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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Rescuers lose fight to save dolphin
PANWA CAPE: A rare Risso dolphin, at first thought to be a melon-headed whale, has died at Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) after rescuers fought to save the life of the beached creature. Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, a biologist at the center, told the Gazette that the 2.6-meter adult female died about 5 am on Thursday. She was in a pool meant…
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Tourist dies in motorbike smash
KATHU: A British tourist riding a rented motorcycle died in hospital after his head struck the side-mirror of a truck traveling in the opposite direction. Officers named the man as Craig Curry, 32. At the wheel of the truck was Wiwat Padungpol, 26, who has been charged with careless driving. Mr Curry, who had been vacationing in Phuket Town, was…
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Strategic cluster’ plan for three provinces
PHUKET TOWN : Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi represent a strategic “cluster” for economic development and water-related tourism, a conference heard today. Phuket Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit told representatives from business, government and academic groups, and other interested parties that more planning was needed to make the most of the “cluster.” About 150 people gathered at the Royal Phuket City Hotel…
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Landslide stops Patong Hill traffic
KATHU: A landslide early this afternoon close to the crest of Patong Hill brought traffic to a standstill as rain continued to blanket Phuket. Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong told the Gazette that earth and large branches tumbled onto Prabaramee Rd, on the Patong side of the hill near the Pun Tao Kong Chinese shrine, causing huge traffic jams in both directions.…
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Tourist arrivals up 30pc despite rains
PHUKET: While heavy rains and flooding have stopped many Thai tourists from visiting Phuket and the Andaman region, the number of foreigners arriving on the island is up by 30% compared with the same time last year. Napasorn Kakai, the Deputy Director of the local Tourism Authority of Thailand office, today told the Gazette, “We expected to have more Thai…
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Officials sing Phummisak’s praises
PHUKET TOWN: All the officers of Phuket Town Municipality – about 1,000 of them – turned out to say farewell to Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok at an outdoor buffet at the Phuket Incinerator on Wednesday night. Groups of officers sang K. Phummisak’s praises – literally – in tributes to the man who leaves office on December 24, when he…
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Putin takes a break in Phuket
PHUKET: The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, is making a private visit to Phuket in advance of the start of the regional summit of leaders of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation economies in Bangkok on Sunday. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura confirmed that President Putin arrived at Phuket International Airport at 2:40 pm today. The Governor added that he was…
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Speed up land probe, Gov urges
PHUKET TOWN: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura today urged officials looking into alleged land title abuses on the island to speed up their investigations and to work together in a more analytical way. After talking in detail to some 25 officers at the Provincial Hall, the Governor told media that the land issue needed to be resolved because delays could damage the…
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Purachai launches “Happy Families’ project
PHUKET TOWN: Visiting Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piemsomboon today announced that Phuket will be one of two pilot provinces in the Government’s new “Happy Family Skills Training Project”. The project is intended to provide useful skills to couples who wish to raise happy and healthy families. The other province chosen was Prachin Buri. K. Purachai, formerly Thailand’s second most powerful…
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Phuket seafood passes contaminants test
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket seafood has a clean record so far in a crackdown on the use of preservatives and other chemical additives, Pramual Rakjai, chief of Phuket Provincial Fishing Port, said today. He told the Governor’s regular media conference that fishing boats, dealers and vendors would come under scrutiny as the checks continue in the national campaign. The project, which…
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B9m boost for beach guard service
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will spend more than 15 million baht next year on beach guards and equipment to boost water safety at Phuket beaches. OrBorJor Vice-President Soratham Jinda, head of the organization’s water safety project, said today that the boost in funding, up from 6 million baht this year, was approved in light of the beach…
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Fight night down at the wat
SRISAKET: Monks may not often lose their tempers but two did go head-to-head in a heated dispute recently over who got to sit closer to the temple abbot during a merit-making ceremony. The unfortunate incident occurred at Wat Jiang Isrimongkolworaraam in Srisaket province, where devotees had gathered for lunch and a merit-making ritual, to be performed by chief provincial monk…
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A cow of a day
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: Cows, women, motorcycle owners and rubber plantation workers in Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Tung Song will sleep better this month in the knowledge that an ex-convict is back in police custody after confessing to a spate of motorbike thefts and some thoroughly repugnant crimes. Tung Song police pulled over the suspect, 37-year-old Boontham Chanasongkraam, as he was riding…
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Amsterdam murders trigger Phuket raid
CHALONG: A Bangkok-based Dutch police officer joined four Drug Suppression Unit officers in a weekend raid on the Phuket home of a Dutchman who was murdered in Amsterdam and was suspected of involvement in the international illegal drugs trade. Saturday’s 6 am raid on the home of Jules Leo Jie at Land and Houses Park led to the discovery of…
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Governor proposes new sports complex
PHUKET: Phuket’s new Governor, Udomsak Usawarangkura, would like to see 2,000 rai of government land at Tah Chat Chai, the northern end of the island, developed as a sports complex with the aim of encouraging sports tourism. He told the Gazette in an exclusive interview today that implementation of the idea should follow the recent decision to build the International…
