News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Doctor postpones hearing into cosmetic surgery death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Doctor postpones hearing into cosmetic surgery death The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Dr Sompop Saensiri, the owner of a Bangkok cosmetic clinic, yesterday put off an appointment to testify to police about the death of a 24-year-old British woman under general anaesthesia during cosmetic surgery…
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Police ignore NHRC summons over Koh Tao rape-murder case
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police ignore NHRC summons over Koh Tao rape-murder case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police officers failed to show up before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday to answer questions related to the alleged torture of two Myanmar suspects, who are charged with murdering…
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PM wary of ‘mirror council’ checking reforms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM wary of ‘mirror council’ checking reforms The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday warned the newly-established Thailand Reform Institute (TRI) against staging political activities that might be deemed illegal and give rise to more national conflict. Announcing the establishment of the…
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Last international forces airlifted from key base in Afghan south
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Last international forces airlifted from key base in Afghan south Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A fleet of planes and helicopters airlifted the last U.S. and British forces from a key base in southern Afghanistan on Monday, a day after the international coalition closed the massive…
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Flash floods swamp Phuket’s main highway
PHUKET: Flash floods swamped a 200-meter-stretch of southbound lanes on Thepkrasattri Road in Phuket this afternoon. “The flooding started at about 3pm after heavy rain in the area,” a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker told the Phuket Gazette. “Police had to make the northbound lanes available for motorists heading in both directions in order to keep traffic flowing.” The affected area…
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Bag it up, Phuket
PHUKET: This island seems willing to bag, and double bag, almost anything – except what’s most important. The speed with which a single bottle of cola is dropped into a completely unnecessary plastic bag is astonishing. Simply asking a customer if they need a bag would show a much needed, and improved, awareness of the amount of packaging products we…
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Hardwood only: sex toy found lodged in sacred cave
PHUKET: Krabi officials removed a large, pink faded sex toy from a sacred cave this morning, after it was found mixed with traditional carved wooden phalluses. The offending item, discovered in Phra Nang Cave, started local tongues wagging when a photo of it residing in the cave appeared on a foreign website. “We believe it was left there by a…
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Bad news in Phuket
PHUKET: There’s been a lot of death in Phuket lately. It seems that stories about death and violence have been pouring in on a regular basis over the past several weeks. There was the drug-crazed maniac who chopped up his friend with a meat cleaver and tried to do the same to his girlfriend, and himself. Then, there was the…
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Say hello to Phuket’s new man in charge: Governor Nisit
Nisit Jansomwong, 52, from Ratchaburi, landed on the island earlier this month to take up the position of Phuket Governor. He has a master’s degree in administration from Chulalongkorn University, where he graduated with honors. Before coming to Phuket, Governor Nisit was governor of Ratchaburi province for one year. Here, he talks about tourism’s importance and impact on Phuket and…
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A Phuket Fable: The bowed tree and the bow saw
PHUKET: In my little piece of jungle there was a tree that had grown so verdant it had bent double with the weight of its leaves and mass of branches, so that its top-most twigs had tangled with the grass around its base. The tree’s lopsided state was also the result of a taller tree spreading its branches above and…
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American attacked, found lying on Phuket beach
PHUKET: Police are working on solving the mystery surrounding an American who was attacked and left bleeding on a Phuket beach on Saturday morning. Joggers on Karon Beach found Jonathan Mark Lemley, 28, unconscious on the sand with head injuries. “Mr Lemley was dressed in sportswear,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Patchara Boonyasit told the Phuket Gazette. “He was taken to…
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Sumatra earthquake no cause for Phuket alarm, say experts
PHUKET: An earthquake off northern Sumatra this morning measuring 5.3 in magnitude poses no threat of a tsunami in Phuket, Group Captain Somsak Khaosuwan, director of the National Disaster Warning Center, has confirmed. “There is no need for people in Phuket to panic. The earthquake in Indonesia at 7:02am will not result in a tsunami here,” he told the Phuket…
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Ancient relics discovered in Krabi thought to be over 3,000 years old
PHUKET: More than 200 ancient artifacts were discovered by chance, scattered on the floor of a cave in Krabi province, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, on Saturday. Found by a local man in Kuan Wei Dang Cave in Khlong Thom district, south of Krabi Town, the pieces included ancient ceramics, axeheads and stone tools, thought to be more than…
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Makeup artist found dead in bed
PHUKET: A man was found dead at his rented apartment with dried blood around his mouth on Friday morning, but police said there were no signs of a struggle. “Thinnakorn Hormsai, 35, from Sakon Nakhon, was found dead lying in bed at his apartment on Narison Road in Phuket Town with blood stains around his mouth,” said Lt Col Kritsana…
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No signs of Ebola in dead Briton in Phuket
PHUKET: Laboratory tests on the body of British national Martin Clark, 68, who was found dead in his Phuket condo last Thursday after returning from Nigeria, showed no signs of the deadly Ebola disease. Dr Thiravat Hemachudha, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, said yesterday that separate tissue tests by German and Chinese…
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Phuket precautions taken, but Brit visited “Ebola-free’ Nigeria
