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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Italian expat arrested for stealing from Phuket temple
PHUKET: An Italian expat down on his luck was arrested yesterday after he stole 100 baht from a donation box at a Phuket temple. Monks at Karon Temple (Wat Suwankirikhet – map here) reported to police that a man had stolen money from a donation box several times, said Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Sophon Borirak. When police viewed the temple…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Kerry – Syrian chemical weapon use undeniable; Indian Govt criticised over rape cases; Homeless man crushed in Ireland
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Kerry: Use of chemical weapon in Syria ‘undeniable’ Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that the evidence of a massive deadly chemical attack last week was “undeniable” and accused the Syrian government of trying to cover it up, signalling the United…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Flavored meth for kids; Illegal van kills 9; Photo visas; Govt to placate farmers; Red Bull heir case deferred – again
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Flavored ‘yaba’ aimed at kids The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Parents should keep an eye on their children as a new form of flavoured meth-amphetamine pill is being distributed via Facebook, authorities said yesterday.“We found that yaba makers are trying to change their product to meet the…
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Brown Patong Bay blamed on algae bloom
PHUKET: Phuket’s leading environment officer today speculated that the color of the seawater at Patong Bay turned an off-brown over the weekend possibly due to a “plankton bloom”. The news comes two days after officials staged a press event, led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, promoting the launch of a campaign to regularly test the quality of seawater at Phuket’s…
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Phuket police call for public’s help in identifying cafe thief
PHUKET: Phuket City Police today released CCTV images of a man who robbed a cafe at the top of Rang Hill on August 5. “We’ve searched for the man ourselves, but couldn’t find him. We are now releasing these images with the hope that the public can identify him,” said Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Prawit Engchuan.The robbery took place…
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Asia-Pacific consumers careful
PHUKET: Economy-related matters appear to be on top of the list of concerns for today’s Asia Pacific consumers. According to the latest global survey by GfK, two in every five surveyed were worried about recession and unemployment as well as inflation and high prices, and at the same time, one in three said they are concerned about having enough money…
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Ensure fiduciary duty – Phuket Finance
PHUKET: Fiduciary duty basically means that an agent is meant to act in the best interest of his client, and not his own. It is a very simple concept, yet not surprisingly, the real world all too often does not work this way. When it comes down to it, human beings very often fall victim to greed. If I told…
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Phuket bartender saved from drunken swim at Patong
PHUKET: Friends of an intoxicated Phuket bartender saved him from drowning this morning after he decided to go for a swim at Patong Beach. Surachai Junmee, 29, and five friends were drinking at Loma Park (map here), after they got off work at about 2am, Patong Police Capt Teerasak Boonsang explained. “At about 6:30am, by which time they were quite…
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My house for your car: B2B
PHUKET: Looking to expand locally what is touted as the “world’s largest international barter network”, BBX Thailand is offering to slash its sign-on fee for new members in Phuket. The barter-credit network facilitator, founded in Australia in 1993 and currently operating in nine countries globally, held a Phuket network meeting last week at Ban See Nam restaurant. A BBX representative…
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Chinese, Russian influx a boon for Phuket
PHUKET: Despite a dramatic decline of visitors from Western Europe, Phuket’s tourism industry thrives, thanks to the throngs of Chinese and Russian travellers who fill up hotel rooms but also strain the infrastructure. “For the first time, travellers from legacy markets such as Western Europe are no longer present in the top five arrivals. What has replaced them are Asian…
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Last Call – Table for three, please
PHUKET: The intersection, or better yet juxtaposition between the mythical Cyclops of desire and loathing is hardly visible to the naked eye. I might be going a little too “fru fru” here so let’s back away from the table a bit. Slowly, making sure not to stumble over a nearby sleeping soi dog. Back we go to the beginning of…
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Smartphones stolen at gunpoint
PHUKET: An armed robber and his driver escaped by motorbike last night after stealing smartphones from two university students visiting Phuket.Duangnapa Janta and Nupong Kongpimp, who had come from Mahasarakham University in the northeast of Thailand as interns at a hotel at the Laguna Phuket complex, reported the incident to Cherng Talay Police at about 8pm last night.“When we arrived…
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So far today that Cardiff had a 4-4-2 was…
Quote of the day: The only point of the game so far today that Cardiff had a 4-4-2 was on the list at the start of the match, the rest of the match they seem to have been playing a 1-9-1 a variation of the flat back eleven… – Trevor Fisher (Man City fan & Phuket resident) PHUKET: Fraizer Campbell…
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Americans renouncing tax liabilities
PHUKET: The number of US taxpayers renouncing their citizenship or permanent-resident status reached a new high in Q2 of 2013. The figure of 1,130 people who the IRS listed as renouncing their status is two-thirds higher than the previous recent high, set in Q1 of 2013 and six times higher than Q2 of 2012. It is also the largest number…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Obama weighs Syria options; Yosemite Rim fire grows; Mexican migrant train derails; Myanmar unrest resurfaces
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. says Syria’s offer to show chemical attack sites ‘too late’ Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A U.S. military response to alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria appeared more likely on Sunday after Washington dismissed the Syrian government’s offer to allow U.N. inspection of the sites as “too…
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Phuket illegal resorts next on list, warns Parks chief
PHUKET: Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) director-general Manopat Huamuangkaew has warned that Phuket is now at the top of his priority list in demolishing illegal resorts encroaching on national park land.Mr Manopat specifially identified Sirinath National Park, on Phuket’s west coast, as his key interest in protecting public land in Phuket.The news follows work beginning on…
