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. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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Sponsored The 5 most common travel emergencies in Thailand and how to be prepared
Thailand is a popular destination known for its dynamic culture, stunning beaches, and bustling cities however, travellers can face unexpected travel emergencies that include medical issues, road accidents, petty theft, and natural disasters. To ensure a safe and enjoyable trip,...
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Airport axe-man charged, gets licence suspended [video]
PHUKET: An axe-wielding taxi driver was arrested hours after a video of him at Phuket International Airport was published on Facebook on Saturday. “The video, uploaded by Woratat Wuttikorn, shows 45-year-old Nuttawut Chidjui waving the axe before putting it back in the vehicle,” confirmed Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Bundit Khaosutham of the Tourist Police Region 5. This rude taxi driver…
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Phuket international school eyed for takeover
PHUKET: The British International School Phuket (BISP) is in talks with global education provider Nord Anglia, which is making a bid to take over the school’s operations. In a letter addressed to parents last week, BIS CEO Apiwat Ourairat stated that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the school and Nord Anglia over the potential lease of…
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Phuket to host sixth Toyota Motorsport event
PHUKET: Get ready for some motorsport fun at Saphan Hin next month, as Toyota Motorsport returns to Phuket with its ‘Fast Fun Fest’ series for the sixth year running. Phuket Vice Governor Prajiad Aksornthammakul joined Toyota executives at the event press conference in Phuket Town on Friday as Toyota announced its 30th year of motorsports this year. Toyota will also…
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Boiler explosion injures two at Krabi palm oil factory
KRABI: Two workers were injured, one of them seriously, when a boiler exploded yesterday at a palm oil refinery in Khao Phanom, Krabi. Police reported that the boiler exploded around midday. Officers arrived to find palm oil spilled throughout the facility. The two injured workers were taken to Khao Phanom Hospital. Ekkachai Sawaddiwong, 21, was released from the hospital yesterday.…
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Strong waves, winds wash up trash on Phi Phi
PHI PHI: Officials are cleaning up piles of trash that washed up on Hat Noppharat Thara Beach in Phi Phi National Park yesterday due to monsoon season rains and strong waves. “The beach is about two kilometers long. Most of the trash is plastic bags and bottles that people do not dispose off properly,” said Pinit Engchuan of Phi Phi…
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Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boxing great Muhammad Ali dead at age 74 Phuket Gazette / Reuters US: Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, unprecedented flair for showmanship, and controversial stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died on Friday aged 74,…
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One tourist killed, seven trapped in Koh Chang hotel collapse
KOH CHANG: One tourist was killed and seven others were trapped inside a two-story beachfront hotel on Koh Chang when it collapsed following torrential rains this morning. Koh Chang police commander Col Arwat Pibulsawat said the Siam Beach Hotel near Siam Beach in Kaibae Village tumbled down at 6am. He said a two-year-old child was among the trapped tourists. Rescuers…
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Key sectors to watch out for in the stock market
PHUKET: May to October is often a season of choppy sideways action. The old adage, ‘Sell in May and go away,’ already appears to be holding true as over the last three weeks, US markets and global markets have pulled back from overhead resistance levels on their technical charts. The Nasdaq index in particular is looking bad as tech, semiconductor…
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Krabi man grows cash crop in backyard
KRABI: The growing nationwide demand for jasmine has led one man to set up his own backyard cottage industry. Vichan Tongsanay, 40, who works as a deckhand at the Krabi Marine Office, said he earns around 300 baht per day by selling the flowering plant. “I’ve been growing jasmine in the heart of my village for 5-6 months,” Mr Vichan…
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Phuket teens concoct ‘legal high’ using pharmacy drugs
PHUKET: A dangerous new drug mixture known as ‘gas’ is gaining popularity among Phuket teenagers and others in the southern region. The drug – prepared by mixing cough medicine, allergy medicine, pain killers, or muscle relaxants with a soft drink or other mixer – has yet to be declared illegal. Currently, pharmacists are allowed to sell these drugs to walk-in…
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Opinion: Limiting the damage to Thailand’s precious resources
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette supports the government’s efforts to return stolen mangrove land to the state, only if the investigation can be conducted in a fair and transparent way, that punishes the real wrongdoers and limits damage to innocent third parties. Dating back to the start of the tin mining era in the 1930s, the destruction of mangrove forests at…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Waiting 20 minutes for a roti
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Naka Noi ‘owner’ pleads for Land Department reversal
PHUKET: The owner of a land company claiming 24 rai on Naka Noi Island is petitioning the Land Department director-general in Bangkok, after a committee voted to revoke his company’s land documents. The land dispute over parcels of Naka Noi, some three kilometers off Phuket’s east coast, has long been a source of controversy, with reported sightings of armed gunmen…
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Samui drug addict dies while in custody
SAMUI: Officials are investigating the death of a man who was being held in custody at the Bo Phut Police Station in Koh Samui yesterday. “Kosin Tongjutha, 44, originally from Nothanburi Province, was found dead in his jail cell with no signs of a struggle,” said Lt Col Denduang Tongsisuk of the Bo Phut Police. “A urine test has confirmed…
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Phuket university aims to produce young tourism ambassadors
PHUKET: The Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus held a Young Tourist Ambassador 2016 (Young TAMB) camp to support quality tourism in the Andaman region from May 26 to 31. “We recruited 58 students from various schools in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Ranong,” said Asst Prof Dr Rattana Wetprasit, director of the community college of PSU-Phuket Campus.…
