Breaking news: FC Phuket 3 – JW Rangsit 1
PHUKET: Excellent teamwork led FC Phuket to a 3-1 win over Thai League Division 1 side JW Rangsit FC in rainy conditions at Surakul Stadium in Phuket this evening. FC Phuket dominated the first half during a driving rainstorm that started just minutes into the game. Goals by Niran Phantong and Ivory Coast player Nenebi Sylvestre at seven and 20…
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Top official dispells Phuket tsunami rumors
PHUKET: The director of the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), the agency in Thailand that issues tsunami warnings, yesterday called on people to ignore rumors that a tsunami will strike Thailand. NDWC Director Somsak Khaosuwan was in Phuket to lead public information seminars about natural disasters. The seminars were held at Wat Suwan Kiriwong School in Patong. Mr Somsak said…
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Phuket Butti murder: Italian business partner charged, hitman still at large
PHUKET: Police have arrested the alleged Italian “mastermind” and three others in connection with the shooting murder of resort owner Luciano Butti, 61. Mr Butti, also Italian, was gunned down while riding a rented motorbike in Pa Khlok on Tuesday night. Lt Gen Kokiat Wongvorachart, Commissioner of Region 8 Provincial Police, presented the four suspects at a press conference at…
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Breaking News: Suspects arrested for Butti murder
PHUKET: Police have arrested at least four people in connection with the shooting murder of Italian resort owner Luciano Butti, 61. Mr Butti was gunned down while riding a rented motorbike in Pa Khlok on Tuesday night. Takuapa District Police Inspector Wannarat Mahachode and his team of investigators arrested 23-year-old Rachanon Saowaree at the Takuapa Bus Station yesterday, according to…
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Luangta Maha Bua remains in Phuket, in spirit and reality
PHUKET: Scores of people are expected to join a ceremony tomorrow morning to place bone fragments of the highly-revered Luangta Maha Bua Yanasampanno at a temple in Phuket Town. The fragments will be installed at Wat Jaroen Samanakij, known locally as Wat Lang San, near Phuket Provincial Hall. The event will begin at 7am with the giving of alms to…
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Phuket police nab Chinese ‘stopover thieves’
PHUKET: Chalong Police have arrested three mainland Chinese they think are part of a gang who specialize in burglarizing guests at luxury hotels the world over. Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Narong Laksanawimol identified the three suspects at a press conference today as: Liu Shuiping, 45; Liu Jianhua, 39; and Liu Shuidong, 40. All are listed as residents of Jiangxi, China.…
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PHUKET REMINDER: FC Phuket at home against JW Rangsit tomorrow
PHUKET: FC Phuket will be going all-out for three points tomorrow at Surakul Stadium, where they take on JW Rangsit FC in a Thai League Division 1 match starting at 6pm. The Southern Sea Kirin, who sit in sixth place after the third week of the season, will be trying for their second win. Both sides are playing in their…
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Phuket home to UN marine management project
PHUKET: Getting eight culturally diverse countries with varying systems of government and historically contentious relationships to co-operate on environmental management is a mammoth task. That is precisely what the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem project (BOBLME) hopes to facilitate over the next four years with nations in the Bay of Bengal region. BOBLME, covering about 6.2 million square kilometers…
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Hungry ghost feasts on villagers
PHITSANULOK: Residents of a village in Phitsanulok province believe they are being stalked by a pret – a Thai “hungry ghost” – following the mysterious deaths of three old villagers in the same week late last month. Terrified residents of Village 9 in Aranyik subdistrict believe the pret is going to kill again. Last week they performed a Buddhist ritual…
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“LOVE AID – To Japan From Phuket With Love’ benefit concert scheduled
PHUKET: A benefit concert entitled “LOVE AID – To Japan From Phuket With Love” has been scheduled for April 2 on Karon Beach, with 100 per cent of proceeds going to help victims of the Japan earthquake, tsunami and subsequent explosions at a nuclear power plant. The event was originally scheduled for next Thursday, but has been changed to Saturday,…
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Phuket heeds Japan’s call for aid
PHUKET: The Phuket Tsunami Relief Center for Japan has been set up at Provincial Hall as a collection point for donations to aid survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11. The center was established on Tuesday following talks between Phuket Japanese Association President Kazushi Miyashita and Governor Tri Augkaradacha. “Seven years ago when the tsunami…
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Phuket honors respected civil servant
PHUKET: A Royal Cremation ceremony was held in Phuket today for Wannapreuk Sukyiran, who died of natural causes on Thursday at the age of 79. Mr Wannapreuk, father of Phuket deputy chief prosecutor Tawan Sukyiran, had a distinguished career in civil service as a member of the Phuket Public Health Office. More than 300 people attended the service, including Phuket…
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Phuket Police: “Business deal’ prime motive for Butti murder
PHUKET: Police believe a business deal was the prime motive for the murder of Luciano Butti, 61, who was gunned down in Phuket on Tuesday night. However, officers are also investigating Mr Butti’s ongoing divorce proceedings. Mr Butti was to appear in court for divorce proceedings yesterday, Lt Col Phisit Cheunphet of Thalang Police told the Phuket Gazette today. Mr…
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