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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Phuket taxi call center on hold, ranks wait for green light
PHUKET: The launch of the Patong taxi call center has been deferred indefinitely as officials scramble to prepare staff, taxi drivers and necessary equipment. The service was slated to kick off this month (story here), following the tear-down of illegal taxi stands throughout Patong and the rest of the island (story here). “We have mapped out the proposed locations of…
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Sale of B60mn prime Phuket land plot spooked by suspect land title
PHUKET: A family of farmers trying to sell nine rai of land with an estimated value of 60 million baht have come under scrutiny for trying to upgrade a SorKor 1 deed for the site to full Chanote status. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led officers to inspect the site yesterday after receiving an anonymous complaint asking for the Governor’s…
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Thanyapura gives back to the community
PHUKET: “Now more than ever, companies need to demonstrate transparency. They must show they are attuned to environmental issues. They should reduce carbon emissions, promote zero waste and host CSR activities to engage the public,” said the President of International Business Affairs of The Nation Multimedia Group Pana Janviroj in the foreword of the latest issue of CSR Thailand magazine.…
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Tourists on ‘walk-in’ visa entries to get 30-day extensions
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Immigration Office, Col Sunchai Chokkajaykij, has confirmed that his office has received an official order to begin issuing extensions of up to 30 days to foreigners who enter the country on visa-exemption status. The order, signed by Immigration Bureau Acting Commissioner Sakda Chuenpakdee, is to come into effect from August 29, said Col Sunchai.…
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Dutch pot lord arrested in Pattaya
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutchman, Thai wife nabbed for trafficking pot The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Dutchman and his Thai wife were arrested yesterday in Pattaya for allegedly conspiring to sell marijuana via a network in the Netherlands that reportedly earned Bt600 million to Bt800 million per year.…
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Newcastle lead the Premier League jet-setters
PHUKET: By the time Newcastle United kick off their Premier League campaign at home to champions Manchester City in little less than a month’s time the squad would have clocked up an astonishing 24,687 pre-season air miles. Globe-trotting West Ham United will not be far behind while five other clubs would have covered distances in excess of 12,000 miles as…
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Gaza bloodshed deepens as airlines shun Israel
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gaza bloodshed deepens as airlines shun Israel Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Gaza fighting raged on Wednesday, displacing thousands more Palestinians in the battered territory as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said efforts to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas had made some progress.…
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Dutch mourn as first MH17 bodies arrive in Netherlands
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch mourn as first MH17 bodies arrive in Netherlands Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The bodies of the first victims from a Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine last week arrived on Wednesday at a military base in the Netherlands – a nation in shock and…
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Phuket SEA Coworking Space hosts iSeahorse workshop tonight
PHUKET: The SEA Coworking Space in Phuket Town will be saddling up to host a free iSeahorse workshop this evening at 6:30. The event is a training workshop for scuba divers, snorkellers and beach goers who have an interest in learning how to survey and identify seahorses in coastal locations, explains Lindsay Aylesworth, lead researcher in Thailand for Project Seahorse…
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ITF Pro Circuit winners rejoice
PHUKET: WITH the Chang SAT International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pro Circuit doubles event at Phuket’s Thanyapura half way through, the first winners are celebrating their results. Ya-Fan Wang of China played from the qualifying round to win the Women’s Singles event. In the final round Wang survived five match points to come back to defeat Yi-Fan Xu 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.…
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Phuket lifeguards issue no-jeans warning after near-drowning
PHUKET: Lifeguards at Phuket’s Nai Harn Beach have called for swimmers to not wear jeans in the surf after a tourist wearing them nearly drowned there late yesterday afternoon. Lifeguards pulled Kammapol Suyapiew, 40, unconscious from the heavy surf after he went swimming with friends in an area marked by red flags. “We tried to warn them when we saw…
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Thalang open their account with a win over Laguna
With both teams chasing their first points of the Outrigger Twenty20 season, last year’s premiers Laguna were pitted against Thalang, recent winners of the 35 over league. The coin fell Thalang’s way and Captain Craig Murphy elected to bat. Manish Sadarangani did what Laguna couldn’t do in the recent grand final when he picked up Andrew McMillan’s wicket in the…
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NCPO eases controls on media, urges self-regulation
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO eases controls on media, urges self-regulation The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has amended some points in its announcement – No 97 – on media control after being told that the order banning critical reports was harsh.…
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His Majesty endorses provisional constitution
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO chief gets full control of security The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: His Majesty The King has endorsed a provisional charter that puts the chief of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) in charge of national security, allowing him to suppress any action both…
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Boy, 4, dies after being left in car by school driver
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Boy, 4, dies after being left in car by school driver The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Another child has died in tragic circumstances after being left in a car – in Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday – by the driver of a school vehicle. Driver Anusorn…
