News
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Omura whale found dead on Chumphon beach
PHOTO: DMCR A young Omura whale has been discovered dead along the Chumpon coastline. Experts believe it died as a result of an infection. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resource (DMCR) was notified about the whale that was found dead near shores Sawee, Chumphon last week. The DMCR is reporting that the female Omura whale was nearly 5 metres…
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Fire destroys six houses in Wichit, Phuket
Fire has destroyed six houses at the Klong Koh Phee Community in Wichit last night. No injuries or deaths was reported. Officers from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) stationed at Wichit Municipality were notified of a fire in Soi 6 in Klong Koh Phee Community in Wichit at 11:50pm last night. Fire fighters and the Wichit Police…
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Bangkok in the Top 10 cities in the world with the worst air pollution
Bangkok is placed Number 9 in the world’s top 10 cities with the worst air quality, Greenpeace Thailand was quoting the US air quality index measuring pollution floating around in the air we breathe. The Thai capital is not in good company. Thai PBS reports that, on top of the list, is New Delhi with 309 on US AQI, Dhaka in…
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Burmese journalists lose appeal, and the article that put them there
PHOTO: Washington Post A Myanmar court has rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of breaking the Official Secrets Act, saying the defence had not provided sufficient evidence to show they were innocent. 32 year old Wa Lone and 28 year old Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted by a lower court in…
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Thai Tourism chases the pink dollar as one of its “new shades”
by Phatarawadee Phataranawik and The ThaigerWhile Thailand is waiting for a Life Partnership Bill to become law, and maybe a move towards full same-sex marriage down the track, advocates say they are encouraged by the country’s efforts in attracting LGBT tourists. The recent approval of the Life Partnership Bill by the Thai cabinet was a significant step – the first such move…
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Paralyzed from rare disease, Caroline returns home from Thailand
Original report by Karina Bolster and David Hylton. PHOTOS: Facebook/Jim Brader A 22 year old woman from Virginia, US, who was paralyzed after her diagnosis of a rare auto-immune disease while teaching in Thailand, has arrived back home in the US. Caroline Bradner was hospitalised in Thailand ever since. A travel insurance company had agreed earlier this month to help…
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Army chief claims election delay critics are “bent on creating trouble”
In a country where the Army has played such a prominent part in the politics of Thailand for so long, we shouldn’t be surprised by commentary today from the Thai Army Commander-in-Chief. General Apirat Kongsompong says that those campaigning against the election delay have a “one-track mind and bent on creating troubles”. “They are being told to think this way,…
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Bangkok’s air-pollution alarming, rain-making being considered
PHOTO: An eerie start to Sunday in Bangkok – The Nation Bangkok’s air pollution has reached dangerous levels for multiple days in the past few weeks. Today, air pollution in the greater Bangkok area was again threatening residents’ health. The amount of PM2.5 – airborne dust particles 2.5 microns in diameter or less – exceeded the safe level of 50…
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Chinese foreign policy – On track
by Nikkei Asia Review “When Japanese trading house Itochu and train maker Hitachi withdrew from a soon-to-be-decided $7 billion tender for a high-speed rail project near Bangkok, it appeared to be another victory for China and its grand plans to connect Southeast Asia with railways. Thailand has for decades been the centerpiece of Tokyo’s strategy for Southeast Asia, and long-discussed plans…
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Kids flock to Government House and Don Mueang – Children’s Day 2019
PHOTOS: The Nation An 11 year old girl from the St Francis Xavier School in Nonthaburi was the first student to sit on the prime minister’s seat at Government House on National Children’s Day. The Nation reports that officials allowed children to form a long queue at 7.30am to have an opportunity to sit on the seat of the most…
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Chinese, Taiwanese, Lao involved in making fake credit cards – Pattaya
FILE PHOTO “Police found 17 fake credit cards, three computers and a card writer and reader.” Pattaya police and immigration officials have arrested a Chinese and Taiwanese man over allegations of making fake credit cards with stolen information for an accomplice in Laos. Pattaya police held a press conference yesterday to announce the arrest of 27 year old Taiwanese citizen,…
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Eight days in southern Thailand
mtv.co.uk have visited Thailand recently and come up with their own short, cool, stays in the southern region. If you have a spare eight days, here is their guide for a quick southern beach holiday. Phuket: 2 nights How to get there It’s time to switch it up and head to the Southern region of Thailand. The easiest way is…
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Rahaf al-Qunun arrives in Canada – no mention in Saudi media
The 18 year old Saudi runaway who says she feared her family and possible death if she was deported back to Saudi Arabia, has arrived in Canada. Canadian officials offered her asylum in a case that became global news after the plucky woman mounted a Twitter storm, barricaded in her airport hotel room last weekend. The Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia…
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Malaysia choses new sultan, will be elected king January 24
Malaysian officials announced that the country has a new sultan who is now expected to be elected king after the former monarch abdicated following his reported marriage to a Russian former beauty queen. Tengku Abdullah Shah replaces his father, Sultan Ahmad Shah as the ruler of Pahang state, the official Bernama news agency said, citing a senior palace official. Local…
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Hua Hin officials roll up their sleeves to clean the beaches after recent storms
PHOTO: Talk News Online Hu Hin’s local Talk News Online is reporting that a team of local government officials and soldiers were out in force to clean up the Gulf coast beaches yesterday. The action focussed on Hua Don beach at Khao Takiap causing a lot of selfies to be taken among the large numbers of appreciative tourists using the…
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VIDEO: Woman has meltdown in Thai airport
