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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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We’re doing our best to help – Thaksin
PHUKET CITY: PM Thaksin arrived in Phuket yesterday morning to hear complaints by Phuket residents about the government’s handling of the tsunami disaster.The meeting, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, was attended by some 500 people, including Cabinet ministers and scores of other government officials. The Cabinet ministers reported on the progress of the various relief programs assigned to…
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Singaporean airlines offer Phuket deals
PHUKET: A couple of days after THAI Airways angered the tourism industry by abruptly dropping all of its flights from Singapore to Phuket, airlines in Singapore are doing precisely the opposite, by offering special deals to travellers.In a joint promotion with selected hotels in Phuket, Krabi and Langkawi, SilkAir is offering travellers special-value packages to these holiday destinations, valid until…
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Samui speedboat crash toll rises to 14
KOH SAMUI: Rescue services have today recovered a further seven bodies from the waters around Koh Samui, bringing the official number of dead following Tuesday morning’s speedboat crash to 14. Pol Cpl Pongkasem Thanawanitnam, Koh Samui Police Station spokesman, told the Gazette that there are now two people still posted as missing.Koh Samui Hospital gave the names and nationalities of…
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Scandi tour firms to spread the good word
PHUKET CITY: An inspection team representing major Scandinavian tour companies Star Tour, MyTravel & Tour, and Apollo Tours, yesterday announced that they will return home and spread the word that Phuket and the other Andaman provinces are safe tourist destinations.The team of five yesterday wrapped up a week-long inspection tour that took in some 80 hotels in Phuket and Krabi,…
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Phuket to host tsunami warning meeting
PHUKET: Representatives from more than 40 countries are expected to take part in the Ministerial Meeting on Regional Cooperation on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements to be held at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa on Friday and Saturday.Organizations expected to take part include the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Tsunami Relief, the Economic and…
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Tsunami bodies arrive in Mai Khao
TAH CHAT CHAI: Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula and Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura today visited Mai Khao Cemetery, to which the bodies of foreigners who died in the December 26 tsunami are being moved for identification and repatriation.The mass transfer of tsunami victim corpses from Phang Nga to Mai Khao Cemetery, at the north end of the island, began yesterday with…
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Search continues for 16 missing in speedboat smash
KOH SAMUI: Police have identified five of the people who drowned between Koh Samui and Koh Pha-Ngan after the speedboat they were in sank in the early hours of yesterday morning.The search continues for another 16 people who have been reported as missing by family or friends.Police are not, however, discounting the possibility that some of the missing might have…
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Court declines to move on Van Treeck extradition
PATTAYA: Despite widespread media reports that murder suspect Sam Van Treeck is back in his native Belgium, the Pattaya Provincial Court has ruled that it will not follow up on the issue or seek his extradition unless he fails to turn up at a scheduled court appearance in December.Van Treeck was 24 years old when he was arrested for the…
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Loungers recolonize Patong Beach
PATONG : In another sign that things are returning to normal, Patong Municipality is allowing beach lounger rental operators to begin limited re-colonization of the tsunami-swept sands of Phuket’s most popular beach. The move follows a request by the Municipality to the central government to allow a limited number of beach loungers, arguing that the government’s plan to ban them…
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Tsunami dead moved to Phuket
PHUKET: Work began today to move the bodies of more than a thousand non-Asian victims of the tsunami from Phang Nga to the Mai Khao Cemetery in Phuket.The cemetery is close to Phuket international Airport, and the move is intended to make it easier for bodies, once identified, to be repatriated by air.Bodies believed to be Asian will remain in…
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World Tourism Organization to meet in Kata
KATA: The World Tourism Organization (WTO) Executive Council will hold an emergency meeting at the Kata Beach Resort on January 31 and February 1, to draw up plans to accelerate the recovery of tourism industries affected by the December 26 tsunami.Kata Group President and Phuket Chamber of Commerce Chairman Pamuke Achariyachai said today, “The WTO has invited national and international…
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Mystery over Kamala body
KAMALA: Police have so far been unable to identify an apparent murder victim whose body was discovered by villagers in Kamala last weekend.The body was discovered by residents of Kamala village 6 on the sands of Nai Yea Beach, at the south end of Kamala Bay, at about 6 pm on Saturday night. A worker with the Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation,…
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Wreath-laying ceremony for victims
PHANG NGA: Thais and foreigners, residents and visitors alike, are invited to join the Royal Thai Navy in laying wreaths for tsunami victims at Khao Lak on Friday morning.The memorial service will be led by Defense Minister General Sumpun Boonyanun, who will place a wreath on the sea about three miles from shore.The navy will provide nine ships to take…
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90 firms to exhibit at Home Show Asia
PHUKET CITY: More than 90 of Thailand’s top homeware, interior design and décor specialists are due to take part in the first Home Show Asia, to be held in Phuket from March 25 to 27. The show, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, will feature the latest in contemporary Asian living, ranging from soft furnishings to high-end furniture to state-of-the-art…
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Govt help needed fast – tourism bodies
KARON: “We’re trying to help ourselves, but we can’t do it on our own.” That was the message sent out to the government by representatives of the six tsunami-hit provinces of Thailand after they met in Phuket.Delegates from tourist associations in all six provinces told the Andaman Tourism Restoration Committee meeting at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa how…
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“Mick the Pom” murder case adjourned
