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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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Sponsored Hot Phuket property deal: Arise Vibe launches limited offer on only four units, now from 2.5m baht
Phuket's property market is full of big names and high prices, but some of the most exciting opportunities are happening just outside the spotlight. That’s where you’ll find Arise Vibe. Set in Si Sunthon, one of Phuket’s fastest-growing areas, this...
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Search continues for missing fishing crew
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy resumed their search this morning for five fishing boat crew members still missing after their boat sank off southern Phuket in stormy conditions on Sunday. Four men were found floating in the sea on Tuesday, including the stricken vessel’s captain, who was later pronounced dead (story here). A fifth crew member was rescued by a…
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Fifth missing crew member found
PHUKET: A fishing boat this morning picked up one of six crew members still lost at sea after their vessel sank off the south coast of Phuket yesterday. Four of the crew – comprising nine Burmese men and their Thai captain – were rescued by the Third Area Naval Command this morning (story here). The crew member was found floating…
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Another delay: Samkong Underpass completion pushed to end of August
PHUKET: The expected mid-August completion date of the Samkong Underpass has been pushed back yet again, this time until the end of this month. “The rain has made the process quite slow,” said Chalermpol Wongkiattikun, the project engineer from the Department of Highways. “The underpass is about 90 per cent complete and we expect the entire project to be completed…
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Three rescued after boat sinks off Phuket, 6 still missing
PHUKET: A Royal Thai Navy search and rescue team this morning plucked four men from stormy seas after their fishing boat sank about two nautical miles off Promthep Cape. One of the men was pronounced dead on arrival. Six other crew members are still missing. The Third Naval Area Command responded to a call at 9:20pm yesterday from a person…
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Rewards for would-be Patong bombing suspect
PHUKET: Another explosive device was found in Patong yesterday, police confirmed. A phone-based explosive device was found in China Town Plaza, near where a security guard recovered a similar device on August 10. The device’s recovery comes in the wake of bombings across Thailand’s south this weekend, that killed four and left more than 30 injured. Phuket Provincial Police released…
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Light rail plans approved for submission to ministry
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada met with private and public sector officials at Phuket Provincial Hall today, where the multi-billion-baht light rail project plans were finally agreed upon. The news comes in the wake of a push by Governor Chamroen earlier this month, when he called on the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) in Bangkok to…
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Business Buzz: Market it right and they will follow
PHUKET: As an avid fan of marketing, I’m always interested to see the next big global trend emerge and to watch it evolve into a successful operation on a macro and micro scale. Right now, here in Phuket, we are witnessing one of those global phenomena. Have you recently seen mature adults chasing invisible objects, using strange terminology and just…
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Opinion: Making Patong safer for locals and tourists
PHUKET: Col Chaiwat Auikam, originally from Saraburi, is currently the superintendent of Patong Police Station. He assumed the role two years ago. Col Chaiwat has been working as a policeman for more than 27 years. He graduated from the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and Royal Police Cadet Academy. Here, he talks about the current project to improve safety measures,…
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Russian loses life in red flag swim at Karon Beach
PHUKET: A Russian man was pronounced dead shortly after lifeguards at Karon Beach pulled his unconscious body from the surf yesterday morning. Lifeguards reported that the 50-year-old man entered the water in the red flag (no-swimming) zone at the beach and disappeared in the surf about 11am. “It took awhile for the lifeguards to locate the man after he went…
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TMD issues storm warning for Andaman region
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) this morning issued a storm warning for the Andaman region as monsoon rains continue to batter the southern provinces and the Gulf of Thailand. All ships should proceed with caution and small boats stay ashore until August 18, as strong wind whips up 2-3 meter high waves in the Andaman Sea and the upper…
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Thai tourism takes brief hit after bombings
PHUKET: Phuket hotel and tourism organizations issued a joint statement yesterday evening in the wake of a string of bombings across southern Thailand, including twin bombings in Patong yesterday (story here). The Phuket Tourist Association, Thai Hotel Association, Patong Hotel Association and the Kata Karon Hotel Business Association’s declaration stated that they expect the bombings to briefly affect the numbers…
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Update: Security stepped up nationwide after bombings
PHUKET: In a statement issued this morning, Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada said has ordered additional security personnel to be deployed across the island, in the wake of two blasts in Patong this morning. The governor’s comments come after a meeting with military and police advisers at Phuket Provincial Hall. The province was put on ‘high alert’ yesterday, after a bomb…
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Patong hit by double bomb blasts during Mother’s Day ceremonies
PHUKET: Two bomb blasts in Patong this morning have left one man injured. One of the blasts occurred at the Bangla Police Box at 8am. The other explosion was a short while later at Loma Park, where provincial officials were conducting Mother’s Day ceremonies, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officer Sampawat Wannasangkam told the Gazette. The streets around the…
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Governor urges calm in wake of Trang bombing
PHUKET: The Phuket governor has put the province on high alert in the wake of last night’s bomb scare in Patong and this afternoon’s bombing in Trang. At least eight people were injured after a bomb exploded at a walking street market in downtown Trang city today. The blast occurred while vendors were setting up their stalls along Ruenrom Road,…
