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: Syria fighting intensifies; UK, France clear to send arms; US McCain meets rebels; Turkey forgers busted; Ireland defends Apple tax
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Syria fighting rages, more chemical attacks reported Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Heavy fighting raged around the strategic Syrian border town of Qusair and the capital Damascus on Monday and further reports surfaced of chemical weapons attacks by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces on rebel areas.The Syrian military pounded…
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Gas tanker leaks 2.5km trail of fuel through Phuket Town
PHUKET: A six-wheeled gasoline tanker truck leaked a trail of fuel 2.5 kilometers long through Phuket Town yesterday, causing motorbikes to skid and fall, resulting in at least one hospitalization. Police responded to a report at 11am that a gas tanker had leaked “gasoline” along Yaowarat Road, from the intersection with Mae Luan Road (map here) all the way to…
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Phuket lifeguards linger on beaches another month, contract pending
PHUKET: Lifeguards are staying on Phuket’s key tourist beaches for another month, as the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) wades through the Phuket Lifeguard Club’s contract again this year, beginning yet another saga (story here). To ensure the safety of tourists and residents at the approach of monsoon weather – often the cause of dangerous swimming conditions – the PPAO…
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Phuket Brake Failure: 10-wheeler flies off Patong Hill
PHUKET: The brakes on a 10-wheeled truck failed as it descended into Patong this morning, sending the heavy vehicle careening off the road and into a roadside ditch.No injuries were reported from the accident, Lt Col Nikorn Chuthong of the Patong Police said.Truck driver Somneuk Cherngthorn, 41, was delivering a small load of merchandise from Phuket Town at about 9:30am…
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Burmese man slashed in Phuket gas pump fracas
PHUKET: A Burmese man working as a pump attendant at a Phuket gas station was slashed yesterday after he punched one of five Burmese customers who did not have the money to pay for the gas they had just received. Patong Police inspector Pratuang Polmana arrived at Patong’s only gas station, the Esso gas station on Phra Barami Road (map…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rape victims silenced by state payouts; Govt to hunt down Vendetta Facebook attackers; Bang Fai rocket kills 2
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rape victims in Deep South silenced by state payouts: Angkhana The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Angkhana Neelaphaijit, a leading rights advocate for Thai Muslims, has voiced concern over continued sexual assaults against Muslim women by security officials stationed in the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.The…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Japan writes off US$2bn in Myanmar debt aid; Merkel, Li cross solar swords; Syria in Geneva; Stockholm settles
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Japan’s Abe ends Myanmar visit with aid, debt write-off Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Japan on Sunday endorsed Myanmar’s reform programme by writing off nearly $2 billion (£1.3 billion) in debt and extending new aid, some of which will help support an industrial zone being developed by Japanese…
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Phuket’s fans given football treat as Munich crowned Euro champs
Ribery and Robben combine to give Bayern victory Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A brilliant Franco-Dutch move involving Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben in the final minutes settled a memorable all-German Champions League final as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at Wembley. Watched by many avid football fans across Phuket who saw Frenchman Ribery’s backheel allow Dutchman Robben to…
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Islamic Festival kicks off, expects to draw record numbers in Phuket
PHUKET: The Alhamdulillah Talk-show Festival, expected to draw over 20,000 participants, is underway in Cherng Talay and will be running until midnight Sunday – rain or shine. “There will be talk shows about Islamic teachings and philosophy at the festival. We want to introduce Islam to the world, not just as a religion but also as a way of life,”…
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Steep road construction investigated, locals fear landslides across the bay from Phuket
PHUKET: Business owners’ fears of landslides that could be caused by a recently constructed road on a steep hill in the Ao Nang area across the bay from Phuket, led to an investigation on Thursday of the construction site.Locals also claimed that the road had been developed on Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park land. However,…
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Nine dead in Phuket wedding guest truck crash
PHUKET: Nine died and seven were injured after two pickup trucks – one carrying wedding guests returning to Trang from Phuket and one ferrying road construction workers – collided in Krabi last night. Police were called to the scene at the dangerous curve known as harm tai (“forbidden to die”) in Sai Khao district at 8pm. There they found two…
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Asia’s top sailors set for Samui
PHUKET: The line-up of boats for the 2013 Samui Regatta, set to take place from today to June 1 off Chaweng Beach, features a strong mix of top international racers and regional regatta veterans. Organized by Regattas Asia, a leading regatta and marine-based sporting event management company in Asia, Samui Regatta is celebrating its 12th year. Familiar faces on the…
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Governor: Phuket’s billion-baht prison desperately needed
Phuket’s billion-baht prison slated for construction in 2015 will provide welcome relief to the inmates at the current facility, whose number is now more than three times the century-old prison’s original capacity. With Cabinet approval already secured for the funding, all that remains to make the dream prison a reality are for the plans to be finalized and the construction…
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Phuket Sports: Laying odds for French Open; Murray ruled out
PHUKET: If I were a gambling man, which thank the Lord I’m not, then a punt on Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal would seem an obvious bet for the French Open. But even linked together as a double, the odds would be prohibitively short. Why? Just look at their 2013 records. Rafa, back after a seven month lay-off, has reached…
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Phuket Opinion: Tourist abduction, another sign of transport greed
PHUKET: The allegations of abduction of a female Chinese tourist by an illegal taxi driver operating out of Phuket International Airport once again highlight the need for a comprehensive overhaul of Phuket’s arcane, baroque and disreputable “public transport system” (story here). The shocking allegations against “independent” taxi driver Paitoon Kruain could not have come at a more conspicuous time: just…
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Phuket Opinion: Do you speak Zulu?
