Hot News
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Sponsored Why retirees in Thailand are choosing long-term health insurance over quick fixes
Retirees in Thailand are increasingly seeing the importance of health insurance in protecting their well-being during retirement. With insurance requirements for retirement visas and rising healthcare costs, many are moving away from short-term plans and choosing long-term coverage. Long-term health...
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US temporarily ease restrictions on Huawei
PHOTO: Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei and Chinese President Xi Jinping – SCMP The US has temporarily eased some of the restrictions on China’s Huawei, the world’s largest phone and telecom equipment maker, to minimise disruption to its customers. But Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, says it means little because the company was well prepared for any US restrictions to their trading. The…
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Whale shark sighted off Koh Racha – VIDEO
VIDEO/PHOTO: บังดำ นายสุวัฒน์ บาเร็ม/Saranyu Hassanai A whale shark was sighted off Koh Racha, south of Phuket, yesterday. A Facebook user ‘Saranyu Hassanai’ has posted the video clip with a message saying “A whale shark has showed up near the boat while we were travelling near Koh Racha.” “Tourists on the boat were very happy to see the whale shark.” https://www.facebook.com/100017729653298/videos/391081111492874/?id=100017729653298…
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Thousands of young coral being moved to deeper water at Maya Bay
PHOTO: Thai PBS Coral bleaching and the annual monsoon are the only threat to the ongoing recuperation of Maya Bay, now that tourists have been away for a year, and probably another two years as well. Maya Bay, on Koh Phi Phi Ley in Krabi province, has been closed since June 1 last year after the environmental destruction of the…
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The Long March to campaign for fewer restrictions on medical marijuana – VIDEO
A new long march, this time to draw attention to fewer limitations on the use of medical marijuana, is setting off from Pichit today in northern Thailand, heading south to Bangkok. Civic groups will set off on their march on the same day the Thai government’s amnesty on marijuana possession comes to an end. Thai PBS reports that the march…
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Corals bleaching off Pattani
PHOTOS: Thon Thamrongnawasawat Corals at Koh Losin, off the coast of Pattani in the south of Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand, have started to bleach and are reported to be in a ‘critical situation’. Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, assistant dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University and a marine biologist says, “Koh Losin is in the Gulf of Thailand…
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Google cut off Huawei’s access to some Android apps and services
In a surprise response to the ongoing Huawei vs Trump administration spat, Google has halted its business operations with Huawei. Huawei is one of the leading mobile phone manufacturers in the world. The Google ‘pull out’ is effective immediately, according to a report from Reuters. The halted business streams include anything in relation to the transfer of hardware and software…
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Thailand to ban three kinds of plastic by end of this year
By the end of 2019 Thailand will be free from three types of plastic – microbeads, cap seals and oxo-degradable plastics. Then by 2022 four other types of single-use plastics will also be banned – lightweight plastic bags less than 36 microns thick; styrofoam food containers for takeaways; plastic cups and plastic straws – according to a road map approved by…
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Pro-junta bloc says they have a ‘deal’ with Democrats and Bhumjaithai
PHOTO: Bhumjaithai party leader Anutin Charnvirakul slated to be the new Health Minister The week kicks off with rumours swirling about deals done over the weekend. Meanwhile HM The King will open Parliament on May 24. ‘Who’ will set ‘where’ will be interesting. The Pro-Junta proxy party, Phalang Pracharat Party, is taking the upper PR hand and claims to have successfully cobbled…
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Registration and traffic fine databases linked after July 1
Car owners, and presumably motorbike owners, will be unable to renew their vehicle registration or licenses if they fail to pay traffic fines after July 1. Much discussed over the past year and now on the horizon, the Land Transport Department and Royal Thai Police intend to clamp down on people avoiding or disregarding their traffic fines. Starting from May…
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Thailand’s wet season officially starts tomorrow
