Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Breaking News: 5.3 earthquake rattles Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorologicial Department has reported a 5.3-magnitude earthquake striking off the coast of northern Sumatra at 4:46pm. See here: https://www.tmd.go.th/en/earthquake_report.php The earthquake struck at a depth of only two kilometers. The Gazette has received a report from Patong Beach that some people have left the beach area as a precaution. The Gazette has received no reports of any…
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Breaking News: Reports of earthquake flood across Phuket
PHUKET: Reports of an earthquake being felt across all parts of Phuket are flooding in to the Phuket Gazette. Gazette staff felt the strong shudder at 4:45pm. Reports of other Phuket residents experiencing the same have been coming in from all parts of the island, including Chalong to the south, Phuket Town and Kathu in the center of the island…
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Phuket Police arrest armed drug suspects in Good Friday raids
PHUKET: Phuket Police on Saturday announced the arrest of six drug suspects, two of them in possession of firearms.Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai said the six were arrested on April 13, this year celebrated as Songkran Day (Thai New Year) and as Good Friday.The first suspect named was Pramin Narksuwan, 31, from Nakhon SriThammarat. He was found in possession…
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Phuket’s Patong one-way system to go anti-clockwise from June
PHUKET: A long-awaited plan to reverse the direction of one-way traffic flow in Patong should go into effect in June, as soon public hearings and work to complete a new roundabout at the north end of the beach road is completed, local officials say.Phunsak Naksena, Patong Municipality Chief Administrative Officer, or “Palad”, said the public-hearing process to approve the project…
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Renowned Political Analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak speaks to Phuket
PHUKET: Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University and a former op-ed contributor to the Phuket Gazette, spoke to the island’s International Business Association last week. In an exclusive interview before that talk, he sat down with Phuket Gazette News Editor Stephen Fein and News Manager Chris Husted to discuss several issues…
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Sirotkina celebrates birthday with two Phuket ITF tennis titles
PHUKET: A stylish and gritty performance earned Marta Sirotkina Phuket’s second SAT-Chang ITF Women’s Pro Circuit tennis title after coming from behind to defeat number four seed Claire Feuerstein of France 7-6, 7-6 (8-6) in the singles final today. Played at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC), an expectant crowd were treated to an enthralling finale of the US25,000 tournament…
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Phuket Earth Hour – “I will if you will’
PHUKET: With Earth Hour 2012 fast approaching, the chief of the Phuket office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has voiced his support for the global eco-event. Hundreds of millions of people, businesses and governments around the world unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history – Earth Hour. Earth Hour calls for people across Phuket to…
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Phuket Sports: World sports news round-up
PHUKET: Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou gave the Blues a huge advantage in their quest to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with an one-nil away win at Benifca. Kalou made up for a dreadful miss early in the game to side-foot home Fernando Torres’ cross from close range. Juan Mata had a shot come back off the post on the 60th…
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Phuket Sports: Golf Guru
PHUKET: This week the PGA tour moved to Bay Hill Golf Club in Florida for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It’s been Palmer’s back yard since 1974 when he purchased Bay Hill. Apparently he was not best pleased when the world’s number one player Luke Donald and world number two player Rory McIlroy didn’t take up his invitation to play. Palmer…
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Phuket Sports: Patong CC back in the hunt
PHUKET: Last season’s 35 Over Champions Patong CC were in an ‘all or nothing’ situation last Sunday for their Island Furniture League encounter against the Thanyapura Tigers at the ACG, knowing that not only it was necessary to win, but that securing all available bonus points would also be crucial to keeping their title aspirations alive. Patong’s early arrival to…
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Phuket’s Tiger Group roars back at MP Chuwit’s allegations
PHUKET: A representative of Phuket’s Tiger Group of entertainment and nightlife venues has publicly lashed out against the allegations made by controversial MP Chuwit Kamolvisit.The entertainment group is even considering legal action, said Thamrongsak Boonrak, legal counselor to the Tiger Group management.The threat of legal action follows Kathu Police yesterday afternoon conducting surprise raids of businesses run by the Tiger…
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Phuket’s new incinerator online “by May’
PHUKET’s second trash incinerator at the Saphan Hin facility is almost fully complete and is expected to be operational by May.Prachum Suriya, chief of the Phuket City Municipality Environment Office, told the Gazette that construction of the second waste incinerator is now 95 per cent complete.“The remaining five percent includes office accommodation and surrounding environment. At present, the staff is…
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Thai teen makes a splash in Phuket dive community
PHUKET: A 15-year-old Thai girl has set her sights on becoming one of the youngest Thai Dive Masters in the world, having already completed 55 dives. Nicole Christin-Hartmann attends Satree Phuket School, but in her free time she has been racking up dive experience with Nick Fawcus-Robinson of ScubaNicks. Already she has completed her PADI Openwater, Advanced and Rescue Diver…
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Greater Phuket healthcare advances with Krabi’s first international hospital
PHUKET: Phuket’s Andaman neighbors in Krabi province will soon be able to take advantage of superior healthcare facilities when the long-awaited Krabi Nakharin International Hospital finally opens its doors later this year. The private hospital, located on Pisalpop Road in Tambon Pak Nam, is nearing completion and due to welcome its first patients in the second quarter of 2012. The…
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Bob Dwyer calls England rugby coach
PHUKET: “Why would they give the job to anybody else? Stuart has been going great guns since he took over and England has played some of the best rugby I’ve seen them produce in years.” Australia’s rugby World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer was recently on Phuket and the Gazette asked him about England’s coaching predicament with Lancaster as caretaker…