PHUKET: There are very few phone calls non-morning people like myself handle well before 7am. However, when the tour guide to a well-known adventure tour agency rang at 5am to pick up a friend staying at my place for her Similian tour, I was more than pleasant. Two hours of interrupted sleep and nine phone calls later, I wasn’t. In…
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Phuket Opinion: Proactive CCTV use necessary to protect resorts
Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) Vice President Bhuritt Maswongssa, 51, is also the Vice Chairman of the Patong Resort hotel. He received law degrees from both Ngee Ann College in Singapore and Ramkhamhaeng University in Thailand. In the wake of a recent spate of hotel robberies across the island, he discusses how to boost hotel and resort security. PHUKET: More than…
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Islanders look to trek the Elephants after Stallions rein in Phuket
PHUKET: Hungry for a win, Phuket FC are on the road this weekend, having bused it up to the area near the Cambodian border to take on Yamaha League One (YL1) newcomers, Trat FC tonight. The match, to be played at Trat city’s Central Sports Stadium with a 6pm kickoff, will be broadcast live on Siam Sports cable channel 114,…
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Gold shop thefts on the rise, police practice response
PHUKET: With millions of baht worth of gold being snatched from Phuket gold shops over the last year, Phuket police and gold shop owners joined together for a gold shop crime drill earlier this week. “The recent increase in the number of gold shops and supermarket robberies has made it necessary for shop owners and police to know exactly what…
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Phuket Tourist Police murder case on hold
PHUKET: The investigation into a Phuket Tourist Officer involved in a gunfight with neighbors that left two men dead and two, including the officer, injured on March 20 (story here) has come to a standstill. Police are still waiting for results from the Office of Forensic Science Police to determine whether the bullets that killed the two men were fired…
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Phuket Python excites early morning Patong crowd
PHUKET: An excited crowd was drawn to Soi Nanai at the unusual time of 7:40am this morning as Phuket rescue workers attempted to dislodge a three-meter long Python from a drain.A startled shopkeeper had called rescue workers after spotting the moderately sized snake in the drain below her.Rescue workers were able to lift the grate and safely extract the python…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Critic’s Facebook page suspended; Amnesty International raises concerns; Hidden agenda to privatise GPO
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Critic’s Facebook page suspended; cartoonist ‘ignores’ summonses The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thammasat University academic Somsak Jeamteerasakul’s Facebook account has been suspended for 30 days, leading to widespread criticism on social media. Facebook user Phakjira Slk, claiming to have been asked by Somsak, posted a…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Obama shifts U.S. policy; Religious Oklahoma uses prayer to bring solace
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama shifts U.S. from ‘perpetual war-footing,’ limits drone strikes Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: President Barack Obama yesterday shifted the United States away from a “boundless global war on terror,” restricting deadly drone strikes abroad and signalling that America’s long struggle against al Qaeda will one…
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Dredging clears path for cleaner Phuket Bang Tao Canal water
PHUKET: Bang Tao Canal water, which was blamed for a rash of health problems for Phuket tourists and boatmen, is now flowing more freely with 80 per cent of the canal-dredging process complete. Akkarawat Hirunphun, director of the Phuket-based Regional Environmental Office 15, said tests conducted by his officers in April confirmed that the water in the canal at multiple…
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Phuket illegal taxi driver charged with sexual assault
PHUKET: The illegal taxi driver accused of holding a 19-year-old Chinese tourist captive in his vehicle for five hours has been charged with sexual assault, the Phuket City Police chief confirmed. Paitoon Kruain, 32, who operated an illegal taxi picking up tourists at Phuket International Airport, presented himself to police for questioning last Saturday (story here). After intensive questioning by…
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Phuket house construction worker dies in fall
PHUKET: A Phuket construction worker died yesterday after falling from scaffolding at a house being built in Thalang. Thalang Police were called to the site, in Soi Lak Maung in Baan Muang Mai, at about 10:30am. At the scene they found Manit Mongkhon, 42, from Nan Province in Northern Thailand, dead from a fatal head injury. Coworkers Sataphon Phaojumroon, 49,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: British soldier beheaded in London attack
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community British soldier beheaded in suspected Islamist attack Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A British soldier was hacked to death by two men shouting Islamic slogans in a south London street on Wednesday, in what the government said appeared to be a terrorist attack.A dramatic clip filmed by an…
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Phuket shop owners urge mayor to reverse parking ban
PHUKET: More than 30 vendors with stores located opposite Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town have appealed to the Phuket City Mayor to reverse the decision to install no parking signs in front of their shops. The new signs, which prohibit parking in the area from 7am to 6pm, were installed on May 16 as a way to try to…
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Chinese arrested for illegally selling souvenirs at Phuket temple
PHUKET: Nine Chinese were arrested on Tuesday for illegally selling amulets and souvenirs at Wat Kathu, one of the oldest temples on the island. Phuket Immigration Office Superintendent Pol Col Sanchai Chokhayaikij led officers to the revered site at about 4:30pm, where they found the Chinese nationals actively selling amulets and souvenirs to visitors at the temple (map here). “We…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Stockholm rocked by riots; US admits drone killings; Boston bomb suspect shot dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Stockholm rocked by riots Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Violence spread from the North to the South of the city on Wednesday as groups of youth pushed through Stockholm’s suburbs casting stones, breaking windows and setting cars alight. Police in the southern Swedish city of Malmo said two…
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