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Carnival set to open high season
PHUKET TOWN: About 5.2 million baht is to be spent on this year’s Patong Carnival from November 1 to 3 to mark the opening of the tourist high season. Live music will be performed nightly over the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Other highlights will include a beach-cleaning campaign, fireworks, a mini-marathon, the Miss Andaman Patong Contest and beach volleyball and…
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Healthy profit tipped for airport
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket International Airport is expected to increase its profit by 1.4% this year despite the Sars crisis, a gathering to mark the airport’s 15th anniversary heard on Wednesday. Lt Cdr Boonchart Prompoon, Director of the Airports Authority of Thailand, Phuket, said that revenue for the first eight months of this year was 784 million baht, well on track…
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Foreign husbands still tied in knots
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Constitution Court yesterday issued a ruling that won’t make it any easier for foreign men married to Thai wives to become Thai citizens. The ruling effectively means that men born overseas will still be subject to complicated citizenship procedures. Foreign women married to Thai men are currently allowed to seek Thai nationality without having to go…
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Two gunned down on bypass road
PHUKET TOWN: Two men were killed last night after a gunman opened fire on their pickup truck while they were waiting at traffic lights at the junction of Wichit Songkhram Rd and the bypass road, across from the Thainaan restaurant. A witness, who said the shooting happened about 7 pm, told the Gazette that he was riding his motorbike from…
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PTA chief calls for more open skies
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Tourist Association President Pattanapong Aikwanich believes Thai Airways should only fly international routes and leave domestic flights to smaller, more competitive airlines. He aired this belief today in welcoming the return of Phuket Air to two local high-season routes, adding that if aviation were divided in this way, Phuket would more quickly become a hub for southern…
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Expo center to be built at Saphan Hin
PHUKET: Phuket’s International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) will be built on land reclaimed from the sea off Saphan Hin, a site favored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) but opposed by many island residents. The controversial decision is understood to have been made yesterday when Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak met with the TAT Governor Juthamas Siriwan, Phuket…
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Three held after Karma Lounge drug raid
KARON: The Karma Lounge Music Café in Karon is likely to be closed after police raiding the place allegedly found the illegal drugs Ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and marijuana there, as well as a lesbian sex show underway, Governor CEO Udomsak Usawarangkura said. Police carried out the raid at 2:30 am on Sunday and said they seized a gram of cocaine,…
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Rawai houses flooded, crops destroyed
RAWAI: Incessant rain has left homeowners parts of Rawai scrambling to sandbag their houses while farmers scurry to save what crops they can. Prakaikhum Jeepukhum, 43, who has a 1.5-rai vegetable farm near Mimmi’s restaurant, on Saiyuan Rd, said that she had lost nearly her entire crop and that her husband and local villagers scrambled to sandbag their property line.…
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Alleged murder masterminds get bail
PHUKET TOWN: Murder suspects Wipa Jantong and her husband Sompong Jantong, charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the May 5 slaying of Prasert and Thavorn Trairat, were released from the Phuket Provincial Court Prison on Friday after posting bail of 1.5 million baht each. The couple were arrested on October 1 in front of the offices of the Phuket…
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Patong faces anti-drugs “X-ray’
KATHU: Patong will come under “X-ray” scrutiny in the government’s current campaign to eliminate drugs, Phuket Governor CEO Udomsak Usawarangura said yesterday. Speaking at an anti-drugs concert at the Kathu District Office, the Governor said, “Phuket is moving to get rid of the 5% left [of people involved in drugs]. The marked area is Patong, where we must strictly ‘re-X-ray’.…
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Flooding swamps Phuket Town
PHUKET TOWN: More torrential rain overnight triggered landslips and flooding that has left many streets in Phuket Town looking like rivers, with gridlock being the order of the day. Cleaning up and making repairs will cost 50 million baht in municipal funds, new Governor CEO Udomsak Usawarangkura said this morning. The latest downpour topped up a wild and wet start…
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All go for green in Phuket Town
PHUKET TOWN: A range of projects announced yesterday by Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok will add more green to the center of town. The projects include a nine-rai park, a huge canopy to cover Lan Nawamin Square, and three high-tech traffic lights to be fitted at major junctions on Mae Luan Rd. The park, already under construction on the site…
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Dulwich mulls opening school on Samui
KOH SAMUI: Dulwich International College (DIC) may open its doors on Koh Samui following a recent decision by the college’s governing body to go ahead with a feasibility study. “The study will, we hope, provide the evidence to support such a venture. The initial response from all parties has been overwhelmingly [favorable],” said DIC Headmaster, David Cook. If the study…
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Third bus route under consideration
PHUKET TOWN: The town’s bus service may be expanded to include a third route, it was announced yesterday. The announcement followed the signing of a one-year extension of the contract between Andaman Trans (Thailand) and the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) to manage the OrBorJor‘s bus company. OrBorJor Deputy President Samroeng Chaisorn told the Gazette, “The bus service is going…
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Phuket masseuses get hands-on training
PHUKET TOWN: Practitioners of traditional Thai massage are getting some hands-on training this week, thanks to a workshop sponsored by the Department of Skill Development [DSD] and the Royal Spa and Health Club. The training, being held October 2-6 on the 2nd floor of the Big C Supercenter, is intended to improve the skills and professionalism of the island’s masseuses.…
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