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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Americans, Chinese make FIVB semi-finals
KARON: Number-one seeds Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh from the US almost suffered a shock defeat at the hands of number 32 seeds Galyna Osheyko and Svitlana Baburina from the Ukraine, but recovered to make the semi-finals of the Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour 2007 being played on Karon Beach.Yesterday was the second day of play of the tourney.…
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Mystery surrounds Korean’s death plunge
PHUKET CITY (Nation, Gazette): South Korean tour guide Kim Kyoung Hoon, 39, fell to his death from the rooftop of The Metropole hotel in downtown Phuket City early this morning.Capt Krerkrit Ritnuang, of Phuket City Police Station, said that a hotel security officer found the body of Mr Kim, who was not a guest at the hotel, lying in the…
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Like maggots from heaven
PATTAYA: Caught out with a full bladder on his way home after a fishing trip, squid fisherman Singha Sangnuam, 26, met an unexpected sight when he stopped to relieve himself against a tree in Banglamung on September 24. Part way through his business, something dropped from the branches and landed with a thud right in front of him. A cloud…
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Holy cow?
SRISAKET: Villagers in Srisaket’s Khun Han district have been flocking to pay their respects to the body of a buffalo calf that not only looked human, but also had the superhuman ability to transmit the winning numbers in the upcoming lottery draw. The calf was born at 2 pm on September 22 to a female buffalo belonging to farmers Yim…
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Phuket Carnival marks high season arrival
PATONG: The Phuket Carnival 2007 will take over the streets of Patong today through Saturday, marking the official launch of the high season with musical performances, parades, food and games and much more. The festival started at 7 am with an alms-giving ceremony at Loma Park. Commerce Minister Krerkkrai Jeerapat will preside over the official opening ceremony 6:30 pm tonight…
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Thais miss out as FIVB tourney begins
KARON: The world’s top women’s beach volleyball players took to the sands today as part of the Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour 2007.After a closely-fought battle, Thais Manerat Udomchavee and Julaluk Radarong narrowly missed out on a place in the second qualifying round after losing 2-1 (21-16, 19-21, 15-12) to Dutch pairing Sanne Keizer and Mered de Vries.In hot…
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Sarasin Bridge closed
TAH CHAT CHAI: The Sarasin Bridge was closed at 6 am today and traffic is being diverted until tomorrow so that preparations can be made for the opening scene of a Thai romantic comedy to be filmed on the bridge.Northbound traffic now joins the carriageway onto Thepkrasattri Bridge in front of the JW Marriott Phuket & Spa and continues using…
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Police call for Kata Viewpoint streetlights
RAWAI: Chalong Police this morning urged Phuket Governor Niran Kalaynamit to co-ordinate with the Kata-Karon and Rawai municipalities to have more streetlights installed along the dark stretches of road near Kata Viewpoint in order to make the streets safer for nighttime motorists.Speaking at the Phuket Provincial Security Meeting this morning, Lt Col Suwat Kaewprom, deputy superintendent of Chalong Police Station,…
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Patong tunnel idea given fresh impetus
PATONG: The concept of building a tunnel between Kathu and Patong has been refloated and is being researched with an 80-million-baht feasibility study. Building the tunnel alone is already being estimated to cost as much as up to a billion baht. Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit told the Gazette that the Phuket Provincial Office held a meeting with the Highways Department…
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Allegations of vote-buying under investigation
THALANG: Accusations of vote-buying in the presidential election in the Srisoonthorn Administration Organization (OrBorTor) council election on October 7 are being investigated, including a vote recount, after official complaints were filed with the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) on October 5.Kraisri Kiewwan, chief administrator (Palad) of Srisoonthorn OrBorTor, told the Gazette that on October 5 a group of Srisoonthorn residents filed…
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Island prepares for major local elections
PHUKET: Elections will be held on November 17 for Wichit, Rassada and Rawai municipalities, which have now been upgraded from tambon administration organization (OrBorTor) to tessbaan tambon status, Phuket Election Commission (PEC) director Supap Akkam told the Gazette today.In the run-up to the elections, 105 candidates will contest the 12 councilor seats per municipality and eight candidates have signed up…
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Incinerator “on hold until after elections’ – Governor
PHUKET: Consideration of approval for funding to build a second garbage incinerator is likely to have to wait until a new government is elected in the national elections slated for December 23, Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit told the Gazette yesterday.“Bearing in mind the current political situation as the government gears up for national elections at the end of this year,…
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Flash flood warning issued
PHUKET: The Meteorological Department (West Coast) today issued a flash flood warning for people living in hillside areas in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Trang due to continuing heavy rains in the region.The warning also advises against small craft venturing out in the Andaman Sea.Aroon Kerdsom, who heads the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) office, said workers had…
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Dim bikers shown the light
PHUKET CITY: In a bid to improve road safety, the Phuket Community Foundation (PCF) is launching a project to replace substandard taillights on motorcycles from November 8 to 10.The project will provide 1,200 tail lights and brake lights for a wide range of the most common small-engine scooters and motorcycles made by Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki.The taillights will be…
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Landslide in Patong
PATONG: Scores of residents at the Beverly Hills complex off Nanai Rd Soi 9 were evacuated to safety early yesterday morning after heavy rains caused a landslide that left part of the foundations of a hillside villa and an apartment block hanging perilously in thin air.The slump occurred around 1 am, when exposed earth suddenly slumped down onto a construction…
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Semi-trailer jackknifes, causes 5km tailback
KOH KAEW: A 22-wheel semi-trailer slid out of control on a wet Thepkrasattri Rd early this afternoon and came to rest only after slamming into the footpath.The driver lost control of the vehicle about 1:30 pm after braking hard to avoid hitting a motorcycle that crossed in front of the truck.The driver, Vinai Lekpetch, 45, told the Gazette, “I was…
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Who’ll stop the rain?