The rainy season in Thailand officially starts tomorrow. The Thai Meteorological Department deputy director-general Kornravee Sitthichivaphak says Thailand will see continued rains in most parts of the country from Monday. “The wind over Thailand from 100-3,500 metres will be replaced by a southwest monsoon that would carry humidity from the Andaman Sea to cover most parts of Thailand. All of these…
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Four southern islands to be closed to tourists during monsoon
PHOTO: Koh Kradan Four islands in the Haad Chao Mai National Park in Trang, southern Thailand, will be closed to tourists for four months starting June 1. The chief of the Haad Chao Mai national park, Narong Kong-iad, says that access to the park will be denied to tourist from June 1 to September 30 for “the nature to rehabilitate…
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German tourist dies after ghost-riding on his high power bike
A German tourist has been killed after ghost-riding (riding in the opposite direction to the traffic) on his high-power motorcycle. He crashed head-on with a pickup truck in Chiang Mai road early this morning. The tourist has been identified as Jan Single. Police also found a quantity of marijuana in a zip-lock plastic bag he was carrying at the time…
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Rubbish on Chon Buri beaches cleared after social media complaints
PHOTO: DMCR First there was a beach on Koh Phi Phi, then a dirty canal in Bang Tao, Phuket. Now, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has cleared up rubbish on an island beach off Pattaya beaches in Chon Buri. Photos were posted in the ‘Pattaya Watchdog’ Facebook page on May 14 with a message reading, “Some business…
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Bangkok’s Klong Lord gets a make over
The new Klong Lord now boasts clear water, not the black grimy mess as in the past. The klong has now had a complete make-over and been rehabilitated and re-landscaped. The Bangkok Metropolitan and Administration (BMA) is upgrading the canal and says it will develop it into one of Bangkok’s important tourist attractions, recalling its identity during the reign of…
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Register your hotel within 30 days – Hua Hin unlicensed premises warned
FILE PHOTO 170 illegal hotel and resort operators in Hua Hin have been warned to register and obtain Hotel licences within a month or they will face jail or a fine. The Hua Hin district chief, Thanon Phanpipas, says the operators of unlicensed hotels and resorts must register within a month from May 16 or they would face a maximum…
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Co-ordinated pipe bomb attacks in Yala injure five
FILE PHOTO Five Army troops and rangers have been injured after southern insurgents threw pipe bombs. Security officials say the incidents happened at three locations in Yala in what appears to be a co-ordinated incident. The commander of Muang Yala police station, Pol Col Narawee Binwaearong, says two insurgents on a motorcycle rode to a security checkpoint on the Siroros…
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Officials investigate complaints of elephants on Phuket beach
Officials have investigated social media complaints about elephants in the water and the taking of photos with tourists on Tri Trang beach. Officials haven’t arrested anyone at this stage. The issue about elephants playing in the shallows with tourist went viral in local social media as netizens made comments ranging from the “elephants are damaging the coral” and the “elephants…
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Boeing knew about problems with 737 Max 8 jets before second crash
PHOTO: American Airlines They knew because plenty of pilots told them, on tape. In the months between the two Boeing 737 Max airplane crashes, pilots from American Airlines confronted a Boeing official about the controversial MCAS computerised anti-stall system that preliminary reports have now implicated in both deadly wrecks. The audio of the meeting has been obtained by the US’…
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Petition to restore dignity of Thailand’s only convicted cannibal
In a dark corner of the Siriraj hospital, in the rather bizarre medical museum (nicknamed the Museum of Death) is the mummified body of Si Quey sae Oeng, Thailand’s only convicted cannibal. Now more than 10,000 people have signed a change.org petition for the removal of the gruesome display in order to restore his human dignity. The petition follows up a…
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Mandatory health insurance for retirement visa holders starts July
Expats aged 50+ living in Thailand on a long-stay visa will have to buy health insurance from July onwards. Authorities are now preparing the new guidelines to enforce the rules approved by Cabinet last month. But the July start date isn’t yet ‘set in stone’. The new regulation requires expats on the long-stay non-immigrant O-A visa to have health insurance…
