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 Top digital marketing and SEO agency: Why brands choose Convert Cake
A strong digital presence is a must for any business chasing market share and growth in this day and age. But turning that ambition into tangible results? That takes the right partner. And if you’ve been looking for a top...
-
PGTV News Tuesday 22nd August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about foreigners wishing to become Thai, an update on the missing UK student in Phang Nga and we a look at collecting taxes from the island’s hotels. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, today’s show features a new interview with Phuket based writer Jim Newport. PGTV, produced by…
-
Desal plant “ready by high season’
KARON: Construction of a 528-million-baht desalination plant is now 90% complete and the plant should be ready to begin providing 12,000 cubic meters of tap water daily to Patong and Kata-Karon in the upcoming high season – if all the necessary permits can be obtained in time.At the Kata Beach Resort on Friday, Phuket Vice-Governor Niran Kanlayanamit chaired a meeting…
-
Salesman strangles pregnant girlfriend
KATHU: A salesman turned himself in to the Tung Tong Police after strangling to death his pregnant girlfriend, a former newspaper reporter who had turned to prostitution. Pol Lt Col Passakorn Sonthikul of the Tung Tong Police told the Gazette that Phuket native Jirasak Noosonkaew, 27, turned himself in at the Ketho Police Box at around 1 pm on August…
-
PGTV News Monday 21st August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about Thai Airways strengthening security on it’s flights, an update on the missing UK student in Phang Nga and we look at a Phuket cheerleader competition. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features a documentary about the Art scene here in Phuket. PGTV, produced by…
-
British tourist missing after rafting accident
PHANG-NGA: (Gazette, KomChadLuek) A 22-year-old Scottish tourist has been missing in Phang Nga for two days and is presumed to have drowned after an accident while white-water rafting. Shenaz Kapoor was in a rubber raft with three other foreign tourists and two Thai guides in the area of the Song Phraek waterfall when the raft capsized. The other five people…
-
THAI tightens security on flights
BANGKOK: Thai Airways International (THAI) has announced more stringent security measures following the uncovering of a supposedly Al Qaeda-led terrorist plot to detonate liquid-based explosives on flights between Britain and the US. Somchainuk Engtrakul, Chairman of the THAI Board, has announced that the airline has tightened security measures for flights to the US and UK, and also to the Philippines,…
-
Marriage certificate shortage “being fixed’
BANGKOK: Mali Satiworaman, Chief of the Registration Printed Forms Department of the Bureau of Registration Administration, has admitted that the shortage of marriage certificate papers countrywide has been a problem for more than a month now. In Phuket, marriages may currently be registered only in Kathu District. Both Muang and Thalang Districts have run out of marriage certificates and the…
-
No bias in bookings for Surakul Stadium: Anchalee
PHUKET: The President of the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, has denied allegations that Surakul Stadium is for the use of Thais only, though the OrBorJor has rejected a request to hold the Phuket International Soccer 7s tournament, planned for November, in the stadium. “I know the organizers of the Phuket International Soccer 7s competition would like to hold…
-
Hospital, hotels, sign MOU on medical tourism
PHUKET: Bangkok Hospital Phuket has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with nine hotels to promote medical tourism in Phuket. Dr Kongkiat Kespechara, Director of Bangkok Hospital Phuket, said that the hospital would arrange first aid training for staff of the nine signatory hotels and would ensure staff knew what to do in the event of an emergency. The hotels…
-
Photographer confesses to murder
PATONG: A freelance photographer has confessed to murdering a cashier from a Patong shopping mall, after a police search uncovered the .38 revolver used in the slaying stashed away inside a pillow in his rented room on Soi Larb Ped, Patong.Pol Lt Col Chaowalit Niamwadee of Kathu Police Station said the body of the victim, identified as 22-year-old Kanjanee “Rung”…
-
Engaging in commerce
After expelling a female student for “intolerable” behavior, school teachers at a commercial school in Nakhon Sri Thammarat are living in fear for their lives following the girl’s return accompanied by a gang of young thugs, who smashed windows and threatened to kill every teacher in the school. The contretemps started when one of the teachers overheard a girl student…
-
PGTV News Monday 14th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about the recent “Por Tor” Chinese festival, an update on the Phya Thai Hospital and a look at a new ferry service. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features a documentary about hydroponics and gardening in Phuket. PGTV, produced by the Phuket Gazette, is aired…
-
PGTV News Friday 11th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about two rude Koreans who were refused entry to Phuket and who have since lodged a complaint, a protest against the proposed price hike for entry into public parks and we visit “The World” which docked overnight in Phuket. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features a…
-
Phuket chosen as venue for TV adventure show
PHUKET: The first Isuzu Adventure Race Thailand Championship, involving climbing and kayaking among other events, will be staged in Phuket from October 27 to 29. The competition will be filmed and broadcast by satellite to viewers worldwide, say the organizers. Teams of four people, each including at least one woman, will have to prove their physical and mental toughness over…
-
Hospital “dream’ still mired in standoff
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr has spoken out against Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s decision to delay the buyout of the abandoned Phya Thai hospital.“The purchase of the abandoned Phya Thai hospital is like a dream that has fallen apart. I started the process with the Governor on January 13, and the provincial committee for this…
