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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Health insurance in Thailand has important limits that everyone should know. Many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, motorcycle accidents, extreme sports, or specific treatments. These gaps can lead to unexpected costs during emergencies. Coverage for outpatient care and hospital...
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Russian tourists rescued from drowning at Patong Beach
PHUKET: Life guards at Patong Beach rescued two Russian men from drowning within 10 minutes of each other yesterday. Vladimir Himonov, 67, was rescued from the surf in front of the Ocean Plaza shopping center (map here) at 11am. “Life guards saw Mr Himonov swimming about 200 meters from shore. They realized that the Russian tourist was struggling in the…
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Phuket Poll: Millions of more tourists are on their way, but why do they come?
PHUKET: As the tourism high season looms nigh, Phuket residents and business folk are readying themselves for another record-setting onslaught of tourists to see the new year in. Right on cue, the Phuket Carnival “Fun Fest”, the island’s annual week-long party to unofficially mark the beginning of the high season, will start on December 15 (story here). Even before the…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta day 1 results
PHUKET: Day 1 of the 27th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta has officially concluded – the racing anyway – and the results are as follows:IRC 01. Boat: Jelik Skipper: Frank Pong Country: Hong Kong2. Boat: Oi ! Skipper: Ahern Bailey Wilmer Country: Australia 3. Boat: OneSails Racing Skipper: Ray Roberts Country: Australia IRC 11. Boat: Foxy Lady VI Skipper: Bill Bremner…
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Australian real estate agent in arson murder-suicide over internet usage
PHUKET: Jealousy and his stepson’s obsession with the internet drove an Australian real estate agent to burn down his house around him with his family inside, the man’s wife told Krabi Town Police. Naruthai Port, recovering in Krabi Hospital from serious burns across 60 per cent of her body, told police that Australian Richard Port locked all the doors to…
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Phuket protesters promise not to target airport, bus station
PHUKET: Protesters in Phuket have vowed not to attempt to close Phuket International Airport or bus stations on the island as they continue their campaign to garner support from government officers. Last Wednesday thousands of protesters gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall demanding that officers walk away from their desks as a sign of support for the anti-government rally (story here).…
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Be a responsible investor – Phuket Finance
PHUKET: There is much wrong with our world unfortunately. I am guessing this is not news to most of you, and the corporate profit motive is widely accepted as being a major cause of many of the modern world’s largest problems. I am often asked by clients how they can invest in the markets without inadvertently supporting or contributing to…
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Protect yourself from cyber-crime – Phuket Business
PHUKET: As an expatriate living in a foreign country, you are particularly vulnerable to cyber-crime as you probably use the Internet to access your financial accounts and the statements associated with those accounts. With that in mind, here are ten tips to help you foil potential cyber-criminals: Security starts with your financial institution Although it’s inconvenient, your financial institution should…
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Phuket Gazette World News: New York train crash, 4 dead, 70 injured; Fast and Furious star dies; Honduras protests erupt; India space race overtakes China
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New York train derailment kills four, injures 70 Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A suburban New York train derailed on Sunday, killing four people and injuring 70, including 11 critically, when all seven cars of a Metro-North train ran off the tracks on a sharp curve, officials said.The…
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Rasmus Petreus and Melissa Hauschildt win Challenge Laguna Phuket
PHUKET: Rasmus Petreus of Denmark and Melissa Hauschildt of Australia are the respective men’s and women’s champions of the inaugural Challenge Laguna Phuket, having crossed the finish line with times of 4:05:06 and 4:30:29, respectively. Mr Petreus was followed closely by Alberto Casadeli of Italy who clocked in at 4:07:13, and his Italian compatriot Alberto Alessandroni in 4:07:52. From strength…
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Phuket officials set date for Patong Carnival
