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
Top 5 luxury villas in Phuket and Koh Samui for your next holiday
Ask people to name the most beautiful places in Thailand, and you'll often hear Phuket and Koh Samui being mentioned. Who would disagree? One is renowned for its bustling nightlife, vibrant culture, and lively beach scene, while the other is...
-
Greater Phuket: Cyclists join Krabi Town 140-year celebrations
PHUKET: A cycling enthusiast impressed crowds at the 140th anniversary of Krabi Town over the weekend, managing to pedal all the way from Greater Bangkok with his disabled father riding in tow in a three-wheeler. Kittipong Kongkaew, who runs a coffee shop in Tibet, was among members of the Thai Cycling For Health Association that set off from Samut Prakan…
-
Phuket underpass project unveiled
PHUKET: Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak at Phuket”s Boat Lagoon Resort Tuesday, chaired the third and final public hearing on the Bang Khu intersection improvement project, at which it was announced that a two-lane underpass construction had been selected over other designs. At the meeting, project manager Kaweerat Deeprasertwong announced the selected design for the two-lane underpass. “We chose this design…
-
Phuket sports: F1 rumors, rules and rumblings
PHUKET: The three week gap between grand prix events is to accommodate FIA approved testing of upgrades at Mugello, near Florence. It is also time the “rumor and disinformation mills” upgrade. Mugello is not an F1 circuit, and according to hearsay teams are ambivalent about testing on an unknown track. McLaren scheduled test drivers only, although Lewis Hamilton suggested he…
-
“Gold Den’ bandit back in Phuket for re-enactment
PHUKET: Phuket City Police yesterday led a recently-arrested gold shop bandit “Den” through a re-enactment of his June 2011 heist of a Phuket Town gold shop. The suspect, Krittasak “Den” Heetkaew, was arrested at his Bangkok apartment on Thursday and confessed to the Phuket heist and several others using the same modus operandi. Yesterday afternoon’s re-enactment was led by Phuket…
-
“Thank you, Phuket’ – says Dome The Star’s parents
PHUKET: The parents of Jaruwat “Dome” Cheawaram, who last Sunday won the national singing contest The Star 8, today publicly thanked the people of Phuket and all Dome’s fans around the country for their support. Dome’s parents, Tawatchai and Raewadee Cheawaram, also announced that Dome will sing at the opening ceremony of the the Thailand National Youth Games in Phuket…
-
FC Phuket host Saraburi FC today
PHUKET: FC Phuket will be seeking their first home win of the season when they kick off against Saraburi FC “Warlords” at Surakul Stadium this afternoon. The Southern Sea Kirin, now 15th in the table with 7 points, will be hoping to collect all three points against Saraburi, who are still winless on the road after seven matches and sit…
-
Austria-Phuket Community Center burns again
PHUKET: Another fire broke out at the Austria-Phuket Community Center in Phuket Town last night, the second blaze there in less than 24 hours. Police once again suspect teenagers, who probably broke into the building to take drugs, were responsible. Phuket City Police at 9:10pm received a report of the fire from local residents in the densely-populated area, on the…
-
PHUKET ALERT: Monsoon comes, Patong Hill road goes
PHUKET: The monsoon season has officially arrived in Phuket and is already taking its toll, causing a landslide along a stretch of Patong Hill road that the Highways Department was hoping to shore up by year’s end. Sampawat Wannasangkam of the Patong Municipality Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention said his office received a report of the slide at around…
-
Bangkok Police arrest Phuket gold heist bandit
PHUKET: The brazen thief who made off with an estimated 6 million baht in cash and gold jewelry from a Phuket shop in June last year was arrested in Bangkok on Thursday. Krittasak “Den” Heetkaew, 25, was arrested in his apartment by Col Narongyod Unnahabunthit and his team at about 1:30pm. He was then presented at the Region 8 police…
-
Phuket police officer held for off-duty killing
PHUKET: A Phuket police officer and his brother are being detained at Phuket Provincial Court tonight after both were charged with accessory to murder over a fatal shooting in Phuket Town’s red-light district early this morning. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jamroon Plaiduang told the Phuket Gazette that the shooting occurred at about 2:30am in Phuket Town’s infamous Phun Phol…
