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.
The Thaiger is your essential resource for staying connected with Thailand’s captivating blend of tradition and modernity. To remain in the loop with the country’s most trusted news source, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
-
Environmentalist praises tourist’s arrest
PHUKET: A marine expert and environmentalist is calling for help in keeping tourists from taking coral and other marine life out of the country. Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a member of the National Reform Council (NRC) and a marine expert and activist, expressed his concerns on social media after receiving a large number of reports by airport staff that tourists were taking…
-
Vachira Hospital thanks blood donors on 49th anniversary
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital on Monday awarded certificates and souvenirs to more than 50 regular blood donors to the hospital’s blood bank. The ‘thank you’ event for blood donors and more than 70 supporting organizations was hosted by hospital director Dr Jessada Chungpaibulpatana at the hospital’s Baan Khun Poom building and coincided with the blood bank’s 49th anniversary. Among the…
-
Opinion: Article 17 brings long awaited relief from unscrupulous tour operators
PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) was correct to invoke Article 17 of the Marine and Coastal Resources Management Act (2015) to afford greater protection to the Koh Khai island group, which for too long has been exploited by unscrupulous tour operators. Located just five kilometers off Phuket’s lower east coast, the islands are perfectly situated to…
-
Last of the Rohingya escapees captured
PHUKET: The last of 21 Rohingya escapees, who broke out from a Phang Nga Immigration Detention Center early Monday morning, were finally arrested last night, officials confirmed. “We received reports from locals in Baan Thai Thoi that the Rohingya men were spotted inside a mangrove forest and shrimp farm,” said Songyot Nakrit, Tum Bor Put village headman. “The men had…
-
Traffic disruption at Bang Ku Underpass intersection today
PHUKET: Work to move electricity poles in Koh Keaw today is causing tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road. Phuket City Traffic Police Lt Col Teerawat Leamsuwan informed the Phuket Gazette that the roadside work means traffic in the left southbound lane to the Bang Ku Underpass intersection is reduced to a single lane. “The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) is moving the…
-
Heavy winds send bus teetering off pier [video]
PHUKET: In a scene straight from “The Italian Job”, a shuttle bus was blown half-way off of Chalong Pier and left hanging in delicate balance, as Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) workers attempted to haul it back onto the roadway. Officials said the heavy winds this morning were responsible for blowing the bus nearly off the pier from its parking…
-
Tourist arrested for feeding fish
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist was arrested yesterday for feeding fish at Koh Kai. The arrest of Hongzhi Zhou, 45, was the first time a tourist has been detained after emergency powers were granted to law enforcement officials by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Region 6 on May 24 to protect marine life. The measures, referred to as…
-
Amateurs tee off at first Open
PHUKET: The Phuket Country Club will host the Phuket Golf Association’s first Amateur Open this Saturday. The event is open to both Thai and tourist amateurs and will feature cash and prizes, said Phuket Golf Association Chief Terayout Prasertphol. “The competition will follow the rules of the United States Golf Association (USGA), The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St…
-
Baron builders block sea gypsies with boulders
PHUKET: Sea gypsies in Rawai threw stones and insults at builders from Baron World Trade Co yesterday after the construction company made a wall of boulders to block access to the site and began digging on the disputed land. About 100 sea gypsies gathered to stop construction workers while police and army officers looked on. The sea gypsies claimed the…
-
Fierce storms cause more than B300,000 worth of damage
PHUKET: Fierce storms this week caused more than 300,000 baht worth of damage to at least nine houses in Phuket, toppling trees and causing landslides in several areas. The heavy downpour this morning toppled several trees and damaged two houses in Ao Po and seven other houses were damaged in Thalang on Tuesday. “There was a landslide in the Ao…
-
![Phuket lifeguards exasperated by ignorant tourists [video] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAyOTMgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
Phuket lifeguards exasperated by ignorant tourists [video]
PHUKET: Lifeguards at Phuket’s beaches are exasperated by tourists blatantly ignoring warnings not to swim and risking their lives playing in the rough waves. “A lot of beachgoers are completely ignoring the red flags, and they won’t even listen to the lifeguards when we try to stop them,” said Singsom, the head lifeguard at Kata-Karon. Despite the frantic whistling of…
-
Opinion: The evolution of Phuket Town
Don Limnunthaphisit, 52, is currently the president of the Old Phuket Town Community. He was born and raised in Phuket and graduated from Prince of Songkla University with a bachelor’s degree in science. Here, he talks about the changes Phuket has been through, which drastically changed the lives of the local people. He also talks about what the ‘ideal’ version…
-
Motorists stranded as deluge causes bridge collapse in Krabi
KRABI: Torrential rain has swelled rivers in Krabi, causing a road bridge to collapse, leaving motorists and pedestrians stranded in Marui District. “The main bridge across Khlong Pak Lao is closed for repairs so the Marui-Ao Luek road was being used as an alternative route in the meantime, but now that road is impassable too,” the Krabi Department of Rural…
-
Police capture more Rohingya on the run
PNANG NGA: Police last night tracked down eight more of the 21 Rohingya detainees who fled from Phang Nga Immigration Detention Center early yesterday morning. The men broke out of the center at 3am yesterday and split into two groups; one group heading for the sea and the other into forested hills. One of the escapees was fatally shot during…
-
Phuket number plate auction raises B22mn for crash victims
