News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.

  • Local artists protest coal plant | Thaiger

    Local artists protest coal plant

    KRABI: Twenty artists gathered at Krabi Provincial Hall to stage a peaceful protest on Thursday morning against a coal power plant slated to be built in the Nua Khlong District. Vasan Sitthiket, an artist and activist who is part of the group, painted landscapes depicting how locals in the area would be affected by the plant. “We went to the…

  • What’s different about The Thaiger | Thaiger

    What’s different about The Thaiger

    The Thaiger, from it’s inception, was crafted to be a lean, mean media machine. The Thaiger doesn’t have a head office (although we’re based in Kathu, Phuket), instead it is a network of people from around the country who access the platform and post stories for you. All the media is written and designed to be accurate and easily consumed…

  • The Thaiger reaches far and wide | Thaiger

    The Thaiger reaches far and wide

    Modern marketing is all about ‘reach’ – how many people are seeing/hearing/reading your ads – and targeting your customers. The Thaiger is an effective tool to do both. Our platforms are measurable and promise to provide you with superior effective reach at a price you can afford with a reputation and quality to match your product. Every package from The…

  • Advertising on The Thaiger | Thaiger

    Advertising on The Thaiger

    . WELCOME TO THE THAIGER Our website has skyrocketed in new user from 275,000 page views per month at the start of 2018 to 2.1 million page views in February 2019, representing more than 1.3 million sessions. (Google Analytics) The Thaiger crosses a number of platforms including the main website, a smartphone App, Facebook pages, YouTube Channel, Instagram, Twitter and…

  • New Phuket governor arrives | Thaiger

    New Phuket governor arrives

    PHUKET: Newly appointed Phuket Governor Dr Chokchai Dejamornthan and his wife Raweewan Dejamornthan, who is the new president of the Phuket Red Cross, received a warm welcome on their arrival in Phuket this morning. About a hundred people from both government and the private sector showed up to welcome the couple at Phuket airport at 10:30am. In keeping with tradition,…

  • Ministry of Farang Affairs: Showing off your work ID | Thaiger

    Ministry of Farang Affairs: Showing off your work ID

    The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…

  • Samkong Underpass to be closed for maintenance, completion pushed to October end | Thaiger

    Samkong Underpass to be closed for maintenance, completion pushed to October end

    PHUKET: The Samkong Underpass is to be closed from 10pm today until 4am tomorrow for electrical maintenance and installation. Motorists are only allowed to use the road above the underpass during this time slot. “We have also installed signs at the junction to notify motorists,” said Chalermpol Wongkiattikun, the project engineer from the Department of Highways. “The underpass is expected…

  • Opinion: Confusion at new airport terminal | Thaiger

    Opinion: Confusion at new airport terminal

    PHUKET: Confusion among passengers following the recent opening of the International Terminal at Phuket Airport demonstrates a disappointing lack of readiness on the part of Airports of Thailand (AoT), Phuket Immigration and other related agencies. While it would have been naive to expect that such major changes to airport operations could come off without a hitch, the lack of manpower…

  • Phuket Airport Road: Landslide plan to be revealed next month | Thaiger

    Phuket Airport Road: Landslide plan to be revealed next month

    PHUKET: A plan to prevent landslides along the road running parallel to the runway at Phuket International Airport is expected to be completed by next month. The need for a plan came about when continuous rains on August 31 loosened the earth on the 141-meter-tall hill (Khao Bo Sai), and caused a landslide that spilled onto the road (story here).…

  • Task force shuts down illegal gambling ring in Krabi | Thaiger

    Task force shuts down illegal gambling ring in Krabi

    KRABI: A joint task force arrested 66 suspected gamblers and confiscated over half a million baht worth of gambling paraphernalia during a raid of a local gambling den in Krabi yesterday. More than 30 officials from Nua Khlong Police, along with 16 military personnel, marched into the middle of a rice field at Pakasai sub-district of Nua Khlong District, where…

  • Patong Swimmer stung by Portuguese Man of War | Thaiger

    Patong Swimmer stung by Portuguese Man of War

    PHUKET: Lifeguards at Patong Beach helped a swimmer on Monday who had been stung on one of her legs by a Portuguese Man-of-War. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the lifeguards said they had helped remove the siphonophore from the victim after she was stung. The swimmer, who wished to remain anonymous, said the sting was small but painful. The…

