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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Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort puts sustainability at its heart
The term sustainability is often thrown around as a buzzword in the hospitality industry, but at Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort, it’s genuinely part of their mission. Located in Makham Bay, just south of Phuket Town, the beautiful resort puts...
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Phuket Police search for drive-by target “Dannie’ Knudsen
PHUKET: Patong Police are searching for Danish national Dennis Mark Knudsen, 24, the intended target in the drive-by shooting in Patong on Tuesday night that saw two German tourists accidentally wounded (story here). The news follows Australians John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, opening fire in Soi Sansabai, near the tourist-popular Soi Bangla. Their intended target was a man…
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Phang Nga immigration overloaded, Rohingya relocated to centers across Southern Thailand
PHUKET: The 179 Rohingya refugees who arrived in Khura Buri District, north of Phuket, on January 23 have taken the Phang Nga Immigration facilities past breaking point, forcing authorities to relocate hundreds of Rohingya already being held at the Phang Nga detention center to immigration centers elsewhere in Southern Thailand. “Yesterday, we brought 179 Rohingya from Khura Buri police station…
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Burmese dies rushing from Phuket Town to Thalang party
PHUKET: A Burmese man working in Phuket was killed and another injured when the motorbike they were riding slammed into a roadside guard rail at high speed near Baan Sapam Mongkol Wittaya school (map here) Wednesday night. The driver, Zaw Min Oo, 37, died at the scene. His passenger, Myo Aung Chay, also 37, suffered a broken leg and was…
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Swiss student tourist Janisch out on bail
PHUKET: A Swiss national held by Ranong Immigration since December 25 on charges of stealing an officer’s camera was released on bail yesterday after her mother appeared in Ranong Court to post 130,000-baht bail bond. Unaware that her daughter, Tscherina Nora Janisch, was being held in a Thai prison north of Phuket, Elizabeth Maria Janisch initially reported Tscherina as missing…
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Rohingya: Only 4 meals in 16 days at sea
PHUKET: The 179 Rohingya taken into custody north of Phuket yesterday survived on four meals of uncooked rice in their 16 days at sea, one of the survivors told officials. Local fishermen spotted the refugees – fleeing escalating ethnic violence in their native Rakhine State in Myanmar – off the Phang Nga coast at about 11am. About 30 officers from…
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Phuket United lose FA Cup match, Islanders to play Phangnga FC
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United had their Thailand FA Cup dream shattered this afternoon, losing 2-3 to Lampang United in a close match up in Bangkok. The match was the fifth FA Cup round-of-16 match to be contested at Fashion Island futsal arena on the north side of the capital today and yesterday. In addition to Lampang,…
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Phuket Sports: Taekwondo tourney
PHUKET: THE national Taekwondo coach, of Thailand, Choi Yong Seok, met with various sporting dignitaries in Phuket last month to discuss the preparations for the first Phuket International Choi Yong Seok Taekwondo Championship. The event will be held at Saphan Hin Indoor Sports Complex this weekend, and is expected to attract competitors from 12 countries, including about 120 from South…
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Police charge “real driver’ over lethal tour van crash
PHUKET: Police confirmed this week that they have charged the “real driver” of the Phuket tour van involved in the accident on November 29 that claimed the life of 9-year-old schoolgirl Kunnarree Lattuada-Lancini (story here). “Makeesan Samae has been charged with gross negligence causing death under Section 290 of the Criminal Code and with reckless driving under Section 43 of…
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Missing Swiss student tourist alive and well, in Thai prison
PHUKET: A 22-year-old Swiss student tourist reported missing while on holiday in Thailand has been found alive and well. She’s being detained in Ranong Prison for allegedly stealing a camera belonging to an immigration officer. The search for Tscherina Nora Janisch, a foreign-exchange student studying at the National University of Singapore, began on January 15 when her mother, Elizabeth, posted…
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Australians charged with attempted murder: miss “mafia’ target, shoot German tourists
PHUKET: Two Australian tattoo parlor owners have been charged with attempted murder after opening fire with an unregistered firearm in the heart of Phuket’s party town, Patong, yesterday evening. John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, shot two German bystanders in their attempt to “strike first” against an alleged Danish mafioso, named by police only as “Dannie”. “This is not…
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World News: Indian women learning to look after themselves
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Women take up self-defence, pepper spray after India rape Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Women in India’s capital are taking self-defence classes, snapping up pepper sprays, booking cabs with female drivers or leaving work early, all signs of growing insecurity following the brutal gang rape and murder of…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Tough times for EPL’s poor relations
Premier League’s poor relation seeking new backers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: While the Premier League generates recession-busting revenue increases, times are tougher for the 72 football clubs outside the elite as they battle for media exposure and commercial deals. Those clubs comprise the three-tier Football League, which features such illustrious names as former champions Nottingham Forest and Leeds United…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Australian Open update
Juggernaut Sharapova blasts into Melbourne semi-finals Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Maria Sharapova continued her perfect run in Australian Open quarter-finals by swatting aside Russian compatriot Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday.Sharapova had not lost any of her previous five Australian Open quarter-final matches, a record she extended with ease against the 19th-seeded Makarova with a 6-2 6-2 victory. The pair had met…
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Pork lady wins half million baht of gold from Red Cross Lucky Draw
PHUKET: A grilled pork vendor claimed this year’s Red Cross Fair “Lucky Draw” grand prize of more than 500,000 baht’s worth of gold with her ticket number 59319 yesterday.Atcharaporn Weerakarn, 47, was delighted as she received the hefty amount of gold from Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut.“I bought only one ticket and I am very lucky to have won. This prize…
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Phuket Sports: Buakaw draws thousands to Patong fight
