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 Top 10 reasons for expats to get a comprehensive health insurance in Thailand
Moving to Thailand offers plenty of excitement and adventure, but the local healthcare system can be complex to navigate as an expat. From unique health risks to high costs at private hospitals, having a comprehensive health insurance plan is essential....
-
PGTV News Tuesday 29th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features news about the recent amended dive regulations, a look at an association that is dealing with mental health and we find out about how and why wine awards are given. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, today’s show features a documentary about the Art scene in Phuket. PGTV, produced by the Phuket Gazette,…
-
Dive regulations published
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket provincial authorities have today released details of the new dive industry regulations that came into effect on Friday, when they were signed by Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura. The new regulations, which underwent a legal review before being signed by the Governor, consist of three parts. The first is the announcement ordering dive operators to comply with the…
-
PGTV News Monday 28th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features an update on the missing tourist in Phang Nga, an announcement that Phuket is rabies free and a visit to a The Phra Tong Buddha. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, today’s show features an interview with Phuket’s German Honorary Consul. PGTV, produced by the Phuket Gazette, is aired daily on the Phuket…
-
Dive regulations signed
PHUKET CITY: The new regulations governing Phuket’s dive industry have now been signed by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura and will come into effect on September 1. Aekachai Soonthorn, secretary to Provincial Chief Administrative Officer Nivit Aroonrat, told the Gazette that the new regulations were signed by the Governor at 4.30 yesterday afternoon.A draft of the regulations has been under review…
-
Police continue hunt for abductor
CHALONG: Police are still searching for the second man allegedly involved in the abduction of Jitra Soonsud, 35, who was found handcuffed and drugged in a house in the Phuket Country Home estate, on Chao Fa East Rd, on May 29.“We know who he is and we have had a warrant issued for his arrest, but I don’t want to…
-
Park fee hikes deferred
PHUKET: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will postpone its scheduled doubling of entry fees at all national parks, scheduled to take effect from September 15, by more than a year, Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) Deputy Chairman Sarayuth Mallam told the Gazette today.Speaking by telephone from Bangkok, K. Sarayuth explained that Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat has…
-
Missing tourist believed found
PHANG NGA: A woman’s body, believed to be that of missing Scottish tourist Shenaz Kapoor, has been found near the Song Phraek waterfall in Phang Nga. Miss Kapoor has been missing for nine days following a white-water rafting accident on August 15. (See earlier story here.) The body was found in the water at around 6am today by a police…
-
Beer bottles bombard cop shop
PHUKET CITY: A gang of teenagers, possibly angry with the police for setting up roadblocks to crack down on motorcycle gangs, launched an attack on Phuket City Police Station in the early hours of yesterday morning, lobbing beer bottles at the building.Pol Lt Theeradet Jiraksa told the Gazette, “While I was on duty, a teenager stopped his motorcycle on the…
-
Underwater park ready for divers
PHUKET: Sculptures worth 4 million baht have been placed on the seabed at a depth of 15 meters close to Koh Racha Yai, and are being promoted as a special “must see” site for divers in the coming high season.Phuket Diving Park, as the site is now known, features sculptures including Thai demons (yak), traditional decorative arches, a sala, two…
-
Inhalant abuse rife among teens
PHUKET: Phuket’s Juvenile and Child Protection Office has released statistics showing that 270 youths under the age of 18 were charged with criminal offenses during the first six months of 2006. The office noted that the figure indicates an increase in youth crime, with a total of 488 such crimes reported in 2005.Of the 270 cases, 243 involved boys, compared…
-
Okay. Now will you marry me?
PHUKET: People can once again get married in Muang and Thalang Districts after fresh supplies of marriage certificates were received from Bangkok yesterday.Both districts ran out of certificates and Kathu District was down to very limited supplies after government printers in Bangkok received orders late and were unable to fill them in the time required. They cited the difficulty of…
-
Excise tax B6 million over target
PHUKET CITY: Revenue collected from excise tax in Phuket so far this fiscal year, from October 1, 2005 to July 31, 2006, is about 145 million baht, some 6 million baht above projections, the Phuket Excise Office has reported.Phuket Excise Office chief Supatra Horsrisamphan said the figures included fees collected for permission to sell alcohol, tobacco and playing cards as…
-
Desal plant “ready by high season’
KARON: Construction of a 528-million-baht desalination plant is now 90% complete and the plant should be ready to begin providing 12,000 cubic meters of tap water daily to Patong and Kata-Karon in the upcoming high season – if all the necessary permits can be obtained in time.At the Kata Beach Resort on Friday, Phuket Vice-Governor Niran Kanlayanamit chaired a meeting…
-
Salesman strangles pregnant girlfriend
KATHU: A salesman turned himself in to the Tung Tong Police after strangling to death his pregnant girlfriend, a former newspaper reporter who had turned to prostitution. Pol Lt Col Passakorn Sonthikul of the Tung Tong Police told the Gazette that Phuket native Jirasak Noosonkaew, 27, turned himself in at the Ketho Police Box at around 1 pm on August…
-
PGTV News Monday 21st August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about Thai Airways strengthening security on it’s flights, an update on the missing UK student in Phang Nga and we look at a Phuket cheerleader competition. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features a documentary about the Art scene here in Phuket. PGTV, produced by…
