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
Black Friday starts now - Grab 10% off your health insurance plan
If you’re an expat living in Thailand, you’ve likely experienced the complexity of navigating healthcare abroad. With Black Friday rolling in, it’s the perfect time to secure a health insurance plan that provides peace of mind and a safety net...
-
Foreign burglar caught on CCTV robbing Phuket homes
PHUKET: Police are hoping to identify a foreign man who was caught on CCTV robbing a home in Bang Jo, in Phuket’s west coast area of Cherng Talay, last Thursday. The area has been targeted by burglars for years, said Jo D’Hondt, a business partner of the high-end Diamond Condominium project (story here) in Bang Tao. “My house has been…
-
Body of musician, swept from Phuket rocks, found washed ashore
PHUKET: The body of Somchai Yungtala, 30, who was swept from the rocks near Phuket’s Promthep Cape on Tuesday afternoon, was found washed ashore this morning. Relatives assisting rescue workers in the search for Mr Somchai found his body at Ya Nui Beach at about 5am. Mr Somchai was visiting Phuket from Koh Yao Yai with his girlfriend when he…
-
Phuket teachers told not to worry about work permit crackdown – yet
PHUKET: Immigration officials have urged teachers in Phuket not to panic “right now” about visa and work permit crackdowns after Facebook rumors caused a stir in the online teacher community. “Please do not worry right now. We have yet to receive an order from the Phuket Immigration Chief to crack down on school teachers,” Immigration Inspector Tianchai Chompoo confirmed to…
-
THAI Smile poised for relocation to Don Mueang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand business news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community THAI’s Smile Air poised for relocation to Don Mueang The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thai Airways International Plc has prepared its budget Thai Smile Air for take-off from Don Mueang International Airport on August 8 to snatch passengers from low-cost competitors. The flag carrier…
-
Arrivals from West Africa on Ebola watch, fears grow of outbreak in Europe
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Arrivals from West Africa on Ebola watch, fears grow of outbreak in Europe The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thai authorities have joined the rest of the world in monitoring the spread of the Ebola virus and are closely screening all arrivals from West Africa, a…
-
Heavy new penalties for visa overstays from Aug 29
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Heavy new penalties await visa overstays The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Authorities will bar visitors who overstay their visas from returning to Thailand for between one year and a whole decade. The longer the overstay period, the longer will be the re-entry ban. Starting from…
-
Pair charged with stealing rice worth Bt100m from warehouse
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pair charged with stealing rice worth Bt100m from warehouse The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two men were arrested yesterday and charged with theft after 98,000 sacks of rice worth about Bt100 million were found missing from a warehouse in Pathum Thani. The rice belonged to…
-
Malaysian Formula E race postponed at PM’s request
THE MALAYSIAN round of the new electric Formula E series has been postponed because the country’s Prime Minister is unable to attend on the date originally scheduled, organizers said. The race in Putrajaya was due to be held on October 18 as the second round of the championship but will now take place on November 22. “The decision, which has…
-
Drug-resistant malaria now widespread in Southeast Asia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drug-resistant malaria now widespread in Southeast Asia Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Drug-resistant malaria parasites have spread to border regions of Southeast Asia, seriously threatening global efforts to control and eliminate the mosquito-borne disease, researchers said on Wednesday. The scientists, who analysed blood samples from 1,241…
-
Liberia shuts schools, considers quarantine to curb Ebola
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Liberia shuts schools, considers quarantine to curb Ebola Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Liberia will close schools and consider quarantining some communities, it said on Wednesday, announcing the toughest measures yet imposed by a West African government to halt the worst Ebola outbreak on record. Security…
-
Video Report: Evaluating the profits and costs of Thailand’s rampant seahorse trade
SPECIAL REPORT Though not usually a fish specifically targeted by the fishing industry, an estimated 5.8 million seahorses are exported each year from Thailand, playing a large role in making the country the world leader in seahorse exports. With seahorse catch numbers dwindling and the charismatic creatures being added to CITES, the eyes of the world turn to Thailand. The…
-
Phuket pushes for new taxis, new fares, amid new harsh penalties
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) has proposed a slew of changes to create a new fleet of “standard metered taxis” to serve tourists and residents throughout Phuket. The proposed changes were handed to Col Somchai Ponatong of the Royal Thai Army’s 41st Military Circle, who will pass on the request to the PLTO headquarters and the National Council…
-
Video Report: Asians dominate in ITF Pro Circuit
PHUKET: With the rise of Asian ATP and WTA players like Kei Nishikori of Japan and Li Na of China in the tennis world, this year’s participation has increased by numbers and there’s a strong progression of tennis in Asian countries. The two ITF women’s tournaments held at Thanyapura have proven this without a doubt. The Single and Double winners…
-
Police struggle to contain street attacks by Phuket teenagers
PHUKET: Police have ramped up street patrols and checkpoints, but say there is little more they can do to combat a spate of knifepoint robberies in Rawai within the past month. “They are targeting Thais and foreigners – anybody they think looks weak and would be an easy target,” said Chalong Police Superintendent Krittapas Dazintharasorn. In the most recent robbery,…
-
Warring, wealthy and notorious Thammawattana family makes peace
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Warring, wealthy and notorious Thammawattana family makes peace The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: After enduring a series of tragedies for decades, rival members of the Thammawattana family have decided to give up their spats for the sake of “peace and happiness”. Many members of the…
