News

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  • Video Report: Phuket crepe maker meets the stranger who saved him from sharks | Thaiger

    Video Report: Phuket crepe maker meets the stranger who saved him from sharks

    PHUKET: It was an emotional meeting last week between the man who lost his only source of livelihood – a sidecar outfitted to make crepes – and the New Zealand woman who gave him the money he needed to avoid borrowing cash from loan sharks to buy a new one. Crepe vendor Prayoon Impuang, whose sidecar was consumed by flames…

  • Foreigners in Phuket: Dive shop blitz clarifies instructors’ work descriptions | Thaiger

    Foreigners in Phuket: Dive shop blitz clarifies instructors’ work descriptions

    PHUKET: Foreign dive instructors’ job descriptions were clarified during an inspection led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut in Patong today, as the Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) investigates allegations that police were extorting money from them due to ambiguities in work permits (story here). “We only came to check work permits and clarify the information within them to the employees.…

  • Phuket Marine Police volunteers’ numbers swell ahead of Songkran | Thaiger

    Phuket Marine Police volunteers’ numbers swell ahead of Songkran

    PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police have garnered 97 trained volunteers to bolster their ranks ahead of the Songkran Festival. “Boat captains, crews and tour guides were called to join in safety-training seminars and volunteer to support the Marine Police, as they are the ones who have the best chance of rescuing people in the water,” Phuket Marine Police Superintendent Pumin…

  • Another Phuket workplace fatality: Shrimp farm worker found dead in boat | Thaiger

    Another Phuket workplace fatality: Shrimp farm worker found dead in boat

    PHUKET: A Myanmar national was found dead this afternoon at the Sri Soonthorn shrimp farm where he worked, marking the fifth work-related death within two weeks in Phuket. The body of Nyi Paing, 25, was found on a boat in one of the farm’s ponds by a co-worker after he did not return from his morning work routine, Lt Col…

  • Tomorrow at Surakul Stadium: Phuket FC VS Bangkok FC | Thaiger

    Tomorrow at Surakul Stadium: Phuket FC VS Bangkok FC

    Brave the rain and come join the thousands who will make it out to Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town tomorrow to cheer on your local professional football team, Phuket FC. The number five Phuket FC Ronins will host number three Bangkok FC with kick-off at 6:30. Tickets are 100 baht. Bring enthusiasm and an umbrella!

  • Phuket lifeguard president threatens to cut number of guards | Thaiger

    Phuket lifeguard president threatens to cut number of guards

    PHUKET: The president of the island’s lifeguard club is threatening to slash the number of guards on Phuket beaches by 20 per cent, despite a 10 per cent increase in government funding. “We have yet to decide whether we will agree to the 22mn baht contract,” Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told the Phuket Gazette. “If we renew the…

  • Two red cards in Phuket’s DNF We Freedive Suunto Series | Thaiger

    Two red cards in Phuket’s DNF We Freedive Suunto Series

    PHUKET: The Dynamic Without Fins (DNF) event at the We Freedive Suunto Series saw two red cards as contestants pushed to cover as much horizontal distance as possible in the Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l’Apnee (AIDA) event. Malaysian champion Azam Hamid, who holds records in several other freediving disciplines, crossed the marker for the Malaysia National record at…

  • Teenagers arrested for Phuket gang execution | Thaiger

    Teenagers arrested for Phuket gang execution

    PHUKET: Police have arrested nine gang members, including six juveniles, for the murder of a rival teenager who was gunned down and hacked to death in Rassada early yesterday morning. Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of the Phuket City Police named the adult suspects as Kiat Phanthong, 21; Panumas Ladnalao, 19; and Warawoth Malsu, 18. “We are still searching for Saksit…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: U.S. Army names Fort Hood shooter, says had mental illness | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: U.S. Army names Fort Hood shooter, says had mental illness

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Army names Fort Hood shooter, says had mental illness Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The soldier suspected of shooting dead three people before killing himself at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas was identified as Ivan Lopez, a man battling mental illness when he…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: WWII bombs found; Red shirts in Bangkok; PDRC warrants revoked | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: WWII bombs found; Red shirts in Bangkok; PDRC warrants revoked

