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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“Vote No’ election billboards in Phuket to stay – for now
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Election Commission Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit yesterday confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the billboards urging people to vote “none of the above” in the July 3 elections will stay until he receives from Bangkok an official order to remove them. The Election Commission of Thailand on Thursday ruled that similar billboards in Bangkok were in breach of…
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Phuket Tattoo artists ink compromise on religious tattoos
PHUKET: More than 100 tattoo business operators in Phuket were called to a meeting in Karon yesterday afternoon where they were asked to “cooperate” in the latest nationwide “cultural appropriateness” clampdown on Buddhist tattoos. The meeting followed the Ministry of Culture earlier this week announcing it would impose a ban on all religious tattoos. The ensuing controversy and heated human…
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Patong unites against vote buying and selling
PHUKET: Phuket’s top cop yesterday held a rally in Patong urging the 1,000 or so people in attendance to vote in the July 3 election, and to avoid vote buying and selling. Participants included Patong government officials, police officers, tuk-tuk drivers, local residents, school children and ladyboys. “I have heard a lot of talk about vote buying and selling in…
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Registration drive expected to legalize 30,000 Phuket workers
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) expects 30,000 migrant workers to be processed in the month-long registration drive starting on Wednesday. “About 49,000 workers have already renewed their registration and we expect 30,000 new foreign workers to register [in the upcoming registration drive],” PPEO Chief Noppadon Ployyoudee told the Phuket Gazette. The Employment Office will set…
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Bingham battles to earn a semi-final place in Phuket’s snooker cup
PHUKET: Stuart Bingham struggled against a defiant Passakorn Suwannawat in the last quarter-final of the Sangsom Phuket Snooker Cup (updated table of results here) being held at the Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong. The best of seven match started at 7pm with Passakorn looking more at ease than the world number 17. Passakorn took the first frame, but Bingham recovered…
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Wattana and Issara wait for Bingham in Phuket snooker cup’s last four
PHUKET: Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm (James Wattana) brushed aside compatriot Noppadun Sangnil to secure his place in Friday’s Phuket snooker cup semi-finals at the Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong. Noppadun did not trouble the scoreboard as Wattana racked up a 4-0 victory in today’s quarter-final encounter which started at 1pm. At 10am this morning, Thepchaiya Un-nooh and Dechatwat Poomjang gave spectators an…
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Phuket police hunt shooter of karaoke bar owner
PHUKET: Chalong Police are investigating whether the shooting on Monday of a karaoke bar owner in Karon, on Phuket’s west coast, was drug related. Three arrests have been made and a manhunt for the gunman and two accomplices is underway. Following a night of drinking with patrons, 42-year-old Somwong “Lui” Saemin was allegedly beaten then shot in the shoulder and…
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Bahrain F1 out!
PHUKET: “Of course it’s not on. The schedule cannot be rescheduled without the agreement of the participants – they’re the facts.” Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula 1, explains that the Bahrain Grand Prix will not go ahead unless all the drivers consent to participate. The FIA have apparently neglected to consider a section of their own code. Article 66 clearly…
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Baby “Cream’ haunts dreams, refuses to sour
VILLAGERS in Nakhon Ratchasima are queueing up to place toys in front of the corpse of a nine-month-old baby on display in a local temple. They say the body of Suphansa Lilaphamonkit, known as “Nong Cream”, has miraculously failed to rot, despite the baby dying four years ago. Nong Cream was born on July 11, 2006, but died on April…
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No more nun-sense at Phuket temple
PHUKET: Scandals involving monks are fairly common in Thailand, but the most recent clerical debacle involves the banishment of an elderly temple nun after a public outcry over her behavior at a well-known Phuket temple. About 50 local residents gathered at Wat Kitti Sangkaram (Kata Temple) early yesterday demanding the immediate dismissal of 74-year-old Mae Chee Euam (Nun Euam), who…
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Robson quits Thailand football manager post
PHUKET: Bryan Robson last night resigned as manager of Thailand’s national team.Secretary General of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), Worawi Makudi said in a statement to the press, “Bryan wished to resign, and his contract was terminated by mutual consent. I cannot give any more details.” Robson, 54, was diagnosed with cancer and underwent an operation earlier this year.…
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Bingham moves on and Burden goes down in Phuket snooker cup
PHUKET: World number 17 Stuart Bingham booked his place in the next round of the Sangsom Phuket Snooker Cup with a stylish display against Thailand’s Chuchart Trairattanapradit. Bingham defeated Chuchart by a score of 4 frames to 1. That game began at 1pm at the Royal Paradise Hotel and Spa in Patong. In an upset earlier this morning Alfie Burden,…
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Cabinet resolution opens window to register Burmese workers in Phuket
PHUKET: In a bid to get more members of Phuket’s huge alien workforce legally registered, the Phuket Provincial Employment Office has announced it will open a “one-stop” registration center at its offices at Saphan Hin. Employment Office chief Noppadon Ployyoudee explained to a recent meeting of provincial officials that before Parliament was dissolved Cabinet passed a resolution that extended the…
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Phuket Live Wire: Surfing waves at high speed
PHUKET: Understanding the changing tide of internet speeds on Phuket is easier said than done. Everybody wants to know how fast their internet connection is running, and what they can do to speed it up. Fortunately, internet speeds in Phuket have been improving – dramatically in some cases. The general SOP level (“Screams Of Pain”) this year, compared to two…
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Body of missing deckhand found off southern Phuket
