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.
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Oil smuggler busted in Phuket waters
PHUKET: An oil smuggler was busted in Phuket yesterday after officials discovered 500 liters of illegal oil in a hold on a fishing vessel. “Acting on a tip-off, we tracked down Kor Sinsomboon 2 at about 11:30am. The captain was unable to produce his captain’s licence. However, the sea was too rough to search the vessel, so we escorted Manoon…
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Three Phuket “virgin beaches’ revealed
PHUKET: Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat announced the designation of the island’s first three “virgin beaches” last week, after revealing the plan to have such beaches to the public on October 31 (story here). Freedom Beach, Nui Beach and Lay Pang Beach were all named by Vice Governor Chokdee as beaches that will soon return to their natural state. “There are…
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University aids in Phuket safe-sex campaign
PHUKET: University students helped the Phuket Loves You Club (PLU) with a safe-sex campaign in which they distributed thousands of condoms to locations on Soi Paradise in Patong and Prince of Songkla University (PSU). About 200 PSU students packed 20,000 of the 100,000 condoms donated to PLU by Carex into individual packages with lubricant and a safe-sex message written in…
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Business Buzz: Learning from industry leaders
PHUKET: While recently I talked about focusing on your customer, not your competitor, it is also a very good idea to see what the leaders in your industry are doing and get creative ideas and inspiration from the best. If you are a small to medium enterprise, then there is a very high chance that you do not have a…
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Violence breaks out at Krabi Airport
KRABI: Violence broke out at Krabi International Airport yesterday between locals and squatters protesting their removal from a palm oil plantation earlier that day (story here). Dozens of locals were upset at the protesters, who had moved from the plantation to the airport after being forced off the land by Krabi police and related officials, stating that it gave Krabi…
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Patong restaurant fire quickly extinguished
PHUKET: Municipality workers were able to quickly extinguish a restaurant fire on Taweewong Road in Patong this morning. A firetruck and three water trucks put out the flames in about 5 minutes, Patong Municipality Fire Department Officer Sampawat Wannasangkam told the Phuket Gazette. The fire started in the kitchen of Chabadang at about 10am. The structure incurred only minor damages.…
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Umbrella zones pop up on Kata, Karon and Surin beaches
PHUKET: The 10 per cent beach management zone policy first established in Patong (see here) was expanded to Kata, Karon and Surin this week. “Each local government has already measured and decided where the zones will be,” Vice Governor Chokdee said, as he led a team that was establishing temporary landmarks for the zones. Two umbrella zones were set up…
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Saphan Hin curfew starts Monday
PHUKET: Phuket Municipality, in conjunction with the Phuket City Police, have announced new curfews for Sapan Hin in an effort to reduce teen violence in the area. The new policy follows orders from the Phuket Provincial Office to strengthen security at Saphan Hin after gang violence led to the shooting death of a 15-year-old bystander during the final hours of…
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At least 120 killed in Paris attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 120 people killed in Paris ‘terror’ attacks Phuket Gazette/The Nation PARIS: Police in the French capital are reporting that at least 80 people were killed in a mass hostage-taking at a Paris concert hall Friday evening, with many more feared dead after a series…
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Finance: Untangling international pensions
PHUKET: I have never had so many questions and so many misunderstandings of the current options with regard to pensions for international expats as have arisen over the last year. It doesn’t help that governments are changing their rules faster than ever. Today I will give a brief overview of the current situation for UK expats. First I will address…
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Opinion: Phuket beach confusion never ceases to amaze
PHUKET: The establishment of Patong Beach as the first strand to implement the ’10 per cent’ rule on beach use brings yet another surprising development in the utterly confusing and unpredictable effort to restore some semblance of order and predictability to Phuket’s beaches. When the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took power more than a year ago, the…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta to set sail
PHUKET: One of the standout international sporting events in the Asia region, the 29th annual Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Under Royal Patronage, prepares to set sail once again, swelling Phuket visitor numbers and making a large contribution to overall tourism performance. The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2015 will be held at Kata Beach Resort and Spa from December 5 to…
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Squatters flee plantation fearing forceful removal by government
KRABI: About 200 squatters fled a Krabi oil palm plantation in fear that excessive force would be used to remove them today. A letter signed by Krabi Governor Pinij Boonlert explained that previous negotiations that failed to move the protesters off the land had led to violent attacks by the squatters. He did not address claims of excessive force being…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Secret masochists
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Captain severely burned in boat fire
PHUKET: A speedboat captain was severely burned after a fire broke out on a vessel in Pa Khlok yesterday. Rainbow Runner captain Narong Looklek, 42, was cleaning the back of the boat at Jandara Pier when the fire started. All passengers had already disembarked. The fire caused a small explosion, during which Mr Narong suffered burns to about 40 per…
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Bangkok bomb suspects set to be indicted
BANGKOK: The Military Court’s prosecutors are expected to indict the two suspects accused of involvement in the two bomb explosions in Bangkok in August, the lawyer for one of the suspects said yesterday. Kanchai Choochart, representing Bilal Muhammed, 24, said he would outline the defense plan once his client had been indicted. He was speaking at the Military Court after…
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Thailand returns rescued orangutans to Indonesia
BANGKOK: A group of smuggled orangutans were returned from Thailand to Indonesia yesterday following years of diplomatic wrangling over who will care for them after the majority were discovered abandoned on a roadside. Previous Thai governments sought compensation from Indonesia for the cost of housing and treating the 14 apes, but the junta government in Bangkok recently waived those demands…
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Navy denies taking Phuket beach bribes
PHUKET: The Navy denied yesterday that officers had taken bribes to secure jobs for Phuket beach vendors. “We received a complaint that someone was using our name to extort money from the island’s beach vendors,” said Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command. “We will track down whoever is falsely presenting themselves as a member of…
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Phuket airport taxi driver fired for selling tour packages
PHUKET: The airport taxi driver who was under investigation after a social media post from a passenger went viral last week has been fired, confirmed Phuket Land and Transport (PLTO) Chief Policy Adviser Jaturong Kaewkasi. Montira Sakorn’s Facebook post alleged that the taxi she hired from the airport to Patong failed to bring her and her boyfriend to their destination.…
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Where are the world’s child brides?
