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.
-
Phuket uncle dies, nephew survives Christmas Day motorbike crash
PHUKET: One man died and another was injured in a Phuket motorbike accident early this morning, just 15 minutes into Christmas Day. “According to witnesses, the motorbike was travelling southbound at high speed when it hit the median strip at the Baan Nai Klum U-turn, near Tesco-Lotus Thalang,” said Lt Col Sanit Nookong of the Thalang Police. Anucha Promraksa, 25,…
-
Bus driver in Phuket crash tests positive for drugs
PHUKET: A Chinese tour bus driver tested positive for drug use after crashing on Kata Hill in Phuket on Tuesday afternoon (story here). Six of the tourists on the Xin Tour Phuket bus, as well as a local resident in one of the five vehicles tangled up in the accident, were slightly injured. They were taken to Phuket International Hospital…
-
Mystery surrounds deaths of Phuket cave divers at Khao Sok National Park
PHUKET: Two experienced Phuket cave divers died after a diving accident on technical rebreathers near the entrance of Tiger Cave in the Chio Lan Reservoir, Surat Thani, on Monday. Dmitry Dokuchave, 46, died at the scene, while fellow Russian national Alexander Solomatin was pronounced dead at Surat Thani Hospital. “Both bodies were transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital, with the preliminary…
-
Merry Christmas Phuket!
PHUKET: It’s that time of the year again – when the hoteliers disappear from any social function that isn’t work related, the retirees hide in their homes for fear of high-season traffic and the rest of us locals buckle down for the long haul. Oh, yes, the holiday high-season is here. There will be no reindeer (though plenty of red…
-
Official New Year holiday period unchanged, says Phuket Governor
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong has laid to rest rumors on social media sites that the Thai government is planning to extend the official New Year holiday period to five days. “The government has already announced that the official holiday period will cover three days, from December 31 to January 2,” Gov Nisit confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. Coupled with…
-
Depressed Phuket lawyer spared leap from rooftop
PHUKET: Rescue workers recovered a highly-stressed lawyer from a rooftop in Phuket Town yesterday by grabbing him and pulling him into a cherry picker. “The man was under a lot of pressure about work,” said Lt Wetchasak Juladung of the Phuket City Police. The lawyer climbed onto a third-floor terrace of the building where his friend lives in Soi Suthat…
-
In plot reversal, Sony releases ‘The Interview’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community In plot reversal, Sony sends ‘The Interview’ to 200 theaters Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Sony Pictures will allow “The Interview” to play in more than 200 U.S. theaters as of Christmas Day, reversing its decision to pull the film, after coming under criticism from President…
-
World’s toughest Ironman shares his training tips with Phuket
PHUKET: A great triathlete has to be fast. But there’s much more to the sport than speed. Persistence, perseverance and resistance are also essential qualities. Andreas Raelert, a German triathlon champion has it all, and as the Ironman World Record holder, he is fast – very fast. Raelert came to Phuket two weeks ago to train at Thanyapura Phuket. Less…
-
Manhunt launched for traffickers, six escaped refugee caught
PHUKET: Officers in Phang Nga have launched a manhunt for 300 people reportedly being herded through the area by gun-toting human traffickers. The search began after two men presented themselves at a checkpoint in Takuapa before dawn on Sunday claiming that they had fled their armed captors. “The men said that they had fled a camp where they were being…
-
Breaking News: Bus crash on Kata hill
PHUKET: Police and rescue workers are at the scene of a devastating bus crash in Phuket on Kata hill today. Five vehicles have been damaged in the crash near Baan Kata School. Officers have yet to confirm how many, if any, were killed or injured in the accident. “Right, now we are helping manage the accident scene and the traffic,”…
-
Phuket Navy airlifts official hurt in speedboat fall
PHUKET: An official is under observation at Bangkok Hospital Phuket after a Navy medivac helicopter returned him from the Surin Islands yesterday. Amnuay Komonthee, a skills development officer from Phang Nga, suffered spinal injuries in a fall while riding in a speedboat that was en route to a sea gypsy village in the islands. A local team of Navy medical…
-
Video Report: Free life-jacket exchange to float Phuket water safety
PHUKET: More than 1,000 old life jackets were exchanged for new ones, certified by the Marine Office, at the launch of a life-jacket exchange program chaired by the Minister of Transport, Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, yesterday. The goal of the event was aimed to improve safety for boat passengers during the Christmas and New Year holidays and beyond, explained…
-
Privy Councilor Surayud eyes Phuket sea gypsies needs
PHUKET: Gen Surayud Chulanont, Privy Councilor to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej and former prime minister, has suggested that local authorities take further steps to improve the quality of life of the Phuket sea gypsies living in the north of the island. Gen Surayud chaired a meeting in Thalang last Thursday to hear the current state of the living conditions of…
-
Phuket dolphinarium tangled in red tape (video)
PHUKET: The hotly contested Phuket dolphinarium has yet to meet the necessary standards prescribed by the Department of Fisheries, the Phuket Gazette has confirmed. “There are several things that Phuket Aqua Project Co Ltd needs to change at the Nemo Dolphinarium in order to meet our standards,” said Kiattikhun Charoensawan, chief of the Phuket Fisheries Office. Fisheries officials from Bangkok…
-
Joe Cocker, raspy-voiced British singer, dies at 70
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Joe Cocker, raspy-voiced British singer, dies at 70 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Joe Cocker, whose distinctive raspy voice and soulful musical renditions made him a favorite of his peers with hits like Beatles’ cover With a Little Help from My Friends and You Are So…
-