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Indonesian president-elect Jokowi calls for unity after bitter election
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesian president-elect Jokowi calls for unity after bitter election Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was declared the winner of Indonesia’s presidential election on Tuesday, bringing the promise of major reforms to the world’s third largest democracy. The Elections Commission, known as KPU, said…
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Phuket begins registering illegal migrant workers
PHUKET: The first wave of illegal migrant workers made their way to Phuket Provincial Community Hall today to apply for legal working status at the one-stop registration center. The center opened at 8:30am and will operate every day until August 21, as instructed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to streamline the process of registering illegal migrant…
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Breaking News: Police bust Phuket drug dealer found with B3.5mn worth of ya ice
PHUKET: Police nabbed a big-time Phuket drug dealer yesterday afternoon with 3.5* million baht worth of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) stashed away in his house in Rawai. “Suphap Somphak, 30, was wanted for his involvement in an island drug network. Investigators were able to gather enough information about him to secure a search warrant for his house in Soi Sarika…
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No life-time ban for overstays
PHUKET: Thailand’s Immigration Bureau has dropped its proposal for a lifetime ban on foreigners re-entering the country if they are caught overstaying their permits-to-stay by 10 years or more. The Immigration Division 1 in Bangkok announced the news by posting a special notice on its website this morning (click here). Under the new proposed rules, there is no re-entry ban…
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Pinot plays down Bardet rivalry ahead of Pyrenees
THIBAUT Pinot has played down an all-French rivalry with fellow youngster Romain Bardet by saying his compatriot is not his biggest threat for a rare home podium finish on the Tour de France. Pinot, who is fourth just behind third-placed Bardet, believes Spain’s second-placed Alejandro Valverde, American Tejay van Garderen in fifth and France’s Jean-Christophe Peraud have greater time-trial prowess…
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South Korea ferry disaster: Body of fugitive boss found
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community South Korea ferry disaster: Body of fugitive boss found Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korean police said on Tuesday that a body found last month in the south of the country was that of a fugitive businessman who headed the family that owned the operator…
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Media groups call on junta to repeal ban threat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media groups call on junta to repeal ban threat The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Media groups have called on the National Council for Peace and Order to revoke or change its latest announcement on control measures over the industry. Of particular concern is the immediate…
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Bodies, black boxes handed over from Ukraine crash site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bodies, black boxes handed over from Ukraine crash site Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The remains of some of the nearly 300 victims of the Malaysia Airlines plane downed over Ukraine were making their way to the Netherlands on Tuesday as a senior Ukrainian separatist leader…
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Gaza death toll tops 500 as U.S. steps up ceasefire efforts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gaza death toll tops 500 as U.S. steps up ceasefire efforts Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Palestinian death toll in an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip jumped to more than 500 on Monday, as the United States, alarmed by escalating civilian bloodshed, took a…
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Angry Rawai residents demand water
PHUKET: A group of angry residents from the Saiyuan Med Village housing estate in Rawai descended on the Phuket Water Authority (PWA) office at Bang Wad Reservoir today to demand action to fix their water supply. Water supply had been intermittent since the start of the year, and for the past two months 55 homes in the estate have had…
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Phuket teen confesses to fatal stabbing
PHUKET: A Phuket teen turned in to police by his parents has confessed to the fatal stabbing of another young man in the heat of a fistfight early yesterday morning. “The parents of Suppachai Mattanung, 19, called me this morning and told me they were bringing their son to the station, as he had confessed to them that he had…
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Soi Paradise staff tested for drugs in police sweep
PHUKET: An 88-strong brigade of Phuket police, military officers and local officials took to the streets of Patong’s gay quarter last night to conduct random drugs tests on Soi Paradise bar staffers. “We arrived at Soi Paradise at about 9pm and were finished by about 10pm,” Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Khunnadet Nanongkhai told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “During the…
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Woman shot dead in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police are hunting for the suspect of a shooting on the east side of Phuket Town last night that ended in the death of a woman from Trang. Local residents who heard the sounds of gunfire in Soi Hatchananivet, near the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) Hospital in Rassada, notified Phuket City Police of the incident by at about…
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Drug dealer serves time in Pattalung, arrested in Phuket for dealing again
PHUKET: A drug dealer who had recently been released from a six-year stint in prison was arrested in Phuket yesterday in possession of 105,000 baht of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Jakkarin Songpet, 33, was stopped by Thalang Police at the Baan Bang Jo checkpoint on Thepkrasattri Road at about 5:30pm. “We pulled him over because he was driving a motorbike…
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First Hole-in-One at Laguna Phuket Golf Club new course
PHUKET: Soon after Laguna Phuket Golf Club unveiled the first half of their completely redesigned golf course, a new opportunity to celebrate presented itself. This time it was thanks to German golf player Juergen John who scored a hole-in-one on July 9 – both his and the course’s first. Stepping onto the Blue Tee, Juergen flushed an 8 iron on…
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