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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The 5 most common travel emergencies in Thailand and how to be prepared
Thailand is a popular destination known for its dynamic culture, stunning beaches, and bustling cities however, travellers can face unexpected travel emergencies that include medical issues, road accidents, petty theft, and natural disasters. To ensure a safe and enjoyable trip,...
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Police pin down suspect in Phuket elephant smuggling ring
PHUKET: Police have identified a prime suspect in an illegal elephant smuggling ring that led to the recent DNA testing of two baby elephants in Phuket (story here). A Kamnan in Chaiyaphum province who police have yet to name will be charged with making and using fraudulent elephant certification documents, Col Watcharin Phusit, Superintendent of the Regional Natural Resources and…
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World News: Venezuela deports gringo spy; WikiLeaks case update; US soldier pleads guilty to murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Venezuela deports US filmmaker accused of being a spy Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Venezuela yesterday deported an American filmmaker who was arrested in April on accusations of spying for Washington and plotting with opposition student groups to destabilize the South American OPEC nation. “The gringo…
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Thailand News: Thai-Americans charged with exporting firearm parts – update; Tax loss on luxury cars; Man dies after ambulance moved
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UPDATE: Thais arrested in US over suspicious gun-parts shipments The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: National Police Chief Pol General Adul Saengsingkaew has assigned a deputy to handle a case in which US authorities have arrested and indicted three Thais and three Thai-Americans on charges of…
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Thousands to run Laguna Phuket Marathon this weekend
PHUKET: Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities will take to the roads of Phuket on Sunday morning when the eighth annual “Run Paradise” Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) once again celebrates the joy of running and pursuit of fitness in a family-friendly carnival atmosphere. This year the line-up of more than 4,000 Thai and international participants from 45…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: US arrests 6 Thais; Bombings amid NSC uncertainty
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US arrests six Thais for illegally exporting weapon parts to Thailand The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: US authorities have arrested and indicted a Thai woman residing in Berkeley, California, and five others for illegally exporting restricted firearm parts from the US to Thailand, federal prosecutors…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US woman raped in India; Nerve gas used; North Korean abuses exposed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. woman is latest gang-rape victim in India Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: An American woman was the latest gang-rape victim in northern India, local media reported Tuesday. The incident occurred at around 1am local time when the woman decided to hitchhike her way back…
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Russian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus slams into Patong house
PHUKET: Five Russian tourists were injured when the brakes failed on a Pegas Touristik bus while the vehicle was descending the steep hill into Phuket’s premier resort town of Patong at about 6pm this evening. The Bangkok-registered bus came to a thudding halt as it slammed into a house by the side of the road near Suwankiriwong Temple, known locally…
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Phuket’s most famous beachfront road to get 200-million-baht face lift
PHUKET: A plan to beautify over 3.5 kilometers of the Patong beachfront road by hiding unsightly power lines underground was presented at a public hearing yesterday in Patong.If the 203-million-baht project passes the public hearing process, as it is expected to, construction could start this year, covering the stretch of Taweewong Road from the three-junction in Kalim to Klong Pak…
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Phuket Gazette World News: China poultry fire kills 119; N Ireland resorts to ‘fake shopfronts’ for G8; Assange talks resume; Oklahoma toll reaches 18
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chinese slaughterhouse fire kills 119 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A blaze at a locked poultry slaughterhouse in northeast China killed at least 119 people on Monday with several still unaccounted for, officials and state media said, triggering online outrage in a country with a grim…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: 2 workers missing in quarry collapse; Luxury car crackdown; False bomb threat alerts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Phetchaburi mine ‘may have been operating illegally’ The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Rescue workers continued to search for the bodies of victims in a fatal rockslide yesterday at a mine in Phetchaburi, south of Bangkok, which authorities say may have ignored an order to improve its work…
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Governor looks for direct flights between Phuket and Nice, France
PHUKET: Fresh off the plane from France, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut revealed plans to support direct flights between two sister cities – Nice and Phuket. Such a flight would bolster the plans laid out in February by the French Ambassador to Thailand, Thierry Viteau, of inviting small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses to Phuket to discuss cooperative investment opportunities (story…
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![Twelve Burmese dead as border boat run goes fatally wrong [video report] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/phuketnews_Rescue_workers_prepare_to_bring_the_bodies_of_the_nine_Burmese_border_21237_FDnbPKIGiT_jpeg.jpg)
Twelve Burmese dead as border boat run goes fatally wrong [video report]
PHUKET: Marine Police recovered the bodies of nine Burmese nationals yesterday, bringing to 12 the number who died when their boat capsized in rough seas north of Phuket as they attempted to evade a Thai coastal patrol on Friday night.Pak Nam Police in Ranong province confirmed that the nine bodies retrieved yesterday comprised three women and six men found floating…
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Phuket Finance: Educational arbitrage
PHUKET: I think everyone would agree that a big part of long term financial planning is saving for their children’s university fees, which continue to reach more and more astronomical heights. However, very few people realize there are many ways to greatly reduce these costs without reducing your child’s value on the job market. Arbitrage usually refers to buying a…
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Phuket lifeguards warn tourists of dangerous surf at beaches
PHUKET: The lifeguards stationed at Phuket’s popular beaches have urged tourists to beware the dangerous surf and rip tides brought on by the return of the annual southwest monsoon. Strong winds and swirling currents together with big tides are creating dangerous swimming conditions at Phuket’s key tourist beaches, Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut “Nut” Chuayuan explains. “I urge all visitors…
