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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Breaking News: Curfew lifted in Phuket
PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order today lifted the curfew in Pattaya, Samui and Phuket. The news is heralded as bringing much welcome relief to tourism businesses and nightlife venue operators in the three popular tourist destinations. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut paid a visit to Phuket’s premier party town last night to personally receive a formal request from…
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Emerald EPL Masters Tour comes to Phuket
PHUKET: They might be past their prime, but still have a lot to prove to themselves, their fellow footballers and the spectators. “Once you’re on the pitch, the fighting spirit kicks in and you give your best. These guys don’t want to make fools of themselves,” says Paul Parker, former Manchester United player, and member of England’s national football team,…
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Phuket Governor assures Patong that NCPO wants to get the party re-started
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut paid a visit to Phuket’s premier party town last night to personally receive a formal request from Patong nightlife venue operators for the curfew to be lifted, and assure them that progress was being made to further relax the curfew. The governor was greeted by hundreds of business operators at about 7pm, many of whom were…
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Phuket’s new top cop to arrive today
PHUKET: A deputy commander at the Royal Thai Police Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani is to arrive in Phuket this morning to be installed as Phuket’s new top-ranking police officer later today. Maj Gen Krajang Suwannarat was officially promoted to the post of Phuket Provincial Police Commander in an order promulgated yesterday. “Maj Gen Krajang is to arrive in…
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Legal tour guides furious over police arrests, demand illegal guides be targeted
PHUKET: About 100 angry tour guides protested at Chalong Police Station today after 23 legal members of a local Chinese tour guide association were brought in for questioning this morning. Three members of the association had been attempting to collect evidence of illegal guides operating in the popular tourist destination when they were taken into police custody. “We do not…
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Cocaine blues: Phuket tourist busted with over 20g of “paradise white’
PHUKET: A Phuket sting operation netted two tourists in possession of more than 21 grams of cocaine last night. “An undercover officer met with the 46-year-old suspect, Nigerian tourist Colins Ifeanyi Ugwoeruchkwu, to buy drugs in Patong,” said Tourist Police Division 5 Superintendent Jirapop Phuridet. “When Mr Ugwoeruchkwu arrived on Soi Nanai 2, off Nanai Road, we searched him.” Officers…
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“I thought I saw MH370 on fire,’ says Phuket yachtie
PHUKET: A British sailor crossing the Indian Ocean en route to Phuket in March has stepped forward to file a report that she may have seen the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. Katherine Tee, 41, was sailing from Cochin, India to Phuket with her husband Marc Horn, 50, when she saw what looked like a plane on fire crossing the…
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Dazed and confused: Swedish tourist loses hotel, saved by police volunteers
PHUKET: A confused Swedish tourist located his guesthouse after two days of being lost in Patong thanks to the combined effort of the Tourist Police Volunteers and Region 8 Police Volunteers. Karl “Tommy” Berglund, 67, left his hotel shortly after checking in on Thursday night to go for a walk, taking just a little cash and leaving his room key…
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2022 Wold Cup vote must be re-run if corruption proved, says Goldsmith
PHUKET: The vote for the hosting of the 2022 World Cup must be re-run if corruption allegations surrounding Qatar’s winning campaign are proved to be accurate, Lord Goldsmith, a member of FIFA’s Independent Governance Committee, said on Monday. A British newspaper on Sunday claimed it had evidence that around $5 million (3 million pounds) was paid to officials in return…
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Phuket Governor prevents anti-curfew rally, whispers curfew repeal coming
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has vowed to visit Soi Bangla in Patong tonight to personally receive a formal request by nightlife venue operators pleading for the curfew to be lifted. Governor Maitri announced the news after a closed-door meeting with Patong Entertainment Business Association President Weerawit Krueasombut this afternoon. The meeting lasted just a handful of minutes. Mr Weerawit had…
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Breaking News: Furious tour guides protest at Chalong Police Station over arrest
PHUKET: About 100 angry Phuket tour guides descended on Chalong Police Station today to protest the arrest of a legal tour guide. “Police arrested a legal tour guide. Why aren’t they looking for the illegal guides? Why are they targeting us?” asked protest leader Jaifu Sae-lee. An investigation into officers at the Chalong Police Station concluded earlier this year. Shortly…
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Phuket top cop flip-flop: Gen Ong-art gets his marching orders
PHUKET: Phuket’s top-ranking police officer, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiwruangnont, earlier this afternoon received his marching orders to report to the Royal Thai Police Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani – effective immediately. The news comes just hours after Gen Ong-art publicly confirmed that he had not received any transfer orders (story here). However, Gen Ong-art told the Phuket Gazette that…
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Patong nightlife operators to risk assembly ban to plea for curfew to be lifted
PHUKET: About 100 Patong business operators and their staff plan to gather at Phuket Provincial Hall tomorrow to submit a formal request asking for the curfew to be lifted. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut have been informed of the plan, Patong Entertainment Business Association Weerawit Krueasombut told the Phuket Gazette this morning.…
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Only seconds in it on final day of Samui Regatta
PHUKET: The sun and wind greeted sailors with equal measure on the morning of the last day of the Samui Regatta last Saturday, May 31. With the best pressure to the north, Principal Race Officer (PRO) Ross Chisholm headed out to lay a start line with two races planned for all – first a trapezoid course followed by a fast…
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Did you win a private Phuket airplane ride?
