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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Beguiled by jewels
PHUKET: Art gallery owner Eric Smulders is well known on the island for his passion for Asian art, but recently he has taken the plunge into the world of fine jewelry. At his gallery in Surin, Soul of Asia, Eric will be displaying and selling 60 pieces of exquisite jewelry featuring precious stones such as diamonds, emeralds, tanzanites, sapphires, rubies…
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Phuket Business – Man of vision: Boon Yongsakul
PHUKET: Boon Yongsakul is the Deputy Managing Director of Boat Development Company, the dynamic local entity building some of Phuket’s newest commercial projects that will help lift the island’s business infrastructure to new heights.Boon is the latest of the Yongsakul generation to make his contribution to the changing face of the island. “My great-grandfather came to Phuket as a worker…
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One more challenge for McCormack
PHUKET: From a race track to a company board room – seems like change of pace for a world class athlete. But Chris McCormack proves otherwise. The same passion that let him win over 200 triathlons is about to help him achieve his goals as the new Executive Chairman of Thanyapura.He is certainly not a newcomer to the world of…
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Phuket loses Sek’s appeal
PHUKET: Hundreds of angry anti-government protesters last night forced the organizers of the annual Phuket Red Cross Fair to cancel a live concert by Thai rock star Sek Loso, who was to perform the closing show at the fair. Sek “Seksan Sukpimai” Loso was one of many Thai celebrities who joined a publicity campaign calling on voters to cast their…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok prepares for shutdown; Economic fears grow; Vote me out, dares Yingluck
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PDRC march a warm up for shutdown The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Anti-government protesters from the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) marched through Bangkok yesterday in a warm-up for their “Bangkok shutdown” next week.PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban led thousands of demonstrators from the main rally site at…
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Phuket prisoner electrified in jailbreak attempt
PHUKET: An attempted jailbreak from Phuket Prison came to a shocking halt at 12:30pm today when an inmate trying to escape was electrified by wires strung across the top of one of the perimeter walls. Alerted to the escape attempt, prison guards scrambled to the east wall, where they found Worawut Rordbhut, 45, unconscious, hanging upside down with his left…
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Family rescued from burning bedroom fire in Phuket Town
PHUKET: A family of three were rescued from a burning building after being trapped by an electrical fire in their bedroom above the family shop in Phuket Town late last night.Police and firefighters, along with three fire trucks, were called to the Modern PVC plumbing supplies store on Mae Luan Road at about 11:40pm.“When we arrived, we could see flames…
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Phuket Police aim to ID high-speed crash victim
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a man who died in a high-speed motorbike accident in Koh Kaew, north of Phuket Town, early this morning. Police were called to the scene, near the entrance of the Inizio Koh Kaew housing estate (map here), after security guard Chamroen Pinamorn witnessed the accident at about 4am. “I saw a man speed by…
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Election on; Pheu Thai campaign begins; Frenchman brutally beaten in Hua Hin; Holiday road toll hits 366 dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Election on track: EC The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Election Commission said yesterday that the February 2 poll would continue as planned, with no extension for candidate registration in 28 constituencies disrupted by protesters in provinces in the South. Meanwhile, the government yesterday opted…
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Special Report: A year in review
SPECIAL REPORT PHUKET: With 2013 having drawn to a close, Phuket’s top-ranking officials and leading tourism industry figures appear to have avoided a year of stagnant growth, which was almost brought on by the ongoing anti-government protests (click here for our special report) and a slew of other issues that continue to plague the island. Phuket protesters bring flowers. Photo:…
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Phuket speed cameras dish out tickets for holiday season
PHUKET: Ten motorists have been ticketed since Phuket’s four speed cameras became operational on December 25.“Anyone travelling over 90km/hr will be fined 500 baht each time they are caught on one of our cameras,” Lt Col Rungrit Rattanapagdee of the Phuket City Traffic Police Police told the Phuket Gazette today. According to Thai traffic law, 90km is the maximum speed…
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Special Report: A nation at the crossroads
Special Report PHUKET: As Thailand begins a new year, the country finds itself at a crossroads. What seems to be at stake is not only the future shape of democracy in this country, but whether it will even remain a democracy at all. This should worry all those who care about the future of Thailand and its people. The People’s…
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Phuket crane topples, downs power cables on bypass road
PHUKET: Officials have restored power supply along the bypass road, north of Phuket Town, after a crane toppled and brought down high-voltage power cables during peak hour traffic this morning.“We received a report of a crane falling over at 8:29am. We have yet to learn what caused it to fall,” Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) Operations Chief Yongyuth Podbutr told…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Passengers rescued from Antarctic; Kerry in Israel; Bibles seized in Malaysia; Thein Sein opens door to reform
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All passengers rescued from ship stuck in Antarctic ice Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A rescue effort to remove 52 passengers on board a research ship that had been trapped in Antarctica ice for nine days was successful, and they were evacuated safely by helicopter, the expedition leader…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Army decries crisis decree; EC revises election strategy; Pregnant panda; Deep South toll surpasses tsunami
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army against crisis decree The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The top brass disagree with the imposition of an emergency decree despite the People’s Democratic Reform Committee’s threat to “shut down” the capital on January 13 to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down, military sources said…
