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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Tesco launches ‘green bag’ project in Phuket
PHUKET: Leading retail chain Tesco Lotus launched a pilot project at its new Thalang branch in Phuket yesterday with the aim of reducing plastic bag use nationwide. The project is intended to encourage customers at all its stores in Phuket to use fewer plastic bags in order to help preserve the island’s natural beauty for future generations. The project is…
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Man burns brother in a bizarre urine-provoked attack
PHUKET: An elderly Samut Prakan man allegedly doused his own cancer-stricken younger brother in gasoline before setting him on fire in a case of almost unbelievable savagery last week. Before launching the attack, Thawat Limyothin, 61, was apparently hit by drops of liquid that fell from the ceiling below a room in which his brother Kiatchai Limyothin, 50, was convalescing.…
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FC Phuket scramble to score funding
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will cease its financial support of the island’s professional football club, FC Phuket, starting next season, one of the club’s managers confirmed today.Narubas “Ko Lek” Aryupong told the Phuket Gazette that the team is now seeking new sponsorship channels to pay for players’ salaries and training allowances.He confirmed that Thailand’s Auditor-General’s Office had…
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World Vision rolls out anti-polio campaign in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the World Vision Foundation in Thailand, operating under the Supanimit Foundation, yesterday stepped up its anti-polio campaign, in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) push to eradicate the disease.Supanimit Foundation workers, joined by Phuket Provincial Public Health Office officials, targeted Burmese communities in and around Phuket Town and elsewhere around Phuket.The anti-polio task force…
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Phuket police defuse hostage situation
PHUKET: After a 30-minute standoff, Phuket Police on Tuesday rescued a woman held hostage by a knife-wielding glue addict at a local gas station. Chalong Police were notified of the attack at 11am. Arriving at the scene, the PTT service station on Chao Fa West Road in Chalong, they found a Phuket man holding a knife to the throat of…
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Tsunami blamed for Phuket beach encroachment confusion
PHUKET: A Phuket hotel representative yesterday claimed that the 2004 tsunami washed away property boundary markers between his resort and public beach land, thus causing confusion over alleged beach encroachment. The Surin Phuket, formerly known as The Chedi, situated on Pansea Beach on Phuket’s northwest coast, is in the final stages of renovation in preparation of reopening under the new…
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Phuket tourists warned of drink-spiking thieves
PHUKET: Tourists visiting nightspots in Phuket should not leave their drinks unattended as there have been incidents of people having their drinks “spiked” with potent sedatives in recent weeks, Tourist Police volunteers have warned. Frank Tomensen, Group Leader of the Phuket Tourist Police Foreign Volunteers in Patong, has instructed his patrol units to be on the lookout for victims who…
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Phuket Sport – tour survival for Tabuena and Thanyakon at Thailand Golf Championship
Filipino teenager Miguel Tabuena and Thailand’s Thanyakon Khrongpha have prepared for the biggest test in their young golfing careers as the duo seek to earn full Asian Tour cards at the season-ending Thailand Golf Championship starting today. The 17-year-old Tabuena, the youngest member on the Asian Tour this year, is currently three spots outside the top-61 of the Order of…
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Thailand golf championship – a symbol of strength for Asian tour
This week’s inaugural US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship reflects the growing strength of the game in Asia, say the world stars who have gathered for the Asian Tour’s season finale which starts on Thursday. A starry line-up has gathered at the magnificent Amata Spring Country Club on the outskirts of Bangkok and will feature this year’s Major champions Darren Clarke…
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Phuket Island Charity Golf Tournament a huge success
PHUKET: Thailand is Southeast Asia’s premiere destination for its irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty, inspiring temples, outstanding hospitality and superb cuisine. Thailand is often called the “land of smiles”, and rightly so because you will see more smiling people here than anywhere else in the world. What it is not commonly mentioned is also that Thai people are also…
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Phuket Carnival reaches zero hour
PHUKET: The countdown to Phuket’s annual Patong Carnival is over. The six-day event began at 9am today with ceremonial offering of food to monks at Loma Park on the Patong beachfront. After the alms-giving ceremony, at 10:15am the sea of vendors at the park opened their stalls to sell food and drinks. The Phuket Flying Club will join the opening…
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Phuket Sports – Village lead the league, Tigers flatter to deceive
PHUKET: A second win for the Village in the Phuket Island Furniture League ensured a leap frog into first place after a demolition of league newcomers, Thanyapura Tigers at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) on Sunday. Compared with previous seasons when the Village were more a social side, this season their squad shows a good balance of experienced batsmen and…
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Blaze destroys Phuket fishermen’s homes
PHUKET: A fire believed to have started from an explosion quickly engulfed several fishermen’s huts in Baan Bang Tao, Cherng Talay, on Phuket’s west coast, yesterday afternoon. No injuries were reported. Officials at Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) rushed two fire trucks to the scene on Soi Bang Tao 12, near the southern end of Phuket’s popular Bang Tao…
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Phuket Media Watch – 60 die after drinking illicit alcohol
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 60 die after drinking illicit alcohol in eastern India Phuket Gazette More than 60 people have died after consuming illegal liquor in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, police said on Wednesday. Dozens more are seriously ill. The victims fell ill on early Wednesday…
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Phuket Media Watch – Courts in England and Wales relax reporting rules
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Courts in England and Wales to allow journalists to tweet, text and email Phuket Gazette / Agencies PHUKET: The head of the judiciary and courts in England and Wales yesterday announced his decision to allow journalists to use e-mail, text messaging and social media while inside…
