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 This Christmas, give the gift of health: essential options for expats in Thailand
The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
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Kalim residents beg police to have mercy on taxi stands
PHUKET: More than 100 local villagers today begged officials to stop demolishing illegal taxi stands in Kalim.“We have been here for 18 years and got permission from former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin,” emotional tuk-tuk driver Adisorn Maneesri told the Phuket Gazette.“We understand why they are doing this, because of all the problems with taxis, but please understand that we are…
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Patong’s last illegal taxi stands torn down, raids move to Kalim
PHUKET: After tearing down 12 illegal taxi stands throughout Patong yesterday, officers moved to Kalim, at the northern end of Patong Beach, to tear down four illegal stands there. The raids in Kalim, carried out by more than 100 officers from Phuket Police and Royal Thai Police Region 8 division, began at 10am as part of the Royal Thai Army’s…
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Grateful German student gets bag of cash back
PHUKET: A grateful German student had his bag of cash returned to him last night thanks to a helpful Phuket van driver who spotted it at Rassada Pier on Thursday afternoon and handed it in to police. The bag, containing nearly 30,000 baht in combined currencies, was left behind at Rassada Pier by 22-year-old student Sebastian* and turned in by…
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Police told to get better results; target quality, not quantity
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police told to get better results; target quality, not quantity The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has given 30 days for drug-suppression units to deliver tangible, better results. Quality – not quantity – should be the focus, it…
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Ukraine crisis; Putin, Poroshenko break ice at D-Day event
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine crisis; Putin, Poroshenko break ice at D-Day event Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The leaders of Russia and Ukraine held their first talks on Friday since Moscow annexed Crimea, discussing ways to end their four-month conflict in a brief encounter during commemorations in France of…
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Taxi driver found with over B100mn in bank spurs money laundering investigation
PHUKET: The discovery of a taxi driver’s bank book that showed assets of more than 100 million baht has initiated investigations into possible money laundering. Officers discovered the bank book this morning while searching the home of the driver, who has not yet been named. “A number of drivers had unexpectedly high bank balances, and we intend to check each…
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Taxi driver turns in 30,000 baht in cash
PHUKET: A bag containing baht and euros totaling almost 30,000 baht left behind at Rassada Pier by a forgetful German student was turned in by a helpful van driver yesterday. Mongkol Khampanta, 43, the driver, found the bag sitting on a chair in front of his company’s kiosk at the pier, he told police. He immediately asked around and called…
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Phuket students return gold, bring tears of joy to Filipino’s eyes
PHUKET: Local students at Phuket Rajabhat University brought a Filipino to tears earlier this week after turning in a gold bracelet that he had lost. The item is said to be worth about 135,000 baht. One of the students found the treasured piece of jewellery and immediately turned it in to a teacher at the school. “I went home to…
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Video Report: Get sweaty with a clean conscience: Phuket’s Clean the Beach Boot Camp tomorrow
PHUKET: After their one-year anniversary celebration to Phi Phi, Krix Luther and the Clean The Beach Boot Camp gang will be back on their home turf at Nai Harn Beach in southern Phuket tomorrow. Last month, over 50 eager boot camp participants, veterans and first-timers, piled onto Blue World Safaris’ speedy catamaran for the anniversary event, banking on a day…
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Breaking News: Phuket taxi driver arrested with B100mn
PHUKET: Police today arrested a Phuket taxi driver who had more than 100 million baht in his bank account. Officers are now investigating the origins of the funds and whether the suspect was involved in money laundering. — Woranut Pechdee
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Classic British Grumpy Old Man with passion for Phuket passes away
PHUKET: The Phuket expat community suffered another tragic loss to its ranks this week with the death of John Devenport, an avid classic car enthusiast and founding member of Phuket’s Grumpy Old Men Society (GOMS). Mr Devenport’s passing was announced to his Facebook friends in a post yesterday which read, “to all his Facebook friends we regret that John Devenport…
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Police arrest suspect over slaying of Canadian in Patong
PHUKET: After nearly five years on the run, Nukul Sae-heng, 28, from Phetchaburi has been arrested for his role in the contract slaying of Canadian national Francis Alex Degioanni in Patong in 2009. Nukul was arrested in Ayutthaya on a Phuket arrest warrant on Tuesday, Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette. He is now in custody at Patong Police Station.…
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Beach club blues
PHUKET: I’ve heard it many times from long-term Phuket expats – over the years the island has changed for the worse. But it doesn’t take decades to notice the decline. For me it took just one year. Take what used to be my favorite Phuket beach – Layan. A half-moon of sand on the border of a national park, edged…
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Turning others’ bad reputations into profit
Manop Pukpaya, 46, has been working as a Phuket taxi driver since 1997. He has a certificate in sales marketing from Dusit Commercial College Bangkok and for the past three years has run his own taxi service.Here, he talks about how the bad reputation of taxi drivers in Phuket and a good online review helped him expand his business, and…
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South American saviors
PHUKET: Tourism officials are seeking to tap into the Brazilian travel market to help Thai tourism reach its revenue goal for the year despite the coup. Some 21 Brazilian travel agents recently concluded a tour of Phuket and the surrounding area and said they felt completely safe and did not fear the political situation after they arrived, said Anoma Wongyai,…
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Crying out for a fair shakedown
