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.

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    What’s not covered by health insurance in Thailand?

    Health insurance in Thailand has important limits that everyone should know. Many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, motorcycle accidents, extreme sports, or specific treatments. These gaps can lead to unexpected costs during emergencies. Coverage for outpatient care and hospital...

  • Phuket Zoo stonewalls orangutan investigators

    Phuket Zoo stonewalls orangutan investigators

    PHUKET: Phuket Zoo management is stonewalling officials investigating the case of Milo, a 13-year-old orangutan. “The Zoo manager, Surapong Chanthaweewong, has refused to answer any questions with regard to how the orangutan was obtained, cared for, or ‘released into the wild’,” said Piyawat Sukhon, chief of the Khao Phra Thaeo Non-hunting Zone. “He simply told us that we should continue…

  • SUP champion comes to teach paddling in Phuket

    SUP champion comes to teach paddling in Phuket

    PHUKET: Champion standup paddleboarder and founder of the Stand Up Paddle Athletes Association (SUPAA), Chase Kosterlitz, starts a five-day standup paddleboard (SUP) clinic tomorrow. “Chase has a wealth of paddling knowledge and has competed at the elite level for a number of years. His depth of paddling experience and his ability to teach offers a great opportunity to learn. Whether…

  • Tourist drowns in Karon

    Tourist drowns in Karon

    PHUKET: Lifeguards pulled the body of a tourist from the waters off Karon yesterday. “I saw the man floating face down about 100 meters from the swimming area,” said lifeguard Mongkol Tanpisamai. “We immediately dispatched a rescue boat to retrieve him. We provided CPR – however, I’m certain he was dead when we pulled him from the water.” Though the…

  • Aussie expat adventurer undertakes record-setting row across Atlantic

    Aussie expat adventurer undertakes record-setting row across Atlantic

    PHUKET: Australian head coach at Phuket’s Unit 27, Luke Richmond, has joined a team of three extraordinary adventurers as they attempt to set a Guinness World Record by rowing more than 6,000km of open sea, travelling from Portugal to Brazil. Mr Richmond – already in peak condition from incorporating a NeuroPhysics training program from Ken Ware into his weekly schedule…

  • Video Report: Orangutan saved, new laws needed

    Video Report: Orangutan saved, new laws needed

    PHUKET: Last week’s rescue of the Phuket Zoo orangutan, Milo, led to a firestorm of social and political activity bolstering efforts to close legal loopholes abused by exotic animal traders in Thailand. An amendment to the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act BE 2535 (1992) that will require those who posses animals named on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered…

  • 500-strong police force arrests Krabi squatters

    500-strong police force arrests Krabi squatters

    KRABI: About 500 Krabi police officers joined a mass raid to arrest about 100 oil palm squatters on Thursday. “We surrounded the area to check on the squatters who were trying to claim the land as their own after the previous owner’s license expired,” said Plai Phraya Police Superintendent Chamnan Chamnankij. “These people were still living on the plantation after…

  • Indian man kills 14 members of own family, then hangs himself | Thaiger

    Indian man kills 14 members of own family, then hangs himself

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indian man kills 14 members of own family, then hangs himself Phuket Gazette / Reuters NEW DELHI: A man in India stabbed 14 members of his own family to death, including seven children, before hanging himself, police said on Sunday, in one of the country’s worst…

  • Up to 70,000 migrants may be trapped in Greece next month – migration minister | Thaiger

    Up to 70,000 migrants may be trapped in Greece next month – migration minister

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Up to 70,000 migrants may be trapped in Greece next month – migration minister Phuket Gazette / Reuters ATHENS: The number of refugees and migrants trapped in Greece may reach 70,000 in coming weeks, Greece’s migration minister said on Sunday, adding that a NATO plan to…

  • Twin suicide bombing kills 70 in Baghdad’s deadliest attack this year | Thaiger

    Twin suicide bombing kills 70 in Baghdad’s deadliest attack this year

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Twin suicide bombing kills 70 in Baghdad’s deadliest attack this year Phuket Gazette / Reuters BAGHDAD: A twin suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State killed 70 people in a Shi’ite district of Baghdad on Sunday in the deadliest attack inside the capital this year, as militants…

