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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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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Phuket Police recover fake bomb used in botched bank heist
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have recovered what they believe to be the fake bomb and clothing used by a man in a botched attempt to rob a Phuket Town bank on Monday. Phuket’s top police rushed to a remote rubber plantation in Rassada at about 11am today after they were informed that what appeared to be a bomb was discovered…
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Tsunami drill on Phuket’s west coast
PHUKET: A tsunami-evacuation drill will be held tomorrow afternoon (September 16) at Baan Kalim School, just north of Patong, on Phuket’s tourist-popular west coast. The drill, organized by Patong Municipality, will involve 191 students and teachers from Baan Kalim School and from Tessaban Baan Sai Nam Yen School, in the heart of Patong. The teachers and students from Baan Sai…
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Angels and Demons
PHUKET: “I ain’t going to say attack don’t let the media make u believe that was terrorist that did it. #OTIS.” Liverpool striker Nathan Eccleston apparently sent out a comment on Twitter indicating his belief that the September 11 attacks on the US were not those of terrorists. Allegedly OTIS is an abbreviation of “Only The Illuminati Succeed.” When not…
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Weird World News: Goody for Guinness 2012
PHUKET: It’s that time of year again, when the book dedicated to all things weird, tall, short, big and bizarre hits the shelves of bookstores around the world this week – it’s time for the next volume of Guinness World Records. Here a few of the 4,000 records – half are new – soon to be turning heads and dropping…
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Phuket green group “seeks’ NGO status
PHUKET: The “Coalition of Global Citizens” known as SEEK Phuket (Society, Environment, Economy, Knowledge) is currently compiling its application to become a fully-fledged non-governmental organization (NGO) in Thailand, one of their founders has told the Phuket Gazette. “We started informally about four months ago and our lawyers are currently in the process of attaining formal Thai NGO status,” said Nick…
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Phuket hosts Thai handicrafts fair
PHUKET: Fans of Thai handicrafts will want to visit Phuket’s Jungceylon shopping complex over the weekend, as the second annual Thai Handicrafts Domestic Roadshow is in town until Monday. Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen presided over the event opening yesterday. A large and varied selection of the best Thai handicrafts are on sale from 11am to 10pm daily in the…
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Phuket Live Wire: Finding your “True’ internet speed
PHUKET: I’ve received email from all over the world as a result of the ‘Bang for the Baht’ chart that Khun Roger and I put together for the August 27 Live Wire in the Phuket Gazette. The emails I received fall into three broad categories. Some people expect to be in Phuket shortly – either moving here or taking an…
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Korean tourist rescued from Phuket drainage ditch
PHUKET: Phuket rescue workers and local residents came to the aid of a Korean tourist whose leg became wedged between two cement drainage ditch covers on Tuesday night. Phuket Kusoldham Foundation rescue workers were alerted to the man’s plight at about 8:30pm on Tuesday. Racing to the scene, near the Bank of Ayudhya branch on Chao Fa East Road in…
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Phuket investor Allan Zeman to speak about Brand Andara at AMCHAM on Friday
PHUKET: Leading Asian-based entrepreneur and businessman Allan Zeman talks about his journey developing Andara Phuket into a sought-after brand, and how his investment in Phuket has paved the way for a continuing success story. Organized by the Greater Phuket Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM), the event is expected to draw substantial attendance. A spokesperson for…
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Phuket Big Buddha image nears completion, huge ceremony planned
PHUKET: The Big Buddha image in the Nakkerd Hills is scheduled for completion next month, with a nationally-televised prayer ceremony in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej and HM Queen Sirikit to take place in November, its builders say. The Mingmongkol Faith 45 Foundation, set up to construct the Big Buddha, made the announcement at a press conference on September…
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Phuket passenger van crashes in Trang: 1 dead, 4 injured
PHUKET: One person was killed and four badly injured when a Phuket passenger van bound for Haad Yai lost its brakes and crashed into a car in Trang yesterday afternoon. Muang District Police in Trang were notified of the accident at 2pm yesterday. At the scene, a four-way intersection on the Trang bypass road in Nayong subdistrict, they found a…
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Phuket Airport to double car park
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport will open its new car park to vehicles by November, Airport Director Duangchai Condee announced today. “The new car park will be ready to use by this coming high season,” Ms Dungchai told a meeting chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen. The new car park, located in front of the airport cargo buildings just to…
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Phuket’s Soi Dog Foundation opens cat hospital
PHUKET: Phuket’s renowned animal welfare charity Soi Dog Foundation has opened the island’s first facility dedicated to providing medical treatment to cats. The new “Cat Hospital“, which cost more than a million baht to build and equip, opened quietly last week and already has 10 cats in its care. “Previously, cats have had to be kept in small cages, often…
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Phuket’s Koh Kaew Market to rise from the ashes
PHUKET: Forensic Police continue to investigate the cause of the fire that ripped through the Koh Kaew Market in Patong last month, raising the distinct possibility that the complex could be rebuilt and open for business before the cause of the blaze is determined. Tossapol Rungruengpawan, president of Patong Retail Business Club, said work cleaning up debris is ongoing and…
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Korean Ambassador says “Farewell, Phuket’
PHUKET: South Korean Ambassador to Thailand Chung Hae-moon today paid a visit to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at Provincial Hall to say farewell before his return home.“I am going back to [South] Korea at the end of this week as I have completed my four-year term in Thailand,” Ambassador Chung told the Phuket Gazette. He encouraged more Korean companies to…