PHUKET: As a precaution, Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) officials are watching 25 people who were involved in inspecting and moving the body of a British national that medical experts are testing for the Ebola virus (story here). “They all have to pay special attention to their health and have to report to the PPHO once a week, at…
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Phuket Gazette web power scales new heights
PHUKET: Phuket’s most popular English-language Facebook page and the Gazette Online, the island’s top-ranked website (source: Google Analytics), have both landed record amounts of viewers this week with the story: Australian tourist mauled by Phuket tiger. The story, published on Wednesday, October 22, had more than 100,000 hits on the Gazette Online and reached more than 1.2 million readers on…
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Building and managing your portfolio
PHUKET: In prior articles, planning for and managing retirement was discussed. The key is getting to the end goal, which is to have a worry-free retirement. Once retirees have gone through the steps, all that’s left is to build and manage their portfolios. Portfolio management is perhaps the most critical aspect to any retirement. With the help of a trusted…
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Phuket Opinion: Tourism meets toilet humor
PHUKET: Efforts by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to clean up corruption in Phuket have had some dramatic results, steering the island toward sustainability – at least for the time being. Unfortunately, some smaller destinations, including the Phi Phi Island chain, continue to suffer from unregulated development and mass tourism on a scale that has led to…
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Phuket medical experts work to rule out Ebola in death of Brit
PHUKET: A Disease Prevention team from the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) is working to rule out Ebola as the cause of death for a British expat recently returned from Nigeria. Martin John Roberts Clark, 68, returned to Phuket on October 7. He was found dead in his condo on Thursday afternoon. “Our team was there yesterday to collect…
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Phuket tiger’s protective nature blamed for attack
PHUKET: Tiger Kingdom staff blamed the protective nature of a tiger for the attack on an Australian tourist in Phuket on Wednesday. “We believe the tiger was trying to protect our staffer, so it bit Mr Goudie. Notice that it attacked him instead of the staffer, who was standing closer to the tiger’s head,” Tanawin Boonpang, Phuket’s Tiger Kingdom supervisor,…
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Triple Tribute: Beyonce, Michael Jackson and Rihanna clones coming to Phuket
PHUKET: Triple Tribute, direct from London, will arrive on the fair shores of Phuket to pay homage to the infectious music of Beyonce, Michael Jackson and Rihanna at Laguna on November 15. Triple Tribute is a musical bonanza of powerful vocals, explosive dance routines and stunning costumes, which will accompany the artists’ top hits, anthems and ballads. “Sasha Fierce” named…
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Frenchman, 70, fights off armed robbers in Phuket
PHUKET: A 70-year-old French national fought off a pair of teens attempting to rob his female companion at knife-point in Phuket last night. David Estermann and his friend, Aurelie Allain-Lebreton, were driving along Soi Suksan 2, a poorly lit road in Rawai, when they were forced to a stop by the two teens. “They stopped their bike in front of…
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Heavyweight bike brands gearing up for Phuket market
PHUKET: Despite a fall this year in Thailand’s overall sales of motorcycles and automotive parts, big-bike sales are continuing to thrive. In Phuket, a relatively new destination for bikes over 500cc, brands like Ducati and Triumph are pushing the companies’ marketing strategies to make their famed machines accessible to everyone. “Ducati’s market strategy is to move toward developing models that…
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Myanmar nationals robbed of 30k cash in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are hunting a pair of armed robbers who stole 30,000 baht from two Myanmar nationals in Phuket on Wednesday afternoon. Ye Su Or, 21, and Priew, 17, were walking into a SuperCheap when two men drove up on a motorbike and demanded the money at knife-point. “The couple had a lot of cash so that they could buy…
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Phuket officials conduct safety inspection after fatal speedboat crash
PHUKET: Marine Department officials inspected boats at the Royal Phuket Marina yesterday in an effort to boost tourists’ confidence in the safety of speedboat tours following a horrific crash that killed two Korean tourists on Sunday (story here). Jiraporn Jantarasiri, deputy director of the Marine Department, led officials to the marina for an unannounced safety spot check. “All boats were…
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Officials hope tourists dig Phuket tin-mining festival
PHUKET: Phuket residents and tourists have been invited to join a three-day festival in Srisoonthorn to celebrate Loy Krathong and honor the island’s tin-mining history. The event will be held at the Bang Maruan Lagoon, which is located next to the site of the old Bang Maruan Mine in the center of the island, from November 4 to 6. “Locals…
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Future of Phuket’s jet-ski operators to be decided next week: officials
PHUKET: Jet-ski operators will meet with the Phuket Marine Office on Monday to discuss their fates, following a decision last week that has allowed them to temporarily park their craft on Kamala Beach (story here). “We have assigned the Phuket Marine Office to take responsibility of the issue concerning jet-ski management, as the operators must seek permission from the office…
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Video Report: Speedboat-crash victims’ bodies to be taken home
PHUKET: The bodies of two South Korean nationals recovered from the wreckage of a speedboat that sank in Phang Nga Bay on Sunday will be flown back to Korea early tomorrow morning. Search and rescue divers recovered the bodies of Ko Min Woo, 31, and An Sun Yong, 28, on Tuesday (stories here and here). Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong was…
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Phuket’s top brass declare beaches ready for high season
PHUKET: The island’s beaches are ready for the incoming high season, top-ranking Phuket-based officials announced yesterday. “We are confident that we have nice, beautiful beaches to which we can welcome tourists from all over the world,” said Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command. However, Vice Admiral Sayan noted that the beach battle has not yet…
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