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

    5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine

    It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...

  • Marine Office demands Phuket tourists wear life jackets at sea

    Marine Office demands Phuket tourists wear life jackets at sea

    PHUKET: Marine officials are demanding all Phuket boat passengers wear life jackets as efforts are ramped up to improve tourists’ safety ahead of the incoming high season. “Tour boats in Phuket take thousands of tourists out to sea every day. We have to do everything in our power to ensure that their passengers are safe,” said Phuket Marine Office Chief…

  • Time running out for Phuket Immigration to explain extortion allegations

    Time running out for Phuket Immigration to explain extortion allegations

    PHUKET: Phuket Immigration has two days left to clarify why a foreigner filed a formal complaint alleging extortion by officers at the Patong branch. The complaint claimed that immigration officers were charging foreigners fees for services that are supposed to be free. Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong promptly gave the Patong Immigration chief 15 days to explain the details of the…

  • Satire: Schizoid about English teachers

    Satire: Schizoid about English teachers

    PHUKET: Some time ago, a website called EnglishClub.com ran an article announcing that foreigners wishing to teach English in Southeast Asia may soon be subjected to draconian screening procedures. According to the article, Asean education officials were proposing a whole battery of tests for foreign English teachers, beginning with police background checks and tests for drugs and personal hygiene. There…

  • Inheritance tax draft includes property tax rates to be presented to Cabinet | Thaiger

    Inheritance tax draft includes property tax rates to be presented to Cabinet

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Inheritance tax draft includes property tax rates to be presented to Cabinet The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The draft inheritance-tax bill will be proposed to the Cabinet meeting next Tuesday with an expected fixed rate of no more than 10 per cent to be imposed…

  • Two arrested for attacking French tourist

    Two arrested for attacking French tourist

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two arrested for attacking French tourist The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police announced yesterday that they had arrested two men for allegedly attacking and attempting to rape a French female tourist in Soi Samsen 3 in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district early on Monday. After the…

  • His Majesty treated for diverticulitis | Thaiger

    His Majesty treated for diverticulitis

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community His Majesty treated for diverticulitis The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej is receiving treatment for diverticulitis and is being administered relevant antibiotics, the Royal Household Bureau announced on Tuesday. In the eighth announcement after His Majesty’s admittance to Siriraj Hospital, the bureau…

  • Khon Kaen Airport closed after Thai Airways aircraft skids off runway

    Khon Kaen Airport closed after Thai Airways aircraft skids off runway

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Khon Kaen Airport closed after accident The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: All flights to and from Khon Kaen Airport have been cancelled in the wake of an accident involving a Thai Airways International aircraft, which skidded off the runway on Monday night. With operations to…

  • Tourists warned of storm dangers as Similans closed

    Tourists warned of storm dangers as Similans closed

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tourists warned of storm dangers as Similans closed The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Phang Nga’s Similan Islands National Park ordered the Similan and Tachai islands to be closed until Friday as a precaution for tourists’ safety from storms and high waves. Park chief Nat Kongkesorn…

  • Breaking News: Phuket teacher arrested for rape of 12-year-old student

    Breaking News: Phuket teacher arrested for rape of 12-year-old student

    PHUKET: Police arrested a 29-year-old teacher at Baan Kalim School today for the rape of one of his 12-year-old students. The teacher, Jirasit Samakkarn, has denied the charges. The family of the girl, given the pseudonym “A” by police, filed the complaint on August 6. “After that, we kept a close watch on him until we had enough evidence to…

  • The Pirate Bay co-founder arrested in Nong Khai | Thaiger

    The Pirate Bay co-founder arrested in Nong Khai

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community The Pirate Bay co-founder arrested in Nong Khai The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Immigration police have arrested a co-founder of The Pirate Bay, a torrent index site and tracker, while he was trying to cross the border from Laos into Nong Khai. Hans Fredrik Lennart…

