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 Invictus International School prepares students for modern world challenges
A school that supports every child to reach their full potential and equips them for success in an ever-changing world, is Invictus International Programme in Pathum Thani, Thailand (IIP). The school provides a high-quality education that aligns with Cambridge Assessment...
-
Chinese cadres head for Phuket
PHUKET: After the brief holiday enjoyed by China’s President, Jiang Zemin, in Phuket last year, it seems that the island is becoming a vacation choice for senior communist cadres from the People’s Republic. Tomorrow sees the arrival of 17 communist officials, led by the president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li Tieying, who is also a member of…
-
Industrialists may become more “eco-friendly’
PHUKET TOWN: Wiboolchai Na Ranong, managing director of Toyota Pearl Co Ltd, was elected on Tuesday as the new president of the Phuket chapter of the Federation of Thai Industries, and immediately pledged to steer the chapter’s members toward being more eco-friendly. After being elected, K. Wiboolchai said that his first priority is to get more people, especially businesspeople in…
-
Microsoft apologizes for Bangkok sex slur
BANGKOK (AFP): Microsoft has apologized to Thailand for describing Bangkok as a commercial sex center in the Deluxe 2000 version of its Encarta Encylopedia CD. “I regret any misrepresentation that the Encarta segment may have caused,” said Robert Bach, vice-president of Microsoft’s Home and Retail Division, in a letter to local media. “As soon as we were made aware of…
-
Dead man in woods “killed himself’
KARON: The man who was found dead in the woods to the east of Karon two days ago has been identified as Prasert Chuwong, 42, a former cook at Chao-Kuen Restaurant in Kata. According to Pol Col Sati Malakanond, the superintendent of Chalong Police Station, Prasert was left jobless after the restaurant went out of business some time ago. Based…
-
Banana forager finds skull
KARON: A local man looking for wild bananas in woods to the east of Karon yesterday afternoon found something rather less appetizing: a human skull. Pol Maj Thanate Poungmanee of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that the man immediately reported what he had found to officials of Tambon Karon, who in turn reported the discovery to Chalong Police Station.…
-
Dragonflies fell All-Stars in fund-raiser
PHUKET TOWN: Mang Por Lor Kluen – “Wave-Playing Dragonfly” – beat the All-Star Actors 3-2 on Saturday in front of a large crowd at a special fund-raising soccer match between the two teams of Thai celebrities. Pop singer “Teh” Utane Prommin took the first goal for the All-Stars just before half time at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town. The Dragonflies…
-
Japanese tourist stabbed four times
PHUKET TOWN: A Japanese tourist who wanted to call his family – to tell them he had arrived safely in Phuket – was robbed and stabbed four times just after midnight yesterday, on his way to make the call. Pol Maj Adul Nirapai of Phuket Town Police Station said that Terai Osamu, 27, came to Phuket with friends and was…
-
Two men seriously ill in radiation alert
BANGKOK (AFP) – Two Thai men are seriously ill in hospital with radiation sickness after being exposed to a highly radioactive substance in a Bangkok shop, health officials said this afternoon. “These two people are suffering seriously from burns to the hands. They are losing their hair and have very low white blood cell counts,” a public health ministry spokesman…
-
Grass fire frightens Chuanchuen Lagoon residents
KOH KAEW: A fire at Chuanchuen Lagoon that shook the up-market community two days ago was just grass burning, firefighters said today. Pol Maj Amnuay Kraiwootthinan of Phuket Town Police Station said he received a phone call at 8:30 pm on Wednesday from an unidentified person reporting that there was a big fire burning at the old deserted tin factory…
-
Parliament acts to drive out evil spirits
BANGKOK (AFP) – Authorities held a multi-faith exorcism in parliament today to drive out evil spirits believed to be responsible for a recent spate of deaths among members of parliament. Since elections in November 1996, eight of the 393 MPs have died in accidents or of natural causes while 11 more have resigned. Yesterday, an MP from the ruling Democrats…
-
OrBorTor member held for theft of cigarettes
PHUKET TOWN: The police in Phuket Town were astonished when they managed to arrest three burglars who broke into the Phuket Provincial Cooperative Office’s store on Yaowarat Rd last Saturday and stole 59 boxes of Thai cigarettes worth about 897,000 baht. It wasn’t the theft that surprised them, nor the speed with which they caught the robbers – two on…
-
23 die in bus crash
NAKHON PHANOM (AFP): Twenty-three people were killed and 37 injured today when a bus and a truck collided in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, 20 kilometers from the town of Kalasin. No details were immediately available on the identities of those killed or the condition of those injured.
