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: Manhunt for porn star suspected of mayhem and murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket”s international community Killer warned British tabloid he would escalate torture of ‘pussys’ to murder of humans Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A Canadian bi-sexual suspected of killing a man and mailing parts of his victim’s body to the headquarters of political parties in Ottawa is believed to have sent…
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Phuket Democrats rally against reconciliation bills
PHUKET: Democrat Party members staged a protest in Phuket on Friday to denounce the reconciliation bills set to be discussed in Parliament. The gathering made Phuket the first province to rally against the bill, said Democrat MP Sathit Wongnongtoey.Over 2,000 joined the rally at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town, led by veteran MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr and MP Raywat…
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Phuket banks another gold in the games
PHUKET: Despite being one of the smallest provinces in Thailand, Phuket continues to make big waves at the 28th National Youth Games (Phuket Games 2012) now underway on the island. The island’s gold medal tally now stands at 13, following Somkiat Kraisrisombat’s win of the gold yesterday in the Boys’ Singles event at CS Bowl, Big C Supercenter.Steady-handed Somkiat won…
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Phuket volunteers join cleanup at Koh Racha
PHUKET: After being lambasted by environmentalists last week, Phuket’s conservation authorities were quick to promote the good work they are doing in repairing Koh Racha Yai’s environment with the coral reef rejuvenation project and beach cleanup being held this weekend. “This activity is part of a improvement project that we started last year. It aims to rejuvenate the coral reef……
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Burmese pedestrian killed in Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: A Burmese man was killed instantly when he was run over by a speeding pickup truck in a hit-and-run accident in Phuket’s Koh Kaew subdistrict last night. Phuket City Police were informed of the accident at 10:30pm. Arriving at the scene, the median strip in front of the Supercheap mini-mart on Thepkrasattri Road in Bang Khu, they found the…
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Phuket business: Smart phone sales soar in Q1
PHUKET: Thailand’s rapidly expanding smartphone market recorded nearly 70% growth in the first quarter of this year, according to GfK research group’s retail audit findings, which compare quarter on quarter revenue performances. Heightened consumer demand has brought about a surge in sales volume of over 80%, reaching 758,000 smartphones sold in the first three months of 2012 (Q1). Consumers in…
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Phuket kitesurfer not stung, didn’t drown, say lifeguards
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards have dismissed the assertion that the American kitesurfer who died shortly after being pulled from the sea at Nai Harn Beach yesterday drowned or was stung by a jellyfish. Nai Harn lifeguard Charintorn Naripen told the Phuket Gazette, “Four of us tried for 20 minutes to revive the casualty before the ambulance arrived. We don’t believe he…
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Yacht club merger marks end of Phuket sailing era
PHUKET: After more than two decades as Phuket’s original yacht club, the Phuket Yacht Club today announced that it will be merging with the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). “After careful consideration we, the Phuket Yacht Club committee, have unanimously decided that it is in the best interests of the members to join forces with the Ao Chalong Yacht Club.…
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Democrat’s Suthep joins rally in Phuket
PHUKET: Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has arrived for a rally in the heart of Phuket Town to protest the reconciliation and amnesty bills that the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) are have been protesting against in Bangkok this week. Also on the island to join the rally tonight is Sathit Wongnongtoey, current Democrat MP for Trang province…
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Weird World News: The whole nine yards, from cute dog to a man-eater
PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is about going the distance from the human body-part packages of a porn star to an inspirational dog in China, and the American face-eater who simply went too far. Magnotta’s long distance body-part packages discovered Canadian bisexual porn star, kitten mutilator and suspected human body-part packager, Luka Rocco Magnotta, may have fled North…
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UK inquest rules Phuket tourist electrocution as “accidental death’
PHUKET: A coroner’s inquest conducted in the UK into the death of 21-year-old British tourist Charles Thomas in Phuket has ruled that his electrocution during heavy rain was an “accidental death”. Mr Thomas was electrocuted in Patong in August last year after placing his hand on the cover of an outdoor power socket fitted into the forecourt paving stones in…
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Phuket Governor issues surf warning after Games athlete rescued
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has issued a formal warning to all head coaches of teams competing in the Phuket Youth Games to not let their athletes swim in the dangerous surf.“The warning was issued to the head of each team to make sure their athletes do not go into the water during the current treacherous windy conditions or swim…
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Phuket Gazette: Manhunt for videotape killer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Canadian police hunt for man who videotaped gruesome murder Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: An international arrest warrant was issued yesterday for a Canadian man suspected of killing a man and mailing parts of his victim’s body to the Conservative and Liberal party headquarters. Meanwhile,…
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Phuket kickboxer Aldhouse extradition hearing postponed
PHUKET: The UK High Court has agreed to postpone the extradition hearing of murder fugitive Lee Aldhouse so that his lawyers will have more time to prepare their case, the Phuket Gazette has learned. Mr Aldhouse successfully fled Thailand after allegedly stabbing American Deshawn Longfellow to death in August 2010. He was later arrested at Heathrow Airport on an unrelated…
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Phuket Queer News: Indecent proposal turns deadly
PHUKET: A man in Khon Kaen was kicked to death by his best friend after making an indecent proposal regarding his wife. On the evening of March 27, Suraphon Rattalat, 53, went to the home of 39-year-old Sathit Phonsee in Nongko subdistrict. The pair, good friends for seven years, had planned a drinking session. After becoming quite drunk, Mr Suraphon…
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Phuket Games motorbike crash survivor “will play sports again’
