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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Chai-Anan elected Kathu mayor
KATHU: By exactly 1,000 votes, Chai-Anan Suttikun beat rival candidate Somkid Choosawat in the October 12 election for Mayor of Kathu, Phuket Election Committee (PEC) Director Supap Akkam has confirmed. Mr Chai-Anan, representing the Rak Kathu (Love Kathu) party, garnered 4,815 votes, while Mr Somkid from rival party Kathu Pattana (Kathu Development) secured 3,815 votes. The result makes Mr Chai-Anan…
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Man charged with Tesco midnight robberies
TAH CHAT CHAI: Stepped-up security at the Tah Chat Chai police checkpoint has resulted in the arrest of a man wanted for stealing merchandise valued at more than 100,000 baht from the Tesco-Lotus store on the bypass road. At a press conference led by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongthong on Friday, the suspect was identified as Manorom Aksorniem, from…
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Man arrested for murder at Khao Khad Viewpoint
WICHIT: Phuket City Police took just 12 hours to arrest one man for the brutal stabbing and shooting murder of a bank employee on the night of October 12, but another key suspect in the case remains at large. According the the Phuket Provincial Police website, Phuket City Police Duty Officer Nanon Pitakkulthon was notified on October 13 that a…
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Truck gone wild, but nobody hurt
PHUKET: A truck crashed through a roadside wall and careened down a steep embankment after its brakes failed this afternoon. No one was hurt in the accident, which occurred at about 5pm on Ake-Wanich Rd where nearby hillside land is being cleared for the construction of several apartment blocks.
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Two survive family “wipeout’ attempt
SAKOO: Police are investigating two possible motives for the shooting attack that left two rubber tappers dead and a third critically injured high in the Layan hills on Friday afternoon. Tah Chat Chai Police Inspector Somkid Khaosang identified the two deceased as Suppachai Nuan-eung and Boonrit Inthong. Both men were found dead at their hillside home, located off Layan Rd…
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Salang revives threat
BANGKOK (The Nation): Police General Salang Bunnag yesterday revived his threat to “retake” Government House from the anti-government protesters, saying that his planned operation would begin after a religious ceremony to be held nearby on Wednesday. Salang, a former deputy police chief, said he would lead more than 1,000 inactive or retired policemen to retake the compound and return it…
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TAT awards Dusit Laguna Phuket best hotel in South
PHUKET: Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has won the 7th Thailand Tourism Award 2008 from the TAT for being the best hotel in the South with over 80 rooms. Criteria considered by the judges included the level of service, attention to protecting natural resources and the environment, sustaining art and culture, self-sufficiency and corporate social responsibility. General Manager of Dusit Thani…
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Google Maps launched for Phuket businesses
PHUKET: The Gazette Guide, Phuket’s local business directory (yellow pages), has today announced the availability of Google Maps to its roughly 4,000 listed businesses. Users of the online version of the directory can now pinpoint precisely where a business is located – a major benefit in a community where postal addresses are often more confounding than enlightening. An example of…
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PAD protest on National Police Day
PHUKET CITY: Ceremonies on Monday morning marking National Police Day had some unexpected guests, when some 300 People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters turned up to express their anger at the death of two PAD protesters who died from injuries sustained in clashes with police outside Parliament in Bangkok on October 7. Despite the unexpected guests, the ceremony got underway…
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Ruling party tense after PM Somchai’s royal audience
BANGKOK (The Nation): Repoters and People Power Party MPs were scrambling last night to try to verify claims that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat might dissolve Parliament. A grim-looking Somchai was tight-lipped upon his return from a royal audience with HM the King in Hua Hin, saying only that he gave the monarch “a normal report” on government work. When asked…
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Chinese gas canisters to be recalled, destroyed
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Royal Thai Police will recall all Chinese-made tear-gas canisters that are now blamed for causing horrific injuries and deaths to People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) demonstrators during last Tuesday’s clash outside Parliament. The recalled canisters will be destroyed, Ordnance and Quartermaster Division Commander Phuwadon Wuttakanok said yesterday. “The firing test shows that tear-gas canisters supplied by…
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Governor Niran to be transferred to Bangkok
PHUKET: After serving eight years in Phuket, Governor Niran Kalayanamit will now leave the province, the state-run NBT news agency has announced. Governor Niran was initially transferred to Phuket as a vice-governor and was promoted to governor on November 1, 2006. His request to be transferred to his native Bangkok has been approved, where he will take up the post…
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Province launches mobile “anti-poverty” clinic
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Province this morning launched a “Mobile Anti-Poverty Clinic” aimed at eliminating poverty in the province in accordance with government policy. The opening festivities took place on the grounds in front of Phuket Provincial Hall this morning, with Phuket Vice Governor Tri Augkaradacha presiding. Naep Sinthong, who heads the province’s community development services unit, said the project is…
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Bangkok Airways gears up for high season
BANGKOK: Bangkok Airways will increase frequency on its Bangkok-Phuket and Phuket-Samui routes during the high season with a new schedule that starts on October 26, the carrier has announced. For the Bangkok-Phuket route, flights will leave Suvarnabhumi Airport at 8.10 am, 11.45 am and 5:30 pm. Flight time is just under 1.5 hours. For its Phuket-Samui route, flights will leave…
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Candid camera, Patong style
PATONG: Philanderers be warned: Phuket’s premier adult entertainment district is gearing up for a huge expansion in its closed-circuit television (CCTV) coverage, with real-time images of the action along Soi Bangla to be available to the public online 24 hours a day by year’s end, according to the town’s top cop. Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark told the Gazette…