  • Floating officials visit flooded village | Thaiger

    Floating officials visit flooded village

    KRABI: Villagers in Ao Luek district have been using boats to get to and from their houses after torrential flooding has left their neighborhood under water for the past month. Following complaints filed with the Ao Luek Administration Organization (OrBorTor), Ao Luek District chief Chaiwut Buathong examined the site on Tuesday. Approximately 300 meters of roadway have been flooded in…

  • Arrest warrants issued for ATM hackers | Thaiger

    Arrest warrants issued for ATM hackers

    PHUKET: Police issued two more arrest warrants on September 26 for Russian suspects wanted in connection with the nation-wide ATM fraud that ripped off over 12 million baht from Government Savings Bank (GSB) ATMs. The group of foreigners travelled around the country using specially-engineered credit cards to overcome safety precautions and empty ATMs in Phuket, Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Phretcha…

  • Phuket Gazette Radio is here, launched at 0500 today | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Radio is here, launched at 0500 today

    PHUKET: It’s here, and it’s on a mission with news all day. News remains the Gazette’s reason for being, just as it’s always been, since 1993. Our flagship show, ‘The News Room’, takes you deep inside the local news, issues and events that matter to Phuketians. Here you’ll also get the important regional and international stories that the island’s cosmopolitan…

  • First wedding planner’s congress in Asia coming to Phuket | Thaiger

    First wedding planner’s congress in Asia coming to Phuket

    PHUKET: Wedding planners from across the world will descend on Phuket for a global conference this Spring, the Ministery of Tourism and Sports announced last week. The Destination Wedding Planners Congress (DWPC) is hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and is scheduled to be held at Laguna Golf Phuket in May of 2017. “Destination-themed weddings are a big…

  • Teenager killed in “double hit-and-run’ | Thaiger

    Teenager killed in “double hit-and-run’

    PHUKET: A teenager was killed and another man injured in a ‘double’ hit-and-run collision at about 1:15am today on Thepkasattri Road. The victim, Noppadol Yaprajan, 19, was riding pillion with his friend Sirichai Witsuma, 20, when the accident occurred. “Mr Sirichai told us that an 18-wheeled truck hit their motorbike in front of the Democratic Party Office, causing Mr Noppadol…

  • Victim of Bangkok gang may be elderly European | Thaiger

    Victim of Bangkok gang may be elderly European

    PHUKET: A scan of body parts found in a refrigerator during a raid last week on a building in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Soi 56 suggests it was an elderly European man who was dismembered by an electric saw, Dr Udomsak Hoonwichit, of Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of medicine, said yesterday. The deceased man’s DNA will be collected for identification and given to…

  • Portuguese Man-of-War back at the beaches | Thaiger

    Portuguese Man-of-War back at the beaches

    PHUKET: Sirinath National Park chief Kitiphat Tharapiban said today that ‘water activities’ have been suspended at Phuket’s Nai Thon, Layan and Nai Yang beaches after blooms of Portuguese Man-of-War siphonophore were spotted in the national park area on Friday (September 23). “Stings from the Portuguese Man-of-War can be fatal so we have closed the beaches and posted warning notices where…

  • Road Rage: Teen shoots at truck in Phuket Town | Thaiger

    Road Rage: Teen shoots at truck in Phuket Town

    PHUKET: A teenage motorcyclist was arrested on Saturday evening for shooting at a 6-wheeled truck in the heart of Phuket Town. The 18-year old reportedly shot at one of the truck’s wheels in anger after, he claims, it nearly ran him over. “We had a report about the shooting on Srisana Road in Phuket Town at 4pm,” said Phuket City…

  • New Phuket Air Terminal: Transport Minister acknowledges barrage of angry complaints | Thaiger

    New Phuket Air Terminal: Transport Minister acknowledges barrage of angry complaints

    PHUKET: A stream of harsh complaints about the new terminal at Phuket International Airport prompted a visit by Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith on Saturday. Long lines, delays, the lack of essential equipment, insufficient and confused personnel, and angry passengers have all marred the opening days of the new facility (story here). Mr Arkhom acknowledged that airport staff were dealing with…

