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.
-
Sponsored
Smooth travel to Belgium and the Netherlands: Visa tips & tricks!
Make Belgium and the Netherlands your next destination with the right visa in hand. Explore the iconic tulip fields, cruise through Amsterdam’s scenic canals, or stroll through the historic streets of Bruges. Don’t forget to enjoy some authentic Belgian chocolate...
-
Disqualifications leave Sriyada to run unopposed
PHUKET CITY: The Supreme Court has upheld the disqualification of two of the three parliamentary candidates for Phuket Electoral District 1, which includes Phuket City and its surrounds.This leaves Dr Sriyada Palimapan of Thai Rak Thai (TRT) as the sole candidate, the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has announced. PEC Director Kittipong Thiengkunagrit told the Gazette that the Supreme Court on…
-
Spa trots out “best’ detox treatment
PHUKET: A consortium of international investors known as the Gastro Group has announced a 1.5-billion-baht investment in what is being billed as the world’s first “detoxotel” – a 150-room facility specializing in state-of-the-art detoxification treatments.Construction of the facility, which will be on a 15-rai site coastal site, the location of which is currently being kept secret, is scheduled to get…
-
Thieves put tsunami tower out of action
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura yesterday lashed out at thieves who stole the power cable from the tsunami warning tower at Ao Yon, rendering it silent.“I don’t understand them. Why would they steal [one of] the most important things for saving lives?” the Governor asked angrily at the monthly meeting of provincial office chiefs.“Whoever finds out who stole the…
-
Bypass road fully open
PHUKET CITY: Today marked a milestone in the 111-million-baht bypass road widening project, as the new northbound lane, blasted out of the hillside near Tesco-Lotus, was finally opened fully to traffic. The opening caused some confusion among motorists, who had grown used to the counterflow traffic system using the southbound lane near Chan’s Antiques. Phuket Highway Department Engineer Boonyakiat Kongketyai…
-
Hollioake and Mullally for Phuket Sixes
KARON: Former England Test cricketers Adam Hollioake and Alan Mullally will take part in the Lighthouse Phuket International Cricket Sixes 2006 to be held from April 12 to 16 at the Karon Stadium. Former England all-rounder Hollioake said, “I’m really looking forward to playing in the Phuket Sixes next month. “It looks like it’s going to be a fantastic place…
-
Anti-Thaksin protesters march through city
PHUKET CITY: Some 200 members of the Phuket branch of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched today from the CB Market on Bangkok Rd to Provincial Hall.The marchers, who included a handful of foreigners, took a roundabout route through the city, taking about an hour and a half to reach their destination, and shouting “Thaksin, Get Out!” along the…
-
Police name third Preecha killing suspect
PHUKET CITY: Police say they believe they now know the name of the gunman who assassinated Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth named the wanted man as Samrerng Klaising, from Petchaburi.Meanwhile, Pol Capt Wanchana Polpalangkul and Pol Sgt Pongsak Kosi-ratanapibal, both formerly…
-
Phuket Airlines “will be off blacklist soon’
BANGKOK: Phuket Airlines, recently blacklisted by the European Commission (EC) as one of 93 airlines barred from flying to the European Union (EU) and Switzerland, is confident that it will be reinstated soon, a senior official of the airline said today. As if to reinforce that confidence, the Gazette has learned that Phuket Airlines has applied to launch another airline,…
-
Police raid bypass main contractor
PHUKET CITY: A team of Crime Suppression Division officers led by Pol Col Sompop Pongrerk, along with officials from the Phuket Provincial Industrial Office, on Friday afternoon seized rock-crushing equipment belonging to Chiang Rai Harn Charoen Enterprise Co, the main contractor for the bypass road widening project. The seizures took place following complaints that Harn Charoen had been crushing rock…
-
Death of drinker
CHALONG: Probably the last thing Surasak Tayan expected as he sat drinking cola late one night outside a PTT filling station’s 7-Eleven convenience store was that his modest attempt at humorous self-deprecation would be the death of him. But it was. K. Surasak was frustrated because, at 3:30 am, he couldn’t buy a decent drink. Unfortunately, in expressing his disgust…
-
Rescuers need rescuing
THALANG: Three Kusoldham Rescue Foundation workers had to call in rescuers themselves at about 3 am on March 10, after being assaulted by a group of more than 20 girls and ladyboys at the PTT filling station in Baan Lipon, Tambon Srisoonthorn. Chaiya Pariensati said he and two other rescue workers were on duty when they noticed a young woman…
-
Rain “will linger a couple more days’
PHUKET: A low-pressure cell centered west of Phuket and just north of Sumatra will continue to bring unseasonably cloudy skies and scattered thundershowers over the next few days. Wiwat Intarapanich, Chief of Weather Forecasting at the Meteorological Department’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette today that he expects the scattered thundershowers to stop within a couple of days…
-
BCIS win Island Furniture cricket title
PHUKET: Once again the weather gods dealt out a wet hand and the pitch had to be moved to avoid various swamps around the outfield. ICC were going into the game as favorites, with depth in both batting and bowling. However, BCIS has proved during this season that four bowlers with a maximum of 10 overs each are all you…
-
“Long Live The King’ wristbands go on sale
PHUKET: The King Power Foundation, Siam Commercial Bank, the Thailand Post and the Thai Military Bank are producing “Long Live The King” silicon wristbands and accompanying greetings cards to mark the 60th anniversary of HM King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne. Last year, the King Power Foundation manufactured 1 million similar wristbands, sales of which raised 105 million baht for…
-
Eager candidates register for Senate poll
PHUKET CITY: Today was a busy day for the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) after it opened registration at Satree Phuket School for candidates in the Senatorial race.First to register, at 7:59 am, was Akkrawat Jitharn, followed close behind by Uthai Suksirisamphan and Prawat Suwannadithakul.Because all three were waiting to register before the doors opened, they drew lots for their election…
