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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B39.7m approved for “Patong Tunnel’ study
PATONG: Patong Municipality’s recently approved 271-million-baht budget for fiscal year 2009 includes 40 million baht to conduct a detailed study into the possible construction of a tunnel to connect the town with Tambon Kathu. Thanin Attasup, President of the Patong Municipal Council, stated that the recently-held third ordinary meeting of the council for 2008 was attended by Patong Mayor Pian…
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Kathu man confesses to grisly murder of neighbor while drunk
KATHU: A Kathu man confessed to the shooting and stabbing to death of a neighbor on the morning of November 23. Under questioning at Tung Tong police station, Wichian Choosri, 38, stated that he killed 39-year-old Nitti Limboot while in a drunken rage earlier that morning. A neighbor of Mr Wichian reported the murder to the police, who arrived at…
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Toilet paper warehouse goes up in flames
CHALONG: It took firefighters about an hour-and-a-half to extinguish a blaze that broke out in a warehouse on Soi Sanjaotaead in Chalong at about 11:30 am today. Four firetrucks and a cherry-picker were dispatched from the Wichit and Chalong Fire Departments to the warehouse, located in a residential area off Soi Taiad, about 200 meters behind the Phuket Spa and…
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Bangkok Airport Closed – Thousands Stranded
BANGKOK (The Nation): Up to 10,000 passengers are being stranded after the Suvarnabhumi Airport has been ordered closed as a result of a blockade by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The Airports of Thailand (AOT) has decided to close the airport after the protesters blocked an entrance, entered passenger terminals and scuffled with airport officials. The closure, ordered around…
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192 kilos of illicit drug ingredients seized
PHUKET: Thai and Australian law enforcement officials yesterday afternoon joined Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan at Phuket City Police Station to announce the arrest of a drug suspect and the seizure of 192 kilograms of pseudoephedrine (PSE), the chemical compound used to produce methamphetamines. Officers from the Royal Thai Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau and Phuket Provincial Police arrested 38-year-old Thai National…
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800 Phuket PAD members to join protest in Bangkok
PHUKET CITY: At least eight buses will leave from Phuket late this afternoon to transport Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members and supporters to join a huge anti-government protest in Bangkok tomorrow. Phuket PAD spokesman Natjarong Ekpermsup told the Gazette this morning that the buses will leave from the Esso service station opposite Satree Phuket school at 5 pm. At…
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Police nab bike thieving teens
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police have arrested three youths for motorcycle theft. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong presented the three 16-year-old suspects, along with a wide variety of motorcycle specialty parts and three stolen motorcycles, to the Gazette outside Phuket City Police Station this morning. The arrests were made after police spotted a blue Yamaha Mio, which had been…
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Nai Yang Beach restaurant operators fight eviction
NAI YANG BEACH: The owners of 13 beach-side restaurants located inside Sirinath Marine National Park are refusing to relocate to new premises that were built for them at the park’s visitors center, saying that the new shops are too small and distant from the sea. The latest dispute in the area is only the latest chapter in a decades-old dispute…
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Emergency medical training course for scuba staff
PHUKET CITY: The Badalveda Diving Medicine Network, on behalf of the TDA Diving Association (Thailand) and Bangkok Phuket Hospital, has announced the presentation of an Emergency Medical Management Training Course to be offered to the general scuba diving community. The course will include Basic First Aid, Oxygen Provider, and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training that can improve the emergency medical service…
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Aussie stabbing: no worries, mate
PATONG: Officers at Patong Hospital have denied reports in a local Thai-language newspaper that an Australian serviceman on shore leave was in a coma after being stabbed repeatedly following an altercation in Patong on the night of November 5. In fact, the soldier was treated for only minor stab wounds, which were stitched in the hospital. He was released shortly…
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All systems go for Coral Reef Squadron
PHUKET DEEP SEA PORT: Muslim clerics and Buddhist monks held religious services on the morning of November 15 to bless 10 aircraft that will be be sunk off Bang Tao Bay to create the “Coral Reef Squadron,” the first artificial reef project of its kind in Thailand. The services started at 10:30 am with a ceremony led by Muslim Wittaya…
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Nuvo to play benefit concert for Coral Reef Squadron project
PATONG: Veteran pop band Nuvo will play a benefit concert at Jungceylon on Friday, November 28 to raise funds for the Coral Reef Squadron artificial reef project, which will have its grand opening ceremony the following morning. ‘For Sea Foundation’ Press Coordinator Siri “Poo” Vorabutra said the six-member band, with hits like Pen yang nee tung tae kerd luey (I’ve…
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Over 30 guns seized at Tah Chat Chai checkpoint
TAH CHAT CHAI: Beefed up security at the Tah Chat Chai road checkpoint in Mai Khao has resulted in the seizure of more than 30 firearms in under two months and police are planning to invest a further 26 million baht to curb gun smuggling onto the island, according to the Manager online news service. Last Friday at Phuket City…
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Mysterious documentary filmed today in Phuket City
PHUKET: At least four pairs of contestants taking part in a travel documentary are racing around Phuket using various forms of transport today. One of the challenges that faced the contestants was to pull each other through Phuket City in the midday heat using rickshaws as they searched for “King Rama V Park”. The contestants pictured here made “four wrong…
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Rage on the road turns fatal
PATONG: A hot-headed youth has been arrested after he shot and killed another man during an argument at a stoplight in Patong on Thursday morning. The victim was 32-year-old Kamjon “Neng” Pungprom. He died from a single gunshot wound to his abdomen. The shooting occurred at the three-way intersection along the new Phang Muang Road, not far from the Patong…
