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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Patong gears up for high season
PATONG, PHUKET: Patong Municipality will spend five million baht filling in the potholes on the unfinished Phang Muang Road that runs behind Jungceylon. Patong Mayor Pian Keesin said he hopes the work will be completed in time for the upcoming high season. The total price tag for the Phang Muang Road project, which requires completion of a three- to four-…
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Woman killed by truck in Phuket
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: A young woman died instantly on Tuesday afternoon when a pickup truck slammed into her motorbike as she tried to cross the busy Thepkrasattri Road. Sirintip Jongjalern, 26, was on her way home from work at Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC) when she pulled onto Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang and into the path of a fast-moving Toyota…
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Phuket university student becomes first swine flu fatality
PHUKET CITY: A university student who died of pneumonia at Vachira Phuket Hospital on Thursday was infected with the A(H1N1) virus that causes swine flu, lab results have confirmed.Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) chief Dr Pongsawas Ratanasang said the student was a 19-year-old in his first year of the engineering program at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus.He was…
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Phuket Governor marks Asarnha Bucha Day
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop this morning attended a Buddhist merit-making ceremony at Wichit Sankharaam Temple on Suthat Road. The ceremony was held to mark Asarnha Bucha Day, which commemorates the Lord Buddha’s first sermon. The governor and about 500 others took part in the traditional ceremony, which involves circling a chedi at the temple three times before placing…
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10-man Phuket FC slumps to yet another defeat
PHUKET CITY: New team, same old result: Phuket FC slumped to their fifth-straight home defeat on Sunday in a disappointing 2-1 loss at Surakul Stadium. The new-look Sea Dragons took the lead midway through the first half, but two Narathiwat goals either side of half-time consigned them to their sixth defeat in eight matches. Expectations were high at the outset,…
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Govt to help Phuket sea gypsies rebuild
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: The central government is preparing to build temporary housing for the 17 sea gypsy families whose modest homes were destroyed by fire on the afternoon of June 29. Social Development and Human Security Minister Issara Somchai visited what remains of the Ban Hin Look Diow sea gypsy village early on Saturday morning. For our initial report about…
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Kajonkietsuksa School issues statement on swine flu
PHUKET CITY: Kajonkietsuksa School has had two cases of swine flu and no deaths, the school management has said. School Manager Permkiat Ketkul said the school closed for a “big cleaning” on Friday after the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) confirmed a kindergarten student as having the A(H1N1) virus two days earlier. The PPHO inspected the entire school, which comprises…
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Successful salvage of Chrysalis-T, yacht returns to Phuket
PHUKET: The 77-foot yacht the Chrysalis-T, which was left floundering on the sands of Maya Bay last month after the yacht owner’s 21-year-old son ran it aground during a joy-sail with friends, was successfully re-floated on June 30.The US$2 million yacht is now back in Phuket and is being repaired at the Boat lagoon.Trouble began for the young yachtsmen when…
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Phuket gym closes temporarily
CHALONG, PHUKET: Members of the Chalong Gym on Chao Fa East Road in Phuket will be pleased to hear that the popular fitness center’s recent closure is only a temporary measure. When morning fitness enthusiasts arrived at the gym on June 27, they found the doors locked and saw that exercise equipment had been removed. Some members had recently paid…
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Phuket health officials pay surprise visit to Laguna
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: The Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) yesterday morning conducted a surprise inspection tour of the Laguna Phuket resort complex, which will host the upcoming 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers Meetings.The inspection was to ensure that water supplies, food preparation areas and hotel staff are free of disease-causing microbes during the proceedings to be held July 17 to 23,…
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Bt1m in damages from Phuket furniture shop fire
WICHIT, PHUKET : The owners of a furniture shop on Chao Fa West Road have vowed to remain in business, despite a fire that reduced half the store to ashes and caused an estimated 1 million baht in damages. The blaze broke out at the Touch Wood Furniture & Thai Advanced Solar Power Co Ltd store on Chao Fa West…
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Confusion reigns in Phuket over alcohol ban
PHUKET: Following a Cabinet resolution late last month banning alcohol sales on Buddhist holidays, the province is “asking for co-operation” from nightlife entertainment operators in closing on July 7 and 8 – but local leaders say they have yet to receive any formal orders making closure an official requirement. Tuesday, July 7 is Asarnha Bucha Day, and July 8 the…
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Security Act will have little impact on Phuket: Governor
PHUKET CITY: Invocation of the controversial Internal Security Act during the 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meetings to be held in Phuket in July will have little impact on local residents or tourists, the Phuket governor has announced.Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop said special security measures put in place under the act will be limited to Thalang district.The event is to be held at…
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Phuket school blamed for spoiled milk
PHUKET CITY: Following lab tests of spoiled milk from a school in Phuket City that saw 16 children hospitalized last month, the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) has blamed the school for storing the milk improperly. PPHO chief Dr Pongsawas Ratanasang said Piboonsawaddee School in Phuket City over-stacked cartons of the UHT milk, causing some of them to split and their contents to…
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Phuket chikungunya outbreak worsens in June
PHUKET: While much attention has been placed on the fight against the spread of swine flu in Phuket, the island is still suffering from a chikungunya outbreak and has the highest per capita infection rate of any province in Thailand. According to recently-released figures from the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO), there have been 2,155 confirmed cases of the disease…