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Authorities warn of more buried WWII bombs The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Live World War II aerial bombs have been excavated at various construction sites, prompting authorities to warn against any attempts to tinker with strange metal objects. One was found during construction of the…

  • Bandit betrays drug business buddy in Phuket | Thaiger

    Bandit betrays drug business buddy in Phuket

    PHUKET: Police arrested an armed drug dealer in Pa Khlok this week after an inmate at Phuket Provincial Prison had his girlfriend spill the beans on the prisoner’s former business associate. Officers arrested Surasak Paewparn, 28, at the Promphan housing estate at about 7pm on Tuesday, said Lt Col Jarun Bangprasert of the Phuket Provincial Police. “Officers staked out the…

  • Krabi resort closes doors, police seeking arrest warrant | Thaiger

    Krabi resort closes doors, police seeking arrest warrant

    PHUKET: Police are seeking an arrest warrant for the managing director of a Krabi resort that recently turned away 50 guests with prepaid bookings (story here). “An arrest warrant for Managing Director Prateep Kaewnont is imminent,” said Krabi Police Superintendent Phrutthipong Nutchanart said. Nitikorn Pissawong, one of two employees assigned by the owner to look after the Phuphranang Resort, explained…

  • US embassy consular outreach clinic coming to Phuket | Thaiger

    US embassy consular outreach clinic coming to Phuket

    PHUKET: The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will hold an Outreach Visit at Le Meridien Hotel in Karon on April 30. Consular staff will be available from 8am to midday to provide the following services: • Passport renewal applications (US$110 or 3,410 baht for adult passports, US$105 or 3,255 baht for a minor’s passport). • Notarial Services…

  • Phuket motorcyclist struck and killed picking up his bike after spill | Thaiger

    Phuket motorcyclist struck and killed picking up his bike after spill

    PHUKET: A 19-year-old fell off his motorbike near Phuket International Airport early this morning and was hit by a car and killed while he was trying to right his bike. Rescuers responded to the call just after midnight and found the body of Atthaphon Prasobsaeng on Route 4026, which joins Thepkrasattri Road to the road to the airport. “The accident…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Suharto family tests Indonesia political comeback on strongman’s legacy | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Suharto family tests Indonesia political comeback on strongman’s legacy

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suharto family tests Indonesia political comeback on strongman’s legacy Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: It was Indonesia’s most ubiquitous smile. Once dubbed the smiling general despite his iron rule of more than three decades, the image of former President Suharto now waves genially from the election…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: U.S. calls for end to humanitarian curbs in Myanmar’s Rakhine | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: U.S. calls for end to humanitarian curbs in Myanmar’s Rakhine

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. calls for end to humanitarian curbs in Myanmar’s Rakhine Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United States called on Myanmar on Wednesday to lift travel restrictions on U.N. and other humanitarian staff to allow them to resume work in the country’s Rakhine State, which has…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Search for missing Malaysian jet drags on, as probe narrows to crew | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Search for missing Malaysian jet drags on, as probe narrows to crew

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Search for missing Malaysian jet drags on, as probe narrows to crew Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Malaysian police have ruled out involvement of any passengers in the disappearance of a missing jetliner, while Australian officials warned bad weather and a lack of reliable information were…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: WWII bomb kills seven; Court votes for Yingluck trial; CAPO eyes war rooms for Saturday Bangkok rallies | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: WWII bomb kills seven; Court votes for Yingluck trial; CAPO eyes war rooms for Saturday Bangkok rallies

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community WWII bomb kills seven The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: an explosion ripped through a scrapyard in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district yesterday, killing seven victims and injuring 20 others, after workers unknowingly cut open an aerial bomb from World War II. “Such a bomb usually weighs…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Fatal gunman rampage at Fort Hood US Army base | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Fatal gunman rampage at Fort Hood US Army base

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Shooting at Fort Hood Army base in Texas, injuries reported Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One person was killed and 14 wounded in a shooting on Wednesday at a U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas, the site of another rampage in 2009, a U.S. official…

  • Video Report: Phuket beach chair mogul pushes solutions to beach space battle | Thaiger

