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 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
-
Massive public support for reclamation of illegal land
PHUKET: Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Phuket Provincial Hall today, flowers and appreciative messages in hand, to thank Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada for reclaiming illegally occupied beach land and restoring it to the public. The controversy and delays surrounding the illegal business demolitions came to a head yesterday, when a local seafood restaurant at Lay Pang Beach was demolished despite…
-
Gov threatens social media malcontents
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada is threatening legal prosecution against social media users who share negative comments or rumors. “They will face at least a charge of violating the Computer Crimes Act if the information is not true,” Governor Chamroen said. “They may also face additional charges for inciting destabilization, if their message has a negative impact on government policies…
-
Drug addict arrested for Family Mart robbery
PHUKET: Police on Tuesday arrested a drug addict wanted for the armed robbery of a Family Mart convenience store on Thepkrasattri Road last Friday. Police captured Krittanai Maneechote, 20, as he was leaving his rented apartment in Rassada. “The suspect fit the description of the man who held up the staff at knife point, forcing them to hand over 5,000…
-
Power cuts in Koh Kaew, Phuket Town
PHUKET: Scheduled electricity shut-offs will affect residents in areas of Phuket Town today and in the Koh Kaew sub-district tomorrow. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced that there will be no electricity along parts of Rassada Road, Yaowarat Road, Phang Nga Road, Thalang Road, Deebuk Road, Takuapa Road, and Soi Sun U-thit from 9am-4.30pm today. Electricity in the Koh Kaew…
-
More ‘land owners’ step forward in Naka Noi dispute
PHUKET: Three people who allegedly owned land documents for chunks of Naka Noi Island off Phuket’s east coast have challenged the family of Thai actor Puri Hiranpruk with the suggestion that all parties involved in a recent land dispute should donate their property to the public as a conservation area for local wildlife. Jeya Tonkhlang, Dolmanap Tonkhlang and Jessada Thorthip…
-
Military to ask Baron to halt development
PHUKET: The Royal Thai 41st Military Circle will ask Baron World Trade Company to halt construction on a long-disputed Rawai development, Commanding General Teenachat Jindangen told the Phuket Gazette on Tuesday. The general made the remarks after meeting with sea gypsy community leaders in an effort to mediate between the two sides and avoid any further conflicts erupting. The land…
-
Trump sweeps five states, moves closer to Republican nomination
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Trump sweeps five states, moves closer to Republican nomination Phuket Gazette / Reuters NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA: Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton rolled up wins in Northeastern states on Tuesday in a major show of strength and immediately turned their fire on each other in a…
-
Journalists protest against arrest of colleagues in Cairo
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Journalists protest against arrest of colleagues in Cairo Phuket Gazette / Reuters CAIRO: Around 100 Egyptian journalists staged a protest in central Cairo on Tuesday against the arrest of colleagues for covering demonstrations opposing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Security forces arrested at least 33 reporters trying…
-
BREAKING NEWS: Restaurant owner makes last stand against beach demolition
PHUKET: Demolition is about to begin on shop houses at Lay Pang Beach after the owner of Tony Restaurant made a last-ditch effort to save his restaurant this morning. Clutching court orders and other documents, restaurant owner Kanokpon ‘Tony’ Somrak made a one-man stand, insisting he had the right to operate his restaurant on the beachfront land. After a brief…
-
Opinion: Educating Phuket locals about city planning
Rakkiet Deedpin, a native of Patthalung, is the City Planner for the Public Works and Town and Country Planning office in Phuket, having previously worked for that office as a policy analyst. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Architecture and Planning from Thammasat University. Here, he talks about ways to educate Phuket locals about town planning. PHUKET: The…
-
Couples invited to participate in traditional wedding ceremony
PHUKET: Couples intending to ‘Thai’ the knot are invited by the Thai Peranakan Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to join a traditional ‘Baba Yaya’ wedding ceremony. The June 19 ceremony in Phuket Town celebrates more than 200 years of local traditional weddings and is intended to promote the island as a wedding and honeymoon destination. ‘Baba’ and…
-
Volunteers needed to establish Phuket suicide hotline
PHUKET: After a rash of tourists dying of allegedly self-inflicted injuries, Dr Surin Bamrungphol, Phuket’s anti-corruption champion, is calling for volunteers to help establish a suicide hotline. “We see frequent newspaper reports of alleged suicides in Phuket, which is very disturbing,” Dr Surin said. “People are driven to take their own lives for many reasons – they could be stressed…
-
Krabi locals link temple sinkhole to Naga appearance
KRABI: The sudden appearance of a four-meter-deep sinkhole in the grounds of a temple in Krabi has some locals claiming the hole was made by a Naga – a mythical three-headed snake-like creature. The hole in the ground appeared at Khao Phanom temple and almost swallowed up the temple’s abbot as he was sweeping the temple grounds. “I was clearing…
-
Video report: Homeschooled siblings claim bronze at international competition
PHUKET: Two homeschooled youngsters from Phuket won bronze medals at the Malaysian International Young Inventors Olympiad (MIYIO) this month for their innovative automated plant-watering invention. Nattaya Sompranon, 14, and Phimphan Sompranon, 10, invented the ‘Smart Watering Controller’, which automatically waters plants when the humidity in the soil is low. The young Phuket-based inventors were among more than 280 teams competing…
-
Mission Accomplished: Phuket Aussie sets world record with Row2Rio
PHUKET: After 3,400 miles and 55 days at sea, the four extraordinary rowers on the Row2Rio team set a world record after powering their way across the Atlantic. “We departed Portugal and have landed safely in Brazil to an emotional reunion with family and friends,” wrote Luke Richmond, Aussie expat and head coach at Unit 27 in Phuket, yesterday. In…