-
Phuket teenage drug addicts blamed for community center fire
PHUKET: Phuket City Police believe that a fire at the Austria-Phuket Community Center in Rassada in the early hours of this morning was started by a group of teenage drug addicts known to frequent the area. It was the second time the center had been set on fire within a month. Phuket City Police received a report at 1:10am from…
-
Phuket sea gypsies celebrate their heritage
PHUKET: Preparations for the first of the twice-yearly sea gypsy Loy Reua festival are underway at Laem Tukkae on Koh Sireh, on the east side of Phuket Town. The festival is renowned as a celebration of local culture during which sea gypsies build a boat by hand and adorn it with garlands, then place inside it personal items and set…
-
Earthquake aftershock spooks residents in northern Phuket
PHUKET: A 2.3 Richter aftershock centered in Phuket’s Thalang District struck at 4:54am today, waking some residents with a loud bang, while others reported feeling nothing at all of the tremors. “The epicenter of the aftershock was at Latitude 8º 00′ 36″ N, Longitude 98º 21′ 00″ E. It was almost at the same location as the 4.3 quake on…
-
Phuket United gets Gov Tri’s backing
PHUKET: Last year’s CAT Regional Futsal Tournament champions Phuket United have been assured financial support from “Phuket’s father”, in a gesture that will ensure the team can compete in the prestigious Thailand Futsal League (TFL) for the upcoming season. Club administrators met with Phuket Governor Tri Augaradacha at his office on Tuesday. Their first agenda was to appoint the governor…
-
Speed radar project most helpful: Phuket poll
PHUKET: Phuket Gazette readers overwhelmingly think the installation of radar speed cameras to monitor road traffic and automatically fine violators will be the most helpful of six projects recently approved for Phuket by Cabinet, according to our most recent online poll. In the poll launched March 23, readers were asked which of six projects approved by Cabinet during the “Mobile…
-
Xayaburi Dam protesters in Phuket maintain threat of closing Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge
PHUKET: Residents of eight Thai provinces along the Mekong River traveled to Phuket to protest construction of the Xayaburi Dam in Laos during a three-day meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) that ends today in Phuket. The protesters gathered on Tuesday morning at the Movenpick Resort, which is hosting the “Mekong 2 Rio” conference of high-level delegates from Mekong…
-
Laguna Phuket Marathon to take “Chi Running’ in its stride
PHUKET: The revolutionary “Chi Running” technique will be showcased at the forthcoming Laguna Phuket International Marathon in a workshop led by one of Asia’s leading exponents of the method that has taken the running world by storm. Lit Onrubia of the Philippines, a US-certified Chi Running instructor, will lead the workshop at Laguna Phuket on June 9, the day before…
-
Thailand News: Ultralight aircraft to land on river as offering to Thai King
PHUKET: Four Thailand made single-engine aircraft will soon land on the Chao Phraya River in downtown Bangkok as an offering to His Majesty the King if a Royal Thai Navy (RTN) plan is brought to fruition. The navy team is hoping to present the experimental two-seat amphibians to the much-loved monarch who has been undergoing treatment in hospital. Vice Admiral…
-
FC Phuket draw Burmese league leaders in friendly
PHUKET: Yadanarbon FC from Myanmar and home favorites FC Phuket played to an uneventful 0-0 draw in a friendly match at Surakul Stadium last night. The game was generally played at a slow pace and had the feel of a match where both sets of coaches acknowledged the low key nature of the contest. Phuket did most of the running…
-
Phuket Police blame “business conflict’ for snake show arson attack
PHUKET: Phuket’s top police officer said a business conflict was the most likely motive for last week’s arson attack on a health store and snake show complex that left one security guard comatose in hospital. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul on Tuesday announced the news while inspecting the scene, at the Phuket Healthy Nutriment and Snake Show on Soi…
-
Phuket Red Cross pumps up blood donation campaign