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Phuket “mad bomber’ bank robbery foiled by closing time
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a man who tried robbing a bank in Phuket Town late this afternoon reportedly with grenades strapped to his chest, but was foiled by the bank having been closed for business just five minutes earlier. The man, described as dark-skinned and about 30-35 years old, arrived at the Kasikorn Bank branch on the corner of…
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Phuket ‘Kidnap rapist’ freed from jail, Nepali community in fear
PHUKET: In response to media reports on the release of a man who confessed to multiple counts of kidnapping, imprisonment, and repeated rape and robbery of Nepali women, the Thai-Nepalese Club held a meeting yesterday to discuss the community’s fear of reprisals and options for legal action. Phuket’s Nepali community members are living in fear of the “powerful” Phakpoom Maneerat,…
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Phuket weather report: wet and windy all week
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued another weather advisory for Phuket, the second in as many days. Issued at 6am today by the Southern Meteorological Center at Phuket Airport, the advisory notes a “rather strong” southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and coastline. People living in windward coastal areas should be especially prepared for “abundant and heavy” rain…
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Phuket schools get ‘drugged up’
PHUKET: The Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) and island pharmacists have joined forces to provide every Phuket school with a free medicine cabinet and first-aid training. The project, “Medicine Cabinets Donated to the Community”, was arranged by the PPHO, Phuket Pharmacists Association and Phuket Drug Shop Association. Paiboon Upatising, president of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), presided over the launch…
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Catamaran founders off Phuket, passengers saved
PHUKET: Heavy seas off Phuket over the weekend swamped a German man’s sailboat and prompted a dramatic rescue of his three Thai passengers off Mai Thon Island yesterday. German sailor Paul Zicman, 68, invited 34-year-old friend Thewarat Kongmuang and her two daughters aboard his catamaran Blue Lagoon for a trip to Koh Khai on Saturday afternoon. The four set sail…
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Phuket in transport crisis: Taxis take tourism to the brink
PHUKET: Despite a great deal of press coverage and international diplomatic pressure, altercations between foreign tourists and tuk-tuk drivers are increasing, both in frequency and severity. In one of the latest attacks, a German tourist in Patong was beaten close to death by a pack of gangsters who remain at large. And a week ago today a Thai tour van…
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Man survives jump off Phuket’s Thepkasattri Bridge
PHUKET: A man is in hospital recovering today after being plucked from the fast-flowing waters under Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Bridge. Sen Sgt Maj Sayan Mesang, stationed at Tha Nun Police Box under the nearby Sarasin Bridge, told the Gazette that he received reports of a man attempting to jump off the bridge at about 10:45am yesterday. “I rushed to the scene,…
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FC Phuket down Bangkok Utd, 1-0
PHUKET: A goal by Sarach Yooyen just three minutes into play was all FC Phuket needed to secure a 1-0 victory over Thai League Division 1 rivals Bangkok United in an exciting match at Surakul Stadium last night. In front of 8,520 fans, crowd favorite Sarach Yooyen used his lightning quickness to get past two defenders before launching a shot…
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FC Phuket ready for Bangkok Utd
PHUKET: FC Phuket will be back in action on the friendly turf of Surakul Stadium tonight, when they will be gunning to snatch all three points from division 1 rivals Bangkok United and revive their dimming hopes for promotion to the elite Thai Premier League. FC Phuket go into the match in ninth place in the Thai Division 1 table,…
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AIS sets up shop at Phuket Prison
PHUKET: GSM mobile phone operator Advance Info Service (AIS) has set up a temporary sales booth giving away free SIM cards at the entrance to the visiting area at Phuket Prison. A sales hostess stationed at the booth said the prison was a good place to promote AIS services as there were always large crowds of people facing long waits…
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Phuket estate manager denies gun charges
PHUKET: Police have confiscated the gun of a Phuket housing estate manager who is accused of using it to intimidate a construction team into stopping their noisy work. The estate manager felt the work was “too noisy”. Phuket Police are now investigating whether the gun license he produced is genuine. Seree Duangsuwan arrived at Phuket City Police Station for questioning…
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Phuket tourist safety among top concerns: US Ambassador
PHUKET: Highlighting the role of wardens as her embassy’s “eyes and ears” in Thailand, United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney today affirmed that tourist safety was among the top priorities of her mission. Amb Kenney’s comments came during a day trip to Phuket, which included a visit to the offices of the Phuket Gazette and a closed-door meeting with the island’s…
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Phuket machete attack puts Burmese workers in ICU
PHUKET: Two Burmese workers on their way home from a Phuket karaoke bar were critically injured after they were attacked by knife-wielding youths yesterday. Thalang Police received an anonymous report at 1:10am from a local resident in Srisoonthorn reporting that two heavily bleeding men were lying in an alley near the Baan Manik boxing camp on Srisoonthron Road. Arriving at…
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Phuket officials “reprimand’ The Village
PHUKET: During a day-trip inspection tour to Koh Maphrao off Phuket’s east coast on Tuesday, Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak reprimanded The Village resort for environmental and licensing law infractions. Accompanied by an entourage of no fewer than 30 officials and members of the press, V/Gov Somkiet inspected the upscale resort in response to a complaint filed at the Damrongtham…
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Phuket taxi bullying continues
PHUKET: Police today were called in to resolve yet another taxi dispute, this time reports of drivers using their vehicles to block the entrance to the renowned Evason Phuket & Bon Island resort. About 20 “black plate” drivers massed at the entrance to the Evason – one of the very first resorts on the island – at about 10am, reported…
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