News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored Top 5 luxury villas in Phuket and Koh Samui for your next holiday
Ask people to name the most beautiful places in Thailand, and you'll often hear Phuket and Koh Samui being mentioned. Who would disagree? One is renowned for its bustling nightlife, vibrant culture, and lively beach scene, while the other is...
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Hamilton fastest in hot Hungarian practice
PHUKET: Lewis Hamilton started his Hungarian Grand Prix weekend as he meant to continue, with the fastest lap in Friday’s first free practice and championship-leading Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg behind him. The winner of the last two Hungarian Grands Prix lapped the Hungaroring circuit outside Budapest with a best time of one minute 25.814 seconds. Rosberg was second fastest,…
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Opinion: Horrible history of dolphins in Thailand continues in Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand is witnessing an ever-increasing legal and illegal exploitation of local wildlife and marine life. Dolphins have been kept in captivity in Thailand since 1986. The first wild pink dolphin was caught and kept at Laem Singh in Chanthaburi by Vichai Wattanapong at a venue that later became the Oasis Sea World. But it wasn’t until recent years that…
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Thailand ‘Travel Shield’ insurance may be purchased by tourists starting today
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) on yesterday to create low-cost insurance schemes for foreign tourists that start at just 650 baht per person. Thawatchai Aranyik, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and OIC secretary-general Prawet Ong-atsitthikun signed the MOU for the project, which…
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Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket appoints new director of sales and marketing
PHUKET: The Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has announced the appointment of Sanjeev Tandon as its new Director of Sales and Marketing. An Indian national, Mr Tandon holds a master’s degree in Management Studies with a specialization in marketing from the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research at Mumbai University, India. He also comes to the role with extensive experience…
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Phuket Opinion: Going with the flow
PHUKET: When riding my motorbike home yesterday, I found myself lost in thought. With my mind wandering off I’m not sure where (dinner? the weekend?) I missed my turn. Seconds later, without even a moment of hesitation, I turned the bike around, drove 100 meters back, against the traffic, took the missed turn and headed straight for home. The realization…
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Phuket Opinion: Spending a lifetime teaching simplicity
Phra Visutthi Thamma-kanee, 64, is the head of Phuket’s monks and the abbot of Tah Rua Temple in Thalang. He has been in the monkhood since he was 17 years old. He took up the position of acting head of the island’s monks in 2006 and has been their leader since 2008. Here, he talks about what men can gain…
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Phuket Opinion: Service matters
PHUKET: The tuk-tuk gently and purposefully bumped into my motorbike while I was parked in a taxi-only parking zone outside of Patong’s Jungceylon. It had been there for only a few minutes while I ran into the shopping center to grab a bag from a friend, but apparently long enough to have truly offended the driver. With a thuggish arrogance,…
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Phuket progress backslides with Dolphinarium
PHUKET: The fact that a dolphinarium is set to become one of Phuket’s newest tourist attractions (story here) comes as terrible news for the island’s reputation abroad, running counter to all of the positive changes we have witnessed in recent months. Our position on the ethics of keeping sentient creatures like dolphins and other marine mammals in captivity for amusement…
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Big snake rattles Phuket henhouse, and its owner
PHUKET: A local resident received a fright yesterday when she went to investigate what was causing a commotion in her chicken coop near her house in Srisoonthorn, Thalang, in central Phuket, yesterday afternoon. “I heard my ducks and my chickens panicking, so I went to the henhouse to see what was scaring them,” said Wanna Bilabdullar. That’s when she saw…
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Thaksin, Yingluck reunite in Paris
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thaksin, Yingluck reunite in Paris The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra has publicly reunited with her brother former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in self-imposed exile from Thailand. It was the first time the siblings had been seen together in public for…
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At least 15 killed by shelling of Gaza school
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 15 killed by shelling of Gaza school; toll exceeds 760 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Gazan authorities said Israeli forces shelled a shelter at a U.N.-run school on Thursday, killing at least 15 people as the Palestinian death toll in the conflict climbed over…
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Phuket beach vendor fined for burying coolers in sand
PHUKET: A vendor has been fined 2,000 baht for burying her coolers in the sand in an attempt to carry on selling ice-cold drinks to tourists on Patong Beach. Officers discovered three large ice boxes buried in the sand across the road from Burger King while patrolling the beachfront road on Monday. “We asked people in the area who the…
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Germany Ambassador to Thailand bids farewell to Phuket consul
PHUKET: German Ambassador to Thailand Rolf Schulze bid farewell to Phuket legacy Dirk Naumann on July 18 as Mr Naumann concluded 12 dedicated years on the island as German Honorary Consul. Amb Schulze commended Mr Naumann for his years of service, especially his work after the tsunami. “Without your creativity, engagement, help and human feeling it would not have been…
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Tsunami survivor waits for brother before Phuket savior reunion
PHUKET: British woman Emily Willgrass, who was last week reunited via Facebook with a Phuket woman who took care of her and her brother after the devastating tsunami struck Phuket, has arrived on the island. However, Ms Willgrass has yet to meet her tsunami savior in person. Yupin Sengmuang, who helped Ms Willgrass and her brother Ben while their father…
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Phuket taxi call center on hold, ranks wait for green light
PHUKET: The launch of the Patong taxi call center has been deferred indefinitely as officials scramble to prepare staff, taxi drivers and necessary equipment. The service was slated to kick off this month (story here), following the tear-down of illegal taxi stands throughout Patong and the rest of the island (story here). “We have mapped out the proposed locations of…
