Phuket News
Discover the latest news and updates from Thailand’s most famous and beautiful island, The Thaiger’s hometown, having previously operated as the Phuket Gazette.
Our team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Phuket, covering everything from local politics and business to lifestyle and tourism. Learn about the island’s stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and thriving expat community, as well as keeping updated on events, and attractions.
The Thaiger is your ultimate guide to staying connected with Phuket’s ever-evolving landscape. To keep up with the most reliable news source on the island, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
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World Cup over for Suarez after record ban for biting
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World Cup over for Suarez after record ban for biting Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Uruguay’s Luis Suarez was hit with the biggest ban imposed at a World Cup on Thursday as FIFA threw the book at one of soccer’s most talented but controversial players for…
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Ronaldo misfires as Portugal and Ghana bow out
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ronaldo misfires as Portugal and Ghana bow out Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of the World Cup but crucially wasted several other good chances in Portugal’s 2-1 win over a haphazard Ghana on Thursday that sent both sides home. The…
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Officials plan future for Phuket’s beaches
PHUKET: Top officials from Phuket’s most popular beach towns gathered at Provincial Hall today to sift through the sands and dream up a new look for the island’s coastline. “We will clear all beach chairs, umbrellas and establishments that do not meet provincial standards from all of Phuket’s beaches,” said Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, who spearheaded the meeting. Provincial…
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Muslims to sweep Phuket skies for Ramadan crescent moon
PHUKET: Phuket Muslims will scour the skies tomorrow evening for the first signs of a crescent moon, and if they find it, the fasting month of Ramadan will begin. “We have 56 mosques in Phuket, and I have asked all members to participate in looking for the moon on Friday evening starting at 5pm,” said Komon Doomluck, Phuket Islamic Committee…
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Long-term Phuket Police volunteer passes away
PHUKET: Swedish expat Lars Goran Dikander, 66, passed away on Monday in Chon Buri surrounded by his family. He will be missed by many, said Wal Brown, head co-ordinator of the Royal Thai Police Region 8 volunteers on the island. “Lars had been here [in Phuket] and helping people for years – since the tsunami,” Mr Brown noted. “He was…
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One Phuket post office, seven boxes, two days, eight drug arrests
PHUKET: Police arrested eight men over a two-day period as they collected boxes containing kratom from a Phuket post office. Suspicions were aroused when seven well-wrapped boxes, all the same size and all about the same weight, arrived on the same day from Bangkok. “One of the staff at the Phuket Post Office notified us and we sent plain clothes…
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Phuket cobra caught napping in the shade
PHUKET: A man sweeping in front of his house in Rassada, north of Phuket Town, yesterday afternoon stood and watched as a brazen three-meter cobra slithered out from under a bush to rest in the shade on his front porch. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation, who are well practiced in catching and releasing snakes found near homes throughout Phuket,…
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New Catholic church soon to be consecrated in Cherng Talay
PHUKET: Less than a year after construction work began, the new Catholic church in Cherng Talay will be consecrated on July 6. “At times we thought we needed a miracle but we are there now. We began construction in September last year and in a few short weeks St Joseph’s Church Cherng Talay will be consecrated and open for all,”…
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Murray eager to extinguish Blaz in round two
PHUKET: Andy Murray will take a trip into the unknown against Slovenian world number 92 Blaz Rola as he continues the defense of his Wimbledon title in the second round on Wednesday. After overcoming his first-day nerves and David Goffin on day one, Murray will be back to face the little-known Rola – and surprisingly the British hero has been…
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Phuket deputy mayors surrender to face taxi-mafia abuse of power charges
PHUKET: Four high-ranking officials, including two deputy mayors, have surrendered to police to face abuse of power charges in Phuket’s ongoing campaign to rid the island of taxi-mafia operators. Kata-Karon Deputy Mayors Ithiporn Sangkeaw and Sompong Dabpetch surrendered themselves at Phuket Provincial Police headquarters in Phuket Town. Director of the Kata-Karon Municipality Engineering Division Wanchai Sae-Tan and the Kata-Karon Municipality…
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Police ready to take down high-ranking Karon officials in Phuket taxi-mafia raid
PHUKET: A large task force of police officers is marshalling at Phuket Provincial Police headquarters in Phuket Town, ready to deploy to Karon, to arrest at least four top-ranking officials today for their roles in supporting mafia-style taxi operators. Maj Gen Paween Pongisirin, Deputy Commander of Royal Thai Police Region 8 division who is spearheading the Phuket taxi mafia takedown,…
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Suarez faces another ban after biting Italian defender
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suarez faces another ban after biting Italian defender Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Uruguay striker Luis Suarez looks almost certain to be banned from the World Cup for the second successive tournament after he bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during his team’s 1-0 win…
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Phuket visa runners caught in “cash only’ immigration scare
PHUKET: A van full of foreigners returning to Phuket from a visa run to Penang were delayed at the Malaysian border for more than two and a half hours today as Thai immigration officers demanded that they all present large amounts of cash to confirm that they each had enough money to fund their stay in Thailand. Any foreigners who…
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New crowd-sourced data shows Phuket yacht sighting, MH370 flight path correlate
PHUKET: Crowd-sourced research plotting the projected flight path of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 by using data from Inmarsat satellites may have confirmed that a British woman sailing from India to Phuket spotted the ill-fated flight over the Andaman Sea. British sailor Katherine Tee, 41, was sailing from Cochin, India to Phuket with her husband when on March 7 she…
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Officers pull down last illegal taxi stand in Patong