-
Thai industry captains praise NCPO moves, reforms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai industry captains praise NCPO moves, reforms The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand is back to work and business after months of political impasse, but there are challenges to be addressed to ensure sustainable growth, an international business conference heard yesterday. Inclusive political reform will…
-
Chinese police shoot dead dozens after attack in Xinjiang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chinese police shoot dead dozens after attack in Xinjiang – Xinhua Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Chinese police shot dead dozens of knife-wielding attackers on Monday morning after they staged assaults on two towns in the western region of Xinjiang, the official Xinhua news agency said…
-
British siblings come face-to-face with Phuket tsunami savior
PHUKET: A Phuket reunion nearly 10 years in the making came to fruition last night as Ben and Emily Willgrass surprised their tsunami savior Yupin Sengmuang on the doorstep of her Tri Trang shop. The British siblings put out a call via Facebook for help in finding Ms Yupin, as the two were planning to come to the Phuket on…
-
Phuket Airport van driver in fatal crash drug-free, faces reckless driving charges
PHUKET: Police have confirmed that drug and alcohol tests ordered for a Phuket Airport van driver who hit and killed a motorcyclist last week have come back negative. The driver, Manit Prateep Na Thalang, was saved from a mob of angry witnesses after he hit 23-year-old Jantima Srilertchalalai from behind when she reportedly braked suddenly halfway across a bridge about…
-
Army tells White Box fat cats to drop weight
PHUKET: The owners of the White Box restaurant on the Kalim beachfront, north of Patong, have been given seven days to remove more than half of the restaurant – or have the army take it down for them. The order was delivered this morning by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, who led officials and military personnel to inspect the venue…
-
Laguna Phuket to host Thailand’s first domestic MICE mart
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket will be the location of Thailand’s first Domestic MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) Mart on August 1. The event is being organized by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), a public organization tasked with promoting and developing MICE businesses and events in Thailand. The campaign aims to advocate and enhance MICE industry development in Thailand…
-
Police bag Bangkok-Phuket dealer with B400k of drugs
PHUKET: Police arrested a man on Sunday for smuggling 400,000 baht worth of drugs from Bangkok into Phuket. Amnart Rossukhon, 28, was arrested at his rental room in Rassada at about 11:30pm on Sunday, explained Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arayapan Pukbuakao. Officers searched Mr Amnart’s bedroom and found 100.8 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and 2,000 ya bah…
-
Phuket City Police stunned by officer’s suicide
PHUKET: The Phuket City Police this morning are reeling after the death of one of their well-liked officers by suicide. Sen Sgt Maj Sapeewat Kongchim was found in the car park of the police accommodation units behind the Provincial Police headquarters on Yaowarat Road, in Phuket Town, at 7:30am. He had a single gunshot wound to the head. The weapon…
-
Thai AirAsia cuts 2014 passenger estimates
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand business news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thai AirAsia Co has lowered its passenger projection for this year from 13.2 million to 12.6 million because of the political crisis that has hit inbound travel during the past two months. Santisuk Klongchaiya, director of commercial operations, said…
-
Ivory worth Bt9m seized at Suvarnabhumi airport
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ivory worth Bt9m seized at airport The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Customs officials arrested a Chinese woman and a man from Vietnam at Suvarnabhumi Airport after they allegedly tried to smuggle elephant tusks and ivory products worth about Bt9 million out of the country, Customs’…
-
Three insurgents, 10-year-old girl killed in Deep South
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three insurgents, 10-year-old girl killed in latest attacks in far South The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Insurgent violence has continued in the far South after the devastating car-bomb attack in Yala’s Betong district last Friday, two days before the end of Ramadan. It included a…
-
Russia sanctions ramped up as Kiev says forces near crash site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russia sanctions ramped up as Kiev says forces near crash site Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. and European leaders agreed on Monday to impose wider sanctions on Russia’s financial, defence and energy sectors as Ukraine said its forces advanced towards the crash site of Malaysian…
-
About 90% of Phuket protected forest stolen, says RFD
PHUKET: The Royal Forest Department (RFD) is untangling the land title documents that account for 90 per cent of what is supposed to be Bang Khanun protected forest, said RFD Director-General Theerapat Prayurasiddhi on Saturday. The RFD has joined the battle on Phuket against land encroachment, which has seen swaths of public beaches, national parks, protected forests and protected mangroves…
-
Flipping tweets – translation service for social media savvy businesses
PHUKET: Following an extensive period of beta testing, a Chiang Mai-based tech startup’s new translation service, Fliplingo, went live on June 26. The company, also called Fliplingo, has searched out a distinct niche in the translation market by offering live translation of Twitter messages in – as of this time – up to 32 languages. That’s right, actual multilingual human…
-
Nibali’s journey from Sicily ends in yellow in Paris
PHUKET: Thirteen years ago, Vincenzo Nibali packed his bags and left his home in Sicily to start the journey that led him to a triumphant ride on the Champs Ely sees on Sunday as Tour de France champion. The 29-year-old Italian, as soft-spoken in life as aggressive as he is on the bike, joined Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault,…
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.