News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Driver in stoning incident files attempted murder charges
PHUKET: A driver whose car was pelted with stones, causing it to veer off the road and crash into a power pole on Tuesday, filed attempted murder charges against the motorcyclist responsible for it. The accused motorcyclist, Anucha Yeemuda, 21, was initially charged with assault and causing damage to property after he turned himself in to the police (story here).…
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Thailand commemorates Coronation Day
PHUKET: Thailand commemorates Coronation Day (Wun Chatramongkhon) today, which marks the ascension to the throne of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on May 5, 1950. The auspicious date is a public holiday and this year’s commemorations mark the 66th anniversary of His Majesty’s reign. Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada today gathered officers at Satree Phuket School to pay their respects to HM…
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Austrian paraglider warned over Nai Harn flights
PHUKET: An Austrian expat allegedly running an illegal paragliding business received an official warning from the municipality and narrowly escaped charges on Tuesday. “We were informed by a concerned resident that Kurt Pirker was operating an illegal paragliding business at the windmill in Nai Harn,” said Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos. “We sent out municipality officers to warn him, but he…
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Miracle escape for family of four in Phuket car-flip horror
PHUKET: A family of four escaped serious injury when their car skidded off the road, smashed into trees and flipped over early this morning. The accident occurred at 3:40am on Thepkrasattri Road during a rainstorm. The driver, Somchai Kennadam, 44, said he lost control of the car as he took a bend on the slippery road heading towards Mai Khao.…
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Baby pulled out alive three days after collapse of Kenya building
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Baby pulled out alive three days after collapse of Kenya building Phuket Gazette / Reuters NAIROBI: Kenya, Rescue workers pulled a six-month-old baby girl out of the rubble of a building in Kenya’s capital on Tuesday and reunited her with her father, more than three days…
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Stone thower charged after road rage injures family of three
PHUKET: A Phuket man who pelted a car with stones, making the driver lose control and crash, has been charged for assault and causing damage to property after the family of three in the car was hospitalized. Police received a call at 1:10pm yesterday that a car had lost control and hit a power pole in the Laem Hin area,…
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Social media sleuth snares smokey bus
PHUKET: A pollution-emitting tour bus was banned from service after a Facebook user posted a video showing clouds of thick, black smoke emanating from it, confirmed officials on Sunday. Facebook user Joke Moodie, who posted the video, immediately alerted authorities to take action and shut the bus down. Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) Chief Policy Adviser Jaturong Kaewkasi said that…
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Manhunt for murderer after rotting body found in forest
PHUKET: Police have launched a murder investigation after the decomposing body of a Myanmar national was found this morning, wrapped in a mattress and dumped in a mangrove forest in Rassada. The body, identified by locals as a 52-year-old fisherman named Tai Jor, was found at 7:30am. “The body was found rolled up in a mattress that had been bound…
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Phuket expat requests A-negative blood donations
PHUKET: A pensioner from the UK currently being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Phuket International Hospital is in urgent need of A-negative blood. “The hospital needs the blood in stock before doctors can perform surgery”, explains an expat relative of the patient. A-negative is a rare blood type found only in 7 per cent of Caucasians, 2…
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A Decade Ago: Election day grumbles, then and now
PHUKET: Election polls were again on page one of the Phuket Gazette at the end of April 2006, after the first round of voting failed to meet the necessary requirements to nominate Phuket representatives to Parliament. The election followed the decision by then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to dissolve the House of Representatives. Five citizens, angry with the government and the…
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Governor letter: Tourists need to obey Phuket laws
Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada started his first day as the Phuket Governor on September 30, 2015. He is a Phuket native with a master’s degree in political and administrative science from the National Institute of Development Administration. Here he talks about a list of dos & don’ts aimed at preventing so many tourists dying on the island and improving Phuket’s reputation…
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Phuket cashew nut industry goes global
PHUKET: Metee Company Phuket Ltd’s unique cashew-nut cooking process and new packaging is bringing the company international recognition and larger revenues. The Chalong-based company is just one of several local businesses that have changed the quality of their products and branding in order to compete in larger markets. The company has since been accredited by the Ministry of Commerce as…
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Krabi woman gives birth on boat
KRABI: Two Krabi police officers helped deliver a baby at sea on Sunday morning, when the mother could not make it to a hospital on time. Capt Prayong Pongsawang of the Khao Phanom Police and Lt Rawi Praekpan of the Krabi Provincial Forensic Police are being called heroes on social media for safely delivering the baby. The Krabi woman, who…
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Krabi officials frustrated by local beliefs
KRABI: Locals believe a serpent is the cause of a sinkhole at the Khao Phanom Temple, but officials disagree. Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Region 4 in Surat Thani arrived to inspect the sinkhole last week. Their findings concluded that the hole outside the temple – roughly five meters wide and four meters deep –…
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Australian in fatal fall photographing fireworks from Patong balcony
PHUKET: An Australian man fell to his death from the 19th floor of a high-rise hotel in Patong as he attempted to take photos of fireworks. Major Pattapee Srichai of the Patong Police was alerted at about 11:37pm on Thursday that Jamie William Brown, 30, had fallen from the balcony of his room at a high-rise hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200…
