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 prisoners selected for ‘reintegration training’
PHUKET: More than 200 inmates at Phuket Prison today began their first day of rehabilitation training to prepare them for release into society. The two-week course, launched to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 84th birthday on December 5, aims to help the inmates become “good, moral people” and productive members of society, said Phuket Prison chief Rapin Nichanon at the…
-
Ex-cop caught smuggling 4.5kg of marijuana into Phuket
PHUKET: Police at Tah Chat Chai checkpoint – the northern tip of the island – yesterday arrested a retired policeman trying to smuggle 4.5 kilograms of marijuana into Phuket.Also arrested was a man who says he was just getting a ride from Ranong to Phuket with the former officer.Police stopped Natthawut Nuengklang, 61, at 2pm to conduct a standard inspection…
-
Thai property: Food for thought for Phuket expats
Phuket NEWS Hound – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket readers PHUKET: An item on the BBC website last week caught the attention of Phuket News Hound. Grand in its simplicity and purpose, and unassailable as a means to improve a troubled nation’s economy, a proposal by two United States senators to woo foreign property buyers – yes,…
-
Phuket dispatches more flood relief for Bangkok
PHUKET: As Bangkok braces for more floods, which some experts say may last up to a month, Phuket officials yesterday dispatched a second convoy loaded with flood-relief items to help those affected by the disaster. A total of 18 trucks left the Phuket Red Cross center at Saphan Hin. They are expected to arrive in Bangkok tomorrow morning. There to…
-
Phuket set to benefit from national boom in cable and satellite TV
PHUKET: Improved technology and higher quality shows could mean a wider variety of content and lower subscription prices for Phuket’s television viewers. Nationally, cable and satellite television appears to be on a roll, with market penetration expected to reach 80% of the households in the Kingdom this year, up from an earlier projection of 50%. Industry leaders define the market…
-
Phuket residents reclaim robbers’ loot
PHUKET: Residents in Phuket’s Thung Thong subdistrict have been trickling into the local police station over the past few days in the hope of reclaiming household goods stolen from their home. Officers at Thung Thong police on Thursday revealed more than 30 items seized as evidence in the arrests of three men charged with conducting a recent spate of break-ins…
-
Patong residents win with landslide victory
PHUKET: Residents living in the Kok Makham community in Patong, on Phuket’s west coast, were blessed when the developer of a nearby construction project on Wednesday agreed to pay for damages to their homes and to clean up their streets. Chaianan Ananthanawat, 62, registered with Patong Municipality as the “project owner” of the site, also vowed to have retaining walls…
-
Solar boat’s Phuket arrival captures the fancy of local lensman
PHUKET: Having seen the Phuket Gazette‘s report yesterday about the imminent visit of the solar-powered Turanor to Phuket, local expat resident Mark Branson was inspired to watch the vessel’s arrival this morning. With the boat’s arrival at Phuket’s Ao Por marina estimated at 0730, Mr Branson left home at 6am to see the creation that had caught his imagination. He…
-
Phuket Opinion: Patong Police volunteers need careful scrutiny to protect tourists
PHUKET: The safety of tourists visiting Phuket is always a key concern among local officials, and nowhere on the island is the issue more important than in Patong, which has the island’s highest density of visitors and hotels. Several agencies play roles in tourist safety there, but none assume greater responsibility than the Patong Police, who currently have 180 officers…
-
Joker in the pack for French rugby
PHUKET: “They have their reasons for being confident. Now maybe it is our turn to play our cards.”Vincent Clerc, France’s rugby winger implies that his team can upset host nation New Zealand in today’s Rugby World Cup (RWC) final to be played at 3pm Phuket time.True, France in the past have thrown a spanner in the works, notably in 1999…
-
Phuket medical staff assist Ayutthaya flood victims
PHUKET: Emergency medical staff from Phuket have joined the flood-relief efforts in the devastated province of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Led by Dr Weerasak Lorthongkham, the first Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) from the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) reached the disaster zone on October 5 for a 10-day assignment, said PPHO deputy director Dr Wiwat Seetamanotch. They arrived as…
-
World’s largest solar-powered boat to arrive in Phuket
PHUKET: The Turanor, the first solar-powered boat to attempt a circumnavigation of the globe, is scheduled to moor at Phuket’s Ao Po Marina, on Phuket’s east coast, at about 7:30am tomorrow. The stunning piece of technology and craftmanship, will remain in Phuket until Wednesday and will be visited by a delegation from the Swiss embassy in Thailand on Tuesday. The…
-
Phuket Breaking News: Bus overturns on Chalong-Kata hill
PHUKET: A tour bus overturned on a steep section of Patak Road in Chalong this morning, resulting in multiple injuries and at least one fatality. A female Chinese tourist in her 60s has died in the accident, Chalong Police confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. A nurse at the scene said that at least 26 people were injured. The bus overturned…
-
Massive earthquake strikes the South Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning
Phuket NEWS Hound– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket readers PHUKET: A major earthquake struck off the Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Ocean early this morning, seismologists report, but no tsunami warning was issued. The 7.6-magnitude quake at 5.57am local time (about 1am Phuket time) was centered about 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Raoul Island, which…
-
Matthieu Ricard in Phuket for Buddhist talk tomorrow
PHUKET: The Thanyapura Mind Centre (TMC) is welcoming back world-renowned academic-turned-Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard for an exclusive visit and discussion tomorrow. Venerable Matthieu Ricard will deliver a talk entitled “Towards an education based on co-operation and the cultivation of fundamental human values”. The French-born academic left his distinguished scientific career in 1972 to concentrate on Buddhist contemplative practice. He has…
