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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Phuket Gazette Sports: Winners, losers and rain
Chelsea climb to third as Spurs lose again Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea as they beat West Ham United 2-0 to move into third place in the Premier League above Tottenham Hotspur who suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by Fulham at White Hart Lane yesterday. FA Cup semi-finalists Wigan Athletic remained…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Red Bulls take front row at F1 season opener
Vettel on pole for Red Bull in Melbourne Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: World champion Sebastian Vettel will start the Formula One season-opener from pole position on an all-Red Bull front row later today (1pm Phuket time) after posting the fastest time in the rain-delayed qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. The German, chasing a fourth successive world title this…
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Tourist Police chief targets Phuket jet-ski rip-offs
PHUKET: A complaint by a senior Chinese consulate official has prompted Tourist Police Commander Roy Ingpairoj to visit Phuket in person to investigate unscrupulous jet-ski operators at Patong Beach.Maj Gen Roy led 22 Tourist Police officers on an inspection of Patong Beach late yesterday afternoon. The visit followed Qin Jian, Vice Consul of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of…
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Phuket Town gamblers luck out: 22 arrested
PHUKET: A joint police raid on a house in Phuket Town on Thursday night netted 22 gamblers playing the popular “shrimp-fish-giant water bug-flower” [yes] board game. Officers led by Lt Col Prawit Engchuan of Phuket City Police joined teams from the Phuket Provincial Police and Wichit Police in the raid, at the shophouse about 100 meters from Surakul Stadium (map…
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Phuket Sports: European football roundup
PHUKET: Chelsea came from two goals down at Manchester United to draw 2-2 in a thrilling FA Cup quarterfinal last Sunday that capped a bad week for the Premier League leaders who were knocked out of the Champions League on March 5 by Real Madrid.Manchester United and Chelsea drew 2-2 on Sunday as the quarter-finals of the FA Cup took…
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Phuket Sports: Truth, tyres and tall tales – F1
PHUKET: The 2013 Formula 1 rules are much the same as last year, so slower teams have had a better chance to copy and catch-up in the off-season rather than have faster teams increase their lead with innovations. But the new Pirelli tyres are going to degrade even faster than the 2012 versions. So I expect a very close season.…
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New Phuket buses ready to run the gauntlet
PHUKET Governor Maitri Inthusut confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that he will approve the long-awaited bus service to start serving tourists arriving at Phuket International Airport. The new bus service – to launch with six buses departing the airport to provide a “hop on, hop off” service to the major tourist beaches down the west coast – has one final…
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Russians nabbed touting macaque monkeys off Phuket
PHUKET: A Russian couple were arrested at a tourist sightseeing island off Phuket yesterday afternoon after they were caught charging tourists to have their photos taken with pig-tailed macaques, a protected species in Thailand.Andrey Belov, 31, and Ekaterina Denisovich, 22 were arrested by Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) officers led by Lt Col Kongkaj Phunoknium. “We went…
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Record-breaking 96-page Gazette hits the newsstands today
PHUKET: Phuket Gazette readers are urged to make more room in their travel bag for the Phuket Gazette this week as our bumper issue hits a record-breaking 96 pages.Leading the charge is our exclusive front page report on the new airport bus service, which is ready to launch next week and, apparently, prepared to take on the tuk-tuk and taxi…
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Phuket Sports: Fair Play League deciders this weekend
PHUKET: The penultimate round of matches in the 2013 Fair Play League were held last weekend at Phuket’s British International School. The Under-11s started proceedings with a strong Brazil side proving too strong for a weakened England in the opening game, confidently winning 9-3 and picking up two bonus points for conceding zero fouls. At the same time, the top…
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Phuket Sports: TNT reignite their cricket campaign
PHUKET: After a thrilling win against Patong last week, Jabudays (ICC) were looking to continue their good run of form and move to the top of Phuket’s cricket league table by beating a TNT side that has not lived up to expectations this season. At the Alan Cooke Ground (click here for map), on Sunday March 10, TNT cruised to…
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Phuket Sports: Ready to sail at ACYC
PHUKET: The Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) has announced the 2013 ACYC Keel Boat and Multihull Club Championship Race Series 1 – FCI Watermaker Series. The second race is this Sunday, March 17. Eligibility and entry: The series is open to all keel yachts and multihulls with an overall length greater than six meters. Eligible boats may enter by completing…
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Breaking News: One dead as runaway Phuket tour bus wreaks havoc
PHUKET: One person is dead after a Phuket tour bus slammed into eight motorbikes and five cars on Patong Hill this morning. Athiwat Petchsai, 22, died after he was struck by the runaway bus in front of Wat Patong temple (map here) after the vehicles’ brakes failed as it descended Patong Hill at about 7:30am. The bus was en route…
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Phuket dog-lovers livid over ’round up strays’ policy
PHUKET: The current Phuket Gazette online poll asking whether or not stray dogs should be rounded up and taken off Phuket’s streets has stirred the island’s dog-loving community into a frenzy. The poll, launched last Saturday (click here), offered respondents the following options: Yes, get them off the streets; they are a nuisance and dangerous. Yes, but only dogs identified…
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Miss Thailand World contestants stun Phuket beach goers
PHUKET: The 20 Miss Thailand World contestants on a publicity tour in Phuket wowed onlookers yesterday morning when they took part in a swimsuit photo shoot on the beach in front of the Cape Panwa Hotel, where they stayed. Among the 20 beauties is one Phuket native: Nathasinee Wichaidit, 20, from Koh Kaew. After arriving on the island on Tuesday,…
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Bikes blazing across Phuket, arson suspected
PHUKET: A series of suspected arson attacks on motorbikes in Phuket over the last two days has police scrambling to identify the culprit(s). “We suspect the bikes were set on fire by a single gang of teenagers out to cause trouble,” Phuket’s top cop, Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat, told the Phuket Gazette. “I have already assigned a joint police…
