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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Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Abhisit says he was framed; B1bn ATM skim scam; Krathongs down; Cops want bus lanes; Govt pressure builds
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abhisit says Tarit framed him, Suthep over 2010 riots Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Department of Special Investigation Director-General Tarit Pengdith skewed the facts in order to frame suspects who are the subject of criminal indictments relating to the 2010 riots, the Democrat Party leader told a…
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Alcohol a factor in fatal head-on collision, police say
PHUKET: Police suspect that alcohol played a critical role in the death of a 27-year-old woman who was in a head-on accident near the Thung Thong Police checkpoint early Saturday morning. Kamontip Seangkuenun was found dead at the scene – the divided road near the entrance to Soi Bangthong (map here) – at about 3:15am. Ms Kamontip slammed head-on into…
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Phuket holidaymaker issued American child sex assault warrant
PHUKET: The American arrested in Phuket for the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Harris County, Texas, was due to fly home on Wednesday. “I came here for a vacation,” 41-year-old Forrest Wayne told the Phuket Gazette today from his holding cell at Phuket Immigration (map here). Mr Wayne entered Thailand on November 1, three days prior to…
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Health concerns boil over French passenger at Phuket airport
PHUKET: A French tourist leaching yellow pus from the back of his neck prompted fears that he might infect other passengers at Phuket International Airport on Friday.Airport authorities removed Michel Dominique Godfroy, 56, from the international departure lounge a little after 11:30pm.“We were called to the airport at 11:45pm,” a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker told the Phuket Gazette.The rescue workers…
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Phuket Police arrest American fitness instructor for child sex assault
PHUKET: Police arrested an American man wanted for the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Houston, Texas, earlier this year. Fitness instructor Forrest Wayne, 41, was taken into custody in Patong one day after the Phuket authorities received a notice from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “On Saturday night, we received a notification from the FBI…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Russian plane crash leaves 50 dead; Bachelet leads in Chile; Tornadoes rip Midwest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boeing airliner crashes in Russian city of Kazan, 50 killed Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A Boeing 737 airliner crashed on Sunday in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people on board and spotlighting the poor safety record of regional airlines that ply internal routes across…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Pheu Thai prepares for worst; Armed men among protesters; Russians hurt as tour bus flips
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pheu Thai braces for the worst The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The ruling Pheu Thai Party is preparing for the worst-case scenario on Wednesday when the Constitutional Court announces its ruling on the proposed amendment of the Constitution, a decision that could bring the government down.The opposition…
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Muay Thai legend Buakaw fights in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket fight fans will have an opportunity to watch legendary MuayThai fighter Buakaw Banchamek in action in Patong… tomorrow night (November 18), in a special exhibition match at the Patong Boxing Stadium on Sainamyen Road. Buakaw, a two-time K1 World Max champ with well over 300 fights, is far and away Thailand’s most famous currently-active pugilist. In the Patong…
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Phuket Opinion: Who deserves a consul?
PHUKET: I read recently that the South Africans may open a consulate on Phuket (story here), and my first thought was, South Africans? They need a consulate? Apparently about 80,000 come here per year. It’s not that I think they don’t deserve a consulate, let them have one, by all means. But there’s another group of foreigners who live here…
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Phuket Opinion: Preserving the essence of Phuket
General Manager of Business and Network Development at DaimlerChrysler (Thailand) Co Ltd, Pannate Rangsinturat, 36, is a Phuket native. She graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a degree in international relations and has earned a master’s degree in European studies from Cambridge University. Here she talks about the changes she sees when she returns to Phuket and how they can be…
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Special Report: The ongoing battle for a place to call home
Special Report: A poor community of less than 500 people who mostly make a living from picking through the trash at Saphan Hin have made a plea to the Phuket Governor for help in expediting their claim to live in a protected mangrove forest on the outskirts of Phuket Town. Will the villagers finally get a place to call home?…
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Phuket Opinion: Level ground
PHUKET: It is astounding to be in a place where so many “haves” and “have-nots” co-exist in such close proximity. We live on an island where trucks packed with rain-soaked illegal migrant workers are such a common sight that many of us have grown impervious to their suffering as we wait and hope for the traffic light ahead to turn…
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Black Eyed Peas’ rapper throws down beats for Philippines charity event this Sunday
PHUKET: Grammy award-winning rapper and member of the Black Eyed Peas, apl.de.ap, will be performing at the Xana Beach Club tomorrow to raise much-needed cash to support victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the central Philippines last week. Celebrities from around the world have expressed their support for those suffering in the Philippines by raising money through charity events.…
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Taxi man “Brother Pom’ plays down DSI allegations of queue jumping
PHUKET: The leader of the Central Festival Phuket taxi group, who stands accused by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) of queue hopping, told officers not to worry about how he runs the shopping mall’s taxi network. “This is not a big thing to focus on… I would like to let the DSI know that they don’t need to worry…
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More babies for China; Iran nuclear deal on horizon; Weak rules threaten UN climate plan for forests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China to loosen one-child policy, end labour camps Reuters / Phuket GazetteChina will ease its family planning policies and abolish a controversial labour camp system, according to a key document issued after a ruling Communist Party meeting, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.Couples will be…