PHUKET: Two lucky people out of the more than 500 who took part in the Phuket Gazette’s 2014 Reader Survey have won a free ride over the island in the company’s new airplane. Each person who completed the survey was issued a lucky number. The winning numbers, drawn late yesterday, are 8584 and 7546. Maintaining our promise of anonymity in…
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Navy experts disarm Japanese WWII torpedo in Krabi
PHUKET: The WWII Japanese torpedo brought to Krabi’s shores by fisherman on Tuesday was removed from the beach by experts and disarmed on a nearby island yesterday . “Officers from the Thai Navy Ordinance confirmed that the torpedo was from World War II, and that it was capable of destroying everything within a 1 kilometer radius,” Koh Sriboya Kamnan Samran…
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Driving courses to be offered in English, Russian and Burmese for Phuket foreigners
PHUKET: Several educational institutions on the island will soon offer training courses in English, as well as Russian and Burmese, for foreigners wanting to get a driver’s licence. The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with five educational institutions on the island – Rajabhat University, Thalang Technical College, Phuket Technical College, Phuket Polytechnic College and…
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Kick the habit with Vachira Phuket Hospital’s “No Tobacco Day’ event
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital is holding a “No Tobacco Day” event today to provide advice and strategies for island smokers who want to kick the habit. “The event takes place from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Staff will offer advice to those who want to quit smoking,” Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Jessada Chungpaibulpatana told the Phuket Gazette. “Staff from our International Department…
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Federer, Djokovic struggle as Sharapova blazes through in Paris
PHUKET: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were both put to the test to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday while Maria Sharapova continued to blaze through a thinning women’s draw. Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska was knocked out 6-4 6-4 by Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic, becoming the latest victim of a new generation of talent sweeping through…
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Short-circuited incubator burns Phuket baby
PHUKET: A newborn Phuket baby suffered burn wounds after a fire started in its incubator, an accident dubbed “unpreventable” by the hospital director. The baby was two days old when a short-circuit in the incubator’s light bulb set fire to the newborn’s swaddling blanket, explained Thana Bookahoot, director of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital. “Nurses immediately saved the…
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NCPO to keep Phuket radio stations off air, concerned about rogue DJs
PHUKET: Despite not being under investigation by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), radio stations in Phuket have been ordered to remain off air due to concerns that rogue DJs could cause disharmony, the Phuket Gazette was told. “The private radio stations are to remain off air because we don’t want to chance someone talking on air about…
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Phuket developer concedes B600mn school land grab was a “misunderstanding’
PHUKET: The Phuket developer who earlier this week staked a claim to a huge tract of land belonging to Kathu Wittaya School yesterday admitted that he had “made a mistake”. Named publicly only as “Ko Kim”, the landowner said he would have the Land Office move the boundary markers for his land – which is next to the school –…
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Breaking News: Phuket pirated goods vendors protest paying off officials
PHUKET: Sellers from about 40 pirated goods shops in Phuket took to the streets today in protest of allegedly being forced to pay “too much” money to a variety of government offices in Bangkok. Protesters are currently on the streets holding signs saying, “Closed because we cannot afford paying extortion money”. — Kritsada Mueanhawong
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Phuket FC take on the Navy TC
PHUKET: Seventh place Phuket FC take on fifth place Navy FC at Sattahip Navy Stadium in Chonburi tomorrow evening at 6pm their next Yamaha League One fixture.
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Phuket’s low season saviors: Russians, Chinese and Middle Easterners
PHUKET: The sacred oxen have spoken – the rainy season is upon us – and it will be a year of abundant water and food. The year will also be abundant in Russians, Chinese and Middle Easterners – the financial saviors of Phuket’s low season. Down here on the island, far from the rice-reliant agriculture industry, the Royal Ploughing Ceremony…
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Boycott forces Patong mayor to abandon inaugural council meeting
PHUKET: A boycott by members of Pian Keesin’s Rak Patong Party this morning forced Chalermluck Kebsab to abandon her first council meeting as Patong Mayor. Mayor Chalermluck, a long-standing Phuket Democrat, defeated Mr Pian at the polls by 4,390 votes to 3,330 on April 26 (story here). However, her supporting councilors today failed to form a quorum – the minimum…
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Protect Phuket’s tourism
PHUKET: As the latest edition of the Phuket Gazette hits newsstands this weekend, the nationwide curfew imposed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has already done considerable harm to Thailand’s all-important tourism sector. Indeed, no province stands to suffer more than Phuket if international confidence in Thailand as a safe tourism destination deteriorates any further. Hence, the…
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Nadal masters young apprentice, Murray hits form
PHUKET: Rafa Nadal provided a claycourt lesson for one of the game’s young apprentices at the French Open when he crushed rising Austrian Dominic Thiem with a masterly display to reach the third round on Thursday. The eight-times champion showed flashes of his intimidating best in a 6-2 6-2 6-3 win that was tougher than the scoreline suggested, but was…
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Light-rail proposed to trundle through Phuket Town
PHUKET: Plans proposing that Phuket’s long-awaited light-rail system travel through the heart of Phuket Town will be revealed at a public hearing next Tuesday. The news follows a meeting of high-ranking officials, including Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, yesterday. Sirigate Apirat of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning told the Phuket Gazette today that the proposed route for…
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Phuket stab victim dies en route to hospital
PHUKET: A Phuket woman who was stabbed in her garden this afternoon died as her neighbors rushed her to Thalang Hospital. Nongluk Thavorn, 42, was found screaming for help with a knife still lodged in her head. “I climbed over the wall into her garden. I saw her on the ground bleeding with the knife stuck in her head, behind…
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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