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Phuket danger season surf claims one life, endangers fishing vessel
PHUKET: The heavy waves striking Phuket’s west coast over the weekend claimed the life of one man fishing at Patong last night and demanded the Marine Police assist a fishing boat in distress.Police responded to an emergency call at about 7pm yesterday, reporting that one man had drowned while fishing at Patong.The officers arrived at the scene, the southern headland…
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COMMON CENTS: AEC will bring opportunities, threats to Thai, ASEAN citizens
PHUKET: THE ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) to be established in 2015 creates a huge potential for the streamlined flow of labor, goods and services, and investment capital. However, along with this opportunity there are also potential threats which Thailand has to be aware of and address. It is my concern that Thailand is not doing enough to prepare and confront…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Press freedom failing in Asia; Isolated schools get merge pass; 11 dead in capsize off Ranong
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Newpaper chiefs confer on challenges facing industry The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Global newspaper chiefs are here in Bangkok to confer on the big challenges that face the industry, which include poor press freedom and financial struggles.At the International roundtable entitled ‘The New Media Landscape and its…
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Parental slur incites drunken Phuket murder
PHUKET: Police have arrested two suspects for the murder of the Thalang motorcycle taxi driver whose body was found in a canal in central Phuket yesterday (story here). Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri this morning presented to the press Chakrit Polklum, 35 and Prasit Sae-ong, 31. “Our investigation led us to discover that the day before Mr Thammanoon’s body was…
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Thai suspects claim innocence in Phuket attack on Kedah royal bodyguard
PHUKET: The two Thai men arrested for their involvement in the attack on a Kedah royal family bodyguard at a hotel in Patong on Tuesday night claim that though they were at the scene, they had no prior knowledge that the attack would occur. The bodyguard, Mohd Sobri Bin Said, suffered bruising to his body and a serious wound to…
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Phuket Gazette Queer News: Man versus ATM? Police win
PHUKET: Nobody likes having their card swallowed by the ATM – but most people take it on the chin. That’s not how you could describe the actions of 26-year-old Ekaphong Bunyaratphan, who got rather upset when his card was gobbled by a cash dispenser in Samut Prakan. Mr Ekaphong, who was more than a little “refreshed” at the time, lost…
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Phuket KBank customers warned of trojan, spyware
PHUKET: Kasikornbank (KBank) today issued a warning for all online banking customers to beware a trojan spyware message asking customers to download a program to their computer or mobile phone. Doing so may allow the spyware to steal your “one time password” SMS text messages sent from the bank’s online banking system, called “K-Cyber Banking”, to the mobile phone and…
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Europa League winners to gain Champions League ticket
PHUKET: To try and boost the ailing Europa League, UEFA president Michel Platini announced last week that – starting from the 2014/15 season – the winners would qualify for the Champions League. Platini also said that a fifth Champions League place is to be awarded to clubs in the big European leagues. Under this new system, the Europa League winners…
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Dylan Hartley to miss Lions tour
PHUKET: We now know the final composition of the Lion’s squad, the English Premiership winners, the Pro Twelve Irish champions, and the finalists in the French domestic competition. Jonny Wilkinson, not selected for the Lions tour of Australia, but available in the case of injury, gave another vintage performance in steering European Cup winners Toulon to the French championship final…
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Phuket taxi driver continues to deny sexual assault charges
PHUKET: In Phuket Prison since May 20, illegal taxi driver Paitoon Kruain continues to deny that he sexually assaulted a Chinese tourist whom he picked up at Phuket International Airport on May 17 and drove around in his car for five hours (story here). “He has been charged with sexual assault, deprivation of liberty and being under the influence of…
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Basic training tips for Phuket’s athletes
PHUKET: As we all know, Phuket is a world renowned holiday destination for thousands of people from around the globe. But did you also know it is one of the ultimate training and competition destinations in the eyes of international athletes? The island has mountains, hill trails, sandy beaches, beautiful coastlines and hosts many local and international sporting events –…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US to boost Asia military presence; Oklahoma tornado; SARS-like virus in Italy; God’s bank posts profit
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. rebalance to Asia-Pacific gaining steam, Pentagon chief says Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The U.S. military will devote more air power, ground troops and high-tech weaponry to the Asia-Pacific region as it moves ahead with a strategic rebalance, the U.S. defence chief said on Saturday in a…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PM ordered to reinstate security chief; German fugitive enjoys Bangkok holiday; Smoking in spotlight
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM ordered to reinstate National Security chief The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Transferred former National Security Council secretary-general Thawil Pliensri won a historic legal victory yesterday when the Central Administrative Court ordered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to reinstate him in his previous position.However, Government Spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi…
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Phuket Opinion: Let the taxis go free
PHUKET: I saw many things of interest in Bangkok last week, including a woman riding a motorbike with a squirrel on her shoulder. But the sweetest sights of all were the little red lights that peeped out here and there between tuk-tuks, trucks and cars on the busy streets of the capital. They spelled out waang in Thai, or “free”…
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SPECIAL REPORT: Fears of Phuket abductions
Special Report: It is a typical story in Phuket: a taxi or van picks up passengers and on the way to their destination gets them to stop at a jewelry store, souvenir shop or travel agency. A familiar experience, considered no more than an irritation or a waste of time by some. But is it more serious than this? PHUKET:…
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Phuket Opinion: Finding a cure for overloaded courts
Parinya Chaowalittawin, 45, took up the position of Chief Judge at Phuket Provincial Court on April 1. Originally from Trang, Judge Parinya has Bachelor’s of Law, Barrister-at-law and Master of Law degree from Ramkhamhaeng University. He has served as a judge for 17 years. Here, he explains what needs to be done to help clear the backlog of cases at…
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