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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Phuket Airport taxis face overhaul, upgrade
PHUKET: An open meeting at the Airports of Thailand (AoT) Phuket office yesterday morning has resulted in a slew of new measures to be introduced to improve the quality of service of taxis serving Phuket International Airport. The news follows weeks of controversy over current arrangements. “What has been agreed on is that each taxi operating to and from the…
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Phuket Sports: Talking tennis with a pro
PHUKET: Darran Ferre was recently appointed as a tennis pro by the Regent Phuket Cape Panwa where he will be launching an academy aimed at coaching young players to a high level. We spoke to Darren about his passion for tennis and his new role at the Regent.Who is your favourite player and why?Darran Ferre: Players inspire me for different…
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Phuket to sport armed patrol cars for night duty
PHUKET: Provincial Police are currently refitting and upgrading three patrol cars to police known crime hotspots in Phuket in order to enhance tourists’ safety at night during the high season. “Following the appointment of the new Phuket Provincial Commander, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiwruangnont [story here], we have been instructed to redouble our efforts to improve safety for tourists,” Phuket Provincial…
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ABBA tickets to go on sale today
PHUKET: Tickets for Phuket’s entertainment event of the year, the November 8 ABBA FOREVER concert at Laguna Phuket, will go on sale at 11am today. With more than 220 of them already snapped up in website pre-bookings this week, sales are expected to be brisk and buyers are advised to purchase from authorized agents only. The tickets are priced at…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Firebombs at Bangkok rally; Hospital warns thieves drug patients; Chiang Mai quake; Flood defenses down
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Patients robbed after thieves spike water with animal sedative The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: “Watch out!” the Public Health Ministry is warning all hospital users nationwide, after the recent sedation of a number of patients at major Bangkok hospitals when they unwittingly ingested a dangerous…
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DOG DAYS: Phuket murder fugitive ‘Mick the Pom’ living openly in sunny Philippines
PHUKET: British murder fugitive Michael John Taylor, better known in Phuket as “Mick The Pom”, has been found alive and well in the Philippines, and now uses the online monikers “Mick Doggard”, or just “Mickdog” for short. Taylor, who celebrated his 50th birthday on September 20 this year, remains wanted for the murder of his girlfriend Jantra Weangta, 27, who…
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Phuket Opinion: Keeping the glory
PHUKET: Standing at the top of the tower at Khao Khad View Point, one is surrounded by a breathtaking vista. What a marvelous project it is, with footpaths meandering through the pleasant woods below – and, yet, on closer inspection, this iconic Phuket landmark is crumbling to pieces. The painted cement “boards” of the walkways below have caved in and…
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Phuket Opinion: When testing water, don’t trust your eyes
Dr Somkiat Khokiattiwong, 54, is head of the Oceanography and Marine Environment Unit at the Phuket Marine Biological Center. A Phuket native, he has a master’s degree in oceanography from McGill University in Canada and a PhD in eco-toxicology from Southern Denmark University, Denmark. Here, he talks about how Patong can better handle its treated wastewater. PHUKET: It is one…
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Phuket Opinion: Signs of Chaos
PHUKET: Thailand can claim credit for some of Southeast Asia’s most high-profile land transport boondoggles, yet often overlooked is the long-standing and scandalously in-your-face inadequacy of the Transport Ministry to provide drivers with one of the most basic motoring necessities: accurate and informative road signs. We live in an age of amazing geographic technology. Cars, cameras and other electronic gadgets…
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Patong pharmacy raid targets cough syrup sales to teens
PHUKET: Public health officials are investigating a Patong pharmacy suspected of selling cough syrup to Phuket teenagers for the purpose of making the illegal 4×100 narcotic cocktail. Cough syrup is a key ingredient of the cocktail, which includes kratom leaves. “After receiving worrying reports concerning the Chanulak Pharmacy, I contacted the Phuket Public Health Office [PPHO] to inspect the outlet,”…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival sends hotel occupancy soaring
PHUKET: Occupancy at beach and Phuket Town hotels during the Vegetarian Festival is at 85 per cent or higher, said Governor Maitri Inthusut. As he took part in festivities at the Tha Rua shrine yesterday, the governor noted that hotels along parade routes in Phuket Town were fully booked. Even hotels not on the parade routes – those at island…
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Fewer Phuket Vegetarian Festival mediums in hospital, so far
PHUKET: Six ma song (spirit mediums) have been admitted to hospital for wounds incurred during this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival, and three people have been admitted for injuries sustained from firecrackers.Most of the ma song taken to hospital had injuries to their tongue or cheek, explained Kajornsak Kaewjaras, chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO).“We took them all…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PM seeks Japanese transportation deal; People’s Army on the move; Thaksin no terrorist; Floods not a crisis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM seeks Japanese role in Bt2-tn transportation project The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has invited Japan Inc to take part in Thailand’s Bt2-trillion transportation development project.She also proposed to Myanmar to jointly develop a “trilateral highway”, creating land bridges between India, Myanmar and…
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Phuket teens arrested for dangerous use of firecrackers
PHUKET: Phuket City Police say they have arrested at least 13 teenagers for endangering people by throwing firecrackers into the dense crowds lining the streets for the Vegetarian Festival, now in the sixth day of this annual nine-day event. “I assigned three undercover police teams to patrol Phuket Town, focusing specifically on where we had received complaints about teens using…
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Tourist Police officer stripped of badge over double-homicide shooting
PHUKET: A Phuket Tourist Police officer has been kicked off the force as the prosecutor moves forward in charging him over a double-homicide in a drug-den shootout in March. Pinchai Piyadilok, 34 at the time of the shooting, lost a leg as a result of wounds sustained in the gun battle that left Saran Chaithum, 26, and Chalermpol Tripuk, 26,…
