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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
-
Evoque SUV ideal for “new age’ business folk in Phuket
PHUKET: The Range Rover Evoque, the latest high-end Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) by Land Rover, hit the Phuket market with an official open-house party. The Evoque, with a starting price tag of 4.09 million baht, was introduced at the Benz Ramkhamhaeng Group (BRG) showroom in Rassada. The British-assembled SUV was initially unveiled in the United Kingdom in July, before making…
-
Canon camera distribution unaffected by Thailand’s floods
PHUKET: Supply of Canon camera equipment in Thailand has not been disrupted by the recent flooding, a senior manager at Cannon Marketing (Thailand) has confirmed. “Luckily, our camera production facilities are not located in the affected areas,” said Warin Tantiphongpanid, Senior Director and General Manager Consumer Imaging and Information of Cannon Marketing (Thailand) Co Ltd. “We have a printer factory…
-
Patong resort moves to stave off “boulder rain’
PHUKET: After waiting months for steps to be taken to prevent boulders from tumbling from the Guanyin construction site into their resort, management at L’Orchidee Residences in Patong have hired their own contractor. Jean-Claude Guillet, the retired developer and the owners’ representative of the resort, explained to the Phuket Gazette that the move follows months of failed attempts to get…
-
Special report: Struggling to end Phuket’s transgender stigma
PHUKET: Bad news moves quickly – constantly – and there is a cast of usual suspects who society likes to push the blame on, people who are “different” or somehow not representative of the whole. Who are they? Illegal immigrants, stateless people, migrant workers and essentially any other minority group that has the misfortune of being a convenient scapegoat. One…
-
Phuket gears up for first World Musiq Festival
PHUKET: Popular Thai artist Todd Tongdee Lavelle, a main organizer of the Phuket World Musiq Festival, has confirmed the lineup of artists who will be performing at the event. The festival, to honor the 84th birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, will be held at Saphan Hin, in Phuket Town, from December 2-5. The festival will open on December 2…
-
Swedish snorkeler “likely died of heart attack’
PHUKET: The Swedish man who died off Racha Yai Island earlier today likely died of a heart attack, the Phuket Gazette has been told. Martin Anders Christer Nilsson, 63, was on a Phuket fishing tour with his stepdaughter’s boyfriend and her children when the incident occurred. “He had gotten off of the boat to go snorkeling,” said Phuket Tourist Police…
-
KMS win Phuket junior soccer championship
PHUKET: Jungceylon recently held the Junior Soccer 2011 football tournament, the event’s fourth edition. This year’s tourney hosted a total of 32 teams from 25 schools from all over Phuket. Championship honors went to Tessaban Wat Kitti Sangkaram School, which is also known as Karon Municipality School. The champions were awarded a trophy and prize money of 10,000 baht, which…
-
Phuket Sports: Thailand World Cup hopes still alive
PHUKET: Thailand’s senior national football squad are still in the race for the 2014 World Cup, despite back-to-back losses to Saudi Arabia and Australia on November 11 and 15. In what was a closely contested match at Supachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok last week, the War Elephants were narrowly defeated by the Socceroos who went ahead with a header by…
-
Phuket sport tips: Tennis – power is balance
PHUKET: Balance is one of the fundamentals to developing great tennis ground strokes. In today’s game of power tennis, many of the players are leaping in the air to hit their forehands and backhands. This results in not only many errors but also many injuries. One of the great ground-strokers and inventor of the power game, Andre Agassi, had phenomenal…
-
Swedish “fishing tourist’ found dead near Phuket
PHUKET: The body of a Swedish man was found today floating in the waters off Racha Yai Island, about 20 kilometers south of Phuket, police have confirmed. Phuket Tourist Police Volunteers were informed at 12:20pm that the body of the 63-year-old Swede had been found by staff of a diving company. The victim is believed to have fallen into the…
-
Phuket Lifestyle – jury is still out on litigation funding
PHUKET: One very exciting new asset class available to individual investors that I have been looking into is litigation funding. When I first heard about some notes attached to this I thought it sounded too good to be true and dismissed it, but as sometimes is the case, extraordinary opportunities can arise. The asset class is currently only accessible via…
-
Two new Phuket biz-consumer apps launched
PHUKET: Software developer Boonsoong Technology Co Ltd and media consultants, Phebe5 Co Ltd have partnered with local coffee shop chain Tiny Coffee to launch two new business-to-consumer mobile applications, designed exclusively for the Phuket consumer base. The two new mobile applications; “Tiny Coffee” and “Check in 4 Good Deals” were simultaneously launched last week at a press conference held at…
-
Phuket police go to town on drug dealers
PHUKET: After Phuket police officers swooped on two suspected meth dealers in Chalong on Friday night, fellow police in Phuket City arrested seven people on drug-related charges over the weekend. At a press conference today, Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chidchai said that a team of anti-drug officers seized 60 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and more than 40 grams of…
-
Phuket’s “Grumpy Old Men’ on mercy mission for flood victims
PHUKET: What started off as a conversation between Phuket businessman Paul Newson and his wife and business partner Skulna “Bird” Varayu has quickly developed into a relief effort to assist flood victims in the Central Thailand province of Nakhon Sawan. The original idea focused on helping immediate family in Nakhon Sawan, but the concept quickly snowballed into a larger effort…
-
Phuket police swoop on two meth dealer suspects
PHUKET: Two suspected Phuket drug dealers have been busted by Chalong police. The young men were nabbed while in possession of methamphetamines during two different sting operations over the weekend. Police Lt Col Charan Bangprasert and Chalong police officers presented the two accused dealers to the media at Chalong Police Station on Saturday. The arrests were made after Chalong police…
