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 Fun Fly underway in Rawai
PHUKET: The Phuket Paragliding Club’s first-ever Phuket Fun Fly is underway in Rawai. Hundreds of paragliders from around the world are taking the big leap from the launch site at Laem Phromthep, then gliding along to their final descent at Nai Harn beach. Activities include spot landing and gate passing competitions, as well as ‘fancy dress flying’. Experienced paragliders will…
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Drunk driver in Phuket pile-up
PHUKET CITY: A 30-year-old man tested five times over the legal alcohol limit after smashing his truck into an oncoming pickup, scattering seven motorbikes and their passengers across the road. Nakhon Sri Thammarat native Wirot Songpan was driving his black pickup truck home at rush hour on the morning of May 19 after a night of drinking in Saphan Hin…
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Phuket bars to open late for soccer World Cup
PHUKET: Soccer fans will be pleased to hear that bars in Phuket will be allowed to stay open late to show South Africa 2010 World Cup matches, although alcohol sales regulations will still apply. “Bars can show the soccer matches late, but they still have to follow the law limiting the hours when alcohol can be sold,” said Phuket Provincial…
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Bird seller slain in Phuket
KATA, PHUKET: Chalong Police are hunting for a man who stabbed and bludgeoned a man to death in front of a crowd of horrified witnesses in Phuket on Wednesday night. Nakhon Sri Thammarat native Teerasak Sukkasem, the 40-year-old owner of a store selling caged birds, died at the scene. Inspector Anukul Nookate of Phuket City Police was alerted to the…
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Phuket Police arrest brothers for Rassada slaying
PHUKET: Two brothers have been arrested after nearly two months on the run and charged with stabbing their neighbor to death for ‘making too much noise’.Phuket natives Niphon, 37, and Niphan Kruae-in, 36, were arrested yesterday for the March 21 slaying of 41-year-old Ponsan Noi-oonsaen, a native of Chiang Mai. The brothers were hiding in a hut on a rubber…
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Phuket mall banks open Saturday
PHUKET: Prasarn Trairatworakul, chairman of the Thai Bankers Association, said today that banks in shopping malls can reopen on Saturday and Sunday. The move followed a Bank of Thailand (BoT) announcement that all banks in Thailand would be closed today and tomorrow, opening again for business on Monday. The move will protect bank staff and the public, according to the…
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Phuket wants peace: Dr Sriyada
PHUKET: Former Thai Rak Thai Party leader for Phuket Dr Sriyada Shinawatra doesn’t think the riots and arson attacks in the country yesterday will have a negative impact on Phuket, but insists that fresh elections and a respect for democratic principles are the only solution to Thailand’s current political conflict. Dr Sriyada, who runs a dental clinic in Phuket Town,…
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Phuket calm after Bangkok riots
PHUKET: Despite the recent mayhem in Bangkok, life has largely gone on as normal in Phuket – but local authorities remain on high alert to ensure continued security. Days of rioting in the capital culminated in the planned surrender yesterday of several ‘red shirt’ United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) leaders. But rather than spelling the endgame to the…
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RoyFest returns to Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: According to public relations website PR Urgent, anyone in the Karon Beach area of Phuket will be able to hear music from a host of Thai and international DJs, as well as various other artists, at RoyFest 2010.…
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Phuket Airport safe, security stepped up
PHUKET: Security at Phuket International Airport has been beefed up following outbreaks of violence across Bangkok and other parts of the country today. Airport Director Pratueng Sornkham said more police officers were called in to guard the facility from 11am this morning. Stricter security procedures are now in operation and will remain so until the situation changes, he said. He…
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Turmoil in more cities, but top cop says Phuket safe
PHUKET: Despite the turmoil engulfing parts of Bangkok and some other Thai cities, Phuket’s top cop insists Phuket remains safe. Commenting on reports that two provincial halls in Northeast Thailand have been set on fire by rampaging red shirts, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said the same could not happen here. Tha Chat Chai checkpoint, where police inspect vehicles…
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Phuket to host Seniors World Cup
PHUKET: The island is gearing up to host the fifth annual Football Senior World Cup 2010 tournament that kicks off on May 31. The tournament is to be held in Phuket for the first time since 2006, when the island hosted the inaugural event. Play in this year’s tournament, which runs from May 31 to June 5, will include teams…
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Paternal protection: shooting murder in Phuket
WICHIT, PHUKET: A father lying wounded in a Phuket hospital faces a murder charge after allegedly shooting a young man who had a dispute with his son over the weekend. Withun Khonsakul, 58, allegedly shot and killed 24-year-old Anurak Pawatkunawat at around 6pm on Sunday. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Teerawat Amnartjarernying went to the scene, outside a house in…
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Urgent call for blood in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center is asking for urgent help as Thailand is facing a nationwide blood shortage due to the political unrest in Bangkok. Pareeya Jullaphong, corporate social responsibility project manager at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, said the National Blood Center and Red Cross Society in Bangkok are unable to distribute blood across the country as normal due to…
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Korean, Thai charged over Phuket horror crash
PHUKET: Two men wanted by police for their involvement in a deadly crash on the bypass road earlier this month have reported to police, but only one accepts that his negligence might have played a role in the collision that claimed the lives of a young couple from Kathu. Phuket City Police duty officer Thada Sodarak said that 30-year-old truck…
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HRH Princess Sirindhorn to visit Phuket next week
