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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Thailand News: Suthep shuns talks; PDRC to regroup; Santika boss jailed over B85mn tax evasion
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suthep shuns Abhisit move The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A campaign by Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to find a solution to the country’s political deadlock was generally welcomed yesterday although anti-government leader Suthep Thaugsuban appeared to shun his move. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra described…
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Drunk passenger triggers hijack alert on Australian flight to Bali
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drunk passenger triggers hijack alert on Australian flight to Bali Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The pilot of a Virgin Australia plane flying from Brisbane to the Indonesian holiday island of Bali on Friday reported a hijacking attempt after a passenger tried to enter the cockpit,…
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Thailand OTOP fair in Patong to breach B1bn barrier
PHUKET: The Thailand One Tambon One Product (OTOP) Fair to conclude tomorrow is expected to boost Phuket’s income from OTOP events beyond the billion-baht mark for the year. The Patong event is expected to bring the island’s income from OTOP events for Fiscal 2014 to 1.08 billion baht for the local economy, a 22% increase on sales realized last year,…
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QSI Kid Expo kicks off this Sunday
PHUKET: Prep the kids for this Sunday because QSI International School Phuket will hold its first-ever “Kid Expo” from 1-5pm. Dozens of local business will be on-site offering services and activities for children, aiming to provide “everything a family needs” in one place. The expo will see companies offering an enormous range of activities aimed at young children and teens,…
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Phuket’s most dangerous job
Saijai Luesup, 48, has been working as the Workplace Safety Department of Phuket Provincial Labor Protection and Welfare Office chief for almost four years. She has a bachelor’s degree in public health from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. PHUKET: Construction sites pose the greatest danger to workers in Phuket. Because of this we are very thorough with our safety inspections, which…
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Phuket Pride Week’s Grand Parade to block beach road on Sunday
PHUKET: Phuket Pride Week 2014 will go out with a bang on Sunday with its Grand Parade – the highlight of the eight-day event – marching down Patong’s beachfront road. The beach road will be blocked during the parade, which starts at 3pm at Soi Tan and will present a plethora of floats, fantastically dressed people, street entertainment and music.…
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Can’t wash your hands with dirty water
PHUKET: Hardly a week passes nowadays without a damaging news report about water-related issues in Phuket. Of these, none could be more harmful to the island’s reputation than reports of untreated wastewater flowing directly into the sea at some of the island’s most popular beaches. Such reports are nothing new. Sadly, untreated wastewater entering Patong Bay is now so common…
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“She begged for her life’: Phuket mother tells of pregnant daughter’s rape ordeal
PHUKET: The mother of the pregnant woman raped by twin teenage brothers in Phuket last Sunday night has told the Phuket Gazette how the men ignored her daughter’s pleas for mercy. “She begged them not to do it, but they didn’t listen,” the mother told the Gazette. “They didn’t only rape and rob her. They choked her very hard as…
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Phuket to launch trash separation project for World Environment Day
PHUKET: Municipalities across Phuket will launch a project to ensure the separation of hazardous materials from public trash on June 5 in a united effort to prevent dangerous materials from contaminating the island’s beaches, canals and the ocean. The project was agreed to at a meeting on Wednesday held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Phuket office.…
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Thailand News: Abhisit enters reform surge; Suthep sets for final battle; Mers alert; Power drain; Thawil refocuses on South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abhisit’s reform talk starts The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: In a renewed effort to help end the political deadlock and avert further violence, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday unveiled a plan to hold talks with some prominent figures and parties to seek a solution…
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Ukraine forces kill up to five rebels; Russia starts drill near border
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine forces kill up to five rebels; Russia starts drill near border Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow rebels on Thursday as they closed in on the separatists’ military stronghold in the east, and Russia launched army drills near the…
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Patong alcohol ban as Pian guns for mayor
PHUKET: The sale of alcohol will be banned throughout Patong tonight and tomorrow (including tomorrow night) as residents go to the polls to elect a Patong Mayor and several new councilors. Former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin will run for re-election. He will face two candidates in the race: Phuket Democrat Chalermluck Kebsab and former councilor Kittisan Kuru of the Patong…
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Australia rules out link between debris and Malaysian plane
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australia rules out link between debris and Malaysian plane Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Authorities ruled out any link between debris picked up on an Australian beach and a missing Malaysian jetliner on Thursday as a tropical cyclone again threatened to hamper a 26-nation air, surface…
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Phuket’s one-stop yacht center trial period hits first software snag
PHUKET: The long-awaited, 70-million-baht one-stop yacht center at Chalong Pier opened on Monday only to see system bugs force officers to register all inbound yachts and crews by hand. “Monday was our first trial day for the center, and we had a lot of tourists come to Chalong Pier,” explained Phuket Provincial Administration Office Transportation Division Chief Prasit Yotharak. “We…
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Phuket Police brutality at heart of mega-blockade
PHUKET: Four police officers were removed from active duty last night to bring an eight-hour blockade of Phuket’s critical Thepkrasattri Road to an end at about 11:30pm. The officers – Lt Akarapol Siwilai, Sub Lt Manus Faipetch, Sgt Maj Sansak Choti and Sgt Yongyuth Ritplud, all of the Tah Chat Chai Police Station – were transferred to Phuket Provincial Hall…
