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.

  • Hundreds of passengers skate through Krabi immigration during blackout

    Hundreds of passengers skate through Krabi immigration during blackout

    PHUKET: About 800 international arrivals breezed through Krabi Airport immigration on Wednesday due to a six-hour blackout that caused the computer systems to shut down. “Immigration officers had to manually take down passenger information, and later enter it in the system when it was back up and running,” confirmed Attaporn Nuangudom, director of Krabi International Airport. The loose security measures…

  • Historical Phuket park gets B42mn injection

    Historical Phuket park gets B42mn injection

    PHUKET: The Thalang Historical Park is set to receive a 42-million-baht makeover by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO). “With the budget, we will renovate 10 rai of land around the park. We had initially submitted the proposal to officials during then-PPAO President Paiboon’s visit last year, as he was intent on putting the land to productive use,” said Watcharin…

  • Phuket melon mayhem takes hours to cleanup

    Phuket melon mayhem takes hours to cleanup

    PHUKET: An out-of-control pick-up truck carrying more than 50,000 baht worth of watermelons collided with a power pole in Thalang earlier this week. “There were smears of fruit everywhere on the road. It took rescue workers and police officers about an hour to clear it all up,” said Lt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the Thalang Police. The truck driver, 41-year-old Veera…

  • British Embassy to host seminar on sensitive handling of sexual assault victims

    British Embassy to host seminar on sensitive handling of sexual assault victims

    PHUKET: The British Embassy will be hosting a seminar on sensitively handling sexual assault victims in Phuket on February 25. “The British Embassy and Royal Thai Police are going to host the seminar, titled ‘Victim Handling Protocols when Dealing with Rape and Sexual Assault Cases’,” said Martin Carpenter, British honorary consul for Phuket. The employees of the Phuket Public Health…

  • Galileo Maritime Academy sends ambassadors to TYS

    Galileo Maritime Academy sends ambassadors to TYS

    PHUKET: Thalang’s Galileo Maritime Academy is shining at the first-ever Thailand Yacht Show. Founded in 2012 by Brian Murray, a career chief engineer in the British Royal Navy and a superyacht captain for 30 years, Galileo offers courses that combine skill sets from the hospitality trade to the skills needed for working as superyacht crew. “The Thailand Yacht Show is…

  • Battling boat show inertia

    Battling boat show inertia

    PHUKET: In a region already swamped with boat shows, the development of a new show has not been an easy undertaking, admitted Andy Treadwell, managing director of 3L Events, organizers of the Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) 2016 as well as the Singapore Yacht Show. The biggest problem with launching such a show is convincing the industry that you know what…

  • Opinion: Directing ships of cash to Phuket

    Opinion: Directing ships of cash to Phuket

    PHUKET: After months of reporting one marine mishap after another, the inaugural Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) comes as a refreshing and long overdue reminder of just how important the marine leisure industry is to the island – and why all sides need to work harder to further develop the province into the true marine hub of the region. Phuket’s marine…

  • More than 5 dozen tourists saved after speedboat sinks

    More than 5 dozen tourists saved after speedboat sinks

    PHANG NGA: More than five dozen tourists were safely rescued after their overloaded speedboat sank near the Similan Islands yesterday evening, reported officials. The 50-passenger boat, owned by the Rak Talay tour company, was carrying 63 tourists at the time of the incident, said Phang Nga Marine Police Chief Jakkree Mekumphonsuit. “According to the captain, they were headed back to…

  • Massive granite slab kills one, critically injures another

    Massive granite slab kills one, critically injures another

    PHUKET: One Myanmar national was killed and another seriously injured last night after an enormous slab of granite that they were delivering fell on them. Mong Mia, 23, was part of a four-man crew unloading the slabs in a warehouse in Kathu, when they lost control of a piece they were carrying, estimated to weigh between 300 to 500 kilograms.…