-
Thousands make first crossing on foot between Krabi islands
KRABI: Thousands of members of the public turned out on Saturday to make the first crossing on foot between Lanta Noi and Lanta Yai islands, with the official opening of the recently completed Lanta Bridge in Krabi. Krabi Governor Pinit Boonlert chaired the opening ceremony of the 400-million-baht bridge. The event was titled ‘Starry Night Over Lanta Bridge’. “It was…
-
Kamala co-operative helps out with annual circumcisions
PHUKET: Cherng Talay Childcare Center in Kamala performed free circumcisions on about 25 Muslim boys aged 5-9 years old yesterday. The tradition involves surgically removing the foreskins of young Islamic males and was sponsored by the Phuket Islamic Saving Co-operative, which donated 20,000 baht to the Kamala Administration Organization (OrBorTor). “The circumcisions are done in different sub-districts each year. This…
-
Indonesia to set up ‘Crisis Center’ after Philippine Kidnappings
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesia to set up “crisis center” after Philippine kidnappings Phuket Gazette / Reuters JAKARTA: Indonesia will set up a crisis center, headed by President Joko Widodo, to handle security situations involving its citizens overseas, a senior minister said on Monday, following recent abductions of Indonesian sailors…
-
Phuket Immigration not demanding social media account details – yet
PHUKET: Immigration forms asking foreigners to detail their regular hangouts, social media accounts, bank accounts and other personal information are not being used in Phuket, according to a source in the local provincial Immigration office. “The form is only being used in Bangkok, at least until further notice,” the local Immigration officer told Phuket Gazette on condition of anonymity today.…
-
Baba Museum artwork to be removed amid outcry
PHUKET: A controversial mural painted on the wall of the Phuket Baba Museum will be removed by the artist following a public outcry. Painted on one of the city’s most historic buildings, the ‘Three-Eyed Kid’ garnered mixed public opinions since its unveiling on April 10. Through social media, residents criticized the artwork’s placement at what was formerly the Standard Chartered…
-
Former Thai PM Banharn Silpa-archa passes away
THAILAND: Former Prime Minister of Thailand Banharn Silpa-archa died at the age of 83, following an asthma attack last week. The Chart Thai Pattana patriarch passed away peacefully in the early hours yesterday, after two days of treatment at Siriraj Hospital. Mr Banharn was born on August 19, 1932 in Suphan Buri Province as the fourth of six children of…
-
Phuket worker camp raid turns up guns, drugs
PHUKET: Police arrested three suspects for possession of drugs and illegal firearms during a raid on a worker camp in Phuket yesterday. Two of the Thai suspects were named as Chatchana Poosangka, 29 and Nattapong Rithidet, 19. A 16-year-old minor was not named. “We had been keeping an eye on the camp as a number of teenagers were visiting it…
-
Phuket orangutan in critical condition
PHUKET: An orangutan recently confiscated from Phuket Zoo is in critical condition. The beloved 13-year-old orangutan Milo was moved from the Phang Nga Wildlife Nursery Station to the intensive care unit of the Pasupalun Livestock & Wildlife Hospital in Kanchana Buri on Thursday. “Initial tests have shown that her red blood cell count is very low. She also has vitamin…
-
Military summons Phuket sea gypsies, activists over land dispute
PHUKET: A total of twelve sea gypsies and human rights activists have been summoned by the 41st Military Circle for questioning about an on-going land dispute between Baron World Trade Company and a sea gypsy community in Rawai. An official letter, issued on April 20, was sent to Rawai sea gypsy community leader Ngeem Damrongkaset. It summoned nine sea gypsies…
-
Island View: Treacherous Thais? I don’t think so.
PHUKET: Thailand is to Asia what Vegas is to America, or at least it’s thought to be. The sin-capital of Asia where ‘anything goes’, or at least that’s what I was told. When I first decided to visit Phuket, it set off alarm bells for everyone around me. I received calls from friends and family members who I hadn’t heard…
-
Finance: The right time to get back into the stock market
PHUKET: While all of my long term clients (and myself) have been in cash for some time, there will be a time to get back into the stock market, but when will that be? To recap recent market action: major United States and global indices have already moved higher off their panic February lows, led by retail, gold, materials and…
-
Tourists escape another Phuket bus fire
PHUKET: A group of Chinese tourists narrowly escaped serious injury after fleeing a burning tour bus in Karon yesterday. “The driver was en route from the airport to Patong via Karon at about 5:30pm. After spotting thick, black smoke emanating from the back of the bus, the driver stopped and evacuated the 24 tourists,” said Lt Col Sathid Noorit of…
-
Phuket Lifeguard Club signs B22mn contract ahead of monsoon season
PHUKET: The Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) renewed its contract last month, extending the island’s life-saving services through the southwest monsoon season, when the waters are most tempestuous. PLC President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told the Phuket Gazette that the 22-million-baht contract with the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) will end in 10 months, on January 20 next year. “The budget for our…
-
One tonne of dead fish found in Phuket park
PHUKET: A large number of fish and shrimp have died in a pond in Suan Luang Park in Phuket Town from either a rise in temperature or polluted water, confirmed officials. “The local community around the park has complained about the dead fish,” said Phuket City Deputy Mayor Thavorn Jirapattanasophon. “About one tonne of dead fish have been found since…
-
Asleep at the wheel: driver hits eight motorbikes in Phuket
PHUKET: A pick-up truck driver, who fell asleep at the wheel, flipped his vehicle into eight motorbikes and another truck parked along Thepkrasattri Road early this morning. “Wasan Wijitwithayakul, 46, confessed to having dozed off while heading home to Thalang from Bang Neow Shrine in Phuket Town,” Lt Col Chaliao Thaihoo of the Phuket City Police said. Mr Wasan was…
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.