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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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Swiss son finds mom’s suicide note
PHUKET: A son of 61-year-old Swiss woman Ursula Balzan, whose body was found floating off Phuket’s east coast last week, has confirmed the handwriting in a suicide note as that of his mother, say police. Roman Balzan, 36, one of Mrs Balzan’s two sons, flew to Phuket from Switzerland last Sunday, Phuket City Police duty inspector Sien Keawthong told the…
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Wichit to open first ‘community dialysis center’ in Phuket
PHUKET: The first kidney dialysis center in Phuket to be run by a local administrative body is 80 per cent complete, the Mayor of Wichit has announced. Work on the five-million-baht Wichit Kidney Dialysis Center, located at the Laem Son Public Health Center on Pattana Thongthin Road, began about five months ago, he said. The center will offer dialysis for…
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MCC to play in Phuket
PHUKET: The prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced today that the first match of their Thailand cricket tour will be played at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) in Phuket. According to information received by the Phuket Gazette, “The [ACG] has been designated the venue for the first game of their [MCC] Thailand tour in February of 2012.” The news comes…
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More bluebottles wash ashore in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket coastline is still not yet clear of Portuguese man o’ war “jellyfish”, with the latest sighting by a sharp-eyed beachcomber at Patong Beach at dusk yesterday. Professional photographer Dan Hartwright was walking along the beach with his young son on his back when he noted the characteristic air bladder of one of the creatures washed up on…
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Tuk-tuks, ladyboys, sex – no subject too taboo for Phuket Punchline Comedy tonight
PHUKET: “Tonight, tonight: Comedy in Patong, you come, you see, you laugh long time!” If the Phuket Punchline Comedy Club had an announcer roaming the streets of Patong then that’s what they might say. No such luck, so we’ll do it for them. Tonight is the next installment of the Comedy Club at the Holiday Inn Resort in Patong. And…
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Strategic Airlines gets stranded Phuket Aussies home
PHUKET: Australian carrier Strategic Airlines have announced that most of its passengers from Melbourne and Brisbane who were stranded in Phuket for the past week have been flown home. Following a week-long series of flight disruptions, cancellations and delays, the airline’s efforts to fly the growing group out of Phuket paid off. “As far as I know, there are no…
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Phuket father, daughter die in paraquat murder-suicide
PHUKET: A man killed his two-year-old daughter and took his own life with lethal doses of the herbicide paraquat last week, Phuket City Police have confirmed. A witness to the tragedy, 25-year-old Aekkachai “Champ” Suksai from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, told the Phuket Gazette he was making coconut milk at a shop near Koh Sireh Circle last Thursday when he saw…
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Phuket Lomas game for UK tour
PHUKET: TEN YOUNG rugby players left Phuket on June 18 for the trip of a lifetime. Pupils from Baan Sai Nam Yen School in association with the Asia Center Foundation and the Phuket Lomas rugby team are in the UK to play in the Manchester Touraid Rugby Festival (Lomas tour blog). An eight-team tournament will be played, and include the…
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Phuket Live Wire: True 3G dongles all the way
PHUKET: I dropped by the True office in Phuket Town and discovered a number of changes. If you want “3G” HSPA service in Phuket, here’s what you need to know. In Phuket, 3G service (more accurately, HSPA service) is only available from True. True is in the process of extending 3G service on the island. In spite of what you…
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Phuket Vagabonds develop RSA rugby scholarship
PHUKET: SOUTH African rugby club Kriel Roosters strengthened existing ties with Phuket by inking a deal to develop a scholarship program for promising youth players. The Kriel Roosters, based in Pretoria, have been regular participants at the Phuket International Rugby 10s tournament, winning in 2010 and reaching the finals of this years competition. Many teams remarked on the increase in…
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Phuket sleepwalker fights for life after two-storey fall
PHUKET: A mechanic is in hospital with severe head injuries after falling from the balcony of his second-storey apartment in Rassada last night. Police believe the man was walking in his sleep at the time. Lt Col Sien Keawthong of the Phuket City Police identified the man as Worrawut Chaleewan. Thought to be in his mid-30s, Mr Worrawut fell from…
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Phuket bluebottle scare: the coast is clear
PHUKET: The invasion of Portuguese man o’ war “jellyfish” at Phuket beaches over the weekend appears to have ended, but lifeguards are keeping a watchful eye on the situation in order to ensure the safety of swimmers and beachcombers. Vitanya Chuayuan, publicity officer of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, confirmed this morning that there have been no reports of the pseudo-jellies…
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Stranded Phuket tourists get strategic in face of flight delays
PHUKET: Passengers grounded by ongoing delays and cancellations by Strategic Airlines are upbeat despite little information from the airline. Following a forced landing in Kuala Lumpur last week, the airline canceled their immediate Brisbane-Phuket services and today delayed their Melbourne-Phuket flights. “About 300 [passengers] all up. They did fly one lot of people out to Melbourne, people with children or…
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Two gunned down in Phuket gangland “misunderstanding’
PHUKET: Phuket police today presented three men charged with the gangland-style slayings of two men in Patong early yesterday morning. Nat “Chit” Nakpetch, 31, from Kathu, Somnuek “Wae” Suwanthanoo and Poochit “Max” Pookham, both 29 and both from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, were presented to media at Patong Police Station today. All three men were charged with planning and carrying out…
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Russian found hanged in Phuket police cell
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the apparent suicide of a Russian tourist while in a detention cell at Patong Police Station on Saturday night. Patong Police duty officer Pattapee Srichay confirmed the identity of the deceased as Evgeny Otrubyannikov, a 26-year-old Russian national. Mr Evgeny apparently took his life at about 10pm by using his shirt to hang himself by…
