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 Youth Sailing Squadron heads for Hua Hin
PHUKET: The Phuket Youth Sailing Squadron (PYSS) is preparing to enter the Hua Hin Regatta 2011, and are inviting youths aged seven and up, specifically underprivileged children, to sign up for this new club that promotes youth sailing in Phuket. Five new youngsters have recently joined the sailing program, so there are now more than 20 members. Seventeen of these…
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Bend it like Therdsak
PHUKET: Former Captain of the Thailand national football team and current vice-captain of Thai Premier League side, Chonburi FC, Therdsak Chaiman was in Phuket recently for a youth coaching session at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC). The free coaching clinic was organized with the help of Thanachart Bank and ran between 8am and 11am on July 30. Over 30…
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World record on the cards for Raceweek’s Larsen
PHUKET: Australian Paul Larsen and his DaVinci crew raced in to second place after an exciting four days of Multihull class sailing at this year’s Six Senses Phuket International Raceweek. Racing conditions in the waters off the Evason and Bon Island resort for the event were exciting, but certainly less threatening than what Paul has been used to over the…
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Phuket Poll: When will Thaksin return?
PHUKET: Now that Yingluck Shinawatra has been installed as Thailand’s first female prime minister, many political analysts are posing the question: When will her brother, fugitive former PM Thaksin, return to Thailand? In its latest online poll, the Phuket Gazette invites readers to suggest when they think this will happen – if ever. To have your say, click here or…
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Corruption tops list of Phuket priorities
PHUKET: More than one third of Phuket Gazette readers responding to an online poll voted corruption as Phuket’s top priority for authorities to address. In the poll, readers were asked, ‘Which of the following issues affecting Phuket do you feel needs the most urgent attention by the new Government?’ The choices in responding were:• Traffic congestion• Crime• Drug abuse• Corruption•…
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Phuket readies for HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday
PHUKET: Visitors and residents in Phuket will have ample opportunity to honor and celebrate HM Queen Sirikit’s 79th birthday – also celebrated in Thailand as Mother’s Day – on Friday. Police sources have confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that alcohol sales will not be banned on Friday, a national holiday. “We only ask for people to comply with [the ban…
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Officials under fire over Phuket flyover plans
PHUKET: Department of Highways officials received a frosty reception today at a public hearing to unveil three base designs for an overpass at Bang Khu Intersection, one of the main traffic crunch points during peak hours on Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Road. The Bang Khu Intersection is where Thepkrasattri Rd meets the bypass road. Sombat Jaroenpat, director of the Survey and Design…
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Phuket Live Wire: AIS rollout of 3G a success
PHUKET: The AIS rollout of its new wireless internet system has come and gone, and I’m duly impressed. We’re seeing good – sometimes great – international download speeds, reliable signals, extensive coverage and reasonably good support, all over Phuket. Amazing. Don’t take my word for it. If you’re thinking about signing-up for AIS 3G, drop by phuketinternetspeed.com and see what…
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Phuket funeral to honor Father Richard
PHUKET: The funeral for Father Richard Woodarek, who served Phuket’s Catholic community for more than 40 years, will be held at Our Lady of Assumption Church in Phuket Town on Wednesday at 10am. Father Richard passed away on Friday. He was 82 years old and had spent more than half of his life in Thailand, most of that time in…
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Phuket fire drill no cause for alarm
PHUKET: Smoke billowing out of the fresh market on Ranong Road in Phuket Town this morning was no cause for alarm as Phuket City Municipality conducted its first fire drill there since the market opened in September last year. More than 150 market vendors and other people taking part in the drill poured onto the street at about 10:30am, simulating…
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BBCU claim league bragging rights over FC Phuket
PHUKET: FC Phuket came up short against Big Bang Chulalongkorn United (BBCU), losing 2-1 on Sunday as the team tried to capitalize on their cup defeat of the joint Division One leaders. Downpours of rain before and during play, made for a greasy surface and slippery playing conditions for the teams. With five players out of action due to injuries,…
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Epileptic man drowns in Phuket pond
PHUKET: The body of a Phuket man who went missing on Friday was discovered by relatives two days later in a pond near his home in Thalang. Thalang Police identified the deceased as Phumichai Kaewkla, a 42-year-old resident of Mai Khao. His death was reported by his father, Jaras Kaewkla. Mr Jaras told police his son went missing from the…
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Phuket Tourism: Will it die from all the deaths?
