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.
-
Sponsored Travel vs international health insurance: Which coverage do you need overseas?
The Thaiger key takeaways Travel insurance is ideal for short-term trips, covering emergencies, cancellations, and lost luggage, but not routine care. International health insurance suits expats and long-term residents, offering full medical coverage, including checkups, maternity, and chronic care. Choosing...
-
Phuket police nab bag snatchers in Patong
PHUKET: Police quickly arrested three young men today, all of whom have reportedly confessed to no fewer than eight bag-snatches in Phuket’s premier tourism town of Patong.The arrests followed a bag snatching on the Patong beach road, at 12:36am.Quick police action saw officers move in and arrest the three suspects – Sarayuth “Ice” Aisuwan, Bunharn “Diao” Banpeung and one man…
-
World Sports: Manchester City top EPL; European football review
PHUKET: Manchester City topped the Premier League for the first time this season after thrashing Aston Villa while Barcelona stayed three points clear in La Liga as Lionel Messi scored twice in a win over Real Zaragoza.Bayern Munich extended their Bundesliga lead to eight points with a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg while leaders Juventus stayed four clear of Inter Milan…
-
Russian man drowns off Phuket Beach
PHUKET BREAKING NEWS: Phuket police have reported that a 69-year-old Russian tourist drowned off Patong Beach this morning. The body of the man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin, was found near the northern end of the beach at about 10:30am. Police believe the man died an hour before his body was found. “The man arrived in…
-
World News: NATO allies may send missiles to Turkey
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Netherlands, Germany may send missiles to Turkey – report Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Turkey has said it has intensified talks with NATO allies on how to shore up security on its 900-km (560-mile) frontier with Syria after mortar rounds fired from Syria landed inside its…
-
Chaianan wins re-election as Kathu Mayor in Phuket polls
PHUKET: Chaianan Sutthikul was re-elected to his second consecutive term as Kathu Mayor in the Kathu mayoral election and Kathu Municipal council election held in central Phuket yesterday.In the preliminary vote count, Mr Chaianan scored 5,437 votes to defeat his only rival for the Kathu top seat: two-time former Kathu Mayor Prasert Khaokijpaisarn. Mr Prasert was elected to his first…
-
Police seek arrest warrant for Phuket “hit-and-run’ bus driver
PHUKET: Police have now requested that the Phuket Provincial Court issue an arrest warrant for the bus driver who fled the scene on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang last Wednesday after the tour bus he was driving struck a motorbike and killed two women. Thalang Police Sub Lt Chatree Chuwichian, the investigating officer in the case, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette…
-
World News: Pressure for ceasefire mounting in Israel-Gaza conflict
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More diplomacy to try to halt Israel-Gaza fighting Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Hostilities between Islamist militants and Israel entered a sixth day as diplomatic efforts were set to intensify to try to stop rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Israeli air strikes on Gaza.International pressure for…
-
World News: Israel, Gaza intensify bombings this morning
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel, Gaza fighting rages on as Egypt seeks peace Phuket Gazette / ReutersPHUKET: Israel bombed militant targets in Gaza for a fifth straight day this morning (Phuket time), launching aerial and naval attacks as its military prepared for a possible ground invasion, though Egypt saw “some indications”…
-
World Sports: United and Chelsea slip up as City hit five
PHUKET: Manchester United were humbled 1-0 by Norwich City and Chelsea upset at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday as Premier League champions Manchester City took advantage of their rivals’ mistakes with a 5-0 demolition of Aston Villa.United, who suffered their third league defeat of the season in the late kickoff at Carrow Road, succumbed to a 60th-minute header from their…
-
World News: Iranian officials denied entry to United States for U.N. meeting
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. denies visas for Iranian officials to attend U.N. meeting Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: The United States has denied visas to Iranian officials hoping to attend a U.N. meeting in New York, Iran’s state news agency [INRA] reported last night. The Iranian judiciary’s Human Rights Headquarters…
-
Stranded spinner dolphin rescued at Phuket beach
PHUKET: Phuket rescue workers recovered a young male spinner dolphin with scratches on its skin stranded on Karon Beach this morning. Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the Endangered Species Unit (ESU) of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) received the report of the dolphin at about 9am, and immediately left with a team to help in the rescue. “We went…
-
Local Kathu elections halt alcohol sales
PHUKET: Alcohol sales will be banned within the Kathu municipal area starting at 6pm today until midnight tomorrow due to local elections. The affected area includes: from Wat Samkong temple on the bypass road just north of Tesco Lotus, to the Phuket Mining Museum behind Loch Palm Golf Club, to just before the Patong City sign on Patong Hill and…
-
Police still on hunt for members of Burmese gang
PHUKET: Phuket police are still hunting for those involved in a Burmese gang fight that broke out at a worker’s camp in the early hours of yesterday morning, leaving one dead and one seriously injured. Thalang Police arrived at the Burmese workers’ camp behind Thalang National Museum on Pa Khlok Road to find almost a hundred Burmese workers at the…
-
Unidentified foreign male dies in “high-speed’ Phuket car crash
PHUKET: An unidentified foreign male died in a “high-speed” single-car crash early this morning on Kalim-Kamala Road, north of Phuket’s well-known Patong Beach.Patong Police received the report of the incident at about 5:45am, said Lt Col Pratuang Polmana.“At the scene we found the man dead in a black Toyota Vios registered in Udon Thani Province,” Lt Col Pratuang told the…
-
Phuket Sports: Avram grants an audience
PHUKET: Famous football manager Avram Grant is a softly spoken man who spent his formative managerial years in Israel coaching Maccabi Haifi, Hapoel Haifi and the Israel national team. The Israeli took over as manager of Chelsea in 2007 and brought them to the brink of a Champions League final victory, only for a John Terry penalty miss to snatch…
