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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Pro-Thaksin TV channel available in Phuket
BANGKOK / PHUKET (The Nation): Politicians linked to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will on Monday launch the DTV satellite television station, with the goal, they say, of advancing democracy and opposing coups. Banned Thai Rak Thai Party executive Adisorn Piangket said yesterday that the station would be managed by D Station, with himself as chairman. It is being co-founded…
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Phuket’s luxury villa market holding despite global conditions
PHUKET: The upscale luxury villa segment has outperformed the broader Phuket property market for Q4 2008 in spite of the worsening global financial downturn and recent political issues in Bangkok, according to the Phuket Luxury Villa Market Report recently released by the island’s widely respected consulting firm C9 Hotelworks. C9’s Managing Director Bill Barnett said that “while take-up rates are…
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OrBorJor, Nation Group organize free cram sessions
PHUKET: In implicit recognition that the mainstream education system is not sufficiently preparing students for entry into higher education, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has joined with the Phuket Educational Service Office and the Nation Multimedia Group, (of which the Phuket Gazette is a part), to hold the 1st Educational Skills Improvement Seminar at Phuket Rajabhat University. The project,…
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Killer of volunteer cop still at large
PHUKET CITY: A volunteer police officer was shot in the forehead and died in a pool of blood in Phuket City in the early hours of January 11. His alleged killer remains at large.Police believe Teeradet “Boy” Rakwong, 28, was killed by suspect Piyawat “Bang Hem” Pleeta, a member of a rival group, following a fight over a woman.Phuket City…
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Drug disco monk defrocked
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: In an interesting story that until now has not been reported in the English language press, a monk was arrested on November 17 after police discovered he had converted his cell at the temple into a mini disco and was having drug parties. After receiving a tip off that a monk at Wat Mukhathara, in Tambon Pak…
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Help sought for tourism sector
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Tourism and Sports Ministry has submitted 13 tourism recovery measures for government approval that include waiving visa fees, cutting air fares and reducing airport charges. Minister Chumpol Silapa-Archa said the measures, compiled from private-sector proposals, were handed to the government’s economic team yesterday. The tourism industry is suffering from the global economic crisis and the after-effects…
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Giant Clam population in danger
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: With the colorful shell of the giant clam highly prized by aquarium owners, the lucrative but illegal trade in the species is causing the population of this marine mollusk to decrease dramatically and experts fear it may become extinct in its natural habitat. Out of the eight known species of giant clam in the world, five species…
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Gazette Online smashes visitor records
PHUKET: With 82,882 visitors to its news pages in the 24 hours ending at midnight yesterday, the Gazette Online set a record for single-day traffic since the site was launched in September 1997. The statistics are prepared independently and published daily on the home page of the newspaper’s website. In yesterday’s record-breaking log, the leading contributors to the site’s traffic…
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Phuket man confesses to Koh Pha Ngan tourist murder
PHUKET: A Phuket man has confessed to the strangling murder of a female German tourist on Koh Phangan on the night of the island’s famous Full Moon Party, local police said. Tattoo artist Tiwat “Ood” Kasemchoke, 29, yesterday confessed that he strangled Astrid Al-Assaad Schachmer on Koh Phangan and disposed of her body in the water at Baan Naiwok Beach,…
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Angry residents block traffic after fatal accident
KATA, PHUKET: A mob of angry Kata residents last night used their vehicles to block the main road through Kata.The protest followed an accident two days earlier, when a cement truck allegedly speeding through the Kata Yai and Kata Noi intersection collided with a parked van and motorcycle. Two men were injured and one might have to have an arm…
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Tourist found dead after island rave party
KOH SAMUI / KOH PHA-NGAN (The Nation): Police are hunting for the person believed responsible for the death of a German woman at the full-moon party on Ko Pha-ngan, a satellite island off Samui Island, at the weekend. “An investigation suggests she might have been raped and killed,” Maj Pissanu Bia-kaew, a Tourist Police inspector, said. The tourist, in her…
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Cement spill threatens Racha reef
RACHA YAI, PHUKET: A barge loaded with building materials almost capsized in Phlap Phla Bay off Racha Yai island early Thursday afternoon, causing the captain to offload 30 sacks of cement into the sea over an artificial coral reef. Paitoon Praechaiyaphum of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department Region 5 office, who has visited the site, said that officials were mounting…
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Phuket’s kids enjoy Children’s Day
PHUKET: Youngsters are today enjoying free games, activities, stage performances and food and drink around the island for Thailand’s annual Children’s Day. Events dedicated to giving kids a good time are taking place at shopping malls, military installations, government offices, schools, hospitals and public areas all over the island.