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Chalong Police step up patrols
CHALONG: In an effort to step up security at the south end of the island, Chalong Police on October 4 set up checkpoints on all five roads leading to Chalong Circle and increased night-time patrols in the Rawai Beach area. On October 8, a duty officer told the Gazette that no more muggers were caught, but two foreigners were found…
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Drinking session takes tragic turn
SUKHOTHAI: The more dipsomaniacal among us will most likely have had the unsettling experience of coming round, after a heavy session, not quite sure where we are or how we got there.Usually, this can be rectified by stumbling out, flagging down a taxi and demanding to be taken home, hopefully before the full force of the hangover sets in.One unlucky…
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Man arrested for Nanai Rd murder
PATONG: Phuket City Police early Saturday morning arrested a man for the stabbing murder of a woman who ran a snooker club and bar on Nanai Rd. Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnak identified the deceased as 31-year-old Krongjit Kantakart, from Lamphun province. Miss Kronjit’s murder was reported to Kathu Police at 1 am by her boyfriend, Suppachai Julawong, owner…
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Pork sales plunged during Vegetable Frenzy
PHUKET CITY: Much has been written about high prices of vegetables during the Vegetarian Festival, especially with recent flooding in other parts of the country destroying crops. But the 10-day period of vegetable-only consumption also had an impact on meat prices, especially in Phuket City, where the ethnic Chinese who make up the bulk of those taking part are typically…
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Deputy PM Chavalit resigns
BANGKOK (The Nation): Deputy Prime Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh tendered his resignation this morning to take responsibility for police brutality against anti-government demonstraters in Bangkok last night. For photos of the violence, click here. Gen Chavalit was deputy prime minister in charge of security. He is reported to have resigned in shame at the use of violence by the government…
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Phuket PAD mobilizes to join Bangkok protest
PHUKET CITY (Gazette, Nation): Following the clash between People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters and police outside Parliament in Bangkok early this morning, the Phuket PAD held a press conference at the ASTV office at 9 am to discuss their response. Led by Natjarong Ekpermsup, a panel of PAD representatives told the press that the Phuket PAD will now mobilize…
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Phuket PAD to join Bangkok protest after Veg Fest
BANGKOK (The Nation, Gazette): Despite the recent arrests of two key People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders, the group’s Phuket members will refrain from taking any action in the province until the end of the Vegetarian Festival 2008 that ends tomorrow, its leadership has confirmed.Following the arrest of core PAD leader Chaiwat Sinsuwong last Friday, Southern region PAD coordinator Sunthorn…
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Child Labor in Phuket shames Junta
PHUKET: Burmese daily newspaper True News was ordered by the Press Scrutiny and Registration Board of Myanmar to suspend publication for two months, following its publication on September 30 of a large image depicting a Burmese child working on a construction site in Phuket.Mr Yeni, News Editor at The Irrawaddy, told the Gazette that, “An anonymous freelancer in Rangoon told…
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Phuket to host huge medical tourism conference in ’09
PHUKET: In September 2009, Phuket will host more than 1,200 delegates of The World Medical Health Tourism Conference: A New Way Forward in 2009, Karon-based event organizers SOS Medical Tourism Services have announced. Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)’s participation and sponsorship of the event aims to promote Thailand as a destination for medical tourism, as well as for international…
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Top doc warns of Veg Fest virus threat
PHUKET CITY: The Vegetarian Festival is ostensibly a period of purity, but the Phuket Provincial Heath Office has nevertheless issued a statement warning people about the risks of HIV/Aids and hepatitis infection during the 10-day event. Phuket Public Health Office chief Dr Paisan Worrasathit told the Gazette, “We are cautioning people who hurt themselves with puncture wounds from items such…
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VIPs get familiar with Bangla
PATONG: Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat last night greeted tourists amidst the bright lights and booming sounds of Patong’s Soi Bangla, the heart of the island’s adult nightlife entertainment industry. Mr Weerasak was accompanied by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukban, Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark and a number of foreign ambassadors. The diplomats are…
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Dengue conference will go on, says Hilton
KARON: Reports that the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa is planning to cancel the upcoming international summit on dengue fever out of fear of a People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest at the resort are unfounded, a hotel spokesperson has confirmed. The Thai-language Manager online news service this morning reported that the hotel’s management called the Ministry of Public…
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‘Immigration Cards’ coming by year end
BANGKOK (TNA): A new immigration card will be introduced for Thais and foreigners who frequently enter and leave Thailand, the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA) has reported. The agency quoted Immigration Police chief Pol Lt Gen Chatchawan Suksomchit as saying holders of the “Immigration Card” will include those who travel in and out of the country three to five times…
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Coming soon: “5-Star Slaughterhouse’
PHUKET CITY: Even as tens of thousands of Phuket residents walk the streets in all-white clothing and abstain from meat, plans are afoot to build what authorities are describing as a “5-star” slaughterhouse capable of butchering up to 100 pigs per hour. The Phuket Provincial Livestock Office announced the project as part of its plan to designate Phuket as Thailand’s…
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Can I have your wife?
LOEI: A long friendship ended in tragedy on the night of August 30, when a man visiting his buddy’s house without warning asked if he could have his friend’s wife.At 7 am on August 31, Pak Chom Police duty officer Thongphum Premlao received a call from a villager, who reported a dead body hidden in a banana plantation near Ban…
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