  • Russian tourist dies at Karon | Thaiger

    Russian tourist dies at Karon

    PHUKET: A Russian tourist died Saturday afternoon, shortly after bring pulled out from the waves by rescue workers at Karon Beach. “Police received reports about 3:30pm that Urosov Roman, 43, had been pulled from the water near the Naka statue,” said Karon Police Captain Weerayuth Thansirisukhaworakul. Mr Roman’s wife, who declined to be named, told police she was lying on…

  • Woman flips car to save jay-walking dog | Thaiger

    Woman flips car to save jay-walking dog

    PHUKET: A woman was charged with reckless driving after she smashed into an electric pole on Chao Fa West Road, trying to avoid a jay-walking dog on Saturday. “Chuangkwan Pantanakitvibun, 24, was on her way from the Land & Houses apartment complex to Phuket Town at about noon, when she saw the dog crossing the street and swerved left to…

  • Opinion: Gov Chamroen bids farewell | Thaiger

    Opinion: Gov Chamroen bids farewell

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada has been leading our island for a year. He is now leaving us to take up his new position as the governor of Nakhon Sri Thammarat. Here is his last letter to Phuketians. It has been a year since I took up the position of governor in my hometown. It has been a great year…

  • Teen thief nabbed for Phuket Town car break-ins | Thaiger

    Teen thief nabbed for Phuket Town car break-ins

    PHUKET: Police arrested a 16-year-old boy yesterday who they allege is behind a string of car break-ins and robberies in Phuket Town. On August 27, the suspect reportedly smashed the window of a Chevrolet and stole about 50,000 baht in cash and other belongings from inside the car. Another car was broken into and 6,000 baht cash was stolen from…

  • Three injured in Yamu boat fire | Thaiger

    Three injured in Yamu boat fire

    PHUKET: Three men were injured when their speedboat caught fire off Yamu Pier in Pakhlok at about 9:15 this morning. One of the men sustained serious injuries, including a broken leg and burns across 40-50 per cent of his body, according to emergency responders. The three-engine speedboat, registered to CC Blue Marine, reportedly caught fire while the three crew members…

  • Pole position for speeding Phuket driver | Thaiger

    Pole position for speeding Phuket driver

    PHUKET: A Phang Nga man landed himself in Thalang Hospital after losing control of his Toyota Yaris while speeding along Thepkrasattri Road this morning. The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle and slammed backwards into a lamppost on the Northbound curve of the island’s main thoroughfare near the Sai Kaew Beach entrance in Mai Khao, shortly before 10am. Rescue…

  • New British Ambassador makes first visit to Phuket | Thaiger

    New British Ambassador makes first visit to Phuket

    PHUKET: British Ambassador Brian Davidson made his first official visit to the island today. The ambassador met with Phuket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat this morning at Phuket Provincial Hall. At the meeting with provincial officials, Ambassador Davidson highlighted concerns over public safety in Phuket, raising his worries over the island’s jet-ski operators, taxi mafia, the lack of public transportation and…

  • Local airlines ban use of Samsung Galaxy note 7 | Thaiger

    Local airlines ban use of Samsung Galaxy note 7

    PHUKET: Several international and domestic carriers, including Thai Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion air, Bangkok Airways and Air Asia, have banned the use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones on board their aircraft, following reports of the device ‘exploding’ surfaced after its launch last month. Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT), which operates the Kingdom’s major airports, including Phuket International…

  • Opinion: Boosting startups in Phuket | Thaiger

    Opinion: Boosting startups in Phuket

    PHUKET: The new Ministry of Digital Economy and Society shows the correct spirit in supporting and promoting startup businesses through its recent Startup Thailand 2016 activities here in Phuket. Our island has enormous potential as a hub for digital technology outfits, but fostering success for local startups in competitive international markets will require a much more ‘international outlook’ than many…

  • Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2016 schedule announced | Thaiger

    Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2016 schedule announced

    PHUKET: The controversial Phuket Vegetarian Festival, one of the most widely-celebrated events in Phuket each year, is being held from October 1-9 at various shrines and locations throughout the island. Held in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the festival features a host of events and draws large crowds to Phuket each year (story here). The Phuket City Municipality…