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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FC Phuket top of the league
PHUKET: FC Phuket are top of Division Two (southern section) after an emphatic 2-0 victory over previous league leaders Satun Utd on Saturday. Even more encouraging for FC Phuket fans – who turned out in record numbers to support their team at Surakul Stadium – was the manner of the performance, with the Sea Kirin dominating the game from start…
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Phuket red shirts determined to succeed
PHUKET: Phuket’s red shirts are determined to stay in Bangkok until the movement succeeds in bringing down the government, according to one of their leaders. Soonthorn Tohmharn, a local leader of the red-shirted United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), said more than 10,000 southern red shirts had joined the demonstration since Friday, with more arriving today. “I told people…
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OPINION: Lack of lifeguards intolerable
PHUKET: When it comes to showing visitors a good time, Phuket is hard to beat. But when it comes to keeping them safe, the verdict has to be: ‘Must try harder’. Much has been written recently about the ongoing carnage on the island’s roads, but during the high season now ending we’ve heard less about Phuket’s second most prolific killer,…
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Body identification easier after Phuket tsunami
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: The slow body identification process that occurred in Phuket after the 2004 tsunami has motivated researchers in Perth to build a database of skeletons to help identify bodies…
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Phuket caddies end protest
KATHU, PHUKET: Some 200 golf caddies at the Loch Palm golf course in Phuket have ended a two-day protest over the dismissal of their ‘caddy master’. Most are now back to work. The women, who began their sit-in protest at 4:30am on Thursday, originally insisted they would not return to work at the course in Kathu until the man was…
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Protests well underway in Bangkok
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: Tens of thousands of soldiers and police officers have been deployed to maintain calm in Bangkok as red-shirted protesters prepare to convert their current “rally” into demonstrations against…
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Readers’ Poll: Majority drink and drive in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: A majority of Phuket Gazette readers have operated a motor vehicle in Phuket while under the influence of alcohol, according to the latest readers’ poll. A total of 844 readers cast votes in the survey. Overall, 36.7% of readers have driven under the influence “many times”, while just over 32% have done so “a few times”. Roughly the…
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March blood drive in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society has announced the following dates and times for its mobile donation clinics for March: March 16 (1pm to 4pm): Banthai Beach Resort & Spa, Patong March 18 (1pm to 4pm): Andaman Cannacia Resort & Spa, Kata March 19 (1pm to 4pm): Diamond Cliff Resort & Spa, Patong March 25…
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Jazz dinner in Phuket: philanthropy in full swing
PHUKET: Making a special Phuket appearance, the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra hits town for two nights in the last two weeks of March. Performances are scheduled for March 20 at the Adamas Resort and Spa on Nai Yang Beach and March 27 at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. The popular big band orchestra is led by founder and veteran trumpet…
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Phuket set for historical extravaganza
THALANG, PHUKET: The year’s first performance of ‘Thalang Light and Sound’, a grand re-enactment of the Battle of Thalang featuring a cast of 700, will take place in Phuket tomorrow night. The historical extravaganza has been organized by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization at a cost of six million baht. It will run from 8pm to 9:30pm at Thalang Victory Memorial…
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Phuket cop to end greasy traffic fines
PATONG, PHUKET: In a move sure to win the hearts of foreigners, Patong’s new top police officer says he’ll end the longstanding practice of levying higher traffic fines against tourists and other foreigners than are levied against Thais. Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao, who took over from Col Grissak Songmoonnark last month, said traffic fines in Patong were ‘very high’.…
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Tourists to be routed to Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: Government sectors have teamed up to create the National Tourist Assistance Center (NTAC) to help tourists during the current mass rally against the government in Bangkok. Conducted by…
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Phuket Chinese cemetery ablaze again
PHUKET TOWN: Firefighters used almost 9,000 liters of water to put out flames that raged in the Chinese cemetery on Rang Hill in Phuket Town today. Ten firefighters in three trucks rushed to the scene after the fire started at about 1pm. It took them around half an hour to bring the inferno under control. Arthit Phromsiri, head of the…
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Phuket red shirts head to Bangkok
PHUKET: More than one thousand Phuket red shirts have reportedly left the island to take part in mass demonstrations in Bangkok. A local leader of the red-shirt United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) movement, Soonthorn Tohmharn, said there would be no demonstrations in Phuket. A huge UDD protest in Bangkok is set to take place tomorrow afternoon in a…
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NEWS Hound: Travel update for Thailand
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: Government-owned Thai media conglomerate Mcot reports that Bangkok’s major airport Suvarnabhumi has issued an advisory warning passengers check in 3 hours in advance for international flights, and 2…
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Phuket’s new reservoir project: Klong Krata