-
Phuket tourist stabbed at Phi Phi beach party
PHUKET: A British backpacker is recovering in Bangkok Hospital Phuket tonight after being stabbed at a beach party on Phi Phi Island. Nicholas Palmer, 22, was rushed to Phuket by speedboat at about 1am today after he was stabbed twice in the middle of a crowded party at Ton Sai Bay. Mr Palmer, from Worcestershire in England, underwent an operation…
-
Phuket policeman spared Senate corruption probe – for now
PHUKET: Cleared of allegations of corruption by an internal police investigation just last week, Chalong Police Duty Officer Boonlert Onklang today received another reprieve – the inquiry he also faces by the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism has been postponed until next month. The internal investigation, conducted by the Royal Thai Police Committee on Justice and Police Affairs, ruled that…
-
Phuket Rotary joins flood relief efforts
PHUKET: The Rotary Club of Patong Beach staged a collection walk along Phuket’s renowned Soi Bangla on Tuesday night, raising money to help provide aid to victims of the floods in and around Bangkok. “We raised 30,000 baht during the collection drive on Bangla Road. We had four different teams of people out collecting donations,” said former Club President Mark…
-
Weird World News: Grrrrrrrrrreat escape in Ohio, monster mistake for giant slipper man and tears for loveable crocodile Pocho
PHUKET: Animals leaped into the world’s news headlines this week with scary, silly and sad stories to report. The great Ohio escape: Monkey still AWOL, feared eaten by lion A FUGITIVE monkey who has been on the run from Ohio police since Tuesday night is presumed dead, eaten by one his “big cat” accomplices. One of the 18 tigers or…
-
Phuket cricket round-up
PHUKET: Cricket may not be a sport familiar to many Thais, or expats for that matter, but local school children in Phuket have taken to this skilful pursuit thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers from the Phuket Cricket Group. The youth development officer for the Phuket Cricket Group, Bill Stahmer, and his coaching unit visit local schools around Phuket…
-
Phuket Media: The Phuket Gazette joins the Big Blue Wave
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette and the Phuket Bulletin, operators of mega-station Blue Wave 90.5 FM, have entered into a partnership to carry Gazette content throughout the Andaman region, with Phuket, Krabi and Phang-nga at its epicenter. The new wave starts rolling on Monday morning (October 24). Blue Wave was established in 2006 and is the Andaman’s largest English-language broadcaster. All…
-
Please, Sir, can I have a trial?
PHUKET: “The dream of making it at United isn’t over.” Max Lonsdale, an 18-year-old from Macclesfield, decided to knock on Sir Alex Ferguson’s door to ask for a trial, and was accepted by the Manchester United manager. Lonsdale had just been released by his former club and after three unsuccessful visits to the Ferguson household, Sir Alex opened the door…
-
Phuket flood aid bound for Bangkok
PHUKET: Phuket’s first main shipment of flood relief supplies left the island this afternoon, bound for Bangkok, where warnings of imminent flood disaster dominate the news tonight. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at the Phuket Red Cross center waved forward 16 trucks bound for the flood-relief disaster response headquarters set up at Don Mueang Airport. Each truck, made available by local…
-
Phuket resort wins one, loses one
PHUKET: A 98-room resort in Phuket will face legal action for building an access road over a small waterway – even though the resort had written permission from the Patong Mayor. Yet the same Phuket resort has been given a reprieve for operating without a hotel license. The news came during an inspection visit to the APK Resort & Spa…
-
Champagne Run with ACYC
PHUKET: The Royal Langkawai International Regatta will be held from January 9 to 14, 2012 and as a lead into the event the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) is inviting an expression of interest for the all new “Champagne Run”. The ACYC in conjunction with the Royal Langkawai Yacht Club are organizing an overnight sailing race leaving Chalong Bay on…
-
Swiftlet sorrow in Phuket Town
PHUKET: The tenant of a building in Phuket Town has been given 15 days to remove an illegally added fourth floor built as an aviary for swiftlets, the birds that cough up the key ingredient for bird’s nest soup. Phuket officials yesterday investigated an anonymous complaint filed last month about a commercial building located behind the DTAC office on Montri…
-
Call for Phuket beauties to join AirAsia pageant
PHUKET: AirAsia is calling for all Phuket maidens to join its “Miss Noppamas” traditional Thai beauty pageant as part of the International Horticultural Exposition Ratchaphruek 2011 that starts in Chiang Mai next month. The Miss AirAsia Noppamas International Beauty Competition 2011 will be held in conjunction with the annual flower show, also called the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek. Prospective contestants will…
-
Phuket Poll: Are our roads killing us?
PHUKET: The highways and byways of Phuket have been much in the news recently. It seems that as soon as authorities plan and build new roads, existing ones deteriorate. In the latest Phuket Gazette online poll, we ask our readers to what extent does the state of the roads in Phuket contribute to the number of accidents in the province.…
-
Round-up of Phuket sporting action
PHUKET: The cricket season in Phuket got underway with a friendly between last year’s Island Furniture league champions, Patong CC, and new boys the Thanyapura Tigers (TT) at Cherng Talay. It was a baptism of fire for TT with Patong batting first and posting a score of 214 for 4 after 20 overs. In reply, TT scored 39 runs in…
-
Phuket’s Jaray Jearanai made history at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii
PHUKET: Jaray Jearanai of Phuket has reached a new high in his athletic career after completing the pinnacle of endurance events, the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, in a time of just over 11 hours.This was an outstanding accomplishment for the Laguna Phuket marketing executive considering that it was his first attempt at the full Ironman course, and only weeks…
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.