PHUIKET CITY: Briton Michael John Taylor – known as “Mick the Pom” – appeared before Phuket Provincial Court this morning in the first hearing in his trial for the stabbing murder of his girlfriend, 28-year-old Jantra Weangta, on August 17 last year.The judge was told that both prosecution and defense lawyers needed more time to interview witnesses in the case.Prosecution…
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Seafood, water are safe – Health Ministry
PATONG: An investigation by the Ministry of Public Health has found that seafood and water in Phuket – including drinking, well and sea water – is free of contamination following the tsunami.The announcement was made by the Permanent Secretary for Public Health, Dr Wanchai Thienthaworn, during a visit to Patong Hospital.The Director General of the Department of Medical Science (DMC),…
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B200m center to honor King’s grandson
PHUKET CITY: A 200-million-baht rehabilitation center for autistic children will be built at Wachira Phuket Hospital as a memorial to tsunami victim Bhumi Jensen, the 21-year-old grandson of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was killed by the tsunami.Dr Jessada Chungpaibultatana, Director of the Wachira Phuket Hospital, told the Gazette that the budget to build the five-story building will be provided…
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Patong remembers victims
PATONG: About 500 people attended an interdenominational memorial service held at Loma Park this morning for the victims of the tsunami. The ceremony, organized by The Patong Business Operators’ Club, Patong Hospital and Patong Municipality, was to remember those who perished in the tsunami and to help bring peace of mind to those still suffering from its after-effects. Clerics from…
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Search for missing Austrian child
PHUKET: The International Victim Coordination Center (IVCC) has appealed for help in tracing a three-year-old girl from Austria who is believed to have surivived the tsunami but been mistaken for a Thai child.MR Supinda Chakraband, of the IVCC, told the Gazette, “It is thought the little girl, who calls herself “Anita” and “Alexandra”, survived the tsunami but she is now…
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THAI adjusts flights, Tiger Airways slashes fares
PHUKET: Thai national carrier THAI has denied claims that it has axed international flights to Phuket, although a spokesman has confirmed that two flights that previously stopped in Phuket now go to Bangkok instead.THAI’s District Sales Manager for Upper-Southern Thailand, Kalayapha Panich, told the Gazette, “Around 20 daily charter flights have been canceled, but THAI hasn’t canceled any [scheduled] flights.“THAI…
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Vendors appeal against ‘smart Patong’ plan
PATONG: Vendors and operators of other businesses have tried to persuade Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Santichai Euajongprasit and Patong Municipality Mayor Pian Keesin to allow them to trade on Patong Beach as they did before the tsunami.Around 300 fishermen, jet ski owners, beach masseurs, renters of umbrellas and beach beds, motorbike rental businesses and beach…
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Phuket moved, or maybe it didn’t
PHUKET: There is no proof that Phuket has shifted 15 centimeters to the southwest following the December 26 earthquake, according to Dr Adichart Surinkum of the Geotechnic Division of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).“Evidence is still being collected and displacement modeling is continuing to determine if movement took place,” he told the Gazette today. “Surveying all the areas involved…
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Relief coordination group launched
THALANG: Some 85 people attended the first meeting of the Thailand Tsunami Recovery Group (TTRG) at Blue Canyon Golf Club, and three sub-groups were set up to help coordinate various aspects of the volunteer relief operation. Mark Weingard, who convened the meeting, explained that the TTRG would not be a charity itself, would not raise funds, and would not direct…
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South Korean forensics team arrives
PHUKET: South Korea has sent 11 forensic scientists to Phuket to help with the mammoth task of identifying tsunami victims.South Korea’s Ambassador to Thailand, Yoon Jee Joon, told Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura yesterday that the 11 experts would be working with the forensic team of Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsap.Mr Yoon added that his government hoped to establish a permanent consulate…
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Tsunami-struck firms “need more help’
PATONG: The President of the Phuket Tourist Association has called on the government to do more to help the tourism industry recover from the tsunami.Pattanapong Aikwanich told a seminar yesterday at Club Andaman Beach Resort, Patong, called to discuss restoring Phuket’s spa businesses, “We are about 90% ready to do business now, but occupancy is currently only about 10%. We’re…
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Family fears for “missing’ survivor’s safety
PHUKET: The family of Isabell Eriksson, a 24-year-old Swedish woman, have made a plea for information regarding her whereabouts, after receiving reports from two sources that she survived the tsunami.Ms Eriksson was, according to her family, staying with three friends at a hotel in the Khao Lak area when the tsunami struck. The family told the Gazette that the friends…
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FantaSea to close again until February
KAMALA: Phuket FantaSea opened its doors today for a special booking, but will close again from tomorrow until February 1, and possibly beyond that.The prominent tourist attraction closed on January 8, after the number of bookings plummeted following the tsunami.At that time, Managing Director Pin Kewkacha said that FantaSea had sustained damage totaling 60 to 70 million baht, and that,…
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Tsunami-hit residents “must pay rent’
KAMALA: More than 300 residents gathered yesterday evening to hear Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura explain why they must start paying rent on land where they have lived for many years rent-free.Addressing the meeting at Kamala Police Station, Gov Udomsak said, “Government policy is to bring back tourists by reorganizing beaches and public places. If the places are restored and improved…
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Anti-malaria campaign launched
PA KHLOK: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) today launched an anti-malaria campaign at the football field in Pa Khlok.Officers from the PPHO, local villagers, teachers and students, as well as volunteers and members of the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), joined forces to clear up places where standing water would allow mosquitoes to breed, and fumigated areas to…
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