PHUKET: Few Phuket Gazette news reports have generated more comment and debate in the social media than our recent article about vendors of pirated goods in Patong banding together to stage a protest against alleged extortion by government officials (story here). Scores of officers from a variety of government agencies, the protesters claimed, had been demanding too much in bribes…
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Memorial event to honor Phuket expat Graham Doven
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket expat Graham Doven, who passed away in Bangkok earlier this week (story here), will be honored with a ceremony on June 15 to scatter his ashes in Phang Nga Bay. The ceremony on the bay, where floating wreaths will be laid upon the water, will be followed by a memorial lunch at BB’s Restaurant at Tinlay Place…
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Indian PM ally says rape ‘sometimes right, sometimes wrong’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ally of India’s Modi says rape ‘sometimes right, sometimes wrong’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A lawmaker from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party has described rape as a social crime, saying “sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong”, in the latest controversial remarks by an…
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Pope fires entire board of Vatican financial watchdog
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pope fires entire board of Vatican financial watchdog Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pope Francis sacked the five-man board of the Vatican’s financial watchdog on Thursday – all Italians – in the latest move to break with an old guard associated with a murky past under…
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Police push to keep tuk-tuk cartel suspects behind bars, fear witness intimidation
PHUKET: Only four of the 95 suspects arrested for their involvement in the taxi and tuk-tuk cartels that have ruled Phuket’s public transport system have been allowed out on police bail. The rest remain in jail today. “The four suspects were allowed out on bail because they have health problems that were identified and certified as a real risk by…
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Junta eyes lifting curfew for World Cup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Curfew may be eased for World Cup The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) yesterday mulled whether to make curfew hours more flexible for the World Cup tournament, which kicks off next week. Junta spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvari said…
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World Cup gambling slated to reach B$43bn
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World Cup gambling slated to reach B$43bn The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thais are expected to spend an estimated Bt69 billion during the upcoming football World Cup in Brazil – with gambling on matches forecast to generate Bt43.5 billion alone, according to a University of…
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Press chief charged over wife’s murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Press chief charged over wife’s murder The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: In a twist in the recent murder of the wife of the chairman of the Songkhla-based Press Association of Southern Thailand, police have arrested the husband and alleged he masterminded the killing. The arrest…
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Yingluck faces assets probe
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yingluck faces assets probe The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The national anti-graft agency yesterday resolved to examine the assets of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and four other members of her Cabinet involved in her government’s loss-making and corruption-plagued rice price-pledging scheme. The National Anti-Corruption…
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World leaders gather for D-Day tribute, hope for thaw on Ukraine
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World leaders gather for D-Day tribute, hope for thaw on Ukraine Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: World leaders and veterans gather by the beaches of Normandy on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings that helped turn the tables in World War…
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China sentences nine to death for terrorism in Xinjiang
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China sentences nine to death for terrorism in Xinjiang Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Authorities in China’s restive Xinjiang region sentenced nine people to death on Thursday for “violent terrorism” crimes, state media reported, as part of a nation-wide crackdown on separatist militants. China has launched…
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Video Report: Thailand’s coup given credit for taxi cartel crackdown in Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand’s coup opened the gates for police to sweep Phuket clean of the island’s notorious taxi and tuk-tuk cartels, said Commander of the Royal Thai Police Region 8 Panya Mamen today. Lt Gen Panya explained that the Army’s support was instrumental in enabling months of hard police work to come to fruition. “Since the coup, it has been easy…
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Thailand’s coup given credit for taxi cartel crackdown in Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand’s coup opened the gates for police to sweep Phuket clean of the island’s notorious taxi and tuk-tuk cartels, said Commander of the Royal Thai Police Region 8 Panya Mamen today. Lt Gen Panya explained that the Army’s support was instrumental in enabling months of hard police work to come to fruition. “Since the coup, it has been easy…
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Swiss man crushed to death as cement truck tips on Karon Hill
PHUKET: A Phuket expat from Switzerland was crushed to death yesterday afternoon when a cement truck slid out of control on Karon Hill and crushed his car. Philippe Wagner, 46, died instantly, said Lt Weerayuth Thansirisukhaworakul of the Karon Police. “He was alone in the car when the accident happened,” he added. Mr Wagner was on Patak Road, travelling toward…
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Teach environmental awareness when they’re young: Phuket Governor
PHUKET: The key to lifelong environmental awareness is to teach children while they’re young, said Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut today in his opening address to mark World Environment Day. Taking part in a global initiative to increase awareness about environmental concerns, Phuket launched a three-day event to mark the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) global day, this year held under…
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