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.
-
Open-air cinema part of Boat Lagoon Lighthouse Market tonight, tomorrow
PHUKET: It’s another day of perfect weather in Phuket, so grab your family and friends and head over to the Phuket Lighthouse Market at Boat Lagoon for an evening of eating, chilling and shopping. To keep the air buzzing, there will be a medley of music at 6pm starting with pop music, and then taking it down a notch hour…
-
Opinion: Time for a jet-ski-free Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette applauds the Central Investigation Bureau’s (CIB’s) recent crackdown on illegal jet-ski rental operators and the coincidental transfer of the industry’s long-time ‘champion’ to a relatively inactive post. We hope whoever is assigned to replace former Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut will make tourist safety a real priority and begin to clamp down. The problems that…
-
Governor’s ‘dream road’ one step closer to reality
PHUKET: Plans for the multi-billion baht ‘dream road’ project that will connect Sakoo and Koh Kaew are now being drawn up by consulting firms, confirmed Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada. The 15-month design contract between the Department of Highways, MAA Consultants Co Ltd and Pre Development Consultant Co Ltd was signed in late January. Governor Chamroen revealed the plans Wednesday morning,…
-
Suspected teenage arsonists allegedly burn Phuket motorbike
PHUKET: Police are tracking down suspected teenage arsonists wanted for allegedly setting fire to a motorbike Wednesday evening in Phuket Town. The motorbike, belonging to a 25-year-old Myanmar national, named only as Musor, was completely destroyed, confirmed Lt Col Chana Suthimas of the Phuket City Police. “Locals told officers that they saw about four or five teenagers sitting near the…
-
German court rules Facebook may block pseudonyms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community German court rules Facebook may block pseudonyms Phuket Gazette / Reuters BERLIN: Facebook may prevent its users from using fake names, a German court said on Thursday, overturning a previous order from the Hamburg data protection authority. The ruling is a coup for the social network…
-
German police arrest doctor suspected of recruiting suicide bomber for IS
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community German police arrest doctor suspected of recruiting suicide bomber for IS Phuket Gazette / Reuters BERLIN: German police on Thursday arrested a doctor in Berlin suspected of convincing a young man to join Islamic State in Iraq, where he carried out a suicide bombing on behalf…
-
Urgent: Blood needed to save American, 24
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) has issued an urgent call for O-negative blood to save the life of a 24-year-old American woman involved in a road accident in Phuket. “The patient is being treated at Bangkok Hospital Phuket,” said PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak. “They have completed one operation. However, more blood is needed for a second one.” Only…
-
![Island View: Old Town done right [video] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAzMzYgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
Island View: Old Town done right [video]
PHUKET: When a dance choreographer based in Manhattan, New York, finds the splendor of the Old Town Festival magical, engaging and fulfilling, then you know Phuket is doing something right to promote cultural tourism on the island. She was here for the sun, sand and sea – like the vast majority of Phuket tourists – so I hadn’t planned on…
-
Phi Phi Island releases 83% wastewater untreated
PHUKET: About 83 per cent of wastewater on the popular tourist island of Phi Phi Don is flowing directly into the ocean untreated, confirmed officials today. A stink about the untreated wastewater was raised after it was revealed that about 1,800 cubic meters of wastewater was produced on the island each day, but only 300 cubic meters could be handled…
-
Student loan debt to be deducted from salaries
BANGKOK: This year, some 2 million overdue student-loan debtors will face deductions from their salaries to pay off outstanding debt, as the new Student Loan Bill comes into effect, the Student Loan Office disclosed on Tuesday. The Cabinet approved the Student Loan Bill, which makes it binding on business owners to collect student-loan debts for the Student Loan Office in…
-
Plans for Koh Kaew pedestrian bridge on hold
PHUKET: Plans to build a pedestrian bridge at the ever-busy Koh Kaew intersection have been put on hold, confirmed a Highways Department official on Tuesday. Italian-Thai Development Co Ltd, the construction company currently developing the Bang Khu underpass, was originally slated to build the pedestrian bridge on the north side of the junction’s traffic lights. “However, the Koh Kaew Tambon…
-
Navy officer charged for armed bank robbery in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police arrested a Royal Thai Navy officer yesterday for the armed robbery of a Phuket Town bank. The suspect, petty officer Sahapracha Chadawong, allegedly made off with about 470,000 baht from the Krungthai Bank branch on Sakdidet Road on Friday afternoon (story here). After threatening a bank teller with a firearm and exiting the building, the suspect fired one…
-
Phuket safe after tsunami warning
PHUKET: Provincial authorities are keeping a close eye on developments today, after a tsunami warning in Phuket last night following a 7.9 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra at 7:49pm [Phuket time]. The announcement, issued by the National Disaster Warning Center, was later cancelled, but local authorities have remained on high alert throughout the night and this morning to monitor the situation…
-
Italian mafia earnings from drugs rival Fiat with cars
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Italian mafia earnings from drugs rival Fiat with cars Phuket Gazette / Reuters ROME: Italian mobsters make as much money trafficking narcotics in Italy as Fiat does selling cars, but without having to pay taxes, the anti-mafia prosecutors office said on Wednesday. Citing estimates by the…
-
Malaysia says high possibility that debris in Mozambique belongs to a Boeing 777
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Malaysia says high possibility that debris in Mozambique belongs to a Boeing 777 Phuket Gazette / Reuters KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s transport minister said on Wednesday that based on early reports there is a high possibility that a piece of debris found in Mozambique belongs to a…
