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
Siam Paragon celebrates 'A Prosperous Chinese New Year 2025'
Siam Paragon, in collaboration with KASIKORNBANK, is hosting a spectacular Lunar New Year celebration, Siam Paragon A Prosperous Chinese New Year 2025, from today until February 2, at Parc Paragon. This year’s event is inspired by the rich heritage of Dunhuang,...
-
Phuket Deep Sea Port ‘not deep enough’
PHUKET: In an effort to kick-start the stalled Phuket Deep Sea Port expansion project, the head of the local Marine Department Office escorted representatives from two major cruise line companies to a meeting with Governor Tri Augkaradacha on July 12 to discuss the problems encountered by large ships using the facility. Located at Cape Panwa, the deep sea port has…
-
Phuket Business: Google extending online reach for local businesses
PHUKET: Celebrating its inaugural year and 100,000 new businesses online, Google Thailand’s ‘Thai Businesses Go Online’ program (TBGO) has paved the way for the next stage in the evolution of an economically prosperous online ecosystem. Highlighting TBGO’s success, the IT and Marketing mega-icon’s country office reported that it has attracted more than 100,000 participants nationwide in a year – far…
-
Phuket Sports: Thailand’s Olympic hopefuls
PHUKET: Since the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the United Kingdom during May, anticipation for the games has continued to grow. The torch is being carried across the UK by around 8,000 people ranging from athletes such as Sir Steve Redgrave, local people and celebrities. The torch will finish its 70 day relay by lighting the flame that will…
-
Toyota races back to Phuket
PHUKET: The Toyota Motor Sport Series is set to return to Phuket with organizers hoping to repeat the resounding success of last year’s edition. This year’s program was announced last week at a press conference held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. Presiding over the conference were Phuket V/Gov Sommai Prijasilpa and Vice Director of Toyota Motor Thailand Company Nikorn…
-
Phuket FC scorched by ‘Fire Power’, Joksic resigns
PHUKET: Serbian national Milos Joksic has resigned from his post as Phuket FC head coach, with a former Thai national team defender expected to fill in the vacancy immediately. First reported in Thai language on the Nok Sanarm website, the announcement comes at the climax of a tiring week marked by three back to back losses – the last two…
-
Harsher sentencing the best approach to violent crime: Phuket poll
PHUKET: Readers see harsher sentences for convicted criminals as the best deterrent to violent crime in Phuket, the results of the latest Phuket Gazette online readers poll revealed. The poll was launched in the wake of a particularly heinous crime that rocked the island last month: the slaying of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith in Kata. Given these crimes and…
-
Phuket Opinion: Journalistic ethics cannot be digitized
PHUKET: One memorable scene from the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz is the moment when Toto pulls back the curtain to reveal that the “mighty and all-powerful Oz” is no more than an ordinary man who, by circumstances beyond his control, finds himself thrust into a position of power that he never sought or wanted. This revelation may come…
-
Phuket mob bays for blood at ‘Nong Som’ murder reenactment
PHUKET: There was a wild scene in a normally quiet Phuket suburb this morning, where more than 60 security officers were needed to prevent an irate crowd from lynching the man who murdered 17-year-old Sunisa “Nong Som” Saiyoy on Tuesday. Confessed killer Kittikhun Wonghajak arrived at the home of the late Nong Som at 10am today under the protection of…
-
Phuket Sports: F1 – A quick look back
PHUKET: The next race will be at the Hockenheimring and will mark the half way point of the F1 season, so it’s a good time to sit back and review where everyone is. At the start of the season, McLaren looked unbeatable except by error. They seemed exhausted by Silverstone. Why? Because Ferrari and Red Bull had upgraded their aerodynamics,…
-
‘Creative Tourism’ seminar in Phuket next week
PHUKET: In preparation for the measures of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) set to take effect in less than three years, the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) will host a seminar on Friday, July 20 to promote sustainable tourism under the concept of “creative tourism”. Among the distinguished guests invited to speak are former Bangkok Governor and current Democrat Party deputy…
-
Bus from Phuket to Narathiwat crashes in Phang Nga
PHUKET: A tour bus full of school directors from Narathiwat province overturned in Phang Nga late this morning, causing numerous injuries, but fortunately no deaths. The bus was en route to Krabi when the accident occurred on a sharp curve known locally as “Chong Kub Tha Yu“, located on the road from Lo Yung to Tha Yu in Takua Thung…
-
B500 million Phuket Historical Park approval given
PHUKET: The approval for the 500 million baht Phuket Historical Park project was announced in a meeting at Provincial Hall on Tuesday. The project, which is to be established on 96 rai of land in Thalang, will be managed by the Public Works, and Town and Country Planning, Phuket Office with the cooperation of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports,…
-
Full budget for Chalong hospital project unlikely to materialize
PHUKET: The mayor of Chalong handed a formal letter of complaint to Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri for the ministry’s failure to provide 186 million baht in funding for the establishment of a new hospital. The financial package, provisionally agreed to by the Cabinet at the mobile meeting on Phuket in March, was to turn the “Chalong Health Promoting Station”…
-
Drug-addicted thief confesses to murder of Phuket teen “Nong Som’
PHUKET: Security is expected to be very tight in Chalong this morning, when police and the confessed drug-addicted killer of 17-year-old Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy re-enact the brutal strangling, attempted rape and robbery that took place on Tuesday. Confessed murderer Kittikhun Wonghajak, who goes by multiple aliases including “Aek”, “Mac” and “Goong”, told the press yesterday that he did not intentionally…
-
Phuket Sports: A look ahead to this weekend’s action
PHUKET: Three-time Olympic track champion Bradley Wiggins is looking to become the first British man to win the Tour de France. He is currently in first place after he and his Sky Team held off numerous attempts by other riders on stage 11 to unsettle him. Fellow Brit and Sky team member Chris Froome is in second place on the…
