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.
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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Body of missing Phuket fisherman found in Phang Nga
PHUKET: A Phuket fisherman’s body was found in Phang Nga this morning, after he was reported missing from Mai Khao yesterday. Aroon Singkhala, 63, disappeared during a fishing trip at a mangrove forest at Mai Khao, confirmed Sarit Bootnongsaeng, deputy superintendent of the Tah Chat Chai Police. “He went missing in the morning. When he did not return in the…
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Second turtle killed by propellers in Krabi this week
KRABI: Marine officials are urging boat operators to slow down and take greater care while plying Phang Nga Bay, after the body of a green sea turtle washed ashore in Phi Phi National Park on Saturday. Officers believe the endangered animal was killed by a boat propeller. “The turtle is about 90 centimeters long and weighs about 40 kilograms. The…
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Island View: Phuket’s perennial road-flooding problems during rainy season
PHUKET: With the return of the rains last week, Phuket’s perennial road-flooding problems also made a dramatic comeback. But not on one stretch of highway that has been blighted for over a decade by impassably deep puddles. The junction by the TOT’s main office on Chao Fa West was transformed into a no-go lake with every heavy tropical downpour –…
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DSI looks into more mangrove encroachment cases
PHUKET: Officers from the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) on Friday surveyed and collected information on two plots of land suspected to overlap the mangrove forest at Baan Kuku. The DSI team was joined by officers from the Navy and Rassada Municipality. “Locals claim that the land in Baan Kuku Moo 3 is public land, dating as far back as…
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Phuket international school eyed for takeover
PHUKET: The British International School Phuket (BISP) is in talks with global education provider Nord Anglia, which is making a bid to take over the school’s operations. In a letter addressed to parents last week, BIS CEO Apiwat Ourairat stated that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the school and Nord Anglia over the potential lease of…
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Phuket to host sixth Toyota Motorsport event
PHUKET: Get ready for some motorsport fun at Saphan Hin next month, as Toyota Motorsport returns to Phuket with its ‘Fast Fun Fest’ series for the sixth year running. Phuket Vice Governor Prajiad Aksornthammakul joined Toyota executives at the event press conference in Phuket Town on Friday as Toyota announced its 30th year of motorsports this year. Toyota will also…
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Boiler explosion injures two at Krabi palm oil factory
KRABI: Two workers were injured, one of them seriously, when a boiler exploded yesterday at a palm oil refinery in Khao Phanom, Krabi. Police reported that the boiler exploded around midday. Officers arrived to find palm oil spilled throughout the facility. The two injured workers were taken to Khao Phanom Hospital. Ekkachai Sawaddiwong, 21, was released from the hospital yesterday.…
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Sea gypsies plead for DSI help
PHUKET: The Rawai sea gypsy community, involved in an ongoing land dispute with a developer, submitted a letter to a Department of Special Investigations (DSI) team yesterday. A sea gypsy representative, Nirund Yangpan, met with a DSI team in Phuket Town. Mr Nirund reportedly urged the team to prove the legality of a walkway that the sea gypsies use to…
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Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74 Phuket Gazette / Reuters US: Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, unprecedented flair for showmanship, and controversial stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died on Friday aged 74,…
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One tourist killed, seven trapped in Koh Chang hotel collapse
KOH CHANG: One tourist was killed and seven others were trapped inside a two-story beachfront hotel on Koh Chang when it collapsed following torrential rains this morning. Koh Chang police commander Col Arwat Pibulsawat said the Siam Beach Hotel near Siam Beach in Kaibae Village tumbled down at 6am. He said a two-year-old child was among the trapped tourists. Rescuers…
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Key sectors to watch out for in the stock market
PHUKET: May to October is often a season of choppy sideways action. The old adage, ‘Sell in May and go away,’ already appears to be holding true as over the last three weeks, US markets and global markets have pulled back from overhead resistance levels on their technical charts. The Nasdaq index in particular is looking bad as tech, semiconductor…
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Rescuers remove mating pythons from pipes
PHUKET: Rescue workers yesterday removed two four-meter long pythons found mating behind a house in Mai Khao. “Locals reported the incident to us about 9:45am. When we arrived, they were hiding in the cement drainpipe behind the house,” said Chokdee Inthaklab of the Mai Khao Administrative Organization (OrBorTor). “The drainpipe is very deep, so we had to pry them out…
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Phuket teens concoct ‘legal high’ using pharmacy drugs
PHUKET: A dangerous new drug mixture known as ‘gas’ is gaining popularity among Phuket teenagers and others in the southern region. The drug – prepared by mixing cough medicine, allergy medicine, pain killers, or muscle relaxants with a soft drink or other mixer – has yet to be declared illegal. Currently, pharmacists are allowed to sell these drugs to walk-in…
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Opinion: Limiting the damage to Thailand’s precious resources
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette supports the government’s efforts to return stolen mangrove land to the state, only if the investigation can be conducted in a fair and transparent way, that punishes the real wrongdoers and limits damage to innocent third parties. Dating back to the start of the tin mining era in the 1930s, the destruction of mangrove forests at…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Waiting 20 minutes for a roti
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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UN issues statement after more horrors discovered at Tiger Temple