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US Embassy calls for American expats in Phuket to register to vote
PHUKET: Expat Americans in Phuket and the rest of the world are reminded that it is necessary to re-register for their voting rights. In accordance with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act) it is necessary for American citizens to re-register to prevent themselves from being purged from the voter rolls in their state. “In 2009, the Congress…
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Phuket pyre flames B182mn of pirated goods
PHUKET: The Phuket Town incinerator today flamed counterfeit products valued at more than 182 million baht as part of the Intellectual Property Department’s crackdown on copyright infringement across the country.A total of 79,524 items seized by officers of Provincial Police Region 8 and 9, as well as the Regional Customs Bureau 4, were destroyed in the incinerator.“Intellectual property infringement is…
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Something fishy going on at Phuket docks
PHUKET: Tired and angry over the stench and pollution causing serious health problems and driving away business from a local shipyard, a group of dockside residents in Rassada yesterday morning filed a complaint against a Phuket fish-meal factory. The group of about 20, all from a small community along the banks of Klong Tha Jeen in Rassada Village 7, gathered…
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Phuket International Boat Show launches amid fanfare
PHUKET: The Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) at Royal Phuket Marina was officially launched at 11am today with the cutting of the ribbon by Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa. Joining Vice Governor Sommai in officiating the opening was Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, the director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and Gulu Lalvani, chairman of Royal Phuket…
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Phuket hookahs feel the squeeze
PHUKET: Police raided three hookah bars Tuesday night as worries mount that flavored tobaccos are becoming a gateway drug for Phuket youths. “Baraku [hookah] smoking is now popular among teenagers, and its use is spreading to more nightlife entertainment venues,” said Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, who led the raids. “This habit must be stopped, so teenagers will not be…
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Phuket Gazette: Tibetan protester dies; Moral crimes; Sudan border clashes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tibetan protester dies after setting himself on fire in New Delhi Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: A Tibetan man died early yesterday morning after setting himself on fire earlier this week in New Delhi to protest against Chinese rule in Tibet, activists and officials said.…
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FC Phuket skin the ‘Swat Cats’
PHUKET: FC Phuket bagged their first victory of the TPL Yamaha Division One League season against the Korat FC “Swat Cats” in a heated away match last night in Nakhon Ratchasima province. The only goal came on 29 minutes when K-league import Kim Wonsup’s corner was met by Watcharapong Jun-ngam’s glancing downward header that beat Korat’s keeper Narong Wisetsri at…
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Pineapple protest to block Bangkok-Phuket highway
PHUKET: Phuket residents planning a weekend road trip to Bangkok might want to start the journey today, as thousands of pineapple farmers in Prachuap Khiri Khan have announced they will stage a full road blockage on Phetkasem Highway tomorrow.The farmers, about 7,800 of them, said they will block a key stretch of Southern Thailand’s main north-south artery – and stay…
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Firebomb blasts rock Phuket housing estate
PHUKET: Two explosions left one man injured, a dog dead and caused extensive property damage in a late-night firebomb attack in a Phuket housing estate early this morning. Thalang Police were at 12:20am notified of two explosions in the Bo Din housing estate, located near the TOT office on Ban Don Road in Thepkrasattri Village 1. At the scene, they…
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Phuket driver comes unstuck, hits tree
PHUKET: A man driving from Saphan Hin toward Phuket Town this morning crashed his pickup truck into a tree in front of the Phuket Marine Police Station.Phuket City Police were informed of the accident at 6:39am and quickly dispatched officers along with members of the Phuket Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation.Arriving at the scene, they found a Krabi-registered Mitsubishi pickup truck stopped…
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Phuket Area News: Gang hacks off tourist’s thumb in bag snatch
PHUKET:Krabi Police arrested three teenagers and one 20-year-old yesterday after a gang cut off a German woman’s thumb during an early-morning bag snatch in Krabi Town, across Phang-nga Bay from Phuket.Muang District Police Deputy Superintendent Chatchawan Ninchan said Hanna Zerlaut and Sina Maureen Beckert, both 21, were attacked while walking along Chaofa Road in Tambon Paknam, Krabi Town, at about…
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Phuket Sports: Lomas learn from the best
PHUKET: Rugby World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer and former Leicester Tigers elite performance director Mike Pennistone staged the first of three coaching clinics in association with Phuket’s rugby development program at TSLC recently. It was the second international rugby match I had ever attended. With just under four minutes to go, Irish flanker Gordon Hamilton took a pass from…
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Phuket Immigration to close for holidays
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town will be closed for five days in April to observe a series of public holidays. The Phuket Immigration Volunteers today issued a notice that the office will be closed on: Friday, April 6 – Chakri Memorial Day Monday, April 9 – Public Holiday to observe the Royal Funeral for Her Royal Highness…
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Speed cameras, booze buses in Phuket for Songkran
PHUKET: Speed cameras are expected to be installed across Phuket in time for the Thai New Year Songkran festival next month, and nightlife venue operators will be asked to provide transportation home for drunken patrons. The news was announced by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Peerayut Karajedee yesterday. “The budget request for 17 million baht to acquire and install radar…
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Fire engulfs Phuket store, causes B10mn damage
PHUKET: A fire at a construction equipment store in downtown Cherng Talay this morning caused an estimated 10 million baht in damages, according to Phuket Police.Cherng Talay Police at 6am were informed of a fire at the Cherng Talay Ruam Wassadu store, located near their police station on Srisoonthorn Road.Some 10 fire trucks and 40 officers arrived, dispatched from Cherng…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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