PHUKET: Atthapong Noikhamsin, the 13-year-old boy who survived the motorbike accident in Rawai this morning that killed his Phuket Games teammate, 18-year-old Sutthipong Laphutama, has not suffered serious injury and is being kept in hospital under observation. “We x-rayed Atthapong’s brain, as well as his neck. They are normal. We operated at 2pm to reset his collar bone, which was…
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Chinese punt for Phuket consulate as tourist arrivals skyrocket
PHUKET: The dramatic increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Phuket in recent years is causing problems and has prompted Chinese officials to look into establishing a consulate on the island.Xu Mingliang, the People’s Republic of China Consul-General in Songkhla, Southern Thailand, was in Phuket yesterday to hear tour operators’ concerns firsthand and to discuss the issues with Phuket…
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Phuket beach toll rises as kitesurfing American dies
PHUKET: An American kitesurfer died en route to hospital after being pulled from the surf at Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach around noon today.The man, whose name has not been released to the press, had been kitesurfing earlier that morning. He was seen by beach vendors struggling in shallow water after heading back to shore.“We saw him floating in the shallow…
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Golfing Glory: Phuket boys team take top honors
PHUKET: Phuket can claim bragging rights to having the best young golfers in the country after a foursome of island youths took the gold in the boys’ golf team event at Phuket Country Club today. The team of Wacharathorn Jeerapatsin, Sarawuth Boodnongsaeng, Waikun Gatehom and Phantamitr Wananuphat won the gold, with Wacharathorn also taking a bronze in the singles event.At…
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Arson not suspected in Phuket Sports Association VP house fire
PHUKET: Police believe an electrical short circuit started a fire at the house of Sompong Muthitakul, vice president of the Sports Association of Thailand office in Phuket, on Tuesday night.Regardless, officers have not ruled out the possibility of arson and are continuing their investigation to confirm precisely what caused the fire, Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jamroon Plaiduang told the…
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Tragedy strikes Phuket Games as athlete dies in motorbike accident
PHUKET: A young athlete from Bangkok, scheduled to return home after competing in the Phuket Games rowing competition, died in a tragic motorbike accident in Rawai this morning. Chalong Police confirmed the identity of the victim as Sutthipong Laphutama, aged 18. The driver of the motorbike, 13-year-old Atthapong Noikhamsin, was rushed to hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The driver…
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Russian drowns in notorious Phuket rip
PHUKET: A Russian man who ignored red warning flags at Karon Beach is Phuket’s latest drowning victim. Uten Singsom, head lifeguard at Kata-Karon, told the Phuket Gazette that the 33-year-old entered the surf near the Thavorn Palm Beach Resort at about 1pm yesterday. The deceased was later identified as Denis Korobogatov. “He and his two Russian friends came from Patong.…
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Phuket’s Burmese community ‘delighted’ with Suu Kyi visit
PHUKET: Aung San Suu Kyi, the famed Burmese pro-democracy leader, arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday night on her first international trip in 24 years. As reported in The Nation, Thailand was a perfect destination for the woman who spent 15 years under house arrest, as it would give her a chance to meet many people from Myanmar, including some of…
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Phuket business: Greece primed to exit the Euro
PHUKET: It is fair to say that recently the world’s markets have been as unstable as a new born baby trying to stand on its own two feet! With the financial woes of the European markets, the rest of the world has been dragged down by a seemingly constant torrent of poor European economic news. We have a new French…
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Go Team: Phuket swipes second gold in “Go’
PHUKET: Phuket girls Bussarin Raktaengam, Worakluck Kritsachaikan, Sudaphat Khongkaew and Pichakon Kankanok yesterday defeated their Nakhon Ratchasima opponents to win gold in the soft tennis event at the 28th Thailand National Youth Games being held in Phuket.The foursome join the boy’s doubles team of Krit Jamkhajonkiet and Panode Kingtkaew as so far the only Phuket competitors to win gold at…
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One sting reported from flood of ‘bluebottles’ at Phuket beaches
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards at Kata and Karon beaches so far have reported only one person being stung by the bluebottle jellyfish that washed ashore in droves yesterday.More than 100 of the “stingers” washed ashore at Kata and Karon beaches, confirmed Uten Singsom, head lifeguard at Kata-Karon patrol unit on Phuket’s southwest coast.He also received reports that some were found on…
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Evason Phuket opens books to prove “no capacity to pay’
PHUKET: At a closed meeting today, representatives from the Evason Phuket & Bon Island resort revealed financial statements to prove that the resort company does not have the capacity to pay for demands made by workers summarily dismissed last Tuesday. “The Human Resource Manager and the Accounting Manager from the resort are here today to present financial statements from their…
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Phuket yellow shirts bus to Bangkok to join protest
PHUKET: Phuket members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also known as the yellow shirts, piled into three buses headed to Bangkok this afternoon to join their PAD counterparts in protest. The PAD will stage a mass rally in the capital tomorrow to protest the reconciliation bill and other bills designed to expunge post-coup court verdicts and offer general…
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Phuket tourism takes a hit over “Trashing Racha’
PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has been forced to start taking steps to redress the growing concerns voiced in Phuket about the environmental destruction of Koh Racha Yai by negligent tour operators and tourism business owners.The news comes after a leading figure in local environmental conservation blasted greedy tourism operators and the lax enforcement of environmental…
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Help sought for morbidly obese woman in Krabi
PHUKET: The elderly mother of a morbidly obese woman in Krabi province is seeking assistance to get her daughter the medical help and living assistance they need to survive. Wanphen Pimsri, 32, started having serious medical problems as a teen. At age 18, she underwent brain surgery for a hormonal imbalance at Songklanagarind Hospital in Haad Yai, the top government…
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