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Phuket Opinion: People, not tinsel or music or gifts
PHUKET: Christmas has always been a somewhat schizophrenic event for me. Coming from a non-religious family, it was always celebrated as a time for the extended family to get together, share food and catch up on developments over the past year, and had absolutely nothing to do with celebrating the birth of Christ. Nevertheless, my mother is religious in her…
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Phuket Opinion: The toll of tourism
PHUKET: As we embark on the year 2014, there seems to be no better time to reflect on the monumental changes that have transformed Phuket over the past few decades, all the result of “Bangkok style” urbanization that continues to degrade what is left of the island’s natural beauty and diminish its appeal to foreign tourists. In a recent Phuket…
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Jintana’s family continues search for justice after execution-style murder
PHUKET: As the one-year anniversary of the execution-style murder of Jintana Mahattanapak approaches, her family seeks to meet with Phuket’s new top cop for help in a case that appears to have gone cold. Ms Jintana, a human resources director at the time of her murder, was shot coming home from work on January 18 (story here). Police initially believed…
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Phuket police declare victory after Patong parking D-day
PHUKET: Patong police have declared success in dislodging taxis and tuk-tuks from parking spots on the Patong beach road. “We succeeded in our goal of freeing up space between Prachanukroh Road and Soi Bangla. Each of the seven taxi ranks there are now limited to five vehicles each,” Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon.…
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Phuket Airport customs nab Vietnamese “monk’ drug mule
PHUKET: Customs officers at Phuket International Airport arrested a Vietnamese man dressed as a monk yesterday for attempting to smuggle more than 2kg of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) into Thailand. The drugs had an estimated street value of about 8 million baht. “Officers arrested Nguyen Van Thiet, 64, at 1:50am after receiving a tip-off from undercover officers,” said Phuket Airport…
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Phuket maintains zero road deaths in 2014
PHUKET: Two traffic accidents sent two people to the hospital yesterday, but Phuket has yet to record a road-fatality for 2014. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) today confirmed their statistics for Phuket during the Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign as five dead and 32 injured in 27 accidents. “The accidents on January 1…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Somalia rocked by hotel blasts; Palestinian envoy to Prague killed; Hong Kong stages democracy march
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mogadishu hotel targeted by bombs, at least 11 killed Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Three bombs exploded within an hour outside a hotel frequented by government officials in a heavily fortified district of the Somali capital on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people.The attacks on the Jazira hotel,…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep sets for Bangkok seige; Bus terminal brawl bumps holiday death toll; Deep South insurgency deaths double
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Capital siege set for Jan 13 The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee last night announced details of its plan to lay siege to Bangkok from January 13. PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban said the siege could last for a month, or until the…
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Election candidate blockade remains steadfast in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket blockade preventing any further candidates from registering to enter the February 2 national election held strong today, the last day for potential candidates to enter the election. “We couldn’t even get inside the building this morning to open the center as the protesters blocked our way,” Kittipong Thiengkunakrit, Director of the Phuket office of the Election Commission,…
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Phuket starts 2014 with zero road deaths
PHUKET: Although five road accidents sent five people to the hospital with injuries yesterday, Phuket has yet to record a single death for the new year. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) today confirmed that one serious accident had been reported in Patong after midnight last night. “A motorbike crashed into a pickup truck near the mosque on…
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Phuket Police probe body washed up on Patong Beach
PHUKET: Police are investigating the cause of death of a man whose body was found washed up on Patong Beach this morning. Police were called to the beach in front of Loma Park (map here) at about 5:30am after passers-by noticed the body. “He had dark skin, was 150-160cm tall and appeared to be 30-35 years old,” said Maj Jakkrapong…
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Phuket offerings, blessings mark New Year 2014
PHUKET: About 1,000 people gathered at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town this morning to join a mass alms-giving ceremony to bring good luck for the new year. All three Phuket Vice Governors attended the 7am ceremony in front of Queen Sirikit Park (map here), as did the Phuket City Mayor and other officials. After dry food offerings were presented…
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Phuket Gazette World News: World ushers in New Year; South Sudan peace talks today; Putin vows to take down terrorists
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Sudan peace talks set for New Year’s Day Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: South Sudan’s government and rebels are set for New Year’s Day peace talks in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to thrash out a ceasefire to end weeks of ethnic bloodletting in the world’s newest state.Both…
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Phuket doubles down on Tah Chat Chai checkpoint security
PHUKET: The number of police manning the land-security gateway to Phuket, Tah Chat Chai checkpoint, has been doubled in order to ensure the safety of residents and visitors during Phuket’s high season. The number of Tah Chat Chai Police officers has jumped from 10 officers checking a total of five cars an hour to 20 officers checking a total of…
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Teen sixth road death in Phuket ‘Days of Danger’ campaign
PHUKET: A teenager became the sixth person to die during Phuket’s 10 Days of Danger when he crashed his new motorcycle in Thalang last night. Thanawat Tohting, 19, was travelling at high speed northbound on Thepkrasattri Road when the traffic light at the intersection with the airport road changed to yellow, witnesses told police. Mr Thanawat increased his speed to…
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