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 Last chance for Thaiger readers: Get 10% off your health insurance—Offer ends in 5 days!
Did you know that treating a broken leg can cost around 200,000 THB for uninsured patients, and a three-day hospital stay for conditions like dengue fever averages 40,000 to 80,000 THB in Thailand? While healthcare in Thailand is more affordable...
-
Mixed reviews for tsunami drill
PATONG: The practice evacuation of the southern half of Patong Beach this morning received mixed reviews, from both tourists and the many government officials who attended. Arriving by helicopter shortly after 10 am, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra met a crowd of some 1,500 volunteer evacuees, many of them children wearing T-shirts made specially for the event. Also on hand were…
-
New Dulwich franchise on the table
CHERNG TALAY: Frustrated parents of students at Dulwich International College (DIC) last night gave a bumpy ride to the negotiator from Dulwich College in London (DCL) in the ongoing crisis talks. Parents at the meeting, held at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, were particularly irked by consistently polite refusals by DCL Deputy Master Ralph Mainard to reveal precisely what the…
-
Night Bazaar opening postponed by a year
PHUKET: Construction of the Phuket International Night Bazaar (PINB) has been put back by a year and the number of shops it will include has been slashed by 80%, because of the tsunami.Buildiers should have started work on the 170-rai site off Chao Fa West Rd in March, and the Bazaar should have been completed by November, ready for the…
-
Princess to visit tsunami survivors
PHUKET CITY: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is due to tour Phuket, Ranong and Phang Nga on May 12 and 13 to visit victims of the tsunami.The Princess is scheduled to be in Phuket on May 13, when she will visit Baan Bang Rong in Thalang to donate fishing boats, kitchen equipment and scarves and caps to Muslim residents.HRH is…
-
Still no decision on ICEC site
PHUKET: After four years of wrangling, the location of Phuket’s much-touted International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) is still very much up in the air.In response to an enquiry from the Gazette about how the ICEC project is progressing, the director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Suwalai Pinpradab, said the decision on where the…
-
Pregnant turtle found dead at Mai Khao
MAI KHAO: A 30-year-old green sea turtle, or Chelonia mydas, weighing some 100 kilograms, was found dead on Mai Khao Beach yesterday morning.It is believed the turtle had been dead for at least three days before its body was found.Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, a biologist at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa, said, “The turtle was female and she…
-
Prince Andrew says thanks to Thailand
PHUKET: HRH Prince Andrew of Britain toured Phuket today to thank Thai people and the local British community for their assistance to UK citizens in the aftermath of the December 26 tsunami.He made three public appearances. The first was this morning at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital where he met staff who assisted tsunami victims.In the afternoon he went to Nai Yang…
-
Dulwich London takes tough stance in talks
BANGKOK: The Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Dulwich International College (DIC) today lifted the lid on negotiations between his organization and Dulwich College in London, at which attempts are being made to heal a major rift between the two sides.At stake in the talks is whether DIC will be allowed to continue using the Dulwich name.In a letter emailed…
-
Fired deputies call for Mayor to quit
PHUKET CITY: Ayuth Tansiriroj, one of three Deputy Mayors recently fired by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana, yesterday called for the Mayor herself to resign.Mayor Somjai dismissed her three deputies – K. Ayuth, Niwate Aroonrat and Piya Siamhan – on April 8. K. Niwate was, however, given another position on the Mayor’s administrative team.K. Ayuth and K. Piya yesterday held…
-
Take care not to start fires – Municipality
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has issued fire prevention advice and has ordered its Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) to be on standby to deal with fires as the dry season drags on.The municipal authorities are advising residents to be especially careful when handling fire, such as when they are lighting offerings at shrines, or when cooking.Residents should also…
-
Official held in B2m aid theft case
PHUKET CITY: Police this evening arrested the Chief of the Finance Division of the Phuket Provincial Financial Office, Apichart Nooprod, as the ringleader in the theft of more than 2 million baht of tsunami aid money, which was reported missing on February 15.Apichart, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, has denied the charge, and was tonight undergoing questioning at Phuket City Police…
-
Hotel worker stabbed to death
PHUKET: A kitchen hand working at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa has been stabbed to death after refusing to clink glasses with a drunk in a karaoke bar.Pol Capt Saichol Petsuwan of Thalang Police Station told the Gazette 29-year-old Samrid “M” Sirithisak had been having supper and singing with two friends at the Kuenrang Karaoke Restaurant in Baan Kian,…
-
Phang Nga Gov raps banks over slow loans
PHANG NGA: Phang Nga Governor Anuwat Metheeviboonwut yesterday criticized banks and other financial institutions for taking too long to process applications for soft loans by business owners affected by the tsunami.Gov Anuwat said, “The problem we have today is that 80% of the business owners are still waiting for loans from financial institutions to be approved.“If the financial institutions were…
-
Phuket recovery impresses Sri Lankans
PHUKET CITY: Government officers from Sri Lanka, on a three-day fact-finding visit to Phuket and Phang Nga, declared themselves impressed by the speed with which the region is recovering from the tsunami.The 17 officers from tsunami-affected areas of Sri Lanka are here to see if the experiences of Phuket and Phang Nga could be used to help their own regions…
-
Schoolkids launch tsunami education book