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Dad publicly embarrasses daughter after Pokemon bike accident
CHIANG MAI: A vocational college student has been severely injured because she looked at her friend’s mobile phone to see a newly-caught Pokemon monster while driving her motorbike. The accident in Chiang Mai became the talk of the town in cyberspace after the girl’s father angrily posted a message on his Facebook wall to reprimand his daughter. The father said…
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Bomb wounds eight in downtown Trang
TRANG: At least eight people were injured after a bomb exploded at a walking street market in downtown Trang city today. The blast occurred while vendors were setting up their stalls along Ruenrom Road, on the same street as the Trang Provincial Justice Office, less than a block away from City Hall. Police have cordoned off the area, and are…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Right way to hail a taxi
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Opinion: The promised land of a functional democracy
PHUKET: The passage of the national referendum on the proposed constitution last weekend indicates a national desire to get back on track and resume the effort to develop a more civil society, even if it means once again placing trust in the military as the shepherd to lead us to the promised land of a truly functional democracy. Results differed…
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Vachira, PRBC hold blood drive to honor HM Queen
PHUKET: Representatives of Vachira Phuket Hospital and the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) are urging people to donate blood today and tomorrow in honor of HM the Queen’s birthday under the nationwide ‘Give Blood for Mom’ campaign. Vachira Phuket Hospital is accepting blood donations until 8pm tonight on the fourth floor of the hospital in Samkong, Phuket Town. Donors will…
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Double bomb scare in Patong turns up duds
PHUKET: Frightened locals alerted police of two suspicious, possibly explosive objects found in Patong last night. “We received reports of suspicious objects placed in two spots – one in China Town on Soi Sai Nam Yen road, and the second on Sai 2 Road in front of a nearby hotel. We ordered Patong Police officers to look into the matter,”…
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Park Chief praises Chinese woman’s viral video
PHUKET: The Chief of Koh Phi Phi National Park said he was impressed after watching a video in which one Chinese tourist lambasts another for trying to drag driftwood off Ao Nang Beach. Translated versions of the video (which can be seen here) went viral and are being shared by media outlets across the region and throughout China. The woman,…
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One dead in stabbing incident on Bypass Road
PHUKET: Phuket City Police are searching for two unidentified men, believed to be Myanmar nationals, who stabbed another Burmese man to death on his first day of work at a wood factory on the bypass road last night. The police received reports of the stabbing from staff at the factory at about 7pm. “Ar Naing, 42, was sprawled face-up over…
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Elderly tourist dies while swimming on Koh Phi Phi
KRABI: An elderly tourist is dead after reportedly suffering health complications while swimming off Phi Phi Island Monday afternoon. Krabi tourist police reported that 67-year-old Hongzhu Tang, a Chinese national, was swimming with a life vest at Loh Mu Di Beach when he reportedly cried out in distress. “Mr Tang was part of a Garden Hill Company tour group, which…
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Foreign tourist apologizes for visiting temple in sexy dress
PHUKET: A tourist who wore a see-through dress while visiting a temple in Chalong apologized yesterday after pictures of her outfit were shared on social media. Tourist police ‘invited’ the foreigner, her tour guide and a representative of a tour company to apologize at a police station in Phuket Town. Also present at the station was a representative of the…
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Chinese tourist run over, killed, in front of wife and kids
PHUKET: A father of two on holiday with his family was run over by a car and killed in front of his wife and children while crossing Thepkassattri Road during a stop-off to shop at 7-Eleven late last night. The 54-year-old man, identified as Shengbin Lu, was part of a group of Chinese tourists on their way to Phuket Airport…
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Cash reward offered to find missing Phuket man
PHUKET: The daughter of an 80-year-old man who allegedly disappeared from a hotel in Patong in the early hours of August 3 has appealed for help locating her father. Kanjana Danaisuthikul and her husband Praditsakan Danaisuthikul filed a missing person report with Patong Police the same day but after not hearing anything for almost a week, the couple yesterday went…
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Opinion: Improving Phuket’s transport system
PHUKET: Sommai Sudkhao, originally from Phatthalung province, is the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) chief. He was the director of the Bangkok Area Transportation Office before moving to Phuket three months ago. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Ramkhamhaeng University. Here, he talks about managing Phuket’s transportation systems, the challenges posed by the province’s dependence on tourism,…
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Phuketians say ‘yes’ to Thailand’s draft charter
PHUKET: More than half of Phuket’s eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots yesterday over the draft constitution referendum, Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told the Phuket Gazette today. Almost 90 per cent of the 150,326 voters in the province voted to accept the proposed draft constitution. Provincial Election Commission officials said they had hoped for an 80 per cent…
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Opinion: Tracking tourists for ‘national security’
PHUKET: An online forum recently published an article titled ‘NBTC to propose special SIM cards for foreign tourists so they can be traced’. The article states that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) intends to introduce ‘special’ SIM cards for mobile users, in order to ‘track’ foreigners while they are staying in Thailand. The news is worrying on so…
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Police arrest bag-snatching brothers, recover stolen items
PHUKET: Phuket City Police on Saturday night captured robbers who stole a bag from a Slovakian tourist at Phuket Downtown Fresh Market on Friday. Riding a motorbike, the robbers snatched a bag from Domonkoso Vaniko, 28, after pulling up beside her. It was initially believed that the suspects threatened their victim with a small hammer. However, it was revealed following…
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