PHUKET: The body of deckhand Nati Tavorn, reported missing by his Phuket employer early yesterday morning, was found floating off Coral Island (Koh Hei) yesterday afternoon. The body, discovered at about 5pm, was returned to Chalong Pier at about 6pm and taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital, his employer Martin Eleveld told the Phuket Gazette. Mr Nati, 50, was a deckhand…
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German TV crew in Phuket “satisfied’ with dirty water recourse
PHUKET: The host of the popular German TV travel show We Save Your Vacation today said he was “satisfied” with the action being taken by Phuket authorities to ensure untreated wastewater does not contaminate Phuket beaches. Environmental engineer Siripong Pasari of Southern Thai Consulting Co Ltd today treated Mr Benko to a full explanation of what happened in March, when…
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Phuket to lead Thai assault on world record for mass massage
PHUKET: Phuket will stage a bid to break the world record for the largest simultaneous group rubdown in a mass Thai massage on Karon Beach on August 19. The current record holders, credited to “Tourism Victoria Australia”, the state tourism board for the southeastern state down under, grabbed the record with 232 pairs on March 30 last year. Phuket participants…
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Phuket light-rail plan inches forward
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Office will finalize its list of potential bidders for work on a light-rail and other transport mega-projects next week. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall last Wednesday, Phuket Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat told government officials and private sector attendees the province would draft invitation letters to the finalist bidders on June 16. Among the organizations represented…
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Phuket dinghy found adrift, deckhand missing
PHUKET: A crew member of a Phuket fishing boat charter company was reported missing this morning in Chalong Bay. Nati Tavorn, a deckhand for Phuket Fish Boat, failed to arrive at the company offices after spending the night aboard one of the company’s boats in Chalong Bay. A search of the pier and beach by company staff, where the boat…
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FC Phuket’s darling Diarra Ali returns
PHUKET: Former FC Phuket player Diarra Ali will once again call Surakul Stadium his home, the Phuket Gazette learned today. The star striker was a key player in FC Phuket’s promotion to the Football Association of Thailand’s Division 1 last December. FC Phuket Secretary Sorranan Sanae said, “Diarra will play his last game for Muangthong United at the end of…
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Phuket Election: Suniran re-elected Cherng Talay Mayor
PHUKET: Suniran Rachatapreuk secured enough votes in a local Phuket election on Saturday to retain his position as Mayor of Cherng Talay. “The election results were sent to the Election Commission of Thailand [in Bangkok] yesterday [June 5],” Kitipong Thiengkunakrit, Director of the Phuket Election Commission, today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “If there are no complaints filed with us…
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Phuket family mourns drowned boy, age 7
PHUKET: A seven-year-old Phuket boy drowned today while he was bathing beside his father’s fishing boat. Sukaiya Kunpaw entered the canal in Mai Khao at about midday while his father, 38-year-old Adun Kunpaw, was cleaning his boat. With tears in his eyes and a wavering voice, Mr Adun told the Phuket Gazette that young Sukaiya was bathing on the other…
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When I was a lad…
PHUKET: “It’s something that will be a great story when I’m an old man telling my grandkids that I was once the best player in the world at golf. It’s a little surreal.” Luke Donald already relishing the opportunity to have yawning kids listen to his golfing war stories. Thirty three year old Donald becomes the third Englishman after Sir…
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Lucky FC Phuket scrape a draw
PHUKET: FC Phuket continued their poor performance away from home yesterday with a 1-1 draw against Air Force United (AF Utd). The draw leaves FC Phuket in ninth place in Thai Premier League (TPL) division one. The seven yellow cards issued were not indicative of a bad-tempered encounter, but reflected the game’s tempo and spirited challenges from both teams, aware…
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Phuket gold heist: Arrest warrant issued
PHUKET: Police have issued an arrest warrant for the man who held up a Phuket Town gold shop on Saturday. “We have issued the arrest warrant for a ‘Mr Ake’. We don’t know his full name, but we know he is from Surat Thani. He is a big, dark-skinned man who wore a wig and used a fake gun, as…
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Phuket Breaking News: Karaoke owner gunned down in Karon
PHUKET: A karaoke owner in Karon was shot at close range by gunmen this morning after a night of drinking on Phuket’s west coast, the island’s primary destination for tourists. Sompong Saenim was drinking with five men at his karaoke bar and restaurant on Patak Road when at about 7:30am two of the group pulled out guns and fired about…
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Nadal clinical on clay
PHUKET: The “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal Parera turned in a majestic performance on Sunday to defeat world number three Roger Federer and win a record equaling sixth French Open tennis title. Nadal won the Coup des Mousquetaires [name of the French Open trophy] at his first attempt in 2005 aged 19 and made the grand slam event his own…
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Asia gets first grand slam victory
PHUKET: Li Na stamped her name on sports history on Saturday by winning the French Open at Roland Garros, becoming the first tennis player from China to win a Grand Slam singles final. A straight sets victory 6-4, 7-6 over defending champion Francesca Schiavone from Italy was completed in less than two hours by the world number seven. Li was…
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Manhunt launched after man steals B4mn from Phuket gold shop
PHUKET: Police have launched a manhunt after a lone robber made off with 4 million baht in jewelry from a gold shop in Phuket Town earlier today. Chantana Thanetthanasombut, owner of the Thong Thanet gold shop at the Yee Teng complex at the Slaughterhouse Intersection, told the Phuket Gazette that a man entered her shop about midday today posing as…
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F1 back in Bahrain
PHUKET – Quote of the day: “The Bahrain Grand Prix has always been a source of national pride and it is an event that transcends politics.” – Zayed Rashid Alzayani, chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit gushes over the reinstatement of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Yesterday’s unanimous decision by Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) means October 30 will see the…
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