PHUKET: The island’s premier party town of Patong is set to kick off the Phuket tourism high season with its annual carnival, from December 15 through December 20. “Phuket is ready to host thousands of tourists this coming high season. Be assured that you will have a wonderful time here and be impressed with the beauty of our island,” says…
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Phuket Sport: Inaugural Thanyapura Junior Challenge triathlon winners
PHUKET: Hundreds of junior athletes and spectators alike turned up at Thanyapura Phuket this morning to participate in the inaugural Thanyapura Junior Challenge triathlon event, which turned out to be a special and timeless day for many. Indeed, the spirits of staff, local media, peers, parents and relatives were seemingly unhindered by the morning’s blistering heat and humidity; supporters wholeheartedly…
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Phuket Opinion: Changing for a Safer Phuket
PHUKET: While wishing ‘Safer Phuket’ (story here) the best of luck in its difficult mission to raise marine-safety standards in local waters to international levels, it is clear that the new NGO’s success will depend on its ability to change a deeply-entrenched “culture of carelessness” that pervades locally, both on land and at sea. This will be no small challenge.…
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Swimming skills for life surface at Phuket’s Thanyapura
PHUKET: Water is integral to the Phuket lifestyle – to the island way of life. Yet, surprisingly, many locals born and raised in this tropical paradise risk growing up without ever learning how to swim. Avoidable, tragic drownings are an all-too-common reminder and result of this deplorable lack of swimming knowledge and skills. It’s easy for us to take our…
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Alleged Phuket ghost rider in motorbike crash with foreigners
PHUKET: A pair of injured foreigners reported to police that a ghost rider slammed into them in the southbound lane of Thepkrasattri Road near the Kor En ‘death bend’ early this morning. American Mike Waltman, 23, was not seriously injured in the incident. However, his 20-year-old Ukrainian passenger, Karl Midman, broke his leg, said Capt Thanom Thongpan of the Tah…
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Phuket’s football academy offers trials for scholarships
PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BISP) is holding football trials (try-outs) for outstanding male and female footballers (aged 14 to 17 years) who wish to be considered for a scholarship place in the high performance BISP/Cruzeiro Football Academy. The trials for scholarship applicants will be held at BISP on 25/26 January 2014, but applicants need to apply via the BISP…
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The Genesis of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: It was in June, 1986, when a number of leading lights in the Thai sailing fraternity came together with an idea: A Regatta for our King who would turn 60 the following year and the regatta to be held in Phuket, previously untouched by a sail-fest of such significance. Then current-Commodore of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, Chris J…
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Phuket Opinion: Tackling power woes needs input from all
Natthaporn Kochsiripong, 34, is the Electricity Supply Assistant Manager at the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA). A Bangkok native, Mr Natthaporn has a degree in engineering from Thammasat University and a master’s degree in management from Ramkhamhaeng University. Here, he talks about the electrical issues facing Phuket. PHUKET: Phuket has become an island that never sleeps. This has caused a…
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Phuket Opinion: Click to care
PHUKET: Sharing a link on Facebook may save a whale or a starving child in Africa, but if the number of clicks truly count, then what headlines people look at highlight where our genuine interests are – and it’s shameful. The statistics available through Google Analytics, shown clearly on the Phuket Gazette Forum, are depressing, and I know I am…
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Sights set on a Safer Phuket
PHUKET: A new safety initiative was launched this week with the aim of improving the island’s coastal water safety through significant changes in safety standards and training. The initiative, ‘Safer Phuket’, has received executive level support, endorsed by Governor Maitri Inthusut along with backing from several Government departments and HE Ambassador Mark Kent of the British Embassy in Bangkok. Martin…
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Patong eyes giant Ferris wheel to get Phuket high season rolling
PHUKET: Phuket officials are scrambling to find a location to set up the Patong Eye, a giant Ferris wheel that is hoped to spin out fresh revenue during and after the Patong Carnival starting on December 15. “The Patong Eye could generate money to compensate for financial losses from Thailand’s National Youth Games last year,” said Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat…
