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
How much is Thai health insurance?
Health insurance in Thailand is essential for expats and locals, providing financial protection and access to quality care. Costs depend on age, health, and coverage level, with basic plans being cheaper but limited and comprehensive plans offering more benefits at...
-
“Possessed’ girl leads cops to naught
PHUKET: Police spent hours dredging a pond in Songkhla province earlier this month after a 17-year-old girl told them she had been possessed by the spirit of a young boy whose murdered body was dumped there.Officers eventually abandoned the search after failing to find any remains – except for the skeleton of a dead dog.Mrs Ploi said her daughter Fa…
-
Aussie woman falls overboard from yacht near Phuket
PHUKET: Friends of an Australian woman who fell overboard from a yacht on its way to Phuket last Thursday, and who is still missing, are puzzled as to how such an accident could have occurred. Michelle Black, a friend of the woman, said Dr Gerald Goeden and his partner Carmel Brookes were sailing from Lankawai Island to Phuket aboard the…
-
Phuket Gazette: 12,000 tweets per second; Victory for Giants & Madonna; Whales sue SeaWorld
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Twitter users post more than 12,000 tweets per second during Super Bowl PHUKET (News Wires): Twitter users posted more than 12,000 tweets per second during the last moments of the Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, the company said yesterday. It is one of the highest ever…
-
Another child drowns at Phuket’s ‘lethal lagoon’
PHUKET: The drowning death of another child at Nai Harn Lagoon in Phuket over the weekend is causing authorities to consider closing the popular recreational area to swimming. The latest victim, six-year-old Supathanwa Choophuek, was reportedly alive when Nai Harn Beach lifeguards pulled him from the water on Sunday, but he died later at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Nai Harn lifeguard…
-
Alleged “call center’ gang of expats busted in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Tourist Police arrested three Filipino members of an alleged ‘call center’ gang for fraud, but the alleged mastermind, a Briton, remains at large. Nakkaphan Phota of the regional Tourist Police office in Phuket Town told the Gazette yesterday that all of the suspects were foreigners. Following a tip-off from the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, three suspects were…
-
Phuket ‘White Prison’ raid reveals rectal stashing of telephones
PHUKET: More than 200 officers conducted a surprise inspection at Phuket Provincial Prison yesterday as part of an effort to gain “White Prison” status, said Phuket Prison Chief Rapin Nichanon. The search for drugs was carried out at 5am by officers drawn from all units of the Phuket police, who also targeted mobile telephones, some of which had been smuggled…
-
Swedish tourist drowns across the bay from Phuket
PHUKET: An elderly Swedish woman was found dead in the waters off Ao Nang in Krabi yesterday, one of many recent drownings in Phuket and Krabi.The unnamed 68-year-old, was found face down 10 meters off of Long Beach in Ao Nang at about 1:00pm, said Muang Krabi Police Lt Niwat Timket.“Our tentative investigation revealed that she had been staying in…
-
Phuket Business: Get ready for higher petrol prices
PHUKET: Now that we are fully into the swing of 2012, the Christmas tradition of goodwill to all men seems a lifetime away. When I get out of bed and go on my now regular morning beach run in Phuket – yes, my New Year’s resolution is still being adhered to – global problems seem to be a million miles…
-
Phuket Live Wire: Why are we being throttled?
PHUKET: Continuing my series of articles answering questions that I hear most often… the next question has to do with internet speeds here in Phuket, as measured on the Phuket Internet Speed reporting site phuketinternetspeed.com: “Woody, I’ve read your articles in the Phuket Gazette. I understand why we’re measuring international download speeds – for most farang and many Thais, international…
-
Phuket Sports: King’s Cup bolsters Thai sailing interest
PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta (PKCR) attracts more and more Thai sailors each year and the 2011 event saw Thai sailors taking podium places throughout the series. There were 74 Thai sailors who took part in the competition, making Thailand the fourth most highly represented nation in the whole regatta. The Royal Thai Navy entered two boats into the…
-
Phuket Sports: Portrait hit six
PHUKET: Round two of the Phuket Adult Futsal League season nine, presented by Thanachart Bank, played out under the floodlights of Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club’s (TSLC) full-sized synthetic pitch on January 26. First on the Premier Division pitch were Jitjongrut opening their campaign against Portrait FC. Fast flowing and attacking football from Portrait resulted in a commanding 5-1 lead…
-
Phuket Sports: Diving on a single breath
PHUKET: Freediving. It’s different than scuba diving. There is a quietness underwater. Not a silence, but a quietness. There is the sound of shifting sand and parrot fish chewing on coral. These are the sounds of life that don’t exist for scuba divers bubbling away on their regulators. It is one of the beauties of diving on a single breath.Freediving…
-
Phuket Business: Cool solutions to cut costs
PHUKET: Despite rising energy prices and the scorching heat outside, home and business owners in Phuket can reduce their electric and utilities overheads by taking advantage of the latest energy saving innovations. Up until recently, Phuket’s green energy market has been supplied with only a limited offering of environmentally friendly technologies and energy saving solutions. Notably, a handful of key…
-
DaVinci charters steps forward for 2012 Bay Regatta
PHUKET: It’s not unusual when marinas and yacht brokers cross over into the restaurant business, but co-sponsor of the Bay Regatta 2012, Phuket’s iconic Italian restaurant DaVinci – scored a first when they crossed in the opposite direction. Sponsoring yachting and yacht racing is one thing – and DaVinci has shown other island businesses how that should be done –…
-
PIMEX boosts marine-triangle tourism
PHUKET: At the forefront of Asia’s growing marine leisure industry, Phuket island is one of the top five cruising destinations in the world, and lies in the heart of the emerging ‘Andaman Marine Triangle’. Consisting of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi provinces, the Andaman Marine Triangle is home to some of the most stunning sailing grounds in the world. Indeed,…
