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.
-
Police corruption scandal: Brother claims Pattani fugitive abducted
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: Brother claims Pattani fugitive abducted The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The brother of a Pattani-based businessman who is missing after facing allegations of running a contraband-petrol trade in the South met Bangkok police yesterday to defend his sibling, saying he was framed…
-
Koh Tao murder suspects appeal to Suu Kyi
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao murder suspects appeal to Suu Kyi The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two Myanmar men charged with murdering two British tourists in Thailand have written to Nobel Peace laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi pleading for help, protesting their innocence and…
-
Govt denies secret prisons, tightens security at US Embassy
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt denies secret prisons, tightens security at US Embassy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Government figures yesterday denied the existence of secret prisons or the torture of suspected foreign terrorists here while being sceptical of a security alert issued by the US Embassy in Thailand.…
-
Hitler ends up on cutting room floor
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hitler ends up on cutting room floor The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A controversial scene in a short film produced by the Prime Minister’s Office, featuring an image of Nazi Germany’s former dictator Adolf Hitler, has been removed following an uproar. PM’s Office Minister Panadda…
-
Laguna Phuket launches initiative to help struggling beach vendors
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket has announced the launch of a beach vendor support center to assist those who lost their jobs as a result of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) beach cleanup campaign earlier this year. The “Local Vendors Support Center” will comprise shops from which vendors and other service providers, including masseuse and tour-desk operators, can continue…
-
Uber gains legal traction in Phuket
PHUKET: The Department of Land Transportation (DLT) came to terms with Uber this week, making it clear that the taxi-booking firm was legal, but that any promotion of illegal taxi drivers in Phuket or elsewhere in Thailand was banned. “We are not banning the use of the Uber application, but we are banning the use of black-plate vehicles, because they…
-
Phuket’s Le Meridien plays down “private beach’ accusations by villagers
PHUKET: Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort today denied accusations by local villagers that it is claiming the beach at Karon Noi Bay for itself, and explained that the sun-loungers and umbrellas on the beach in front of the resort are provided free for hotel guests. Local villagers led by Aroonsri Klanma, village chief of Karon Moo 1, filed a complaint…
-
Opinion: No more umbrellas, no more Phuket
PHUKET: My family, together with two other families, have travelled together to enjoy our holidays in Phuket, and Karon Beach in particular, every Swedish winter for the past 13 years. But now it’s over. We are able to see Karon Beach from a web camera that broadcasts video online from a resort beside the beach – and because there are…
-
Opinion: Make transparency in ‘martial law raid’ Phuket’s blanket of safety
PHUKET: The recent joint police and military raid on the home of a prominent resident of Srisoonthorn has resulted in an order from Phuket’s governor for an investigation into why such heavy-handed tactics were required in what is ostensibly a case of alleged check fraud. While the December 3 raid failed in its goal to bring Mr Padungsak Songyot into…
-
Phuket truck slams into Patong Hill power pole after brakes fail
PHUKET: A six-wheeled truck loaded with cinder blocks slammed into a Phuket power pole on Patong Hill after the vehicle’s brakes failed this morning. Police arrived at the scene at about 10am. No one was injured in the accident, police officers told the Phuket Gazette. The driver told police that he was delivering the cinder blocks from Phuket Ka Cement…
-
Bus ban ignored: Phuket tour bus plunges down Patong Hill
PHUKET: A Phuket tour bus carrying Chinese tourists plunged down Patong Hill yesterday afternoon, obliterating a police box before crashing into a temple wall. The driver Pirom Joppromraj, 49, told police that the brakes failed as he descended the steep slope into Patong at about 5:15pm – during big vehicle restricted hours. A Patong Hill bus ban was put in…
-
US embassy on alert after CIA probe report
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US embassy on alert after CIA probe report The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The US embassy in Bangkok and others all over the world stepped up security and issued warnings for US citizens to be aware that the release of a Senate report on the…
-
Video Report: Phuket’s HomeWorks re-opens amid promises of safe shelves
PHUKET: HomeWorks, the busy home-improvement store on Phuket’s bypass road, re-opened to shoppers today amid promises that the shelves had been inspected and were safe to use. A shelf collapse at the store on Sunday resulted in a family of three, including an 11-year-old girl, being rushed to hospital with injuries after they were pummeled by falling paint buckets (story…
-
Phuket Cricket: Laguna notch up win in season opener
PHUKET: Laguna opened their account in the new Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) senior league by outfoxing Thalang in the opening match of the season, played at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) last Sunday. As is tradition, the first match of the season was between last season’s finalists. Laguna, who had a disappointing T20 season, were looking to make amends after…
-
Phuket dope peddler nabbed in Patong sewing shop sting
PHUKET: Police arrested a 54-year-old man in Phuket yesterday for possession of 1.5 kilograms of kratom*, which he sold through his sewing shop on Nanai Road. Undercover officers entered the no-name shop in Patong at about 5:30pm and asked Prasert Chookong if he had any kratom for sale. Mr Prasert obliged, and was promptly arrested. “We bought 20 fresh kratom…