-
Turtle festival blocks city center road
PHUKET CITY: Traffic Police have advised motorists that Ranong Rd will be closed today and tomorrow for the annual “Por Tor” Chinese Festival.The Por Tor Festival comes every year in July or August and is intended to make merit for the dead and for spirits. It centers around the making of large cakes in the shape of turtles, following the…
-
PGTV News Wednesday 9th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about the latest tsunami drills, a ride with the Singapore Porsche Club in Phuket and we ask people how they will celebrate Mothers Day which in Thailand falls on the 12th of August. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features a documentary about the Soi Dog Foundation.…
-
Gov raps “overzealous’ Immigration officer
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura yesterday morning asked the head of Immigration at Phuket International Airport to transfer a subordinate who refused entry to two loud South Korean tourists on July 11.But the Immigration chief defended his officer’s actions and said he would refer the matter to his superiors before taking any action.The meeting, at the Governor’s Office at Phuket Provincial…
-
Dive industry rules imminent
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat confirmed today that although the new dive industry regulations have not yet been signed by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, he believes that they will be “soon”.Yesterday K. Nivit told the Gazette that the documents had already been signed but this afternoon, after rechecking, he said that they were currently awaiting…
-
PGTV News Tuesday 8th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about the lasting emotional scars of the tsunami, an art exhibition at Mom Tri’s Boathouse, and the Phuket board riders championships at Kalim beach. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features an interview with a young “Luk Kreung”. PGTV, produced by the Phuket Gazette, is aired daily on…
-
Major embarrassment
A Senior Sergeant Major from the Border Patrol Police received a lesson in how victims of crime feel after an encounter with three attractive young women in Thung Song, Nakhon Sri Thammarat province. Officers from Thung Song Police Station were called to the JS Hotel. There, waiting for them wearing full dress uniform and a sorrowful expression, was Sgt Maj…
-
Progress for pilgrims
CHIANG MAI: Chiang Mai’s famous Phrasingha Temple has unveiled its new 1.6- million-baht public bathroom, which the temple clergy hope will claim this year’s coveted “Toilet of the Year” award. Monks at the temple, which receives hundreds of Thai and foreign tourists a day and as many as 3,000 on Buddhist holidays, saw the need for improvements to its restroom…
-
Ya bah busts yield 4,692 pills
KATHU: Thun Tong Police arrested two ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers on Saturday night in Soi Thida, Kathu, seizing 4,692 pills of the illegal stimulant.An undercover officer, posing as a dealer, paid 20,000 baht for 100 pills from Somsak Lertprakit, 34, from Korat. Once the sale was complete, officers led by Pol Maj Gen Theerachai Raktiprakorn of the Tung Tong Police…
-
Police colonel linked to killing of editor
PHUKET: A police lieutenant-colonel has been arrested in connection with the murder of local newspaper editor Opas Noothong in April this year.The arrest came after a gun belonging to Pol Lt Col Hattakarn Klinlokai, Inspector for Crime Suppression at Tambon Suksamran police station in Ranong, was found in the car of another suspect, Veenakorn Boonyiun. Forensic tests later confirmed that…
-
Baby boy found dead in trash
KATHU (Gazette/Kom Chad Luek): Police are unsure whether a newborn child found dead in a black plastic trash bag was stillborn or was deliberately murdered.Garbage collectors making their normal rounds made the gruesome discovery at about 4 am yesterday, as they were collecting trash opposite Phuket Country Club on Wichit Songkhram Rd. Tung Tong Police and workers from the Kusoldharm…
-
Security cameras deal signed
PHUKET: The provincial authorities are to install Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) monitoring systems in parts of Patong, Karon and Phuket City in an effort to boost security in popular tourist areas.At Phuket Provincial Police headquarters yesterday, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura presided over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Phuket Provincial Police and CAT Telecom, which will install…
-
Democrat wins Council by-election
PHUKET CITY: Despite active campaigning by all three candidates, voter turnout for the Phuket Provincial Council District 1 by-election on August 5 was low, with eventual winner Somkuan Tansakul of the Democrat party winning the vacant seat with just 839 votes. Coming second was engineer Wongwara Sa-nguansak, with 575 votes, while writer Wisut “Ae Inside” Tangwittayaporn, who promised to bring…
-
PGTV News Monday 7th August 2006
PGTV’s Phuket News today features a story about educating young people about the risks of contracting HIV, an update on security measures in Phuket to prevent bird flu, and a look at the local Thai Chess championships. In addition to these and other news stories focused on Phuket, this evening’s show features an interview with Cindy Ratcliffe MBE. PGTV, produced…
-
Surveys reveal tsunami’s mental toll
PHUKET: Many people in tsunami-affected areas of Thailand suffered from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for at least nine months after the disaster, according to two new studies.Both studies were conducted initially in February 2005, with follow-ups seven months later, focusing on people in Phang Nga, Krabi and Phuket, the three provinces worst hit by the tsunami.The results…
-
Phuket teens targeted in HIV awareness drive
PHUKET: The growing number of young adults testing positive for HIV/Aids in the province has prompted the launch of an awareness drive aimed at teenagers and those in their early 20s.At Phuket Provincial Hall, former Senator for Khon Kaen and women’s rights activist Rabiabrat Pongpanich, who is currently President of the Society for Promoting Happy Families, chaired a meeting of…
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.