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

    Do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?

    Thailand’s healthcare system is well-regarded across Southeast Asia, with options ranging from public hospitals to world-class private facilities. But when it comes to foreign residents or tourists, healthcare access isn’t as straightforward. So, do foreigners get free healthcare in Thailand?...

  • Man drowns while fishing | Thaiger

    Man drowns while fishing

    RAWAI: Chartchai Chumkaew, 27, from Nakorn Sri Thammarat, drowned after being sucked into the sea Friday while fishing near Nai Harn Beach, Rawai. His body was found Sunday by a scuba diving team.K. Chartchai reportedly went fishing among the rocks at Ao Sane Bungalows near Nai Harn Beach. It is thought that a large swell pulled him off the rocks…

  • “Bike racer’ found dead in hotel | Thaiger

    “Bike racer’ found dead in hotel

    PHUKET CITY: The body of a 45-year-old New Zealander was discovered in a room at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on June 19, in what police believe was a case of suicide.Terrance Hicks, from Auckland, was found dead at 3 pm, surrounded by discarded pill containers, Pol Lt Thivakorn Kongpeth of Phuket City Police Station told the Gazette.Investigators estimate that Mr Hicks took…

  • May sees decrease in road deaths | Thaiger

    May sees decrease in road deaths

    PHUKET CITY: Official figures from Wachira, Thalang and Patong hospitals, as well as Phuket International and Ruampaet private hospitals show 10 people died in motorcycle accidents on Phuket’s roads during May.In addition, two people were killed in car accidents.The figures represent a decrease of 45% on those for April when 22 people died in Phuket – 18 on motorcycles and three in…

  • Japanese club together to boost Phuket

    Japanese club together to boost Phuket

    PHUKET CITY: The number of Japanese tourists visiting Phuket is recovering – albeit slowly because of misperceptions and feelings of guilt about visiting the tsunami disaster region. Now, to give the island’s image a boost in Japan, a “Japanese Love Thais” festival is to be held June 25 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel.Phuket Japanese Association President Kazushi Miyashita said…

  • Project aims to reduce landslide problem | Thaiger

    Project aims to reduce landslide problem

    PATONG: Construction is due to begin in August on a 3.2-million-baht project aimed at mitigating damage from landslides in Patong.Eight-meter long pipes are to be placed under four points along 50 Pi Rd to funnel water from higher ground into the nearby klong, thus reducing the likelihood of a landslide.If a landslide does occur, it will be stopped, it is…

  • Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket

    Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket

    PHUKET CITY: Almost six months after the tsunami, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is hoping to turn the first anniversary of the disaster into a major public relations coup for the island.At his weekly CEO meeting, Gov Udomsak unveiled a “wish list” of promotional events aimed at attracting the world’s attention. An international beach volleyball competition, a property show, and cancellation of…

  • Change of plan delays completion of park | Thaiger

    Change of plan delays completion of park

    PHUKET CITY: Because of a change of plan, part of a 40-million-baht park being built in honour of HM Queen Sirikit remains a muddy wasteland five months after the main part was finished.Under the original plans, six rai of the 10-rai site, on the south side of Dibuk Rd, was earmarked for the Queen’s Park; three rai was set aside…

  • Visa fee exemptions aimed at wooing tourists | Thaiger

    Visa fee exemptions aimed at wooing tourists

    PHUKET CITY: Tourists from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are being exempted from paying visa fees for Thailand as part of the ongoing attempt to revive tourism after the tsunami.In addition to the government waiving the 1,000-baht visa fee until October this year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working with Thai Airways to put together a 3,500-baht mid-week…

  • Warning to fuel hoarders

    Warning to fuel hoarders

    PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Department of Internal Trade has warned against hoarding of fuel after the price was increased today by a further 0.40 baht a liter.Officers at the department are worried that people may try to stockpile fuel in case the price rises still further. But, said the office, such stockpiles are a fire risk.Individuals caught hoarding…

  • Rabbiting abbot | Thaiger

    Rabbiting abbot

    SARABURI: Ever wonder why clergy refer to non-clerics as “laypersons”? Perhaps it’s because those who are not in the priesthood seem to find it easier to get laid. But 59-year-old Phra Prapat Thammarat, Abbot of Wat Rongsaeng in Nongkhae District, apparently didn’t view his position as temple head as any reason not to bring his girlfriend back to his temple…

