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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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket tourists, crew saved from sinking dive boat
PHUKET: A joint rescue effort by the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center and the Royal Thai Navy has safely recovered all 27 people aboard a sinking dive boat off Phuket tonight. A distress call was received from the dive boat Laksanawadee at 6:15pm, an officer at the Tourist Rescue Center in Chalong told the Phuket Gazette. The boat, a large, two-level…
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“Bagged’ American may have been murdered: Phuket Police
PHUKET: Phuket Police have not ruled out foul play in the investigation into the death of an American man whose body was found in his holiday apartment near Karon Beach earlier today. Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat told the Phuket Gazette that a maid at the Mountain Seaview Apartment resort found the guest dead in his room just after…
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Phuket’s Bhuritt calls for return of Sonthaya as Tourism Minister
PHUKET: Leading Phuket tourism business analyst Bhuritt Maswongsa has voiced his approval for the Tourism and Sports Ministry portfolio to go to the newly-formed Palang Chon Party. Mr Maswongsa, who is the Phuket Tourist Association’s Vice President for Marketing, said the Palang Chon Party’s de facto leader Sonthaya Khunplome understands the developmental needs of tourism provinces because of his experiences…
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Phuket Live Wire: Get your browsers right
PHUKET: If you have a pirate copy of Windows XP and you’ve never updated your web browser, chances are you’re still running Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), and – forgive me for saying – chances are also that your system’s been infected. If you have a pirate version of Windows, and you’re running IE 6, even if you’re using a…
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Phuket’s Fourth SEA Properties Multihull Championship
PHUKET: The SEA Properties fourth annual Multihull Challenge is set to impress with an exciting array of yachts competing for honors in the waters of Phuket. Asia’s biggest Multihull regatta offers racing conditions second to none and is hosted by Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). This year’s event sees the introduction of two new classes plus the national championship competition…
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National rugby finals beckon for Lomas
PHUKET: WHILE Phuket Lomas under 13 rugby team was proving itself on the international stage in England a depleted under 17 squad traveled to Krabi for the National 7’s regional play-offs recently. Played at Krabi’s home pitch in Ao Luk, the Lomas faced their regional rivals Krabi RFC and Surat Thani RFC to decide who would progress to the National…
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Phuket prepares for Kathu Cultural Street Festival
PHUKET: The third annual Kathu Culture Street Festival will take place this weekend, showcasing the cultural heritage of one of Phuket’s oldest and most vibrant communities. The fun will begin tomorrow with a parade at 5pm along Wichit Songkraam Rd, from the Ketho Child Development Center to the Kathu Public Health Center. Traffic will be prohibited between Kathu Municipality offices…
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Air traffic control unveil new systems at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: New technologies are set to be introduced at air traffic control centers in Phuket and throughout Thailand to help the country’s standards equal those of Europe and America. Somchai Thean-Anant, president of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd (AEROTHAI), said that work putting the new systems in place began at the beginning of the year. He expects the four billion…
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Polish tourist vanishes after Phuket vacation
PHUKET: The Polish Embassy in Bangkok is seeking information to help locate a Polish tourist who visited Phuket recently and has been missing in Thailand for a week. Andrzej Kiezik was last seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at about noon on July 6, after arriving there on a Bangkok Airways flight from Phuket. He stayed at the Serenity Resort…
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Canadian women aim for gold
PHUKET: “You have nothing to lose until you win the gold medal. When you have the gold, you may sit on it and play safe. When you don’t have it, you must do everything to target this prize.” Julie Sauvé, head coach of the Canadian synchronized swimming team, explains how being driven and innovative has placed the national team in…
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Hitman’s 11-year run ends in Phuket
PHUKET: After more than a decade in hiding, the gunman wanted for the shooting murder of Petchaburi journalist Sanan Wannapuk 11 years ago has been arrested in Phuket. Thanin “Dum” Kaewsakul, 46, was listed as the 18th most wanted gunman in Thailand before his arrest by a special operations unit dispatched by Police Region 7. The exact time of his…
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American pedophile arrested in Phuket gets 15 years
PHUKET: American pedophile Charles Todd Stokes, arrested in Phuket in 2006, was sentenced by a US federal court last week to 15 years in prison for molesting over 70 boys while living in Thailand. Stokes was a gym teacher in Miami, Florida from 1985 to 1998. Fired from his job for inappropriate contact with children, he moved to Thailand where…
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FC Phuket away to Sri Racha in Toyota Cup
PHUKET: FC Phuket play Sri Racha (Blue Marlins) in the second leg of the Toyota League Cup with the winner securing a place in the quarter-finals, at Suzuki Stadium in Chonburi tonight. A 1-1 draw with the Sponsor Thai Premier League side last Wednesday means that Phuket have to win away from home this evening. A missed penalty at Surakul…
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10,000 liters of smuggled gasoline seized in Phuket
PHUKET: Police made one arrest and seized 10,700 liters of smuggled gasoline in Phuket after following a tip-off yesterday. Col Surisak Wichaidist, Superintendent of the Regional Police Investigations Division, led a group of officers to investigate a speedboat repair facility in Rawai at 11am. They had received a tip-off that Nontasak Marine Co Ltd was hoarding and smuggling gasoline in…
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UK Home Secretary to decide on Aldhouse extradition to Thailand
PHUKET: The decision whether or not to extradite British national Lee Aldhouse from the UK to face murder charges in Thailand will be handed to Home Secretary Theresa May, the Birmingham Mail reports. The decision could take up to two months, the newspaper says. Aldhouse was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport on August 18 last year on an outstanding warrant…