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Chinese charge forward with Phuket consulate
PHUKET: Chinese officials confirmed that a consulate in Phuket will be operational by next year in order to cater for the dramatic increase in Chinese nationals visiting the island.“The plan to establish a Chinese consulate in Phuket has been approved. However, we still need to find a place for it, as well as personnel,” the Chinese Consulate General in Songkhla,…
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Patong hotel ordered to remove water-runoff pipe from beach
PHUKET: A leading Phuket resort has been ordered to remove a pipe that released runoff rainwater directly onto the sand at Patong Beach. The news came yesterday when officers from the Regional Environmental Office (REO) and Patong Municipality inspected the Impiana Resort, on the Patong beachfront road (map here). “We asked people in the area, and were told that the…
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Norwegian tourist drowns at Karon Beach
PHUKET: A Norwegian tourist drowned after being caught in heavy surf at Karon Beach, on Phuket’s west coast, yesterday. Kata-Karon chief lifeguard Uten Singsom reported his staff seeing the man, named by police as Chris Roger Hangsao, 55, having difficulty coping with the large waves. “There were big waves, up to about two meters high,” Mr Uten told the Phuket…
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Phuket hotel maid dies in service lift accident
PHUKET: A hotel maid died at a Phuket resort yesterday afternoon when her neck was broken by a service lift being activated while she was leaning inside, trying to retrieve a clothes iron.Karon Police arrived at the Phuket Peach Blossom Resort in Karon to find the body of Jaruwan Prasit, 21, inside the lift shaft, lying on top of the…
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Phuket Business: FoodPanda to change eating habits
PHUKET: You didn’t buy this luxury villa to be forced to leave it every time you feel hungry. So if you’re tired of fast food and pizza – the most common delivery foods – there is a new solution for you. Online food delivery company, Foodpanda has just entered Phuket and plans to change islanders’ dining habits. The Phuket Gazette…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Typhoon aid underway; Yingluck to face censure; BOT in good shape; Schools in South strike
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Doctors, medicines heading to Philippines The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Public Health Ministry is expected to send 60 tonnes of medical supplies on an Air Force plane to the Philippines on Monday (Nov 18), with the government announcing yesterday it would initially provide Bt6 million to…
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Phuket joins Philippines typhoon relief effort
PHUKET: The Phuket chapter of the Red Cross Society has joined the relief effort to provide assistance to victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the central Philippines last Friday. “Right now we can only accept donations of money, which we will send to our head office in Bangkok,” Phuket Red Cross staffer Sarawut Rukkhaw told the Phuket Gazette. “We…
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Phuket residential areas hit by water shutoffs
PHUKET: Water supply was suspended in parts of Phuket today for the Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) to carry out maintenance work.“We stopped the water supply along the Tha Rua-Muang Mai Road in Pa Khlok. Residences in that area were affected,” PWA officer Sasivimol Sangprakong said.The water was shut off to fix a burst main in front of the Thalang…
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Man slain by single gunshot in Rawai
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a 28-year-old man who was slain by a single gunshot to the head near Rawai Beach early this morning.Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Jumroon Plaidoung was notified of the murder at about 3:30am.“When we arrived at the scene, an unregistered rental house about 150 meters from the beach, we found the body of Khin…
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Korean boy, 4, rescued from Phuket drain
PHUKET: A local resident rescued a 4-year-old Korean boy who plunged into a drain two-meters deep along the bypass road yesterday evening.“The cover for the drain was broken, and grass was obscuring the hole. It was hard to see because there was no light,” said a Kusoldharm rescue worker at the scene.Boonkua Saelim, 42, rushed to help the boy after…
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Phuket Sport: Singapore wins international cricket sixes competition
PHUKET: The Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) hosted the inaugural Sunseeker Thailand International Cricket Sixes event at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) over November 8-10. The competition saw Phuket’s local cricketer’s line up against international teams from Australia and Singapore in an action-packed, fun-filled three days.The first two days comprised of round robin matches which were followed by a great night…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Israel warns of war from Iran nuclear deal; Aquino under pressure over typhoon aid; Congo ready to formalize rebel defeat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel warns of war from Iran deal, sees big sanctions cut Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday that a “bad deal” with Iran on its nuclear programme could lead to war and his aides challenged U.S. assertions to have offered Tehran…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Life on Cambodian border returns to normal; ATM skim gang in Songkhla; Luxury cars seized
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Life on the border returns to normal The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: All 47 schools in the border province of Si Sa Ket reopened yesterday as there was no backlash from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Preah Vihear Temple.The schools, all in Si Sa…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Warships to help Philippines; 24,000 more houses in Jerusalem; Fukushima: now for the tough part
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S., Britain sends warships to help Philippine relief efforts Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A U.S. aircraft carrier set sail for the Philippines on Tuesday to accelerate relief efforts after a typhoon killed an estimated 10,000 people in one coastal city alone, with fears the toll could rise…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Restraint urged on Preah Vihear ruling; 10 hurt as train derails; Fundraiser for typhoon victims; Realty growth continues despite woes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt urges restraint on Preah Vihear ruling The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The government and military have held back on making definitive comments on the Preah Vihear case, waiting to see what transpires from a meeting with their Cambodian counterparts.As villagers living along the border cheered and…
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