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 contractors protest rising sand prices
PHUKET: A group of construction contractors and building material retailers yesterday gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to protest the cost of building sand, which has spiraled upward following the raid and closure of an illegal quarry in Phang Nga. The protesters filed a joint complaint, addressed to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Phuket Chamber of Commerce committee member Samran Sinthong.…
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Overturned tour bus cleared from main Phuket road
PHUKET: The overturned bus that blocked Thepkrasattri Road northbound early this morning, causing long tailbacks during rush hour, has been moved and traffic is now flowing freely along the busy Phuket road.At the scene, Sen Sgt Maj Kitti Klaisamniang of Phuket City Traffic Police told the Phuket Gazette that there were no passengers on board the bus at the time…
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Traffic tailbacks in Phuket as tour bus flips
PHUKET: A large tour bus flipped on to its side before dawn today, blocking three lanes of traffic and causing long tailbacks of up to 30 minutes on Phuket’s busy Thepkrasattri Road. The bus, which reportedly overturned at about 3am, came to rest on the long uphill stretch of Thepkrasattri Road northbound between Supercheap and the new Kasikorn Bank branch…
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Phuket Gazette: Women with kind hearts preyed upon
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Suicidal’ man preys on women with kind hearts Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A woman noticed a “suicidal man” on a Web board, felt his pain and decided to reach out with a caring heart. While the man soon said she had become the light…
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Tiger Disco fire: Pheu Thai’s Prompong calls for bar safety crackdown
PHUKET: After inspecting the gutted remains of the Tiger Discotheque over the weekend, Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit has called for increased safety measures at all 198 registered bars, pubs and other nightlife venues registered in Patong. “An examination of Tiger Discotheque reveals that the building construction itself was a problem. Its walls were made from a flammable foam material. Other…
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Tiger Disco fire: Styrofoam decor may have fuelled inferno
PHUKET: The highly flammable polystyrene foam used in making the Tiger Discotheque’s iconic decorations has been named by building inspectors as one of many possible fire hazards that contributed to the deadly fire last Friday. The news came yesterday as officers from the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, the Association of Siamese Architects Under Royal Patronage…
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Phuket Gazette: Army files complaint against Thaksin’s lawyer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth files complaint against Thaksin’s lawyer for defamation Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Army commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has asked police to take legal action against red-shirt lawyer Robert Amsterdam and a Thai female interpreter for allegedly defaming the Army.On Friday, Prayuth had a legal officer, Colonel…
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French tourist dies snorkeling in Phi Phi speedboat accident
PHUKET: A French tourist died after being struck by a speedboat while snorkeling off Phi Phi Island, near Phuket, yesterday afternoon. Phi Phi Police named the man as Olivier Jannequin, 42 years old. Police were notified of the accident at about 12:30pm. Mr Jannequin was travelling with four Frenchmen. Two of them went snorkeling not far from the shore, the…
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Tiger Disco fire: French, British named as probable victims
PHUKET: Patong Police Superintendent Jirapat Phochanaphan this afternoon confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that police were now investigating at least three more missing persons now suspected of being victims of the Tiger Discotheque fire that killed four people early Friday morning. “Police are investigating four people named as missing. We will ask for DNA samples to be provided so they…
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Phuket knock off Bangkok FC, 1-0
PHUKET: Phuket FC fans who gathered at the Nok Sanarm sports bar near Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town this morning erupted with cheer when the Islanders scored late in their away-match at Bangkok FC, then held on to win 1-0. The result marks the Islanders third consecutive victory, all from a 1-0 scoreline, and gives them great momentum going into…
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Patong Tunnel inches forward to 2018
PHUKET: The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT), the government agency tasked with conducting a feasibility study of the Patong Road Tunnel project, has said that the tunnel from Kathu to Patong could be completed by 2018 if the budget is procured by the 2013 financial year. A study undertaken in November 2011 projected the amount required from the central government…
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Patong electricity chief denies transformer started Tiger inferno
PHUKET: The chief of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) Patong office today refuted allegations that the Tiger Discotheque fire yesterday morning was caused by an exploding transformer. The popular nightclub was reportedly packed with tourists when the fire broke out. Four people died in the blaze. Atipong Thongyon this morning told the press, “We have checked the transformer and it…
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Mass-circulation ‘Asia Weekly’ launched in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette is proud this week to be ushering into Phuket the China Daily Asia Weekly, a world-class publication built in Hong Kong by, among others, senior expatriate editors from the UK, the United States, Europe, India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.Please find the launch issue tucked into this week’s Phuket Gazette, now on sale throughout the…
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Phuket Opinion: ‘Unframe’ your vision of the world
PHUKET: In this week’s hard-copy edition of the Phuket Gazette, we are proud to carry the Phuket launch issue of the China Daily’s Asia Weekly newspaper. The journal offers Gazette readers a long-awaited – and much-needed – fresh perspective on the economic giant at our doorstep, and her relationship with Asia and the world. More than a million Chinese tourists…
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Phuket Airport B5.7bn expansion “likely to start next year’
PHUKET: The 5.7-billion-baht expansion of Phuket International Airport is likely to begin next year, and take two and half years to complete, the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation was told this week. The Standing Committee, led by Committee Chairman Kecha Saksomboon, heard the news at a high-profile meeting at Phuket Airport on Wednesday. “The 5.7-billion-baht expansion project has now passed…
