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.
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Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort puts sustainability at its heart
The term sustainability is often thrown around as a buzzword in the hospitality industry, but at Pullman Phuket Panwa Beach Resort, it’s genuinely part of their mission. Located in Makham Bay, just south of Phuket Town, the beautiful resort puts...
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Owners of abandoned Phuket resort refuse to give way
PHUKET: Owners of an abandoned resort in the foothills of Patong have refused to take down part of their structure to re-open access to the land behind it. The land in question, valued at 40 million baht per rai because of its panoramic view of Patong, cannot be developed without access, said landowner Utaiwan Van-Zandt, who has been fighting to…
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Tourist Police evade Phuket shakedown claims
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Tourist Police has branded allegations that three of his officers extorted 20,000 baht from an Italian man in Patong as a “big misunderstanding”. The news follows protesters staging a blockade of the Patong beach road last weekend after word of the shakedown spread through the resort town. “The case will not be pursued because…
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Phuket boat crews protest after access denied to Chalong Pier
PHUKET: A group of local boat handlers this morning staged a protest at Chalong Pier to call for unrestricted access to boats moored along the pier. The gathering at the popular terminal for Phuket tour boats (map here) came as officials enforced existing regulations banning motorcycles and motorcycles with sidecars from being driven along the pier. “These people know they…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Russian Winter Games open amid security scares, arrests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian Winter Games open amid security scares, arrests Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Russia’s Winter Olympics got underway on Friday with a grandiose opening ceremony watched by President Vladimir Putin, who will be keen to calm fears of militant attacks and move on from a row over gay…
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Donations delayed as Phuket blood stocks hit five-year low
PHUKET: Several blood donors were turned away from Bangkok Hospital Phuket yesterday, even though a Norwegian man in the intensive care unit there was in dire need of the blood. “We would like to thank them, but please be informed that Bangkok Hospital does not collect blood donations – not even for emergencies,” Corporate Social Responsibility Project Manager Pareeya Jullaphong…
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A rescuer: Ultralight engine did not explode in fatal Phuket crash
PHUKET: The engine of the ultralight flying boat that crashed in the sea near Rawai on Wednesday, killing its pilot, did not explode, says an expat who took part in the recovery effort. “There were no signs of explosive damage to the engine,” Singaporean Marshall Ong told the Phuket Gazette. Mr Ong saw the engine when he entered the water…
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Phuket Opinion: Happy days again
PHUKET: Do you miss your childhood? Wish you were young once again? You can be… just move to another country. It feels not only like moving in space, but also like moving back in time – to the happy days when everything was new, exciting and mysterious. Since I moved to Thailand I have often felt like a toddler as…
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Phuket Opinion: Boosting Phuket tourism through sport
Virat Patee, 55, is a native of Phuket. He has served as the director of the Sport Authority of Thailand’s Phuket office for five years, and formerly served as the director of the SAT Krabi office for 12 years. Here, he talks about the valuable contribution sports make to tourism and suggests how Phuket can do more to promote sport…
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Phuket Opinion: Life aquatic starts at a young age
PHUKET: Much has been written about water safety in this space over the years. However, with a focus on maritime accidents and tourist drownings, we have neglected the troubling issue of the island’s children not being properly taught to swim, as a series of heartbreaking tragedies in recent weeks indicates (story here and here). As the only “naked ape”, there…
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Special Report: If there’s something strange and it don’t look good”¦ who ya gonna call?
Special Report Early last Saturday morning, a female tourist spent 45 minutes trying to contact the police. Repeated calls to the Tourist Police hotline 1155 went unanswered until a man picked up and told her he could not speak English and advised her to call the Thalang Police, who put her on hold. The Phuket Gazette’s Chutharat Plerin investigates emergency…
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Australian superyacht industry seeks closer ties with Phuket
PHUKET: Representatives of peak industry body Superyacht Australia, along with several Australian-based marine companies recently toured Phuket as part of a program aimed at fostering business relations in the marine industry. The tour was hosted by the Australian Trade Commission and funded through the Australian Government’s Asian Century Business Engagement Plan grant program. During the visit, the group toured all…
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Tourist Police face harsh words in Phuket
PHUKET: Tourist Police in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Surat Thani have received a public tongue-lashing over a lack of patrols in tourist areas.“I never see Tourist Police out on patrol when I visit – they are only working in their small police boxes,” said Gen Wuthi Liptapallop, a top-flight Adviser to the Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Adul Saengsingkaew.“How are…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Moscow accuses U.S. of fomenting Ukraine coup; recordings leaked
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Moscow accuses U.S. of fomenting Ukraine coup; recordings leaked Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: An east-west struggle over Ukraine turned nastier as Moscow accused the United States of fomenting a coup and Washington pointed a finger at Russia for leaking a recording of U.S. diplomats discussing how to…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: EC tackles poll problems; CMPO seeks 39 arrest warrants; Grenades fired at rally site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Farmers raise pressure The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Furious rice farmers yesterday piled pressure on the government by taking their protest to the capital, amid claims that they were part of a plot to bring down the government.Thousands of farmers from the Northeast, the Central and the…
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Phuket baby arrives with sad message for expectant parents
PHUKET: A baby born in Phuket with her intestines protruding from her abdomen underscores the need for regular prenatal care and serves as a reminder of the limits of modern medicine, said Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Jessada Chungpaibulpatana. “About 1 in 1,000 babies are born with gastroschisis. About 30 per cent of those cases cannot be detected on an ultrasound,”…