  • World’s top scientists pledge to share all findings to fight Zika | Thaiger

    World’s top scientists pledge to share all findings to fight Zika

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World’s top scientists pledge to share all findings to fight Zika Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Thirty of the world’s leading scientific research institutions, journals and funders have pledged to share for free all data and expertise on Zika to speed up the fight against an…

  • Google: U.S. guidance crucial to development of self-driving cars | Thaiger

    Google: U.S. guidance crucial to development of self-driving cars

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Google: U.S. guidance crucial to development of self-driving cars Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) unit told U.S. auto safety regulators that the government’s interpretation of motor vehicle safety rules is “extremely important” to its further development of fully self-driving cars. In a…

  • Superyachts arrive: Thailand to be Asean marine hub

    Superyachts arrive: Thailand to be Asean marine hub

    PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn opened the inaugural Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) in Phuket on Thursday, as the country positions itself to directly, and indirectly, benefit from superyachts and their ultra-wealthy owners. TYS, currently underway at Ao Po Grand Marina, will run until February 14, with about 40 yachts and at least 14 superyachts on display. Gracing the waters…

  • Rescued three-year-old boy transferred to PICU

    Rescued three-year-old boy transferred to PICU

    PHUKET: The three-year-old boy who was found after going missing for six days, has been transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Vachira Phuket Hospital, confirmed hospital staff. Nong DJ was rescued yesterday from a shallow waterway about three kilometers away from his home (video report here). “Nong DJ is now in the PICU due to a stomach…

  • China confirms first case of Zika virus | Thaiger

    China confirms first case of Zika virus

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China confirms first case of Zika virus Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: China has confirmed its first case of the Zika virus in a man who had recently travelled to South America, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The virus, which is causing international alarm after…

  • Australia set to legalise cultivation of medical cannabis | Thaiger

    Australia set to legalise cultivation of medical cannabis

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Australia set to legalise cultivation of medical cannabis Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Australia is expected to legalize the cultivation of cannabis for medical or scientific purposes with a bill introduced to parliament on Wednesday – the first step towards doctors eventually prescribing it to patients…

  • Hong Kong riot police fire warning shots in bloody street clashes | Thaiger

    Hong Kong riot police fire warning shots in bloody street clashes

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hong Kong riot police fire warning shots in bloody street clashes Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Hong Kong riot police fired warning shots on Tuesday during clashes that erupted in the Chinese-ruled city when authorities tried to remove illegal street stalls set up for Lunar New…

  • Krabi Police bust illegal gun ring

    Krabi Police bust illegal gun ring

    KRABI: Krabi Police captured one suspect and are searching for two others who were able to flee the scene of a raid on Monday in Ao Luek. Police were alerted to the location after neighbors complained of an illegal gun production ring. “We were able to capture Noppadon Surachawadee, 34. However, his younger brother, Prasit Surachawadee, 28, and their associate,…

  • Prime Minister to open Thailand Yacht Show [video] | Thaiger

    Prime Minister to open Thailand Yacht Show [video]

    PHUKET: PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha* will officially open the inaugural Thailand Yacht Show this week, on Thursday, February 11 at the Ao Por Grand Marina. The event will run until February 14 and showcase the latest luxury yachts available for charter, as well as the latest offerings from the region’s top boating industry specialists and suppliers. “I am…

  • Video Report: Missing boy reunited with family

    Video Report: Missing boy reunited with family

    PHUKET: Tireless efforts made by police, search teams and rescue workers today helped reunite a missing three-year-old boy with his family. Nong DJ was recovered safe and sound on a hill about three kilometers from his home in Wichit, where he went missing on Wednesday (story here). “We found him at about 11:40am lying in a shallow waterway, covered by…

  • Canadian national dies after night out in Patong

    Canadian national dies after night out in Patong

    PHUKET: Police are waiting for doctors to confirm the cause of death of a Canadian man who died in his hotel room in Patong this morning. Micheal Jerry Talbot, 28, collapsed at about 5:30am after suffering from chest pain and shortness of breath, confirmed Capt Yingyong Chuoykij of the Patong Police. “Mr Talbot’s roommate told us that Mr Talbot went…