CHALONG, PHUKET: The Klong Krata Reservoir project has been delayed by several months while the agency responsible awaits approval to use Forest Department land needed for construction. The 600-million-baht project will see the construction of a 25-meter-high dam spanning 730 meters across the existing Klong Krata stream, creating a 430-rai reservoir and recreational area. The Klong Krata catchment area comprises…
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No takers for Phuket beach guard contract
PHUKET: Despite sweetening the terms of reference, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) has once again failed to attract a single bidder for the tender to supply lifeguards at the island’s beaches. An officer at the PPAO supply unit yesterday confirmed that although two companies purchased the bid plans, they failed to show at the scheduled bid opening date on…
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Tehran-Phuket flights begin soon
PHUKET: A Bangkok-based tour company will run three direct charter flights from Tehran to Phuket on a trial basis beginning March 18. The company, Homa Travel & Tour, has chartered a Mahan Air Boeing 747 for the service, Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Dubai Office Director Pramote Sapyen announced. The three flights could bring in around 1,300 tourists from Iran this…
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NEWS Hound: Phuket to smell good next month
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: From April 22-26, The Pavilions in Phuket will hold ‘Passion For Perfume’, a unique three-day programme designed specifically for couples to indulge in the sensual pleasures of scent.…
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Frenchman fleeced in Phuket banking bungle
CHALONG, PHUKET: A Frenchman is demanding damages from his Thai bank after it let another man with the same name empty his account of at least 164,000 baht. One day last November, Claude Alfred Francois Marie Prigent walked into the Siam Commercial Bank branch in Chalong and asked for a new ATM card and bank book. The bank obliged. But…
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Teen charged for fatal stabbing of boyfriend in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: A teenager charged with manslaughter said she was acting in self-defense when she stabbed her boyfriend to death early this morning. The suspect, 18-year-old Songkhla native Duangrat Romyen, was presented along with other criminal suspects at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station this morning. Miss Duangrat told police that her boyfriend, 32-year-old Phuket native Jamlong Soongnern,…
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Phuket Police nab murder suspect
PHUKET TOWN: Police on Saturday arrested a man wanted for the rape and strangling murder of 24-year-old Supercheap employee Thipkasen ‘Khwan’ Heep-phech last month. The suspect, identified as Nakhon Sri Thammarat native Sutthiporn ‘Khao’ Morasin, was arrested as he tried to leave the island at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint at 5pm on Saturday. He has denied all of the…
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German collapses, dies in Kata
KATA, PHUKET: An elderly Caucasian tourist died in the sea off Kata Beach on Friday. Witnesses said the man collapsed in the water at around 4pm. Tourists pulled him out but he was already dead. The man is believed to be a 69-year-old German who was staying at the Kanjana Guesthouse on Nanai Road in Patong. German Honorary Consul Dirk…
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Drug treatment at Vachira Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket police are at war on drugs. Rarely does a week go by without fresh arrests for narcotics possession, ranging from kids caught with a handful of pills to dealers trading shipments worth hundreds of thousands of baht. Ya bah (methamphetamine) remains the most popular, although Phuket Police recently warned that ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) is taking its…
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NEWS Hound: Sabotage worries over Thailand protests
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: The Thai government’s Situation Monitoring Committee has received information indicating possible acts of sabotage, aimed at creating chaos during the March 14 political rallies in Bangkok. PM Abhisit…
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OPINION: Why lose face over public works?
PHUKET: Thailand has a long history of public works projects that are fully completed and ready to serve the people, but then stand idle while the various forces involved squabble over division of the associated spoils. Here in Phuket, we have two important projects that fall into this category, even though authorities in both cases had plenty of time to…
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NEWS Hound: Thailand traffic concerns during protests
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: In preparation for Thailand’s mass political rally scheduled for Bangkok next Sunday, authorities will cite traffic law to ban the ‘red shirts’ from bringing in their E-taen farm…
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Phang Nga plans world mass dive record in April
PHUKET: Phang Nga Province, Phuket’s immediate neighbor to the north, is asking divers from all over Thailand to pack their fins, tanks and regulators and head to a diving festival in Thai Muang District on April 3, when there will be an assault on the world record for a mass dive. Thai Muang is about a one hour drive from…
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Historic building to become Phuket Peranakan museum
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Peranakan Association is seeking donations to help transform the old Standard Chartered Bank building into a 50-million-baht cultural museum. When completed, the classic two-story Sino-Portuguese building at the corner of Phuket and Phang Nga Roads in Phuket Town will be designated as the ‘Phuket Provincial Baba Museum’. Phuket Peranakan Association President Dr Kosol Teng-uthai said the…
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NEWS Hound: Officials concerned about Phuket as terrorism rises in deep south
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily, pocket-sized packet of news from around the world, compiled by Phuket Gazette reporters for foreigners who want it short, sharp and straight to the point. PHUKET: Thai and U.S. officials are preparing for another year of unrest due to the continuing insurgency in the Muslim Malay-dominated provinces in Thailand’s ‘deep south’. Officials are bracing…
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