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 tsunami warning buoys deployed
PHUKET: The operation to install tsunami direct-detection buoys in the Andaman Sea has concluded and been hailed a success. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) ship used to deploy the buoys returned to port in Phuket on Thursday. “The operation went smoothly. The first buoy was installed 250 kilometers west of Phuket, while the second was installed 150km from…
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Breaking news: FC Phuket trumps Rayong 2-0
PHUKET: Phuket football fans are rejoicing a solid 2-0 victory by FC Phuket over Rayong this evening. The win virtually assures the team’s promotion to Division I of the Thai League next year.Both goals were scored by Ivory Coast import Diarra Ali.The first came on a penalty kick half way though the first half.The insurance goal came half-way though the…
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Woman bites off husband’s penis, then stabs him to death
PATTAYA (Pattaya Daily News): A woman who was forced to have oral sex by her estranged husband bit off his penis. The act annoyed the victim and sparked a fight, during which the man, reportedly a senior official at the Ministry of Defence, was stabbed to death. Pattaya police were notified of the fight by a neighbor, Viroj Siritham, 70,…
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FC Phuket face ‘make or break’ Sunday
HUKET: Sunday is judgment day for FC Phuket as they face a make-or-break promotion clash with Rayong FC at Surakul Stadium. Kick-off is at 4pm. Victory for Phuket will put them in a great position for promotion to Division 1, while defeat will likely spell the end of their promotion dream. With only two games remaining, the Southern Sean Kirin…
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Superyachts arrive in Phuket
PHUKET: Beachgoers along Phuket’s west coast would have had a hard time not noticing a flotilla of superyachts massing in Nai Harn Bay this week then moving up the coast to Pansea Bay yesterday. Leading the fleet, in Phuket for the annual Asia Superyacht Rendezvous, is the 74-meter MY Silver Zwei launched just last year. The Silver Zwei is rated…
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Phuket call to save ‘Tuptim’
PHUKET: “Tuptim” is only seven months old, but has a condition that requires an urgent liver transplant or she will die within weeks. She is the daughter of Rattanachai “Kru Nai” Jadngooluem, a well known trainer at Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) in Chalong and a former World Muay Thai world champion. Mr Rattanachai, “Nit”, the child’s mother, and Phuket’s muay…
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Phuket police beef up Patong security
PHUKET: Police in Kathu are boosting their presence on the streets of Patong for Phuket’s tourism high season. At a meeting with his top officers earlier this week, Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao called for his officers to boost security, in terms of crime suppression and safety, and to work towards reducing the number of accidents involving tourists during the…
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High-tech clearance on the horizon for Phuket yachts
PHUKET: Travelers entering Thailand via the new Chalong Marina will have the option of submitting official entrance and registration documents electronically, before reaching the port. The Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) is on schedule to complete the new registration system by February next year as construction on the complex continues. Construction is expected to finish by September next year. SIPA…
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Phuket Pirates: Being evil isn’t all it’s cut out to be
PHUKET: The Andaman Players new musical comedy, The Pirates of Phuket, takes to the stage of Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Patong this Saturday evening, offering some sage advice for anyone considering a change of vocation. For instance, it’s well worth thinking twice before settling on “Evil Genius” as your new career path. As the Players ably explain in…
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Phuket’s first night tsunami drill hailed a success
PHUKET: Phuket’s first-ever night tsunami evacuation drill last night was a qualified success, but officials say more needs to be done to ensure residents in all risk areas are truly ready to conduct an after-dark evacuation. Last night’s drill was conducted at the Rajaprachanukroh 36 School in Kamala, just 100 meters from the high-tide mark at Kamala Beach. Activities, from…
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German’s Phuket stay goes to pot
PHUKET: A 33-year-old German man is facing deportation after being found overstaying his visa and in possession of half a gram of marijuana. Chalong Police stopped Nico Bergmann about midday on Sunday as he drove through a checkpoint in Soi Thanuthep. Officers, led by Lt Col Weerayut Sitthirattanakul, believed Mr Bergmann was acting suspiciously and searched his car. In his…
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Rising fuel costs will not affect Phuket buses: Transport Chief
PHUKET: The move to increase bus fares nationwide will not affect buses operating within Phuket, the local Transport Office chief has confirmed. The news follows Thai Passenger Bus Association Chairwoman Sujinda Cherdchai meeting Department of Land Transport Director-General Tienchote Chongpeepien yesterday. The meeting was called by Ms Sujinda, whose group is seeking to increase bus fares by six satang per…
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Phuket Rotary joins anti-polio effort
PHUKET: Rotary Clubs on the island are joining the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) in the local effort to eradicate polio. Rotarians will lend a hand at the PPHO’s upcoming mobile polio vaccination clinics to be held across the island as part of National Immunization Day for Polio Eradication on December 15. On the day, free polio vaccinations will be…
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Phuket to party for health
PHUKET: In a bid to boost confidence among tourists that local food is safe to eat and that local health services are reliable, the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) will host a “Party in the Park” from December 16 to 18. Lined up for the Public Health for Tourism (Andaman Group) Health Station Expo, to be held at Queen Sirikit…
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Phuket’s sad tale of two Russians
PHUKET: Russian tourist Nikoley Bobrova, 64, rushed to his wife’s aid as soon as he saw her in trouble in Phuket’s surf yesterday but could not save her. Mr Bobrova and his wife Irina, also 64, arrived in Phuket on holiday on December 1. The couple were due to fly home tomorrow. Police said the couple arrived at Karon Beach…
