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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What’s not covered by health insurance in Thailand?
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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Phuket Gazette World News: Queen Beatrix to abdicate Dutch throne
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch Queen Beatrix to abdicate throne after 33 years Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Dutch Queen Beatrix announced that she will abdicate on Queen’s Day in April after more than three decades as head of state, allowing her eldest son Willem-Alexander to become the kingdom’s…
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World News: Monkey back in space; Arms intercepted; Italian plane probably downed by missile
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Iran said yesterday it had launched a live monkey into space, seeking to show off missile systems that have alarmed the West because the technology could potentially be used to deliver a nuclear…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: All about the numbers
Woods triumphs by four shots at Torrey Pines Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Tiger Woods withstood a late bogey, double-bogey, par, bogey wobble in strengthening winds to end a week of dominant golf by clinching his 75th PGA Tour title by four shots at the Farmers Insurance Open yesterday. Six strokes in front overnight at 17 under with 11 holes…
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Taxi driver mob tears down Russian tour agency sign, forces closure
PHUKET: Phuket taxi drivers in the popular tourist beach area of Bang Tao today successfully staged their second protest against Russian tour companies operating in the area. The mob of angry taxi drivers from the Baan Bangtao Taxi Club pulled down the signs of one of their primary targets, Alex Holiday Tour Co Ltd in Cherng Talay, alleging that the…
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Thailand Futsal: Chonburi Sharks devour Phuket Pearl
PHUKET: Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL) runaway table toppers Chonburi TOS RBAC FC, brushed aside Phuket United in their match on Saturday evening, with Chonburi winning at home 5-1. Played at the Chon Kanyanukoon School in the heart of Chonburi city, the match was both side’s 16th of a 30-fixture season. Going into the game, the Chonburi ‘Sharks’ were ranked…
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Scottish tourist drowns at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A Scottish tourist on holiday in Phuket drowned early yesterday morning at the secluded beach at Ao Sane (map here), on Phuket’s southwest coast. Police named the victim as Neil Gray, 36. Mr Gray was swimming at the scenic beach at about 8 am when his friends noticed him signalling that he was in distress, Capt Chienchai Duangsuwan of…
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Italian arrested after naked Phuket joy ride
PHUKET: Police arrested an Italian man who stole a BMW that was left running in front of a laundry shop near Phuket Technical College yesterday. Responding to a report from Surawit Siangdee, 36, that his black BMW had been stolen at 3:30pm, Phuket City Police notified police stations island-wide. Thalang traffic police spotted the car, with mag wheels and lowered…
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World News: Brazilian nightclub fire kills at least 233
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nightclub fire kills 233 in Brazil Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A nightclub fire killed at least 233 people in southern Brazil early yesterday morning when a band’s pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing party-goers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits in the ensuing…
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Phuket villagers demand pistol whipping police officer be transferred
PHUKET: About 200 angry Phuket villagers Thursday night demanded that the Kamala police officer who allegedly pistol whipped a teenager in an angry mob be immediately transferred. The boy was allegedly struck across the face by the officer as he joined other teenagers in beating an alleged bag snatcher, who had just been put under “citizen arrests”. At about 9pm,…
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More Rohingya refugees found adrift off Thailand’s coast
PHUKET: Another group of desperate Rohingya refugees found shelter along the Khura Buri coast north of Phuket yesterday after 25 days at sea, making them the third group to land along Thailand’s Andaman coast this month. The 96 refugees shared the same harrowing story as the 179 who came ashore on January 23: days at sea surviving on scant rations…
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Phuket Opinion: Stateless visitors need more than hospitality
PHUKET: The plight of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar’s Rakhine State during the current sailing season clearly shows the need for Asean and other international bodies to come together to help solve, or at least alleviate, the root causes of the problem inside Myanmar as soon as possible. This will of course be no easy task. Few international humanitarian issues on…
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Phuket Islamic Council calls for desperately needed essentials for Rohingya refugees
PHUKET: The Phuket Islamic Council is collecting donations at their office in Koh Kaew for the hundreds of Rohingya refugees being held in detention centers across Southern Thailand. The Islamic Council is asking for blankets, dried food and toiletries. Kitti Islam, a member of the Phuket Islamic Council, told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that the council has already received a…
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Phuket charity drive cooks up a family-fun entertainment extravaganza
PHUKET: Tomorrow, Saturday January 26, the Royal Phuket Marina will be the place to be in Phuket for fabulous food, fun and games for the kids and superb live music. The first-of-its-kind Phuket Family & Gourmet Festival, a charity event, is being staged by Jagota Foods to raise valuable funds for the Andaman region’s less fortunate kids. From 10:30am to…
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Triathlon: Laguna to take on new Challenge
PHUKET: The Challenge Family recently announced a partnership with Asia’s longest running triathlon, Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT), and in doing so, revealed its commitment to developing a series of half and full distance events throughout the region. LPT has been attracting the the sport’s legends and age groupers alike to the stunning tropical island for two decades. In 2013 it…
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New Zealand expat sailor drowns in Phuket boating mishap
PHUKET: Popular Phuket sailor Richard Spraggs, from New Zealand, drowned in an early morning boating accident today. Mr Spraggs, 59, was re-anchoring his boat La Zingara at about 5am after an overnight storm had pushed another boat too close to his, Capt Chianchai Duangsuwan of the Chalong Police reported. Mr Spraggs was trying to push the boats apart when he…
