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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Phuket landslide victim ‘doing well’
PHUKET: The local leader who was buried alive in a landslide in Phuket earlier this week is recovering well, relatives say. The victim, 38-year-old Witsanu Yidsua, was watching television in his bedroom on Monday morning when part of a neighboring home collapsed and slid downslope, crashing through a concrete wall and burying him up to his neck in chunks of…
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Phuket Property Watch: Battle lines are drawn in Koh Samui brand quest
PHUKET: Samui and Phuket continue to be described as the Yin and Yang of resort island destinations. Characteristics that they both share are that both are islands in Thailand that champion tourism as the overall economic prosperity jackpot. But beyond the obvious, many questions remain about how much they differ. After recently completing a mid-year hotel market update for Samui,…
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Phuket floods: roads closed, landslide hits Patong
PHUKET: Downpours this morning have caused havoc across Phuket, with road closures and major traffic delays reported across the island – and another landslide in Patong. The Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention office at Patong Municipality this morning told the Gazette they received a report of a landslide on Soi Kuan Yang, located off Patong Hill road between Wat…
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Last day of 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Today marks the final day of the 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival, with the final farewells to the Nine Warrior Gods scheduled to take place amid a deafening street procession along Phuket Road this evening. This year’s festival has been one of the rainiest ever, with over 173mm of rain recorded over the first eight days of the festival at…
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Phuket News Hound: Helicopter crash kills one
Phuket NEWS Hound – world NEWS compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Helicopter crash in New York City kills British woman Phuket Gazette A helicopter carrying five people crashed in New York City this morning, killing a British woman, officials said. The accident occurred at around 3:20pm local time yesterday afternoon (3:20am today in Phuket) when a privately-owned helicopter…
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God feels no pressure
PHUKET: “This was my first match and I have no pressure in my new role.” Robbie Fowler has taken over as the new Muang Thong United caretaker coach and says he is aiming to win the Thai Premier League and FA Cup after guiding the club to to a 3-1 victory over SCG Samut Songkhram in his first game in…
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Phuket on high alert for landslides – again.
PHUKET: Residents in hillside areas of Phuket are asked to remain on high alert for the possibility of more landslides, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) warned today. Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket chief San Jantharawong told the Phuket Gazette that his agency had this morning received a second warning message about the possibility of…
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Northern floods prompt Phuket call for blood
PHUKET: The head of the Phuket Regional Blood Center, run by the Red Cross, has called for blood donations to bolster dwindling stocks in the northern, central and northeastern provinces which have been severely affected by floods. “We have enough blood in stock for the six provinces along the Andaman Coast, but I am calling for blood donations because the…
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Police believe Fake DSI agent is on the run in Phuket
PHUKET: A career conman who claimed to be a high-ranking Department of Special Investigations (DSI) officer is on the run again after two decades of crime, arrests, womanizing and escaping justice. Witchayut Pansampao, the alleged conman who masqueraded as a DSI officer to defraud people throughout the South, was arrested last month in Haad Yai but has gone missing after…
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Phuket Live WIre: Choosing the best wireless connection
PHUKET: In my last two Live Wire columns I talked about the three general types of internet connections available in Phuket – landlines, wireless and satellite – and then gave some recommendations about landlines. This week I’ll explain how to find a good wireless connection. Wireless internet may be your best option in a number of circumstances. Of course, if…
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Weird World News: Young people doing stupid things
PHUKET: Most adults dread old age because it means you can’t do the things you could when you were young. But if the following stories are anything to go by, those getting on in years should feel blessed with the wisdom that comes with age. The weird, dangerous and idiotic things young people are getting up to around the globe…
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‘Lanky Gecko’ and his house of lizards
CHIANG MAI: An animal-crazy man in Chiang Mai has shacked up in an apartment with 23 large geckos and chameleons, living with the lizards as if they were pet cats and dogs. When a reporter from Khao Sod went to visit Suiti Saelim’s apartment in Fa Ham subdistrict, there were lizards everywhere: under the bed, on the mattress, on the…
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Buried alive: Phuket activist survives landslide terror
PHUKET: A Phuket community leader was badly injured this morning when a landslide caused part of a neighboring home to come crashing through his bedroom wall as he lay watching television. At about 9:30am today, 38-year-old Witsanu Yidsua was in his bedroom at the back of his home on Phisit Gorani Road when the tragedy occurred. Mr Witsanu, president of…
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New games for ‘Phuket’ Youth Games 2012
PHUKET: Three new sports have been added to the official program of the 28th Thailand National Youth Games, to be held March 18-28 next year, at the request of the host province, Phuket. Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) executives confirmed the inclusion of fencing, billiards and snooker, and woodball at a recent meeting in Phuket attended by Governor Tri Augkaradecha…
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Thai volleyball will challenge the world
PHUKET: Last stop on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour is the Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT, from November 1 to 6, and this popular event is now being used as a springboard for the Thai teams to make a challenge on the 2012 World Tour. Thai teams have rarely made an appearance on the international circuit…
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Phuket downpours prompt weather warning