  • Tsunami alarm system nearly complete | Thaiger

    Tsunami alarm system nearly complete

    PHUKET: Patong, Kamala and Karon will all have world-standard tsunami alarm systems once the tsunami warning satellite receiver at the Tsunami and Disaster Center (TDC) in Nonthaburi is online.The link is expected to be activated within the coming week.Chairat Sukbal, Deputy Mayor of Patong, told the Gazette that the tsunami alarm system at Patong is ready for connection to the…

  • Phuket gets boost at Le Mans

    Phuket gets boost at Le Mans

    LE MANS, FRANCE: The message that Phuket is still a tropical paradise, and very much open for business, will be taken to a worldwide audience of motor racing fans next weekend, emblazoned along the side of one of the powerful cars racing in the famed Le Mans 24 Hours race.The car has been entered by Kruse Motorsport, whose Team Director,…

  • Danish expert puts forward beaches plan | Thaiger

    Danish expert puts forward beaches plan

    PHUKET: A Danish environmental expert presented a radical plan for the restoration of beaches to Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura on Saturday.Poul Jakobsen, General Manager of the Skagen Innovation Center (SIC), told the Gazette after the meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall, “We are a worldwide environmentally-friendly research company and have come to Phuket to help restore and maintain the beaches from Patong…

  • Belgian beauties help tsunami victims

    Belgian beauties help tsunami victims

    PHUKET: Bang Tao Beach has had more than its fair share of glamor in the past few days as Miss Belgium Beauty 2005, Cynthia Reekmans, along with models Sasja Beullens and Kathleen Claes, posed for fashion photographer Henk Van Cauwenbergh in the shooting of the annual Showbizz calendar.Brigitta Callens, Miss Belgium 1999, and make-up artist, told the Gazette that the Showbizz…

  • Similan Islands closure reminder | Thaiger

    Similan Islands closure reminder

    PHUKET: The Head of the Similan Islands National Park has issued a reminder that the national park remains closed for the monsoon season, after a diveboat chartered for government research sank during a storm. Witthaya Hongwiangchan said that, as was the case every year, the park is closed from May 15 to November 15. He explained, “The southwest monsoon causes…

  • Airport boss uneasy over zero landing fees | Thaiger

    Airport boss uneasy over zero landing fees

    PHUKET (Gazette/The Nation): The Director of Phuket International Airport has expressed reservations over a proposal to waive landing fees until the end of this year in an attempt to boost post-tsunami tourism.Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Thepsuthin told reporters last week that lifting landing fees at Phuket and Krabi airports could help in the recovery of tourism in the two…

  • “Slow’ ODPM boss transfered | Thaiger

    “Slow’ ODPM boss transfered

    PHUKET CITY: Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) Chief Nakorn Tipsat has been transfered to Surat Thani after failing to meet a deadline to present Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura with a report on the ODPM’s response to the tsunami.On June 5, the Governor gave K. Nakhon three days to present him with a report on what the ODPM had done…

  • Dragonair to close Phuket office | Thaiger

    Dragonair to close Phuket office

    PHUKET: In another indication of the sad state of tourism on the island, Hong Kong-based Dragonair has announced that it will close its Phuket City office, on Phang Nga Rd, on June 15.Sutthisak Pungtamawatthanakun, Manager of Dragonair Phuket, explained that flights between Hong Kong and Phuket were suspended on January 5 due to the “post tsunami effect” and that unrest…

  • Writer recalls last moments of doomed diveboat | Thaiger

    Writer recalls last moments of doomed diveboat

    PHUKET: Gazette diving writer Chris Cruz has described the dramatic moments before the dive boat he was on capsized and sank during a heavy storm on Tuesday, leaving a Thai woman dead.The 24-meter Bubble Blue, with 18 people on board, was several hours into the seven-hour journey from Chalong port to the Similan Islands when it was caught in bad…