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German victim in Phuket ultralight crash believed drowned
PHUKET: Phuket Police believe the German man whose ultralight crashed on Wednesday (story here) drowned after his flying boat plunged into the sea. Chalong Police Investigator Patiwat Yodkwan named the crash victim as 64-year-old Georg Erwin Bach. “When police and rescue workers arrived at the scene, Mr Bach had already been brought ashore by staff at a nearby resort,” Maj…
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Urgent call for O-negative blood to save Norwegian man
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center is calling for urgent donations of O-negative blood in order to save the life of a Norwegian man in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Bangkok Hospital Phuket. “The hospital said they need three units of O-negative to save the patient’s life,” PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “We have…
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Phuket Gazette World News: EU lawmakers push to bolster rights of stranded air travellers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EU lawmakers push to bolster rights of stranded air travellers Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The European Parliament has called for stricter rules to make it easier for stranded air passengers to claim compensation from their airlines.The lawmakers’ vote on Wednesday takes Europe closer to tightening rules on…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Bahrain toughens penalties for insulting king
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bahrain toughens penalties for insulting king Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The king of Bahrain has approved a law imposing a jail sentence of up to seven years and a fine of up to 10,000 dinars (16,276.64 pounds) for anyone who publicly insults him.King Hamad’s measure highlights the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Scathing U.N. report demands Vatican act against child sex abuse
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scathing U.N. report demands Vatican act against child sex abuse Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The United Nations demanded on Wednesday that the Vatican “immediately remove” all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to civil authorities, in an unprecedented and scathing report.The…
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Two clipped in Phuket beauty salon with over 90kg of marijuana
PHUKET: Police seized 92kg of marijuana at a beauty salon in Thalang yesterday in a sting operation that netted two men also found in possession of a grenade, an illegal handgun and a cache of ammunition. Netithorn Waddina, 49, from Nakhon Pathom, and Suriya Chuayjuan, 34, from Songkhla, were arrested at about 5pm after undercover police arranged to buy 30kg…
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Phuket’s X-Terminal successfully inaugurated
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport’s X-Terminal saw its first successful charter flight depart for China yesterday. “The check-in system for the flight went well. Passengers checked in at the X-Terminal, then took the shuttle to the main terminal to clear Immigration and Customs,” Director of Phuket International Airport Pratuang Sornkham told the Phuket Gazette. Jet Asia Airways provided the flight, JF840,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: U.S. warns airports over toothpaste bombs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. warns airports over possible bomb ingredients in toothpaste tubes Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The United States issued a warning on Wednesday to airports and to some airlines flying to Russia for the Olympics to watch for toothpaste tubes that could hold ingredients to make a bomb…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Farmers maintain blockades; Student tablet scheme fails; Thai in mysterious South African death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Defiant farmers maintain blockades, draw up petition The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: While one group of rice farmers today brings tractors and trucks to rally outside the Commerce Ministry in Nonthaburi – to pressure for long overdue payments from the rice-pledging scheme – another group from the…
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BREAKING NEWS: Foreigner dies in Phuket ultralight crash
PHUKET: A foreigner died after his ultralight flying boat fell from the sky off the east coast of southern Phuket this afternoon.Staff at a nearby resort in Rawai who witnessed the accident reported hearing an explosion from the machine’s engine before watching in horror as the craft plummeted into the water about 500 meters from the shore.Resort staff scrambled a…
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Phuket honeymooner partially paralyzed as speedboat tackles rough waters
PHUKET: A Swedish honeymooner in Phuket was partially paralyzed from a fall as her speedboat to Phi Phi Island tackled choppy waters last month.“I still have pain in my back. I can move my legs a little bit, but I cannot move my feet at all,” Karin Josefsson said. “My husband also hurt his back, but not severely.”Mrs Josefsson and…
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Police seek arrest warrant over brutal slaying of Phuket teen
PHUKET: Wichit Police will seek an arrest warrant this week for the prime suspect in the brutal murder of Phuket teenager Pawarisorn Sae-Ung. The charred body of Mr Pawarisorn, 16, was found dumped beside Muang Chaofa Road (map here) on December 6. He had been stabbed multiple times, his throat had been slashed and his body set alight (story here).…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Georgia says Russian pressure will not divert it from EU goal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Georgia says Russian pressure will not divert it from EU goal Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Georgia is determined to sign a trade and cooperation agreement with the European Union by August and will not be pushed off course by Russian pressure as Ukraine was, Georgian Prime Minister…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Scotland becomes 17th country to approve same-sex marriages
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scotland becomes 17th country to approve same-sex marriages Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Scotland voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to allow same-sex marriages, becoming the 17th country to give the green light to gay marriage despite opposition from its main church organisations.The Scottish government, which will hold a referendum…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Rice farmers to block all major roads; Yingluck richer by the millions; Democrats move for court coup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Farmers to block all main roads across country tomorrow The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Rice farmers plan to scale up their protests against the government by closing all main roads in the country tomorrow.With their days-long blockade of roads in Ratchaburi having little impact, rice farmers in…
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