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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Phuket Sports: Premier League round up and look ahead
PHUKET: Top flight referee Mark Clattenburg, has been accused by Chelsea of using “inappropriate language”, including alleged racist comments to John Obi Mikel and Juan Mata during last weekend’s loss to Manchester United. The official caused controversy during the game before these allegations came to light by sending off Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres in Chelsea’s 3-2 defeat. To compound…
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Phuket Sports: Red Bull’s Indian take-away keeps them ahead
PHUKET: The 2012 season was McLaren’s to lose, and they lost it. In a smoggy and boring Indian GP, Red Bull reaffirmed its control. As in Korea, Sebastian Vettel dominated for the second successive year. Mark Webber had a KERS problem, so Fernando Alonso managed second place for Ferrari. McLaren chose the wrong tyre strategy and underperformed until they switched…
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Destitute British man in death plunge
PHUKET: A financially destitute 64-year-old British national took a plunge from a radio mast at the Phuket Tourist Police Station in Phuket Town this morning.Tourist Police Sgt Maj Phayong Tipsombat, who was on duty at the station, told the Phuket Gazette that about 7:15am he heard shouting from the back of the police station and went to investigate. On discovering…
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World News: Two toddlers among the dead as toll spirals from Sandy; Fury race to go ahead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scope of Sandy’s destruction widens; Death toll spirals Reuters PHUKET: From New York City’s Staten Island to the popular beach towns of the Jersey Shore, rescuers and officials today faced growing evidence of widespread destruction wrought by super-storm Sandy, mounting anger over delayed relief and a…
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Police recover B2.5mn from Phuket bank heist
PHUKET: Police this morning recovered 2.5 million baht in cash believed to have been stolen during the armed robbery of a suburban bank branch in Phuket on Wednesday. Officers moved in at 9am and raided a house in a street opposite the Tah Reua Shrine in Thalang, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat told the Phuket Gazette. He also revealed…
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Show some respect – Wenger
PHUKET: Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has called on fans to “show respect” to Manchester United’s Robin Van Persie when he faces his old club for the first time tomorrow. The Dutch striker spent eight years with the Gunners before shifting to Manchester United in the close season for a reported 24 million pound transfer fee. Arsenal travel north to Old…
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US$245mn approved for Myanmar from World Bank
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World Bank earmarks US$245 million for Myanmar, outlines 18-month work plan ReutersPHUKET: The World Bank yesterday earmarked US$245 million in credit and grant funding for Myanmar under an 18-month work plan, the first lending to the southeast Asian nation in 25 years and another sign the country…
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Market vendors protest relocation from new Phuket hospital site
PHUKET: About 50 market vendors gathered at the Phuket Provincial Office yesterday afternoon to protest being relocated to a new market site near Phuket Country Home in Chalong. The vendors are facing eviction from their current site of 10-rai where the Chalong Clinic (also called the “Chalong Health Promoting Station”) now stands, but is hoped to soon become home to…
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World News: CIA deny calls for help rejected during Benghazi attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community CIA officials in Libya made key decisions during Benghazi attacks Reuters PHUKET: CIA officials on the ground in Libya dispatched security forces to the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi within 25 minutes and made other key decisions about how to respond to the waves of attacks…
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Thailand News: Park fees cut; BMA told to pay; Myanmar opium output rises
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New parks chief cuts entry fees Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Admission fees to 29 national parks have been significantly reduced thanks to an order signed by new Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) chief Rerngchai Prayoonvej. Rerngchai signed documents yesterday canceling rules…
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Toddler, grandfather drown at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A 2-and-a-half-year-old boy and his grandfather drowned at Mai Khao Beach in Thalang, in the north of Phuket, this morning during a walk along the beach. Sem Meesak, 57, dropped his wife off at work at a nearby resort at about 9am, then took his grandson, Anachin Meesak, to Pru Jeh San Lake for a walk, Tah Chat Chai…
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Similan National Park opens, fees remain the same for Phuket tourists
PHUKET: The Similan National Park officially re-opened today with its park fees remaining unchanged as Phuket’s tourism high season approaches. Admissions fees were expected to take a sharp jump after Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) chief Damrong Phidet, now retired, announced in September the need to increase the price of fees to raise money to carry…
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Honors even between Bangkok and Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) hosted the touring British Club Bangkok (BCB) cricket team last weekend at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG). Two games were played with the PCG team winning the 30-over game on Saturday, whilst the BCB team won the T20 match on Sunday. A unique match format was invented for the 30- over game played on…
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World Sports: Halloween nightmare for the “Red Devils”
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World sporting news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Reuters / Gazette EditorsPHUKET: Chelsea came from behind three times to overhaul Manchester United 5-4 after extra time and book a spot in the League Cup quarter-finals last night, earning sweet revenge for Sunday’s controversial 3-2 league defeat. Holders Liverpool, fielding a weakened side for…
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Chinese tourist dies in Phuket after speedboat accident
PHUKET: A 24-year-old Chinese woman died in Phuket International Hospital this morning after being involved in a heavy collision between two speedboats off Koh Khai island in Phang Nga Bay yesterday.Chinese tourist Kang Xiao Xue was rushed to Phuket along with “many others” who sustained injuries in the collision, the Phuket Gazette was told.She was one of three tourists who…