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Phuket swine flu update: 25 cases, no deaths
PHUKET CITY: There have been 25 confirmed cases of swine flu in Phuket, according to figures released by the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) yesterday.In addition to the seven cases reported in the last update, there have been 18 additional cases: nine hotel employees and nine students at four different schools, all in Muang District.PPHO deputy director Dr Wiwat Keetamanoj…
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Phuket to become medical training center
PHUKET CITY: The Public Health Ministry plans to develop Phuket into a “medical knowledge center” where medical students will receive specialist training. The move is part of a five-year plan to double the revenue of the medical service industry to 400 billion baht by 2014 and to further establish Thailand as a medical hub and world-class spa destination. Dr Wiwat…
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Cabbages and condoms, literally
SONGKHLA: In Bangkok there is a popular restaurant chain known as Cabbages and Condoms, brainchild of well-known activist Mechai Viravaidya (aka “Mr Condom”), who has been internationally lauded for his efforts to promote condom use as a way of stopping HIV/Aids. At the restaurant, condoms, rather than mints, are served after meals. The efforts to bring together vegetables and prophylactics…
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Asean meeting: Internal Security Act to be imposed for 15 days
PHUKET CITY: Phuket will for the first time fall under the Internal Security Act (ISA) when it hosts the 42nd Asean Ministerial Meeting and related activities to be held at Laguna Phuket from July 17 to 23. Cabinet yesterday approved the strict measure for 15 days, from July 10 to 24, for an area covering the entire island and extending…
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Tragedy strikes Phuket sea gypsy village – again
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Less than five years after it was damaged by the 2004 tsunami, the Ban Hin Look Diow sea gypsy community has suffered another disaster – this time by fire.At about 1:30pm on Monday a fire broke out in one of the homes and quickly spread to sixteen others, destroying more than half of the village and leaving…
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Phuket energy exhibition ends Thursday
PHUKET CITY: To mark Thailand’s “Energy Day 2009”, some 200 people took part in a six-kilometer bike ride to Saphan Hin, where a one-week exhibition and sale of energy-saving devices attracted a lot of visitors over the past weekend. Taking part in the ride and opening event on June 26 was Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Ministry of Energy (MoE) Phuket…
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TAT bullish on Phuket tourism for 2010
PHUKET CITY: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects 14 million foreign tourists to visit Thailand next year. It also expects an additional 90 million trips by domestic holidaymakers – to Phuket, Chiangmai, Pattaya, Koh Samui and other key tourist destinations – and total revenue of 960 billion baht. If achieved, the number of inbound tourists will represent a 5.6%…
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Phuket may face draconian Internal Security Act
PHUKET: The Cabinet will today consider a proposal to apply Thailand’s Internal Security Act to Phuket during the upcoming Asean ministerial meeting which will be attended by the US Secretary of State. An informed source said this morning that the Act, if approved, would task the nation’s powerful Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), which is chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit…
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Munchies, ornaments and much more at Phuket Four Regions Festival
PHUKET: An inexpensive array of eye-catching handmade ornamental products from around the region and a wide range of locally-made “blue-flag” edible products are currently on sale at Saphan Hin in Southern Phuket until July 2.The rows of colorful stalls were set up over the weekend for the first ‘Good Food, 4 Regions & Blue Flag Festival’, which has been organized…
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Fire engulfs Patong beach road building
PATONG, PHUKET: In the latest fire to hit the beach road in Patong, an Indian restaurant, a tailor shop and a pharmacy were gutted in a pre-dawn blaze Thursday morning. The fire broke out at about 3am at a two-story building on the corner of Soi Post Office, just north of McDonald’s. Five fire engines from Patong Municipality were able…
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Phuket Airport staff sing for victory against swine flu
PHUKET CITY: Sing “Happy Birthday” to combat swine flu. Bizarre as it may sound, this was one of many pieces of advice given by public health officials during Phuket International Airport’s (PIA’s) “Big Clean Day” [sic] yesterday. But there is, in fact, method in the apparent madness. As one Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) officer explained to PIA staff, the…
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12 donate land for new Phuket Airport Road project
PHUKET CITY: A provincial plan to build a second airport road took a small step forward earlier this week, thanks to 12 private landowners who donated land for the project. The handover took place on Monday night at the Ban Prujumpha School in Tambon Thepkrasattri, where the landowners personally handed over land title deeds and related documents to Phuket Governor…
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Phuket’s tourist population swells with American seamen
PHUKET: The unprecedented arrival in Phuket of five US Navy ships at the same time has given a boost to the island’s tourism industry and local economy, with about 5,700 US sailors and marines enjoying R&R on Phuket over the next few days. The USS Boxer has returned to Phuket while on an extended tour of duty that will have…
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Beach football competition in Phuket
KARON, PHUKET: Karon Municipality is organizing a five-a-side beach football tournament in early August with 74,000 baht in prize money up for grabs. The competition, being held to celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday on August 12, will kick off on August 1. The competition is also aimed at encouraging healthy lifestyles and keeping children off drugs. Match play will take…
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Phuket may benefit, but free visas backfire on honorary consulates
PHUKET CITY: The future of honorary Thai consulates around the world is in doubt following the Thai government’s move to waive tourist visa fees until March 2010. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday announced that as of today all foreigners applying for single-entry tourist visas at Thai embassies, consulates and honorary consulates will be exempt from fees. Some…
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