PHUKET: Armed soldiers were on guard as Phuket officers pulled down the last illegal taxi stand in Patong this afternoon. The taxi shack, in front of the Diamond Cliff Resort and Spa, had escaped destruction when 12 other stands were demolished on June 6 (story here). Drivers asserted that it had been in position for more than 30 years and…
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Hazardous rip currents force closures of popular Phuket beaches
PHUKET: Dangerous rip currents at Kata and Karon have forced lifeguards to rope off sections of the beaches in an effort to keep swimmers from entering the most hazardous areas of surf today. “Nobody should swim in the sea right now, the water is extremely dangerous,” Uten Singsom, Kata-Karon chief lifeguard, told the Phuket Gazette this morning. Other areas of…
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Neymar inspires Brazil, Dutch storm on at World Cup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Neymar inspires Brazil, Dutch storm on at World Cup Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Brazil’s poster-boy striker Neymar fulfilled a nation’s expectations to score twice in a 4-1 destruction of Cameroon on Monday while the Netherlands again showed their potential to win the World Cup with…
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Phuket police slap seahorse, illegal coral vendor with conservation lesson
PHUKET: A vendor selling several pieces of illegal black coral jewellery in a Sea Gypsy village in Phuket was given a stern warning and a lesson on conservation Saturday afternoon. “We got a tip-off about the vendor near Rawai Pier, and asked Chalong Police officers to check it out,” Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources…
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Police beat war drum as arrest warrants issued for ‘untouchables’
PHUKET: Officers are ready to go to war when serving the arrest warrants issued for the “untouchables” of Patong, Deputy Commander of Regional Police Paween Pongsirin told the Phuket Gazette today. “We have enough information to arrest some ‘big people’, including politicians,” Maj Gen Paween said. “At this stage, I cannot reveal how many officers will participate or when we…
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Flooding delays Phuket underpass trial run
PHUKET: The trial opening of Phuket’s first underpass, at the Darasamuth Intersection on the bypass road, will not begin until at least next month, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The 600-million-baht underpass, located beside the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, missed its mid-May trial deadline after heavy rains flooded the road’s not yet complete drainage system. “The water pumps were…
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Slip on Phuket rocks costs fisherman his life
PHUKET: A man fishing on rocks at Laem Sing promontory, on Phuket’s west coast, slipped and fell to his death yesterday afternoon. Sakorn Lamnaonan, 35, had taken a neighbor’s 10-year-old son to fish with him at about noon, Lt Prasert Thongprom of Kamala Police told the Phuket Gazette. “It was very windy and big waves were washing over the rocks,…
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Phuket Airport Bus plan to use van drivers reveals the road ahead
PHUKET: The chief official in charge of drafting key policy changes affecting Phuket’s public transport has revealed that he will present a request for an airport bus operator to hire van drivers to deliver tourists from Phuket International Airport directly to the taxi-mafia hotbed of Kata-Karon. Jaturong Kaewkasi, the chief policy adviser at the Phuket Land Transport Office, confirmed to…
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Phuket hotel worker dies after being stabbed in head in gang attack
PHUKET: A staffer at a hotel in Karon has died from his injuries after being stabbed in the head during a gang attack north of Phuket Town on Saturday night. Surasri Jupmatta, 19, from Prachuap Khiri Khan, and a male friend were pushing their motorbike along Thepkrasattri Road looking for petrol when they were set upon by a gang on…
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Phuket storms prompt flash flood, landslide warnings
PHUKET: Scattered thunderstorms and isolated downpours forecast for today through Wednesday have prompted disaster officials to issue flash flood and landslide warnings for risk areas throughout Phuket. “We issued a warning to every local administration in Phuket to watch out for flash floods and landslides and to be prepared to respond to emergencies in their areas,” Department of Disaster Prevention…
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Police nab 22 young racers on motorbikes
PHUKET: A late-night teenage motorcycle race was nipped in the bud last night after local residents tipped off Phuket City Police after reading about the event in a Facebook post. “Local residents called yesterday afternoon and told officers about a race that was planned – as advertised on Facebook – for 10pm last night,” said Maj Rattaket Munmuang of the…
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Krabi tourist dies after sunbathing on beach
PHUKET: A tourist was pronounced dead on arrival at Krabi Hospital yesterday after other tourists found her unconscious on Ao Nang Beach with waves washing over her body. Thidarat Roh, 37, from Yasothon province in Northeastern Thailand, was sunbathing by herself when the tide came in and washed over her, witnesses told Lt Pithak Wongdet of Krabi City Police. “Beachgoers…
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Costa Rica stun Italy, France crush Switzerland
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Costa Rica stun Italy, France crush Switzerland Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Another European heavyweight fell to Latin American opposition on Friday as Costa Rica shocked Italy 1-0, putting the four-times champions’ qualification in peril, but France thumped Switzerland 5-2 in an imperious World Cup display.…
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Brit expat takes out power pole in high-speed crash, escapes with life
PHUKET: A British expat managed to escape life-threatening injury early this morning after a high-speed collision with a power pole in Koh Kaew left his Toyota Fortuner destroyed and the pole in a pile of rubble. Maj Kittiphum Tinthalang of the Thalang Police was notified of the accident on Thepkrasattri Road northbound, about 100 meters south of the Tah Rua…
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British embassy rolls out passport extensions
PHUKET: The British Embassy in Bangkok has announced that it will begin conducting appointments on Monday so that British nationals in need of an extension to their current passport can be issued them. Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) in London is dealing with the highest demand for passports in 12 years and has issued more than three million passports so…
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Mother wanted for abducting own British-Thai children believed to be in Phuket
PHUKET: The mother wanted for abducting her two British-Thai daughters from their natural father in Pattaya is believed to be heading to Phuket. On Tuesday, Pattaya Police were issued an arrest warrant for 36-year-old Onwarat Gamlem, who is the non-custodial mother of the children. The warrant orders police officers around the country to arrest Ms Onwarat on charges of child…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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