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 Gazette World News: Super typhoon slams Philippines; Russia ramps up Greenpeace charges; Israel denies Arafat slaying; Odd asteroid tails
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Super typhoon Haiyan slams Philippines, millions seek shelter Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm on earth this year, slammed into the Philippines’ central islands on Friday forcing millions of people to move to safer ground and storm shelters, cutting power and phone…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Amnesty is over; Bangkok ATMs hacked; Russian boy in ferry tragedy dies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Push for amnesty has ended: PM The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: As opposition rises and protests spread to key areas of capital, govt withdraws all six draft bills from the houseThe embattled Pheu Thai government yesterday yielded further to the spreading public outrage over the bill for…
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British national charged for road fatality in Phuket
PHUKET: A British national was charged with reckless driving causing death after she allegedly forced a 17-year-old student on a motorbike off the road into a utility pole. According to witnesses, Faye Louise Taylor, 39, made a left-hand turn from Thepkasattri Road toward Nai Yang Beach at just past midnight today, cutting off Patiphan Lawan. The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who…
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Phuket temple receives 1.2mn baht to mark Kathin ceremony
PHUKET: Temple administrators at Wat Kata yesterday received a donation of over 1.2 million baht as part of the Kathin Ceremony, held each year to mark the end of the Buddhist “month of gratitude”. The donation was presented by officers from the Royal Thai Navy, joined by Karon Municipality officials and a gathering of about 2,000 other Buddhist disciples. “The…
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Amnesty bagged, Yingluck begs protesters to disperse
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck pleads with protesters to stop The Nation/Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra went on TV today to issue an urgent plea to all groups of demonstrators to stop their protests, saying that the government had aborted the amnesty effort. Ms Yingluck said that the…
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Phuket students in mass rally against amnesty bill
PHUKET: Hundreds of whistle-blowing students streamed through Phuket Town last night on their way to Phuket Provincial Hall to protest the amnesty bill. Starting at about 6pm, students from Phuket Wittayalai School, Satree Phuket School, Phuket Technical College, Rajabhat University and the Prince of Songkla University Phuket Campus gathered in front of Provincial Hall to make their opposition to the…
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Phuket Governor leads boat safety blitz
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday continued his campaign to boost marine safety as he inspected boats operating to and from Koh Maphrao, off Phuket’s east coast. The tour was part of a current blitz on marine safety, which was launched following a heavily overloaded ferry from Pattaya capsizing off Koh Lan, injuring many passengers and causing the deaths of…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver foils snatch-in-action
PHUKET: A Kalim tuk-tuk driver rushed to the aid of a woman who called for help yesterday and managed to apprehend the man who had just snatched her bag.Yongyuth Dhamkong, 42, was driving along the Kalim beachfront road at about 2am when he heard Nongsarang Sakyen, 33, calling for help.“When I drove past the victim, I heard her shout for…
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Phuket alumni, hospital workers protest amnesty bill
PHUKET: Opposition to the amnesty bill continued in Phuket yesterday as university alumni and hospital staff made their opinions known.About 20 Chulalongkorn and Thammasat University alumni association representatives presented Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut a letter of opposition to the bill while explaining how an amnesty could affect Phuket.“If this bill passes, the nation as a whole will experience more corruption,”…
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Phuket rescue too late for chicken
PHUKET: A chicken-owner tried to save his fowl from a python yesterday morning, but his efforts came too late; the chicken had already expired.An official of Radio Thailand Phuket called Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers for help catching the snake at 7:30am.The official, who asked not to be named, told rescue workers that he was alerted to the snake’s presence when…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Arafat poisoned, say Swiss; Ireland heads for bailout exit; Germany probes new meat scandal; Philippines braces for super typhoon
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ireland heads for bailout exit in final review Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Three years after going cap in hand to international lenders for a bail out, Ireland is set to step out on its own again.The European Union and International Monetary Fund are due to sign off…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protest whistles still blow; Call for Bt140bn urgent rice loan; Thai English ‘among the worst’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Protesters refuse to back down until bill is dropped The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Several groups of protesters said they would not stop rallying against the government’s blanket amnesty bill even if the Senate rejects the draft.This declaration came despite the fact that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra…
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Phuket expats risking lives on the road to stay in paradise
PHUKET: The visa van crash that took the life of Filipina singer Renita Dequina Polido on October 21 (story here) sent shock waves through the Phuket expat community and raised questions about the logic of a system that requires foreign workers to leave the country to get visas and renew 90-day permits-to-stay so regularly. The early morning accident occurred on…
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ABBA Fever has Phuket organizers, ticket sellers maxed out
PHUKET: With less than 36 hours remaining before the doors open to Friday night’s ‘ABBA Forever’ concert at Laguna Phuket, organizers Events International have asked the Phuket Gazette to advise readers as follows. The entourage from London arrives in Phuket today. Tomorrow night’s concert is sold out. There are still some tickets available for Saturday night, but few if any…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Dutch seek to free Greenpeace activists; Toronto Mayor admits smoking crack; China eyes adopting international law; Irish referendum on same sex marriage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch take Russia to maritime court to free Greenpeace activists Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Netherlands will ask an international court tomorrow to order Russia to release 30 people detained during a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic. The detainees, two of whom are…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Govt ready to retreat; Illegal loggers shot dead forest officer; Locals at borders concerned; Logo lawsuit against stalls