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Thalang traffic police to crack down on convenience store parking violators
PHUKET: Traffic police in Thalang today confirmed that they will crack down on motorists congesting the roadways around 7-Elevens and other small convenience stores in the Phuket district within the coming weeks. “In the next two weeks, my team and I will talk to branch managers at 7-Elevens and other small convenience stores, and ask them to announce to their…
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Armed man robs 7-Eleven, last seen heading for Wat Chalong
PHUKET: An armed robber made off with 1,000 baht from a Chalong 7-Eleven convenience store early Tuesday morning. The robber fled on a motorbike and is now the subject of a Chalong Police search. The thief entered the 7-Eleven at the entrance to Soi Mae Aum Phan, a few meters in front of the popular Phuket expat shopping mall HomePro…
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Construction worker shocked by high-voltage line
PHUKET: A Myanmar national welding on top of the police box at the Kalim junction in Patong at about 6pm yesterday was shocked by a jolt from a high-voltage line, but not fatally injured.When the back of Aung Naing’s welding rod touched a tree that was in contact with the high voltage line, he received an electric shock that sent…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Caribbean Cocaine Cowboys on the rise; US slashes Egypt aid; Nigeria raids suicide vest factory; Landslide win in Azerbaijan election
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Caribbean drug trade rises under new generation of ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Caribbean is becoming a hot spot again for drug smuggling into the United States as a new generation of “Cocaine Cowboys” plows the seas in fast boats in search of easy entry…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Tourists escape bus crash; ISA invoked in Bangkok; Suspect arrested for Brit murder; ATM attacks in South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ISA invoked ahead of visit by Premier Li The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The government yesterday decided to impose the Internal Security Act (ISA) on Dusit, Pomprap Sattru Phai and Phra Nakhon districts of Bangkok until October 18 as 200-300 protesters continued to rally outside Government House.The…
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Storms and rain set to continue until Sunday
PHUKET: Phuket and surrounding Andaman Coast areas are set for more rough weather, the Thailand Meteorological Department (TMD) has warned. According to the TMD, which issued its warning at 10am yesterday, the storms will continue until Sunday, when blue skies and the sun are due to make a welcome reappearance. Boat-owners and other seafarers need to exercise extra caution, as…
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Officials complete Kamala flash-flood cleanup, but warn of more flooding
PHUKET: Officials at Kamala Beach have completed their mop-up operation after the town was struck by a flash flood on Sunday, but have warned residents that more flooding may be on the way.“More than 20 homes were flooded by mud and water, but now the situation is back to normal,” said Krittkraisee Khieowan, Chief Administrative Officer at the Kamala Tambon…
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Meth arrests lead to prison drug lord
PHUKET: The trend for local drug dealers to source their product from a kingpin operating out of a maximum-security prison was evident again this week as Crime Suppression Division (CSD) officers in Phuket arrested two suspects found in possession of 2,336 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) in raids north of Phuket Town on Monday. Undercover police learned of a dealer…
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Phuket Governor stages “3K Police’ tour
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday conducted an inspection tour of police stations at three key tourism beach areas – Patong, Kamala and Karon – as part of his campaign to promote Phuket as a safe holiday destination.Joining the governor on his tour was Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol.Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan, who formally heads Kathu Police Station, reported…
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Huge Phuket python caught seeking shelter
PHUKET: A man checking his house for leaks during heavy rain in northern Phuket this morning spotted a huge python near the back of the house, trying to get in.Chokdee Inklub was checking every room of his home at Baan Yid, in Mai Khao, to ensure water was not damaging his furniture or posing a danger near exposed power sockets.When…
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Rain fails to dampen Phuket Vegetarian Festival spirit
PHUKET: The Phuket Vegetarian Festival street processions continued yesterday under a steady drizzle and leaden skies, but the inclement weather barely dampened the enthusiastic spirit of both participants and observers. The procession by devotees from Samkong Shrine wound its way through Phuket Town in the morning rain, with some 2,000 spectators lining the route to watch ma song (spirit mediums)…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Higgs boson, key to the universe, wins Nobel physics prize
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Higgs boson, key to the universe, wins Nobel physics prize Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Britain’s Peter Higgs and Francois Englert of Belgium won the Nobel Prize for physics on Tuesday for predicting the existence of the Higgs boson particle that explains how elementary matter attained the mass…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Bangladesh garment factory blazes; Turkey lifts headscarf ban; Italy seeks EU help after boat tragedy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Turkey lifts generations-old ban on Islamic head scarf Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Turkey lifted a ban on women wearing the Islamic head scarf in state institutions on Tuesday, ending a generations-old restriction as part of a package of reforms the government says are meant to improve democracy.The…
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As AoT and Airport bus company trade barbs, tourists take taxis
PHUKET: As Airports of Thailand (AoT) and the Airport Express bus company trade blame for the lack of passengers on the Airport-to-Patong bus, tourists continue to find it difficult to locate the bus stop. The most common complaint voiced by visitors is the lack of information both at Phuket International Airport and on line. “It took me 20 minutes to…
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Exploited lizard puts rainy-day tout in hot water
PHUKET: Non-stop rain in Patong could not stop an iguana tout from offering tourists photo opportunities with his captive reptile, a protected species. However, his persistence paid no dividends. Kathu District officers arrested the tout yesterday afternoon on Patong’s Phang Muang Sai Kor Road.“Ruonkimlhee Unruean, 46, from Patong, was caught with the iguana in front of One Tambon One Product…
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