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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Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...
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Phuket Gazette World News: Dramatic balloon crash caught on film; Brazilians lose bikinis for the Pope; Cop-turned-actor Dennis Farina dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hot air balloon carrying 11 crashes in Dutch lake, injuring 2 Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: A hot air balloon carrying eleven people crashed into a lake in the Netherlands on late yesterday evening, injuring two of the people on board, emergency services said. The…
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Phuket’s transport evolution
PHUKET: The long awaited new Airport Express bus service between Phuket Airport and the island’s premier party and entertainment town, Patong, started to roll last Friday, four days later than expected. “We thought we could start on July 15, but we had to push the launch date back,” Mr Prakob Panyawai, the owner of the bus operating company, explained, adding…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Kate and Will show off new prince; Oz tells UK not to leave EU; China’s corrupt healthcare
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Kate and William show off Britain’s new prince Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prince William and his wife Kate gave the world its first glimpse of their new baby yesterday when they left hospital with the boy who is third in line to the British throne.…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand news: Tests needed to ID crash victims; Southern unrest during Ramadan; Deeds to be revoked for golf course
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tests needed to identify many victims of bus crash The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Forensic experts are working to identify victims whose bodies were burnt beyond recognition after a horrific bus crash in Kaeng Khoi in Saraburi early yesterday.The tragedy, which claimed 19 lives, has prompted Transport…
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Special Report: Phuket Gazette keeping an eye on corruption
Special Report: Thailand has again ranked poorly in Transparency International’s annual report on corruption worldwide, released last week. How does this report affect Phuket? The Phuket Gazette investigates. PHUKET: Global corruption watchdog Transparency International last week released its annual report on corruption worldwide. Known as the Global Corruption Barometer, the report compiles an international index of all countries based on…
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19 killed in tour bus crash
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Reuters/ Phuket Gazette Nineteen people were killed and 23 were injured when a double-decker passenger bus caught fire after a collision in Saraburi, north of Bangkok. An 18-wheel lorry crashed into the Bangkok-bound overnight bus on Mitraphab highway, one of Thailand’s busiest roads. Most passengers, as…
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Phuket FC lock horns with Bangkok Iron Bulls to no avail
PHUKET: The Islanders dropped one place to sixth of the 18-team Yamaha League One (YL1), after playing out yet another draw – this time to Bangkok FC in a tense yet thrilling 1-1 dead-lock on Saturday evening in Thailand’s capital. Bangkok also lost their 3rd place standing, falling into 4th as a result of the draw and in conjunction with…
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Korean classical musicians to perform free Phuket concert for refugee children
PHUKET: An ensemble of 10 top-flight classical musicians accompanied by 100 students will perform in concert in Phuket free of charge tonight (July 23) to raise funds for Myanmar refugee children living near the border town of Sangkhlaburi, in Kanchanaburi province. The two-hour concert, to be held at the Andaman Embrace Resort & Spa on Haad Patong Road (map here),…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Chiang Mai, Hua Hin best for retirees; Phuket’s best Raceweek
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chiang Mai, Hua Hin best The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Live and Invest Overseas website has ranked Chiang Mai and Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district as a couple of the world’s best places to retire due to the low cost of living and beautiful beaches.The…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Dengue vaccine in the works; Govt ignoring the elderly; Monk’s passport revoked; Biogas stations approved
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Sanofi set to make dengue vaccine The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Nobody knows for sure whether the trials of a vaccine for dengue fever will bear fruit, or provide new hope to countries plagued by the virus. However, a factory is now ready to start producing the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: UK has new prince; Belguim has new king; Moroccan king to get new government
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Baby boy for Prince William and wife Kate Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Prince William’s wife Kate gave birth to a boy yesterday afternoon, the couple’s first child and the third in line to the British throne, heralding celebrations in London and messages of goodwill from across the…
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Phang Nga bus crash leaves 22 injured
PHUKET: More than 20 passengers were injured when a bus en route from Bangkok to Phang Nga, north of Phuket, overshot a curve and crashed into a road barrier in Pranburi in Prachuap Khiri Khan province yesterday. A reported 21 passengers and the driver were sent for emergency medical treatment at Pranburi and Thanarat hospitals. Three were sent to Hua…
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Phuket office identifies 82 “foreign-owned’ businesses suspected of using Thai nominees
PHUKET: The Phuket Business Development Office (BDO) has identified 82 businesses suspected of breaching the Foreign Business Act (FBA) by using Thais as nominees so that foreigners can hold majority control. The businesses were identified ahead of raids by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) set for this week, targeting illegal foreign businesses in Phuket (story here). “After checking our…
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Phuket boat captain charged for reckless driving resulting in death
PHUKET: A boat captain was charged with reckless driving resulting in death after the pickup he was driving on Chao Fa East road Saturday night struck a man on a motorbike, killing him.A-thit Hannongbua, 35, was travelling toward Phuket Town on Chao Fa East Road when 55-year-old Kittichai Prapanan pulled out from Soi Thanuthep on his motorbike, a witness told…
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Headstrong Phuket buffalo causes three accidents
PHUKET: A pregnant buffalo that wandered onto the bypass road late Saturday night withstood the blows of three cars before dying in the median strip.Kusoldharm rescue workers were called to the bypass road in front of Porntip Sea Store at 1am yesterday to aid the injured motorists.The first vehicle to strike the buffalo was a taxi carrying passengers from the…