PHUKET: Buakaw ‘Dam Dot Com’ performed an artistic demonstration of ancient Muay Thai against two opponents at once, at the Patong Boxing Stadium recently, in front of thousands of cheering fans.Buakaw’s demonstration began at 10:45pm, after a number of opening fights featuring local fighters. Formerly known as ‘Buakaw Por Pramuk’, before a longstanding dispute with his former gym forced his…
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Live Wire: Making the right connections
PHUKET: In last week’s Live Wire, I stepped you through an exhaustive list of the internet packages available in Phuket. I say “exhaustive” because, at this point, the only way to get a list of all of the internet packages is to physically schlep to all of the internet service providers’ offices, pick up brochures, and grill the staff on…
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Banking for Phuket Expats carries special charges, risks
PHUKET: For expats in Phuket and across Thailand who intend to stay permanently or for most of the year in the country, opening a Thai bank account makes financial sense. After all, except for a few ATMs owned by AEON (a large Japanese conglomerate) and Citibank, Thai ATMs will charge a 150 baht fee per foreign transaction and there are…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Excommunication threat for Irish priest questioning teachings
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Liberal Irish priest says he’s threatened with excommunication Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: An Irish Roman Catholic priest said he is being threatened with excommunication by the Vatican because of his advocacy of liberal views on some of the Church’s teachings.Father Tony Flannery is the third cleric in…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: Sven wants Becks
Eriksson agrees Al Nasr deal, eyes Beckham Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Sven-Goran Eriksson will try to convince former England captain David Beckham to join him at Al Nasr after the experienced Swedish coach signed an 18-month contract as a technical advisor of the United Arab Emirates club.“If he wants to come I’m sure they would open the gates for him,”…
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Welfare shelter north of Phuket calls for food, item donations to help Rohingya women and children
PHUKET: A family refuge shelter in Khukkhak, just north of the popular Phang Nga tourist area of Khao Lak Beach, is calling for item donations to aid 46 Rohingya women and children who are now in the shelter’s care. “Most of them are children,” Dararat Suthet, the director of the Phang Nga Shelter for Children and Family, told the Phuket…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: 49ers crunch the numbers to meet Ravens in Superbowl
Brilliant brothers set up unique Super Bowl showdown Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens won their National Football League championships in stunning fashion to set up an extraordinary sibling rivalry in next month’s 47th Super Bowl.The 49ers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, overturned a 17 point deficit to beat the Atlanta falcons 28-24 in the…
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Phuket Police alerted over triple-homicide killer
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for a man wanted for triple homicide in Phang Nga. The news follows the Takuapa District Court issuing an arrest warrant for Somsak Wongsri, who according to an eyewitness executed three people on December 22. The three men allegedly shot dead by Somsak were Prajuab Choojit, 24; Sarawut Boonklin, 31; and Somboon Kimtin,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US teenager kills 5 family members; Assault rifle used
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Five shot dead in Albuquerque, teen charged Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: New Mexico police yesterday identified the teenager accused of killing five people in an Albuquerque home as Nehemiah Griego, the son and brother of the victims. Griego, 15, used multiple weapons, including an assault…
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Phuket Business: Laguna Dusit Thani ready for influx of MICE
PHUKET: THE Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has re-launched its renovated and revitalized meeting space in response to an increase in demand for 2013. The renovation cost 10 million baht and took two months to complete. The 2,408 square-foot Dusit Laguna Hall can now accommodate up to 300 people in a theater-style setting and is able to host 150 people for…
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Phuket Business: FDI shifting from China to ASEAN
PHUKET: Rising costs from higher wages and currency appreciation in China over the last two decades are prompting multinationals to look at expanding elsewhere, with ASEAN countries – particularly Vietnam – poised to benefit most. A recent report published by HSBC Global Research, titled “The great migration – how FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] is moving to ASEAN and India”, outlined…
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Phuket Business: MICE to bring in “the cheese’
PHUKET: THE Kingdom’s central planning authority for inbound corporate and organizational tourism expects to generate 180 billion baht from Asian and Oceanic MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) events over the next three years. The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently drafted a three year MICE marketing strategy. The new strategy effectively replaces last year’s “Seven Wonders of the…
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Phuket FC draw with Trang while Phuket United advance in FA Cup
PHUKET: About 1,000 fans chanced the looming threat of rain on Saturday evening to come out and see the new-look Phuket FC in action against an unexpectedly strong Trang FC, in a friendly match in Phuket Town. Played under overcast skies at Surakul Stadium, the pre-season friendly did not end up getting washed out by the rain, nor did it…
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World News: Man runs 7km to catch train and not a cold
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian man falls off train, chases it for 7 km in extreme cold Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Wearing only sweat pants and a t-shirt, a Russian man was forced to run approximately seven kilometers (4.3 miles) at minus 40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) after he…
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Influx of Rohingya straining Phang Nga Immigration facilities
PHUKET: The mass influx of Rohingya refugees – 400 within four days – landing in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, this week is straining the capacity of immigration detention centers in the province, said Phang Nga Governor Thamrong Charoenkul. The news follows an initial 171 Rohingya refugees, fleeing persecution in their homeland in Myanmar, being taken into custody in Phang…
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New Phuket bus plan breaks “transport barrier’
PHUKET: After decades in the planning, a new bus service will launch on the island in March. The new route will travel between Phuket International Airport and the popular tourist beaches of Patong, Karon, and Kata via Tesco Lotus on the bypass road (click here to see map of the new bus route). For safety reasons, Phuket Land Transportation Office…
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