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.

  • Sponsored

    Mark One Tailor: The best bespoke tailor in Khao Lak

    When it comes to high-quality bespoke tailoring in Khao Lak, Mark One Tailor stands out as one of the most trusted names. With decades of experience, this tailor shop has built a solid reputation for exceptional craftsmanship, premium fabrics, and...

  • Raising bar past low-tide mark – Phuket Business

    Raising bar past low-tide mark – Phuket Business

    PHUKET: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a long-standing and ill-fated tradition of stopping at the low-tide mark. For mountain resorts in the French Alps, which do not rely on what is beneath the ocean surface to draw guests, such an oversight is understandable. However, the trend of CSR projects not safeguarding heavily threatened marine systems, such as the coral reefs…

  • Heavy rain brings minor floods across Phuket, huge tailbacks

    Heavy rain brings minor floods across Phuket, huge tailbacks

    PHUKET: Heavy rain in Phuket this morning caused minor flooding across the island, including in Patong on the west coast, in Chalong in the south and in Srisoonthorn in Thalang.Roads cut off by flash-flood runoff forced traffic to a standstill as small vehicles could not get through.Traffic was backed up in front of the TOT office on Chao Fa West…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Syrian child soldiers being recruited; Radioactive water seeping into ocean in Japan; Python strangles Canadian kids

    Phuket Gazette World News: Syrian child soldiers being recruited; Radioactive water seeping into ocean in Japan; Python strangles Canadian kids

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Audit of Syrian refugees finds organised crime and child soldiers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Many Syrians who have escaped their country are now desperate to escape from U.N.-run refugee camps, where women are not safe and teenage boys are recruited as soldiers to fight in…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Top Imam slain in South; Years for oil spill recovery; Luxury car cheats fined; Online coup posts probed

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Top Imam slain in South; Years for oil spill recovery; Luxury car cheats fined; Online coup posts probed

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brothers behind car scam to pay fine The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Nareunart and Thanan Kuansawat, two brothers believed to be part of a luxury-car scam, agreed yesterday to pay a fine for evading car import taxes.They also heard the two extra charges put before them by…

  • Phuket FC appoints seasoned Brazilian as new coach

    Phuket FC appoints seasoned Brazilian as new coach

    PHUKET: The Islanders’ vacancy for a head coach (see story here) has already been filled – by a skillful and respected Brazilian, Stefano Cugurra Teco. Known formally as Alessandro Stefano Cugurra Rodrigues, “Coach Teco” was born on July 25, 1974 in Rio de Janeiro, and has been involved with Thai professional soccer since 2010. As a football manager and former…

  • Thief ransacks Chinese tour guide’s Phuket home, steals 100,000 baht cash, Rolex

    Thief ransacks Chinese tour guide’s Phuket home, steals 100,000 baht cash, Rolex

    PHUKET: A Chinese tour guide withdrew 80,000 baht from her bank account yesterday and by this morning it had been stolen from her house, along with her boyfriend’s Rolex watch valued at 300,000 and 20,000 baht she already had stashed in the house. When police responded to the 9:30am call at Phuket Villa Daorung, they found a ransacked living room…

  • Dutchman’s girlfriend dies mysteriously in Phuket

    Dutchman’s girlfriend dies mysteriously in Phuket

    PHUKET: The 39-year-old Thai partner of a Dutchman was found dead yesterday morning with no specific cause of death confirmed. At just after 10am, Hans Lehner, 68, called the Patong police to inform them that his girlfriend, Pranee Srijaem, had died in her sleep. “I took the call. His girlfriend apparently died in bed while sleeping,” Patapee Srichai of the…

  • Phuket Poll: Public transport preferred to new Chalong underpass

    Phuket Poll: Public transport preferred to new Chalong underpass

    PHUKET: More than one-third of respondents to a Phuket Gazette online poll have voted to have an effective public transport system that reduces the volume of traffic on Phuket’s roads, instead of building an underpass costing hundreds of millions of baht at the busy Chalong Circle junction in the south of the island. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut last month unveiled…

  • Phuket blaze guts bedroom in Patong apartment

    Phuket blaze guts bedroom in Patong apartment

    PHUKET: Police suspect a spark from an electrical socket near a bed set ablaze a third-floor apartment at the Baan Chalika complex in Patong early yesterday morning. The fire caused an estimated 30,000 baht in damage. No injuries were reported. Officers were called to the the four-storey apartment block, in Soi Prasertsub 2 on Ratchapatanusorn Road (map here), at 12:45am…

  • Mass Phuket beach rescue, five tourists pulled from water – one pronounced dead