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Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’ Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Front-runner Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will have essentially sealed the Republican U.S. presidential nomination if he wins Tuesday’s contest in Indiana, where he holds a big lead over chief rival…
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V/Gov cracks down on ‘slovenly’ tour guides
PHUKET: What began as new regulations aimed at curbing cheating and poorly dressed taxi drivers has now turned into an additional island-wide action to imporve tour guides’ dress codes, officials announced last week. “From now on, all tour companies must provide staff uniforms for their employees with company logos and names,” said Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of Tourism…
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Phuket tax-dodging nominees for foreigners to face charges
PHUKET: Police in Phuket expect to arrest soon a number of people in the province who are acting as nominees for foreigners doing business illegally in Thailand. The nominees for Phuket businesses operated by foreigners are among more than 1,000 Thais in the Kingdom set to face charges in a large-scale crackdown on people acting as such, including law firms…
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Glimpse into the mind of Phuket’s Row2Rio adventurer
PHUKET: Australian head coach at Phuket’s Unit 27, Luke Richmond, sat down in an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette after completing a world-record setting rowboat journey from Portugal to Brazil. Divided into three legs, Row2Rio honors the Olympics as the Olympic stadium moved from London to Rio de Janeiro. The test of endurance began with a cycling trek setting…
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Phuket lifeguards warn of deadly rip-currents
PHUKET: Seasonal changes have brought strong rip currents to the shores of Phuket. With them comes a sharp rise in the number of rescues this month, prompting lifeguards to issue stern warnings to would-be swimmers. “Swimmers who ignore warning flags are risking their lives and those of the lifeguards,” said the president of the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC), Prathaiyut Chuayuan.…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Magic buffalo
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: Phuket lifeguards need more muscle
PHUKET: After years of contractual disputes leaving Phuket’s beaches devoid of essential life saving services, as the annual southwest monsoon season whipped up deadly rip currents along our west-coast beaches, we applaud the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) and the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) for quickly re-signing their contract and breaking this vicious cycle. Officials consistently blamed the failure to…
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Phuket plays its part in International Jazz Day festivities tonight
PHUKET: More than 40 local and international musicians are putting on a free jazz concert in Phuket Town tonight for the 5th Phuket UNESCO International Jazz Day . Music Matters Collective, in collaboration with Phuket City Municipality, has organized what is expected to be the biggest annual jazz day the island has seen yet to promote music culture and tourism.…
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Fill ‘n’ run leaves gas attendant fuming
KRABI: A gas station attendant was forced to pay for a man who filled the tank of his pick-up truck and then drove off without paying yesterday morning. Harutai Kriangtapong, 25, who works at the PTT petrol station in Krabi Town, had to pay 1,000 baht to cover the cost of the alleged delinquency, which occurred at 7:10am “A well-dressed…
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Big stink in Japan as Chinese tourists asked to stop passing gas
JAPAN: A tourism guide imploring Chinese visitors in Japan to stop belching and passing gas in public has had to be republished in multiple languages so as to lay the blame for uncouth behavior on “foreign” tourists generally, rather than guests from the Central Kingdom alone. According to AFP, as cited in a report in The Nation on Thursday, the…
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Thailand Optimist National Championships to launch in Pattaya
PATTAYA: The next generation of Olympic sailors from Thailand and around Asia are heading to Ocean Marina Yacht Club this weekend to compete in the Thailand Optimist National Championships. Now in its 41st year, the Thailand Optimist National Championships is the country’s second oldest sailing trophy and the pinnacle of competitive youth sailing in Thailand. The Thailand Optimist National Championships…
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Drug mule busted with 1.8kg of chocolate cocaine
PHUKET: A 21-year-old Thai woman who attempted to smuggle 1.8 kilograms of cocaine disguised as chocolate through Phuket International Airport was arrested by customs officers this morning. The chance discovery by officers was made at 4:15am after the woman, named as Oatchara Wikho, arrived in Phuket on a plane from Dubai. The cocaine had been molded into pellets and disguised…
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Massive public support for reclamation of illegal land
PHUKET: Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Phuket Provincial Hall today, flowers and appreciative messages in hand, to thank Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada for reclaiming illegally occupied beach land and restoring it to the public. The controversy and delays surrounding the illegal business demolitions came to a head yesterday, when a local seafood restaurant at Lay Pang Beach was demolished despite…
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Drug addict arrested for Family Mart robbery
PHUKET: Police on Tuesday arrested a drug addict wanted for the armed robbery of a Family Mart convenience store on Thepkrasattri Road last Friday. Police captured Krittanai Maneechote, 20, as he was leaving his rented apartment in Rassada. “The suspect fit the description of the man who held up the staff at knife point, forcing them to hand over 5,000…
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Power cuts in Koh Kaew, Phuket Town
PHUKET: Scheduled electricity shut-offs will affect residents in areas of Phuket Town today and in the Koh Kaew sub-district tomorrow. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced that there will be no electricity along parts of Rassada Road, Yaowarat Road, Phang Nga Road, Thalang Road, Deebuk Road, Takuapa Road, and Soi Sun U-thit from 9am-4.30pm today. Electricity in the Koh Kaew…
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