-
Phuket Air barred from EU
BRUSSELS: Phuket Air has been included in a list of 93 passenger and cargo airlines barred from European Union countries and Switzerland, on safety grounds.It is one of only two airline in East Asia included in the list, the other being North Korea’s Air Koryo. Most of the list, made public on Wednesday, comprises airlines from Africa, with a sprinkling…
-
Cricket league reaches a climax
KOH KAEW: The grand final of the inaugural season of the Island Furniture Cricket League will be played on the top pitch at the British Curriculum International School (BCIS) this Sunday (March 26).Play in the 40-over-per-side match between the Island Cricket Club and BCIS CC – who finished first and second respectively in the league – will begin at 11.30…
-
James Batt to leave Phuket
PHUKET: James Batt, Joint Managing Director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels (LRH), will leave the island in June to take up a new post as head of a chain of hotels headquartered in San Diego, California.Mr Batt joined LRH in November 1995 as Executive Director and Vice-President of Laguna Operations, responsible for overseeing the operations of all five resort hotels and…
-
Call for Phuket people to join anti-Thaksin rally
PHUKET: The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is urging the people of Phuket to join in a massive rally planned for Saturday at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, where protesters will demand that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resign.Amnuay Koombaan, a vice-president of the Phuket PAD, told the Gazette that he and other alliance members will leave Phuket at 6 pm…
-
Suwit quits politics
PHUKET CITY: Suwit Sa’ngaimkul today announced his decision to quit politics. K. Suwit served as the Phuket Democrat Member of Parliament for Phuket District 1 for five years, until the recent dissolution called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.“I was intending to finish my political career at the end of my second term [in 2009], but Parliament was dissolved first, so…
-
Two cops held for Ko Noi murder
PHUKET CITY: Two Phuket Provincial Police officers have been arrested in connection with the March 14 assassination of Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate. K. Preecha was shot twice in the head while driving along Wiset Rd at 11 pm with his wife and son. He died in hospital the…
-
Housing Bank to auction foreclosed property
PHUKET: The Government Housing Bank (GHB) will hold this year’s first auction of foreclosed property on April 22 at the GHB Phuket branch on Bangkok Rd in Phuket City. The repossessed properties include land plots, offices, condominiums and houses in Phuket and Phang Nga Provinces with a total estimated value of about 40 million baht.Withaya Saenphakdee, Manager of the GHB…
-
Charity rules tightened to stop abuse
PHUKET: In an effort to prevent people from setting up charities as fronts to support themselves, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura will require all organizations seeking foundation status to sign a consent form allowing the province to deregister them if they fall inactive, without having to resort to the courts. The surprise announcement was made Thursday morning by Phuket’s Chief Administrative…
-
Ancient bricks and pots unearthed
THALANG: Researchers say bricks and earthenware pots uncovered by construction work in Tambon Ban Don confirm the area was the site of an Ayudhya-period settlement, Phuket’s largest at the time, more than 200 years ago.Ten funerary pots filled with human bones, along with numerous bricks, were unearthed by a team of builders led by Prayun Na-udomon on March 13, when…
-
Villagers protest against Ao Por Marina
PHUKET CITY: About 40 people from six villages in Tambon Pa Khlok protested at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning about damage to coral in Ao Por caused, they said, by Italian Thai Development Co, which is constructing a 95-million-baht marina in the bay. The villagers presented an official letter of complaint about work on the project, which they said is…
-
Phuket businessman assassinated
RAWAI: Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, 43, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate, was shot while driving home from dinner with his wife and his nine-year-old son late last night. He died later in hospital.Pol Capt Padungpong Duksukkaew of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that K. Preecha was driving along Wiset Rd with his…
-
PGTV launches on the Internet
PHUKET: Programming from PGTV, the Phuket Gazette‘s new TV production unit, can now be watched online at thethaiger.com/tv, or by clicking on the “TV-Phuket” link above. Ten minutes of news and 10 minutes of documentaries or interviews are now uploaded to the site every day, Monday to Friday, at 10 am from the PGTV studios. The program consists of Phuket news, followed…
-
Former cop to take on Sriyada at polls
PHUKET: A former policeman will take on Dr Sriyada Palimapan of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party in District 1 in the April 2 parliamentary election, but the TRT candidate for District 2, Wisut Santikul, will run unopposed.Provincial Election Commission (PEC) Director Kittipong Thiengkunagrit told the Gazette that in District 1, covering Phuket City and environs, the candidates will be…
-
Patong beach chair “disorder’ slammed
PATONG: The unexpectedly swift recovery of tourism after the tsunami has resulted in “disorder” on Patong Beach, with tsunami escape routes blocked by beach chairs and harsh words at a recent meeting of Patong Municipality.At the meeting, Vice-Governor Worapot Ratthasima said that he had received an instruction from Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura to control the disorderly state of beach chairs and…
-
Fire guts Crocodile Disco
PATONG: A fire early this morning gutted the popular Crocodile Disco on Soi Bangla, causing damage estimated at 40 million baht, according to the disco’s manager. The manager, Amnuay Kuabkum, told the Gazette that the fire broke out around 5 am, while guards were sitting outside to ensure the safety of the three-story complex, located at the end of Soi…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.