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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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,...
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In Phuket aviation business, the sky is not the limit
PHUKET: Do what you love and make money doing it – how’s that for a business plan? That is exactly what Sky Club Asia co-owners Mark Silverberg and Paul Derstoff did when they turned their passion into a prospering business. Did their leap of faith pay off? One of the things that Mark Silverberg brought with him when he moved…
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Phuket Finance: An expat’s guide to the inevitable
PHUKET: It’s natural to experience culture shock as an expat, but the real shock comes when expats consider just how complicated proper investment or financial planning becomes after they expatriate from their home countries. Here are some of the key areas expats will need to have a plan for and likely consult with knowledgeable experts about. EXCHANGE RATE AND REMITTANCE…
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Two flights report problems, turn back to Bangkok
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two flights report problems, turn back to Bangkok The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A domestic flight of Thai AirAsia – and a long haul Bangkok-London flight of Thai Airways International – both made emergency landings yesterday due to technical problems. Thai AirAsia’s flight FD3254 departed…
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Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court handed down the death sentence to two of six defendants for murdering high-profile and outspoken businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr last year – but the penalty was commuted to…
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Patong’s Keesin clan yet to face Phuket mafia charges
PHUKET: The Public Prosecutor has yet to press formal charges against Prab and Pattawee Keesin, both sons of former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, for operating a mafia organization. Pisitpol Phumsawat, chief Phuket public prosecutor, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office was still reviewing evidence presented by the police “I have dedicated a team to investigate the police claims,”…
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Famed director arrested for trespassing to make tsunami horror film
PHUKET: Famed Thai-film director Anon Mingkwanta, better known as Poj Anon, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport last night after allegedly trespassing at a derelict Phuket resort to film a tsunami horror movie. Charges against Mr Anon were filed at Tah Chat Chai Police Station on September 12 by Nipon Rangsimanwong, a representative of the Toon Maha Larp Company, which owns…
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Teen killed in Phuket Town drive-by shooting
PHUKET: Police are hunting a man who shot dead an 18-year-old in a Phuket Town drive-by late last night. “Chalong Netphetdang*, 19, was riding pillion with a friend when two men pulled up close to them on a motorbike,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong told the Phuket Gazette. “One of them pulled a gun on the pair and shot…
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Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indonesian rescuers searching for a missing AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday as relatives of those on…
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Cargo boat sinks off Phi Phi, crewman believed drowned
PHUKET: Marine Police are continuing their efforts to locate a crewman still missing from a cargo boat that sank in a storm two kilometers off Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. The Sor Jatuporn was carrying goods from Ao Nang on the Krabi coast to Phi Phi Island when it was slammed by a storm, said Krabi Marine Police Inspector Chaiyasit…
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Kiwi arrested in Phuket for drug dealing, wanted for fraud
PHUKET: A Kiwi charged for dealing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and cocaine in Phuket is wanted on fraud charges in his homeland, The New Zealand Herald has reported. The man, named by Patong Police as Taylor Grainge, 41, is in fact Grainge Taylor, after having changed his name in 2010, confirmed Jeff Montgomery, registrar-general and general manager for births, deaths,…
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Video Report: Khao Lak 10 years on – remembering the tsunami
PHUKET: Thailand’s primary tsunami 10-year commemoration ceremony – presided over by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha – took place on December 26 at the Tor 813 Police Boat Tsunami Memorial Site in Khao Lak. The program consisted of disaster control drill presentations followed by a number of keynote speeches by dignitaries, including PM Prayut and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister…
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Phuket expat, Microsoft MVP Henry Habermacher passes away
PHUKET: Long-time Rawai resident Henry Habermacher passed away peacefully on the morning of December 11. Born Heiri Habermacher on July 2, 1961, in Sachseln, Switzerland, he graduated from ETH Zurich in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering, specializing in acoustics project management superconductivity. In 1994, he received a graduate degree in business management from HWV Luzern – IBR University.…
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Welfare officers tread softly in Phuket sea gypsy child prostitution probe
PHUKET: Officers are treading warily as they investigate reports of sea gypsy child prostitution and youth drug abuse at Phuket’s Rawai Pier. The pervading fear among all departments involved is that any direct confrontation could drive the children deeper into a world of crime. Pimporn Khorsantiwichai, director of the Phuket office of Social Development and Human Security, confirmed to the…
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NRC votes for Andaman coast to be listed as World Heritage Site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC votes for Andaman coast to be listed as World Heritage Site The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A National Reform Council panel on natural resources and the environment yesterday agreed to push for a vast marine conservation site in the Andaman Sea to be recognized…
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Russian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus flips, crashes
PHUKET: Nine Russian tourists were rushed to hospital after the tour bus they were travelling in crashed and flipped onto its roof in Kamala, on Phuket’s west coast, this morning. The bus was carrying 37 Russian tourists from Phuket International Airport to Patong when the accident occurred at about 7:30am. The bus driver, Aroon Yaemkua, told police that he was…