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Second incineration plant to be built at Saphan Hin
PHUKET CITY: A solution to Phuket’s waste disposal crisis appears at hand now that a Malaysian firm has agreed to build a second power-producing incineration plant at Saphan Hin. Ratcharin Khawsuwan, an officer in the municipality’s finance division, said the announcement came at a press conference by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana, Phuket Vice Governor Worapoj Ratthasima and Dato Tan…
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Children’s day activities round-up
PHUKET CITY: This year’s Children’s Day falls on January 10 – tomorrow – with activities for the whole family all around the island. The Phuket City municipality has arranged a host of events to take place at the Municipal Youth Health Center at Saphan Hin. Local schools and parents’ associations will have their own tents, where presents, sweets, ice cream…
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One man, one game, two holes-in-one in Phuket
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket resident John Connelly, 58, smashed all records Saturday morning when he carded two holes-in-one in a single round of golf at Phuket’s Blue Canyon Country Club. According to an estimate published in Golf Digest magazine, the odds of such an occurrence are about one in 67 million! Connelly, with a handicap of 13, achieved the feat while…
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Sports Complex design complete, but still no building budget
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Design work on a long-awaited sports complex on 240 rai of state land in Mai Khao is now complete, but the project remains without funding. Promchote Traivate, head of the Phuket Office of Sports and Recreation Development, said the latest design consists of a 4,000-seat multi-purpose hall, a 15,000-seat football stadium with retractable roof, an “extreme sports”…
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Sirinath Park standoff now in Day 2
SAKOO, PHUKET: Some 100 protesters have roadblocked the entrance to Sirinath Marine National Park, hoping authorities will do away with sharply increased entrance fees that are keeping tourists away and hurting their businesses. The new fees, which took effect about two months ago, have made access to the park much more expensive – prohibitively so for many tourists who used…
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PM says ‘no’ to bullet-proof car
BANGKOK / PHUKET: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday declined an official offer to use a state-owned bullet-proof car, despite having received many death threats in recent days. He refused to change to the bullet-proof model offered by his security team and said that the offer had nothing to do with the assassination threats. The team told him that they did…
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Vigo top prize in Red Cross raffle
SAPHAN HIN: The exciting draw for top prizes in the 2009 Phuket Red Cross Fair at Saphan Hin will be held at 10 pm on January 9, the penultimate day of the event. Those buying 100-baht raffle tickets will have a chance of winning the following prizes: First prize: Toyota Vigo extended cab pickup (1 prize); Second prize: Motorbikes (3);…
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Man arrested for KorTorMor shooting
PHUKET CITY: The son of the owners of a popular car repair chain has been arrested for allegedly shooting another man in the back inside the KorTorMor nightclub at 1 am on January 1, bringing New Year’s festivities there to an abrupt end.Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit, who is personally overseeing the investigation, said fighting broke out between Sombat…
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Italian dies in road accident
PHUKET CITY: Two people, including a foreigner, died in road accidents in Phuket during the first three days of the government’s “7 Days of Danger” road safety campaign that began on December 30. Nattadawan Maneerangsrisuwan, an officer at the provincial Road Safety Center, set up by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket), said the first casualty reported was…
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Swede dies in Kata guesthouse
KARON, PHUKET: A young Swedish man was found dead in his room at the Kata View Guesthouse Sunday morning, according to a report in a local Thai-language newspaper. Police at 9 am on Sunday responded to a report of a death in the Kata View Guesthouse on Soi Koktanode in tambon Karon. Arriving at the scene with rescue workers from…
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Full body massage by a real Babe
CHIANG MAI: Villagers in Sansai District’s Tambon Nong Jom have been rushing to try the services of the village’s newest masseuse – a wild boar piglet named Phalo. In exchange for occasional mackerel or a few sweets, Phalo uses his snout to massage tired limbs – reportedly with as much skill as the most expert human hands. The unusual talent…
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Countdown to 2009 underway
PHUKET CITY: Watch out Times Square, tropical Phuket has launched its most impressive New Year’s Countdown activity ever at Surin Circle, in the heart of Phuket City. Organized jointly by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and Phuket City Municipality, the “Colorful Phuket Countdown 2009” activities kicked off with a special opening ceremony on Christmas night with opening speeches by…
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Teen survives shooting
KOH KAEW, PHUKET: A 16-year-old boy being treated at Vachira Phuket Hospital for gunshot wounds was shot in the chest and right arm early on the morning of December 28, a local Thai-language newspaper has reported. Phuket City Police received a 191 report of the shooting at about 2 am. By the time police arrived at the scene, at the…
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Aussie arrivals receive Christmas surprise
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Airports of Thailand (AOT) held a “Splendid Phuket Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2009” event in the main terminal building of Phuket International Airport on the afternoon of December 26. Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan, AOT Chairman Wuttipan Wichairat and Phuket International Airport Director Wicha Nernlop were on hand to preside over the activities, which included staged…
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Day of danger on Phuket roads
WICHIT, PHUKET: In a chilling reminder about the need to drive safely during the current holiday season, a man on a motorcycle was killed instantly when he was hit by a six-wheeled truck and then pulled under its wheels yesterday afternoon. The accident occurred at about 1:30 pm near the entrance to Sukko Spa in Tambon Wichit, about 300 meters…
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Two foreign tourists die in Rawai in two days
RAWAI, PHUKET: Two foreign tourists were found dead in their rooms in Rawai early this week. The first was identified by Chalong Police as American Martin Howard Schechter. Mr Schechter, 67, was found in the bed of his rented bungalow in Rawai Village 4. At about 11 am on Monday morning, the staff grew concerned because Mr Schechter, who they…
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Phuket remembers the tsunami
PHUKET: Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, which was triggered by an earthquake that measured close to nine on the Richter scale. The tsunami hit Phuket on the morning of December 26, 2004. More than 5,000 people, mostly international tourists, were killed in Thailand’s six Andaman coastal provinces when the killer waves struck. Indonesia, India and…
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