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Phuket pushed to pilot 300 baht minimum wage
PHUKET: The Wage Tripartite Committee (WTC) yesterday proposed that the Pheu Thai Party’s promise of a nationwide minimum wage increase first be tested in Phuket and metropolitan Bangkok, then followed by proportionate increases in other provinces. Phuket was suggested as a pilot province for the increase as it already has the highest daily minimum wage in the country at 221…
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Phuket drug youth on ‘ice’
PHUKET: In one of the latest drug busts on Phuket, Thalang Police yesterday presented six suspects arrested for possession of ya bah (methamphetamine) with intent to distribute, seizing some 2,000 pills and 200 grams of ya Ice (crystal methamphetamine) in the process. Thalang Police Superintendent Witun Kongsudjai told the press at the Thalang Police Station meeting room that the arrests…
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Webber throws his toys
PHUKET: “Of course I ignored the team and I was battling to the end. I was trying to do my best with the amount of conversation on the radio.” Red Bull’s Mark Webber voicing what it means for him to be on a team and that communication from the pit is really just an annoyance. Webber caught up to his…
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Phuket’s Cherng Talay mayor lays out policies
PHUKET: Cherng Talay Mayor Suniran Rachatapruek this morning announced his primary policies at the first Cherng Talay council meeting since his re-election on June 4. Mr Suniran has served as Cherng Talay mayor since July 1999. The meeting at the Cherng Talay Municipality offices was presided over by municipal council president Suphat Athiudomphol, along with council vice president Charoon Thawichatanon.…
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Phuket kickboxing student loses foot in motorbike crash
PHUKET: An Australian man studying Thai kickboxing in Phuket lost his foot when the motorbike he was riding collided with a car in Chalong last night. Staff at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s Tourist Rescue Center named the victim as 30-year-old Mark Anthony Schreiber. At about 9pm, Mr Schreiber’s motorbike collided with a Toyota Fortuner at the entrance to Soi…
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New readers’ poll: Top priorities for Phuket
PHUKET: Following the landslide win by the Pheu Thai Party in the July 3 general election, the Phuket Gazette asks readers which issue affecting Phuket deserves the most urgent attention by the new Government taking shape under Yingluck Shinawatra. The choices are: Traffic congestion Crime Drug abuse Corruption Public transport Environmental protection To have your say, click on the icon…
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Phuket murder: victim’s lesbian lover sought for questioning
PHUKET: Police are investigating the apparent murder of a Phuket Town garment vendor whose body was discovered yesterday in her rented home in Chalong. Chalong Police identified the victim as 41-year-old Chamaiporn Chuaykham, originally from Trang Province. The gruesome discovery, at the victim’s home on Soi Kloom Yang Para, was made by Nattiporn Chuaykham, the 29-year-old brother of the victim.…
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Sunday Opinion: Our MPs need to leverage Thailand for the benefit of Phuket
PHUKET: The landslide election win by the Pheu Thai Party last weekend may strike fear in the hearts of some Phuket residents, but the new coalition government should be given a chance to establish itself and make good on its promises to bring about national reconciliation and prosperity. [See ‘Business as usual?’, page 11, current issue of the Phuket Gazette.…
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SME reps raise alarm over minimum wage rise
PHUKET: The new government’s policy to instantly raise the national minimum wage to 300 baht per day will have dire implications for small businesses in Phuket and across the country, industry leaders warned today. “Wage rates in Phuket are already quite high. This is leading a lot of people to believe that raising the minimum wage to 300 baht across…
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Phuket crackdown on motorbike sidecars
PHUKET: Riders of motorcycles with sidecars (salaeng) will be prosecuted if they use the sidecar to carry passengers, the chief of the Phuket Land Transport Office (PTLO) has announced. PTLO Chief Teerayout Prasertphol said that drivers who use salaeng for passenger transport do so illegally and present a danger to passengers and other road users. Legally-registered salaeng can only be…
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Ten arrested in Phuket drug busts
PHUKET: A drug dealer presented at a police conference in Phuket yesterday admitted that he was acting under orders from a prison inmate. The suspect was one of 10 presented to the press in the meeting room at Patong Police Station yesterday. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Patong Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao chaired the proceedings. Two suspects were…
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Phuket to pull out all the stops in issuing kiddie ID cards
PHUKET: Phuket officials are lining up an intensive campaign to make sure that all Thai children in Phuket of ages seven to 14 are issued national ID cards as required by a new law that comes into effect on Sunday. The National Identification Card Act 2011, which was signed into law in May, mandates that all children of the ages…
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Phuket yacht racers fired up for Victron final
PHUKET: The Victron Energy Series comes to a climactic conclusion this weekend with regular crews and a few extra hulls expected on the water for race eight off Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). This final race of ACYC’s Keel Boat and Multihull club championship gives local racers a chance to warm up for the SEA Property Multihull Championship to be…
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Phuket Gov pushes for underground hotels to register
PHUKET: With the prospect of a civil service reshuffle looming in the wake of the recent general election, the Phuket Governor will push to get hundreds of underground hotels on the island registered and paying taxes. The news came during the first meeting of an advisory committee formed by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on May 11. “I will look into…
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Phuket’s Triathlon double bill is not for the faint hearted
PHUKET: Numbers of entrants for Phuket’s 2011 triathlon double bill are showing massive international interest according to the events organizers. November 27 sees the 18th Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) test the mettle of 700 triathletes from around the globe. Registration for LPT reached capacity within 40 days of opening, but a waiting list is now being prepared. On December 4,…
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