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.
-
Sponsored How much does it cost to see a doctor in Thailand?
Thailand is known for its high-quality yet affordable healthcare system, but how much does it really cost to see a doctor? As an expat, this question might be crucial for budgeting your health needs. The answer depends on whether you...
-
Phuket Gazette World News: Egypt interim president sworn in; Mandela hangs on; Vatican high-life; Ecuador dour on bugs
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brotherhood leader arrested as Egypt interim leader sworn in Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood was arrested by Egyptian security forces on Thursday in a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country’s first democratically elected president.The dramatic exit of…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Chalerm chides ice cream gang; Gov’t pushes B2 trillion loan; Liquid cigarettes inflame health officials
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chalerm warns Yingluck of her ‘ice-cream gang’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A disaffected Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung yesterday warned Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra that she was setting her government up for an early demise thanks to her new “ice-cream gang”. Chalerm was apparently referring…
-
Phuket Navy helicopter rescues cargo shipman in life raft
PHUKET: One more crew member from a foundering Bangladeshi cargo ship was rescued this afternoon when a Royal Thai Navy helicopter spotted him in a life raft, plucked him up from the broiling sea and flew him to safety. “Adubagar Siddiue, 40, was in a life raft not far from the MV Hope,” said Rear Admiral Prayuth Phutien of the…
-
Thai smartphone sales ringing up big numbers
PHUKET: Smartphone sales in Thailand more than doubled in the first four months of 2013, a report by one of the world’s largest research companies reveals. The GfK Thailand office reports that communication consumer electronics went from being just one in every five handsets less than two years ago to more than two in five or 42% of overall unit…
-
Rohingya rape suspect handed over to court
PHUKET: The Rohingya man charged by police with holding a 25-year-old Rohingya woman captive and raping her repeatedly over three days has been handed over to the Takuapa Court. Kuraburi Police relinquished custody of Korlimula Ramahatu yesterday after he conducted a re-enactment of the alleged crimes on Tuesday. “The suspect denied the rape charge,” Kuraburi Deputy Police Superintendent Chalerm Wannasathid…
-
Phuket manhunt for rapist who impregnated handicapped stepdaughter
PHUKET: Police are searching for a man who repeatedly raped his 15-year-old handicapped stepdaughter, leaving her pregnant before he ran away. The 40-year-old man, originally from Laos, has been at large since June 29, when his wife discovered what he had done. Police have not released a description of the man or a photograph. Patong Police received the report yesterday…
-
Family appeals for help with missing daughter in Phuket
PHUKET: A 20-year-old woman on the verge of moving from Phuket back home to Nakhon Sri Thammarat has been reported missing by her family. Weerawit Sangpan, 28, told Thung Thong Police that his 29-year-old sister, Boonyanee, disappeared sometime early on Sunday. “We talked at midnight on Saturday. She sounded fine; we had a good conversation,” he told police. “She had…
-
Phuket Business: A Swiss sip of homely bliss
PHUKET: Operators of hotels, restaurants, cafes and especially Swiss expats wanting a taste of home, can now purchase Caffe’ Chicco d’Oro and many other imported food products from Switzerland in Phuket. Patty Bamert together with Samai and Fredy Reutlinger, have recently opened their ‘Caffe’ Chicco d’Oro’ coffee and bistro shop in Kathu, serving the popular Swiss coffee brand of the…
-
Lady Sevenstar will be manned by Phuket Raceweek’s first all female crew
PHUKET: Popular all women’s sailing team Lady Sevenstar has officially entered Asia’s most exciting regatta, the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Race Week (click here for map, held from 17 – 21 July. “It looked liked we were going to miss the race this time as our usual boat, FireFly Lady Sevenstar /aka the Frog, was not available. Miraculously, in the…
-
Phuket raid nets B100mn of pirated goods in Patong
PHUKET: A Department of Special Investigation (DSI) task force in Phuket yesterday arrested seven people and seized pirated goods with an estimated street value of more than 100 million baht. Armed with a search warrant and joined by officers from the Patong Police, the DSI agents raided two three-story shophouses in Soi Sukcharoen, off Phang Muang Sai Kor Road in…
-
Phuket rescue launched for Bangladeshi cargo ship: 17 crew rescued, 13 missing
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has launched an air-sea rescue effort to recover the missing crew from Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope after the vessel capsized in heavy seas south of Phuket early this morning.The MV Hope, registered at 97 meters long, started taking on water in heavy seas at about 1:10am, reported Capt Thammawat Malaisukkarin, Director of the Naval…
-
Phuket road work forces motorists to seek bypass road bypass
PHUKET: The long tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road caused by the resurfacing of the bypass road at the Bang Khu Intersection in Koh Kaew has forced police to urge motorists to use alternative routes. “We need to resurface about 1.5km of the [bypass] road, starting at the Bang Khu intersection,” said Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad. “The road surface is…
-
Phuket Gazette World News: Egypt celebrates Independence Day; Putin bans gay adoption; Ex-Taliban now in favor of women; Mexican drug lord slays school bullies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt army topples Mursi, suspends constitution Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Egypt’s armed forces overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders.After a day of drama in which tanks and…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: World Peace under fire; Cabinet wows with vows; Five supercars seized; White masks suspend protest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World Peace chief welcomes DSI probe The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The World Peace University (WPU) yesterday denied any wrongdoing in the wake of emerging evidence that it has never been accorded the status of a “higher-education institute”.“We don’t cause any trouble. We just confer honorary doctorates,”…
-
More rain forecast as Phuket housing estate goes underwater
PHUKET: More rain is forecast for the coming days as Phuket suffers heavy deluges causing minor flooding at locations across the island. More than 68mm of rainfall was recorded at Phuket International Airport yesterday and 56mm fell on Phuket Town, with both locales recording more than 25mm within a three-hour period. A three-hour rainstorm on Tuesday brought flooding again to…
