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. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
-
Sponsored 5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)
Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...
-
Two new Phuket police stations ready in December
PHUKET: Two new “temporary” Phuket police stations will open by December, ahead of permanent police stations that are slated for completion late next year. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat on Tuesday inspected the construction site of the new Wichit police station in Soi Na Sua on Chao Fa West Road. “On December 6, the two new police stations at…
-
Phuket girl, 12, feared dead in tour van crash
PHUKET: A 12-year-old girl is feared dead after a Phuket tour van reportedly collided with a pickup truck near Chalong Temple on Chao Fa West Road in Chalong this morning. According to initial reports, two others were injured in the accident, which occurred at about 7 am. It is not known at this point whether the driver fled the scene…
-
Phuket axe murderer out on bail until next year
PHUKET: The 15-year-old boy who confessed to killing his sleeping stepfather with an axe in August will appear before the Phuket Family and Juvenile Court on the morning of February 4 next year. A court official told the Phuket Gazette today that after his confession to Chalong Police on August 22, the youth was remanded in the custody of the…
-
Deadline for listings in Phuket’s yellow pages
PHUKET: Businesses wishing to appear in the 2013 Gazette Guide Business Directory, Phuket’s ‘yellow pages’, have until 12 noon on Thursday, December 6, to enter (or update) their listings – that’s eight (8) days from now. Businesses not listed by that date will not appear in the directory until 2014. The 350-page book, with details of about 2,500 businesses serving…
-
World Golf: Long putter expected to be outlawed for 2016
PHUKET: With a widely expected ban on anchoring long putters likely to be announced by the game’s ruling bodies today, players have expressed sharply contrasting views ahead of this week’s World Challenge. While 14-times major winner Tiger Woods and putting supremo Steve Stricker are both in favour of such putters being outlawed, 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley says he…
-
Loy Krathong Festival honors “Phuket yesteryear’
PHUKET: As communities across Phuket celebrate the Loy Krathong Festival tonight, residents in Srisoonthorn, Thalang, will be drawing to a close their three-day version of the festival. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut officiated at the opening of the Srisoonthorn festival, which this year also honors the area’s tin-mining history, at the Bang Maruan Lagoon – located next to the site of…
-
World News: People’s Daily makes readers cry with Onion story
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China’s Communist Party newspaper falls for spoof news story Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The newspaper of China’s Communist Party yesterday reported on a spoof news article from The Onion which named North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the sexiest man alive. It comes…
-
Unbranded drugs suspected in British tourist death at Phuket resort
PHUKET: Police suspect unbranded drugs may have contributed to the death of a British tourist whose body was discovered in his resort guest room this morning in Phuket.The man, a 64-year-old British national, was found dead by his female companion in the couple’s room at a resort at Nai Thon Beach at about 9am, said Capt Prakorp Boonkwan of the…
-
Live Wire: Drilling down on landlines
PHUKET: Last week I talked about the general state of internet connections in Phuket. This week I want to drill down on landlines. I wish I could just point you to a web page that has all of the information about the various internet lines available on Phuket, and let you make a choice. Life isn’t that simple. You would…
-
Murder fugitive Aldhouse to arrive in Phuket on Saturday
PHUKET: British national Lee Aldhouse, wanted in Phuket for the stabbing murder of former US Marine Dashawn Longfellow in August 2010, will be extradited from the UK and will arrive in Phuket on Saturday. Aldhouse, also known by his kickboxing nickname “The Pitbull”, will arrive at about 7pm, Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette today. Chalong Police…
-
Phuket Sports: Westwood hopes to reproduce wow factor in Thailand
PHUKET: Lee Westwood wowed the crowds at the Thailand Golf Championship last year by flirting with a 59 in the first round of the Asian Tour event and the world number six would be more than happy with a similar start to his title defence. Westwood had virtually wrapped up the title at the halfway mark at Amata Spring Country…
-
Phuket Poll: Bringing illegal taxis in from the cold
PHUKET: The Phuket authorities over the past year have taken a combination of measures to bring illegal taxis on the island under regulation. The latest move brought 50 airport taxis into the fold from a “co-operative” that was openly and illegally serving passengers at the airport. However, that move followed a mini-blitz in which 194 drivers were fined for being…
-
Phuket Prosecutor prepares to file charges against Tiger Disco
PHUKET: The Phuket Public Prosecutor’s Office is in the final stage of preparing its case against the operators of Tiger Discotheque over the fire that broke out at the Patong nightclub on August 17. The popular night venue erupted into flames just before 4am, while hundreds of patrons were still inside. Four people died in the inferno, including two tourists.…
-
Phuket Customs raid seizes B1.5mn of pirated goods
PHUKET: Phuket Customs officers today presented to the press almost 2,000 counterfeit items, with an estimated street value of over 1.5 million baht, that were seized in a raid last week. Officers from the Royal Thai Customs Investigation and Suppression Bureau (ISB) raided a transportation company depot on the bypass road after receiving a report that a consignment of counterfeit…
-
Phuket Sports: Sponsors put Dylan on track
PHUKET: Locally-based race driver Dylan Young is pleased to announce that Indigo Pearl Resort Phuket has followed in the footsteps of lifestyle venue KU DÉ TA Singapore by becoming a support sponsor for his MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship season. The new MRF Challenge Championships credibility is supported by Indian Formula 1 star Narain Karthikeyan, who is acting as the…
-
Australian fall survivor out of Phuket intensive care unit
