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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Bend it like Therdsak
PHUKET: Former Captain of the Thailand national football team and current vice-captain of Thai Premier League side, Chonburi FC, Therdsak Chaiman was in Phuket recently for a youth coaching session at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC). The free coaching clinic was organized with the help of Thanachart Bank and ran between 8am and 11am on July 30. Over 30…
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World record on the cards for Raceweek’s Larsen
PHUKET: Australian Paul Larsen and his DaVinci crew raced in to second place after an exciting four days of Multihull class sailing at this year’s Six Senses Phuket International Raceweek. Racing conditions in the waters off the Evason and Bon Island resort for the event were exciting, but certainly less threatening than what Paul has been used to over the…
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Phuket Poll: When will Thaksin return?
PHUKET: Now that Yingluck Shinawatra has been installed as Thailand’s first female prime minister, many political analysts are posing the question: When will her brother, fugitive former PM Thaksin, return to Thailand? In its latest online poll, the Phuket Gazette invites readers to suggest when they think this will happen – if ever. To have your say, click here or…
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Tourist arrivals jump exposes Phuket infrastructure lag
ANALYSIS PHUKET: Officials forecasting a record high four million passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport for 2011 has highlighted lagging infrastructure, mounting travel delays and long immigration queues that have the potential to derail growth in Phuket’s hospitality industry. Phuket Airport has a stated total capacity of 6.5 million passengers a year, including all arrivals and departures from international and…
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Phuket readies for HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday
PHUKET: Visitors and residents in Phuket will have ample opportunity to honor and celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s 79th birthday – also celebrated in Thailand as Mother’s Day – on Friday. Police sources have confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that alcohol sales will not be banned on Friday, a national holiday. “We only ask for people to comply with [the ban…
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Officials under fire over Phuket flyover plans
PHUKET: Department of Highways officials received a frosty reception today at a public hearing to unveil three base designs for an overpass at Bang Khu Intersection, one of the main traffic crunch points during peak hours on Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Road. The Bang Khu Intersection is where Thepkrasattri Rd meets the bypass road. Sombat Jaroenpat, director of the Survey and Design…
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Phuket Live Wire: AIS rollout of 3G a success
PHUKET: The AIS rollout of its new wireless internet system has come and gone, and I’m duly impressed. We’re seeing good – sometimes great – international download speeds, reliable signals, extensive coverage and reasonably good support, all over Phuket. Amazing. Don’t take my word for it. If you’re thinking about signing-up for AIS 3G, drop by phuketinternetspeed.com and see what…
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Caddy shock
PHUKET: “It’s the most satisfying win I’ve ever had, there’s no two ways about it.” Steve Williams claims he’s experienced the height of satisfaction in his caddy career after helping Adam Scott to victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament in Ohio on Sunday, just two weeks after being dumped by Tiger Woods. Williams, from New Zealand, won 13 majors…
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Phuket fire drill no cause for alarm
PHUKET: Smoke billowing out of the fresh market on Ranong Road in Phuket Town this morning was no cause for alarm as Phuket City Municipality conducted its first fire drill there since the market opened in September last year. More than 150 market vendors and other people taking part in the drill poured onto the street at about 10:30am, simulating…
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BBCU claim league bragging rights over FC Phuket
PHUKET: FC Phuket came up short against Big Bang Chulalongkorn United (BBCU), losing 2-1 on Sunday as the team tried to capitalize on their cup defeat of the joint Division One leaders. Downpours of rain before and during play, made for a greasy surface and slippery playing conditions for the teams. With five players out of action due to injuries,…
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Epileptic man drowns in Phuket pond
PHUKET: The body of a Phuket man who went missing on Friday was discovered by relatives two days later in a pond near his home in Thalang. Thalang Police identified the deceased as Phumichai Kaewkla, a 42-year-old resident of Mai Khao. His death was reported by his father, Jaras Kaewkla. Mr Jaras told police his son went missing from the…
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Things about Yingluck include a Phuket Connection
PHUKET: A story in yesterday’s Nation, entitled “There’s something about Yingluck”, presents some interesting facts about Thailand’s attractive new prime minister. Among them is a Phuket connection, albeit tenuous and, most likely, coincidental. Yingluck Shinawatra and Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha went to the same schools – and studied the same things. But although they are fellow alumni of those two…
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Power problem forces Hope to bypass Phuket
PHUKET: THE MV Logos Hope, the 132-meter ship that is home to the world’s largest floating library, has canceled its scheduled stop in Phuket. The ship was to drop anchor at Phuket Deep Sea Port from August 17 to 28. However, it will now depart its current port of Visakhapatnam, India, on August 13 and set sail directly for Penang,…
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Phuket’s ‘Road to Rawai’ to be divided
PHUKET: The Land Transport Office has announced that placement of a median strip through the full length of Wiset Road, from Chalong Circle to Rawai Beach, will begin this month. The road will have at least five U-turn breaks. The project is part of a government strategy to decrease fatal accidents. The plan was announced by the Phuket Provincial Land…
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Phuket Town blackout on Wednesday
PHUKET. The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced a major blackout affecting areas in central Phuket Town on Wednesday. The blackout, between 9am and 4pm, is to allow PPEA staff to carry out maintenance work on high-voltage power lines. The affected areas will be Phun Pol Road Sois 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and Kra Road Sois 10…
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Patong residents to pay for wastewater
PHUKET: Patong Mayor Pian Keesin announced today that Patong Municipality will start charging residents and business owners for wastewater treatment. The news was delivered this morning at a meeting with visiting members of the Senate Standing Committee for Natural Resources and the Environment. The committee members are on a two-day fact-finding visit to Phuket. “Patong is continually growing. More people…
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Plans to build Phuket offshore diesel station on hold
PHUKET: A public hearing held yesterday has left in limbo plans to convert a water-refilling platform in Chalong Bay into an offshore petrol station. The meeting, held at the Al Wallan Hidayah Mosque in Rawai, was called after a letter of protest against the project was filed with the provincial government by Sommai Naoprai, the president of a group called…
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Phuket Roads: Motorcycle crash claims another life
PHUKET: A motorcycle accident early this morning claimed the life of a Phuket man as he drove between the Heroines’ Monument and Cherng Talay. Thalang Police responded to a call at about 2am reporting that an accident had occurred on Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Manik. A team from the Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation arrived at the scene to find a lone…
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Long trail leads police to Phuket auto theft gang
PHUKET: Patong Police have arrested six suspects accused of running a car and motorcycle theft racket in Phuket’s entertainment hub, Patong. The Thai and Burmese suspects were presented at Kathu Police Station yesterday along with eight stolen motorcycles, parts of a further four or five bikes, mechanic’s tools, spray painting equipment, one stolen pickup truck and six other cars that…
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Phuket Big Buddha donations to continue
PHUKET: The foundation constructing Phuket’s Big Buddha image will continue to collect donations for the project, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The news follows a provincial committee ruling that the Mingmongkol Faith 45 Foundation was no longer allowed to advertise or publicly solicit donations for the project. The committee ruling stated that the organization will be allowed to receive donations…
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Yingluck’s official, but who will call the shots?