-
Combating rising crime in Rawai
PHUKET: CHALONG Police are boosting public safety on the southern streets of Phuket by enlisting the help of local government officers, volunteers, and other island residents, business people. Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Narong Laksanawimon told the Gazette that more than 20 officers from Rawai Municipality and local residents are joining police efforts in patrolling the streets, reporting any suspicious activities…
-
Navy rescue drills off Phuket declared a success
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy conducted training drills on Tuesday with the aim of improving coordination among the different emergency response units in Phuket. The exercise, which ran from 9am to midday, was staged on the beach in front of the Third Naval Area Command base at Cape Panwa. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Vice Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan, Commander of…
-
Senate seeks action on foreign tour guides in Phuket
PHUKET: An adviser to the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism has spoken out against the long-standing problem of foreign tour guides operating in Phuket. Phanomphon Thammachartniyom, an honorary adviser to the upper house committee, told a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall that he had been working for 10 years to solve the problem of Russians, Chinese and Koreans working as…
-
Phuket Gazette: Salmonella strain might reinfect kids
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Salmonella strain might reinfect kids Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A drug-resistant strain of Salmonella bacteria, found in eggs causing 500 schoolchildren to fall ill, might continue lingering and re-infect them for another three months. The provincial health office will send a team to tackle…
-
Nepal tourism opportunities promoted in Phuket
PHUKET: Members of the media, local officials and other invited guests enjoyed a fine cultural show and dinner on Tuesday, courtesy of the Nepal Embassy from Bangkok, which is promoting that country’s many tourism opportunities as part of its ‘Visit Lumbini Year’ campaign for 2012. The event, which took place in the grand ballroom of the Royal Phuket City Hotel,…
-
Phuket Gazette: Hackers release more than 420,000 passwords
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hackers release more than 420,000 Formspring passwords Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The questions and answers website Formspring yesterday disabled the passwords of its more than 29 million registered users as a precaution after nearly half a million of them were posted on a website,…
-
Phuket Customs director: Illegal diesel probably used to support terrorism
PHUKET: Customs officials who seized over 200,000 liters of smuggled diesel fuel off Phuket on Monday suspect the profits from such sales are likely being channeled to support terrorist activities. “Customs have been cracking down on illegally imported goods, especially fuel, which is probably being used to support terrorism,” said Rakob Srisupa, director of the Customs Department Marine Investigation and…
-
Phuket Sports: Lance gets a shot in the arm with extended deadline
PHUKET: Seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was given an extended deadline of 30 days to answer charges last month that he used performance enhancing drugs during his illustrious cycling career.The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) originally gave Armstrong until Saturday to answer the charges. If found guilty he could be stripped of his tour titles and face a…
-
Police arrest suspect for murder of Phuket teen
PHUKET: A suspect arrested last night has confessed to strangling Phuket teenager Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, 17, in her Chalong home on Tuesday, but denies charges that he raped her. The suspect, 28-year-old Kittikhun Wonghajak, was arrested by the Phuket Provincial Police investigation team early this morning and was presented to the press briefly at 10am at provincial police headquarters. A…
-
Phuket Sports: Bitter cup exit for Phuket FC
PHUKET: Phuket FC were one of five losers among the seven southern teams contesting the Thailand Toyota League Cup second round played last night. The losers included all four Yamaha League One (Division 1) southern representatives – Phatthalung FC, Songkhla FC, Krabi FC and Phuket FC – the latter three of whom lost in penalty shootouts. Phuket’s 4-3 defeat on…
-
Gimme shelter: Phi Phi run delayed by big waves
PHUKET: More than 100 tourists on their way to Phi Phi Don Island were forced to shelter from heavy seas at Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh Island, east of Phuket, yesterday morning. At about 10 am, several speedboats and longtail boats were forced to seek protection in the bay, where the movie ‘The Beach’, starring Leonardo Di Caprio, was…
-
Phuket Town water cuts start today
PHUKET: Phuket City Waterworks (PCW) begins a series of scheduled daytime pressure cuts today in order to conduct system maintenance and install new water mains. The pressure cuts will run from 9am to 6pm daily in affected areas. The PCW advises customers to store sufficient amounts of water, so as not to be affected during the cuts, which will run…
-
Phuket teen strangled in rape and robbery attack
PHUKET: Chalong Police investigating the murder of a 17-year-old girl in her home yesterday suspect the attack was carried out by a neighbor who knew she was there alone. The police were notified at about 5:30pm by relatives of the victim, 17-year-old Sunisa “Som” Saiyoy, who was found lying face-down on a bed in the family’s detached home in a…
-
Democrat Party brainstorms for ASEAN in Phuket
PHUKET: Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other Democrat Party heavyweights are scheduled to chair a seminar to develop a “Phuket model” for tourism on the island tomorrow.The event, scheduled to begin at 1pm, is intended to boost Phuket’s preparedness for measures of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community, or AEC, which will take effect in…
-
Phuket Sports: More hulls means more fun
PHUKET: The Rawai-Nai Harn Multihull Regatta returns to Phuket’s shores next weekend for its fifth straight year. This popular sailor’s regatta is unique in that it’s only for multihull yachts; crews that normally sail on monohull boats get the chance to try multis – often for the first time. The event will take place in Chalong Bay, under the auspices…
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.