PHUKET: Two weeks after falling from the 18th floor of a Patong hotel, a 39-year-old Australian tourist has been moved from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to an orthopedic ward at Vachira Phuket Hospital. The man, originally from Sydney, suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and serious injuries to his left leg when he fell from the balcony adjoining his…
-
Phuket Finance: Using exchange traded funds
PHUKET: In today’s uncertain economy, investors are increasingly seeking diversification, safety and a secure income. Interest rates continue to hover at or near all time lows in many countries, and the continued uncertainty about the strength of the global economic recovery has made many investors extra cautious. Nevertheless, there is one investment option available that can offer risk-adverse investors both…
-
Phuket cat burglar fails as roof caves in
PHUKET: A would-be cat burglar bungled his attempt to rob a Phuket minimart after falling through the roof into the store’s stockroom below, leaving him trapped until he was found by staff this morning.Arriving at the scene, a minimart in Pa Klok, police found 38-year-old Thepmongkol Thongsri lying injured in the stockroom.“He gained access to the store by climbing onto…
-
Phuket Business: Island’s inflation skyrockets
PHUKET: Not only does Phuket continue its reign as the most expensive (consumer) province in Thailand, but the island province’s rate of inflation doubles that of the national average, recent economic data shows. The Phuket Commerce Office, in collaboration with the Phuket provincial government and the Commerce Ministry’s Information Office and Bureau of Trade and Economic Indices, recently published the…
-
Phuket protesters back home after rally in Bangkok
PHUKET: The hundreds of Phuket protesters who joined the Pitak Siam anti-government rally in Bangkok over the weekend have arrived home safe in Phuket. Concerns were raised on Saturday when police officers with riot shields enforcing a cordon around the protest site at the Royal Plaza started firing tear gas into the crowd and clashes between the protesters and police…
-
Phuket protesters home safe after Pitak Siam rally in Bangkok
PHUKET: The hundreds of Phuket protesters who joined the Pitak Siam anti-government rally in Bangkok over the weekend have arrived home safe in Phuket. Concerns were raised on Saturday when police officers with riot shields enforcing a cordon around the protest site at the Royal Plaza started firing tear gas into the crowd and clashes between protesters and police ensued.…
-
Phuket Big Buddha pickup truck flips in Karon, 8 injured
PHUKET: Eight people were injured this morning when a pickup truck converted into a small bus flipped onto its side while descending Karon Hill.Phuket City Police Capt Thada Sodarak told the Phuket Gazette that the accident occurred at about 10 am near the sharp “Sator Curve” while the vehicle was descending the hill heading towards Chalong Circle.Officers arrived at the…
-
Wild marks Laguna Phuket debut with title win
PHUKET: Swiss Olympian Ruedi Wild produced a clockwork performance in his debut at today’s Laguna Phuket Triathlon to snatch the title from a top-class field of fellow pros in just under two and a half hours. He become his country’s first-ever winner of the iconic endurance event, now in its 19th year. In the women’s field it was another Olympian,…
-
Thailand Futsal: Phuket United fall to Bangkok in home opener
PHUKET: The island’s professional five-a-side soccer club, Phuket United fell 3-5 to the Bangkok Futsal Club, in an exciting and intense match-up in Phuket Town last night.Played in front of nearly 1,000 spectators at Phuket’s new 4,000-seat Indoor Sports Complex in Saphan Hin, the match was both sides’ third match of the 30-fixture, GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL)…
-
Phuket underpass roadwork sparks fears over ambulance access to hospitals
PHUKET: Staff at Phuket International Hospital and officers from the Phuket City Police Traffic Division are working together to come up with viable routes for ambulances to make sure they can get patients to the facility in an emergency during rush hour. The news follows project contractor Italian-Thai Development Co’s placement on Friday night of concrete blocks on the inside…
-
Pressure builds on organizer over Paris Hilton New Year beach party
PHUKET: Pressure is building on event organizer Sydictive Element to win over local authorities in order to gain approval for the three-day New Year Phuket beach party announced by Paris Hilton in Bangkok last month. Speaking with the Phuket Gazette on Thursday, Governor Maitri said he had reservations about the depth of the effort and resources being committed to make…
-
Phuket Police not “preventing’ protesters from joining Bangkok rally
PHUKET: Police at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint, the only road linking Phuket with the mainland, have confirmed they are not stopping or discouraging any people from Phuket from joining the Pitak Siam mass protest in Bangkok. The news follows Phang Nga Governor Thamrong Charoenkul saying yesterday that he had received an order from the government to keep an eye…
-
Phuket Opinion: Deep South needs more than trading big stick for carrots
PHUKET: While facing the current unrest on the streets of Bangkok this weekend, the time has also come for the Pheu Thai government of Yingluck Shinawatra to devote more effort to addressing the ever-mounting problems facing Phuket and the rest of the South – and re-examining its erratic strategy in dealing with the ongoing unrest in the Deep South. It…
-
Bangkok Police fire tear gas to disperse Pitak Siam rally
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Police have fired tear gas into the crowds of Pitak Siam protesters gathering in Bangkok in an attempt to stop the mass anti-government rally today. Apharat Chartchutikumjorn, the Pitak Siam coordinator for Phuket, told the Phuket Gazette by phone this morning that police action started last night, steering groups of protesters away from the main stage…
-
Phuket United ready for home-debut tonight against Bangkok Futsal Club
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team, Phuket United are set to play their inaugural home match in the GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL), tonight against Bangkok Futsal Club. The match will be played at Phuket Town’s brand new, 4,000-seat Indoor Sports Complex in Saphan Hin with a 7pm kickoff. It will be the third fixture of the TFPL…
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.