-
Phuket dengue numbers highest in 20 years
PHUKET: As the number of patients in Phuket diagnosed with dengue fever reached the highest level in 20 years, health officials met at Patong Hospital yesterday to discuss dengue-prevention measures in Kathu. Patong was chosen as the location and the target focus for the meeting as the beach resort town is the most popular district for tourists on the island,…
-
Phuket Gazette World News: 45 dead in Iraqi bombings; Mandela family feud twist; Wikileaks trial update; Outsiders are in – Tennis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nearly 50 killed in Iraq bombings Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: At least 45 people were killed in bomb attacks across Iraq yesterday, most of them in busy markets and commercial areas of the capital Baghdad, police and medics said.The deadliest assault took place in the predominantly Shi’ite…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Missing monk wanted for money laundering; Chalerm unhappy; Yingluck warned of impeachment
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Monk had 10 bank accounts with daily transactions of Bt2m The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has found 10 bank accounts under the name of Luang Pu Nenkham, who calls himself the abbot of Si Sa Ket’s “Wat Pa Khanti Dhamma”…
-
Illegal taxi drivers in Patong threaten Phuket governor with mob action
PHUKET: Illegal taxi drivers from Patong today threatened Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut with mass protests if the government does not do more to help them become legal. The naked threat was delivered today at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall immediately after the Governor’s monthly address to the Phuket media. “We need help from the governor to find a way…
-
Phuket Immigration: British realtor to be deported
PHUKET: Phuket immigration today arrested for illegal entry a British man who had been working on the island as a realtor, a profession reserved for Thais, since 2011.Richard James Daffund, 44, was picked up by police as he walked along Phuket Road, just several hundred meters from the Phuket Immigration Office.The Englishman was recognized by police, who notified immigration, Capt…
-
Phuket Police urge motorist safety as car flips into canal, more wet weather forecast
PHUKET: Phuket drivers are urged to drive defensively during the current rainy weather, said Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan this afternoon. “Wet roads have already caused several accidents in Phuket. Everyone should slow down while driving in rainy conditions,” he said. The warning follows an early morning accident in Patong today when a car flipped over into the Pak Bang…
-
Phantom sex noises in Phuket, voodoo suspected
PHUKET: An inconclusive police investigation has prompted a Phuket woman to publicly appeal for help in unravelling the mysterious “sex noises” she keeps hearing at her Chalong home. Onanong Waltham, 46, accompanied by her housemate Sujittraporn Tephabutra, made her public appeal at the Phuket Press Club yesterday afternoon. “I keep hearing moaning sounds in my house. It sounds like people…
-
Phuket driver escapes injury as car slams into tree
PHUKET: A Phuket woman escaped serious injury late last night when her car slammed into a tree at high speed, ripping the engine from the vehicle and flinging it 50 meters from where the car came to rest.Maj Kittiphum Tinthalang of the Thalang Police received a report of the accident, on Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Manik, in central Phuket, at…
-
Canadian expat, 64, faces deportation from Phuket for visa overstay
PHUKET: A 64-year-old expat from Canada will be deported from Thailand after being caught in Phuket after overstaying his visa by three years.James H Nelson was arrested in Thung Thong yesterday afternoon.“Officers approached him and asked for his passport. He said he didn’t have it because he had sent it to the Canadian embassy in Bangkok to be renewed,” explained…
-
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Healthcare funds in intensive care; Govt caves in on rice; Secret Deep South talks; Supercar probe: DSI IDs BMW
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt urged to find new funds for health security The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Given the rising cost of the country’s healthcare costs, prominent health economists yesterday urged the government to seek alternative financial sources to support medical insurance schemes.Collecting tax from the sale of unhealthy food…
-
Phuket lifeguard contract signed – budget remains unaltered
PHUKET: In the aftermath of Phuket’s deadliest beach weekend and the first-time-ever forced closure of sections of beaches by lifeguards, the Phuket Lifeguard Club’s contract with the local government has been renewed, but only for 10 months (story here). “The contract was renewed on June 28 and will last for 10 months,” an officer at the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization…
-
Interview with a Thai TRANSPAC sailor
PHUKET: Local sailor Mr Patinyakorn Buranrom is set to become the first Thai sailor to skipper a yacht in a major international yacht race when he competes this coming week in the Transpacific Yacht Race (TRANSPAC) from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Mr Patinyakorn Buranrom from Phuket, and a member of Ao Chalong Yacht Club, spoke to the Gazette about the…
-
Nine Phuket students given anesthesia after suffering from Khao Lak “curse’
PHUKET: Nearly two dozen Phuket students were rushed to Patong Hospital this morning after they collapsed screaming and convulsing during morning assembly – three out of the nine students who were administered anesthesia by doctors at the hospital remain there. According to reports, the culprit seems to be a ghost in the tourist haven Khao Lak who was offended by…
-
Retired Microsoft expat found dead in Phuket luxury villa pool
PHUKET: A retired Microsoft engineer was found dead this morning in his Phuket luxury villa pool located at Ao Makham.The body of the 69-year-old American expat was floating face down in the pool when police arrived at the scene.“He was wearing black swimming trunks. There was blood around his ear – but no trace of a struggle,” said Lt Anurak…
-
Phuket FC loses direction as FA Cup draws them to Bangkok
PHUKET: The Islanders were unable to maintain their top-five standing in conclusion to the Yamaha League One (YL1) 2013 season’s first half, losing at home 0-1 on Saturday evening to a more-determined Nakhon Ratchasima FC. Phuket FC’s fixture list is rapidly becoming congested facing two-and-a-half matches in just eight days, including an away match in the FA Cup to SCG…
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.