    Video Report: Phuket beach chair mogul pushes solutions to beach space battle

    PHUKET: The Nai Harn Beach Chair Club president took to the sand on Saturday in an attempt to dissolve lingering tension between lounge chair operators and a group of expats after a conflict erupted on March 15 over shared beach space. Two weeks ago, during the “Clean the Beach Boot Camp” at Nai Harn Beach, a battle over space flared…

  • Phuket top cop confident body found is of missing Russian | Thaiger

    Phuket top cop confident body found is of missing Russian

    PHUKET: Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiewruangnont today said he is “80 per cent sure” that the decomposed body found on Saturday (story here) is that of missing Russian Alexey Slabinskiy. The skull had been separated from the body and was no longer identifiable, and police are seeking to identify the remains with DNA tests and through dental records. “We are…

  • Thalang thrash Laguna in Phuket’s JLL League cricket | Thaiger

    Thalang thrash Laguna in Phuket’s JLL League cricket

    PHUKET: In the much anticipated JLL League match on March 30, the Thalang Cricket Team defeated Laguna by 90 runs and now have an insurmountable lead in the Jones Lang LaSalle League points championship. Laguna, last year’s champions, haven’t been beaten in a JLL league match in the past two seasons but had no answers to Thalang in this match.…

  • Kidnapping of Phuket boy, 4, foiled at bus terminal | Thaiger

    Kidnapping of Phuket boy, 4, foiled at bus terminal

    PHUKET: Quick action by a Phuket village headman last night stopped a couple about to board a bus to Bangkok with a 4-year-old boy who had been abducted from his home in Koh Kaew. Worried parents of the boy, named by police only as “Nong Ice”, reported their son missing from their home in Koh Kaew Soi 10 at about…

  • Phuket Poll: How good is Phuket Airport? | Thaiger

    Phuket Poll: How good is Phuket Airport?

    PHUKET: First impressions are critical in how people remember their holidays, and officials at Phuket International Airport are hoping that 12 million travellers judge their facility favorably this year. The sole runway and the main terminal cater to about 210 flights and 32,000 passengers per day. The main terminal can support up to 2,400 passengers per hour, but rush periods…

  • Package tour purchasers beware, says TAT | Thaiger

    Package tour purchasers beware, says TAT

    PHUKET: Fifty tourists recently found themselves abandoned by a resort, without rooms to check in to, after buying low-price tour packages, prompting the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Krabi to issue a warning to tour buyers. “Several tourists booked and paid for Krabi tour packages at a travel fair in Bangkok, and even received booking confirmations. But when they arrived…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: NATO suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: NATO suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NATO suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia on Tuesday in protest at its annexation of Crimea and ordered military planners to draft measures to strengthen its defences and reassure nervous eastern European countries.…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Massive 8.0 quake off Chile, tsunami alert for South, Central America | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: Massive 8.0 quake off Chile, tsunami alert for South, Central America

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Massive 8.0 quake off Chile sparks tsunami alert for Pacific coast of South, Central America Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A major earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck off the coast of Chile on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami that hit the northern part of the country and…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Gunfire slays protester; Min Buri bomber identified; Military urges Songkran talks; PM calls witnesses in graft probe | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Gunfire slays protester; Min Buri bomber identified; Military urges Songkran talks; PM calls witnesses in graft probe

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gun attack targets anti-govt protesters The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One protester was killed and four others injured yesterday when gunmen fired in broad daylight at their convoy while travelling on an expressway in Nonthaburi province, in a further inflammation of the political conflict. The…

  • Governor pushes for black water solution after Karon Beach water runs foul again [video] | Thaiger

    Governor pushes for black water solution after Karon Beach water runs foul again [video]

    PHUKET: The Phuket governor was on-site yesterday when a fresh flow of black water washed into the sea at Karon Beach. Governor Maitri Inthusut happened to be on location to lead an investigation into black water and lines of trash that plagued the beach on Friday (story here). The governor denied that wastewater was the cause of the black water…

  • Phuket fishermen discover body of executed man | Thaiger

    Phuket fishermen discover body of executed man

    PHUKET: Fishermen discovered the body of a man who had been executed floating near the main fishing port in Rassada in Phuket earlier this morning. “We believe the body is that of a Myanmar national who worked on a fishing boat. He most likely got in a fight with other crew members, was killed and then thrown overboard,” said Lt…