PHUKET: Following heavy rains across Phuket this morning, the Thai Meteorological Department has issued a weather advisory. Issued at 11am by the Southern Meteorological Center at Phuket Airport, the advisory reads: “Rather strong southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and the Southern Thailand West Coast. Abundant rain and heavy to very heavy rain in many areas over much of the…
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Three injured in Patong truck crash
PHUKET: Three people were injured when a six-wheeled truck hauling sand ran out of control, crushing vehicles and smashing into shops on Phuket’s west coast this morning. Truck driver Rungaroon Ji-nga, 31, was descending the steep hill into Patong from Phuket Town at about 10 am when he failed to negotiate the curve in front of Wat Suwan Khiriwong (Wat…
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Phuket Tourism: TAT in major drive to bring on more tourists
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is revising strategies to deal with the economic crisis in Europe and bad situations in the domestic market, such as floods and violence in the South, all of which threaten Thai tourism. Phuket is featured in the plans despite record visitor arrivals during the first half of this year and what some see…
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Phuket Opinion: Making news a social obligation, and a two-way street
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to thank its readers for their support in our continued growth, not only with the newspaper, which is now on board 10 of the world’s leading airlines, but also on the Web; in the whole new world of handheld ‘devices’; and in broadcasting, where next PGTV goes on UBC/True Visions with two prime time…
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Drunken Dane fails Phuket bar test
PHUKET: A group of young foreigners out celebrating their graduation from the European Bartender School in Patong received a lesson in Phuket bar etiquette this week when one man was chased down and “vigorously apprehended” by tuk-tuk and motorcycle taxi drivers. The objection among the drivers was the rough treatment given to a Thai barmaid following a disagreement late Thursday…
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FC Phuket fly north for the “winner’
PHUKET: FC Phuket should be well rested for tomorrow night’s away match against Chiangmai FC, having flown up to the northern capital yesterday afternoon on a flight operated by team sponsors AirAsia. Despite prolonged flooding that has swept across Thailand’s central and northern regions, which in only the past week saw Chiang Mai added to the list of “disaster area”…
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Kidney dialysis center opens in Phuket
PHUKET: The Laem Son Health Center in Wichit began providing kidney dialysis treatment to patients yesterday, and in doing so became the first center in Phuket to offer such treatment outside government hospitals. The center (pictured here), located on Pattana Thongthin Road, cost 5 million baht to build. “The center is open daily from 7am to 8pm and about 100…
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Phuket taxi thugs apologize, pay damages for attack on tour driver
PHUKET: The three taxi drivers who assaulted another driver working for a Phuket elephant camp have apologized for the attack and paid 40,000 baht in damages. Kamala Police Duty Officer Anek Mongkol confirmed today that the three taxi drivers – Wasan Sanae, 35, Sitthikorn Boonsri, 28, and Thanawut Poksakul, 25 – were each fined 1,000 baht for the attack. The…
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Phuket construction worker dies of high blood pressure
PHUKET: Police believe that a Cambodian construction worker found dead this morning died from high blood pressure. Thalang Police Duty Officer Praman Yapphayak said he was notified of the death at about 7:30am. Arriving at the scene, at a workers’ camp in Srisoonthorn, Thalang, police found Wanna Mon, 48, dead in his room. He was lying facing up with blood…
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Park chief preps Similan Islands for tourist high season
PHUKET: The chief of the Similan Islands Marine National Park is calling for all tour boat operators to register in order to be able to legally enter the park when it reopens on November 1. Operators found entering the park without permits will be fined, warned park chief Mana Phermpool. “So far we have received permit applications from 35 boats.…
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Phuket minimum wage hike effective October 1
PHUKET: The minimum wage rise to 300 baht per day will be in effect for all government employees in Phuket from October 1, a panel of experts has revealed. Senator Anothai Rittiphanyawong broke the news at a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel in Phuket Town. The new minimum wage will be passed by Cabinet on October 4, but…
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Soft opening: Aphrodite lands in Phuket
PHUKET: The Aphrodite Cabaret Show held its soft opening party in Phuket last night with a performance that featured a wide variety of dance styles from classical Thai, East Asian and Indian, to bawdy numbers like “Cheeky Girls”, the inevitable “I Will Survive” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”. Before a capacity crowd at their venue opposite Tesco-Lotus on the bypass…
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Phuket meth dealers launch ‘white skin’ campaign
PHUKET: Police are concerned about a rise in the use of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) in Phuket and nearby provinces, and say drug dealers are falsely touting the powerful stimulant as a skin whitening agent to lure in new users. Pramote Phumprakun, superintendent of Narcotics Suppression Bureau Division (NSBD) precinct responsible for the Upper South, described the ya ice problem…
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Phuket Veg Fest threat: your “fake’ meat might be real
PHUKET: Officials are conducting inspections of food stalls taking part in the Phuket Vegetarian Festival following reports that some unscrupulous vendors have been lacing “artificial meat” dishes with real meat products in order to make them more attractive to potential consumers. “Artificial meat” dishes are a staple among many who take part in the annual 10-day purification ritual, during which…
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Supermodel search lands in Phuket
PHUKET: A bevy of beauties participating in the Look Supermodel Search 2011 beauty pageant will visit Phuket next Monday and Tuesday to take part in various activities. The 12 models are scheduled to meet Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and hand out cloth bags at Provincial Hall at 11:45am on Monday, before visiting the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) offices. The…
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