PHUKET CITY: Heavy rains today has caused flooding and traffic jams in some areas, but thus far there have been no reports of landslides or serious damage.A two-hour downpour starting about 10 am left Phra Phuket Kaew Rd near the Tesco-Lotus intersection under about half a meter of water, resulting in a tailback all the way to Kathu. Other parts…
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Roadworks delay for “death bend’
THALANG: Road construction to straighten the notoriously dangerous Kho En “death bend” on Thepkrasattri Rd has been delayed, with just 2% of the roadwork finished on the project that began June 28 and was scheduled for completion by December 24.The Phuket Highway District contracted Chaiyakorn Co Lt to expand the 440-meter section of the four lane road and decrease the…
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Rawai attacks continue; Man survives machete attack
RAWAI: The late-night road attacks on motorcyclists in the south end of the island continue unabated, with two more reports of attacks in the last 24 hours and several others earlier this month continuing to pour in to the Gazette news desk. Last night a 24-year-old Norwegian man, staying in Phuket on disability pension because he is officially registered as…
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Construction of controversial Tesco continues
THALANG: The ongoing dispute between some Cheng Talay residents and mega-retailer Tesco Lotus is no closer to being solved, as construction continues on the fiercely-opposed Tesco Lotus Express Store in Bang Tao. At a meeting yesterday between Thalang District chief Chaivat Tapee and representatives from Cherng Talay Municipality, the newly-elected Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) and a group of…
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Man, 64, attacked in Rawai
RAWAI: Briton Bill O’Hare, 64, was attacked while riding his motorbike home late on Saturday night. He was hit in the head with a piece of lumber and kicked in the ribs before his attackers took off after they were startled by a woman who witnessed the crime.“I was riding my bike up the soi from Rawai Minimart, opposite Nikita’s,…
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Haze shrouds Phuket, neighboring provinces
PHUKET: Unusually hazy conditions over the island today are normal and not the result of any forest fires in the region, Phuket’s top meteorologist says. Wiwat Intarapanich, Chief of Weather Forecasting at the Meteorological Department’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette this afternoon that the haze is normal for the southern region at this time of year and…
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Monks give the breast medicine
TAK: When modern medicine fails, people often turn to what has, in the West, come to be known as “alternative medicine”. Phuket has a large market for such treatments, such as acupuncture clinics and herbal spas offering cures for a wide variety ailments, both real and perceived. These more familiar forms of “alternative” medicine are not all Thailand has to…
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Police hunt fish-paste five
CHONBURI: One might think that armed robbery follows a fairly formulaic process: just grab a weapon, threaten someone and, if everything goes to plan, flee with the loot.However, as with other professions, there are also cultural aspects involved in the choice of equipment. An Amazon Indian might use a blowpipe in a hold-up, whereas a Zulu would more naturally opt…
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Bodies of ferry sinking victims recovered
PHANG NGA: Rescue workers yesterday afternoon pulled the bodies of a woman and her nine-year-old granddaughter from the sunken car ferry Jern Jern, which capsized about 1 am on Tuesday off Koh Pratong, Kuraburi District in Phang Nga.All bodies have now been recovered from the sinking, which claimed three lives.Pol Maj Nirat Chuayjit of the Marine Police office in Kuraburi…
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Four Chinese arrested for smuggling fuel
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police yesterday arrested four Chinese sailors near Koh Hei after they were caught with 20,000 liters of illegal fuel on board, Pol Lt Col Prasert Srikunnarat told the Gazette.“We were informed about 2 pm of an odd-looking boat about three miles from Chalong. We went there and found an old, unregistered boat flying orange cloth as a…
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Rawai crackdown nets two “road robbery’ suspects
CHALONG: Chalong Police have charged two suspects for armed robbery following a spate of violent robberies on roads in Rawai in recent weeks, but the pair are not suspects in the killing of Norwegian Simen Knudsen last month.The two suspects, identified as Itthipol “Ron” Chudam, 21, from Songkhla, and Boonkiet Chuchao, 18, of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, have denied any involvement…
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One dead, two missing as Phang Nga ferry sinks
PHANG NGA: A ferry overloaded with construction material capsized and sank off Koh Prathong in Kuraburi district about 1 am Tuesday, claiming the life of the captain. Two others survived, but a woman and her granddaughter are missing presumed dead.Pol Maj Nirat Chuayjit of the Marine Police office in Kuraburi identified the sunken ferry as the Jern Jern, a flat-topped…
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VeggieFest Day 7
Over 1,000 mah song (“entranced horses” or spirit mediums) from Chinese shrines around the island joined together this morning to take part in the Jui Tui Chinese Shrine street procession to Saphan Hin. Today marked day seven of the nine-day festival, the island’s signature cultural event that has spread to many other parts of Thailand.
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Govt-assessed land prices skyrocket
BANGKOK: Over the past four years, Phuket has recorded the highest land-price increase in Thailand, according to unofficial results of a nationwide land appraisal conducted by the Treasury Department.A source in the Treasury Department told a Prachachart Turakij reporter that on average, land prices in Phuket had increased 157.7% due to sustained growth in the tourism, real estate and retail…
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