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HM the King will preside over opening of Parliament on May 24
Some political water is yet to pass under the bridge with no clear coalition coming together at this stage to form Thailand’s next parliament. Meanwhile it’s been announced that HM the King will preside over the opening of the new parliament on May 24, exactly two months after the general election. A Royal Decree was issued for parliament to convene starting…
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The blackwater is back at Bang Tao Canal – VIDEO
Locals are pushing the local government to check wastewater treatment plants after dirty black water come back to Bang Tao Canal again this morning. The President of the Cherng Talay OrBorJor is Ma’Ann Samran. (If you’d like to send Ma’Ann a message you can click on his Facebook page HERE.) “90% of business operators and locals are releasing wastewater into…
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Bhumjaithai’s Anutin says he won’t support a PM dependent on the senate vote
Anutin Charnvirakul, the Bhumjaithai leader, has made it clear that his party will not support a PM candidate who does have the backing from a simple majority of MPs in Parliament. Bhumjaithai, coming fifth in sheer MP numbers following the March 24 election (behind Pheu Thai, Palang Pracharat, Future Forward and the Democrats), has become a king-maker in the jockeying…
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Konnichiwa – welcome to Thailand’s Top 10 cultural destinations
by Nisanath Kungwanwong Congratulations ‘Hinoki Land’ in Chiang Mai for being recognised by the Thai Culture Ministry as one of Thailand’s Top 10 Cultural Destinations. It looks…so… Thai?!? “Hinoki Land should not be included in the list, as it merely copies a Japanese tourist spot of the same name.” The ministry’s Cultural Promotion Office recently announced the top 10 cultural…
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Prayut says he commands the support of 11 small parties to become next PM
Eleven smaller parties have declared they will vote for the current junta chairman Prayut Chan-ocha as Thailand’s next PM when parliament convenes. A spokesperson says that the 11 small parties, commanding one party-list MP each, believe the current PM is the best person to lead the country and head up the new parliament. But the gesture of support only carries…
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Water temporarily cleared in Bang Tao Canal, business operators to be checked
PHOTOS: Maann Samran Water in the Bang Tao Canal is now flowing cleaner water thanks to some urgent ‘band aids’ put on the problem this morning. Business operators are now to be checked to find the source of wastewater as well. Earlier today the President of the Cherng Talay OrBorTor Ma’ann Samran admitted that 90% of the businesses in the…
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Prawit plays down Senate appointees coming from NCPO and current cabinet
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has submitted a list of 250 senators to His Majesty the King, while Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan has commented that a new government won’t be set up until after a new PM has been named. This news is coming from the National News Bureau of Thailand and should be read in light of the source. The…
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90% untreated water flowing into Bang Tao canal
90% of business operators and locals are releasing wastewater into the filthy Bang Tao canal. Cherng Talay Tambol Administrative Organisation President Maann Samran says, “There are some hotels, restaurants and locals still releasing wastewater into Bang Tao Canal where it is flowing into the sea.” “Only 10% of them have connected their wastewater pipe into the wastewater treatment plants.” “Today…
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Booking in advance, standardised tours, limited numbers – Maya Bay’s tourism future
“Both Thon and DNP executives emphasised that mass tourism would not be allowed again at Maya Bay.” by Pratch Rujivcanarom Maya Bay’s visitors will have to book in advance for limited day tours once the popular tourist magnet reopens to the public. After an official inspection of the rehabilitation efforts at Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi Ley, local marine…
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And then there was three – a new bloc emerges from the political number-crunching
PHOTO: The latest political weapon – an adding machine A third possible bloc is emerging as the phones run hot with major parties trying to persuade the smaller parties and solo MPs to side with them. The magic number is 251 seats to form a workable majority coalition. Any fewer than 250 will mean they risk being defeated on any…
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