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High-season tourism outlook bleak: PTA
PHUKET CITY: Despite a large drop in fuel prices internationally, the outlook for this year’s high season for tourism remains bleak, a top tourism industry leader says. Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) Vice-President Bhuritt Maswongsa told the Gazette that current occupancy rates and bookings from now until the end of the year should result in an island-wide average occupancy rate of…
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Two arrested in Phuket heroin mega-bust
RASSADA (Kom Chad Luek): Police arrested a Thai man and a Taiwanese national along with 104 kilos of heroin at a house in the Phuket City Home residential estate yesterday afternoon, deputy national police chief Priewphan Damapong announced at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday. Speaking at the Royal Thai Police Drug Suppression Division headquarters on Viphawadee-Rangsit Rd, Gen Preowpan…
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Brit arrested on drug charges
KATHU: The government’s 90-day “war on drugs” that started last week has claimed its first foreign casualty in Phuket: a middle-aged British man was caught in possession of ya Ice (crystal methamphetamine) and other narcotics with intent to sell. Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark identified the suspect as UK national Peter Neville, aged 45. Mr Neville was arrested at…
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Local Muslims begin sacred journey
MAI KHAO: Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan and other top officials attended a ceremony, on Sunday, at Phuket International Airport to send off some 250 local Muslims leaving to attend the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, local Thai-language news sources have reported. Also attending the farewell were Phuket Senator Thanyarat Atchariyachai, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising and…
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War on drugs underway
BANGKOK (TNA): The government has launched a new round of drug suppression in a ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat last Thursday. The 90-day “war on drugs”, which kicked off on November 3, is scheduled to last through till the end of January. In his speech announcing the crackdown, PM Somchai encouraged authorities to devote their full attention…
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Americans dominate beach volleyball final
KARON: In the final playoff of the Swatch FIVB Beach Volleyball 2008 tournament, Jennifer Boss and April Ross overcame fellow Americans Nicole Branagh and Tyra Turner to win at Karon Beach on Sunday. After two sets, the teams couldn’t be separated with Branagh and Turner winning the first set 21-18 and Ross and Boss the second 21-14. The final went…
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Deadline for local ‘yellow pages’ listings
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2009 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until 6pm on Wednesday, November 12, to enter (or update) their listings. Businesses entered after that date will appear in the Gazette Guide Online only – not in the hard-copy book for 2009. Listings, which are for Phuket Phang-nga, Krabi and Samui businesses only, can be…
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UK cancels visas of Thaksin, wife
BANGKOK (The Nation): The British Embassy has revoked entry visas of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman. The cancellations, which were decided while the couple were outside England, were notified to airlines yesterday. The decision was made by the United Kingdom Border Agency, and the notification email was signed by Bangkok-based Immigration Liaison Manager Andy Gray. The…
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Israir announces direct flights from mid-December
PHUKET: Israeli airline Israir announced Wednesday that as of December it will begin operating two flights to Thailand, including direct flights between Israel and Phuket. Israel-based news service ynetnews.com reported that the flights, aboard Airbus A-330 planes, will be available during the height of Phuket’s high season: from December 15 to February 28. The flights will leave Israel on Sundays…
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Young Brit dies in mystery fall
PATONG: A young English tourist mysteriously fell from a building in Patong early Monday evening and died en route to hospital. Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark identified the deceased from his passport as UK national Joseph John Nason, age 22. Mr Nason and a friend, aged 19, had just arrived in Phuket on a flight from Bangkok and were…
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Cobra cocktails, roadside rat-ions
SUPHANBURI: The sight of roadside stalls selling seasonal fruit, diesel-flavored roast chicken or other comestibles is a common one on any road trip in Thailand. Along the roads of Suphanburi, however, the offerings are a bit more exotic, with cobras and field rats the current hits.On October 27, Sala Phromphim, who owns five stalls selling the unusual delicacies along the…
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Phupanee and Yunsuwan crash out of Phuket Open Volleyball
KARON: Crowd favorites Orradee Phupanee and Aunchalee Yunsuwan of Thailand crashed out in straight sets (21-16 and 21-15), losing to the more experienced Swedish pairing of Tora Hansson and Camillia Nilsson yesterday in the Swatch FIVB Phuket 2008 Women’s Open volleyball tournament. The Swedes, seeded sixth, won the match in straight sets in just 27 minutes. At 16 years of…
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Bus crash claims 2, injures 30
MAI KHAO (NBT): A fully-loaded bus headed for Satun overturned and crashed at about 9 pm Sunday night, killing two people and injuring at least 30 more. The state-run Andaman News service reported that the accident occurred on the outbound lane of Thepkasattri Rd, in the Ban Maak Prok area of Mai Khao Village 1. Tah Chat Chai Police Superintendent Sakchai…
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Stress taking a toll
BANGKOK (The Nation): Heads of families or breadwinners in urban areas in Bangkok and 18 other provinces are suffering from stress due to political turmoil and economic woes, an Abac poll revealed yesterday. The poll was conducted from October 10 to November 1. Of 3,293 respondents surveyed, 59 per cent said they were ‘stressed out’ by the country’s ongoing political…
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Kajonkietsuksa School celebrates Halloween
WICHIT: Students and teachers of the Kajonkietsuksa School’s bilingual program today dressed up for a range of special Halloween activities being held at the school. These fun events are taking place before an abundance of parties all over the island this evening, including a ‘Sexy’, black-and-gold dress-up Hellfire event at the Watermark. What? Halloween gone sexy?
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