Legal aid fund ‘needs a boost’: Justice Minister
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Legal aid fund ‘needs a boost’: Justice Minister The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A State Justice Fund needs to be boosted and made easier to access so that poor people who face legal charges get equal access to bail, Justice Minister Gen Paiboon Khumchaya said…
-
Local bodies awash with graft, PACC says
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Local bodies awash with graft, PACC says The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Many of the 8,000 local administrative bodies nationwide are hotbeds of graft and corruption, the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission said yesterday. Prayong Preeyajit, chief of the PACC, said there was little oversight for…
-
Police corruption scandal: Pongpat, 5 others face dishonourable discharges
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: Pongpat, 5 others face dishonourable discharges The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former Central Investigation Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan and five officers accused of racketeering and intimidation are to be dishonourably discharged after being found guilty of severe malfeasance by…
-
Norwegian tourist dies after hit by boat propeller off Koh Tao
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Norwegian tourist dies after hit by boat propeller off Koh Tao The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Norwegian tourist was fatally injured by a boat propeller while diving off Koh Tao in Surat Thani’s Koh Pha Ngan district yesterday. The 22-year-old tourist, Silje Fauskerud Mathisen,…
-
Teen mum yet to be charged for attempted infanticide
PHUKET: Phuket police have yet to charge a teenage mother who tried to drown her newborn in the cistern of a public toilet. Thung Thong Police were called to the scene at a public toilet in Kathu Municipality Park, where they found the mother locked in a toilet stall with her newborn baby. “A concerned passersby told me that a…
-
Phuket man blasts penis with make-shift pesticide torch
PHUKET: One member of a make-shift pest-control team suffered damage to his penis after a flaming bottle of pesticide backfired on him and his partner as they attempted to kill a colony of wasps today. Prapanpong Sinmalee, 29, and his 22-year-old co-worker Phollawat Suwong were moving spools of power-cables from a truck into a field along Thepkrasattri Road near Baan…
-
Germans rescued from wrecked Phuket tour boat
PHUKET: A group of tourists were rescued from a tour boat after it grounded on the rocks off Laem Ka Cape, on the east coast of Phuket’s Rawai area, yesterday. The 12 people on board Electric Blue, including nine German tourists and one Thai tourist, were rescued after locals spotted the crashed boat and dispatched three longtails and a rescue…
-
Laguna Phuket’s revamped course ready for New Year tee-off
PHUKET: The revamped Laguna Phuket championship golf course, which officially re-opens on January 1 after a full makeover, now has a “real sense of place and belonging” according to its designer, Paul Jansen. The former lead architect for Faldo Design, who created Laguna Phuket’s award-winning sister course in Vietnam, says the layout retains much of its former character and appeal,…
-
Phuket golfers raise B1.2mn for Life Home Project charity
PHUKET: Local golfers in colorful dress on the fairways of Phuket have raised 1.2 million baht for island-based charity the Life Home Project Foundation. The 4th Annual Life Home Project Charity Golf Event took place at the Blue Canyon Country Club on November 15, when more than 100 golfers took to the fairways and greens of the spectacular Lakes Course.…
-
Army flood-relief helicopter crashes in Yala
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Army flood-relief helicopter crashes in Yala The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An Army helicopter flying flood-relief missions crashed in Yala yesterday, injuring the four crewmen on board. The helicopter, from the Royal Thai Army’s Region 4 base in the South, crashed in Yala’s Muang district…
-
No ban on alcohol sales for the New Year
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Narong aiming at reform priorities The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Partygoers will be able to buy booze during New Year celebrations as the Alcohol Control Committee has decided to defer its decision on banning the sale of alcohol during this period. The ban was proposed…
-
Warrants issued for police over links to online gambling
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Warrants issued for police over links to online gambling The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Arrest warrants have been issued for three suspects, including two police, in connection with an online gambling organization allegedly run by an Indian businessman with ties to disgraced and now-arrested former…
-
China arrests 30,000 in porn, gambling crackdown
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community China arrests 30,000 in porn, gambling crackdown Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: China has detained over 30,000 people during a two-month clamp down on pornography andgambling, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. In the latest arrests, police in the southern province of Guangdong arrested 3,014…
-
Phuket’s “abductor soldiers’ arrested by mistake, says military
PHUKET: The military’s highest-ranking officer in Phuket under martial law has called the arrest of five soldiers for the alleged abduction of two Ukrainians on Friday a “mistake”. The soldiers, named by the Chalong Police on Friday (click here), were acting as “mediators”, Maj Gen Theenachat Jinda-ngern, Commander of the 41st Military Circle, told a press conference at Phuket Provincial…
-
Phuket to celebrate Christmas with ancient Thai boxing contest
PHUKET: An international contest among disciples of muay khat chueak – the ancient form of Thai boxing where fighters tie rope around their fists – will be held on Christmas Day, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong announced this week. Fighters from France, Cambodia, Morocco and other countries around the world will be stepping into the ring to battle it out during…
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.