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.
-
Junta seeks to block social-media access to ‘inappropriate content’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Junta seeks to block social-media access to ‘inappropriate content’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The junta’s online content monitoring panel will seek cooperation from social-network operators to block accessibility in Thailand to Facebook pages, Line groups and YouTube videos that have inappropriate content, especially those…
-
Ukraine separatists down army helicopter, 14 killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine separatists down army helicopter, 14 killed Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian army helicopter on Thursday, killing 14 soldiers including a general, as government forces pressed ahead with an offensive to crush rebellions in the east swiftly following the election…
-
Light-rail proposed to trundle through Phuket Town
PHUKET: Plans proposing that Phuket’s long-awaited light-rail system travel through the heart of Phuket Town will be revealed at a public hearing next Tuesday. The news follows a meeting of high-ranking officials, including Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, yesterday. Sirigate Apirat of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning told the Phuket Gazette today that the proposed route for…
-
Phuket stab victim dies en route to hospital
PHUKET: A Phuket woman who was stabbed in her garden this afternoon died as her neighbors rushed her to Thalang Hospital. Nongluk Thavorn, 42, was found screaming for help with a knife still lodged in her head. “I climbed over the wall into her garden. I saw her on the ground bleeding with the knife stuck in her head, behind…
-
Krabi authorities scramble to have unexploded Japanese torpedo removed from beach
PHUKET: Krabi authorities are scrambling to have an explosive torpedo removed from the beach after they were notified by concerned villagers of the washed up wartime weapon on Tuesday. “Koh Jum fisherman left on Tuesday to fish near Koh Sriboya. While they were fishing, they spotted a large metal item about four meters long and 50 centimeters wide floating in…
-
Unidentified body washes ashore at Mai Khao Beach
PHUKET: Police are trying to establish the identity of a man whose naked body was found washed up on Mai Khao Beach this morning. A local beach resort staffer notified police after a tourist made the gruesome discovery at about 7am. “From our initial examination of the body, we believe the man died about three days before his body was…
-
Video Report: Winners return to defend their titles at Phuket Raceweek
PHUKET: The entry list is growing with a strong line-up of local and international boats already signed-up for 2014, including a number of past winners who are back to defend (or reclaim) titles. Last year’s Firefly 850 class winner, Twin Sharks, and past winner Moto Inzi are both back to reignite rivalries. Regular Raceweek competitor Stuart Williamson, who placed second…
-
MMA enters Phuket
PHUKET: More than 500 people are expected to show up at Phuket’s first MMA gala, and they are in for a treat. “Thai culture understands combat sports. And the Kingdom is on the cusp of accepting MMA with open arms. We’re just trying to give a little push,” explains Ree Webster, the event’s co-organizer,when asked about the motivations behind his…
-
Malaysian breath-hold record set for static apnea
PHUKET: Contestants and spectators held their breath for some time during the WeFreedive Suunto Series static apnea event when a new Malaysian record was set on May 25. “This month’s static freediving competition had the feel of a young green season: small and relaxed,” explained Association Internationale pour le Développement de l’Apnée (AIDA) judge Richard Wonka. Despite the small turnout…
-
Flight MH370: Doubt raised over whether pings came from missing Malaysia jet
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Doubt raised over whether ‘pings’ came from missing Malaysia jet Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The U.S. Navy described as “speculative and premature” a media report on Thursday that said four acoustic pings at the centre of the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner are…
-
Marina canal dredging resumes despite environmental concerns
PHUKET: The dredging project to improve access to Koh Kaew marinas, which was halted earlier this month due to environmental concerns, has started again. The decision to continue with the dredging of the Koh Kaew Canal (story here) was reached yesterday after lengthy discussions among the Phuket Governor, the Phuket Marine Office chief, the local subdistrict chief and Jitti Intaracharoen…
-
Thai junta debunks outrage over Facebook outage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘No policy to block FB’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) said yesterday that it had no policy to block social media, after there was brief chaos as Facebook faced technical failure at its Internet gateway. Facebook was…
-
Egypt’s Sisi sweeps to victory in presidential vote
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt’s Sisi sweeps to victory in presidential vote The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who toppled Egypt’s first freely elected leader, swept to victory in a presidential election, provisional results showed on Thursday, joining a long line of leaders drawn from…
-
Curfew checkpoints on Phuket, but no political reconciliation center
PHUKET: Coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday ordered each of the four Army areas to set up reconciliation centers where people could exchange political views and obtain direct information about the junta. However, the closest center to Phuket is at the Royal Thai Army base in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, to which a Phuket reporter and former island official have already…
-
Video Report: Goats go for gold
PHUKET: Crowds of fair-goers hastily gathered last Saturday around the racing lanes at the National Goat Fair in Cherng Talay as anxious farmers corralled their hairy contestants toward the starting line. The ominous, stubborn rain clouds had parted just in time for the long-awaited goat races to begin. Even the sweltering heat could not stifle the excitement among children and…
-
Facebook in Phuket not blocked by Army
