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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Increase in flights to Phuket Intl Airport: AOT
PHUKET CITY: The effect of the political turmoil on passenger traffic at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport has thus far been limited, with increased traffic at Phuket International Airport making up for some of the shortfall, Airports of Thailand (AoT) has announced. Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Niran Theeranatsin said that before the protests 16 international and domestic carriers had requested an additional…
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Hong Kong shuns Bangkok, Phuket not affected
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Hong Kong travel agents yesterday announced the cancellation of all tours to Bangkok until at least April 21 because of the political violence in the Thai capital. Earth Times reports that around 80 tour groups with more than…
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Phuket Prison: Songkran fuels overcrowding fears
PHUKET: The likely increase in arrests over the Songkran holiday period is worrying officials as the Phuket Provincial Prison is already 408 inmates over capacity. The six-rai prison is intended to accommodate 708 male and 165 female prisoners. On April 9 there were 1007 males and 274 females detained in the facility. “We expect more prisoners during the Songkran Festival,”…
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Phuket Tourism at Ground Zero
PHUKET: While the term ‘ground zero’ became the idiom for the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001, the phrase is far older than that, dating at least as far back as the Manhattan Project and the World War II bombing of Hiroshima. On the heels of Saturday’s tragic events in Bangkok, Thailand’s tourism industry has become the global poster…
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Phuket safe, but warnings on ‘Thailand’ vary widely
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Germany advised travelers yesterday to avoid going near large crowds when visiting Thailand. The update to the travel advisory, reported by Earth Times, notes that the Foreign Ministry website says Germans should “stay well away from demonstrations” and…
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Phuket-bound tourists may file insurance claims
PHUKET TOWN: Foreign tourists affected by recent rioting in Bangkok may be eligible for financial compensation of up to US$ 10,000 through a state-run insurance scheme. According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) website, the Royal Thai Government in May 2009 set up an insurance scheme for foreigners visiting the Kingdom ‘who are affected by losses or harms…
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Phuket FC in first loss of season
PHUKET: First-place Phuket FC lost its first match of the season yesterday with a tough 2-1 defeat on the road against Trang FC ‘Killer Sea Cows’. Phuket FC were in fine form in the first half, with good scoring chances in the first 10 minutes including a header by Adisek that bounced back off the goalpost. Phuket’s Southern Sea Kirin…
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OPINION: Catching the safety wave in Phuket
PHUKET: A key reason for Phuket’s success as a tourist destination is the wide variety of leisure activities available: sailing, golf, bowling, cricket, volleyball, windsurfing, mountain hiking, jet-skiing, go-carting, parasailing, paragliding, billiards, darts – name a pastime and you’re likely to be able to enjoy it here. The news feature in the current issue of the Phuket Gazette, (see pages…
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‘Normal’ Songkran expected for Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Songkran celebrations in Phuket as well as 13 other Thai provinces are scheduled to take place as planned, despite the current state of emergency and cancellation of official celebrations in Bangkok. Asia One News reports that China has…
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15 dead as Bangkok protests explode
PHUKET: Fifteen people have been killed and more than 650 injured in clashes between troops and anti-government protesters in Bangkok. Five soldiers are being held hostage by demonstrators and a journalist with Reuters news agency is among the dead. In a report filed at 3am in Thailand today, Sky.com says soldiers fired rubber bullets and some live rounds at opposition…
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Violence and arson at troubled Phuket project
WICHIT, PHUKET: A violent confrontation and arson attack outside the troubled Phanason City project last night ended when police arrived and fired warning shots, causing those involved to run for cover. The latest skirmish in the months-old battle started at about 9pm. Around 200 men alleged to be project workers tried to destroy and burn some 40 motorbikes and a…
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Phuket bank accounts plundered
PHUKET: Phuket police are warning of fraudulent phone calls informing members of the public they are “lucky winners” and promising them large cash prizes. The criminals ask victims to transfer a small sum of money in order to claim the reward, which is never seen. In some cases, the hapless victims are instructed to make the transaction at a specific…
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Phuket protest over Club Med wall
KATA, PHUKET: More than 100 local residents yesterday gathered at the Club Med Hotel in Phuket to protest construction of a concrete wall enclosing the resort’s property. Protester Pradit Thamwatthana said hotel staff began staking out the position of the wall with bamboo poles two weeks ago. The 1.5-meter-high wall would seal off six rai of land that in recent…
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Phuket calm as drama escalates in Bangkok
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The latest development in the month-long standoff in the Bangkok-based anti-government demonstrations saw the protesters storming a satellite television station yesterday. Meanwhile, Phuket remained as calm and seemingly detached from the action as Perth, Pretoria or Pittsburgh. The…
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Coming soon: Phuket’s new bridge
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: The construction firm building a new bridge to Phuket has released computer generated images of what the project will look like upon completion. Project engineer Dr Phattanapong Thonsuk of project contractor Italian-Thai Development Co said the old Sarasin Bridge has suffered from years of saltwater corrosion and wear and is being replaced following concerns by the Highway…
