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.
-
New Zealand man falls to his death in Phuket
PHUKET: A Patong Municipality trash collector discovered the body of a tourist at the foot of a Phuket hotel early this morning. The 55-year-old man from New Zealand is believed to have jumped off the balcony of his rented room at the Royal Paradise Hotel & Spa, which is located about 5 minutes from Patong Beach. He had checked in…
-
Phuket teen killed in stolen motorbike chase
PHUKET: A 14-year-old boy was killed and another badly injured when the stolen motorbike they were riding collided with a car in Saphan Hin last night. Phuket City Police officers and paramedics arrived on the scene, at the Bang Yai Canal intersection, about 9:40pm. The motorbike had been stolen from a house behind Rajabhat University on Monday. The bike’s owner,…
-
Traffic held up for three hours after truck spills plywood load
PHUKET: Tah Chat Chai Police suspect the driver of an articulated truck that spilled its load of plywood sheets all over the road last night, bringing traffic to a standstill, lost control of his vehicle when he took a sharp bend at high speed in wet conditions. The Phuket-bound 18-wheeler spilled its entire load on the notoriously dangerous curve, a…
-
Tsunami remembrance ceremony held on 12th anniversary of disaster
PHUKET: About 200 locals, tourists and provincial dignitaries gathered at Patong Beach yesterday evening to hold a candle-lit remembrance ceremony in front of Loma Park on the 12th anniversary of the deadly tsunami that struck the island on the morning of December 26, 2004. Official figures state that the tsunami killed 5,398 people and that more than 3,700 disappeared in…
-
Island View: Unchecked road rage in Phuket
PHUKET: As far as road safety in Phuket goes, authorities always highlight ‘speeding’ and ‘helmetless riding’ as the major causes of the appalling number of ‘accidents’ and deaths on the road. However, a relatively overlooked area – in my opinion – is road rage. One recent incident involved a 21-year-old Thai man who threw a large rock at a passing…
-
Samkong ‘fields of gold’ attract locals, tourists
PHUKET: A field of sunhemps in full bloom near the Tesco Lotus Samkong junction has become a popular attraction for locals and tourists, who have been stopping off to pose for pictures. Piyaporn Udomsap, the owner of the 23-rai plot, has allowed free access to the public, saying he grows the flowers to maintain the quality and aesthetic beauty of…
-
Tsunami memorial ceremonies held in Phuket
PHUKET: The 12-year anniversary for the victims of the devastating 2004 Tsunami was held this morning at several memorials on the island. The Tsunami pulverized the Andaman coast with waves up to 100 feet high. More than 5,000 people died and 3,700 remain unaccounted for to-date. At about 9am OrBorTor Mai Khao arranged Buddhist, Islamic and Christian rites’ services at…
-
Phuket drug dealer arrested with B400k of ya bah pills
PHUKET: A drug dealer was arrested with about 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills at Phuket Bus Terminal 2 on Thepkrasattri Rd on Saturday evening. Sarawuth Koraneesak, 23, had bought the pills in Bangkok for delivery to a customer in Phuket. He was waiting for the customer to come and collect them when he was arrested. The pills were estimated to…
-
Opinion: Risking life and limb for visa runs
PHUKET: If you are a foreigner living in Thailand, you need a visa. That’s fair enough. It’s like that all over the world. But no matter what kind of visa the foreigner has here, he or she often has to spend time and money, and frequently to risk life and limb, just to stay legal. Last week brought news of…
-
Ministry of Farang Affairs: Festive Season Jingles
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.…
-
Opinion: Adieu, 2016
PHUKET: As the year draws to a close, social media have been flooded with an increasingly common sentiment: ‘Good Riddance, 2016’. Fair enough. The past year has seen so many unprecedented – many would say negative – developments that it would be futile to try to list them all here. But a few do stand out as potentially bellwether. In…
-
Royal Thai Navy declares sand-beds “illegal’
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has overturned the Patong Mayor’s ruling regarding beach mats laid out on raised beds of sand at Patong Beach, and declared that they are, in fact, “illegal”. Rear Adm Pisai Sukawin, deputy commander of the RTN Third Area Command, handed down the verdict at a meeting yesterday afternoon, saying that regardless of the beds being…
-
Phuket officials demolish illegal man-made plantations
PHUKET: Thalang District locals are furious after a joint task force of government officers demolished a man-made plantation in Suan Pa Bang Kanun this week as it was reportedly encroaching on 120 rai of public forest land in Phuket. The first round of demolitions in the area took place on July 14 this year, during which five houses, a palm-tree…
-
Wrap-up: Thailand Yacht Show
PHUKET: The second edition of the Thailand Yacht Show saw visitors enjoying sea trials, parties on superyachts, fashion shows, supercars and the latest water-borne toys. With 60 exhibitors, and 55 vessels – including 18 superyachts – on display, the second edition of the TYS closed its doors on Sunday night. Held in partnership with the Thai government, it proved to…
-
Public, private sectors unite against coal-fired power plant
KRABI: Representatives from 11 private and government sector organizations met in Krabi yesterday to reiterate their stance against the construction of a coal-fired power plant, which they say will adversely impact the quality of life for locals and cause billions of baht in tourism losses. Officials from the Krabi Chamber of Commerce, Krabi Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), and Krabi…
-
Teenage driver killed in high-speed collision with 18-wheeler
