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. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
-
Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
-
Kamala official denies stray dogs killings
KAMALA: The Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) of the Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has denied claims that his staff have been culling stray dogs.Sajaphol Thongsom said he had asked the Phuket Livestock Office to move stray dogs from the area around the beach after one bit a tourist, but that the dogs had been sedated and moved to the dog…
-
WTO calls for easier access to soft loans
PHUKET CITY: World Tourism Organization (WTO) consultant JK Robert England today called for more flexibility in providing soft loans to tourism-related small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the post-tsunami environment.Speaking after meeting with Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, he said, “The government has been amazingly successful so far in response to an unprecedented problem. However, more things can be done, more…
-
THAI offers packages to boost tourism
BANGKOK: The national carrier, Thai Airways International (THAI) today announced special domestic packages offered by its Royal Orchid Holidays subsidiary aimed at kickstarting the tourism-led economies of Phuket, Krabi and Trang Provinces following the tsunami.The “Southern Sun and Sea” round-trip packages will be available for departures from Bangkok to the three southern provinces with prices pegged at 5,000 baht per…
-
Plea for Fiona to contact parents
TORBAY, UK: The parents of Englishwoman Fiona Hodgkinson – who is known to have arrived in Bangkok in February and indicated that she was planning to stay at the Siam Hut, near Bai Lan Bay (Lonely Bay) on Koh Chang – are asking for help in ensuring that she is safe. Ms Hodgkinson is 30 but looks younger. She is approximately…
-
Tsunami jobless scheme extended
PHUKET CITY: With the number of people being made redundant by tsunami-hit businesses soaring, the Phuket Provincial Labor Office (PPLO) has extended its employment creation scheme that offers low-skill government work to the jobless.According to figures compiled by Phuket Social Security Office (PSSO), in January, 46 people on the island registered to say that they had been made redundant; in…
-
Immigration service on the move
PHUKET: The Immigration Department will launch a mobile service as part of its contribution towards boosting Phuket’s tourism industry.Throughout April and May, immigration officers will staff desks at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket on Tuesdays and at the Kata Beach Resort on Thursdays – except on the April 12 and 14 Songkran public holidays.Phuket Immigration Superintendent Pol Col Witawat Buranasompop…
-
Prognosis is knot good
PHUKET: Doctors at Patong Hospital were left scratching their heads over the mysterious case of a teenage construction worker who was admitted to hospital after vomiting a three-inch nail and a knotted length of string. After vomiting up the string and nail, 17-year-old Samorn Ngamphosri, from Buri Ram Province, was taken to Wachira Phuket Hospital, where an X-ray determined that…
-
Krabi tsunami corpses transfered to Phuket
PHUKET: Ten refrigerated containers holding the bodies of tsunami victims from Krabi Province have been transfered to the cemetery at Mai Khao.Five containers holding 212 bodies were brought to Phuket on Sunday and the other five arrived yesterday. The temporary mortuary in Krabi has now been closed.The bodies, all of which are believed to belong to foreigners, will be kept…
-
Ferry rules crackdown sparks fears of “mob’
THALANG: The Marine Office today began enforcing rules barring ferries from carrying both passengers and cargo, and limiting the number of passengers per ferry on all boats operating from the Bang Rong Pier, sparking fears that ferry operators may oppose the crackdown with a mob.The move to enforce maritime safety regulations follows the deaths of 10 people in the sinking…
-
Fed Cup tennis comes to Phuket
PATONG: A 4,000-seat tennis court will be built in Patong so that Phuket can host one of the Group II quarterfinals of the premier international women’s tennis competition, the Federation Cup, between Thailand and Croatia, on April 23 and 24.The Federation Cup is an annual team tennis competition. After round-robin play last year between 88 countries, 16 teams have won…
-
Bypass project nears halfway mark
PHUKET: Motorists are asked not to be unduly alarmed by the sound of explosions as they travel along the bypass road to do their weekend shopping – it’s all part of the Government’s 111-million-baht project to widen Chalermprakiat Ror IX Rd to make for room for Phuket’s ever-growing number of vehicles. Boonyakiat Kongketyai, government engineer with the Highway Department and…
-
ODPM officers “responsible for missing B2m’
PHUKET: The former chief of the Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), Metha Mekarat, and several of his staff were responsible for the disappearance of more than two million baht earmarked for tsunami victims, Vice-Governor Supachai Yuwaboon announced yesterday.V/Gov Supachai has been chairing a commission set up to investigate the disappearance of the money – reported missing on February…
-
Tsunami memorial funding cut back
PHANG NGA: The head of the Phang Nga office of the Ministry of Culture today told the Gazette that the Cabinet this week approved an initial budget of 50 million baht for construction of a 1.5-billion-baht tsunami memorial in Bang Niang.The original idea for the memorial park called for a 2-billion-baht high-tech dome off the beach at Bang Niang, a…
-
“Jealous’ man admits stabbing Brit
KRABI: The taxi driver who allegedly stabbed Briton Richard Mark Collins to death in a jealous rage on the evening of March 8 has confessed to killing Mr Collins, but claims he acted in self-defense.The suspect, 29-year-old Uthane Douangnoi, is being held in the Krabi Provincial Court jail while he awaits a court appearance on a charge of murder.According to…
-
Lookout towers to be built at beaches
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) intends to build 12 permanent watchtowers, where observers can watch for signs of future tsunamis, and also monitor the safety of tourists.Some of the towers will replace existing lifeguard stations; others will be completely new.OrBorJor Vice-President Sutin Lean-Udom said there would eventually be three towers around Kata and Karon; three in Patong…