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Thailand News: Recession looms; Red shirt slain; Officer dies in helicopter plunge; Outrage over Chao Praya drownings
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Recesssion looms as MPC to further trim growth forecast in June The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee will lower its forecast for the Kingdom’s 2014 economic growth at its next meeting in June. Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, secretary of the Monetary…
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Fire-preventing pump bursts into flames on old Phuket ferry
PHUKET: A pump meant to reduce the risk of fire by sucking up old oil short-circuited and burst into flames on a ferry in Ao Por on Tuesday afternoon. All three men working on the ferry when the flames broke out jumped overboard and were rescued by a nearby boat. “The ferry was old and the men were cutting up…
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Angry Phuket mob stages blockade over twin teen rape suspects
PHUKET: A mob of angry residents this afternoon blockaded Phuket’s critical main artery, Thepkrasattri Road, amid outrage over the twin teenagers who raped a pregnant woman in the area on Sunday night. The blockade, just north of the turnoff to Phuket International Airport, formed at about 2pm after villagers realized that police would not be bringing the twin brothers to…
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Anything to declare? Airport officials asked to target bags of undisclosed cash
PHUKET: Officers at Phuket International Airport have been asked to target people carrying large amounts of undisclosed cash in the ongoing battle to crack down on transnational crime. The request comes from Glenn Tankard of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Mr Tankard was in Phuket early this month in his role as head of the Thai Transnational Crime Coordination Network…
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Revamped Tesco Lotus Extra fully open from today
PHUKET: Renovations on the Tesco Lotus Extra Phuket mall, located off the bypass road in Sam Kong, were recently completed and the revamped mall is now fully open for business as of today. Tesco says that more shops, famous brands, and a new food court have been added to the mall, including Starbucks, Fuji, Giordano, Air Asia, as well as…
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Brazil set to pass Internet bill of rights
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazil set to pass Internet bill of rights Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Brazil’s Senate unanimously approved groundbreaking legislation on Tuesday that guarantees equal access to the Internet and protects the privacy of Brazilian users in the wake of U.S. spying revelations. President Dilma Rousseff, who…
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Yingluck offers to quit; Park chief probe over missing activist; Four dead from swine flu
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck to leave politics if country wants it; hasn’t raised issue with Thaksin The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she is ready to step down if the people want her out, but added that she had not discussed the…
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First sign of South Korea ferry disaster was call from a frightened boy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community First sign of South Korea ferry disaster was call from a frightened boy Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The first distress call from a sinking South Korean ferry was made by a boy with a shaking voice to a fire station, three minutes after the vessel…
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Teens confess to rape of pregnant Phuket woman
PHUKET: Twin brothers confessed yesterday to the rape, sexual assault, assault and robbery of a 25-year-old pregnant woman along a dark stretch of road in northern Phuket on Sunday. “The suspects face all four charges, including ‘use of a vehicle, in a robbery and evasion of police,'” Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Peerayut Karajedee told the Phuket Gazette. “They claim…
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Blackout in parts of northern Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET: Thalang District Electricity Authority (TDEA) has announced a major blackout scheduled to affect residents in Thalang tomorrow from 9am to 5pm. The scheduled blackout will affect areas along the southbound lane of Thepkrasattri Road, from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Thalang branch to the LPG gas station in Baan Li Porn. Thalang Hospital will be affected, but…
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Phuket residents approve north-south Chalong underpass
PHUKET: Local residents yesterday voted to approve a route for the Chalong underpass: a two-way underpass stretching one kilometer long that joins Chao Fa West Road and Wiset Road. The selected route was chosen at the second public hearing for the project, held at The Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. The chosen route was among four options presented yesterday. The…
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Twin brothers arrested for rape of pregnant Phuket woman
PHUKET: Police are questioning 17-year-old twin brothers suspected of raping a pregnant woman along a dark stretch of road in northern Phuket on Sunday night. Tah Chat Chai Police have the pair in custody and are currently questioning them over the incident. The brothers are suspected of kicking a 25-year-old woman who is five months pregnant off her motorcycle, causing…
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Kuwait’s MG7 Cricket Club take out Cup Final; CBBs win Plate Final
The 11th Annual Phuket International Cricket Sixes Tournament 2014 wrapped up on Sunday after eleven hard-fought matches. Match oneThe final play-off match one saw Wild Men From Borneo (WMFB) against the Southern Stars. The Wild Men went out and scored 33 runs with Scarface retiring hurt on 11. The Southern Stars won. Match twoThe first semi-final in the Plate division…
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Pregnant woman kicked off her motorbike, raped in northern Phuket
PHUKET: Two men kicked a pregnant woman off her motorcycle, causing her to break a leg, then dragged her off the road and raped and robbed her in Mai Khao on Sunday night. The 25-year-old woman is five months pregnant. She was riding home alone from her job as a convenience store cashier when the attack occurred at about 10:30pm…
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Search for MH370: Seabed scans draw blanks, cyclone nears
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cyclone threatens to disrupt search for missing Malaysian plane Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A tropical cyclone was threatening to hamper the search for a missing Malaysian jetliner in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean on Monday, as a submarine drone neared the end of…
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