-
Philippine officials say China blocked access to disputed S. China Sea atoll
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Philippine officials say China blocked access to disputed S. China Sea atoll Phuket Gazette / Reuters MANILA: China sent several ships to a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing traditional fishing grounds and raising tensions in the volatile region, Philippine…
-
Governor turns up the heat on drug-pushers in Kathu
PHUKET: Drug dealers and users in Kathu are feeling the heat with the latest crackdown ordered by the Phuket governor, who is on a mission to clean up the district. There are drug dealers at large and addicts that need to be cured, said Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada at the Kathu District Office yesterday. The governor also joined law enforcement…
-
Airport-to-Patong speedboat shuttle service passes EIA
PHUKET: The proposed project to offer a speedboat shuttle service from Phuket International Airport to Patong has passed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), confirmed the governor today. “We are glad to have the support of the central government for the ‘From the Boat to the Plane’ project,” said Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada. “It’s an excellent idea as an alternative transport…
-
Phuket flyover project racks up huge fines, opens this month
PHUKET: After suffering months of daily 200,000-baht fines, the construction company of the highly anticipated Klong Koh Pee Flyover will have the project ready to present to the public for the grand opening on April 6. “Locals have been waiting a long time for this project, which has been named ‘Thep Srisin Bridge’,” explained Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada during an…
-
A Decade Ago: Jet-ski and guide woes
PHUKET: There is a reason that old-dog expats are jaded and sound like MP3 players with less than half a dozen songs playing on shuffle. That’s because, like it or not, they’ve seen the mangling and crushing of that beautiful idea us newbies to the island think will be the catalyst for ‘real’ change. When it comes to what have…
-
Cambodians admit to raping French tourists in Thailand – foreign ministry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cambodians admit to raping French tourists in Thailand – foreign ministry Phuket Gazette / Reuters BANGKOK: March 1, Five Cambodian fisherman have confessed to raping and assaulting French tourists on an isolated Thai beach, Cambodia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Thai police said…
-
Phuket sea gypsies take fresh stand against Baron
PHUKET: More than 200 sea gypsies yesterday prevented Baron World Trade Company from building a wall that would prevent the seafaring nomads from reaching a ceremonial site on land the company claims to own. Baron World Trade Company, which is one of a number of investors who claim to own Rawai seaview land currently occupied by the sea gypsies, sent…
-
Nok Air flights to resume normal schedules
PHUKET: After the cancellation of more than 100 flights since February 23, Nok Air has confirmed that all flight routes will be running back on schedule starting March 11. February 23 saw the airline cancelling 20 flights, which has been followed by the cancellation of 10 flights per day since, reported The Nation. The airline has been in the process…
-
Five days adrift: foreigners rescued from sailing yacht
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) on Sunday assisted with the rescue of four foreigners who had been adrift at sea on a damaged sailing yacht for five days. The Canadian and British sailors were aboard the Malaysian-flagged yacht Kiss when the engine stopped working. Shortly thereafter, the lead mast on the boat cracked, followed by the sail ripping after…
-
Spectre of joblessness puts focus on Beijing as it sets new 5-year plan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Spectre of joblessness puts focus on Beijing as it sets new 5-year plan Phuket Gazette / Reuters BEIJING: Job destruction from a slowing Chinese economy and reform of bloated state enterprises will put pressure on policymakers to come up with measures to create employment as Beijing…
-
Google says it bears ‘some responsibility’ after self-driving car hit bus
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Google says it bears ‘some responsibility’ after self-driving car hit bus Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google said on Monday it bears “some responsibility” after one of its self-driving cars struck a municipal bus in a minor crash earlier this month. The crash…
-
Hecklers disrupt Trump rally, photographer shoved to the ground
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hecklers disrupt Trump rally, photographer shoved to the ground Phuket Gazette / Reuters WASHINGTON: A Donald Trump rally in Virginia was repeatedly disrupted on Monday by protesters, including some from the Black Lives Matter movement, in a stark display of the divisions the Republican front-runner’s presidential…
-
American found dead in Phuket villa
PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play in the death of an American expat who was found dead in his Rawai villa yesterday afternoon. “Stephen Francis Emma, 60, was discovered by his gardener,” said Capt Wuttiwat Liang-boonjinda of the Chalong Police. “Mr Emma last spoke to his gardener on Friday when he told him that he went to the pharmacy…
-
Light rail plans revised amid safety concerns
PHUKET: Plans for Phuket’s multi-billion-baht light rail project are being revised again to ensure better safety for motorists using the roads running alongside the proposed track routes, it was announced last week. The Highways Department, under the Ministry of Transport, has requested that the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTPP) modify the numerous level crossings planned along…
-
Bus driver, allegedly on drugs, injures 20 students
PHANG NGA: A bus driver transporting tour guide students is suspected of being high on drugs when he lost control of his vehicle, flipping it and slamming into trees on the roadside. The bus was carrying 35 students from Far Eastern University in Chiang Rai on their way to participate in a training course for tour guides in Phuket, Phang…
![Island View: Old Town done right [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/14_201634925278_ifZlOIMTSLmOvgPZhcpySItJlXcYHgfpMEaaNmuf_jpeg.jpeg)
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.