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Sale of B60mn prime Phuket land plot spooked by suspect land title
PHUKET: A family of farmers trying to sell nine rai of land with an estimated value of 60 million baht have come under scrutiny for trying to upgrade a SorKor 1 deed for the site to full Chanote status. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led officers to inspect the site yesterday after receiving an anonymous complaint asking for the Governor’s…
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Tourists on ‘walk-in’ visa entries to get 30-day extensions
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Immigration Office, Col Sunchai Chokkajaykij, has confirmed that his office has received an official order to begin issuing extensions of up to 30 days to foreigners who enter the country on visa-exemption status. The order, signed by Immigration Bureau Acting Commissioner Sakda Chuenpakdee, is to come into effect from August 29, said Col Sunchai.…
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TransAsia Airways plane crashes in typhoon-hit Taiwan, killing 47
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community TransAsia Airways plane crashes in typhoon-hit Taiwan, killing 47 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A TransAsia Airways <6702.TW> turboprop plane crashed on its second attempt at landing during a thunderstorm on an island off Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 47 people and setting buildings on fire, officials…
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Dutch pot lord arrested in Pattaya
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutchman, Thai wife nabbed for trafficking pot The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Dutchman and his Thai wife were arrested yesterday in Pattaya for allegedly conspiring to sell marijuana via a network in the Netherlands that reportedly earned Bt600 million to Bt800 million per year.…
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Newcastle lead the Premier League jet-setters
PHUKET: By the time Newcastle United kick off their Premier League campaign at home to champions Manchester City in little less than a month’s time the squad would have clocked up an astonishing 24,687 pre-season air miles. Globe-trotting West Ham United will not be far behind while five other clubs would have covered distances in excess of 12,000 miles as…
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Dutch mourn as first MH17 bodies arrive in Netherlands
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch mourn as first MH17 bodies arrive in Netherlands Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The bodies of the first victims from a Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine last week arrived on Wednesday at a military base in the Netherlands – a nation in shock and…
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Dozens of Phuket officials under fire for allegedly issuing illegal land documents
PHUKET: At least 30 officials in Phuket are under investigation for their alleged involvement in illegally issuing land documents for plots in Sirinath National Park. Tawichat Nillakan, chief of the Phuket office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), told the Phuket Gazette that his office had received at least 77 formal complaints against local officials for abusing their positions of…
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Phuket SEA Coworking Space hosts iSeahorse workshop tonight
PHUKET: The SEA Coworking Space in Phuket Town will be saddling up to host a free iSeahorse workshop this evening at 6:30. The event is a training workshop for scuba divers, snorkellers and beach goers who have an interest in learning how to survey and identify seahorses in coastal locations, explains Lindsay Aylesworth, lead researcher in Thailand for Project Seahorse…
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ITF Pro Circuit winners rejoice
PHUKET: WITH the Chang SAT International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pro Circuit doubles event at Phuket’s Thanyapura half way through, the first winners are celebrating their results. Ya-Fan Wang of China played from the qualifying round to win the Women’s Singles event. In the final round Wang survived five match points to come back to defeat Yi-Fan Xu 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.…
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Thalang open their account with a win over Laguna
With both teams chasing their first points of the Outrigger Twenty20 season, last year’s premiers Laguna were pitted against Thalang, recent winners of the 35 over league. The coin fell Thalang’s way and Captain Craig Murphy elected to bat. Manish Sadarangani did what Laguna couldn’t do in the recent grand final when he picked up Andrew McMillan’s wicket in the…
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State oil PTT sued for B350mn for Samet oil spill
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six businesses file Bt350m lawsuit against PTT The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Tourism operators filed a lawsuit at the Rayong Provincial Court yesterday demanding Bt350 million in compensation from PTT Global Chemical PCL (PTTGC) for the July 27, 2013, oil spill off the coast of…
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NCPO eases controls on media, urges self-regulation
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO eases controls on media, urges self-regulation The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has amended some points in its announcement – No 97 – on media control after being told that the order banning critical reports was harsh.…
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His Majesty endorses provisional constitution
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NCPO chief gets full control of security The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: His Majesty The King has endorsed a provisional charter that puts the chief of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) in charge of national security, allowing him to suppress any action both…
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Indonesian president-elect Jokowi calls for unity after bitter election
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesian president-elect Jokowi calls for unity after bitter election Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was declared the winner of Indonesia’s presidential election on Tuesday, bringing the promise of major reforms to the world’s third largest democracy. The Elections Commission, known as KPU, said…
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Police save Phuket van driver from mob after collision kills woman two days before her 24th birthday
PHUKET: Police quickly removed a Phuket van driver from the scene of a fatal accident in Koh Kaew this afternoon that killed a woman two days before her 24th birthday. According to witnesses, Jantima Srilertchalalai was riding her motorbike about one kilometer from British International School Phuket when she braked suddenly while crossing a small bridge. “The van driver [travelling…
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