-
World News: Jerusalem fired upon as Israel preps for possible Gaza incursion
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel authorises more reservists after rockets target cities Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Israel’s cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists late yesterday, preparing the ground for a possible Gaza invasion after Palestinians fired a rocket toward Jerusalem for the first time in decades.Tel Aviv, Israel’s…
-
Phuket pier under investigation
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak yesterday gave an official task force 15 days to determine whether or not a pier, being built at the Baan Kor En village in Thalang, is legal. V/Gov Somkiet and Prapan Kanprasang, head of the Phuket Damrongtham Center (Provincial Ombudsman’s Office), joined officials from the Phuket Marine Office and the Natural Resources and Environment…
-
Phuket Sports: No pipe dream for IronKid
PHUKET: This week’s featured IronKid is 10-year-old Australian Ben McMillan. Ben entered his first triathlon when he was six years old and he is so passionate about the event that he asked for a running coach for his 10th birthday.Phuket Gazette: Why do you compete in IronKids?Ben McMillan: I really love the sport and I like nothing better than to…
-
Phuket Sports: F1 – Strategies, stars and stripes
PHUKET: The USA GP has been run sporadically since the “American Grand Prize” of 1908. Since then, 41 GPs have been held at nine locations – most recently at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 2000-2007. The USA is an important market for F1 and for team sponsors, so a USA GP is highly desirable. But American fans historically have been…
-
Australian fall survivor recovering in Phuket ICU
PHUKET BREAKING NEWS: The Australian man from Sydney who fell from an 18th storey Phuket hotel balcony earlier this week was still receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit of Vachira Phuket Hospital this afternoon. John Hurley, 39, plunged from the hotel balcony of his room at the Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong on Tuesday. Mr Hurley underwent surgery at…
-
British Embassy calls for life-saving action on Thai roads
PHUKET: The British Embassy in Bangkok has issued a plea for all travellers in Thailand to observe road safety traffic regulations in a bid to eliminate the deaths and casualties in Phuket and the rest of Thailand. The news comes ahead of the “World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims” on Sunday. “To mark the World Day of Remembrance…
-
Phuket Sports: SCC lose despite Beer flowing at the crease
PHUKET: The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) contested two days of fun-filled cricketing action last weekend. Two games were played at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) between a Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) select side and the team from Singapore. Saturday’s game, though deemed as a friendly warm-up game, was a close match with the local boys scoring the winning runs with…
-
Phuket sea gypsies win reprieve from developer action
PHUKET: A protest by about 200 residents from the sea gypsy community at Baan Laem Tukkae on Koh Sireh yesterday won a temporary reprieve against a developer taking over 11 rai at the small beachfront village on the east side of Phuket Town.Nikom Ukhati, a surveyor from the Phuket Land Office, explained that he and a team of officers arrived…
-
Futsal World Cup: All European and South American semifinals tonight
PHUKET: Both semifinals of the FIFA Futsal World Cup will be played this evening at the Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok, with the stage set for an epic Europe – South America final. The first semifinal is an all European affair between Spain and Italy. Spain started the competition as one of the favorites and they finished joint top of Group…
-
Krabi Police raid illegal gun factory
PHUKET: Krabi Police are on the lookout for a gunsmith who is now on the run after officers raided his illegal firearms workshop at a mangosteen processing plant in Nuea Klong District, across the bay from Phuket, yesterday.Provincial Police Commander Nunthadej Yoinual led a team of more than 10 police officers to raid a bungalow at the plant at midday.During…
-
Phuket national park land probes will go on, says park chief
PHUKET: The investigation into every plot of privately owned land along the border of Phuket’s Sirinath Marine National Park will go ahead, the chief of Sirinath National Park has confirmed. “We are still continuing with the land investigation. We are following the order of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation [DNP]. The only thing that can stop…
-
Matthieu Ricard, “happiest person in the world’, to speak in Phuket today
PHUKET: World-renowned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard will explore the complex topic of altruism and its role in the modern world in a special free-admission talk at the Thanyapura Mind Center in Thalang, Phuket, this afternoon. As a postgraduate student in science at the renowned Institut Pasteur in the 1960s, the young Mr Ricard embarked on a spiritual journey that saw…
-
Phuket Police yet to handover confessed rapist case
PHUKET: The case of Peerayut Moottamara, the 29-year-old who confessed to raping an 18-year-old woman in Chalong on October 11 has not yet been handed over to the Phuket public prosecutor. Capt Chienchai Duangsuwan of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette Wednesday, that they were still waiting for medical results from Vachira Phuket Hospital in order to conclude the investigation…
-
World News: Israeli-Hamas conflict risks spiralling into all-out war
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt PM to visit Gaza in support of Hamas against Israel Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Egypt’s prime minister prepared to visit the Gaza Strip today in an unprecedented display of solidarity with Hamas militants embroiled in a new escalation of conflict with Israel that risks spiraling into…
-
Thailand News: Race for Premier League TV rights springs a surprise
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community CTH spring a surprise, win EPL bid Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: The race for English Premier League TV rights had a surprise conclusion when “dark horse” Cable Thai Holding (CTH) snatched a three year deal under the noses of three big bidders including current…
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.