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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Make Belgium and the Netherlands your next destination with the right visa in hand. Explore the iconic tulip fields, cruise through Amsterdam’s scenic canals, or stroll through the historic streets of Bruges. Don’t forget to enjoy some authentic Belgian chocolate...
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Chinese tourist dies after day trip to Phi Phi Island
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist has died after being pulled unconscious from the water during a day trip with friends from Phuket to Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. Tour staff spotted Wang Yuhua, 61, floating face down in the water, prompting the boat crew to quickly recover her from the water and speed her to Phi Phi Hospital. Ms Wang was…
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Customs staff face probe over 500 ‘missing’ cars
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Customs staff face probe over 500 ‘missing’ cars The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two officials from the Customs Department have been moved to inactive positions pending investigation into their role in the disappearance of some 500 luxury vehicles that went missing from the customs’ bonded…
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NACC stands by case against Yingluck, asks if all files read
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NACC stands by case against Yingluck, asks if all files read The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Panthep Klanarongran, chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), reiterated yesterday that former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra had been derelict in her duty, which led to huge losses in…
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Sukhothai fights flood, as barrier on Yom breaks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sukhothai fights flood, as barrier on Yom breaks The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Floods have wreaked havoc in 25 provinces and claimed eight lives over the past two weeks. Five of the flood-hit provinces – Sukhothai, Nan, Chaiyaphum, Tak and Nakhon Sawan – are still…
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Phuket Marine chief plays down ‘get AIS connected or go to jail’ order
PHUKET: Phuriphat Theerakulpisut, chief of the Phuket Marine Office, today played down an alarming report that all foreign yachts in Phuket had to be fitted with AIS (Automatic Identification System) devices by October 1 or face six months in jail. The news follows Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday signing an order to make AIS receivers mandatory on all craft in…
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Phuket taxi brawl lands Aussie tourists in hospital, custody
PHUKET: A drunken brawl inside a Phuket taxi landed three Australian tourists in hospital with minor injuries late last night. A fourth Aussie tourist, Todd Taylor, 31, who was blamed for starting the fight, was taken to Thalang Police Station for questioning. Taxi driver Jaran Chamnankaow told police that he picked up four passengers in Patong at about 10pm, and…
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French tourist smashes motorbike through Phuket salon window
PHUKET: A French tourist injured her leg today after she lost control of her rented motorbike and crashed through the glass window of a Phuket Town beauty salon. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation called to the scene on Phang Nga Road by the startled salon owner found Nastasya Kotnarovsky, 27, with minor injuries to her left leg and scratches…
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Phuket Cycling Fest 2014 ready to roll
PHUKET: If you have some untouched reserves of stamina and feel like exploring the beauty of Phuket in a more natural, personal manner, head for the Phuket Cycling Fest 2014, which kicks off tomorrow, September 6, at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town. A bustling bicycle fair boasting booths and stalls from bicycle specialists will be held at the park,…
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Phuket officials order illegal beach wall to be demolished
PHUKET: An illegal beach wall built near Bang Tao Beach after the tsunami in 2004 will be demolished today, officials have told the Phuket Gazette. “We received a complaint from a local landowner who said the wall cuts off his legally-owned plot of land from the beach,” said Cherng Talay Mayor Ma-ann Samran. “Following an inspection of the area [yesterday],…
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Costs, lack of demand delay Phuket Airport Bus service to Karon
PHUKET: High costs and lack of demand has forced the operators of the Airport Express Bus service to push back the launch of its new route from Patong to Kata-Karon until at least October. However, bus company chairman Prakob Panyawai is working on adding two more bus stops in Patong, Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) chief Terayout Prasertphol confirmed to…
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Prayuth assures fair selection of reform council members
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth assures fair selection of reform council members The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday gave his assurance that members of the National Reform Council (NRC) would be selected fairly and carefully, with none of the candidates being especially favoured because…
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Ukraine, rebels back peace plan, ceasefire from Friday
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine, rebels back peace plan, ceasefire from Friday Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the main pro-Russian rebel leader said they would both order ceasefires on Friday, provided that an agreement is signed on a new peace plan to end the five-month…
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Phuket Opinion: A sobering approach
PHUKET: Recent reports of “sobering new alcohol laws” by some English-language news outlets have led to a great deal of bar-stool conversation, as well as speculation among social media. The truth of the matter is that the Alcohol Sales Act of 2008, and subsequent ministerial regulations, have remained completely unchanged since the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) took…
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Special Report: Police “hungary’ for Phuket murder conviction
Special Report CONFESSED killer Moshe David is expected to be sentenced on Monday for the gruesome 2012 murder of fellow Hungarian Peter Reisz. Although police believe he will escape the death penalty, they do have faith he will be handed a “very long sentence”. Following Mr David’s first murder trial will be a second, for the murder of another Hungarian,…
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Phuket beach vendors given more time to lodge complaints