    Mass Phuket beach rescue, five tourists pulled from water – one pronounced dead

    PHUKET: Lifeguards at Karon Beach, on Phuket’s southwest coast, staged a mass rescue of five tourists this afternoon after a large wave nearly swept a group of men out to sea.Two of the men were able to struggle back to shore without assistance, while the other five needed the help of local lifeguards.One of the men was pulled from the…

  • Ramadan: Feeding the spirit by fasting

    Ramadan: Feeding the spirit by fasting

    Special Report A silent celebration is under way for Phuket Muslims right now, with no firecrackers, water or festive songs piped over department-store loudspeakers. It’s Ramadan, the fasting month. The Phuket Gazette’s Irfarn Jamdukor examines what Ramadan means to local Muslims. PHUKET: The quietness of the holiday might seem appropriate to outsiders who equate fasting with deprivation and hardship, but…

  • Phuket FC lose another coach after draw

    Phuket FC lose another coach after draw

    PHUKET: A minor yet vocally active segment of Phuket FC’s supporters got their way yet-again, highlighted by a public announcement on Facebook last night by now-ex Head Coach Paniphon “Tu” Kerdyaem, that he was resigning his post with immediate effect. The announcement follows Saturday night’s close yet disappointing 1-1 league draw with lower ranked Thai Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) FC at…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: NYPD rookie kills 14-year-old; Aussie PM calls Sept 7 election; Al Qaeda threat leaves US embassies closed; Spain and Britain spar over Gibraltar | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette World News: NYPD rookie kills 14-year-old; Aussie PM calls Sept 7 election; Al Qaeda threat leaves US embassies closed; Spain and Britain spar over Gibraltar

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australian PM Rudd calls September 7 poll Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called a September 7 general election on Sunday, barely six weeks after he toppled former leader Julia Gillard in a party-room vote, ending a turbulent three years in power for the…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: No coup, says Army; Oil slick seafood safe; Brit teachers arrive in force

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: No coup, says Army; Oil slick seafood safe; Brit teachers arrive in force

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No coup, Army insists, despite rising tension The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The army yesterday dismissed the possibility of a military coup amid the escalating political tension. “This unfounded theory was just the personal imagination of some people who are out to confuse the public,” deputy Army…

  • Phuket protesters en route to Bangkok

    Phuket protesters en route to Bangkok

    PHUKET: Phuket Pitak Siam group members are en route to Bangkok to join a protest against the amnesty bill proposed by the Pheu Thai party which is slated to be debated in Parliament next Wednesday. A confrontation between police and protesters, as well as forced entry into both Parliament and Government House compounds is expected, reported The Nation (story here).…

  • Phuket beefs up security after Provincial Hall explosion

    Phuket beefs up security after Provincial Hall explosion

    PHUKET: Local officials laid out plans for increased security at government offices and popular Phuket locations as police continue their investigation into the bomb that exploded at Provincial Hall on August 1 (story here). The meeting follows National Police Office adviser Ratchata Yensuang’s visit to Phuket to learn more about the non-fatal explosion in the parking lot of Phuket Provincial…

  • Phuket Opinion: Snakes in the house: who you gonna call?

    Phuket Opinion: Snakes in the house: who you gonna call?

    Watchara Srikacha, 26, has been catching snakes since he was 10 years old. Originally from Sisaket province in Thailand’s Northeast, Watchara has been working with the Kusoldharm Foundation since he came to Phuket almost five years ago. Part of his job is catching snakes. Here, he explains why more and more snakes are appearing in residential areas of Phuket. PHUKET:…

  • Phuket Opinion: For tourists, due diligence is essential, as is due skepticism for media hype

    Phuket Opinion: For tourists, due diligence is essential, as is due skepticism for media hype

    PHUKET: Tourist safety issues have been a hot topic in the news lately as the number of accidents and crimes involving foreign visitors continues to grow with the largely unregulated expansion of the island’s tourism industry. Despite the often colorful announcements of an impending “crackdown” on this or that, or the establishment of another new “safety zone” or other largely…

  • Krabi’s “Andaman Eagles’ ready to take flight

    Krabi’s “Andaman Eagles’ ready to take flight

    PHUKET: The Islanders aren’t the only Southern Thai club raising the stakes this August – Phuket FC’s neighbors, Krabi FC nicknamed the “Andaman Eagles”, have also undergone a mid-season makeover in hopes of steering clear of the dreaded four-team fate of relegation (click here for details of Phuket FC’s transfer activity) . Playing in their second season in Thailand’s second…

  • “Clean’ Phuket python misses dinner

    “Clean’ Phuket python misses dinner

    PHUKET: A python snuggled in an old washing machine about to enjoy a dinner of house cat was interrupted when the cat’s owner walked by and caught him in the act.As Narongsak Laksanawisit walked out of his house in Baan Danyid in Mai Khao yesterday evening, he passed the washing machine and saw his cat’s body in it. Then he…

