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 drug dealer identified by hair loss, arrested
PHUKET: Police arrested a drug dealer in Rawai on Monday with more than 1,500 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) and 57 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). A tip-off from undercover police that a balding man about 170cm tall was selling drugs in Rawai led officers to a house on Wiset Road at about 7pm. “The man who answered the…
-
Malaysia releases missing plane report, reveals confusion
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Malaysia releases missing plane report, reveals confusion Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Malaysia on Thursday released its most comprehensive account yet of what happened to missing Flight MH370, in a preliminary report that detailed the route the plane probably took as it veered off course and…
-
Pro-Russians storm prosecutor’s office in Ukraine’s Donetsk
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pro-Russians storm prosecutor’s office in Ukraine’s Donetsk Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-Russian protesters stormed the prosecutor’s office in the separatist-held city of Donetsk on Thursday, hurling rocks, firecrackers and teargas at riot police defending officials the rebels accused of working for Kiev’s Western-backed leaders. To…
-
Thailand News: Lese Majeste upheld; Thailand slammed over Rohingya; DSI seeks to arrest 58 protest leaders
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Appeals Court upholds lese majeste sentence The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Appeals Court yesterday upheld a two-year lese majeste prison sentence against Jeng Dokjik for his speech during a red-shirt rally on March 29, 2010. The court said the sentence would not be suspended…
-
Nigerian suspected car bomb blast kills at least 15
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Suspected car bomb on edge of Nigerian capital kills at least 15 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A suspected car bomb exploded on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Thursday, killing at least 15 people a week before the city was to host a conference…
-
Cambodian police find body believed to be missing Canadian journalist
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cambodian police find body believed to be missing Canadian journalist Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Cambodian police discovered a body on Thursday thought to be that of being missing Canadian journalist and author Dave Walker who disappeared in February, police and friend of Walker’s said. Veteran…
-
China bombing: Two attackers among three killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two attackers among three killed in China bombing Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two of the assailants who carried out a bombing in western China were among the three people killed, state media said on Thursday, in an attack which also wounded 79 and has raised…
-
Former Phuket police volunteer jailed for dealing meth
PHUKET: Long-term expat and former Tourist Police Volunteer Garry Halpin was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison for overstaying his visa and dealing a Category 1 Drug to teenagers in southern Phuket. Because Mr Halpin confessed to the charges during his trial, his sentence was halved. The original fine of 500,000 baht is now 250,000 baht, and…
-
Superyacht hits bottom off Phuket
PHUKET: Sailors navigating around the south of Phuket are urged to exercise caution after reports surfaced of a 55-meter superyacht hitting an uncharted submerged object in the waters between Rawai Beach and Koh Bon. “[Members of] the local marine community are reminding boaters of the danger, following a number of incidents which have caused near sinkings,” reported Phuket yachtsman Bob…
-
Meth-head monks defrocked after Phuket raid
PHUKET: Five monks from Northern Thailand were defrocked in Phuket and volunteered to go to a drug-rehabilitation camp after testing positive for ya bah (methamphetamine) during a Thalang Police raid yesterday. Police were notified of the behavior of the group of monks by residents in Moo 5 of Thepkrasattri Sub-district. “Residents suspected that the men were fake monks because they…
-
Chalong cooks up Phuket favorites at annual food fair
PHUKET: The annual “Chalong Food and Entertainment Festival” kicked off last night opposite Wat Ladthiwanaram (Wat Tai) on Chao Fa East Road. The fair’s opening night boasted a cooking show, dance competition and concerts. “I would like to personally invite everyone to attend the fair,” said Chalong Mayor Samran Jindaphol. After a show from the Elderly Club and a grand…
-
French Embassy pushes Phuket Police to find Frenchman’s killer
PHUKET: Officers from the French Embassy are pushing for justice for Frenchman Fabrice Boigel, who was murdered in his sleep on April 18. Embassy officials met with Phuket’s top police officers yesterday to urge them to apprehend the prime suspect. Myanmar national Shwe Oo was arrested last Saturday and confessed to stealing from the murdered Frenchman (story here), but blamed…
-
Threatened residents rise against temple donation scammers in Phuket
PHUKET: Thalang Police have warned Phuket residents against scammers asking for donations for temple development projects. The statement follows an incident in which Srisoonthorn residents who asked to see donation collection permits were threatened by the collectors. “Collectors often come to the Srisoonthorn market in the mornings to ask for money, claiming donations will go toward a temple development in…
-
Thailand News: Courts orders Bt587mn damages in BMA scandal; Suthep names Monday last stand; Record 5-ton dope haul
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Court orders Pracha, Samak’s family to pay damages in BMA fire-vehicle purchase The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Fugitive former deputy interior minister Pracha Maleenont and the heirs of late former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej were yesterday ordered by the Central Administrative Court each to pay…
-
Phuket marina canal dredging stirs ire