-
Time bomb found in Pa Khlok
PA KHLOK: Police explosives experts from Takua Pa last night used a controlled explosion to destroy a time bomb found in a quiet residential street of the east Phuket village of Baan Pa Khlok.The device, according to Phuket Provincial Police Chief Maj Gen Suwit Othong, consisted of two sticks of C4 plastique wrapped tightly in black insulating tape and connected by wires…
-
Japanese tsunami warning plan outlined
PHUKET: Japanese seismologists have recommended that a Japanese tsunami early warning system be installed in the deep ocean and linked to beaches along the Andaman coast of Thailand that were hit by the December 26 tsunami.The Tokyo University team, led by Professor Kimiro Meguro, unveiled the proposal during a meeting today at Phuket Provincial Hall with Vice-Governor Supachai Yuvaboon.The scientists…
-
Tsunami blame report to be buried
BANGKOK (The Nation): The public will not hear whether the Meteorological Department failed in its duty to warn people about December’s devastating tsunami, Smith Thammasaroj, the chief of the investigation into the disaster, said yesterday.K. Smith said a report into the incident might never be written.He said that he would conceal a tsunami report from the public out of patriotism…
-
Govt slashes Patong, Kamala rebuilding funds
PHUKET CITY: The Cabinet yesterday approved a budget of 200 million baht to rebuild Patong Beach and a further 100 million baht to rebuild Kamala Beach, together totaling less than a third of the original budgets Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkul requested.At a meeting of district chiefs and other top-ranking provincial officials, chaired by Governor Udomsak today, Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit announced…
-
Marine Chief defends agency after sinking
PHUKET: Surin Tirakulpisut, Head of the Phuket Marine Office, defended his agency in the face of scathing criticism, both in the media and by Government officials, after the disastrous sinking of the ferry Rungroj last Saturday.The last victim of the Rungroj was pulled from the sea yesterday evening, bringing the final death toll to 10. The victim was identified as…
-
Costly cat nap
BANGKOK: Just like the felines they are named after, cat burglars are known for their stealth, cunning, and grace of movement. But a cat burglar who successfully scaled his way into a Siam Commercial Bank office early one Sunday morning shared another another trait with cats that turned out to be his undoing – cat napping. Police arrested would-be bank…
-
Call to subsidize airlines’ costs
PHUKET: The Chairman of Orient Thai Airlines has called upon the government to subsidize airlines using Phuket International Airport as a way to boost tourism to the island.Udom Tantiprasongchai said yesterday that his airline would like to see the government waive the airport departure tax, offer free visas on arrival to passengers and excuse airlines from paying landing and navigation…
-
Ferry death toll rises to nine
KOH YAO: Nine people drowned when the overloaded passenger ferry Rungroj capsized and sank in heavy seas off Naka Island Saturday afternoon. One person is still missing. Of the nine dead, five were children and three others were women. The 13-meter vessel had left Bang Rong pier in Thalang District and was bound for Koh Yao Noi at about 3…
-
Fortune 500 firms step in to help
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura on Friday announced the top five mid- and long-term priorities that US Fortune 500 companies can help with, following the December 26 tsunami.Governor Udomsak met with James Lee Witt, former Director of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and fellow consultants from James Lee Witt Associates, which provides disaster recovery and mitigation management consultancy…
-
Fishing boat relief payout “nearly complete’
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Department of Fisheries (DoF) expects to finish paying out about 46.8 million baht in aid to rebuild Phuket’s fishing fleet by the end of next week, Issara Bussayarat, Chief of the Phuket DoF office has told the Gazette.K. Issara said that 550 fishing boats registered with the Department were damaged by the December 26…
-
B2m aid theft probe extended
PHUKET: The deadline for completion of the vice-gubernatorial investigation into the theft of more than 2 million baht of tsunami aid money has been extended. It will now conclude on March 11, Governor Usdomsak Usawarangkura said.The original deadline for the investigation – led by Vice-Governor Supachai Yuwaboon and separate from the criminal investigation by the police – was March 2.However,…
-
Quake worry sparks reservoir rethink
PHUKET: Plans to build a dam at Bang Niew Dum in Thalang District have been ditched and new plans are being drawn so that the dam will be more resistant to earthquake tremors.Wit Wonggamonchoon, Chief of the Surat Thani-based Irrigation Construction Region 5 office, told the Gazette, “The earthquake off Indonesia was 9.5 on the Richter scale.” Shocks from the…
-
Beauties for Bangla
PHUKET: Some 44 contestants in the 2005 Miss Thailand Universe competition will arrive in Phuket on March 17 for a one-week stay on the island. The visit is intended to help bring tourists back to Phuket in the aftermath of the tsunami. When not out promoting tourism, the Thai beauties will be cloistered at the Kata Beach Resort.Resort owner Pamuke…
-
Tsunami relief centre closes
PHUKET: Sixty-two days after the tsunami, the relief center for tsunami victims in Phuket has closed, following a Cabinet decision on Tuesday that there was no longer a need for emergency assistance of the kind the center had provided.Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said that the focus now has shifted to long-term recovery and that he and the governors of the…
-
Patong gets disaster warning system
PATONG: An emergency alarm system has been installed in Patong and will be handed over to Patong Municipality tomorrow. The system will also be tested.The system will feature seven alarms, outside Kalim School, at Loma Park, outside the Bank of Asia branch, at the Sai Nam Yen intersection, outside the Baan Yin Dee Hotel, outside Suwan Keree school, and at…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.