  • Gun-toting Phuket Town gang, druggies busted

    Gun-toting Phuket Town gang, druggies busted

    PHUKET: Police swept up a Phuket Town gang yesterday after arresting three men and three minors in possession of illegal firearms and ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). “Col Sermphan Sirikong and his team seized a Norinco 9mm Glock, another 9mm handgun, three 9mm magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and 200 grams of ya ice,” Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang told the…

  • Tourist speedboat struck by lightning, rescued north of Phuket

    Tourist speedboat struck by lightning, rescued north of Phuket

    PHUKET: A speedboat, struck by lightning while returning from a day trip to the Similan Islands last night, has been recovered safely with all 32 tourists and five crew on board alive and well. Officials lost contact with the boat Je T’Aime, operated by the Love Andaman tour company, at about 8:30pm. “They were returning from Koh Tachai to Baan…

  • PM vows to allocate land to the poor | Thaiger

    PM vows to allocate land to the poor

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM vows to allocate land to the poor The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has promised to deliver “happiness” as New Year gifts to low-income people. “Through projects to be launched by various ministries, people will get free stuff and access to…

  • Police transfers follow Army raid on pub, parlour

    Police transfers follow Army raid on pub, parlour

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police transfers follow Army raid on pub, parlour The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Chief of Prawet police station in Bangkok and two senior officers have been transferred to inactive posts following a raid by soldiers on a local pub, where prostitution of underage migrants and…

  • Chinese pair arrested over big pyramid fraud

    Chinese pair arrested over big pyramid fraud

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chinese pair arrested over big pyramid fraud The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two Chinese suspects have been arrested in Thailand on suspicion that they have taken more than Bt4 billion from victims through frauds. The Immigration Bureau has tracked down Lu Wei, 47, and Chen…

  • Moves to remove police from Koh Tao murder probe

    Moves to remove police from Koh Tao murder probe

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Moves to remove police from Koh Tao murder probe The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Human Rights Commission will discuss next week what action should be taken after police again failed to answer a summons related to the much-publicised murders on Koh Tao.Despite the…

  • Phuket tour guides demand action against illegal foreign guides

    Phuket tour guides demand action against illegal foreign guides

    PHUKET: Dozens of local tour guides calling themselves the “Andaman Guides” gathered outside Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to present a letter demanding serious action be taken by authorities against illegal tour guides working on the island. The letter, which stated that illegal guides were taking the jobs of legal tour guides, was handed over to Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet…

  • Russian tourist dies after fall from Phuket jet-ski

    Russian tourist dies after fall from Phuket jet-ski

    PHUKET: A Russian tourist died after he fell and struck his head on a rented jet-ski he was riding in strong surf at Patong Beach today. Police named the tourist as Iliya Muryndin, 29. “He rented a jet-ski at about midday,” said Maj Weerapong Rakito of the Patong Police. “He fell and hit his head on the jet-ski while riding…

  • Video Report: Phuket rush-hour shooter surrenders to police, claims self-defence

    Video Report: Phuket rush-hour shooter surrenders to police, claims self-defence

    PHUKET: The killer who gunned down a man in rush-hour traffic last Thursday has surrendered himself to Phuket police, claiming he shot the victim in self-defence. Suwat Sae-jong, 62, was taken to the scene at the Wor Kor Intersection near Phuket Rajabhat University yesterday to re-enact the fatal shooting, under the protection of about 50 police officers. Mr Suwat acted…

  • Flash-floods strike amid weather warning for Phuket

    Flash-floods strike amid weather warning for Phuket

    PHUKET: A flash flood and landslide warning has been issued for Phuket after heavy rain caused minor flooding and traffic tailbacks at many locations on the island this morning. Flash flooding forced traffic to a standstill in Chalong in front of the TOT office on Chao Fa West Road, where floodwater was about 50 centimeters deep. Roads in Patong also…