  • Breaking News: Phuket rescue workers save missing 3 year old

    Breaking News: Phuket rescue workers save missing 3 year old

    PHUKET: A missing 3-year-old boy was found today after having disappeared from his family home on Wednesday. “The boy is very weak and cold. He was in the woods alone for days,” said Kusoldharm rescue worker Thanakorn Teechanon. “When we found him, he wasn’t even crying, as he was so weak. We are now taking him to Vachira Phuket Hospital.”…

  • Another unidentified foreigner dies, after collapsing on Bangla

    Another unidentified foreigner dies, after collapsing on Bangla

    PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a foreign male who died at Vachira Phuket Hospital yesterday morning. The man, estimated to be about 50 years old, was not carrying any identification when, according to witnesses, he collapsed and hit his head on the sidewalk along Patong’s famed Soi Bangla Saturday night. He was taken to Patong Hospital and later transferred…

  • A Decade Ago: Whole lot of monkey business

    A Decade Ago: Whole lot of monkey business

    PHUKET: Though an exotic beast to most foreigners when they first find their footing in Thailand, it takes very few interactions with monkeys to realize that they are properly aggressive, arrogant deviants. This sort of Monkey Business, far different than the mafia muppeteering that destroyed our public transportation system and deflowered our beaches, made page one in the February 4-10,…

  • Opinion: Creating a World Heritage Site

    Opinion: Creating a World Heritage Site

    Kosol Tang-Uthai is a Phuket native and is currently deputy mayor of Phuket City and president of the Thai Peranakan Association, a group dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of Phuket’s unique Chinese culture. He earned his doctorate from Mahidol University and has been serving as president of the association since 2007. Here he talks about the difficulties involved…

  • Another tourist dies on Phuket speedboat trip

    Another tourist dies on Phuket speedboat trip

    PHUKET: A Chinese tourist was recovered unconscious from the waters off Koh Racha while on a speedboat trip today. Ju Zekai, 24, was rushed back to Phuket and transferred to Chalong Hospital where he was pronounced dead. “Mr Ju was on a day trip around Koh Racha with his girlfriend and 20 other tourists. He had gone for a swim…

  • Tourists flock to Phuket for Chinese New Year

    Tourists flock to Phuket for Chinese New Year

    PHUKET: Record numbers of Chinese tourists are flocking to Phuket this month to join Chinese New Year celebrations on the island. Phuket International Airport has been bustling for the past few days with tourists arriving on extra flights from mainland China and Malaysia, said Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan. “An extra 29 charter flights from China to Phuket were laid on…

  • Phuket flyover projects garner public clearance

    Phuket flyover projects garner public clearance

    PHUKET: Two major flyover construction projects that were grounded by public opinion last year are clear for takeoff. Out of the 339 voting participants at the public meeting Thursday morning, 259 approved the project, a dramatic contrast to the 65% of 95 voters who shot down the plan on August 10 last year (story here). The flyovers are planned for…

  • Brit found dead in Srisoonthorn villa | Thaiger

    Brit found dead in Srisoonthorn villa

    PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a British national found dead in his Srisoonthorn villa this morning. Martyn William James, 64, was discovered by his housekeeper after Mr James’ wife asked her to check on him. “Mrs James asked the housekeeper, Darunee Banrob, to check on Mr James after she tried calling him but got…

  • Taiwan quake toll climbs to 35, president to visit disaster scene | Thaiger

    Taiwan quake toll climbs to 35, president to visit disaster scene

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Taiwan quake toll climbs to 35, president to visit disaster scene Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Feb 8 The death toll from an earthquake in southern Taiwan at the weekend climbed to 35 on Monday, with more than 100 people still listed as missing under a…

  • More than 3,100 pregnant women in Colombia have Zika virus | Thaiger

    More than 3,100 pregnant women in Colombia have Zika virus

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More than 3,100 pregnant women in Colombia have Zika virus Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: More than 3,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Saturday, as the disease continues its rapid spread across the Americas. Brazil…