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Police move to detain Rohingya at purpose-built regional shelters
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Police are lobbying Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to build regional detention centers to house Rohingya refugees across Southern Thailand. The move aims to relieve the pressure on already-overflowing detention centers at immigration offices in Phuket, Phang Nga and Ranong. Maj Gen Kraibun Suadsong from the Royal Thai Police Office of Police Strategy, which oversees the Thai…
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Landslide warning device installed in Phuket hills
PHUKET: A landslide early-detection system costing 4-million-baht has been installed in the Patong Hills. The system was installed in Phuket because of the high risk of landslides in Patong, Kathu and Karon, Thawan Sukkho of the Bureau of Geotechnology, Department of Mineral Resources, explained to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut during an inspection on Friday. “The system is comprised of steel…
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Deputy PM calls for “one-stop’ police counters for Phuket tourists, expats
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok today called for every police station across Phuket to have a dedicated section to receive complaints from foreigners.The call came at a meeting at The Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town attended by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat and other top-ranking police officers from the Andaman provinces of Phang Nga and…
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Ten more Rohingya escape Thai Immigration, this time from Ranong again
PHUKET: Ten Rohingya detainees escaped at dawn yesterday from a detention facility at the Immigration Office in Ranong, the popular visa run destination for many expats and tourists in Phuket. The incident is the latest in a series of Rohingya escapes from various facilities in the past few months. The 10 escapees were part of a group of 118 Rohingya…
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Phuket Town Hungry Ghost festival underway
PHUKET: Phuket Town is honoring its strong Chinese cultural roots with the annual Por Tor Festival, which was launched yesterday in the town’s Queen Sirikit Public Park (map here). More commonly known as the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts across Asia’s Chinese communities, the festival comprises a variety of cultural displays and activities. “The Por Tor festival is an annual…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US moves Navy, ponders Syria strike; Tripoli mosque blasts; Yosemite’s Rim on fire; Child dies in Bolivia prison war
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. repositions naval forces, no decision on Syria strike Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The United States on Friday was repositioning naval forces in the Mediterranean to give President Barack Obama the option for an armed strike on Syria, although officials cautioned that Obama had made no decision…
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Phuket drug suspect found with ‘stolen’ visa
PHUKET: A Thai visa sticker believed stolen from the Thai Embassy in Malaysia has been found in the passport of a suspected drug smuggler in Phuket, according to an informed source.The suspect was arrested by Phuket Immigration police yesterday morning on charges of possessing an undisclosed amount of cocaine.“Further checks reveal that he entered Thailand with his passport containing one…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Police wanted for tourist extortion; Chiang Mai train derails; Egypt exodus; Royals in better health
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police officers suspended over alleged extortion of tourists The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Four Bangkok-based policemen have been suspended for allegedly extorting Bt2 million from two Italian tourists after making a false allegation against the victims and holding them captive.Arrest warrants have been issued for two of…
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Officials tackle Patong Beach’s “big brown’ water problem
PHUKET: An order was made to review operations at the Patong Wastewater Treatment Plant following tests of the seawater at Patong Beach this morning. The director of the Phuket-based Regional Environmental Office 15, Pornsri Suthanaruk, announced the news as Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut joined environment officials conducting the water-quality tests. Dr Pornsri explained that private and commercial premises in Patong…
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Phuket Opinion: Corruption-fighter says it’s time to cleanse the island of graft
Surin Bamrungphol, 53, is a founder and President of the Phuket Anti-Corruption Network. He is a Phuket native with a PhD in Development Strategies from Phuket Rajabhat University. Mr Surin is CEO of SureMed Corporation and vice-president of the Federation of Thai Industries, Phuket Chapter. He also serves on the board of a variety of companies. Here, he talks about…
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Spa speed splashes spills and spunk – F1
PHUKET: Well, F1 is back after the mid-season break. Before Hungary I asked if Lewis Hamilton could continue the trend of British global sporting dominance to win in Hungary. He could. I said Red Bull was looking very powerful, but Sebastian Vettel was not my favourite to win Hungary. As I predicted, Mercedes out-qualified him and Lotus outperformed him. But…
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Phuket Opinion: Needed – more greenery for our souls
PHUKET: When I lived on Racha Island, I could never really figure out where Thalang was. The only time I encountered it was taking a taxi to the airport. Around Koh Kaew I’d ask the driver, “Is this Thalang?”, then again at the Heroines’ Monument. Finally, as we whizzed through the Ton Sai Waterfall intersection, he’d say, “This is it.”All…
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Phuket Opinion: Not backing down in Phuket’s edgiest district
Veera Kerdsirimongkol, 57, originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, has been District Chief of Kathu for four months. He was a district chief for 13 years before coming to Phuket, most recently in Palian, Trang. He has a master’s degree in Management Sciences from Prince of Songkla University. Here, he talks about what he has done to stop illegal activity in…
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Phuket Opinion: Waste not, and waste not wanted
PHUKET: I was recently contacted by a man named David, a graduate-level research assistant from a reputable University in Bangkok, who had come to Phuket for the first time – but not for the typical reasons. The destination luring David to our “paradise island” was not any particular beach, cove, resort, restaurant or bar, but was in fact the Waste…
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