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Kamala Police net meth dealers in hotel sting
PHUKET: Plainclothes police arrested two ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) dealers in a sting operation at a Phuket guesthouse on Wednesday night, seizing a total of 1.6 grams of the drug. Lt Suchart Chumphusaeng led four other officers of the Kamala Police in the raid at Popeye’s Place guesthouse, near Phuket FantaSea, where plainclothes officers had arranged to buy 1.6 grams…
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Anti-Yingluck protesters in Phuket pledge to not back down
PHUKET: Protesters have vowed to keep pressure on the Phuket provincial government until results of the anti-government rallies are seen in Bangkok. “The protests in front of Provincial Hall will continue until the big protest taking Bangkok by storm sees results,” protest co-ordinator Amnuay Kumban told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “The protests have gone too far to start backing…
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Doctor: American snorkeller fatality in Similans a heart attack, not a drowning
PHUKET: A 78-year-old American snorkeler died from a heart attack in the Similan Island National Park on Tuesday, a doctor at Thai Muang Hospital confirmed to the Phuket Gazette yesterday. Officers of the Royal Thai Navy, keeping any eye on tourists in the water from the beach, did not spot William Aloyuisus McCleary’s motionless body at first, as it was…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Abhist digs in; Yingluck rejects protesters’ demands; Anand calls for mutual retreat, peace talks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abhisit: Dems will strive to oust ‘Thaksin regime’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Thursday insisted his party is determined to overthrow the “Thaksin regime”, saying the government had lost legitimacy. He said the Democrats are ready to support popular…
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Phuket murder convict Lee Aldhouse happy to serve jail time in Thailand
PHUKET: British national Lee Aldhouse, sentenced today to 25 years in jail for the murder of American Marine Dashawn Longfellow in Phuket in 2010, is happy to serve his jail term in Thailand, the Phuket Gazette was told today. The Phuket Provincial Court sentenced Aldhouse, known in Muay Thai kickboxing arenas as the “Pitbull”, to 25 years’ imprisonment for the…
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Phuket Honorary Consul reports violent abuse, intimidation by taxi drivers
PHUKET: The Honorary Consul of Ireland this week revealed to the Phuket Governor how she was threatened and intimidated at a resort in Rawai, where taxi drivers refused to let her leave after picking up a friend and her children.The news came at Governor Maitri Inthusut’s quarterly meeting with Phuket’s honorary consuls at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday.“I went to…
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Another memorable year of the Phuket Dinghy Series
PHUKET: With day one of the final of the Phuket Dinghy series being canceled due to the freak storm that hit Cape Panwa last Saturday, the race resumed on Sunday morning in light wind conditions. A fleet of 17 Optimists and three Lasers did the windward – leeward course in anticipation of wind shift, which is not uncommon after the…
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Phuket throat slasher arrested in Patong
PHUKET: Police have arrested one man for the murder of Phuket construction worker Than Zaw, 24, a Myanmar national whose body was found dumped in a pond near the Patong Municipality offices on Sunday. Mr Than’s throat had been slashed and his torso had been stabbed at least 17 times (story here). Patong Police arrested Myanmar national Aung Htre, a…
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Swedish tourist drowns at popular Phuket beach
PHUKET: Big Phuket waves at Karon Beach claimed another tourist’s life yesterday afternoon. Swedish national Ann Gorli Teres Fjellner, 59, was knocked over and dragged out by heavy waves at about 9:30am, Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Pachai Matthayan told the Phuket Gazette. “Lifeguards saw the waves pull her out, but when they went to save her, she was already missing…
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Victim’s sister laments 25-year sentence for Aldhouse Phuket murder
PHUKET: The sister of American Marine Dashawn Longfellow today lamented the 25-year jail term handed down to her brother’s killer, British national Lee Aldhouse, saying that the sentence was not long enough. Marquis Longfellow voiced her disappointment with the sentence less than an hour after Aldhouse was given the 25-year jail term today (story here). “Lee took the life of…
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