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Sponsored Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Call centre raid in Bangkok – French citizens arrested
Ten French citizens have been arrested on charges of working illegally at an international call centre in Bangkok. Immigration officials were acting on a tip off and had already obtained a court-authorised search warrant to enter the building on Soi Thong Lor 25 in Wattana, central Bangkok. The building was a four-storey house modified for office work. Speaking to the media…
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Lone gunman storms into Lopburi gold shop and kills three people – VIDEO
Police are now on the hunt for the Lopburi gold-shop robber who has killed three and injured four. The man stormed into a Robinson Department Store gold shop last night killing three people as he walked in. He shot without hesitation and paid no attention to the people he’d shot. One of them was a young boy. The gunman also…
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Crunching the numbers on Phuket’s hotels – 2020
PHOTO: Travel 141 Bill Barnett from c9Hotelworks, crunches the numbers and reports on some challenges for Thailand’s largest island and most popular tourist destination, outside of Bangkok. Robust passenger arrivals in the second half of 2019 highlighted by growth in Indian tourists helped rebalance the island’s tourism sector, according to the C9 Hotelworks newly released Phuket Hotel Market Update (link…
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Three killed, others injured in Lopburi gold shop robbery – VIDEO
Three people are now dead and another four injured after a lone gunman entered a Lopburi gold shop, shooting customers and then robbing the store (video below). Lopburi is about 150 kilometres north of Bangkok. The armed robbery took place at a gold shop in Robinson Department Store in the main city district of Lopburi province Speaking to the media…
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Thailand Yacht Show 2020 opens in Phuket
The fifth Thailand Yacht Show is now open at the Royal Phuket Marina in Koh Kaew. The annual on-water yacht-fest features an array of over 50 luxury yachts and boats, including several world and Asian premieres, from the region’s leading brokers. The show runs until January 12 and is open from 11am – 7pm nightly. The overall intention of the…
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Former immigration supremo says gunshots linked to airport biometrics project
“There’s only one motive” – Surachat Hakparn The former Thai immigration police chief Surachat Hakparn, aka.”Big Joke”, denies that the incident, where gunshots were fired into his car on Monday, was a staged stunt. But he has addressed a media scrum speculating the incident is linked to the Immigration Bureau’s controversial procurement procedures for its biometrics and smart car projects.…
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Bangkok’s ranks world’s third worst air quality. Forecast to be bad for the rest of the week.
Bangkok ended up recording the world’s third worst air quality on Air Visual, the air quality monitoring app, yesterday. Not a chart you want to be on top of. Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority remains on high alert for a predicted rise in PM2.5 levels for the rest of the week. High temperatures and light winds are compounding the problem…
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Cabinet threatens to open up fishing labour to migrant workers
Fisherman from 22 of Thailand’s 76 provinces are demanding the government solve the labour problem in the fisheries’ industry. The government, in turn, is threatening to invoke Article 83 of the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries, which would essentially allow immigrant labour in the sector. The relevant committee in the House proposes opening two registration periods for migrant workers, the first from…
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“Chinese pneumonia” detected at Chiang Mai airport
Three Thai passengers are in hospital after being routinely screened at Chiang Mai International Airport with suspected cases of the suspected “viral pneumonia” that is affected the Chinese city of Wuhan. A fourth person, this time a Chinese national, has been found to be infected with influenza A (H3N2), and repatriated to China for treatment. The virus, which many initially…
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Surachat claims shots at his car were related to a 2 billion baht Immigration purchase
Thailand’s former immigration supremo, Surachat Hakparn, spoke to the media yesterday about the bullets fired into his car on Monday night. He was not in the car at the time. He speculated confidently that the shots fired at the white Lexus SUV, parked near a massage establishment in Patpong, Bangkok, were connected to a two billion baht purchase of a…
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Bank rolls over after security footage captures employee stealing money
Look up before you steal money in a bank. There’s probably going to be a security camera. A female bank employee has been caught red-handed stealing 10,000 baht of an elderly customer’s savings. CCTV at the bank shows the moment when the teller stole the elderly man’s savings. The daughter of the victim shared the video online for everyone to…
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71 year old ‘Robin Hood’ pensioner arrested over three year overstay
An American retiree has been arrested for overstaying his visa by nearly three years, according to the anti-farang Thai publication Naew Na. Immigration police in Bangkok arrested the 71 year old man, who they identified only as ‘Mark L’, in Sukhumvit’s Soi Mee Suwan 3 on Monday. The US pensioner had overstayed his visa by nearly 3 years. The enthusiastically smug…
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PM tells Thais to take shorter showers
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is asking the public to turn off their taps, shower less and conserve water to cope with the drought affecting Thailand’s northern and central areas. Thais LOVE their multiple showers every day. “Please all help save water. Turn off all the taps. Use less water. Reduce tooth-brushing and shower time by one minute.” With river levels…
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Police ramp up investigation into shots fired into Surachat’s car in Bangkok
Investigators yesterday combed the scene of a shooting where seven shots (below) were fired into a vacant car belonging to former Immigration supremo Pol Lt-General Surachat Hakparn. Deputy Police Commissioner-General Pol General Virachai Songmetta visited the crime scene where the white Lexus was shot at by two suspects on Monday evening. According to The Nation, the location was a massage spa…
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Bangkok authorities roll out the water trucks for free drinking water
As water authorities around Bangkok start rolling out a long-term solution to the increasing salinity of the water further up the Chao Phraya river, locals are being treated to free drinking water. The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority has is transporting tap water from the Mahasawat water factory, in a small district west of the main city unaffected by the saltwater problem,…
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Anti-Prayut running event organiser hopes to avoid confrontation