PHUKET: The sale of lucky licence plates raised 22 million baht this week to fund road safety campaigns and rehabilitation programs for traffic accident victims. More than 300 lucky licence plates were auctioned off at the 11th annual two-day event organized by the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) and held at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on May 21 and 22.…
-
Russian expat dead in Phuket with needle in arm
PHUKET: The body of a Russian man with a needle embedded in his left arm was discovered at an apartment near Khao Rang in Phuket City yesterday. The man has been identified as a 38-year-old computer programmer. The Gazette is withholding his name until his family has been notified of his death. The body was discovered by a concerned colleague,…
-
Body of missing man found off Nai Thon
PHUKET: The body of a man who was swept out to sea at Nai Thon Beach last night was found washed up on a private beach this afternoon about two kilometers south of the spot where he disappeared. “Staff from the Andaman White Beach Resort spotted the body of Wichit Sophon, 30, who was reported missing at about 8pm last…
-
EgyptAir jet sent smoke-alarm warnings before crash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EgyptAir jet sent smoke-alarm warnings before crash Phuket Gazette / Reuters PARIS/CAIRO: The EgyptAir jet that crashed in the Mediterranean on Thursday sent a series of warnings indicating that smoke had been detected on board, shortly before it disappeared off radar screens, French investigators said on…
-
Appeal underway for Koh Tao double murder suspects
SAMUI: The mothers of two Myanmar migrant workers sentenced to death for the murder of two British travellers on Koh Tao in 2014, arrived in Samui yesterday to file an appeal against their sons’ convictions. Phyu Shew Nu and May Thein, mothers of suspects Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin respectively, came armed with about 200 pages of documentation to state…
-
Andaman storm to batter Phuket, Southern Thailand
PHUKET: The Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) on Saturday issued a storm warning about heavy rains and increasingly strong winds for the remainder of this week in Phuket and other areas in the Andaman and Southern Thailand. The following areas are placed on high alert: Phuket, Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun. Residents are warned to remain cautious due…
-
At least 17 children killed, five injured in boarding-house fire
CHIANG RAI: A schoolgirl boarding-house in Chiang Rai burned down late last night, killing 17 girls between the ages of five and 12. Five others were injured and two were still unaccounted for, police said. The fire broke out at the facility of the Pithakkiart Witthaya School in Wiengpapao district at 11pm, police said. After the blaze started, officials could…
-
Leicester City FC takes time out in Phuket
PHUKET: More than 70 players and staff from the English Premier League’s Leicester City Football Club touched down at Phuket Airport yesterday for a three-day stopover before traveling to Myanmar on Sunday. The team arrived in Phuket on an AirAsia flight from Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport at about 1.35pm and were given a warm welcome by Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan…
-
Manhunt launched for karaoke killer
PHUKET: Police are hunting for the murderer of a man who was stabbed outside a karaoke bar in Thalang yesterday. “We found the body of Chaiyuth Innsathorn, 35, outside Panan karaoke bar in Thalang at about 3:20am. His throat was slashed and there was blood on his head and clothes,” confirmed Thalang Police Lt Suporn Muangkai. “Another man named Rachane…
-
Phuket crisis negotiators stop suicidal woman from jumping off clifftop
PHUKET: Crisis negotiators last night talked down a woman threatening to commit suicide by jumping from the top of Promthep Cape. Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos and municipality staff learned of the impending suicide attempt when the distraught woman posted her plans on Facebook while commemorating Visakha Bucha Day. The Facebook post by Noo Noi Nang Fa (Little Angel), written in…
-
First Pracharat Marine Protection Institute opens in Phuket
PHUKET: General Surasak Kanjanarat, head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, chaired the opening ceremony of the first marine protection institute in Thailand on May 15. The Pracharat Marine Protection Institute, located in Sirinat National Park, is based on the ‘Pracharat’ ideology of economic partnerships among the people, the government and the private sector. “The institute is located…
-
Finance: Where are the markets now?
PHUKET: On April 11, Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) started the first quarter earnings season by reporting a lower quarterly profit (US$16 million or zero cents per share versus US$195 million or 14 cents per share a year earlier) on lower revenue (down 15 per cent) as results were hurt by low commodity prices, the strong US dollar and plant closures. Alcoa’s…
-
Second Thailand Yacht Show dates announced
PHUKET: The dates for the second edition of the Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) have now been confirmed for December 15-18, with the massive event to be held once again at Phuket’s prestigious Ao Por Grand Marina. In making the announcement, managing director Andy Treadwell of show organizers SYE Pte Ltd, explained that as a joint venture with the Government of…
-
EXCLUSIVE: Phuket Prison’s female inmates talk about their lost lives
PHUKET: Behind the walls of Phuket Provincial Prison are more than 2,000 inmates. About 350 of them are women; most of them doing time for drug dealing. The Gazette takes you behind the bars of Phuket’s cramped prison for exclusive insights into the lives and circumstances of two women, ‘Wan’ and ‘Bee’, locked up for drug-related crimes in a facility…
-
Business Buzz: Social media on the rise
PHUKET: I have been talking about the power of social media for over a year now, but there is no better way to showcase this power than to look at the US Presidential circus that is unfolding right before our eyes. As an avid follower of social media and how it is used both successfully and unsuccessfully, it is always…
-
Ministry of Faranag Affairs: Always take your shoes off
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.…
![Heavy winds send bus teetering off pier [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_2016526171315480_QERYpAIddQGOQQXwnjLUoJJYFZXUSHBiMTHBUPfy_jpeg.jpeg)
![Phuket lifeguards exasperated by ignorant tourists [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_2016526121223332_DwbnPMQErfOgPyzbLgGjlDomItIwLkQOhrBwESBv_jpeg.jpeg)
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.