PHUKET: The doors of the Kathu District Office will remain open to Phuket beach vendors who wish to lodge complaints or register for financial assistance, officers confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. More than 370 vendors, who lost their jobs during the Patong and Kamala beach cleanups, registered their complaints with the Kathu District Office last month (story here) and…
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Serena crushes Pennetta to reach Open semi-final
PHUKET: Two-times defending champion Serena Williams, in her black and white leopard dress, started quietly before roaring past 11th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. The world number one lost her first two service games to Pennetta to fall behind 3-0 before snapping to attention and rattling off the next six…
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Men hunted down, hacked to death in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are continuing an investigation in the hope of identifying two men who were hunted down and hacked to death at a fish-processing plant in Phuket last night. Witnesses told police they saw a gang of five men chasing two others from Sri Suthat Road into a fish-processing compound in Rassada at about 10:30pm. “Both of the victims were…
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Phuket National Reform Council candidates kept secret
PHUKET: The names of all candidates who have registered to represent Phuket as the sole “provincially selected” nominee to serve on the National Reform Council (NRC) will be kept secret until five finalists are chosen. “About 20” people have entered the race to be Phuket’s NRC member, Phuket Election Commission (PEC) Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit told the Phuket Gazette this morning.…
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Sleepy Chinese tourist lands motorbike in Phuket roadside ditch
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist was badly injured after he dozed off and drove his motorbike into a roadside ditch in central Phuket early this morning. Rescue workers and officers from the Thalang Police were called to the scene in Pa Khlok at about 1:10am, where they found a helmet-less Zhong Li Fong, 38, lying in a one-meter-deep ditch. Mr Zhong’s…
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Surrogate dad Shigeta to see police ‘soon’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Surrogate dad Shigeta to see police ‘soon’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The lawyer of Mitsutoki Shigeta, a 24-year-old Japanese man who fathered over a dozen children via surrogate mothers in Thailand, has affirmed Shigeta would give information to police in person soon, an assistant…
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Two top cops among land encroachment suspects
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two top cops among land encroachment suspects The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: TWO high-level police officers are among suspects involved in alleged land encroachment in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district, a senior Army officer said yesterday. Army Region 2 chief of staff Colonel Sommai Budsaba…
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Attorney-general’s decision on Yingluck corruption charges due today
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Attorney-general’s decision on Yingluck corruption charges due today The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Attorney-General’s Office will decide today whether to prosecute ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra on charges of dereliction of duty for neglecting to act on corruption in the rice-pledging scheme and inflicting damage of…
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Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri on Wednesday announced the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group he said would spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad”…
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U.N. says US$600mn needed to tackle Ebola as deaths top 1,900
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.N. says $600 million needed to tackle Ebola as deaths top 1,900 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United Nations said $600 million in supplies would be needed to fight West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, as the death toll from the worst ever epidemic of the virus…
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Putin unveils Ukraine ceasefire plan, France halts warship
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Putin unveils Ukraine ceasefire plan, France halts warship Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: President Vladimir Putin outlined plans for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday but Ukraine’s prime minister dismissed the proposal, while France expressed its disapproval of Moscow’s support for separatist forces by halting…
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Marines spearhead Phi Phi Island beach cleanup campaign
PHUKET: About 60 officers took to the beaches of the popular party island Phi Phi, east of Phuket, today to talk with seaside vendors and inspect buildings suspected of encroaching on national park land. “We only inspected the buildings. Tomorrow, we will file a complaint against any buildings we believe to be encroaching on park land,” Capt Prinyatham Poonpitagtham of…
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Bread truck kills man crossing Phuket road
PHUKET: A man was killed today in Phuket after being hit by a speeding Farmhouse delivery truck while he was trying to cross the road. The van, belonging to President Bakery Public Co Ltd, was delivering the well-known Farmhouse brand of bread when it struck the man on Thepkrasattri Road. “The victim, an unidentified male, is thought to be in…
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Phuket’s taxi mafia ‘our only target’, says Region 8 commander
PHUKET: Region 8 Police Deputy Commander Paween Pongsirin today affirmed that his officers’ mandate was to crack down on Phuket’s taxi mafia, not to tackle any corrupt activities allegedly perpetrated by the island’s police officers. “My specific orders are to crack down on Phuket’s taxi mafia,” Maj Gen Paween said. “There are about 10 officers in my team who are…
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Phuket police taser, fire rubber bullets on hysterical hatchet-wielding man
PHUKET: Police tasered and fired rubber bullets on a hysterical Phuket man who was threatening to attack his family and neighbors with a hatchet this morning. “Police officers on patrol on motorbikes were the first to the scene, in Soi Hutchananiwet [in Rassada], near the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization [PPAO] Hospital,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong told the Phuket…
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The magic of compounding interest
PHUKET: This column has previously discussed compounding interest and the magic it can work, and it is the main reason why it is so important to start saving early in life rather than later. Assuming a fixed amount is desired by a certain retirement age – which is not actually recommended financial planning, but serves for demonstration purposes – this…
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