  • 21-gun salute for Their Majesties; Fresh spate of Deep South violence; Thailand not safe from economic crisis

    21-gun salute for Their Majesties; Fresh spate of Deep South violence; Thailand not safe from economic crisis

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 21-gun salute for Their Majesties The Nation/Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy welcomed Their Majesties the King and Queen to Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province with a 21-gun salute yesterday.The salute, each round five seconds apart, was fired from HTMS Pin Klao just about a…

  • Snowden leaves airport; ‘Rum’ kills 11; US kidnapper Castro sentenced; China Human Rights situation deteriorating, says US

    Snowden leaves airport; ‘Rum’ kills 11; US kidnapper Castro sentenced; China Human Rights situation deteriorating, says US

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian airport limbo ends for Snowden, new life begins Reuters/Phuket GazettePHUKET: After nearly six weeks in hiding at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, Edward Snowden walked calmly out of the transit area, ducked into a car and was driven away unnoticed.It was an anti-climactic end to one chapter of…

  • Officials shoot fierce croc escaped from farm north of Phuket

    Officials shoot fierce croc escaped from farm north of Phuket

    PHUKET: Officials put down a fierce two-and-a-half meter long crocodile after it and another croc escaped from a crocodile farm in Phang Nga today.Villagers reported the escape to Chief of Phang Nga Provincial Fisheries Office Somkiat Sookchanchai.“We rushed to the farm owned by Panet Saelim, 48, and were able to quickly find the pair of crocs in the irrigation ditch…

  • Sunken vessel threat to Phuket marine traffic | Thaiger

    Sunken vessel threat to Phuket marine traffic

    PHUKET: Marine Officers have marked the cargo boat that recently sank, Unity, with a buoy and light to prevent any damage being done to other ships travelling between mainland Krabi and Phi Phi (story here). “We have also put out public announcements over the radio to inform boat owners about the danger posed by the sunken boat,” Krabi Marine Office…

  • VIDEO REPORT: With father slain, American son returns to Krabi

    VIDEO REPORT: With father slain, American son returns to Krabi

    PHUKET: Adam Carter, the 27-year-old American who was stabbed by Thai musicians in a bar fight that resulted in the death of his father (story here), has been discharged from hospital in Phuket. Mr Carter is now recovering at a “safe location” under the care of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) staff, Krabi Provincial Police Deputy Commander Boontawee Toraksa told…

  • Only way is up for Phuket FC

    Only way is up for Phuket FC

    PHUKET: After a two-week hiatus, Phuket FC’s skillful Japanese defender Yusuke Sato has fully recovered from a minor calf injury, confirming that he is ready to return to action, starting with two important, upcoming home fixtures. The 6th placed Islanders will host the 15th placed Thai Tobacco Monopoly Football Club tonight (click here for map), which will be followed by…

  • Top brass from Bangkok visits Phuket over bombing

    Top brass from Bangkok visits Phuket over bombing

    PHUKET: National Police Office adviser Ratchata Yensuang arrived in Phuket last night to get a grasp on the non-fatal bombing in Phuket Provincial Hall’s carpark yesterday (story here). “The bomb appeared to be quite amateurish. We have already delegated key investigative roles to specific officers – to ensure we catch the culprit as soon as we can,” Gen Ratchata said.…

  • Phuket out of TAT promotional campaign for 2014

    Phuket out of TAT promotional campaign for 2014

    PHUKET: Phuket is one of several main tourism destinations in the country that will not be promoted under the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) international marketing campaign for next year. Instead, the focus will be on less-developed tourism areas, Director of the Phuket-TAT office Chanchai Doungjit revealed yesterday. “We will not be promoting tourism centers that are already well-established. Instead,…

  • World’s largest floating library booked for Phuket

    World’s largest floating library booked for Phuket

    PHUKET: Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating library, is Phuket bound for the first time, Project Coordinator Eunji Lee told the Phuket Gazette. The 132-meter-ship, roughly half the size of the Titanic, will be at Phuket’s Deep Sea Port from August 14 to 22. “We will open the ship up for visitors from August 15 to 18, and from August…

  • Phuket marine specialists helping out with Koh Samet oil spill

    Phuket marine specialists helping out with Koh Samet oil spill

    PHUKET: Five Phuket marine specialists headed to Koh Samet yesterday to help clean up the approximately 50,000 liters of crude oil that leaked into the Gulf of Thailand from a PTT Global Chemical pipeline last Saturday (story here). “Our five marine specialists will be working with their counterparts from Rayong, Chumpon, and other provinces,” Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) director…