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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Appeal for witnesses to attack on mayor
TUNG TONG: Police have made a fresh appeal for witnesses to the unsolved murder attempt on Patong Mayor Surasak Maneesri to come forward. But they believe that fear may be keeping witnesses quiet. Two months have passed since a gunman fired on the mayor’s Mercedes-Benz car at the traffic lights outside Tesco-Lotus. Three shots, fired at close range, went through…
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Dolphin ‘may be victim of epidemic&’
AO MAKHAM: Efforts by villagers, tourists and biologists to save a sick dolphin have been in vain, and a scientist has warned that more of the sick animals may be expected to wash up on Phuket’s shores, the victims of some kind of epidemic. The aging two-meter female striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), which was rescued from the beach at Karon…
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Water saving campaign intensifies
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Municipality and the Provincial Irrigation Office are dredging two tin mines near the town for use as reservoirs, in order to boost water stocks in case of another dry-season shortage. They will also lay pipes to draw water from another two tin mines in Kathu to top up the Bang Wad Reservoir. The reservoir can hold…
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Washed-up dolphin wins reprieve
KARON: A two-meter dolphin was rescued from Karon beach today, given medication and food, and returned to the sea within hours. Villagers tried to help the stranded striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) after a passing tuk-tuk driver saw it washed up on the north end of the beach about 7 am. When Louise O’Brien from New Zealand jogged past about 9…
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Students attend anti-drugs camp
PHUKET TOWN: More than 70 students regarded as being “at risk” have completed a special seven-day camp at Khao Pra Taew Wildlife Conservation Center. The camp, which ended on Monday, concentrated on the dangers of drugs but also dealt with underage sex and aggressive behavior. Students who had seen others fall prey to ya bah (methamphetamine) or misuse cough syrup…
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Nature lays on the fireworks, too
PHUKET: In Saphan Hin the TAT will be firing off fireworks tonight and, if the clouds clear, Phuket residents will also have an excellent opportunity to watch a natural fireworks display, in the form of a meteor shower in the early hours of tomorrow morning. The meteor shower, an annual event known as the Perseids, is expected to be visible…
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Seafood a fresh Phuket drawcard
PHUKET: A new festival, the Phuket International Seafood Festival, is to be held between November 1 and December 6 this year to tempt tourists’ tastebuds. The climax of the festival will be a street stall dine-out in Patong from December 3-6 that is expected to attract the participation of hotels and restaurants from all over the island. Ice carving, bartender…
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Gov denies reassignment rumor
PHUKET: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi today scotched rumors that he will move from Phuket in October, saying that he wants to stay another year. Widespread rumors – which the Governor admitted had reached his ears – have predicted that he would leave in October’s annual rotation of government personnel. Some rumors even speculated as to the name of his…
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Admiral ‘has no political ambitions’
AO MAKHAM: The Third Naval Area Command bade farewell today to Adm Prasert Boonthong, Commissioner of the Royal Thai Navy, in a ceremony involving 300 sailors from five provinces. Adm Prasert, who will retire on September 30 and will be succeeded by Adm Taweesak Somapa. In an exclusive interview, he told the Gazette that he had no formal retirement plans…
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Two fishermen missing, feared drowned
CHALONG: Two crewmen are missing, feared drowned, after their fishing boat sank off Racha Noi, a small island south of Phuket. Six other men from the “Por Paweena 9” were rescued by another fishing vessel. Survivors told of the boat being smashed by rough monsoon seas in darkness about 3 am last Friday (August 2). It sank soon afterwards. Lt…
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Chavalit steps in as Thaksin cancels trip
PHUKET: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has canceled a trip to Phuket tomorrow for a scheduled speech to open the national convention for members of Provincial Administration Organizations (OrBorJor). Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, will stand in for the PM, launching the two-day convention at the Royal Phuket City Hotel at 9:30 am with a speech…
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Charity opens center to help kids
PATONG: A round-the-clock center run by international charity World Vision is now operating in Patong to help children escape the sex industry, homelessness and poverty. The one-story centre, built with 800,000 baht in donations, was officially opened yesterday on Haad Patong Rd, opposite the Club Andaman Beach Resort and behind the football field. It will be run by Patong Municipality.…
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Phuket Town trash fee trebles
PHUKET TOWN: Garbage collection fees have skyrocketed for most homes in Phuket Town, from 10 baht a month to 30 baht a month. The increased rates, introduced on July 11 – nearly two months earlier than expected – have been adopted by Phuket Town Municipality because the old collection fees failed to cover costs. A house with 20 liters of…
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Tourism road show targets neighbors
PHUKET: One of the first activities organized by the newly-elected Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) committee will be a road show to Singapore and Malaysia, aimed at attracting low-season tourists. Pattanapong Aikwanich, the new president of the PTA, told a press conference this afternoon that the “Thailand Southern Paradise Road Show 2002” will run from August 13-17. Panu Massirat, Vice-President of…
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Thaksin to fly in for 1-hour speech
PHUKET TOWN: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will fly from Bangkok on Thursday to make a one-hour speech at a national convention for members of Provincial Administration Organizations (OrBorJor). The PM is scheduled to open the two-day convention at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, starting at 9:30 am, with a speech on provincial government reform. About 800 OrBorJor members are expected…