-
PGTV News Friday 18th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about the next Baba Peranakan festival, an update on the marriage certificate shortage and a look at the damage caused by recent storms in Phuket. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features a documentary about The Singapore Porsche Club. PGTV, produced by the Phuket Gazette,…
-
THAI tightens security on flights
BANGKOK: Thai Airways International (THAI) has announced more stringent security measures following the uncovering of a supposedly Al Qaeda-led terrorist plot to detonate liquid-based explosives on flights between Britain and the US. Somchainuk Engtrakul, Chairman of the THAI Board, has announced that the airline has tightened security measures for flights to the US and UK, and also to the Philippines,…
-
Marriage certificate shortage “being fixed’
BANGKOK: Mali Satiworaman, Chief of the Registration Printed Forms Department of the Bureau of Registration Administration, has admitted that the shortage of marriage certificate papers countrywide has been a problem for more than a month now. In Phuket, marriages may currently be registered only in Kathu District. Both Muang and Thalang Districts have run out of marriage certificates and the…
-
No bias in bookings for Surakul Stadium: Anchalee
PHUKET: The President of the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, has denied allegations that Surakul Stadium is for the use of Thais only, though the OrBorJor has rejected a request to hold the Phuket International Soccer 7s tournament, planned for November, in the stadium. “I know the organizers of the Phuket International Soccer 7s competition would like to hold…
-
New dive rules reviewed for loopholes
PHUKET CITY: Aekachai Soonthorn, secretary to Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat, today told the Gazette that the new regulations for the diving industry are being reviewed by the Chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Prosecution Office, Bantoon Thongtan, who is checking for loopholes that dive operators might use to avoid compliance.“The regulations have been in the Public…
-
Photographer confesses to murder
PATONG: A freelance photographer has confessed to murdering a cashier from a Patong shopping mall, after a police search uncovered the .38 revolver used in the slaying stashed away inside a pillow in his rented room on Soi Larb Ped, Patong.Pol Lt Col Chaowalit Niamwadee of Kathu Police Station said the body of the victim, identified as 22-year-old Kanjanee “Rung”…
-
Engaging in commerce
After expelling a female student for “intolerable” behavior, school teachers at a commercial school in Nakhon Sri Thammarat are living in fear for their lives following the girl’s return accompanied by a gang of young thugs, who smashed windows and threatened to kill every teacher in the school. The contretemps started when one of the teachers overheard a girl student…
-
PGTV News Monday 14th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about the recent “Por Tor” Chinese festival, an update on the Phya Thai Hospital and a look at a new ferry service. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features a documentary about hydroponics and gardening in Phuket. PGTV, produced by the Phuket Gazette, is aired…
-
Want to wed in Phuket? Sorry, not now
PHUKET: Want to get married in Phuket City? Thalang? Then you’re out of luck. Both offices have run out of marriage certificates. The only district office that still has supplies – now in very limited numbers – is Kathu.An official from the Muang District Registration Department, who asked not to be named, admitted that her department ran out of certificates…
-
Phuket chosen as venue for TV adventure show
PHUKET: The first Isuzu Adventure Race Thailand Championship, involving climbing and kayaking among other events, will be staged in Phuket from October 27 to 29. The competition will be filmed and broadcast by satellite to viewers worldwide, say the organizers. Teams of four people, each including at least one woman, will have to prove their physical and mental toughness over…
-
Hospital “dream’ still mired in standoff
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr has spoken out against Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s decision to delay the buyout of the abandoned Phya Thai hospital.“The purchase of the abandoned Phya Thai hospital is like a dream that has fallen apart. I started the process with the Governor on January 13, and the provincial committee for this…
-
Turtle festival blocks city center road
PHUKET CITY: Traffic Police have advised motorists that Ranong Rd will be closed today and tomorrow for the annual “Por Tor” Chinese Festival.The Por Tor Festival comes every year in July or August and is intended to make merit for the dead and for spirits. It centers around the making of large cakes in the shape of turtles, following the…
-
Tour operators protest plan to hike park fee
PHUKET CITY: All of the operators running tours in Phang Nga Bay – some 500 of them – staged a peaceful protest at the TAT Southern Region 4 Office this morning to demand that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reconsider its plan to double entry fees for national parks with effect from September 15.Police blocked off a section…
-
Gov raps “overzealous’ Immigration officer
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura yesterday morning asked the head of Immigration at Phuket International Airport to transfer a subordinate who refused entry to two loud South Korean tourists on July 11.But the Immigration chief defended his officer’s actions and said he would refer the matter to his superiors before taking any action.The meeting, at the Governor’s Office at Phuket Provincial…
-
Dive industry rules imminent
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat confirmed today that although the new dive industry regulations have not yet been signed by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, he believes that they will be “soon”.Yesterday K. Nivit told the Gazette that the documents had already been signed but this afternoon, after rechecking, he said that they were currently awaiting…
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.