PHUKET: A teenage driver was killed in a collision with an 18-wheel truck in north Phuket this morning. The accident occurred about 11:30am at the Sala Deng-Muddokkhao junction (that turns into Nai Yang Beach). “We received a report that a Diahatsu Mira had crashed into an 18-wheeler truck on northbound Thepkrasattri Road. The front side of the car was seriously…
-
Dead coral seized at meditation sanctuary
PHANG NGA: About 37 kilograms of dead coral was seized at a meditation center in Koh Yao Noi yesterday. The raid at the Mooktawan Meditation Sanctuary was conducted by officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Region 6, after Phang Nga Governor Pakkapong Tawiphat alerted them to its presence. “The coral was being used to decorate the…
-
Police search for Phuket bike burner
PHUKET: Police are hunting a for man who ran away after setting fire to a motorbike near Surakul Stadium in Wichit this morning. “The suspect, named Kwan, lives near the area. According to witnesses, he drove the bike out of his house about 10:30am, set it on fire and then ran off,” said Maj Narong Muangkhuang of Wichit Police. Rescue…
-
Thai girl named as IKEA design competition winner
PHUKET: A six-year-old Thai girl was named as one of the 10 winners of a global soft toy design competition held by IKEA, the home furnishing retailer from Sweden. The drawings were submitted as part of IKEA’s ‘Good Cause’ campaign titled as ‘Let’s Play for Change’, that aims to support the right of all children to learn, develop, and have…
-
Poultry pilferer turns out to be six-meter python
KRABI: Snake catchers yesterday bagged a six-meter-long python outside a house in Krabi, where more than 45 chickens have gone missing this month. Home owner Suwat Maijan, 55, who has a chicken coop in his yard, called in the snake catchers when he spotted the 20-kilogram reptile slithering away from the coop, leaving a trail of dead chickens behind. “I…
-
15 Nepalese tourists injured in Surat Thani bus crash
SURAT THANI: Fifteen Nepalese tourists were injured when their chartered bus lost control in heavy rain and crashed into a tree in Surat Thani’s Tha Chana district early yesterday morning. Five of the tourists are in critical condition. Police officers and rescue workers from Tha Chana rushed to the accident scene on the southbound lane of Asia Highway 41 in…
-
American found with slashed neck in Phuket rental room
PHUKET: An American man was found dead, with deep slashes to his neck, at a rental room in Rawai about 7pm last night. Police suspect he may have taken his own life but have not ruled out other possibilities. “Inside the bathroom, we found the body of the 62-year-old victim (whose name is being withheld) lying face up, with a…
-
Three foreigners killed in early morning visa run van crash
PHUKET: Three foreigners died and six others were seriously injured when the van they were travelling in crashed into a house in Phang Nga this morning. The foreigners were on their way from Phuket to Satun for a visa run with KBV Phuket Visa Run company, when the van crashed in Bang Tuey sub-district. Police and emergency responders rushed to…
-
New Phang Nga airport plans make headway
A TRANSPORTATION mega-project north of Phuket under development by Bangkok Airways has been tentatively named the Phang Nga-Andaman International Airport. In what is being envisaged as either a public-private-sector partnership or a solely private investment, tourism-industry sources have confirmed that Bangkok Airways is in talks with Phang Nga province for a large-scale land lease for the facility, with the environmental…
-
American tourist reunited with stolen possessions
KOH SAMUI: A Thai couple was arrested on Sunday for the theft of an American tourist’s bag from a hotel room in Koh Samui the previous day. Christopher Rusciano, a pilot for American low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, was staying at Ark Bar Beach Resort, where the incident occurred. “On Saturday night, Mr Rusciano left his room to meet his friend,…
-
Monks, clerics bless Samkong Underpass for tunnel’s official opening
PHUKET: Officials, monks, clerics and guests gathered at Samkong Underpass for the official grand opening ceremony of the traffic tunnel in central Phuket this morning. Phuket Vice Governor Teera Anantaseriwidhya and Highways Department Chief Construction Engineer Parinya Sangsuwan were among those present at the event, for which the underpass was closed off from 10pm last night until noon today (story…
-
Demolition execs charged over 4 Bangkok deaths
BANGKOK: Police have charged the managing director and engineer of a demolition firm over the collapse of an eight-storey building in Bangkok that killed four workers on Friday. Boy Ocean Star Company had insisted that it subcontracted the job to another firm, Mega Tools.However, police have charged Boy Ocean Star managing director Mana Kaewmanee and the firm’s engineer Kittipong Yootairomboon…
-
One dead, another injured in gruesome Phuket collision
PHUKET: One tourist died and another was severely injured in a horrifying collision with a taxi, while riding their motorbike southbound on Thepkrasattri Road, in front of Baan Jee Teng this afternoon. Part of the deceased’s foot was sliced off and was still attached to the bike, while he also suffered serious injuries to his neck and head. The other…
-
Pick-up truck burnt to a crisp in Phuket
PHUKET: Two minor explosions rocked Thalang this morning when a pick-up truck caught fire in the southbound lane of Thepkrasattri Road. The vehicle was burnt to a crisp with an estimated 600,000 baht in losses incurred. The driver of the vehicle escaped unharmed mere moments before the flames erupted. “The blue Toyota Vigo belonged to 34-year-old Wichai Buasri, who was…
-
Phuket man drowns while diving for clams
PHUKET: A Phuket man drowned while diving for clams in a swamp in Kathu yesterday morning. The incident occurred near a cement factory on Wichitsongkram Road. Police arrived at the scene to find the body of the victim, named only as Wirot, lying on the ground. His friend, Narong, was waiting at the scene. “Mr Narong told us that he…
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.