PHUKET: The 12-million-baht project to deepen the Koh Kaew Canal and the existing approach channel from Phang Nga Bay has come under fire by villagers who claim that the method of dredging is endangering mangroves, marine life and residents’ livelihoods. The project, aimed primarily at facilitating large-boat access to two private marinas – Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina –…
-
Air strike on Aleppo school kills 18
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Air strike on Aleppo school kills 18 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An air strike on a school in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces killed at least 18 people on Wednesday, mainly children, a day after attacks on government-controlled cities killed…
-
Phuket residents warned about sewage dumping
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has warned residents and restaurant owners in the Soi Paniang area, north of Phuket Town, that they will be prosecuted if they are caught releasing untreated waste water into the Bang Yai Canal. “If Rassada residents are so concerned about environmental standards, they shouldn’t release untreated waste water into a public waterway,” he told a community…
-
July 20 set for national election
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community July 20 set for national election The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The government and the Election Commission agreed today to set July 20 as the date for the new election. EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen said the atmosphere in the meeting was good and the caretaker…
-
We all have the swing in us
PHUKET: Gilles Duboueix, a professional golf coach and mental trainer, claims that we all have the swing in us, we just need to discover it, and he’s here to help. Having spent the past seven years working both with amateurs and professionals, he shares the secrets of his technique with the Gazette, proving that the most important part of a…
-
Phuket woman impaled by her mattress
PHUKET: Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation responded to an unusual plea for help yesterday afternoon: a woman had been impaled by her mattress. The rescue team arrived at an unnamed apartment building opposite the Bangkok Bank branch on Thepkrasattri Road, south of Satree Phuket School in Phuket Town, at about 5:30pm. “When we arrived, we heard a woman howling…
-
Air France pilots plan daily strikes in May
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Air France pilots plan daily strikes in May Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pilots of Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM plan to strike for several hours per day in May to protest against what they say are limits on their right to strike. Air France said the…
-
Thailand News: Police to replace soldiers in Bangkok; EC warms to Abhisit’s reforms; NACC refuses more Yingluck witnesses
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth against use of force to end impasse The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday voiced concerns about some local leaders and political groups opting for violence to end the prolonged political conflict. “There are several groups that talk about violence.…
-
Egypt mass death sentences will bring down government, warns Brotherhood
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt’s Brotherhood says mass death sentences will bring down government Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The senior leader of Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood said on Tuesday that the mass death sentences against him and other members will cause the government’s downfall. “This ruling is the last…
-
Thailand News: Thawil pledges to rethink Deep South policy; Pregnant official slain; Bt2.9mn ATM robbery; Warrants sought for red shirt poet killers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thawil to review Deep South policy The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri says his first mission will be to review policy on the unrest in the Deep South and national security work there. The guideline of having a peace dialogue…
-
Driver who mowed down three police officers released on bail
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Driver who mowed down three police officers released on bail The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The driver, who allegedly mowed down three police officers and wounded three others in a car accident in downtown Bangkok on Sunday (story here), was released on bail yesterday after…
-
MH370 Search: Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community MH370 Search: Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A private company said it had found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal that should be investigated as possible debris from the missing…
-
What if Phuket’s roads took you?
PHUKET: Over the last decade the number of well-known, and often very well-liked, expats who have perished on Phuket’s deadly roads seems to have increased at an alarming rate. Indeed, the most recent case has given me cause to revisit a topic nobody likes to speak about, yet the failure to address it could lead to some rather horrible consequences…
-
Light-fingered Phuket woman undone by iPhone app
PHUKET: Phuket Police used a location app today to track down within 10 minutes a woman who had stolen a Danish tourist’s iPhone. Michael Dybdahl, 51, from Denmark, reported that his iPhone was missing to the Patong Police at 11:30am. “He said a woman visited his room at Bangla House last night, but he could not find his phone after…
-
Chinese tourists, skipper injured in speedboat collision off Phuket
PHUKET: Four Chinese tourists and one Thai national were injured yesterday after two speedboats collided at the docks on Koh Khai Nok, off the east coast of Phuket. “The Nontasak was heading toward the pier at about 3pm and crashed into the Star Andaman, which was carrying 32 Chinese tourists, as it was reversing from the pier,” said Lt Col…
-
Thailand News: Driver runs Bangkok checkpoint, kills 3 police; Storms lash capital; Red shirts set for May rally
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three police officers killed after young driver loses control of his Pajero SUV The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three police were killed and three others injured in a crash when a young man drove a sports utility vehicle through a police checkpoint on the outbound…
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.