-
QSI Phuket welcomes grrrrrrreat new Tiger Turf
PHUKET: Team Tigers of Quality Schools International (QSI) Phuket are getting ready to unveil their new and improved sports den. The US$120,000 (just over 3.7 million baht) new facilities include a multi-purpose basketball court, a football field enveloped by a 100-meter running track and a new garden and waterfall. In a fitting tribute to the home side, their new football…
-
“Spider bite victim’ likely drank himself to death
PHUKET: THE man who died after allegedly being bitten by a spider in Phuket more likely died from complications brought on from excessive drinking, a preliminary examination has revealed. Phuket Public Health Office Deputy Director Wiwat Seetamanotch told the Gazette on Tuesday that the preliminary findings of an autopsy on the body of 30-year-old fruit vendor Wanchai Wonglakorn, revealed that…
-
Phuket fire guts Kathu home, eight flats
PHUKET: A large fired completely destroyed a home and a row of rental flats in Phuket last night. Thung Thong Police were notified of a blaze on Soi Bangthong, about 50 meters from the Family Mart convenience store on Phra Barami Road on the Kathu side of Patong Hill, at about 8pm. Arriving at the scene, duty officer Capt Sakchai…
-
More Phuket school kids caught with meth, krathom
PHUKET: Schoolkids in Phuket are taking pharmaceutical drugs after ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) smoking sessions in an attempt to turn up negative in urine tests for the drug, local officials have revealed Muang District Chief Supachai Pochanakul described the trend of growing drug abuse by schoolchildren in Muang District as “very worrying”. The statement follows a recent round-up of 19…
-
Phuket regatta heads home for the awards
PHUKET: Day Four of The Bay Regatta saw sailors greeted with sunny skies and good wind as they left their anchorage off the Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort and headed back to Ao Chalong for the regatta’s final party and awards ceremony at the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). The colourful spinnakers stood out proud as the fleet made the crossing…
-
Phuket’s War on Drugs: Why has Bebe gone?
PHUKET: It is sad that Phuket’s two specially-trained drug dogs have been suspended from “active duty” for lack of dedicated handlers, especially given the time invested in their training and the phenomenal results displayed by the beagle Bebe during her first day on the job last July. [See page 6, this week’s issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click…
-
Chinese tourist drowns in Phuket
PHUKET: A woman in Phuket with a Chinese tour group drowned in Rawai on Thursday. The body of 57-year-old Xianmei Wang was found floating off of Koh Hei at about 2pm that day, Chalong Police said. Also known as Coral Island, Koh Hei is a popular destination for snorkelers and divers on group tours. Police are uncertain of what factors…
-
Phuket update: Swede horror smash driver surrenders
PHUKET: The reckless truck driver who killed four Swedish holidaymakers in Phuket as well as their Thai driver on Wednesday morning surrendered to police in Phang Nga yesterday. The driver, 27-year-old Muhummadyukee Jehyusoh, was held in a cell at Phang Nga Provincial Court yesterday. He has since been transferred to Phang Nga Provincial Prison. Media access to the Narathiwat native…
-
Phuket update: US lifts terror alert
PHUKET: Good news for the Phuket tourism industry has come with the US warning of a possible terrorist threat in Bangkok having been removed from its website, where it had been on the main page. The warning was replaced with a more general alert for East Asia. The new warning does not name any specific countries or places, but 14…
-
Phuket Sports: Liverpool double down
PHUKET: Liverpool FC progressed to the last sixteen of the FA Cup thanks to a late winner from Dirk Kuyt. In four days the Reds sent both Manchester outfits out of English domestic cup competitions. Kuyt, left unattended by an absent and constantly jeered Patrice Evra, drove home from inside the United box after Andy Caroll flicked on Pepe Reina’s…
-
No change on a new day: Ruby Tuesday still leads the Bay Regatta
PHUKET: Sailors departed from the waters off Paradise Koh Yao Boutique Resort & Spa yesterday for the 2012 Bay Regatta’s second day of racing. Heading south towards Krabi, competitors navigated through the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay, en route to their destination of Ao Nang, where a rest from partying awaited, for a few. Day two Racing Class results…
-
What’s the difference between Terry and Suarez?
PHUKET: “Terry will not captain the England team until the allegations against him are resolved.” Chelsea central defender, John Terry, has lost the England captain’s armband yet again – this time over racial abuse accusations involving Anton Ferdinand of Queen’s Park Rangers. The trial will take place on July 9, 2012 – after the Euopean Championship tournament. Terry lost the…
-
Phuket Sports Bag: This week in Sports
PHUKET: Grab your balls, bats and rackets for another nosedive into this week’s world of local and international sports events with the Phuket Gazette. In tennis, read about the final to end all finals that pushed Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to their break points at the Australian Open. Maria Sharapova may need another relaxing visit to Phuket after her…
-
Weird World News: Boneheaded bandits starring “Spiderman’ burglar, Mexican go-kart drug smuggler and the glacial ice thief
PHUKET: OUTLAWS are finding more imaginative ways to make a fast buck. This week’s Weird World News is a snapshot of life on the wrong side of the law, and the idiotic ruses bandits around the world are concocting to make money, fast. Go-kart bandito’s drug-smuggling ruse foiled A MEXICAN drug runner tried in vain this week to smuggle marijuana…
-
Phuket Sports: Laguna bailed out by untimely dismissals
PHUKET: The Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) officially came into being last weekend with a two day event opened by Phuket’s youth development rugby and cricket teams. A fine display of strength and skills was exhibited by the Lomas (rugby) and Leopards (cricket) for spectators in their finery, who had gathered as part of a grand ceremony that announced the ACG’s…
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.