  • South policy flaws exposed by violence | Thaiger

    South policy flaws exposed by violence

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South policy flaws exposed by violence The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Although violence in the deep South seemed to decrease during June-September, it swept back ferociously in the month of October when six schools and two tambon administrative organisation offices were burned down. Most recently,…

  • Lese majeste complaints top 10,000 | Thaiger

    Lese majeste complaints top 10,000

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lese majeste complaints top 10,000 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have dealt with more than 10,000 complaints of lese majeste in recent years, but the big figure was not because they had “got serious” with offenders after the coup in May, a senior police…

  • Guard finds suitcase with ‘ice’ worth Bt30 million

    Guard finds suitcase with ‘ice’ worth Bt30 million

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Guard finds suitcase with ‘ice’ worth Bt30 million The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A security guard at a factory in Ayutthaya found a suitcase with “ice” (crystal methamphetamine) worth Bt30 million hidden in a thick bush near a road, police said yesterday. Bunhom Wongchanla, 48,…

  • Phuket police parade down Soi Bangla to promote high season, public safety

    Phuket police parade down Soi Bangla to promote high season, public safety

    PHUKET: Police forces paraded Phuket’s famed Bangla Road on Friday night to welcome in the tourism high season and promote public safety. Police must remain vigilant over the next few months, as the high season and prominent international sporting events could act as magnets for criminals, said Royal Thai Police Assistant Commissioner Korkiat Wongworachat. “Not only is this the high…

  • Beach Games to attract unprecedented tourism numbers to Phuket, says minister [video] | Thaiger

    Beach Games to attract unprecedented tourism numbers to Phuket, says minister [video]

    PHUKET: The island will see an unprecedented number of visitors arriving this month due to the 4th Asian Beach Games, said Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul on her visit to Phuket yesterday. The minister arrived in Phuket at 4:30pm to inspect preparations at Saphan Hin Stadium – the venue for the opening ceremony – and to see rehearsals for…

  • NACC unveils Cabinet members’ assets | Thaiger

    NACC unveils Cabinet members’ assets

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NACC unveils Cabinet members’ assets Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) yesterday announced the assets and liabilities of 33 Cabinet members who were endorsed on September 4. As per the declaration, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has net assets worth 128 million baht, including 12…

  • Phuket jet-skis face new rules for tourism high season

    Phuket jet-skis face new rules for tourism high season

    PHUKET: Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this week that his office has granted operators permission to continue to rent out jet-skis, despite widespread public furor over the industry’s history of horrific accidents, extortion and violence against tourists. His reasons for bowing yet again to the operators’ wishes continue shrouded, his only concessions to the…

  • Phuket Gazette named official media sponsor of the Asian Beach Games 2014

    Phuket Gazette named official media sponsor of the Asian Beach Games 2014

    PHUKET: The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) has cemented the exclusive Media Partnership Agreement of long-established news and events organization the Phuket Gazette as the official media sponsor of the 4th Annual Asian Beach Games. The confirmation ceremony for the 10-day sporting event was held at the Grand Four Wings Convention Hotel in Bangkok on Wednesday. The ceremony was initiated…

  • Man in maniacal fit jumps from third-floor balcony of Phuket hospital

    Man in maniacal fit jumps from third-floor balcony of Phuket hospital

    PHUKET: Officers at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town were forced to restrain a patient in a maniacal fit after he jumped from a third-floor balcony to a balcony on the second floor, and threatened to jump again. The man, who hospital officers declined to name, was preparing to jump from the second floor to the pavement below when officers…

  • Phuket freedivers go for distance in the Dynamic with Fins event

    Phuket freedivers go for distance in the Dynamic with Fins event

    PHUKET: Freedivers slipped on a variety of fins from mermaid tails – monofins – to traditional freediving fins to put up some long horizontal dives at the We Freedive Suunto Series at Phuket Country Home late last month. The Dynamic with Fins (DYN) event, which allows divers to use fins, but not their arms, on October 26 saw a non-ranked…