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Might not be Phuket “Minute Man’ bank robber’s first heist: Police
PHUKET: The “Minute Man” who made off with 2.7 million baht in a bank robbery yesterday displayed similar behaviors to the uncaught bank thief who robbed a Kasikorn Bank branch in Witchit January last year, said Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong. In both cases, the robbery was made at gunpoint by a man wearing a helmet and took less…
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B100k reward offered for Phuket bank robber
PHUKET: Police are offering a 100,000-baht reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the man who robbed a Kasikornbank (KBank) branch on the north side of Phuket Town yesterday. The robber escaped with an estimated 2.7 million baht. Police believe the man received “inside assistance” in carrying out the robbery and are now questioning six suspects for…
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UN says Myanmar must protect Rohingya minority Muslims
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar must protect Muslims and halt discrimination, U.N. says ReutersPhuket: U.N. human rights investigators called on Myanmar yesterday to halt deadly sectarian violence and warned it not to use the conflict as a pretext to remove Rohingya minority Muslims. Some 89 people have been killed in…
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World News: Obama edges into the lead in U.S. presidential race
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Race tight in 4 states, Obama holds slight edge Reuters President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are neck and neck in four of the most hotly contested states in next week’s election, but Obama holds a slight advantage in two of them, according to a…
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Cheats, thugs will not be tolerated, Governor assures Phuket honorary consuls
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has assured the honorary consuls resident in Phuket that the provincial administration will do its utmost to rid the island of cheats and thugs targeting or attacking tourists. The news came at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday where Czech Republic Honorary Consul in Phuket Anurak Tansiriroj and Finland Honorary Consul in Phuket Pamuke…
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Phuket bank robber escapes with B2.7mn in 60 seconds
PHUKET: An armed man clad in a black jacket and wearing a motorbike helmet robbed the Kasikornbank branch near SuperCheap, just north of Phuket Town this afternoon, making off with 2.7 million baht. The man was recorded by the bank’s CCTV cameras entering the branch on Thepkrasattri Road at about 3pm. Armed with a homemade handgun, the man threatened one…
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Phuket’s 100% helmet campaign rides on
PHUKET: More than 15 people die every month in road accidents in Phuket, most riding a motorbike without a helmet.The news came at a road safety awareness seminar at Phuket Rajabhat University on Monday, headed by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat.Also present at the seminar were Phuket Provincial Health Office Deputy Director Dr Wiwat Seetamonotch and officers from other…
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World News: WWII bomb closes airport; Storm update; Syrian airforce attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Discovery of WWII bomb forces closure of Japanese airport Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Nearly 100 flights were canceled yesterday after an unexploded bomb believed to be from World War II was found near the runway of a major airport in northeastern Japan, local authorities said. Flights…
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Phuket Business: Rebalancing your stock portfolio
PHUKET: One thing you should do at least once each year as an investor, is re-balance your investment portfolio. I have come across many people who put together a good portfolio, but then, because of not re-balancing, have rode many of their best holdings up and back down. Simultaneously, they are under-invested on holdings that have their best returns many…
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Missing Phuket tourist scare prompts park safety review
PHUKET: Local officials are looking into how to make trekking in Phuket national parks and wildlife reserves safer, following two British tourists losing their way and having to spend the night in the wild at Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife & Forest Reserve. Mohammed Samir El Shimi, 28, and Hanna Zareen, 26, were discovered early this afternoon by a local villager…
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World News: Myanmar’s volatile Rakhine region gripped by fear
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fear, mistrust grip Myanmar’s volatile Rakhine region Reuters / Gazette EditorsPHUKET: As security forces police the edgy aftermath of sectarian bloodshed in western Myanmar, fearful Buddhists and Muslims are arming themselves with homemade weapons, testing the government’s resolve to prevent a new wave of violence.Despite government claims…
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Chinese tourist airlifted to Phuket “recovering well’
PHUKET: The Chinese tourist who was airlifted from Racha Yai Island by a Royal Thai Navy medivac helicopter yesterday after suffering serious heart palpitations is recovering well, staff at Vachira Hospital Phuket reported today.“Mr Li Qi Feng, 39, is conscious and fully responsive, but he is still suffering from chest pains,” said coronary care unit Nurse Maliwan Arthan.Staff at the…
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Live Wire: A 3G auction in a 4G world – part 1
PHUKET: After years of delays, political infighting, legal maneuvering and insider manipulation, the trough finally stabilized long enough for Thailand to complete its auction of “3G” airspace. As I’ve remarked before, Thailand appears to be the last country in the world to officially allocate channels for HSPA (“3G”) signals. North Korea and Zimbabwe, the other two global holdouts, have offered…
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Local finds missing Phuket tourists alive and well
PHUKET: The two tourists who disappeared yesterday while trekking through the Khao Phra Taew Wildlife & Forest Reserve in central Phuket were found alive and well today.British tourists Mohammed Samir El Shimi, 28, and Hanna Zareen 26, were discovered early this afternoon by a local villager named only as “Ms Suphatra” who was walking through the park.Police and park officers…
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Phuket Business: Krabi marina to steam ahead
PHUKET: Two months ahead of Krabi Boat Lagoon’s (KBL) first anniversary, the owners of the Thai Andaman coastal province’s only full-service, full-facility marina, remain optimistic about the region’s tourism, hospitality and boating future. Speaking to the Phuket Gazette at KBL’s 18-year-old brand-parent Phuket Boat Lagoon (PBL), Sriya Yongsakul, the deputy managing director of both marinas, affirmed that all objectives for…
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