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.
-
Kamala cable company offers optical, digital coverage
PHUKET: Good news for residents on the island’s north who want to keep up with the world’s top footballing action, but don’t fancy spending their late nights in some hole-in-the-wall leagues away from home: Owner of Kamala Digital Cable TV (KDTV), Niruj Sariya, recently announced new upgrades and plans to continually increase and improve cable TV services in the Kamala…
-
Phuket beach encroachers face Kamala Friday deadline
PHUKET: Shop and bar owners that have been found to be encroaching on Kamala Beach have until tomorrow to take down their offending structures.If they are not removed voluntarily, they will be demolished, said Kamala Tambon Administrative Organization (OrBorTor) Vice President Seri Larpmark.Mr Seri first inspected construction on the beach in early September. “We found many shops and bars encroaching…
-
Thieves take a break in Phuket coffee shop, before making off with loot
PHUKET: Thieves broke into a coffee shop and stole a Samsung tablet and a CCTV recording unit, but not before availing themselves of the shop’s offerings.Police called to the scene found two bottles of Singha beer and two empty cake containers in a garbage bin, and a fan still turned on.Wassana Thanormsak, the owner of The Elephant coffee shop on…
-
From planes to trains and back to automobiles
PHUKET: Over the past few weeks, political debates in Thailand have often been centered on the government’s national high-speed railway project. Punches, counter punches and even the kitchen sink have been thrown into the arena. Who the heck needs to run with the bulls when you can get gored by an out-of-control locomotive? During the same period, I was able…
-
Police trainees bolster Phuket street presence
PHUKET: Police trainees from Surat Thani saw some frontline action in Phuket this week when they received on-the-job training at a checkpoint in Baan Bang Jo, in Srisoonthorn. Thalang Police Deputy Superintendent Amnuay Kraiwootthinan and a team of officers supervised the 14 trainees assigned to the Thalang precinct, while another 43 trainees from Surat Thani were dispatched to assist in…
-
On roadside north of Phuket, stomachache turns into baby boy
PHUKET: Rescue workers taking a Burmese woman with complaints of a bad stomachache to Takuapa Hospital this morning were surprised when she suddenly gave birth to a baby boy.“We received an emergency call to pick up Ms Soe, 35, a Burmese worker at a rubber plantation, just after midnight. She reported having a very bad stomachache for no reason,” said…
-
Body of missing Chinese swimmer washes ashore Phuket’s Kata Beach
PHUKET: The body of a Chinese tourist who disappeared while swimming at Karon Beach on Monday was found washed ashore at Kata Beach, about three kilometers away, yesterday afternoon.“We have now found the body of Sheng Caoliang, who was 31 years old and reported as missing on Sunday,” Karon Police officer Lt Sathaporn Seenoon said.“Mr Sheng and a friend went…
-
Phuket ladyboys pickpocket Swedish tourist
PHUKET: Karon Police arrested two ladyboys on Tuesday following a theft complaint from a Swedish tourist.Robin Hedberg, 18, told police on Sunday that he and a friend had been walking past the Club Med hotel in Karon at 2:45pm when two ladyboys rode up to them on a motorbike and started talking with them.“While Numpong Phuchai chatted with them, Pairat…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Woman jailed 5 years for lese majeste web comments
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai woman jailed 5 years for anti-royal web post Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Thai court jailed a woman for five years yesterday for posting online comments insulting to the monarchy, the second ruling of its kind this week under tough lese-majeste laws carrying penalties…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Pressure builds to publicly explain dam project
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: The Standing Committee on National Security yesterday proposed that the Water and Flood Management Commission (WFMC) explain to the public the likely impacts of the Mae Wong Dam project in a show to be aired on Channel 9 on October 13.The show would follow an episode of…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Picture of flood devastation emerges
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international communityPHUKET: Twenty-five provinces – mostly in the North, Northeast and East of the country – remain flooded, though the situation is improving, says the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.Seasonal flooding, which has hit 32 provinces since September 17, has affected 2.86 million people and left 27 dead,…
-
Three security men slain in hail of bullets in Krabi
PHUKET: A former Krabi village headman who owned a security company was gunned down at the site of a new job early yesterday morning, along with two of his staff. The three men were shot in a security box at the entrance to the Krabi Rubber Plantation Research Center in Lam Thap just after midnight. Witnesses said the three men…
-
Two Chinese tourists mugged on the way to Cherng Talay supermarket
PHUKET: Two Chinese women on their way to a supermarket in Cherng Talay last night were attacked and robbed by two men on a motorbike.The women were walking to Tesco Lotus when the two men rode toward them.“The passenger got off the motorbike and snatched their bags, and the tourists fought to get the bags back,” said Jirasak Sungwisut of…
-
Aussie taxi driver intimidates other drivers with gun, blade
PHUKET: An Australian allegedly working illegally as a taxi driver in Patong attempted to intimidate a female taxi driver yesterday afternoon with a bladed weapon and a gun. Garry Porting was arrested later in the day by Patong Police for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, explained Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol. Mr Porting went to the Graceland Hotel…
-
Chinese tourists drowns at popular Phuket day-trip location
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist drowned at Koh Racha Yai yesterday afternoon, 14 weeks after another Chinese national drowned at the popular Phuket day-trip destination. Lin Hunhing, 30, was swimming near the island after lunch when he ran into difficulties. “There were big waves, up to two meters high,” said Thada Sodarak of the Chalong Police. “He tried to swim back…
-
Russian expat likely killed in shallow-water blackout, says expert