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (RBC) has stepped up it mobile blood collection campaign as blood stocks are dangerously low following the annual Songkran Festival last month, which resulted in a surge in road accidents in the region. The Phuket RBC, run by the Thai Red Cross Society, is responsible for collection of blood stocks in Phang Nga, Krabi,…
-
Express mail truck flips in Phuket, no injuries
PHUKET: The driver of an express mail service truck will be charged with negligent driving and property damage after his delivery truck crossed over a median strip and overturned on Phuket’s main road from Phuket Town to the airport on Tuesday afternoon. Thalang Police were notified of the accident, at the u-turn on Thepkrasattri Road near the Kan Keha public…
-
Phuket workers present demands on Labor Day
PHUKET: Union leaders in Phuket yesterday demanded that the government initiate measures to reduce and control the soaring cost of living, which they insist has long outstripped minimum wages. The formal demands for pricing controls headlined a list of six demands presented to Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa at the island’s annual Labor Day Fair held at the Phuket Provincial…
-
Phuket police confirm DNA report “just a formality’ in Dokset murder case
PHUKET: Chalong Police today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that investigators are still waiting for written confirmation that the DNA tests of the human remains found in the basement of Norwegian expat Stein Dokset’s luxury villa in Kata are those of his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong. “We were informed by a phone call a few days ago that the remains are…
-
Phuket property developer agrees to pay back buyers after tax protest
PHUKET: After staging a successful protest in front of the office of a local property development firm yesterday, residents of the Chao Fa Garden Home 3 housing estate in Phuket will get back taxes they claim they were duped into paying by the home builder. About 100 residents of the sprawling estate, located off Thepkrasattri Road in Koh Kaew, gathered…
-
Phuket neighborly dispute ends in fatal stabbing
PHUKET: Thung Thong Police today held a re-enactment of the assault that resulted in the death of Kamonchai Suwanin, 38, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, on Sunday evening. The suspect, Arak Kraisap, 38, from Nonthaburi, confessed to police that following many arguments he stabbed Mr Kamonchai in the throat outside their apartments, opposite the 7-Eleven store on Wichit Songkhram Road near…
-
Tourist, 25, survives six-storey fall from Phuket hotel balcony
PHUKET: A 25-year-old woman from the Philippines has escaped serious injury after falling from the balcony of her sixth-floor Phuket hotel room late last night. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation in Patong told the Phuket Gazette that they received a call notifying them of the incident at about half past midnight. The rescue workers arrived to find Jardeliza Samireh…
-
Phuket currency exchange robbery key witness refutes prime suspect
PHUKET: A key witness in the investigation into the 48,000-baht robbery of a Phuket currency exchange kiosk on Saturday night today told police that their prime suspect was not the man who committed the robbery. Chalong Police had named Nathee Srisawang, 28, from Prachuap Khiri Khan, as their prime suspect. Mr Nathee was named in a complaint filed by a…
-
Phuket ‘lucky license plate’ auction raises over B30mn
PHUKET: The “Lucky License Plate Action” held by the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) at The Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town on April 28 to 29 raised more than 30 million baht. The money raised from the auction, close to 30.5 million baht, will go to the Road Safety Fund, which provides assistance to road-accident victims and conducts road-safety campaigns…
-
Phuket Events: Large crowds expected for Sunday’s trail runs
The Columbia Trailmasters 2012 Phuket Edition will add yet another stunning sport event to the Phuket calendar when it gets underway this Sunday (May 6) at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club. The competitions, comprising a 21.5km Off Road Half Marathon; a 10km Trail Run; and a Fun Run for kids and adults less athletically inclined, look set to see…
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.