KANCHANABURI: Authorities continue to discover evidence suggesting that the once-popular tourist destination Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno, better known as the Tiger Temple, was involved in the sale of exotic animal parts. Stickers touting ‘Supplementary Food: The Power of Tiger’ and ‘Young Antler Herbs’, were found inside the temple yesterday. One monk was among those arrested, after authorities caught…
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Samui drug addict dies while in custody
SAMUI: Officials are investigating the death of a man who was being held in custody at the Bo Phut Police Station in Koh Samui yesterday. “Kosin Tongjutha, 44, originally from Nothanburi Province, was found dead in his jail cell with no signs of a struggle,” said Lt Col Denduang Tongsisuk of the Bo Phut Police. “A urine test has confirmed…
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Phuket university aims to produce young tourism ambassadors
PHUKET: The Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus held a Young Tourist Ambassador 2016 (Young TAMB) camp to support quality tourism in the Andaman region from May 26 to 31. “We recruited 58 students from various schools in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Ranong,” said Asst Prof Dr Rattana Wetprasit, director of the community college of PSU-Phuket Campus.…
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Four jailed, heavily fined for land theft
PHUKET: Four Thais have been convicted for forging land title documents, claiming ownership over more than 400 rai of Sirinath National Park, government officials announced on Wednesday. The felons face up to 14 years in prison and more than nine million baht each in fines, announced the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) Director-General Thanya Netithammakun. He…
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MOTS director ready for new beginning
PHUKET: Santi Pawai, the director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Phuket Office (MOTS), is being transferred to the position of director at the Institute of Personnel Development for Physical Education and Sports in the Department of Physical Education. “The order will come into effect on June 8 but until then, it’s business as usual,” Mr Santi told the…
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Third time unlucky for store stick-up man
PHUKET: Police caught a convenience store robber yesterday after his third armed hold up in Phuket. “The robber, named by police as Veerachai Singniew, 26, was arrested in Pa Khlok yesterday afternoon after he robbed a Family Mart in Baan Lipon, holding up staff with a 28cm-long kitchen knife. Police tracked the man down to his home in Pa Khlok…
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Two dead, two seriously injured in rain-drenched Krabi crash
KRABI:Two people were killed and two more seriously injured in a mid-morning car crash in Krabi. “Reports of the accident came in about 10:30am. It took place near the Nua Khlong junction,” said Lt Col Suthorn Kampaphan of the Nua Khlong Police. “A white SUV was wedged into a brown pick-up truck, with two people trapped inside each vehicle.” Rescuers…
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Red Cross blood donation drive schedule for June
PHUKET: Mobile blood donation clinics will be popping up all over the island this month, the Phuket Red Cross announced today. The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is hoping to supplement its limited supplies of O, A, and AB blood types. “We need to maintain a daily minimum of 200 units of these blood types, in addition to 20 units…
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DMCR task force charges 22 shrimp farmers
PHUKET: A Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) task force has charged 22 shrimp farmers in Phuket for encroaching on mangrove forests. Officers from the 120-man inter-agency task force, dubbed ‘White Shark’, conducted raids throughout forests on the island’s east coast from May 29-31. DMCR Deputy Director-General Sakda Wichiansin said that White Shark inspected 34 plots of land, covering…
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Vandals damage clown fish sculpture in Krabi
KRABI: A clown fish sculpture was damaged by unknown vandals yesterday, leading to a disappointed Facebook post by Krabi City Mayor Keeratisak Phukaoluan. “Whoever did this is heartless,” said Mr Keeratisak in his post. “The sculpture was built using public taxes in order to accentuate the beauty of the province for tourists. It is damaged at the tail and was…
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Provincial court convicts four for forging land documents
PHUKET: Four Thais have been convicted for forging land title documents, claiming ownership of more than 400 rai of Sirinath National Park on the northwest coast of Phuket, the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) announced yesterday. The felons face up to 14 years in prison and more than nine million baht each in fines, said DNP…
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Four suspected insurgents, one ranger killed in Narathiwat clashes
THAILAND: Four suspected insurgents and a ranger were killed in two clashes in a mountainous area in Narathiwat’s Chanae district yesterday. The first clash occurred about 7am, when Narathiwat task force troops and rangers launched a joint operation to raid a camp of the suspected insurgents in the mountainous area behind I-Kros village in Chang Puean sub district. Intelligence agencies…
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The financial and legal steps involved in starting a small business
PHUKET: To pick up from where I left off last time, let’s discuss the financial and legal steps involved in starting a small business. Plan your financials: Whether you are putting in a couple of months’ salary, or your entire life savings, finances need to be properly laid out. Many of us make the mistake of putting in too much…
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Rescuers free taxi driver pinned to steering wheel
PHUKET: An airport taxi driver pinned against the steering wheel of his vehicle had to be pried out after the car crashed into a power pole this morning. The driver, Chakri Jaruwateekul, is in serious condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital. He was unconscious after rescue workers cut him out of the Honda Civic. “It took about 30 minutes to get…
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Gas station attendants criminally responsible for customers who don’t hang up
PHUKET: Gas station attendants will be held legally responsible for ensuring that drivers turn off their engines and put away their cell phones at the pump, officials from the Department of Energy Business (DOEB) confirmed Sunday. DOEB issued a new law to this effect, according to which, if gas station attendants are caught disobeying regulations, they will be fined a…
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