BANGKOK (The Nation): Officially, only Yingluck Shinawatra, confirmed as Thailand’s new Prime Minister today, and Yongyuth Vichaidit, her Pheu Thai party’s leader, have the final say on who is to be included in the Cabinet. Unofficially, nobody is quite sure who will call the shots. Most reports in the media seem to ignore the party’s official version. So far, every…
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FC Phuket seek away win and BBCU seek vengeance
PHUKET: FC Phuket face Big Bang Chulalongkorn United (BBCU) on Sunday in what may be termed a grudge match considering the cup defeat inflicted by Phuket on BBCU in June. Sunday’s match will be played at the 20,000 seat sporting arena, Army Stadium in Din Daeng, Bangkok. Kickoff is sceduled for 6pm. Coming into their 19th match, Phuket cling to…
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Yingluck becomes first female Thai prime minister
PHUKET: Yingluck Shinawatra today became Thailand’s first female prime minister, by winning 296 of 299 votes in Parliament, state-news agency MCOT has reported. Mrs Yingluck was confirmed as prime minister shortly before noon today after a campaign that saw her Pheu Thai party sweep to victory over the former ruling Democrat Party. There were 197 abstentions in the House of…
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Phuket probe digs deep into ‘missing hill’ row
PHUKET: Land owners digging up and selling the earth on their plots in central Phuket has sparked a row from neighbors, who say the extensive excavation work is causing dangerous landslips, for which they are seeking 300,000 baht in compensation. An investigation headed by Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak yesterday deemed much of the excavation work on the plot in Srisoonthorn,…
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Young woman drowns after fall at Phuket’s Phromthep Cape
PHUKET: Police have confirmed the identity of a Thai woman who slipped off rocks and drowned at Phromthep Cape late yesterday afternoon as that of Yula Suwan, 20, from Chiang Rai. Miss Yula arrived at Phuket’s iconic peninsula with a friend to take photos at about 5pm, said Chalong Police Duty Officer Lt Attawat Suwannarat. “They walked down the cape…
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Onslaught of waves forces Phuket sea gypsies to evacuate homes
PHUKET: Large waves brought on by the wet-season monsoon are damaging homes at a small sea gypsy community on Phuket’s east coast, forcing villagers to seek refuge with family members or even sleep outdoors. At least eight houses have suffered damage, altogether home to 53 people. John Pramongkij, 57, is scared to sleep in his house, with the walls cracking…
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Swedish murder case in Phuket sends reader interest off the charts
PHUKET: Not since the tsunami in December 2004 have readers around the world shown so much interest in a single event in Phuket. Yesterday, as on December 27, 2004, the day after the waves hit, the demand for news, fueled by the Phuket murder of Swedish national Maksim Schantz, swamped and knocked over the Gazette Online for a period of…
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Phuket Live Wire: Surprise island internet speeds
PHUKET: A little less than two months ago we changed the method for measuring internet speeds, as reported on PhuketInternetSpeed.com. Before that point, we were measuring international download speeds using a technique that was prone to caching – Internet Service Providers, using tools that are actually beneficial to customers like us, automatically bypassed the speed testing regimen. So we switched…
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Swedish slashers confess to Phuket police
PHUKET: Phuket City Police tonight charged two Swedish men they say confessed to the murder yesterday of 25-year-old Maksim Schantz. Police said they caught Tommy Viktor Soderlund, 26, and Johan Sebastian Ljung, 25, hiding out at Surin Sweet Hotel on Surin Beach where they had recently rented a room. The pair confessed that they tracked Mr Schantz down through Facebook…
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Sex Drugs: Will Phuket’s tourists be subjected to Night Fire?
PHUKET: Phuket is not the only town in Thailand selling fake Viagra or other illicit drugs to tourists. The nation’s capital is probably the leader. But in the most recent raids in Bangkok, at least, no tourists were arrested and none was invited to pee in a pink cup. Metropolitan police and other authorities in the City of Angels arrested…
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