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Bus driver charged with drunk driving after dropping tourists off at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Police arrested a drunk bus driver returning from a drop-off of tourists at Phuket Airport last night. The arrest occurred after he clipped a pick-up truck near the airport and was chased down by the driver of the truck.Sirisak Suksai, 48, was driving the truck on Thepkrasattri Road near the airport when his vehicle was clipped by the tour…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Champions League and FA Cup results; EPL look ahead
Nervy Bayern, slick Malaga reach Champions League quarters Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Last season’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich survived a severe case of stage fright to edge into the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals and were joined in the last eight by debutants Malaga last night. Nervy Bayern were beaten 2-0 at home by Arsenal but progressed thanks…
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Police raise alarm after Phuket hotel thief uses skeleton key
PHUKET: Police have warned hoteliers across the island to beware of thieves targeting Phuket hotels after a Patong hotel room safe was robbed by a man who reportedly used a skeleton key to enter the room.The news follows 29-year-old Russian tourist Egor Nikolaev reporting valuables being stolen from his room safe at the hotel on the Patong beach road where…
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Phuket Heroines Festival to re-enact Battle of Thalang
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut tonight will play a leading role as King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, also referred to by Thais as “Rama I”, in the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Thalang.The event marks the historical battle in 1785 in which Phuket’s own “angels”, Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn, better known as the Phuket Heroines, led local villagers to…
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Bangkok tip-off prompts Phuket abortion pharmacy shutdown
PHUKET: An unlicensed pharmacist in central Phuket Town has been charged with illegally selling abortion pills after being caught in an undercover operation carried out by Ministry of Public Health officials.A complaint filed directly to police in Bangkok resulted in the sting operation on the City Health Care pharmacy, on Dibuk Road, near the junction with Soi Romanee, late yesterday…
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Human Rights Watch calls for probe into alleged Rohingya shootings
PHUKET: New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) today issued a statement calling for the Thai authorities to investigate reports of Royal Thai Navy sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya off the Phang Nga coast, north of Phuket, allegedly killing at least two of the refugees. “Rohingya fleeing Burma should be given protection, not shot at,” said Brad Adams,…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Champions League latest; Barc and Galatasaray win; Arsenal falling short – Graham
Magical Messi lifts Barca to stunning comeback Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A fired-up Lionel Messi answered his critics by inspiring Barcelona to a sensational Champions League comeback against AC Milan last night with two goals in a 4-0 home win to help them reach the quarter-finals. A rampant Barca, all-but written off after a surprise 2-0 reverse at Milan’s…
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Vietnamese Defense Minister visits Naval Command in Phuket
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command gave a warm welcome to General Phung Quang Thanh, Vietnam’s Minister of National Defense, yesterday as he made his first diplomatic visit to the Phuket naval base responsible for Thailand’s Andaman coast.“I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit Thailand several times. This is my first official visit to…
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Phuket Vice Governor tees off probe into course-side land conflict
PHUKET: Conflicting descriptions of property boundaries on the land titles for a plot beside the Loch Palm Golf Course and for the course itself has prompted Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak to launch an investigation into which title deed is accurate. Vice Governor Somkiet visited the site in person after Rattana Bunyoungponglert filed a complaint that Loch Palm had built…
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Bikes found flaming near popular Phuket Beach
PHUKET: Police are investigating the possible arson of four motorbikes parked on public land at the entrance of Laem Sing Beach.At about 3:45pm today Kamala Police received a report that four vehicles had burst into flames.“Three of the motorbikes belong to locals who work on the beach as masseuses; the other motorbike was the rental bike of a tourist who…
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The digital blues of Phuket computing – Live Wire
PHUKET: Over the years I’ve talked a lot about how computing in Phuket is different – what you can expect, what will never come to pass, how to work around a whole lot of problems. This week I want to share with you a couple of stories from some friends of mine, who got stung simply because they were trying…
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Officers arrest six foreigners for working illegally in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration officers yesterday raided a software design office in Rawai, where they arrested six foreigners, half of them Russian, for working illegally. Phuket Immigration Investigator Chidchanok Sakornyen led the raid, which saw his team of officers enter the site at 12:30pm. We found six foreigners working as software and web design consultants and operating a website. We questioned…
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Photographer offers B100,000 reward for return of life’s work
PHUKET: A professional travel photographer and boutique resort owner in Phuket is offering a 100,000-baht reward for any information leading to the return of his MacBook Pro and backup hard drive – which contain his life’s work.Brian Skyum, owner of Coco Palace Resort in Rawai, returned to Phuket after five weeks in the Philippines to find his maid was the…
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Phuket celebrates 54th anniversary of HM the King’s visit
PHUKET: A ceremony to mark HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s visit to Phuket 54 years ago was led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak today.A merit-making ceremony with nine monks at the Governor’s residence started the proceedings at about 7 am, after which Phuket V/Gov Somkiet carried the Phuket Provincial sword through the streets of Phuket.The revered sword was presented to…
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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