PHUKET: Facebook crashing worldwide caused a flurry of tweets in Phuket and Thailand over concern that the popular social media site had been blocked by the junta. Downrightnow.com reported “likely service disruption” across the globe at about 4pm, not isolated incidents in Thailand, as many were worried about. Commanding General of the 41st Military Circle Peerapol Wiriyakul told the Phuket…
-
Vietnam meth mule caught with 3.2kg of ice at Krabi Airport
PHUKET: A Vietnamese woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle 3.2 kilograms of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) into Thailand via Krabi International Airport. Customs Department chief Rakhop Srisuppha-at said that the drugs had an estimated street value of 9 million baht. Mr Rakhop told the press yesterday that Vietnamese national Tran Thi Be Hai, 43, arrived in Krabi…
-
Phuket night workers start day shift to survive curfew
PHUKET: Patong nightlife operators, desperate to make up for business lost due to the nationwide curfew, have done the only thing they can do: start the party earlier. “Each venue has adjusted its hours to fit the curfew. Discotheques are now opening at about 4pm,” Weerawit Kurasombat, head of the Patong Entertainment Business Association, told the Phuket Gazette. “While it…
-
Phuket land encroachment top priority for new park chief
PHUKET: The new chief of Phuket’s Sirinath National Park yesterday vowed to pick up where his predecessor left off in the battle against land encroachment. Chief Kitiphat Taraphiban, who transferred to Phuket from Mae Ping National Park in Chiang Mai, arrived on the island last Friday and reported to Governor Maitri Inthusut for duty yesterday morning. “We have some strong…
-
Obama plans to end US troop presence in Afghanistan by 2016
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama plans to end US troop presence in Afghanistan by 2016 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined a plan to withdraw all but 9,800 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year and pull out the rest by…
-
Army rolls out reconciliation centers; confirms Yingluck free
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army aims to heal rift The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: To patch up the rifts in society, coup leader Maj Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday ordered the four Army areas to set up reconciliation centres throughout the country. The centres would be forums for people to…
-
Rice-pledge agency denies losing 3 million tonnes of rice
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PWO denies losing 3-million tonnes of rice The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Public Warehouse Organisation yesterday denied that it had lost as much as 3 million tonnes of rice as leaked by an audit committee source to the public, saying a figure was missing…
-
Thailand News: Now free, PDRC leaders turn to Facebook; Rice farmers thankful for payments
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PDRC members tell their time in military lock-up The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Members of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) freed on Monday from several days of military detention after acknowledging sedition charges are now telling the world of the experience on social media.…
-
Singapore’s ‘worst serial rapist’ gets 37.5 years’ jail, 24 strokes
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Singapore’s ‘worst serial rapist’ gets 37.5 years’ jail, 24 strokes The Straits Times / ANN PHUKET: A 44-year-old serial rapist who spiked his victims’ drinks with sleeping pills in an unprecedented date rape case, was expressionless as he was sentenced to 371/2 years’ jail on Tuesday.…
-
Fire at South Korea hospital for elderly kills 21
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fire at hospital for elderly kills 21 in latest major South Korea accident Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A fire at a rural South Korean hospital for chronically ill elderly patients on Wednesday killed 21 people and injured eight in the second major fire this week…
-
Phuket curfew reduced to four hours
PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has announced that the curfew period will be reduced to four hours a day. The current curfew still effective tonight, banning all unsanctioned travel on the streets, is in effect from 10pm to 5am. The new curfew hours, from midnight to 4am, will come into effect tomorrow night, May 28. The…
-
Gun-toting Aussie tourist nabbed with crystal meth in Phuket
PHUKET: Patong Police arrested an Australian tourist today after finding him in possession of 530mg of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine), a gun, and ammunition. Mark Robert Coutelas, 53, was apprehended at the Green Mango Apartment complex on Nanai Road after the police received a tip-off. “We went to the apartment and found Mr Coutelas at his rental room at about…
-
Video Report: Phuket tourists talk about Thailand’s coup
PHUKET: Five days into Thailand’s coup d’etat, international travel advisories have been flying thick and fast following the military takeover by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha. But travel advisories are written in dusty offices far from where the real action is taking place, so Phuket Today decided to find out what the international community really thinks about what’s happening here. We headed…
-
Lifeguards back on Phuket beaches, ask PPAO to plan ahead
PHUKET: Lifeguards returned to Phuket beaches today, ending a month-long break after the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s (PPAO) 10-month contract with the lifeguard club fell through on April 27 (story here). Waters surrounding the island have become more dangerous with the arrival of the annual southwest monsoon season, and one tourist died during the lifeguard-less month (story here). “I am…
-
Grateful Phuket locals praise army
PHUKET: More than 500 locals gathered at Sanam Chai Park this morning to offer roses and letters of thanks to army officers for their hard work. The grateful group of local farmers, students, Reserve Officer Training Corps Students and Civil Defence Volunteers intercepted the officers as they were on their way to meet with Governor Maitri Inthusut at Phuket Provincial…
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.