PHUKET: Pupils at Satree Phuket school have unveiled a book they have produced about the tsunami.The book, titled Tsunami Monton Phuket Mahantapai Leuad Yen (Tsunami: Phuket’s Cold-blooded Killer) contains information about tsunamis, how and why they happen, and advice on what to do if another one should hit Phuket.Launching the book on Tuesday morning, school Principal Kiattisak Pillawart said he…
-
Free tickets for Fed Cup tennis
PATONG: Free tickets are available for the April 23 and 24 showdown between Thailand and Croatia in Group 2 play of the Federation Cup (Fed Cup) tennis tournament, the woman’s equivalent of the Davis Cup.The Thai team of Tamarine Tanasugarn, Suchanun Viratprasert, Napaporn Tongsalee and Montinee Tangphong arrived in Phuket yesterday morning and went straight to Patong to examine the…
-
Police still bamboozled by bomb
THALANG: Police remain bamboozled in their investigation into the mysterious time bomb that was discovered in a quiet residential area of Pa Khlok more than a month ago.Police said the device, which was eventually destroyed in a controlled explosion, consisted of two sticks of C4 plastique wrapped tightly in black insulating tape and connected by wires to a cheap alarm…
-
Eel makes meal of diver’s digit
PHUKET: A 32-year-old Briton is recovering in hospital here after his left thumb was bitten off and eaten by a giant moray eel while he was diving at the well-known East of Eden dive site in the Similan Islands.Matt Butcher, of Stanstead, Essex, said he had fed the 2.2-meter eel regularly over the past 18 months, and that she was…
-
Similans tsunami monitoring station operational
PHUKET: The first of nine tide monitoring stations is now operational on the Similan Islands’ Koh Mieng and the remaining eight should be ready within six months, the head of the Royal Thai Navy announced on April 20.The project was announced this morning by Navy Commander Adm Surin Roengarom, who chaired a meeting with officials from the six tsunami-affected provinces,…
-
TTVI center denies deadline for victim IDs
PHUKET: Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Bracken, the Commander of the Information Management Center (IMC) at the Thai Tsunami Victims Identification (TTVI) center, today denied that the TTVI will stop identifying bodies of tsunami victims within two months.An IMC spokeswoman also denied there are any plans to bury bodies that remain unidentified two months from now.The announcement follows one by Phuket…
-
Arthit fails to convince Dulwich parents
PHUKET: In a stormy meeting in the Dulwich International College auditorium this afternoon, the school’s CEO and founder, Dr Arthit Urairat, clearly failed to allay parents’ worries about the future of the school.Central to the parents’ concerns is the relationship between Dr Arthit’s team and the franchiser, Dulwich College, London (DCL), with several parents making it quite clear that if…
-
In very poor taste
KATHU: Police arrested a 66-year-old English language teacher from Canada on charges of sexually molesting a minor, after the man allegedly enticed his five-year-old student to perform oral sex on him by covering his penis with honey. At 9:40 pm on April 18, a team of Kathu District Police officers led by Pol Capt Serm Kwanimit entered the home of…
-
New rules for motorbike taxis
PHUKET CITY: Motorcycle taxi drivers in Phuket will have to be registered and fitted with yellow license plates from May 11, it was explained at a public information seminar at The Metropole hotel yesterday.Regulation 13 of the Car Act of 2004, which includes clauses aimed at regulating motorcycle taxis, will come into force on May 11, Phuket Provincial Transportation Office…
-
Two-month deadline set for tsunami victims ID
PHUKET CITY: The bodies of 2,370 tsunami victims remain unidentified due to a lack of forensic evidence, but the operation to identify them will be wound up soon, a senior Phuket police officer said yesterday.All those that have not been identified within the coming two months will be buried at the Sea Gypsy cemetery in Mai Khao, Provincial Police Deputy…
-
Arthit introduces new Dulwich team
PHUKET: As the crisis over the future of Dulwich International College continues unresolved, the school’s CEO and Founder, Dr Arthit Ourairat, is in Phuket for two meetings, one with teachers this afternoon, and another with parents, scheduled for 2 pm tomorrow.At this afternoon’s meeting he introduced the new Headmaster he has chosen for the school, Canadian Prof Dr George Hickman,…
-
Evacuation plans under discussion
PHUKET CITY: Plans for evacuating Patong and other parts of Phuket during an emergency are due to be discussed at a workshop on Wednesday.The event will be overseen by Vice-Governor Niran Kalayanamit and former Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong, who is now Deputy Director-General of the national Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD). These are the men Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has…
-
Songkran traffic crackdown effective
PHUKET: Two people died in Phuket over the Songkran period, one less than last year. Another 359 were injured between April 8 and 15, compared with 424 injured last year.The deaths occurred on April 10 and 12. Both victims were male.The figures were well below the official target of no more than five dead and 611 injured. This year’s “target”…
-
Dulwich school’s fate hangs in balance
PHUKET: Parents and teachers of the island’s best-known private school, Dulwich International College, are waiting with bated breath for confirmation or denial of reports that the board of Dulwich College in London has withdrawn permission for the use of its name.All attempts by the Gazette to obtain information from Dulwich College in London, the Phuket school’s owners, parents’ and teachers’…
-
Seven-hour ordeal after dive boat sinks
ANDAMAN SEA: Six passengers and seven crew spent around seven hours in the water yesterday morning waiting to be rescued after their liveaboard dive boat sank, apparently without warning and in just six minutes, close to the Surin Islands.The MY Rhapsody, operated by Kata-based Oceanic Divecenter, was anchored 300 meters from the popular Richelieu Rock just after midnight yesterday morning…
-
Patong alarm system test “a success’
PATONG: The last of the alarms in Patong’s newly-installed emergency warning system was tested yesterday. It emitted a 121-decibel alert that could be heard 1,500 meters away.The alarm at Phuket Cabana Hotel, connected to 24 loudspeakers, was tested for 10 minutes at 2pm yesterday afternoon.Installation of the system, which will eventually be linked to the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC),…
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.