  • Officials investigate Kamala Beach encroachment allegations

    Officials investigate Kamala Beach encroachment allegations

    PHUKET: Officials are looking into allegations that vendors at Kamala Beach are encroaching beyond the ’10-percent zone’, which was established to restrict commercial activities to a small portion of the popular Phuket beach. An anonymous tip-off from a Phuket expat alleged that beach chairs, umbrellas, food stalls and tents have spread beyond the demarcation poles of the 10-percent zone. Photographic…

  • Cobra takes stand in Phuket bathroom

    Cobra takes stand in Phuket bathroom

    PHUKET: It was fright night yesterday for a woman in Phuket Town when she was confronted by a two-meter-long cobra that had taken up residence in her bathroom. The woman entered the room at about 11:30pm without switching on the light. In the darkness, she heard a slithering and hissing sound behind her. When she did turn the light on,…

  • Indian villages ban single women from owning mobile phones | Thaiger

    Indian villages ban single women from owning mobile phones

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indian villages ban single women from owning “distracting” mobile phones Phuket Gazette / Reuters MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation): Several villages in the western Indian state of Gujarat have banned girls and single women from owning mobile phones, saying the devices distract them from their studies. A…

  • Patong awaits bid to bury beachfront cables

    Patong awaits bid to bury beachfront cables

    PHUKET: The project that will see unsightly power cables along Patong’s beachfront moved underground is awaiting finalization of the bidding process. The 230-million-baht project will be jointly funded by the Phuket Provincial Electric Authority (PEA) and the Patong Municipality (story here). “Contractors have submitted their bids to the PEA headquarters in Bangkok and one will be chosen by March,” confirmed…

  • National balloon and music festival coming to Phuket

    National balloon and music festival coming to Phuket

    PHUKET: Hot air balloons will be filling the sky above the island during the Songkran holiday this April for the very first ‘Phuket Thailand Balloon Music Festival’. At least 20 hot air balloons are expected to take part in the national balloon fiesta, to be held April 14-17 at Phuket Paradise Park, near the British International School Phuket (BISP). Balloon…

  • Business Buzz: How to master email marketing

    Business Buzz: How to master email marketing

    PHUKET: Other than branding, one of the primary functions of social media marketing is to create a database of potential customers. But building the database is only the first step, so what do we do with it once we have it? I have previously discussed the importance and value of your database; now I am going to show you how…

  • Russian demand to drive increase in Phuket-bound flights

    Russian demand to drive increase in Phuket-bound flights

    PHUKET: The island will reportedly be doubling its weekly flights to and from St Petersburg, Russia, due to a sharp increase in demand, a national-level government spokesperson said. During last week’s Thailand-Russia aviation conference held by the Ministry of Transportation in Bangkok, officials agreed to increase the overall weekly flights between Thailand and Russia from 42 to 70, Deputy Spokesman…

  • Formula 1 powerboat race coming to Phuket

    Formula 1 powerboat race coming to Phuket

    PHUKET: The Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) has good news for water-sport enthusiasts as Phuket plans to host a Formula 1 powerboat race in November to promote the island as an international tourist and water-sport destination. “This is a joint venture between Thailand and Singapore. The expected date of the event is November 4-6,” MOTS Phuket Office Director Santi…

  • Phuket officials confirm no troubled waters for bridge players

    Phuket officials confirm no troubled waters for bridge players

    PHUKET: Phuket police have confirmed that playing bridge in Phuket is not illegal as long as there is no gambling involved. The confirmation follows reports of police and military officers raiding a bridge club earlier this month in Pattaya, which led to the arrest of 32 foreigners, including an 84-year-old Dutch woman (story here). “I was unaware of the arrests…

  • Finance: Understanding stop loss orders

    Finance: Understanding stop loss orders

    PHUKET: With global stock markets off to a rough start this year, it’s time to take a closer look at stop loss orders and how they can help as well as hinder you from achieving your investment goals. So what exactly are stop loss orders? A stop loss, or simply a stop order, is an automatic trade placed in advance…

