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 Is tap water in Thailand safe to consume?
Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...
-
No helmet, no hill: safety crackdown
PHUKET: Patong Hill has been chosen as the island’s first “Helmet Heaven”, with motorcyclists barred from it from next month unless they wear helmets. While details are still being worked out, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi told the Gazette that riders traveling without helmets would be turned back at checkpoints on both sides of the hill, day and night. It is…
-
Who needs a barbecue?
NAKHON NAYOK: Many people love the taste of charcoal-grilled food, but a young woman in Nakhon Nayok has taken her love for charcoal one step further – bypassing the food and eating the charcoal instead. In Tambon Pakplea, a 26-year-old widow, Urai Setsuriya, carries a bag of the black carbon sticks with her wherever she goes, sometimes munching up to…
-
A dish best served boiled
NAKHON PATHOM: Legions of men thought twice about their two-timing ways after watching Fatal Attraction, the movie in which a mistress takes revenge on her married lover by boiling his family’s beloved pet bunny. In the film, wife and children became the unwitting victims in a dangerous love triangle. In Nakhon Pathom, however, it was the wife whose jealous rage…
-
Peg-leg snatcher in the slammer
BANGKOK: A two-month, 10-victim purse-snatching spree in Bangkok ended on May 17 with the arrest of a one-legged thief who used a motorcycle to make his getaways. Payao Thongpong, 30, after grabbing the purse of his latest victim, rode his motorcycle practically into the hands of police at a checkpoint, where officers had been given his description. Payao told police…
-
Gov offers to help validate titles
PHUKET TOWN: Big business investors who want to check the legitimacy of titles to land they are thinking of buying can ask the Phuket Governor’s office for help, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi said today. He told the Gazette that his staff would work with the Phuket Provincial Land Office so that investment could continue without being delayed by investigations now…
-
Hilton enters Phuket market
PHUKET: Hilton International has finally made an entry into the Phuket market after negotiating a contract to manage the Panwaburi Resort and Spa at Cape Panwa. The resort, which will undergo a US$7-million (292-million-baht) refurbishment, paid for by its owners, is expected to reopen in October as the Conrad Phuket Resort and Spa. Conrad is Hilton’s top-of-the-line five-star brand. Methee…
-
Markets, restaurants face food checks
PHUKET: Officers from the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) will next month start inspecting restaurants displaying the “Clean Food Good Taste” (CFGT) seal of approval to see whether they have in fact been authorized by the PPHO to display the logo. They will also check fresh produce sold at markets from next month to ensure it is free of harmful…
-
More fishing but fewer fish
PHUKET TOWN: The number of illegal alien workers on fishing boats in the Andaman Sea was increasing at the same time as vital marine stocks were being depleted, said Vice-Admiral Pairoj Theerachai of the Royal Navy Third Fleet. Fishing boats were using large illegal gill nets that diminished fish resources and also trapped and killed other marine animals, he explained…
-
Missing Briton found safe in Krabi
KRABI: Missing Briton Eric Wells has turned up safe in a guest house in Krabi, his son told the Gazette this evening. Guy Wells said that he had spoken by phone with his father, who was unharmed, but that the reasons why he had ended up in Krabi were not clear. He also thanked all those who had gone out…
-
Top businessman held over Samsara deed
PHUKET TOWN: Chamnan Pachantabutr, former owner of the land on which the Samsara luxury property development is currently being constructed, was arrested today for his alleged part in falsifying a land document – the original title for the Samsara site. Chamnan, who is one of the owners of the Phuket Cabana Resort and of the Kan Eang restaurants in Chalong,…
-
Startling plans for Phuket’s future
PHUKET TOWN: Four Cabinet members attended high-powered meetings with Phuket government officials and local businessmen on Friday and Saturday (July 4 and 5), indicating that the government is still committed to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s vision of Phuket as a regional hub for transport, medical tourism, IT, duty-free shopping and yachting. The Saturday meeting at Royal Phuket City Hotel was…
-
High price for high fliers
PHUKET: Expensive rainmaking flights costing as much as 480,000 baht a day have yet to make an appreciable difference to Phuket’s water supplies. Three aircraft from the Royal Rainmaking Service are currently in Phuket. The two smaller airplanes each incur a cost of 50,000 baht a flight in fuel, chemicals and other costs while the third, larger aircraft costs 60,000…
-
Still no sign of DIDIT founder
PHUKET: The family of Briton Eric Wells have asked that anyone who has seen him since the evening of Friday, July 4, get in touch with them immediately. Mr Wells and his wife Linda are co-founders of Dogs In Distress In Thailand (DIDIT), which looks after stray dogs in temples around the island. Mr Wells went to feed dogs at…
-
Free air tickets to boost tourism
BANGKOK: Thai Airways International (THAI) has announced a campaign to celebrate its 43rd anniversary by giving away 20,000 tickets as prizes in a lottery among passengers who fly on the airline between now and September 30. The “Luck Is In The Air” campaign will, it is hoped, attract tourists to make repeat visits to Thailand. A total of 16,000 free…
-
Govt seizes land from 39 in Phuket
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Agriculture Land Reform Department yesterday revoked the land-right documents held by 39 people who were found to be unqualified to occupy SorPorKor land earmarked for farmers in Phuket. Agriculture Minister Sora-at Klinprathum said the revocation took immediate effect and that no prior warning letters were necessary to inform the holders. “We are also verifying other holders…
-
Police nab pair for mugging tourists
