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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Unidentified body found in Phuket Town canal
PHUKET: Police are working to identify a dead body found floating in a canal near the Waste Incineration Power Plant and Landfill at Saphan Hin, on the outskirts of Phuket Town yesterday morning. Local villagers alerted the police of the discovery at about 7:30am. “We believe the man had gone fishing and fell into the water without anyone noticing. It…
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Williams beats Wozniacki for 18th grand slam title
PHUKET: World number one Serena Williams swept past good friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3 6-3 in the US Open final on Sunday to move into the record books with her 18th grand slam title. The third straight and sixth overall US Open crown for the 32-year-old American, her 18 career slams put her into a tie with Chris Evert…
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Study exposes scams in stream of stolen cars crossing from M’sia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Study exposes scams in stream of stolen cars crossing from M’sia The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Sadao border checkpoint in Songkhla sees up to Bt300 billion in border trade per year – but it is also a top entry point for smuggled goods and…
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Guard held for murder of 4-year-old girl in Thon Buri
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Guard held for murder of 4-year-old girl in Thon Buri The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested a man suspected of sexually assaulting and killing a four-year-old girl in Thon Buri in Bangkok. The girl went missing in her neighbourhood on Wednesday and was…
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Arab League vows to confront Islamic State, join international efforts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Arab League vows to confront Islamic State, join international efforts Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Arab League foreign ministers agreed on Sunday to take all necessary measures to confront Islamic State and cooperate with international, regional and national efforts to combat militants who have overrun swathes…
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Police take down armed teens for Phuket Town street shootings
PHUKET: Police have arrested two teenagers, and expect to soon take into custody a third suspect, for shooting into a shop and then a family home in Phuket Town late Tuesday night. Butrprom Choopeng, 18, was arrested yesterday at a house in Bangthong village in Kathu. He was found in possession of a homemade .22-caliber handgun with one round of…
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Phuket airport taxi driver charged with reckless driving
PHUKET: A taxi driver based at Phuket International Airport has been charged with reckless driving causing injury after slamming into a motorcycle with a sidecar late last night. The accident occurred on Thepkrasattri Road, about 800 meters north of the Keha housing estate in Thalang, just after midnight. Taxi driver Jeerasak Kakate, 46, said he could not avoid hitting the…
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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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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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U.S. moves to gain allies against ISIS
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. moves to gain allies against ISIS Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The small country of Georgia, one of the United States’ key partners in Afghanistan, will discuss ways it might be able to help in the battle against Islamic State fighters during a visit by…
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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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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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Authorities to sweep Phuket for illegal tour companies, guides
PHUKET: Authorities will sweep through Phuket from Monday in a move to rid the island of illegal tour companies and illegal, foreign guides. The news follows a brainstorming session yesterday between Phuket officials, authorities and officers from the MOTS Phuket office on how to tackle the issue of illegal tour companies and guides operating on the island. “We have 1,601…
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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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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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DDPM prepares to combat potentially deadly blazes in Phuket
PHUKET: A full-scale fire drill was held today as the Phuket-based Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office, Region 18 (DDPM-Region 18), prepared to prevent any further deadly blazes on the island. “Though the fire drill must be carried out annually by law, we are really doing this to make sure that when the time comes, we are able to…
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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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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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Attorney General declines to prosecute Yingluck – for now
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Attorney General declines to prosecute Yingluck – for now The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Attorney-General’s Office on Thursday decided to set up a joint committee of public prosecutors and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to conduct further investigations into the rice-pledging case against former…
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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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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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Wanted bomber plans new attack, Hat Yai security sources say
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Wanted bomber plans new attack, Hat Yai security sources say The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Insurgent suspect Faisal Hayeesama-ae, wanted for the 2004 bomb attack at Songkhla’s Hat Yai Airport, may be in the Hat Yai area to make a bomb or provide training to…
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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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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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