  • Ministry of Farang Affairs: Crossing compassion wires

    Ministry of Farang Affairs: Crossing compassion wires

    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.…

  • U.S., backed by China, proposes tough N. Korea sanctions at UN | Thaiger

    U.S., backed by China, proposes tough N. Korea sanctions at UN

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S., backed by China, proposes tough N.Korea sanctions at UN Phuket Gazette / Reuters UNITED NATIONS: The United States presented a draft Security Council resolution on Thursday that it had negotiated with China, that would dramatically tighten existing restrictions on North Korea after its Jan. 6…

  • Canadian teacher re-arrested for sex abuse to return to Jakarta prison | Thaiger

    Canadian teacher re-arrested for sex abuse to return to Jakarta prison

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Canadian teacher re-arrested for sex abuse to return to Jakarta prison Phuket Gazette / Reuters JAKARTA: A Canadian teacher is expected to return to a Jakarta prison on Friday, a family member said, a day after Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned his acquittal on charges of sexually…

  • Teenager near Tokyo found to have Zika virus after returning from Brazil | Thaiger

    Teenager near Tokyo found to have Zika virus after returning from Brazil

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Teenager near Tokyo found to have Zika virus after returning from Brazil Phuket Gazette / Reuters TOKYO: A male teenager near Tokyo was found to have been infected with the Zika virus after a visit to Brazil, Japan’s first case of the infection since the virus…

  • New wave of Burmese hackers behind Thai website attacks | Thaiger

    New wave of Burmese hackers behind Thai website attacks

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New wave of Burmese hackers behind Thai website attacks Phuket Gazette / Reuters SINGAPORE/YANGON: Burmese hackers say they have attacked Thai government websites since early January and stolen data, part of a long-running, broader campaign against those critical of Myanmar’s government. The Blink Hacker Group said…

  • Phuket fears motor home stampede

    Phuket fears motor home stampede

    PHUKET: Nearly a dozen motor homes and recreational vehicles (RVs) recently spotted on the island prompted officials to rethink regulations for such vehicles entering Thailand. “I was told that these vehicles stay over night in public places, such as Saphan Hin, Ya Nui and Nai Yang beaches,” said Phuket Vice Governor Prajiad Aksornthammakul at a meeting on Wednesday. “I’m worried…

  • Opinion: Orchestrating freedom for orangutans

    Opinion: Orchestrating freedom for orangutans

    PHUKET: The tale of the disappearance of orangutan Milo from a local zoo and her subsequent rediscovery a few days later deserves a slot in the annals of the ‘Amazing Thailand Always Amazes’ series. Now that the issue has drawn the interest of the national and international media, the Phuket Gazette hopes that sustained interest will pressure the Department of…

  • Maimed Phi Phi divers return to Russia

    Maimed Phi Phi divers return to Russia

    KRABI: Two Russian divers who were seriously injured in a speedboat accident earlier this month have safely returned home, confirmed a Krabi official. Sergei Dmitriev, 30, and Dmitry Kurynov, 48, were diving near Maya Bay on February 5 when they were hit by a speedboat, causing one diver to lose his leg and the other to suffer serious injuries (story…

  • Delivery truck downs power lines, throws rider over wall

    Delivery truck downs power lines, throws rider over wall

    PHUKET: A fish delivery truck left a trail of destruction down a back road in Rassada yesterday morning when the high-sided vehicle snagged overhead power lines and pulled down a row of five electricity poles like dominoes. Meanwhile, the oblivious driver charged down the road towards his depot. Caught up in the entanglement and lucky to escape serious injury was…

  • Phuket Heroines’ Memorial Festival March 5-19

    Phuket Heroines’ Memorial Festival March 5-19

    PHUKET: This year’s Heroines’ Memorial Festival, running March 5-19, is sure to impress all in attendance with cultural and historical activities to honor war heroes Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn. “The purpose of this event is to honor the heroism of Lady Thepkrasattri and Lady Srisoonthorn, who sacrificed their blood and lives for generations to come,” said Phuket Governor Chamroen…

  • U.S. looks to Facebook, private groups to battle online extremism | Thaiger

    U.S. looks to Facebook, private groups to battle online extremism

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. looks to Facebook, private groups to battle online extremism Phuket Gazette / Reuters WASHINGTON: The U.S. government, acknowledging its limited success in combating Islamic extremist messaging, is recruiting tech companies, community organizations and educational groups to take the lead in disrupting online radicalization. The change…