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Four jailed, heavily fined for land theft
PHUKET: Four Thais have been convicted for forging land title documents, claiming ownership over more than 400 rai of Sirinath National Park, government officials announced on Wednesday. The felons face up to 14 years in prison and more than nine million baht each in fines, announced the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) Director-General Thanya Netithammakun. He…
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Tiger bodies, parts found at Tiger Temple
KANCHANABURI: Wildlife officials yesterday found more than 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer in Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasam-panno, more widely known as the Tiger Temple. Officials from the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (NPD) found the frozen cubs while removing 137 tigers from the temple, and relocating them to breeding centers in Ratchaburi Province, near…
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Third time unlucky for store stick-up man
PHUKET: Police caught a convenience store robber yesterday after his third armed hold up in Phuket. “The robber, named by police as Veerachai Singniew, 26, was arrested in Pa Khlok yesterday afternoon after he robbed a Family Mart in Baan Lipon, holding up staff with a 28cm-long kitchen knife. Police tracked the man down to his home in Pa Khlok…
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Two dead, two seriously injured in rain-drenched Krabi crash
KRABI:Two people were killed and two more seriously injured in a mid-morning car crash in Krabi. “Reports of the accident came in about 10:30am. It took place near the Nua Khlong junction,” said Lt Col Suthorn Kampaphan of the Nua Khlong Police. “A white SUV was wedged into a brown pick-up truck, with two people trapped inside each vehicle.” Rescuers…
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Red Cross blood donation drive schedule for June
PHUKET: Mobile blood donation clinics will be popping up all over the island this month, the Phuket Red Cross announced today. The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is hoping to supplement its limited supplies of O, A, and AB blood types. “We need to maintain a daily minimum of 200 units of these blood types, in addition to 20 units…
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Eight Chinese busted for working illegally
PHUKET: Eight Chinese photographers were arrested for working illegally in Phuket on Tuesday. “The suspects were preparing to take photographs of couples for a wedding ceremony being held at Chalong temple at about 11:30am,” said Phuket Provincial Labor Office Chief Suttipong Saisakares. “Our officers asked for their work permits, but they were unable to provide any. So, we explained to…
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Vandals damage clown fish sculpture in Krabi
KRABI: A clown fish sculpture was damaged by unknown vandals yesterday, leading to a disappointed Facebook post by Krabi City Mayor Keeratisak Phukaoluan. “Whoever did this is heartless,” said Mr Keeratisak in his post. “The sculpture was built using public taxes in order to accentuate the beauty of the province for tourists. It is damaged at the tail and was…
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Provincial court convicts four for forging land documents
PHUKET: Four Thais have been convicted for forging land title documents, claiming ownership of more than 400 rai of Sirinath National Park on the northwest coast of Phuket, the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) announced yesterday. The felons face up to 14 years in prison and more than nine million baht each in fines, said DNP…
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Four suspected insurgents, one ranger killed in Narathiwat clashes
THAILAND: Four suspected insurgents and a ranger were killed in two clashes in a mountainous area in Narathiwat’s Chanae district yesterday. The first clash occurred about 7am, when Narathiwat task force troops and rangers launched a joint operation to raid a camp of the suspected insurgents in the mountainous area behind I-Kros village in Chang Puean sub district. Intelligence agencies…
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Security guard breaks into home, assaults owner
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a security guard who confessed to breaking into a Pa Khlok tourist villa where he was employed. “Amman Tokanee, 24, was apprehended in Narathiwat Province, where he had escaped for fear of being arrested after the incident in Phuket last Friday,” said Thalang police superintendent Sompong Thip-apakul. Mr Amman broke into Cape Yamu Villa, but fled…
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Rescuers free taxi driver pinned to steering wheel
PHUKET: An airport taxi driver pinned against the steering wheel of his vehicle had to be pried out after the car crashed into a power pole this morning. The driver, Chakri Jaruwateekul, is in serious condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital. He was unconscious after rescue workers cut him out of the Honda Civic. “It took about 30 minutes to get…
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Gas station attendants criminally responsible for customers who don’t hang up
PHUKET: Gas station attendants will be held legally responsible for ensuring that drivers turn off their engines and put away their cell phones at the pump, officials from the Department of Energy Business (DOEB) confirmed Sunday. DOEB issued a new law to this effect, according to which, if gas station attendants are caught disobeying regulations, they will be fined a…
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Mayor Somjai takes to the streets following heavy rains
PHUKET: Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana took to the streets to hear out locals’ complaints after a deluge of rain during the past week caused flooding and chaos on the island. Mayor Somjai knocked on doors on Amphor Road and discussed solutions with residents who live by the canal, about flooding in the area. She also visited the Phuket Post…
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Phuket Muslims prepare for arrival of Ramadan
PHUKET: Muslim clerics in Phuket are to scour the skies to see if the moon is visible on June 5 to determine the beginning of a month of fasting for Ramadan. The sighting of the moon is the traditional requisite for proclaiming the arrival of a new month on the Islamic lunar calendar, said Phuket’s Islamic Committee Secretary Piyadet Chuachalard.…
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Mass coral bleaching cast shadow over future of Great Barrier Reef
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mass coral bleaching cast shadow over future of Great Barrier Reef Phuket Gazette / Reuters SYDNEY: Mass coral bleaching has destroyed at least 35 percent of the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists said on Monday, a major blow to the World Heritage Site…
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