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Finnish tourist death in Phuket possibly a suicide
PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a Finnish tourist Veijo Armas Vallius, found dead in his Phuket hotel room last week. The body of 52-year-old Mr Vallius was discovered in a hotel room in Kamala on December 8. Somnerk Damkeaw of the Kamala Police told the Gazette today that the body of Mr Vallius remains…
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Manhunt launched for Phuket MMA brawler
PHUKET: American Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Junie Browning is the subject of an island-wide manhunt following two brawls in Phuket on Sunday and his subsequent escape from Patong Hospital. The manhunt was launched following local media reports that an unnamed American man had been involved in a brawl at a bar in Karon. The man then continued fighting with…
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Phuket convention center project gets Cabinet extension
PHUKET: Following a Cabinet meeting in Bangkok yesterday, the Finance Ministry has been given more time to build a world-class convention center in Phuket. The Treasury Department, which is responsible for bringing the decades-old dream to reality, now has until 2014 to sign a construction contract for the mega-project. Prior to yesterday’s extension, the Treasury Department had expressed mounting concern…
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Phuket property squabble sours Thai-Russian relations
PHUKET: A meeting at Thung Thong Police Station today exposed a rift between partners in a Phuket property company targeting the lucrative Russian market. Outraged by being allegedly cheated by a Russian national, Boonprasert Udommangkorn, owner of ThaiRus Development Co in Phuket’s Kathu District, filed a complaint against former partner Nikita Derkarch. The two met at Thung Thong Police Station…
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Tourist’s keen eye saves green sea turtle
PHUKET: An observant tourist yesterday spotted a young green sea turtle floating in the water off the Yacht Haven Marina in Mai Khao, in the north of Phuket, and by doing so may have saved its life.The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) was immediately contacted, who in turn asked the Phuket Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation for assistance in recovering the turtle.With…
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Phuket police arrest one in Burmese dope bust
PHUKET: Phuket police arrested a man for selling drugs in Rawai on Saturday, seizing his stash of marijuana and multiple bundles of kratom leaves in the process. Acting on a tip-off, Lt Col Charan Bangprasert of the Chalong Police dispatched a team to a construction site in Rawai, where the suspect was reportedly supplying drugs to Burmese workers. The suspect,…
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Belgian fraud suspect brain dead in Phuket
PHUKET: A Belgian man embroiled in several fraud cases in Phuket is in a coma at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he is being kept on life support until his organs can be removed for donation, the Phuket Gazette has learned. Long-time Phuket resident Yvon Van Eyersen, 58, was perhaps best known to Phuket residents as the manager of the now-defunct…
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Phuket ‘Colorful Countdown’ to ring in 2012
PHUKET: Phuket will spend 10 million baht on festivities to ring in the new year with the “Colorful Phuket Countdown 2012”. The countdown event at Chai Field, opposite Provincial Hall in Phuket Town, will be put on by Tourism Authority of Thailand and Best Four media, among other sponsors. “We set up a budget of 10 million baht for the…
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Wilkinson drops out
PHUKET: “To say I have played through four World Cups, two Lions tours, 91 international games and a ridiculous number of injuries and other setbacks gives me an incredibly special feeling of fulfillment.”Jonny Wilkinson, England’s enigmatic out-half has announced his retirement from test rugby.His international record includes six tries, 162 conversions, 239 penalties and a record of 36 drop-goals. His…
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Mosque massacre in Krabi: 3 dead, 3 injured
PHUKET: Unknown gunmen ambushed a group of Muslim men outside a mosque in Ao Luek, Krabi, last night, killing three of the men and wounding three others.Ao Luek District Police were informed of the massacre at Ban Ao Nam Mosque in Laem Sak just after 7pm.Sub Lt Manad Inpornphorm, Inspector with the Ao Luek District Police Crime Suppression Division, told…
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Time running out for Phuket Convention Center
PHUKET: Time is running out on the plan to build a world-class conference and exhibition center in Phuket. The project has been stalled by a single strand of red tape as the deadline to use the 2.6 billion baht in approved funding draws near. Naris Chaiyasoot, Director-General of the Treasury Department, which has been tasked with building the mega-project, was…
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Phuket Live Wire – reusing passwords is an expensive bad habit
PHUKET: Here’s a question I see with alarming frequency: Woody, somebody just broke into my Hotmail account. The creep sent messages out to everybody in my Hotmail address book, saying I was in the hospital and needed money sent to me (by Western Union) immediately. What can I do about it? You’ve been hacked, and there’s precious little that can…
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Ironkids nail second successful event
PHUKET: Eight corporate sponsors answered the call for race fees and support of over 90 children at the second IronKids Phuket event held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) recently. The results were as follows: in first place – Quest Laguna Phuket who also sponsored a team of three kids from Ban Manik School. In second place – Team…
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Volcanic eruption: Buriram pounds Phuket 7-0
PHUKET: FC Phuket took their worst pummeling of the season this evening, going down by the embarrassing score of 7-0 at Buriram FC. The Volcanoes took a 2-0 lead into halftime on early goals by Sumanya Burisay (6 minutes) and Suriya Domthaisong (9 minutes). A complete defensive collapse in the second half led to an orgy of scoring that starting…
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Saudi rapist faces 2,080 lashes; Police hunt poisoner; Plane crash kills 4
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Saudi man who raped daughter sentenced to 2,080 lashes Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: A Saudi man who repeatedly raped his daughter over a seven year period has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and more than 2,000 lashes, a local newspaper reported yesterday.…
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