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High-speed train may help visa runners, but not from Phuket
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said this afternoon that construction of the Nong Khai-Bangkok-Padang Besar high-speed train will start next year and be completed in four years. Nong Khai is a northern Thai town on the border with Laos, often transited by foreigners in Phuket on visa runs to Vientiene. Padang Besar (PB) is a border town in the…
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Thai Inflation: Phuket may be at the forefront next year
PHUKET: A national committee on public-sector compensation is expected to seek Cabinet approval on Tuesday to raise the salaries of all civil servants, MPs and senators by 5-14.9%. If approved, it will cost taxpayers an extra 13 billion baht a year, according to a well placed government source. The proposal comes on the heels of news earlier this month that…
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Phuket King’s Cup yachts still stranded
PHUKET: As the sun sets on the last day of 24th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, at least four yachts remain stranded on Kata Beach after a day of relentless hammering by strong waves. More than 10 boats were beached this morning by strong winds and big waves that Regatta Director Simon James described as “abnormal”. A spokesman for the regatta…
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Phuket tsunami warning buoys arrive
PHUKET: The ship bringing the two tsunami direct-detection buoys to be installed off Phuket has arrived at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) ship docked with the “tsunameters” on board at the PMBC pier last night after setting sail from Samut Prakarn on Monday. The ship will depart about 1…
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New Phuket Town road to “open’ Christmas Eve
PHUKET: The new Phuket Town road linking Sakdidet Road and Chao Fa East Road will be officially opened on December 24. “The public should be informed officially that the road is finally finished and ready to use,” said Governor Tri Augkaradacha, who will preside over the ceremony. The 684-meter road, known as Sai Phang Muang Kor Rd, is already open…
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Phuket storm pushes King’s Cup racers aground
PHUKET: Racers in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta are working furiously this morning to recover several yachts pushed ashore by strong winds and swell during the night. The last race of the regatta was canceled as organizers stared at four boats beached at Kata Beach and seven boats caught in the surf break. Many boats have already left the bay…
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Phuket King’s Cup: Ichi Ban scores “hat trick’, Thai Navy pipped
PHUKET: Mixed winds brought mixed fortunes today in the last day of racing in the 24th King’s Cup Regatta. IRC 1 class winner Matt Allen on Ichi Ban lifted his third consecutive class trophy without even racing. They had won the class with an impressive 1-2-1-3-1-1-3 scorecard by sundown yesterday. No racers in the King’s Cup have won three consecutive…
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Evolution Racing wins Phuket King’s Cup 2010
PHUKET: Ray Roberts and his Evolution Racing crew just held onto series honors today to win the 24th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. It was a dramatic start for Roberts. Missing the start gun put Evolution at the back of the pack on the start line. Then the big boat of the fleet, Frank Pong’s Jelik III, along with Song Xia…
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Major Phuket blackouts announced
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced three scheduled blackouts to affect Chao Fa East and Chao Fa West Roads in Chalong – two of the busiest roads in the south of the island. Power supply along these roads will be shut off in order to carry out maintenance on high voltage power lines, install new lines and…
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Phuket Poll: Fair to have English tests for UK spousal visas?
PHUKET: All Thais must now pass an English-language test in order to be granted a visa to stay in the United Kingdom on the basis of being a spouse or legal companion of a UK national. Is this new restriction, which applies to all non-Europeans, appropriate and fair? Have your say by voting in the new Phuket Gazette readers’ poll…
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Phuket King’s Cup set for “hat trick’ history
PHUKET: The final day of racing in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta tomorrow may go down in the history books as the first King’s Cup in which not one, but two yachts have accomplished a sporting achievement not seen in nearly a decade – winning a King’s Cup Regatta hat trick. The feat was last achieved by Bill Gasson when…
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Phuket divers to clean up Patong Bay
PHUKET: Divers from the Thai Diving Association and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Phuket office will stage an underwater cleanup in Patong Bay next Thursday. “The underwater waste to be collected includes fishing nets thrown overboard by fishermen as well as empty bottles of beer and other alcohol that tourists have thrown into the sea,” Ongart Chanacharnmongkol, Director…
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Gang slays Phuket security guard
PHUKET: After standing up to a gang of young thugs, a security guard was gunned down at a municipal parking lot in Phuket yesterday. Phuket City Police were notified of the murder at 7:40am by residents at the new government workers’ housing complex off Rattanakosin 200 Pi Road in Wichit. Officers led by Phuket City Police chief Wanchai Ekpornpit rushed…
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Phuket King’s Cup “lost’ crewman
PHUKET: The crew of Pytheas Aura, a 14-meter cutter racing in the King’s Cup Regatta, woke this morning to find fellow crewman, Canadian Joseph James Patrick, 42, dead on his bunk. Police believed he died of a heart attack. Mr Patrick had lived on Phuket for several years, staying in the Kata area, a friend told the Gazette. He apparently…
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Phuket King’s Cup: Split-second separates Racing class winner
PHUKET: Only 0.49 of a second on corrected time separated Neil Pryde’s HiFi and Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing in race one today at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Frank Pong’s Jelik III took line honors, followed by Sam Chan’s FreeFire then Dubai-based boat Team Premier. But all eyes were on Evolution Racing, which tacked away from HiFi at the bottom…
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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