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FC Phuket score first away win against Thanayburi
PHUKET: Three wins in seven days has given new FC Phuket coach Sompong Wattana some breathing room after setting his stall out to not lose three on the trot when he joined the club just three weeks ago. A 1-0 win over Thanyaburi Rose Asia United FC in Saturday’s Toyota League Cup first round gave Phuket their first away victory…
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Westwood a bitter bridesmaid
PHUKET: “It’s amazing he’s only ever won three tournaments the amount of time he gets into contention.” Former world number one Lee Westwood offering a bitter swipe at the eternal efforts of Rory McIlroy’s to win a Major. For the record Rory is 22-years-old and now has a Major to his name. The magnanamous Mr Westwood is 38-years of age…
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40,000 voters in Phuket sign up to cast ballots for other provinces
PHUKET: Shedding a little more light on the size of Phuket’s “hidden population” is the fact that more than 40,000 people have registered for absentee ballots in the upcoming general election. According to information released earlier today by the Phuket Election Commission, a total of 40,680 people registered to vote in other provinces during the registration period that ended on…
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Portuguese Man o’ War invade Phuket
PHUKET: As if monsoon-season rip currents weren’t bad enough, the head of the island’s lifeguard association is warning the public of a new threat lurking in the Phuket surf: the dreaded bluebottle “jellyfish”. Vitanya Chuayuan, publicity officer of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, said two of the pseudo-jellies were spotted at Nai Thon Beach on Wednesday. Over the weekend there were…
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US Open a father’s day gift from McIlroy
PHUKET: NORTHERN Irish golfer Rory McIlroy won the US Open in stunning fashion early this morning, breaking 12 records in the process. The 22-year-old from the small town of Hollywood, County Down, entered the record books as the youngest player to win the title since Bobby Jones in 1923. But McIlroy etched his name in history in more ways than…
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Mystery donor gives B1mn for Phuket’s first cricket ground
PHUKET: An anonymous benefactor has stepped up to donate one million baht to the development of the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG), Phuket’s first dedicated cricket ground and clubhouse. Construction of the eagerly anticipated ACG was finally given a green light on May 31. The main financier of the project, Alan Cooke MBE, bought a parcel of land in Thalang specifically…
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Phuket Public Transport: Residents need reality U-turn, but beware the tuk-tuks
PHUKET: After 19 months of delay, it’s time to break the median strip in front of Phuket Provincial Bus Terminal 2 and finally get the buses rolling from there. [See story, front page, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.] Despite its ill-advised location, the site is an improvement over that of…
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FC Phuket through to round two of Toyota Football League Cup
PHUKET: A single goal advanced FC Phuket to the Toyota League Cup second round, defeating their lower league opponents Thanyaburi FC in Pathum Thani on Saturday. Having posted two wins in three games and accruing 12 goals in the process, Phuket’s coach Sompong Watana portrayed confidence in his pre-match comments. “Our first [Toyota League Cup] match with Thanyaburi United is…
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Chinese tourist airlifted after Phuket boat tour
PHUKET: Royal Thai Navy medevac officers scrambled this afternoon after receiving a call to airlift a Chinese tourist from Koh Racha Yai back to Phuket. Cdr Jongjaroen Jangjun, Duty Officer at the Third Naval Area Command Operations Center, told the Phuket Gazette that 53-year-old Xiao Ming Hao was on a boat trip to Koh Racha Yai, about 25 kilometers south…
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Phuket enjoys a fruity affair
PHUKET: Fruit lovers may want to make a trip to Phuket Town over the weekend, as a fair featuring the best produce from Eastern Thailand’s Chanthaburi province is now underway. Seven different types of fruit from the famed fruit-producing region are now on sale at the central stage area at Saphan Hin. The event, which began yesterday, is open daily…
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Phuket expat survives high-speed crash
PHUKET: An expat sales executive at a luxury villa resort complex in Phuket was injured when his car slammed into a power pole on the coastal road to the airport just before midnight last night. Called to the crash site, about 200 meters from Nai Yang Temple, Kusoldharm Foundation workers found a badly-damaged Toyota Vios crashed into a power pole…
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The team in front is FC Phuket
PHUKET: FC Phuket begin their Toyota League Cup campaign this afternoon playing an away fixture to Thanyaburi FC in Pathum Thani. Sixty four teams are entered in the first round with 21 games being played today. A further nine matches are scheduled for tomorrow, June 19 and the remaining two games will be played on Sunday, June 26. Thanyaburi FC…
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Phuket Poll: What is your favorite chain of convenience stores on Phuket?
PHUKET: It seems that you can’t turn a corner on Phuket without bumping into yet another new convenience store opening its doors on Phuket. Supercheap and Tops Daily convenience stores are now adding to the ever increasing number of 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Tesco Express and “mum and pop” stores on the island. Some stores sit side by side. But with…
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Mystery surrounds death of Swiss woman found floating off Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket City Police traveled to Koh Maphrao today to investigate the discovery of a Swiss woman’s body found yesterday in waters off the island’s east coast. The body was identified as 61-year-old Ursula Balzan by her relatives who lived nearby on Koh Maphrao. Her neck was broken and there were bruises around her body and mouth. Officers told the…
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Driver flees scene of lethal Phuket crash
PHUKET: The driver of a pickup truck fled the scene of a fatal crash with a motorcycle on Phuket’s west coast early this morning. The accident, involving a Honda Wave motorbike and an Isuzu D-Max, occurred near a Chinese cemetery on Srisoonthorn Road between Cherng Talay and Bang Tao at 3:30am. The motorcycle was found 15 meters from the truck,…
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