A key organiser of the proposed anti-government running event, the “Run Against Dictatorship”, is urging its pro-government ‘spoiler event’ to ensure there’s no confrontation when the rival events are held on Sunday. “Run Against Dictatorship” is “Wing Lai Lung” (วิ่งไล่ลุง) in Thai, which literally means “Run to Oust the Uncle,” a reference to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s nickname, “Uncle Tu.” Tanawat…
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Thai PM Prayut’s father has died
It is with great sadness that The Thaiger announces the death of Colonel Prapat Chan-o-cha, the father of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Col. Prapat was being treated at Sriraj Hospital after a stroke. He was 97. A source close to the family said Prapat had shown symptoms of dementia for some time. He was pronounced dead shortly after 11:20. There…
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PM empowers embassy to evacuate Thais from Iran
The Thai PM, who also acts as the defence minister, has given Royal Thai Embassy officials in Iran the authority to evacuate Thai citizens if it becomes necessary due to rising tensions in the region. This follows the US airstrike that killed a revered Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
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PM tells Thais to “stop bickering” and “build the country”
PHOTO: VOA With his approval rating dropping and facing a parliamentary reprimand, and with a massive demonstration calling for his removal planned for January 12, Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging all Thais to put aside political differences and “stop bickering and spreading hatred.” “Make use of the mechanism of democracy to help build the country.” In an impromptu speech…
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Nearly 2 million Thai travellers head overseas for new year break
Nearly 2 million Thais travelled internationally for this year’s New Year celebrations. That’s a 3.9% increase over the previous year. Thai overseas travellers totalled 1,944,220 people. And although up 3.9% on outbound traffic the year before, it was 2.2% below estimates. Domestic travel between provinces totalled 4,298,626 people. That was down 6.4% from last year and 8% below estimates. Finally, travel within…
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Opposition’s gains foreshadow more government conflict – Poll
A new survey by Super Poll shows support for the current administration (the Palang Pracharat-led coalition) at 34% and support for the opposition parties at 36.6%. Super Poll’s CEO Noppadon Kannika says that increasing popularity of the opposition could indicate a looming showdown. The poll indicates the number of “politically silent” government supporters has decreased significantly, from 56.1% in April to…
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Over 100 evacuated from Pattaya condo fire
PHOTOS: The Pattaya News More than 100 tourists and residents were evacuated after a fire in a Pattaya condo yesterday morning. Firefighters, police and rescue workers arrived quickly at the Laguna Beach condo in Jomtien, south of Pattaya city. The Pattaya Public Disaster Relief Unit coordinated rescue efforts. The room on the seventh floor where the fire started was completely destroyed,…
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Keeping Thailand’s taps from running dry
“There is no way that we can send enough water to supply all these farms.” It could be the worst seasonal drought for four decades according to the Office of National Water Resources. Speaking to the Bangkok Post, ONWR secretary-general Somkiat Prajamwong recalled that during the severe drought in 2015 (when Thailand was under military rule), soldiers were sent to protect…
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AOT sets up checkpoints to check passengers from Wuhan, China for virus
“Passengers with any suspicious symptoms detected during the initial screenings after landing will be quarantined for medical examinations.” Airports of Thailand says they are monitoring a the detection of some cases of viral pneumonia from Wuhan flights coming out of China. They say that six airports are now ready to cope with the situation by setting up international communicable diseases…
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Seawater v Freshwater in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River. The seawater is winning.
The Office of National Water Resources is holding an urgent meeting today, with other Bangkok water agencies, including the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority to discuss the worsening salination problem in the Chao Phraya river. They note that that the back flow of seawater into the river is now threatening the city’s tap water supply. High tides, rising sea levels, a worsening…
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Mystery Phitsanulok prisoner deaths to be investigated
PHOTO: Mishvo in Motion An investigation has been launched into the deaths of four prisoners in the northern province of Phitsanulok over the New Year holiday break. A spokesman says that The Thai Corrections Department has created a panel to investigate the deaths, which happened in close succession. Officials say the four prisoners showed symptoms related to food poisoning, such as…
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Not all Thais are happy with plastic bag ban
“There are also thousands of street side vendors of drinks, including the most popular Thai iced coffee and Thai tea, which come in a plastic cup, with a plastic lid, with a plastic straw, in a plastic bag.” After many positive reports, including from The Thaiger, it now seems that many Thai customers and vendors pushing back against the January…
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Thai shoppers get resourceful to deal with the plastic bag ban
Shoppers across Thailand are showing typical Thai ingenuity in coping with big retailers’ recent ban on single-use plastic bags, bringing buckets, baskets and even a wheelbarrow to take their purchases home, many posting images on social media (below). The ban, introduced on January 1 by all 75 members of the Thai Retailers Association, including malls, supermarkets and the ubiquitous convenience…
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Finnish man arrested over Suvarnabhumi bomb threat
PHOTO: Skytrax Police report that an investigation has been opened into a bomb threat made to Suvarnabhumi International Airport. A man remains in detention over the matter. The threat was made on the evening of January 1, with a call implying that a bomb had been placed inside the airport The airport regularly receives bomb threats, and has security protocols in…
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Online app will enable volunteers to monitor Thailand’s ‘hazardous’ farm chemicals
Thailand’s Department of Disease Control and mobile phone service providers AIS are launching an online application to enable health volunteers and officials to monitor farmers’ use of the hazardous herbicide paraquat, and pesticides glyphosate and chlorpyrifos. In November, the National Hazardous Substances Committee cancelled a December 1 ban on glyphosate and delayed the enforcement of the ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos…
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