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Indonesia expands search for missing AirAsia jet, US sends warship
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesia expands search for missing AirAsia jet, US sends warship Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Countries around Asia on Tuesday stepped up the search for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that is presumed to have crashed in shallow waters off the Indonesian coast, with Washington…
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Greek ferry stricken by blaze fully evacuated, 10 dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Greek ferry stricken by blaze fully evacuated, 10 dead Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Rescue teams evacuated more than 400 people from a car ferry that caught fire off Greece’s Adriatic coast in a 36-hour operation on roiling seas, but 10 people were killed in the…
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Popular Phuket pier needs “facelift’, says Gov Nisit
PHUKET: Rassada Pier – a bustling arrival and jump-off point for Phuket tourists – needs to be cleaned up, said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong during his inspection of the facility today. “They need to improve the sanitation and general aesthetics of the pier. We will coordinate with the Marine Office, local authorities and private businesses operating at the pier to…
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Krabi monk injured in inferno
PHUKET: One novice monk was injured when a dormitory at a temple in Krabi was engulfed by flames yesterday evening. Sarawut Likitkarn, 16, suffered from smoke inhalation and rushed to Krabi Hospital. However, doctors have since confirmed that he is in a stable, safe condition. The fire broke out on the second floor of the monks’ dormitory at Wat Keaw…
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Love, humanity ripples through Phuket tsunami memorial service
PHUKET: The devastating loss of hundreds of thousands of lives to the Indian Ocean Tsunami 10 years ago also brought a wave of humanity among the differing peoples of Phuket and the global community, Phuket Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam told those gathered at the Light Up Phuket memorial event on Patong Beach on Friday. “It is a great honor to…
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Phuket officials stymied by sprawling trash pile
PHUKET: Officials are struggling to stem the growing tide of trash at what has become a sprawling dump site on the coastal road north of Kalim, between Patong and Kamala on Phuket’s west coast. The news follows the Phuket Gazette receiving a copy of a complaint about the site sent to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). “These…
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Russian economic crisis hits Phuket, Pattaya
PHUKET: Russia’s economic crisis is expected to squeeze the hotel and tourism business in Thailand – especially in Pattaya and Phuket – through the current high season and first quarter of next year. “Pattaya has been like a second home for Russian tourists and long-stay guests for many years. They have been contributing huge income to the country’s economy. But…
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Pickup truck crash at gas station leaves one dead, one injured.
PHUKET: Excessive speed is believed to have been the cause of a dramatic single-vehicle crash near a gas station on the Airport Road on Friday. A four-door pick-up truck was seen to lose control and crash into a ditch, ending upside down. The passenger, Thawatchai Sermrat, 31, was thrown clear and died at the scene, while the driver, Leng Jampathong,…
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Four police linked to online gambling gang surrender
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four police linked to online gambling gang surrender The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Four commissioned policemen yesterday turned themselves in to face charges related to claims they took bribes from an online gambling organisation. A gambling network allegedly run by Abubakar bin Sulaiman is said…
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Phuket ready for Pencak Silat World Championship
PHUKET: At least 600 fighters from 36 countries are confirmed to attend the 16th Pencak Silat World Championship, to be held at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town from January 7-17. The attendance is extremely healthy said Panu Uthairat, president of Pencak Silat Association of Thailand (PSAT), told the Phuket Gazette. “We have invited athletes from 47 countries in total,” he…
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Search for AirAsia plane turns to Java Sea, relatives wait
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Search for AirAsia plane turns to Java Sea, relatives wait Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indonesia searched the Java Sea on Monday for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that went missing after its pilot failed to gain permission to alter course to avoid a storm…
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Singapore scrambles air force in search for missing AirAsia plane
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Singapore scrambles air force in search for missing AirAsia plane Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Singapore said on Sunday it has activated its air force and navy to help in the search and rescue operation for the AirAsia jet that went missing on a flight from…
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AirAsia flight to Singapore ‘disappears’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AirAsia flight to Singapore ‘disappears’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An AirAsia flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday, Indonesian media said, citing a Transport Ministry official. Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the aircraft, flight…
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French, Iranian tourists arrested for B1mn Phuket hotel robberies
PHUKET: Two tourists have been charged for robbing guest safe boxes at three Phuket hotels and making off with more than a million baht in mixed currencies. Receptionists at the Baan Luktan Resort said that the men gave them spiked drinks that made them fall asleep, so that the pair could break into the safe boxes. Iranian Shahram Ghorbaniafshar, 48,…
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People flock to beaches to honour 2004 tsunami victims
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community People flock to beaches to honour 2004 tsunami victims The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One decade on, people gathered at various seaside spots in tsunami-hit provinces to remember those who perished in the deadly waves. Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the tsunami that killed…
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