-
Phuket mob rises after accident kills two
PHUKET: Phuket’s top officials have called an emergency meeting today to discuss new strategies for road safety at the Kor En curve on Thepkrasattri Road after an accident there yesterday killed one woman and an infant on a motorbike. The curve, on the main road to Phuket Airport the main resort areas on the island and Phuket Town, was the…
-
Wildfire destroys dozens of homes in Reno, Nevada
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A wildfire which broke out near Reno in Nevada this week has destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, officials say. The fire was more than 80 percent contained as of this morning. The fire broke out in the…
-
Phuket transport chief puts brakes on negligence
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office (PLTO) chief Terayout Prasertphol has announced strict new measures that will hold tour bus companies responsible for the mechanical safety of their vehicles.Under the new measures, tour bus companies stand to have their commercial passenger permits revoked entirely, meaning the companies’ right to operate any commercial passenger vehicles will be terminated, chief Terayout told…
-
PHUKET OPINION: Patong-style wisdom faces the fragrance
PHUKET: The plan by Patong Mayor Pian Keesin to install a fertilizer factory at the Patong Wastewater Treatment Plant must be heralded as good news. (See page 3, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.) Just the week before Mayor Pian made his announcement, the Gazette received reports of yet another “chocolate…
-
THAI flights to Phuket still operating “as usual’
PHUKET: Thai Airways International (THAI) is still operating its full schedule of regular flights between Bangkok and Phuket – for now. An officer from the ‘Enterprise Communication Department’ of THAI, asking not to be named, told the Phuket Gazette, “I have yet to receive any news about reductions in flights to Phuket.” Her statement was in response to a report…
-
Patong Carnival ready to rock Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket’s premier tourist party town of Patong is gearing up for its annual carnival to be held from December 15-20. Run by the Patong Municipality, the annual festival draws thousands of travellers from all over the world and marks the start of the high season in Phuket, which traditionally runs from December to February. Much of the entertainment will…
-
Phuket tourism chief calls for “flood travel advisories’ to be lifted
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) has asked for the cooperation of foreign governments to reduce and/or lift travel advisories and warnings issued for Thailand. PTA President Somboon Jirayus told the press on Thursday that sensationalized images presented through foreign media have caused a decreasing number of tourists to come to Phuket. “Flooding images in the foreign media have [negatively]…
-
Jailed Brit swindler Paul Ridden free of Phuket charges
PHUKET: Former Phuket expat Paul Ridden, who earlier this week was sentenced to four years in jail for fraud and deception charges in the UK, will not face any charges for any alleged fraud committed on Phuket. Lt Col Boonlert Onklang, Duty Officer at Chalong Police Station, today told the Phuket Gazette that not a single complaint in writing was…
-
FIFA unbalanced
PHUKET: Six Caribbean Football Union officials have received bans from the sport and been fined as a result of breaching ethics rules, according to FIFAs’ website today. Patrick John, Vincent Cassell, Raymond Guishard, Noel Adonis, Tandica Hughes and Everton Gonsalves were handed suspensions from FIFAs’ ethics committee of between two years and one week and had to pay fines ranging…
-
Phuket targets Brazil as tourism source market
PHUKET: Brazilians are among the latest target group of tourists to be lured to Phuket and the Andaman region. Speaking yesterday at a press conference for the Andaman Travel Trade 2011 exhibition, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing Juthaporn Rerngronasa highlighted the South American country as an expanding market for incoming tourism. “There will be 10 operators from Brazil to…
-
Weird World News: Teens tampon booze craze, man sues dating company for “ugly’ brides and prisoner uses guts for glory
PHUKET: This week’s weird news round-up is a subtle blend of depraved, deplorable and detestable happenings from the around the globe. Health Risk: Teens using vodka-soaked tampons to get drunk PHOENIX Police say a craze that involves teenage girls dousing tampons with vodka and inserting them into their “parts” to get drunk is on the rise and needs to be…
-
Tonight, tonight: Election alcohol ban in Phuket
PHUKET: The sale of alcohol will be prohibited across much of northern Phuket tonight and tomorrow as six Tambon Administration Organizations (OrBorTor) go to the polls. Phuket Election Committee (PEC) Director Kittipong Thiengkunagrit confirmed that the “dry zones” will be the electorates of Koh Kaew, Kamala, Cherng Talay, Thepkrasattri, Mai Khao and Sakoo. In line with election law, the sale…
-
Phuket Rotary polio campaign: 10,000 kids to get free vaccines
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) and local Rotary Clubs aim to vaccinate about 10,000 children living on the island, free of charge.Orachorn Saisrithong, district governor of Rotary International (RI) District 3330 covering all of Southern Thailand and parts of Central Thailand, said that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a US$355-million grant to RI’s Polio…
-
Phuket’s ‘troubled lovers’ rumoured to be alive in Surat Thani
PHUKET: Rumors have surfaced that the “troubled lovers”, who were believed to have jumped to their deaths from Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Bridge last month, have been spotted together in Surat Thani Province, police said. “I have heard rumors that the couple survived the jump and they are now living together in Surat Thani Province. I have no proof of anything, so…
-
Investigation launched into Phuket police brutality
PHUKET: Police have launched an investigation into their own after a young man yesterday alleged several officers repeatedly beat him and produced false evidence after his arrest. Chalermporn Keawmanee, 20, appeared at the Damrongtham Center [Ombudsman’s Office] yesterday alongside his father, Kaset Keawmanee – owner of NS Cable TV in Surat Thani – to request an investigation into events that…
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.