  • Phuket to host gay festival rejected by Singapore | Thaiger

    Phuket to host gay festival rejected by Singapore

    PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has given the green light for the province to host Asia’s largest gay and lesbian festival, the Nation Party, after the organizers’ application for a license to hold the annual event in Singapore was turned down. The three-day festival will now be held in Phuket, starting November 4.The festival, organized by the website Fridae.com,…

  • Local politicians to the rescue | Thaiger

    Local politicians to the rescue

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has invited the country’s other 75 OrBorJor to attend a meeting in August aimed at giving a boost to the island’s tourism industry.Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, President of the PPAO, said that last year’s tsunami disaster has had an extremely negative influence on Phuket’s tourism, especially in the low-season months. Average hotel occupancy in June…

  • Maid of money

    Maid of money

    PHUKET CITY: A woman who, in a three-year spree, allegedly robbed at least 15 homes of as much as 570,000 baht apiece, has been caught in a police sting.The woman, named as Jirapa “Ying” Pasomsub, 34, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, got into the homes by answering advertisements for a maid. Once in a home she would work for a few…

  • Diveboat sinks: one dead | Thaiger

    Diveboat sinks: one dead

    PHUKET: One person died when a diveboat capsized and sank 40 kilometers off the coast of Phuket in a storm this morning.The 24-meter liveaboard boat Bubble Blue, from the Khao Lak-based dive business of the same name, was travelling from Phuket to the Similan Islands to carry out a survey of coral reefs when it was hit by a four-meter…

  • Storm forces flights to turn back | Thaiger

    Storm forces flights to turn back

    PHUKET: Driving rain and strong winds forced several scheduled flights to abort their landings at Phuket International Airport this morning.An officer at Phuket International Airport, who spoke to the Gazette on condition of anonymity, said that the strong winds forced pilots of four flights to abort their landings at the airport because they were not confident that it was safe…

  • Canadian child-molester ordered deported | Thaiger

    Canadian child-molester ordered deported

    PATONG: A court has ordered Canadian teacher Jocelyn Leblanc deported after he confessed to charges of sexually molesting a child under 15 years of age.The 66-year-old teacher of the English language supposedly confessed to having smothered his penis with honey in order to entice a five-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him last February. Pol Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen, Superintendent…

  • Monk war | Thaiger

    Monk war

    NONG KHAI: A dispute over alms collection routes turned violent when three novices from Chansamakee Temple were set upon by an armed gang of monks and novices from a rival temple. Police were notified of the “Monk War” on the morning of May 29. Arriving on the scene at the Kokmang-ngao community in Tambon Meechai, they found 17-year-old novice Vitthaya…

  • 209 arrested in May for gambling

    209 arrested in May for gambling

    PHUKET CITY: Gambling topped the Phuket Provincial Police list of arrests made between May 1 and May 30, with 209 people taken into custody.Of the arrests, 10 were for involvement in illegal lottery operations while the other 199 were held for what the police describe as “other” gambling.Possession of illegal drugs resulted in 80 arrests – down from 93 in…

  • Irish present book of condolences | Thaiger

    Irish present book of condolences

    PHUKET CITY: Helene Fallon Wood, representing the Irish Ambassador to Thailand, handed over a signed book of condolences to Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura at Phuket Provincial Hall today.“This book came from County Galway, on the west coast of Ireland.” said Ms Wood. “Shortly after the events of December 26 last year the Lord of Galway instituted this book. Many hundreds…

  • A low-down, dirty crime

    A low-down, dirty crime

    PHUKET CITY: The new garbage cans being distributed throughout the city have proven such a hit with the public that they keep disappearing.Plastic, blue in color and about a meter high, the bins are of such heavy-duty construction that they can be rammed by a moving vehicle without cracking. Other special design features include high chemical resistance and a unique shape that…

  • Phuket Air hires “best practice’ experts | Thaiger

    Phuket Air hires “best practice’ experts

    BANGKOK: Problem-plagued Phuket Air has recruited a British provider of safety training to instill “best practice” throughout every level of its operations.The deal between Phuket Air and training and development company The Human Factor was announced in London by the founder of The Human Factor, ex-British Royal Air Force pilot George Duncan, and Phuket Air Executive Vice-President Captain Chawanit Chiamcharoenvut.It…