PHUKET: Two men now under arrest have confessed to assaulting and robbing German tourists Rainer and Susanne Siebert and two others have confessed to receiving the stolen goods. The Sieberts, who were knocked unconscious and robbed last week, flew out for Germany yesterday afternoon with most of the stolen items after recovering from their injuries. Surachai “Jade” Khonginn, 25, and…
-
Boot camp for idle police
PATTAYA: There has long been debate about whether criminals can ever be reformed, and about the most effective methods to change their antisocial habits. But when those responsible for protecting society from the lawless need straightening out, there’s little question of what needs to be done – at least in the mind of Pol Lt Col Sakrapee Preawpanich, Deputy Superintendent…
-
Creating the perfect crime
BANGKOK: Police spent more than three hours searching for a van hijacked by gunmen carrying 440,000 baht in expressway toll fees and a hostage – before they realized that the man who reported the theft had invented the entire story. The man, identified as Rungniran Nabamrung, 29, faces a charge of making a false statement to police, punishable by up…
-
Beware of your underwear
BANGKOK:The government has issued a warning advising women to beware of underwear vendors who claim their expensive, tight-fitting panties can melt away fat and cure a host of diseases. Despite the underwear being sold at more than 10,000 baht a pair, a number of young women have already fallen victim to the spurious claims. Direct salespeople sell the undies using…
-
Tourism “boom’ tipped soon
PHUKET TOWN: The outlook for tourism in Phuket is much brighter now, Santhichai Auengjongprasit, Deputy-Governor for Marketing of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said today. Numbers were still down on last year’s low season, he conceded, but were improving. The effects of the Sars scare were no longer being felt and discounts and travel promotions were already working, he…
-
Town to get traffic cameras
PHUKET TOWN: In the latest effort to bring some order to Phuket’s traffic chaos, Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang, who is responsible for traffic in the Southern provinces, has announced that a 4.15-million-baht video surveillance system will be installed at three Phuket Town intersections. The intersections are the one next to Satree Phuket School, the one next to Wachira Phuket…
-
Park land fenced off, police told
CHERNG TALAY: As the Phuket property probe continues, Cherng Talay police have been informed, in an official report, about cases of suspected encroachment on land in the Sirinat Marine National Park. Prasart Tongpong, an officer at the national park, reported the suspected encroachments to Pol Lt Col Siriwat Intrayim yesterday evening. Fifteen plots of land in Moo 6 in Cherng…
-
100 lifeguards to be trained
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will train 100 volunteers to work as lifeguards at the island’s beaches and swimming pools. The OrBorJor has set aside 454,000 baht to cover the five-day courses during August and September, organized by Phuket Marine Police, Wachira Phuket Hospital and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The OrBorJor has also improved the…
-
Rainmakers back in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The Royal rainmaking team and its aircraft are back in Phuket to try to alleviate the island’s water crisis. Whenever conditions are right, the team’s three aircraft are now seeding the clouds above the island in an emergency measure that is expected to cost 450,000 baht. Surachart Kuntavichayanont, Chief of the Phuket Agriculture and Cooperatives Office, which requested…
-
Politicians call for swift end to probe
PHUKET: The Thai Rak Thai party’s candidate for MP in the next parliamentary elections, Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, has added his voice to those calling for a swift conclusion to the land investigation currently underway in Phuket. Dr Prasit, who is currently the President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), told the Gazette today that although he did not have…
-
Park chief to make encroachment complaint
THALANG: The Chief of Sirinat Marine National Park said today that he will report to the police at Cherng Talay Police Station tomorrow (July 2) that the park is being encroached upon in the area of Layan Beach. The Chief, Thanapong Aphaiso, went with park officers yesterday afternoon to check the southern end of the park, around Moo 6, Baan…
-
Land Department calls for arrests
BANGKOK, The Nation: The Land Department in Bangkok yesterday requested the Crime Suppression Police (CSP) to arrest Thawatchai Anukul, Thawatchai Anukul, formerly registrar of the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO) and of a district land office in Phang Nga, along with other officers who allegedly collaborated with him in issuing false documents and abusing their position as government officers. Documents…
-
48 SorPorKor papers to be rescinded
BANGKOK, The Nation: Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Newin Chidchob, said yesterday that he is preparing papers recommending the eviction of occupiers from 48 plots of SorPorKor land in Phuket, totaling some 300 rai. The papers will be presented next week to the Land Commission headed by Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh. K. Newin told The Nation that the commission investigating…
-
Top officials to discuss Phuket’s future
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and three other ministers will be among a high-powered meeting of top government officials in Phuket on July 4 and 5 to discuss development of the island, it was announced yesterday. The 35-strong delegation will include Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, Information and Communications Technology Minister Dr Surapong Suebwonglee, Tourism and Sports Minister Sontaya…
-
Police nab more illegal immigrants
PHUKET: Between similar periods in May and June, the number of arrests of illegal immigrants rose from 61 to 133, statistics from the Phuket Provincial Police reveal. The latest figures, covering June 1 to June 24, also show that 26 people were arrested for glue-sniffing and three more were held for possession and sale of ya bah (methamphetamine) in that…
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.