A video posted on social media has been doing the rounds. In the video a woman is seen yelling at an Air Asia airport staff for being told her carry on must be checked in because it was 7.2 kilos over the 7 kilogram weight limit. The woman is calmly told that she will have check-in the extra luggage and…
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Thai cabinet extends visa-fee-waiver until after Songkran
Tourists from over 21 countries will continue to benefit from an extension to the visa fee waiver introduced in November last year. In a move to boost tourism, the cabinet has extended the 2,000 baht visa-on-arrival fee waiver, according to Tourism and Sport Minister, Veerasak Kowsurat this morning (Tuesday). The waiver was set to end on Sunday, January 6, 2019,…
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Teenage “relatives of politician” finally in detention after alleged gang rape of 16 year old girl
Three teenagers, aged 16 to 17, have been ordered into detention by a juvenile court more than five weeks after they allegedly gang raped a female 16 year old friend. Talk News Online reports that the developments follow the intervention of the head of the Prajuab Khiri Khan provincial police after the mother of the alleged victim complained that nothing…
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Family of British Phuket property developer say “he was murdered”
PHOTO: Lawyer Vincent McOwen holding up a photo of Steven James Granville – Khaosod English A lawyer representing the family of Steven James Granville has filed a complaint with the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) in Bangkok over police reports about injuries sustained in a 2013 ‘cycling incident’. The TCSD is now overseen by Immigration Chief Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn.…
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Myanmar Court rejects appeal of imprisoned Reuters journalists
A court in Myanmar yesterday decided to uphold the convictions of two Reuters journalists who were sentenced to seven-year prison sentences. The case that has drawn international criticism. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were found guilty last year of violating the Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act. They were investigating the massacre of Rohingya men amid a military crackdown on the country’s…
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Medical cannabis crops to be tightly controlled
The Thai narcotic control board head says that only Thai citizens who join hands with the government will be allowed to cultivate medical cannabis. The board yesterday stressed that growers of the potentially lucrative crop must be cooperatives, community enterprises or social enterprises made up of citizens – and not private companies. Their business will be under the scrutiny of…
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Saudi refugee granted asylum, flying to Canada
18 year old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun boarded a Korean Air flight last night, bound, ultimately for Toronto, Canada, via Seoul. She came to public attention last weekend when she barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room saying she had been abused by her Saudi family. In a widely followed social media (Twitter) campaign, the plucky 18 year old explained she…
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UPDATE: Phuket’s injured Leopard Cat dies
The leopard cat, which was found severely injured in front of a Mai Khao Graveyard on December 31, has unfortunately passed away. Read more about the locals finding the cat HERE, Read more about the injuries and care for the leopard cat HERE The can was transported to Soi Dog Foundation on January 1 for treatment and was under constant care from the…
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Missing 14 year old girl now under government care
by Kornkamol Aksorndej – The Nation Weekend A 14 year old girl, reported missing for more than two weeks and later found with an older man in a Chiang Mai apartment, is now under government care. Pol Maj General Jirabhop Bhuridej of the Crime Suppression Division, says, “We won’t give details about the case. The minor must be protected.” The…
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Company reports 80K beer cans disappeared after truck accident in Phuket
A logistic company representative has filed a report to police after more than 80,000 beer cans, valued at more than two million baht, mysteriously vanished after a beer truck overturned in Rassada this morning. The truck overturned and beer cans were scattered all over the road outside a 7-11. Read more about the incident HERE. Locals nearby helped clear up…
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A ladyboy found in the backseat of a sunken car with no pants on – Ayutthaya
Daily News reports that police in Ayutthaya are baffled after a ladyboy was found dead in a car accident yesterday. The driver’s Honda City had plunged into a canal on the Sena to Lat Bua Luang Road. A rescue worker from Ruam Katanyu Foundation, Anuchart Wuthitham, was first on the scene. He found 27 year old Athitaya Phanang from Bangkok , a ladyboy, covered…
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No sign of elections, but election officials want 22 million baht of new cars
Voters were disappointed to see yesterday’s deadline for publication of the royal decree slip away, which means the intended February 24 election date is unlikely. To add salt to the wound, the election commission has now announced that its directors will be needing new cars, and the lucky tax payers will be providing them. The budget for the new fleet…
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Man takes a naked stroll in Sabah, Malaysia
by The Star – Asia News Network A naked man, wearing only a wide-brimmed hat (sun smart!) has been caught on camera walking along a road near Pavilion Bundusan in Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia. This comes after a couple were photographed skinny-dipping in a water fountain at the start of this week in the famous Gaya Street in Kota Kinabalu. The photo…
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Thai preparedness limits Pabuk damage
Just a week ago the tropical storm Pabuk was poised to make landfall on the southern Thailand Gulf coast after days of predictions, warnings and anticipation. Now the entire event can be assessed in hindsight and lessons learned for next time. Reliefweb.int has issued a compiled report on Pabuk. “Early warning and early action helped ensure that tropical storm Pabuk,…
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Air quality around Bangkok is bad today
PHOTO: The Nation Bangkok’s air quality is safe again. Oh, now it’s unsafe again. Just a day after the air quality around Bangkok was declared safe, the Pollution Control Department (PCD) is blaming light winds and stale air for causing the poor air quality for Friday. PCD director-general Pralong Damrongthai says that air quality monitoring stations showed the amount of…
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