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Football: Phuket FC defeat Dredger’s Army in friendly
The Islanders continued their pre-season preparation ahead of the upcoming 2013 Yamaha League 1 season by playing PhangNga FC in a friendly at Surakul Stadium last night. The match gave Phuket’s new signings the chance to get to know each other in a match situation, and with unlimited subs and three 35-minute period, instead of the standard two 45-minute halves,…
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Phang Nga immigration overloaded, Rohingya relocated to centers across Southern Thailand
PHUKET: The 179 Rohingya refugees who arrived in Khura Buri District, north of Phuket, on January 23 have taken the Phang Nga Immigration facilities past breaking point, forcing authorities to relocate hundreds of Rohingya already being held at the Phang Nga detention center to immigration centers elsewhere in Southern Thailand. “Yesterday, we brought 179 Rohingya from Khura Buri police station…
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Burmese dies rushing from Phuket Town to Thalang party
PHUKET: A Burmese man working in Phuket was killed and another injured when the motorbike they were riding slammed into a roadside guard rail at high speed near Baan Sapam Mongkol Wittaya school (map here) Wednesday night. The driver, Zaw Min Oo, 37, died at the scene. His passenger, Myo Aung Chay, also 37, suffered a broken leg and was…
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Swiss student tourist Janisch out on bail
PHUKET: A Swiss national held by Ranong Immigration since December 25 on charges of stealing an officer’s camera was released on bail yesterday after her mother appeared in Ranong Court to post 130,000-baht bail bond. Unaware that her daughter, Tscherina Nora Janisch, was being held in a Thai prison north of Phuket, Elizabeth Maria Janisch initially reported Tscherina as missing…
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Man tortured, murdered in mangrove forest near Phuket Town
PHUKET: Phuket Police found the bloodied body of an unidentified man who appeared to have been tortured before being murdered in a mangrove forest near Rassada Port, on the east side of Phuket Town (map here) early this morning. Pieces of a broken beer bottle and a bloodied piece of wood believed to be the murder weapons were found nearby.…
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Phuket United lose FA Cup match, Islanders to play Phangnga FC
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United had their Thailand FA Cup dream shattered this afternoon, losing 2-3 to Lampang United in a close match up in Bangkok. The match was the fifth FA Cup round-of-16 match to be contested at Fashion Island futsal arena on the north side of the capital today and yesterday. In addition to Lampang,…
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Phuket Sports: Taekwondo tourney
PHUKET: THE national Taekwondo coach, of Thailand, Choi Yong Seok, met with various sporting dignitaries in Phuket last month to discuss the preparations for the first Phuket International Choi Yong Seok Taekwondo Championship. The event will be held at Saphan Hin Indoor Sports Complex this weekend, and is expected to attract competitors from 12 countries, including about 120 from South…
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Police charge “real driver’ over lethal tour van crash
PHUKET: Police confirmed this week that they have charged the “real driver” of the Phuket tour van involved in the accident on November 29 that claimed the life of 9-year-old schoolgirl Kunnarree Lattuada-Lancini (story here). “Makeesan Samae has been charged with gross negligence causing death under Section 290 of the Criminal Code and with reckless driving under Section 43 of…
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World News: Women in US, France and India make the headlines
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. to lift ban on women in frontline combat jobs Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. military will formally end its ban on women serving in frontline combat roles, officials said yesterday, in a move that could open thousands of fighting jobs to female service…
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Australians charged with attempted murder: miss “mafia’ target, shoot German tourists
PHUKET: Two Australian tattoo parlor owners have been charged with attempted murder after opening fire with an unregistered firearm in the heart of Phuket’s party town, Patong, yesterday evening. John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, shot two German bystanders in their attempt to “strike first” against an alleged Danish mafioso, named by police only as “Dannie”. “This is not…
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World News: Indian women learning to look after themselves
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Women take up self-defence, pepper spray after India rape Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Women in India’s capital are taking self-defence classes, snapping up pepper sprays, booking cabs with female drivers or leaving work early, all signs of growing insecurity following the brutal gang rape and murder of…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Tough times for EPL’s poor relations
Premier League’s poor relation seeking new backers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: While the Premier League generates recession-busting revenue increases, times are tougher for the 72 football clubs outside the elite as they battle for media exposure and commercial deals. Those clubs comprise the three-tier Football League, which features such illustrious names as former champions Nottingham Forest and Leeds United…
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Thailand News: Preah Vihear Temple; Boy killed in shooting; Call for regional help
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Thais won’t accept ICJ ruling in temple dispute’ Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: A yellow-shirt group yesterday submitted letters to the United Nations, the Army chief and the Supreme Court president, demanding rejection of the ongoing International Court of Justice hearing into the Thai-Cambodian dispute.Hundreds of members…
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Pork lady wins half million baht of gold from Red Cross Lucky Draw
PHUKET: A grilled pork vendor claimed this year’s Red Cross Fair “Lucky Draw” grand prize of more than 500,000 baht’s worth of gold with her ticket number 59319 yesterday.Atcharaporn Weerakarn, 47, was delighted as she received the hefty amount of gold from Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut.“I bought only one ticket and I am very lucky to have won. This prize…
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Phuket Sports: Buakaw draws thousands to Patong fight
PHUKET: Buakaw ‘Dam Dot Com’ performed an artistic demonstration of ancient Muay Thai against two opponents at once, at the Patong Boxing Stadium recently, in front of thousands of cheering fans.Buakaw’s demonstration began at 10:45pm, after a number of opening fights featuring local fighters. Formerly known as ‘Buakaw Por Pramuk’, before a longstanding dispute with his former gym forced his…
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