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt ‘ready to retreat’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Pheu Thai government appears to be retreating from its stance on backing the controversial amnesty bill, which is facing growing public opposition, while the Senate also seems to be ready to reject the bill. Though…
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Phuket beach closed after croc scare
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut asked hotel staffers and local residents yesterday to help keep people out of the water along Mai Khao Beach after a 2.5-meter-long crocodile was spotted in the area on Sunday (story here). “To ensure the safety of tourists and residents, Governor Maitri declared the area a no-swim zone,” Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR)…
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Phuket’s BIS to host largest international schools’ football tournament
PHUKET: Over 1,100 young footballers aged 8 to 18 years and from nine different countries will congregate in Phuket this Friday and Saturday (November 8-9) for the 12th annual British International School Phuket (BISP) International Football Tournament, sponsored by Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort and the Phuket Gazette. The expansive 39-acre BISP campus with 10 seven-a-side football pitches, is the…
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Breakfast blaze cooks Phuket Town vegetarian restaurant
PHUKET: A fire that broke out in a vegetarian restaurant during the breakfast rush today caused customers to scatter.Only minor injuries were reported from the incident. The cook at the Num Heng vegetarian restaurant on Chana Charoen Road told police that she was cooking when the fire started from the gas canister she was using.“I turned my back to get…
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Phuket gold snatch duo hail police pickup as getaway car
PHUKET: Two men who snatched a gold necklace from a 50-year-old woman on Sunday night were arrested after they accidentally waved down a police pickup truck to hitch a ride as they fled. Preeda Adam, 25, from Pathum Thani, and Phuket native Somsak Puangcharoen, 23, were arrested just after midnight yesterday. Both men reportedly worked as kitchen hands at the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Capt charged for Pattaya deaths; Senate may stop amnesty; Home CCTV relayed to police; SET plunges
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ferry tragedy prompts safety call The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: In the wake of Sunday’s fatal ferry accident, Chon Buri Governor Comson Ekachai has demanded the Marine Department and Pattaya City boost water-transport safety and put security guards on duty on Koh Lan around the…
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In wake of Pattaya ferry disaster, top brass stages safety tour in Phuket
PHUKET: Police Region 8 Commander Panya Mamen yesterday morning led a team of officers on a safety inspection of passenger vessels at Rassada Pier, a major jump-off point for tourists boarding ferries and tour boats to islands in Phang Nga Bay and along the Andaman coast. The safety blitz followed a heavily overloaded ferry from Pattaya capsizing off Koh Lan,…
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Crocodile spooks Phuket beach tourists
PHUKET: A large crocodile spotted offshore Phuket’s northern beach of Mai Khao yesterday morning has raised concerns that the amphibious predator may return and endanger local residents and tourists. The alarm was raised at 8:30am by a staffer at the Maikhao Dream Villa Resort and Spa Phuket, at the southern end of Mai Khao Beach (map here). “A crocodile was…
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SuperCheap Burmese miss Phuket employment office deadline
PHUKET: None of the 100 Myanmar nationals who allegedly quit SuperCheap after an enormous blaze demolished the megashop (story here) reported to the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) by the November 1 deadline (story here). “The workers were required to report their resignation to us by November 1, but until now none of them have shown up,” PPEO chief Yaowapa…
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Dozing motorist brings blackout to northern Phuket
PHUKET: A man who fell asleep at the wheel while returning home from dropping his girlfriend off at Phuket International Airport early this morning slammed into a power pole and caused a blackout throughout a large residential area in Thalang. Col Sarit Bootnongsaeng of the Thalang Police and first responders from the Kusoldharm Foundation arrived at the scene on Thepkrasattri…
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Oh what a feeling… walking on the ceiling
PHUKET: Lionel Richie’s feel-good 80s tune is about to apply in a more literal sense, with the opening of Phuket’s newest quirky, off-the-wall attraction which will enable visitors to actually dance, or walk, or crawl, or slide… on the ceiling. The beginning of 2014 is set to welcome a three-story, fully furnished house which will become the newest tourist attraction…
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Telly just like back home
PHUKET: As expats, we all have things that we miss about our home countries. For me, I have to say what I miss the most is American television. I miss having hundreds of channels (all in English) that I can watch whenever I want. There’s nothing quite like ESPN, HBO, Showtime, Starz (NASDAQ:STRZA) and AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) with their hit…
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How and why to get a Thai credit card
PHUKET: I am so often asked by foreigners living in Phuket about how to obtain credit cards, that I thought it might be helpful to explain the how and why of the situation. While some may be able to qualify for the traditional unsecured revolving card that we normally think of as a credit card, the normal situation is that…
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Phuket FC unlucky 13th in season finale
PHUKET: The Islanders ended their Yamaha League One (YL1) 2013 on a low note, falling to their final position of 13th place following a 3-0 away loss to Nakhon Ratchasima FC on Saturday night in Thailand’s Northeast. Following the opening exchanges, it was Phuket who looked to be the most threatening, with Giorgi Tsimakuridze netting the ball in the 20th…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Toronto mayor in crack up; Egypt’s Mursi trial begins; Anonymous hacks Australia; France rues journalists’ executions
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Toronto mayor urges police to release video, apologizes for ‘mistakes’ Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on Sunday urged his police chief to release a video that media reports say show him smoking what appears to be crack cocaine and issued an apology for unspecified…
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