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Where are the world’s child brides? Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Guatemala has raised the minimum age for marriage, but worldwide one in fourgirls are married before the age of 18. A global push to end child marriage has seen the rates of child marriage slowly…
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Millions more using contraception, especially in South Asia, Africa: Report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Millions more using contraception, especially in South Asia, Africa-report Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: A record 290.6 million women and girls in the world’s poorest nations are using modern methods of contraception, averting millions of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions, a global family planning rights group…
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Obama calls Myanmar president, endorses election as Suu Kyi eyes majority
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama calls Myanmar president, endorses election as Suu Kyi eyes majority Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama called Myanmar President Thein Sein on Thursday to congratulate him on successfully staging a historic general election in which democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi trounced…
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Woman attacked by hotel guards left to die
KRABI: A Krabi woman escaped death after two hotel security guards brutally stabbed her 20 times early Monday morning. Siriporn Jongrak, 29, was driving home from night work in Ao Nang when she was kicked off her bike, robbed and attacked near Chang See cave in Tai Sai. The two suspects got away with her iPhone and cash, leaving Ms…
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East Meets West Garage Sale pulls into port at Boat Arcade
PHUKET: Treasure hunters should start clearing their calendars for this Saturday as the 2nd East Meets West Garage Sale lands at the new Boat Arcade edutainment and family center in the Phuket Boat Lagoon. The 70-plus stalls featured at the venue will be providing treasure troves of high-quality second hand items, plus a selection of top fashion brands. The last…
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PEA announces more long term blackouts
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced yet another disheartening wave of blackouts to carry out maintenance work on high-voltage power lines from November 17-27, confirmed PEA staff member Veera Rairub. “We are sorry for any inconvenience. However, this is our ‘monthly checkup and maintenance period’ and these power outages are necessary in order to continue to provide…
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Highway police bust four people at checkpoint with 13 bags of kratom
KRABI: Phang Nga Highway Police arrested four people, including one minor, at a Krabi checkpoint yesterday for the possession of 130 kilograms of kratom. Kitti Kongderm, 33; Chalee Kongderm, 30; Nuchanat Chorfai, 27 and a 17-year-old minor referred to by police only as ‘Daeng’, were driving two separate cars, carrying a total of 13 bags of fresh kratom leaves. “During…
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Tourists rescued from sinking speedboat
KRABI: A speedboat captain was forced to beach his boat full of Chinese tourists after it started taking on water in Phang Nga Bay yesterday. “The boat, Nong Hong Te, started taking on water at about 6:20pm near Koh Kai [Chicken Island] during a day-trip from Krabi,” explained Krabi Marine Police Chief Anurak Parinyasathiragul. “The captain decided that the best…
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Anni Flynn set to take on world of flowboarding
PHUKET: Phuket’s own surf superstar, Annissa Flynn, is about to take on the world. Already a well-respected pro on Asia’s surf scene, for the past two year’s Anni has been working her way up the rankings for the new water-bound sport, flowboarding, where the surf runs uphill. The flowboarding phenomenon is spreading across Asia, with artificial surf machines popping up…
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Nai Harn museum re-designed to save pine grove
PHUKET: The Nai Harn Movie Museum will be re-designed to ensure that none of the pine trees along the beach front will be cut down. The change in plans to the 40-million-baht facility comes after locals tied pieces of saffron fabric around the trees, threatening to have hundreds protest. “We planned to cut down the trees because the roots can…
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Cop-slaying drunk driver hit with civil case
PHUKET: A civil case was brought against the drunk minivan driver who killed an on-duty police officer on Monday. Sen Sgt Maj Suthat Songmuang, father of two, was promoted to Captain postmortem before he was buried yesterday. Region 8 Police gave 100,000 baht to his family. However, a civil lawsuit for further compensation was filed against the driver, 25-year-old Pichitpol…
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