-
Marine police capture fuel smugglers
PHUKET: Six Thai fuel smugglers were arrested in the Andaman Sea on Saturday afternoon and 110,000 liters of low-grade diesel, worth about 330,000 baht, was seized from their vessel, the Fakthong 47. Pol Gen Narongwit Thaithong, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, said that the modified fishing vessel was stopped near Surin Island, 21 nautical miles off the coast…
-
184 couples marry on Valentine’s Day
PHUKET: The island set a record for marriages on Valentine’s Day this year. The number of couples tying the knot on the year’s most romantic day increased from 143 in 1999 to 184 this year. Of these, 115 got hitched in Muang District, 31 in Kathu and 38 in Thalang District. The Assistant District Officer of Thalang, Samapol Koontong, said…
-
Defections add spice to first OrBorJor meeting
PHUKET TOWN: A couple of defections and an unexpected challenge for one of the top posts disrupted the first meeting of Phuket’s newly elected Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) today. Before the meeting, the dominant group in the new council, the Kao Mai Party, was expected to call the shots, believing it had lined up all the necessary support. In the…
-
Lucky boss gets money and pistol back
PHUKET TOWN: Construction boss Prayoon Janpetch is careful when he goes about collecting money from clients. Apart from anything else, he carries a pistol in case someone tries to rob him. But last week K. Prayoon, manager of the Saowaree Civil Engineering Partnership on Thepkrasatree Rd, Thalang, was less careful than usual. He left a bag containing 300,000 baht in…
-
Abandoned baby dies
PHUKET: The baby girl found abandoned in grassland off Sakdidet Rd in Moo Baan Muang Thong Thani on February 3, died the same evening, a nurse at the Wachira Phuket Hospital has told the Gazette. The nurse said that the baby was too young to be left in the sun for a prolonged period – she is believed to have…
-
Baby born in motorcycle sidecar
PHUKET TOWN: A woman on her way to hospital to pick up the body of her husband, who had died of a heart attack the day before, gave birth early yesterday in a motorcycle sidecar at the edge of the Bypass Rd. “A man called us at around 1:20 am and told us that there was a woman about to…
-
Tourist kills himself at shooting range
CHALONG: A 50-year-old Japanese tourist yesterday killed himself with a pistol he rented at the Phuket Shooting Range near Chalong Circle. Pol Capt Chockchai Sutthimek of Chalong Police Station said Yoichi Hashimoto went to the Phuket Shooting Range on Wednesday morning. He looked around and left. He returned the following morning. According to a witness, he hung around until the…
-
Girl kidnapped from hospital by former boyfriend
PHUKET TOWN: A 26-year-old man was in custody tonight, charged with kidnapping his former girlfriend from the bedside of her ailing mother, in the Phuket Adventist Hospital. Pol Maj Adul Nirapai of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that Kittisak Raksue walked into the hospital at 4 am, pulled out a gun and started to drag Tukta Kapansit out…
-
Losing OrBorJor party “will stay neutral’
PHUKET TOWN: The Pattana Tongtin Party, which failed in Saturday’s election to preserve its domination of the Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor), will remain “neutral” and allow the victorious Kao Mai Party to form a majority coalition, Pattana Tontin’s leader, Banlur Tantiwit, told a press conference. Banlur, formerly President of the OrBorJor’s three-man central council, was a shock loser in the…
-
Kao Mai likely to dominate new OrBorJor
PHUKET TOWN: Following a meeting today organized by the victorious Kao Mai party, which took nine of the 15 Provincial Administrative Council (OrBorJor) seats allocated to Phuket Town in Saturday’s elections, its appears that the party’s leader, Dr Prasit Koysiripong, will become President of the new council. Kao Mai has put together a coalition that includes the Thalang Group Party,…
-
Turtle found slaughtered at Mai Khao
MAIKHAO: A young female sea turtle weighing about 85 kilograms was found dead on Mai Khao beach last Sunday. Cuts and wounds around the sea turtle’s neck and legs were found – possibly made by fishing hooks. There was also a large gash in its stomach; there were no eggs. The Phuket Environment Protection Association believes that the sea turtle…
-
Boy, 7, dies in shooting accident
RAWAI: A seven-year-old boy, Chalermpol Kriengkrai, accidentally shot and killed himself on Saturday night. According to Pol Capt Chana Suttimas of Chalong Police Station, the accident took place at around 10:30 pm at 71/12 Saiyuan Rd in Rawai. He said that while Chalermpol’s parents were celebrating the Chinese New Year with staff of their speedboat rental company, Nikorn Marine Co,…
-
High turnout for OrBorJor elections
PHUKET TOWN: There was a respectable 44% voter turnout for Saturday’s Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) elections, up significantly from the 28% turnout for the last OrBorJor vote four years ago. Commentators said this may have had less to do with a surge in interest in politics, and more to do with the fact that voters in Phuket Town qualified for…
-
Baby found dumped, covered in ants
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a baby found dumped in grass in Moo Baan Muang Thong Thani, on Sakdidet Rd, on Thursday. The baby girl was found, covered in ants, by a couple passing by on a motorcycle, who heard her cries. They picked her up and rushed her to Wachira Phuket Hospital. Pol Maj Pissanu Poonwong…
-
Australian tourists shot dead, injured in Chiang Mai
BANGKOK (AFP): An Australian man was shot dead and his companion injured when ambushed by a gang of thieves in northern Thailand, police and embassy officials said today. The 24-year-old man died instantly when four armed men pounced on the couple in the mountain-top Aung Kha National Park in Chiang Mai province, 700 kilometers (450 miles) north of Bangkok, late…
-
No alcohol on sale tonight or tomorrow
PHUKET: Selling and distribution of all alcoholic beverages is prohibited across Phuket from 6:00 pm today until midnight tomorrow. Tomorrow is OrBorJor (Provincial Council) election day, and the police do not want any problems with drunks. Pol Col Chalit Tintanee, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that in accordance with the Election Act of 1979, all bars,…
-
Filipino fisherman’s death a “mystery’
PHUKET TOWN: A Filipino crewman was found dead at the fishing port near Phya Thai Hospital on Si Sena Rd, Phuket Town, on Monday evening. Though the body was naked when it was discovered floating in the water, a Taiwanese fishing boat skipper at the port identified it as that of Caderlon Ronelo, 26, who had worked for him. He…
-
PM opens Board of Investment Fair
BANGKOK (AFP): Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai was today due to open the two-week Board of Investment Fair 2000, designed to convince the world that the Thai economy has turned the corner and to lure foreign investors to bolster the recovery. The government is touting the fair, which opens to the public tomorrow and is expected to draw between three million…
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.