PHUKET: It has been a dire week for tourists, one that sends a clear message to the authorities that they really do need to start addressing critical issues in Phuket. Last Saturday, the body of a Chinese tourist was found washed ashore at Kata Beach. He had been swimming at Karon Beach three days earlier. On Sunday, just days after…
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Power problem forces Hope to bypass Phuket
PHUKET: THE MV Logos Hope, the 132-meter ship that is home to the world’s largest floating library, has canceled its scheduled stop in Phuket. The ship was to drop anchor at Phuket Deep Sea Port from August 17 to 28. However, it will now depart its current port of Visakhapatnam, India, on August 13 and set sail directly for Penang,…
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Phuket’s ‘Road to Rawai’ to be divided
PHUKET: The Land Transport Office has announced that placement of a median strip through the full length of Wiset Road, from Chalong Circle to Rawai Beach, will begin this month. The road will have at least five U-turn breaks. The project is part of a government strategy to decrease fatal accidents. The plan was announced by the Phuket Provincial Land…
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Phuket Town blackout on Wednesday
PHUKET. The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced a major blackout affecting areas in central Phuket Town on Wednesday. The blackout, between 9am and 4pm, is to allow PPEA staff to carry out maintenance work on high-voltage power lines. The affected areas will be Phun Pol Road Sois 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and Kra Road Sois 10…
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Thai sailors seek blessing from Phuket’s Heroines
PHUKET: The captain and crew of the Royal Thai Navy HTMS Thalang this morning performed a ceremony seeking the blessing of Phuket’s renowned heroines Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn. Presiding over the ceremony was Lt Cdr Apiruk Mangkorn, commander of the HTMS Thalang. Reinforced by members of the ship’s 75 crew, Lt Cdr Apiruk asked for Phuket’s ‘guardian angels’ to…
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Plans to build Phuket offshore diesel station on hold
PHUKET: A public hearing held yesterday has left in limbo plans to convert a water-refilling platform in Chalong Bay into an offshore petrol station. The meeting, held at the Al Wallan Hidayah Mosque in Rawai, was called after a letter of protest against the project was filed with the provincial government by Sommai Naoprai, the president of a group called…
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Phuket Roads: Motorcycle crash claims another life
PHUKET: A motorcycle accident early this morning claimed the life of a Phuket man as he drove between the Heroines’ Monument and Cherng Talay. Thalang Police responded to a call at about 2am reporting that an accident had occurred on Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Manik. A team from the Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation arrived at the scene to find a lone…
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Long trail leads police to Phuket auto theft gang
PHUKET: Patong Police have arrested six suspects accused of running a car and motorcycle theft racket in Phuket’s entertainment hub, Patong. The Thai and Burmese suspects were presented at Kathu Police Station yesterday along with eight stolen motorcycles, parts of a further four or five bikes, mechanic’s tools, spray painting equipment, one stolen pickup truck and six other cars that…
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Phuket Disgrace: Airport needs to double its Immigration officers
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport has only half the number of Immigration officers it needs to effectively handle the high volume of tourists using the facility, the leading senator of a fact-finding team was told today. The team, comprising the 26 senators who form the Standing Committees for Transport and for Natural Resources and the Environment, arrived in Phuket yesterday to…
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Yingluck’s official, but who will call the shots?
BANGKOK (The Nation): Officially, only Yingluck Shinawatra, confirmed as Thailand’s new Prime Minister today, and Yongyuth Vichaidit, her Pheu Thai party’s leader, have the final say on who is to be included in the Cabinet. Unofficially, nobody is quite sure who will call the shots. Most reports in the media seem to ignore the party’s official version. So far, every…
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FC Phuket seek away win and BBCU seek vengeance
PHUKET: FC Phuket face Big Bang Chulalongkorn United (BBCU) on Sunday in what may be termed a grudge match considering the cup defeat inflicted by Phuket on BBCU in June. Sunday’s match will be played at the 20,000 seat sporting arena, Army Stadium in Din Daeng, Bangkok. Kickoff is sceduled for 6pm. Coming into their 19th match, Phuket cling to…
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Yingluck becomes first female Thai prime minister
PHUKET: Yingluck Shinawatra today became Thailand’s first female prime minister, by winning 296 of 299 votes in Parliament, state-news agency MCOT has reported. Mrs Yingluck was confirmed as prime minister shortly before noon today after a campaign that saw her Pheu Thai party sweep to victory over the former ruling Democrat Party. There were 197 abstentions in the House of…
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Phuket residents cry foul over poisoned water
PHUKET: Parents and local residents are calling for action against repeated poisoning of a canal along a major Phuket Town school, killing hundreds of fish. About 5pm yesterday, residents entered a section of Klong Bang Yai that runs next to Satree Phuket School on Damrong Road and removed hundreds of dead fish. The water in the canal was black, thick…
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Young woman drowns after fall at Phuket’s Phromthep Cape
PHUKET: Police have confirmed the identity of a Thai woman who slipped off rocks and drowned at Phromthep Cape late yesterday afternoon as that of Yula Suwan, 20, from Chiang Rai. Miss Yula arrived at Phuket’s iconic peninsula with a friend to take photos at about 5pm, said Chalong Police Duty Officer Lt Attawat Suwannarat. “They walked down the cape…
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Onslaught of waves forces Phuket sea gypsies to evacuate homes
PHUKET: Large waves brought on by the wet-season monsoon are damaging homes at a small sea gypsy community on Phuket’s east coast, forcing villagers to seek refuge with family members or even sleep outdoors. At least eight houses have suffered damage, altogether home to 53 people. John Pramongkij, 57, is scared to sleep in his house, with the walls cracking…
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Swedish murder case in Phuket sends reader interest off the charts
PHUKET: Not since the tsunami in December 2004 have readers around the world shown so much interest in a single event in Phuket. Yesterday, as on December 27, 2004, the day after the waves hit, the demand for news, fueled by the Phuket murder of Swedish national Maksim Schantz, swamped and knocked over the Gazette Online for a period of…
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Phuket Red Cross blood drive to honor HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday
PHUKET: In honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 79th birthday and Mother’s Day on August 12, the Phuket Regional Blood Center is hoping for an increase in donations this month. The center has set a higher target than usual for this drive, aiming to stock up in anticipation for an increased demand for blood in the coming months. “We received 1,568…
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Swedish slashers confess to Phuket police
PHUKET: Phuket City Police tonight charged two Swedish men they say confessed to the murder yesterday of 25-year-old Maksim Schantz. Police said they caught Tommy Viktor Soderlund, 26, and Johan Sebastian Ljung, 25, hiding out at Surin Sweet Hotel on Surin Beach where they had recently rented a room. The pair confessed that they tracked Mr Schantz down through Facebook…
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