-
PM Prayuth to lead tsunami memorial services
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha will lead foreign envoys and relatives of the 2004 tsunami victims in a memorial marking the 10th anniversary of the disaster in Khao Lak, north of Phuket, on December 26. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, announced yesterday that his office, the Interior Ministry’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department and the Thai…
-
NRC pushing PM direct-election plan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC pushing PM direct-election plan The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Despite concern and opposition, the National Reform Council (NRC) panel on political reform insisted again yesterday that a direct election of the prime minister would help reduce vote-buying. It added, however, that a winner in…
-
Koh Tao murder trial date brought forward by 2 months
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao murder trial date brought forward by 2 months The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The hearing of witnesses in the murder case of two British tourists on Surat Thani’s Koh Tao has been moved from February 25 to December 26, 2014, after the Myanmar…
-
Red-shirt Arisman loses appeal, gets a year in jail
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Red-shirt Arisman loses appeal, gets a year in jail The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a lower court’s ruling and sentenced red-shirt leader Arisman Pongruangrong to one year in prison after finding him guilty of defaming former prime minister Abhisit…
-
Rubber farmers protest, issue ultimatum over prices
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rubber farmers protest, issue ultimatum over rubber price The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Disgruntled rubber farmers said yesterday that they were giving the government a few more weeks to push the price of rubber up to at least Bt80 per kilogram, or they would kick…
-
Police corruption scandal: Amlo agrees to freeze 104 plots held by Pongpat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: Amlo agrees to freeze 104 plots held by Pongpat The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Anti-Money Laundering Office yesterday agreed to freeze 104 plots of land worth about 400 million baht jointly held by former crime-buster Pol Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan on…
-
PM not against sale of alcohol on New Year’s
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM not against sale of alcohol on New Year’s The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha said yesterday that he has no objections to the sale of alcoholic beverages during New Year holidays. When asked about the Public Health Ministry’s plan to…
-
Phuket Beach Club owners face charges for blocking demolition
PHUKET: The owners of The Beach Club restaurant in Nai Yang are facing charges for obstructing officers after they tried to prevent the demolition of their building yesterday – deemed illegally built on public land last month. Owners Aroon Prewphanchoo and Sanya Trirongthong parked a 10-wheeled trailer and several cars in front of their restaurant before officials from the Sakoo…
-
Social networks buzz with Phuket police brutality allegations
PHUKET: Social networks are buzzing with allegations of police brutality at a checkpoint in Phuket Town on Saturday night after video footage surfaced of rescue workers treating an injured man. The stir comes from the video footage in which Chaiyarong Trongtor, 25, asks rescue workers, “Why did you hit me with a baton?” “When I arrived, after my team, Mr…
-
NRC panel sticks to its proposal for directly elected PM and Cabinet
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC panel sticks to its proposal for directly elected PM and Cabinet The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Reform Council panel on political reform yesterday reached a consensus on the direct election of the prime minister and the cabinet, election of MPs from large…
-
Cyber-attack on Sony Pictures ‘carried out from 5-star hotel in Bangkok’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cyber-attack on Sony Pictures ‘carried out from 5-star hotel in Bangkok’ The Nation / Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The crippling cyber-attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment has been traced to a five-star hotel in Bangkok, reports from foreign media said yesterday. The hackers, believed to belong…
-
Koh Tao suspects plead not guilty
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao suspects plead not guilty The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two Myanmar suspects have pleaded innocent in court over charges related to the murders of two British tourists on Koh Tao. Their case is being closely watched, as the brutal crime made headlines both…
-
Phuket Finance: Avoid offshore workers’ retirement-plan pitfalls
PHUKET: Thailand hosts a sizable population of offshore oil workers. They are unlike the majority of investment clients found here. Most clients are retired and their portfolios are being managed for income and capital preservation. However, offshore oil workers have the advantage of being able to live in Thailand and also bring in a very nice income. In 1993, I…
-
Video Report: Phuket police face probe for abuse of martial law
PHUKET: Hundreds of people turned out at Phuket Provincial Hall today to support a complaint against Cherng Talay Police allegedly abusing their position of power under martial law in a raid on a family home last week. Srisoonthorn Mayor Worrawut Songyot and his niece Hathairat Songyot today filed the complaint to Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. The complaint states that a…
-
Phuket coach conquers 10km keepie-uppie journey in honor of The King
PHUKET: A local football coach played keepie-uppie, the act of juggling a football without allowing the ball to hit the ground, for 10 kilometers along Phuket’s coast in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 87th birthday on Friday. Praphan Khongmuean, coach at Republic Phuket and keepie-uppie marathoner, started juggling the ball at Kata Beach Resort and Spa at 7am and…
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.