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will pay an official visit to Phuket on May 27. The Princess is scheduled to arrive at Phuket International Airport at 8:30am aboard a Royal Thai Air Force jet. In the morning, the Princess will visit Chalermprakiat Somdejprasrinakarin Phuket School in Saphan Hin to preside over the dedication of a monument to Somdejprasrinakarin, the…
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American Embassy closed again today
Phuket: Following the United States’ warning to American citizens to avoid non-essential travel to anywhere in Thailand, Americans in Phuket are reminded that the warning is still in force and that the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is closed again today. The key paragraphs of the warning, issued by the U.S. State Department on Friday, May 15, are quoted below: “The…
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PHUKET OPINION: Thanks, but more airport taxis not needed
PHUKET: The compromise agreement ending the latest dispute between rival taxi concessionaires at Phuket International Airport (PIA) may appease both sides in the short term, but allowing 60 more vans and ‘limousine’ taxis onto airport grounds as the low season sets in will only worsen conditions at the airport in upcoming months. Airports of Thailand (AOT), which runs the airport,…
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Phuket Gazette partner journalist shot in Bangkok
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Chaiwat Phumpuang, a photo-journalist in the Nation/Gazette news pool, has become the latest victim of the protest violence in Bangkok. The award-winning lensman, who has covered many political crises, was shot in the leg while recording the demonstrations…
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Sunday Summary / update on Thai Crisis
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette‘s own correspondents and Nation partner reporters in Bangkok join our Phuket-based NEWS Hound team this morning to present a Sunday snapshot of the turmoil in Bangkok and some glimpses into its increasingly adverse impacts. 24 dead as army told to “shoot on sight” Since violence re-erupted in Bangkok on Thursday with the shooting of renegade army…
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Bangkok death toll hits 16
PHUKET: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Emergency Health Center this morning revised its death and injury toll from yesterday’s clashes between troops and protesters, to 16 dead and 157 people injured. Andrew Drummond, a British journalist with decades of experience in reporting news in Thailand and Southeast Asia, told the Gazette that the capital seemed “much quieter” and traffic seemed to…
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Phuket still safe for tourism: Russian Ambassador
PHUKET: The Russian ambassador to Thailand reaffirmed Phuket as a safe tourist destination after a tour of the island last weekend. Santi Udomkiratak, Deputy Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation for Phuket, Krabi and Phang-nga, said that Russian Ambassador Alexander Mariyasov reiterated during his visit that the current political turmoil in Bangkok had very little effect on the safety of…
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Internet outages plague Phuket
PHUKET: Following a week of intermittent internet access, at times leaving consumers with no access at all, Triple Broad Band Internet (3BB) has confirmed that the outages are expected to continue until the end of the month while the company installs a new network. Pongsakorn Yuktawet, General Manager of 3BB’s Upper Southern Region, based in Phuket, said the outages were…
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Phuket hotel occupancy in “massive decline”
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s deputy governor for marketing communications, Prakit Piriyakiet, has just completed an inspection of hotels and resorts in Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak to shortlist properties for the annual Thailand Tourism Awards. The trip revealed…
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Blackout in Thalang
THALANG: The Thalang office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced power cuts to carry out maintenance on high voltage wires from 9am to 5pm on Saturday. Affected areas are along the west side of Thepkrasattri Road, from the offices of the Kata Thai Company (near the old Siam City Cement plant) all the way to the Muang Thalang…
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Crucial Phuket road deteriorating
PHUKET: The state of the Patong-Karon road has gotten worse over the years and accidents are now an everyday occurrence, local residents say.The name of the winding road, dubbed Route 4233, changes from Sirirat Road on the Patong side to Patak Road after passing into tambon Karon near Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort.Three sections are particularly hazardous due to poor…
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Phuket bids to save the dog conch
PA KHLOK, PHUKET: In a bid to increase depleted stocks, fisheries workers released 12,000 cultured dog conch shells into the sea off Pa Khlok in Phuket earlier this month.The operation was conducted jointly by the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Center 5 in Phuket and the Phang Nga Coastal Fishery Research and Development Center, where the dog conches (hawy chak…
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“Kathu Culture Road’ fair in Phuket
PHUKET: Kathu will host its second annual ‘Kathu Culture Road’ fair from June 25 to 27, the municipality has announced. Kathu Mayor Chaianan Suthikul said they decided to host this year’s event in June as a way of attracting more tourists in the low season and to preserve Kathu’s unique culture. With a total budget of about 1 million baht,…
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Summary / Update on Thai crisis
PHUKET: Thailand is tense this morning after clashes between “Red Shirt” anti-government protesters and troops left one dead and eight wounded, including a renegade general allied with some factions among the demonstrators. The fresh violence in Bangkok last night came after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva shelved a plan to hold early elections in November and hopes faded for resolution of…
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Thailand, but not Phuket, in lockdown
PHUKET: The Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) has imposed emergency law in 15 more provinces in the central, northern and northeastern parts of Thailand, CRES spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. Phuket, however, is not on the list of affected provinces and remains calm, as it has been since the red-shirt demonstrations began two months ago. The 2nd…
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