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Rain damps drought concerns
PHUKET: Continuing rain should stave off the threat of drought on Phuket and replenish water supplies, Suwin Anukul, Chief of Water Allotment of the Phuket Irrigation Project, said today. “At least we should be fine through to the end of this year,” he added. K. Suwin said the recent monsoon falls increased supplies in the Bang Wad reservoir by 800,000…
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Village chiefs bitter at ‘no guns&’ decision
PHUKET: Village leaders have protested over an Interior Ministry decision to stop awarding guns to village leaders who are voted provincial Kamnan or Phu Yai Baan of the Year. The Kamnan and Phu Yai Baan traditionally act as mediators in village disputes and are also responsible for security when police are not available. To this end, they are entitled to…
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Ya bah arrests drop by 50pc
PHUKET: The number of people arrested between July1 to July 25 on charges related to ya bah (methamphetamine) was just 28, compared to 56 during the same period in June, according to the latest statistics released by police. Police last month arrested 123 people on narcotics charges in raids that netted 455 ya bah pills, compared with 153 arrests for…
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Star Tour denies cutting back tour groups
PHUKET TOWN: A major Swedish tour organizer says it will continue to send groups to Phuket despite some misgivings it has about child labor, homeless children and child prostitution on the island. At the same time, however, Marie Hallberg – a Swedish researcher who was at the center of an earlier storm over suggestions that the company might boycott Phuket…
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Phuket kids head for Special Olympics
PHUKET TOWN: Two students from the Phuket Special School are to represent Thailand in this year’s Special Olympic Games in Japan. Fifteen-year-olds Suriyan Kwanprom and Sukasem Charoensuk were presented with 10,000 baht towards the trip when they met Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi at Phuket Provincial Hall today. The two leave Phuket on Monday to meet the other eight Thai representatives…
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Fake Dulwich papers “full of mistakes’
PHUKET TOWN: Fake Dulwich International College certificates were part of a recently uncovered Internet scam, but were of poor quality, the Phuket Provincial Education Office said today. Among the mistakes on the imitations were subjects listed that are not taught at the college and a logo that failed to match the real one. The signature on the fakes was that…
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Electricity firm opens pay kiosk at Big C
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) today opened a service counter at the Big C supercenter, on the bypass road, where consumers may pay their electricity bills. Sornchai Uparamai, the Manager of the PPEA, told the Gazette that the decision to open the kiosk was made following many complaints from customers about the hot and lengthy wait for…
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Mahouts trained to look after elephants
PHUKET: The Provincial Livestock Department today held a training seminar for mahouts from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, in which they were taught the basics of elephant health. About 50 mahouts attended the seminar at the Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong. A similar seminar last year attracted about 300 mahouts. Suwut Chalayjorn, Director of the Veterinary Service Division, explained, “The…
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Thais urged to battle corruption
PHUKET TOWN: Thai people should be more aware of corruption, a workshop to promote ethics in the community was told today. “There should be regular corruption inspections and investigations,” Pongthep Thepkarnjana, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, told the 500 people who attended the day-long gathering at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. K. Pongthep, who is also Vice Chairman of…
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Sacred tree opts for dual gender
SURAT THANI: A 400-year-old tree with branches that resemble male and female genitals has brough villagers flocking to look. Charoen Sriyong, 60, of Tambon Pak Praek in Don Sak, took reporters to see a 20-meter Lagerstroemia tree and pointed out the two limbs, each about 50 cms long. One pointing upwards resembled a penis, while another pointing downwards resembled the…
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Bank protestor shows he has balls
BANGKOK: Chuay Kotchasit had led a group of 50 people from Kanchanaburi to the Ministry of Finance in Bangkok to hand in a petition to Deputy Finance Minister Varathep Ratanakorn against the Savings Bank. Chuay had led protestors against the Savings Bank in Kanchanaburi before, when the bank refused to return the money the people had put into a fund.…
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Mayor to lead 500 on Penang junket
PATONG: The Mayor of Patong, Surasak Maneesri, is to take 500 local people on an educational tour to Penang in Malaysia next week, at a cost to local tax payers of two million baht. The money to provide the 500 travelers with free bus transport, accommodation and food from August 4-7 will come from the municipality’s human resources development budget.…
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Mangrove walk to be closed at night
PHUKET TOWN: The Mayor of Phuket Town, Phummisak Hongsyok, has announced that the two entrances to the Saphan Hin mangrove walk will be fenced off, and the walk will be closed between 7 pm and 8am every day. His announcement came after a young mechanic from Surin was murdered late on Friday when he tried to stop two men raping…
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Rules changed for EMS deliveries
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has announced that it is no longer accepting parcels or envelopes addressed to post office boxes in India, Luxembourg, Qatar, or Tanzania, for delivery via its premium Express Mail Service (EMS). EMS parcels and envelopes sent to these four countries must carry the recipient’s name and full address. Items addressed to PO boxes…
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Key Aussie probe witness turns up in Patong
PATONG: A key witness in a major Western Australian inquiry into misdeeds by the state’s police, who disappeared from Australia recently, has turned up in Patong. The witness concerned is Tony Lewandowski, an ex-detective who recently signed an affidavit concerning the rigging of evidence to secure the convictions of three brothers, Raymond, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, for the notorious Perth…
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