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Phuket B12mn meth bust “tip of the iceberg’, say Bangkok Police
PHUKET: The lead officer in the investigation that led to 12 million baht in methamphetamine being seized in Phuket last weekend has told the Phuket Gazette that the bust was the “tip of the iceberg” of the true volume of drugs being trafficked to the island from Bangkok.Kittisak “Ton” Sew-Eaw, 29, from Phuket, and Dusit “Boy” Chaiphan, 30, from Petchabun,…
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Round-the-clock treatment fails to save Phuket dolphin
PHUKET: The ailing striped dolphin that was under treatment at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) died last weekend, two weeks after she washed ashore in Phang Nga. Despite round-the-clock treatment that included the fitting of a harness to help her swim, the female dolphin took her last breath on August 12. Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the PMBC’s Endangered…
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Protest against Tesco Lotus in Phuket Town
PHUKET: More than 500 local traders, business owners and residents marched on Provincial Hall yesterday to petition the Governor to stop construction of a new Tesco Lotus outlet planned for Phuket Town. After assembling at Rama X Park (Suan Luang), the protesters marched through the streets carrying signs with slogans reading “Tesco ruins our life in Phuket Town”, “We don’t…
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Phuket Sports: F1 mid-season report card
PHUKET: The season is half way through, everyone is taking the half-term holiday and it’s time to look at where the teams and drivers are. Red Bull gets a B. They have had many solid performances, but there are suspicions of cheating in tests in a car that is now off the pace. They have certainly pushed the regulations to…
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Tiger disco fire: Police to call in forensics experts from Bangkok
PHUKET: Forensics experts from Bangkok will be called in to assist Phuket officers in their investigation into what caused the deadly inferno at Tiger Discotheque on Patong’s Soi Bangla early this morning. The blaze, which claimed the lives of four people, may have started as a result of an electrical fault inside the building. Events inside the nightclub seem to…
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4 dead, 11 injured in Tiger disco inferno
PHUKET: A pre-dawn blaze at the popular Tiger Bar and Discotheque in Phuket has left four people dead and 11 people injured. Among the injured were four French nationals.Kathu Police were notified of the blaze at the well-known Patong nightspot at about 4am. Patong Municipality Fire Department rescuers raced to the scene with eight fire engines. It took them about…
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Phuket Prisoners bestowed Royal Pardon
PHUKET: More than 100 inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison were given a Royal Pardon today in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 80th birthday and HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 60th birthday.The Royal Pardons were granted by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej to 750 convicts across Thailand today, 175 of which were incarcerated at Phuket Prison.Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer Chaiwat Taepee…
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Phuket National Park chief transferred after island resorts raided
PHUKET: National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP) Director-General Damrong Phidet yesterday announced that the chief of Sirinath National Park will be transferred from Phuket after less than a month in office. “The Sirinath National Park Chief will be transferred to work at the DNP [offices] in Bangkok for 30 days,” said Mr Damrong. He went on to explain…
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Two survive as car plows into Phuket power pole
PHUKET: Two men lucky to be alive are recovering at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town after the car they were travelling in slammed into a power pole in Cherng Talay about midnight last night. Arriving at the scene, on Pasak-Koktanod Road, police and Phuket Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation rescue workers found a white Toyota Vios with extensive damage to its…
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Chuvit Facebook tip-off sparks Phuket gambling raid
PHUKET: Phuket Police last night raided a gambling den operating near a major government school in Kathu after its location was revealed by controversial MP Chuwit Kamolvisit, leader of the Rak Thailand Party, on one of his Facebook pages. The raid on the gambling den, at 7:20pm in a house about 100 meters from Baan Kathu School, was conducted by…
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Forensics to probe suspected Patong jet-ski ‘arson attack’
PHUKET: Police yesterday called in forensic experts to investigate a fire that gutted a house and destroyed five jet-skis in Patong earlier that morning. At the scene, a burnt-down wooden house on Phang Muang Sai Kor Road, they discovered tyres had been placed near where the jet-skis were housed. Suspecting arson, they requested forensic assistance. Lt Col Kittisak Nuphueng, Inspector…
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Satree Phuket takes the initiative for AEC
PHUKET: In the next three years, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will come into force, and the region’s languages will be as important as English. A school on the resort island of Phuket in Thailand’s south has been providing Myanmar language classes to its high-school students. Secondary students at Satree Phuket School in the provincial seat are paying special attention…
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Thailand Business: Central Plaza has a good time; Mellow Digital; Moevenpick to expand
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Central Plaza Hotel enjoys good H1, eyes record growth Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Central Plaza Hotel, the operator of Centara Hotels & Resorts and quick-service restaurants such as KFC and Mister Donut, is optimistic about its financial performance in the current second half, based…
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Governor opens “Festival of 1,000 eyes’
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha yesterday officially opened the 20th Phuket Pineapple Fair at Saphan Hin Park in Phuket Town. The fair kicked off at 5pm and continues through to August 22. Phuket Agricultural chief Winai Khankaew explained to the Gazette, “It’s not just pineapples. There are all kinds of fruit, flowers and other agricultural products on show.” Among the…
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Damrong leads National Park raids on Phuket resorts
PHUKET: National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP) Director-General Damrong Phidet yesterday led raids on 10 resorts alleged to have encroached on National Park land on Phuket’s west coast. The raids started in the afternoon with Mr Damrong leading 10 teams of investigators brought in from 10 different offices of the Royal Forest Department (RFD) from across Thailand. In…
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