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Ya bah going cheap in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: The arrest of a volunteer soldier on drug charges on Wednesday may indicate the price of ya bah (methamphetamine) is falling on the island. Kathu Police arrested Sornchai Nop in his room at a small hotel on Ratchaprasong Road in Patong at about 2am. Mr Sornchai, an army scout based in Narathiwat, apparently found selling ya bah in…
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Phuket tourism: TAT targets Vietnam
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hopes the establishment of Phuket as a regional air hub will help the country attract more than 400,000 visitors from Vietnam for the first time this year. Pichai Raktasinha, Director of the TAT office in Ho Chi Minh City, said the number of Vietnamese arrivals in Thailand has risen steadily in recent years,…
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Tourists told to visit Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Thailand’s PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has declared a State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. A State of Emergency dramatically increases the power of the government, but it really means little to the average tourist and very much…
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Songkran 2010: Northern turmoil boosts Phuket
PHUKET: With red shirts now rallying in provinces across Thailand’s North and Northeast, Phuket is an increasingly attractive destination for tourists over the upcoming Songkran holiday. Members of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) are gathering in 17 northern provinces to support their fellow protesters in Bangkok, Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul said earlier today. “Although protests are sprouting…
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Phuket Lifeguard Club ready to serve
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) plans to sign a 10-month contract with the Phuket Lifeguard Club that will see 83 lifeguards assigned to 13 island beaches by the end of the month. Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut ‘Nut’ Chuayuan said he was still waiting to see the contract and had yet to be contacted by PPAO officials, but…
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Malaysia gains edge over Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Etihad Holidays, a division of Etihad Airways, has announced a new cooperative agreement with Tourism Malaysia to promote holiday packages to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu, giving them a clear advantage over Phuket as a popular tourist destination in…
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Songkran splashdown in Old Phuket Town
PHUKET: While getting soaked during Songkran in Patong has long been inevitable, the chances of staying dry in Phuket Old Town used to be somewhat higher. Not this year. In a bid to reduce crowding on Patong Beach, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pushing Phuket Old Town as an alternative setting for the New Year water fight. In…
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Tsunami alert prompts confusion in Phuket
PHUKET: Confusion reigned in coastal areas of Phuket this morning after a tsunami ‘advisory alert’ was mistaken by many as a full-scale evacuation order. The alert followed a 7.5-richter earthquake at about 5:15am local time along the north coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, along the same fault zone that triggered the 2004 tsunami disaster. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop ordered the…
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Cricket sixes on way to Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Organisers of next week’s (April 14-18) Phuket International Cricket Sixes, to be staged at Karon Beach, today announced that the recently retired captain of Australia, Karen Rolton, will headline the newly introduced Women’s Division at this year’s tournament.…
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Phuket landlord electrocuted on roof
PHUKET TOWN: A landlord was electrocuted on Saturday while trying to fix the roof of a house in Phuket Town. Phuket native Vissanu Thipsunthornnon, 42, was found dead with his legs dangling off the roof of the house on Wichit Songkhram Road at around 9am. Mr Vissanu’s wife said tenants had complained the roof was damaged in heavy rain the…
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Phuket tours miffed over Phi Phi fee
PHUKET: A 20-baht “entrance fee” levied by the local authority in charge of Koh Phi Phi has sparked a row with Phuket tour operators. On Saturday the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) began collecting the charge from all visitors to fund the cleaning of the island’s piers. Tour operators are complaining the TAO did not officially warn them in…
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Songkran in Phuket: Road safety clampdown coming
PHUKET: The water-splashing riot of the Songkran Festival draws near and with it the Phuket authorities’ annual road safety clampdown. Between April 12 and 18 police are promising to strictly enforce Thailand’s often-neglected traffic laws. In particular, officers will be on the lookout for drink driving, speeding and motorcycle riders without helmets. Twenty-four-hour checkpoints will be erected at the following…
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Boon for Phuket: Lifeguard training
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The dangers of Phuket’s beaches have been much in the headlines around the world over the past three years amid a spate of drownings and a protracted period during which there were no lifeguards at all. Although safety…
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Encroachers ordered off Phuket beaches
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hotels and restaurants in Mai Khao in Phuket have been given one month to vacate illegally occupied beachfront land after a barrage of complaints from local residents. Villagers complained in writing to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop that it was becoming ever more difficult for them to access public beach land because hotels and restaurants have erected barriers…
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Phuket Bike Week: hundreds cancel over protest fears
PHUKET: Hundreds of bikers have dropped out of Phuket Bike Week because of the red shirt protests in Bangkok, according to the president of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter). Suchart Hirankanokkul, who recently replaced Methee Tanmanatragul as head of the association, said 3,000 bikers had been expected to take part in the annual festival. Around 20 percent have dropped…
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