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Aussie Oi! breezes in to Phuket Raceweek win
PHUKET: Winds gusting to 20 knots made for a perfect end to what has turned into one of the best Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek regattas yet. The weather conditions delivered fast and exciting racing throughout, leaving the sailors of more than 15 nationalities tired but happy. Two races for all except the Classic class made for a hectic schedule…
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Phuket alcohol ban for Buddhist holiday, Gazette office closed
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to inform our readers and advertisers that our office in Koh Kaew is closed today in observance of Asarnha Bucha Day (story here). Asarnha Bucha Day, the full-moon day of the eighth lunar month, commemorates the Lord Buddha’s first sermon to his first five disciples after attaining Enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago. Evening…
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Phuket Gazette World News: MiG fighters found on NK ship; Abe in Japan poll victory; King Albert abdicates; Dubai jails woman for rape report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Panama finds MiG fighter jets on North Korean arms ship Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Panamanian investigators unloading the cargo of a seized North Korean ship that carried arms from Cuba have found the two MiG-21 fighter jets the Cuban government had said were on board, the government…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Health Ministry ramps up War on Dengue; Amnesty bill held to ransom; 2 slain in South; Monks moved
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New strategy adopted to fight dengue: spray areas promptly The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has ramped up its fight against dengue fever and now requires hospitals to report to the area disease control department within three hours every time a dengue-fever…
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Close racing, clean sheets on Day Three of Phuket Raceweek
PHUKET: Lightairs beckoned on Day Three of Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, but by starttime a solid 10 knots was blowing and Principle Race Officer (PRO) Simon Jamesgot the fleet underway on time yesterday. A single race was in order for IRCCruising and the Classic classes, while the rest enjoyed the solid breeze tocomplete two races. The wind held throughout…
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Phuket Gazette Queer News: Northern women rub it for lucky numbers
PHUKET: A tree that bears a remarkable resemblance to a man’s nether regions is setting pulses racing in a village in the province of Kamphaeng Phet. The mango tree, which was found on land belonging to 50-year-old Mrs Lot Panthap, appears to have two legs, an arse, and a dork (or ‘penis’) hanging in the balance. Local villagers have been…
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Fetus washes ashore in Phuket, police searching for mother
PHUKET: A 6-month-old fetus that police believe was dumped at sea washed ashore at Saphan Hin last night.Police and rescue workers responded to a 10:30pm call and found a crowd surrounding the body at the tip of Saphan Hin park in Phuket Town. Police believe the fetus had been dead for about two days.Kusoldharm workers took the body to Vachira…
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Phuket Opinion: Enigmatic beach flags
PHUKET: You arrive at the beach ready for a day of sun, sea and sand, but you are greeted by a line of different colored flags lining the shoreline: red, red and yellow, yellow, blue, red and white chequered. Most people, myself included, aim for the area away from the red flag as they know what that means. The others…
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Phuket Opinion: Sea change in mindset needed to avoid dire straits
PHUKET: The recent discovery and subsequent removal of a large fishing net from the well-known dive site Shark Point (story here) is just the latest in a long series of indicators that the marine environment off Phuket is in dire straits. Government researchers at the ‘National Parks and Protected Area Innovation Institute’ told a recent seminar that coral bleaching had…
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Child rapist confesses to raping stepdaughter repeatedly for years
PHUKET: Police arrested a child rapist yesterday after the man’s wife came home early from work and discovered that he had been raping her daughter repeatedly over an eight year period. The girl’s mother, Ms Kai (all family members were given aliases to protect the identity of the victim), reported her discovery first to her village headman, who then took…
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Phuket cops bust ya bah dealers
PHUKET: Phuket police busted two ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers at a police checkpoint on Chao Fa East Road last night.The two men, Apichart Karaket, 26, and Surasak Tunyaudon, 22, confessed to police that they were paid between 3,000 and 4,000 baht to transfer the drugs from a dealer’s house in Thalang to another dealer’s house, Wichit Police Superintendent Chawalit Phetsipear…
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Brainstorming Phuket’s future – indoor soccer stadiums make the list
PHUKET: Participants from almost every segment of Phuket society gathered on July 17 to tell local government leaders what improvements they want to see on the island in the next two years. The ideas ranged from indoor football stadiums in every tambon to solving the island’s traffic problems.Phuket government representatives along with members of state enterprises, private businesses and ordinary…
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Phuket witnesses for Swede murder trial fail to show
PHUKET: The trial of Swede Tommy Soderlund, charged along with fellow countryman Johan Ljung for a murder in Phuket in 2011, did not progress yesterday, as witnesses failed to appear in court. Mr Soderlund and Mr Ljung are accused of stabbing to death Maksim Schantz and then stealing a motorbike in order to escape the scene. Mr Soderlund admits to…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Two killed in Egypt; UN seeks proof of peacekeeper, rebel talks; Israel, Palestine lay groundwork for peace talks; Pope looks for Vatican reform
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two killed in clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi protesters Reuters/Phuket GazetteAn Egyptian woman and a 13-year-old boy were killed when supporters and opponents of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi clashed in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, the website of state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on Saturday.Thousands of…
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Winds keep Phuket Raceweek fast and furious for Day Two
PHUKET: Winds ranging from eight to fifteen knots gave all boats some long-course racing off Phuket’s southern coast for Day Two of the 10th Anniversary Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. Despite breakages and damage to six boats on the first day of the event, all were fixed and back in action yesterday with a full 37-strong fleet out racing on-the-water.The…
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