PHUKET: A freediving expert believes that long-term Phuket expat and Russian freediver Denis Lipatov, 39, drowned off Koh Racha Noi on Saturday afternoon after diving alone and suffering a shallow-water blackout. Mr Lipatov, freediving alone, made his last descent at 3:50pm, to 25.5 meters according to his dive computer. The computer also recorded a very fast ascent, explained one of…
-
Phuket Gazette World News: US shutdown with no end in sight
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community In first day of U.S. shutdown, no end in sight Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans came no closer to ending a standoff yesterday that has forced the first government shutdown in 17 years and thrown hundreds of thousands of federal employees out…
-
![Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Threat from typhoon eases [VIDEO] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAzMjggMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Threat from typhoon eases [VIDEO]
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Threat from typhoon eases The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: With Typhoon Wutip rapidly heading for a downgrade to a low-pressure ridge yesterday, some Thais heaved a sigh of relief but many remained on the lookout for another coming storm. Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, who…
-
Phuket’s new top cop makes a stand for human dignity
PHUKET: The incoming commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiwruangnont, has vowed to better protect the privacy and human dignity of suspects by calling for careful consideration before staging public “re-enactments” of crimes and criminal press conferences.“I will not order a ban on officers staging such events, but I will ask the superintendents of all police stations…
-
Bangla daylight raid nets Phuket slow loris
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol yesterday led a team of officers along Patong’s Soi Bangla in a daylight raid that netted one slow loris tout.Warawuth Saiudom, 20, from Kalasin province, was caught in the act of receiving money from a tourist for having a photo taken with one of the nocturnal creatures.“An undercover officer informed us that a slow…
-
Tour operators warned of imposters in Similian National Park
PHUKET: The Similan Islands National Park authority has warned tour operators over a group of people posing as park officers and offering reduced entry fees to the islands. “A couple of weeks ago, a number of tour operators informed me that there was a group of people who approached them, claiming to be national park officers,” Similan Islands National Park…
-
Phuket wild boars ravage football-golf greens
PHUKET: A sounder of wild boar has settled on an 18-hole “Football Golf Course” in Chalong as their preferred dining area, but in the pigs’ quest for cuisine, they’ve left damaging divots on the greens. “Our course is currently under attack by wild boars, which are rampaging through it at night and ripping up our greens,” said Neil Simmons of…
-
Alarmed drunkard dumps temple bell, flees scene
PHUKET: Police are on the lookout for a man who reportedly tried to sell a temple bell to a secondhand store in Thalang while drunk. Natthakarn Rattanaphan, 33, called the Thalang Police yesterday afternoon after a man arrived at her secondhand store in front of the well-known Term Fun housing estate in Baan Manik (map here). “The man, aged about…
-
Go Eco Phuket starts eco-warrior recruitment
PHUKET: The first fifty people to contact local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket will earn a spot at the Go Eco Camp, which plans on certifying and training islanders to be active marine conservationists. “Go Eco camp is now open for applicants. Applications will be accepted from expats, students and locals until November,” Jirayu Naragoonphithak, the project’s coordinator, told…
-
Krabi’s Andaman Eagles swoop down on Phuket FC
PHUKET: The Islanders fell into 11th place of the 18-team Yamaha League One (YL1) as a result of their latest defeat, 3-1 to Krabi FC in a tense “Andaman derby” match on Saturday evening in Krabi Town. As a result, Phuket FC and the Krabi “Andaman Eagles” swapped rankings, the latter moving up to 9th place with 38 points –…
-
Phuket hitman Rambo denies death squad charges
PHUKET: Joseph Manuel Hunter, 48 – nicknamed “Rambo” and arrested at his rented Phuket home last Thursday, as originally reported by the Phuket Gazette (story here) – has denied charges of recruiting a team of former military snipers to commit murders on behalf of two Colombian drug cartel leaders. The cartel leaders were, in fact, Drug Enforcement Administration informants posing…
-
Phuket tour bus brakes fail, driver avoids disaster
PHUKET: Faulty brakes almost resulted in a tour bus smashing into a house on Patong Hill last night, in a near-repeat of an accident that occurred at almost the same location about four months ago (story here). “No injuries were reported. The Daow Duang Mai Travel company bus had no passengers. It was only carrying tourists’ luggage when the accident…
-
Phuket’s new ‘top cop’ arrives on the island
PHUKET: Phuket’s new Provincial Police Commander, Maj Genl Ong-art Phiewruangnont, has arrived in Phuket. On arriving here yesterday evening, in a convoy of nine police vehicles, Maj Gen Ong-art first visited Baan Muang Mai stone and then the Heroines Monument, to pay his respects to Phuket’s illustrious history and cultural heritage. Speaking to the Phuket Gazette before his arrival, Maj…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Floods hit, more rain coming; High hopes for baby panda; Govt urged to consider BRN proposal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM visits Prachin Buri as flood crisis intensifies The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The flood crisis in Prachin Buri was the focus of attention yesterday amid forecasts of more rain on the way and fears that local industrial estates could be submerged.The eastern province has been the…
-
Russian dive instructor drowns at Racha Noi Island
PHUKET: A Russian dive instructor who worked in Phuket drowned off Racha Noi Island on Saturday afternoon.Denis Lipatov, 39, was at the island with friends when he developed a cramp while swimming at about 5pm. By the time he was rescued he was unconscious, and efforts to resuscitate him failed.His friends returned to Chalong pier with his body, where they…
![Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Threat from typhoon eases [VIDEO] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/thailandnews_Photo_The_Nation_22388_HnPqPsmRGL_jpeg.jpg)
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.