Hot News
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Sponsored Planning to extend your Thai visa? Why health insurance is more important than ever
If you plan to stay longer in Thailand, having health insurance is now more important than ever. Thai immigration often asks for proof of medical coverage when you apply to extend your visa. This applies to many types of visas,...
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Thailand’s biggest light festival is headed to Phuket
After it began last week in Krabi, Thailand’s biggest light festival, known as the Aqua Lumina Illumination Festival, is headed towards Phuket. The festival will dazzle the shores of Nai Harn Beach from this coming Friday until May 31. The festival in Phuket will display lit up sculptures and multimedia shows, as well as projection mapping with 3D images with…
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Karma in Kalasin: Man steals drain cover then drives his car into the hole
A thief from Kalasin province in northeast Thailand got a taste of his own medicine today after he stole a drain cover and proceeded to drive his pickup truck into the open hole. He was forced to request help from municipality officers, who instantly recognised him as the thief from CCTV footage, detained him and handed him over to the…
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Black water still flowing into ocean at Phuket’s Kamala Beach
A popular Facebook page has posted a video and photos this week of black, dirty water flowing into Phuket’s Kamala Beach on the island’s west coast. The page, titled Monsoon Garbage Thailand, claims that the dirty black water was released from nearby businesses without any treatment. The Phuket Express reports that local business owners and government representatives have not yet responded…
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Prosecutor in Red Bull heir case kicked out of civil service
Today, Thailand’s public prosecution committee unanimously agreed to kick ex-general attorney Nate Naksuk out of the civil service for choosing not to indict the “Red Bull heir,” who killed a police officer in a hit-and-run incident back in 2012. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidya – the grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya – became a fugitive after speeding through the…
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New Krabi Airport terminal scheduled to open in November
Krabi International Airport is hoping to double its passenger capacity when a new passenger terminal opens, car parking areas increased and renovations are completed on the old terminal. The terminals were expected to officially open in October, but the schedule is now postponed until November due to delays caused by the Covid pandemic in Thailand (although The Thaiger notes the…
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Mixed fortunes for Thai Airways but nation’s flag carrier confident of financial take off
Financial figures released yesterday by Thai Airways International revealed mixed fortunes for the Bangkok-based airline. Thailand’s flag carrier airline declared a net loss of nearly 3.4 billion baht on revenue of 11.2 billion baht in Q1, an improvement on the 11.2 billion baht net loss from the same period last year, but on the positive side the company also noted…
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Thai officials visit Saudi Arabia for roadshow, push for more tourists
As part of a push to draw more Middle Eastern tourists to Thailand, tourism officials visited Saudi Arabia on May 15-16 in a roadshow. There, the Tourism Authority of Thailand signed a memorandum of cooperation with Almosafer, the biggest OTA in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The TAT also signed an MoC with Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, to promote a…
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Flooding in Bangkok after 10 hours of torrential rain
Bangkok has flooded in many areas after 10 hours of torrential rain beginning at 3pm yesterday and continuing into the early hours of this morning, according to the Department of Drainage and Sewage. The most affected areas are Chatuchak, Lak Si, Don Mueang and Lat Phrao. In some places, the water level has reached higher than 1 metre. The floods…
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Police hunt foreigner wanted in relation to violent assault at Pattaya gym
Police in Pattaya are searching for a foreign man wanted in relation to a violent assault on another foreigner at a local gym. According to a Pattaya News report, 46-year-old British national, Gary Reed, was assaulted with a dumbbell in a row over gym equipment. The victim says that he was exercising at the gym when a foreign man started…
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Russell Crowe to question Bangkok governor candidates live on TV
On Thursday May 19, Russell Crowe and six other celebrities will ask questions to seven Bangkok governor candidates live on TV prior to the election which will be held on Sunday, May 22. From 4:15pm – 6pm on Thursday, Channel 7HD will air the live programme “22 May: Deciding Bangkok’s Fate” hosted by Tin Chokkamolkij. Seven Bangkok governor candidates will…
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Water park pool slashed causing a flood at gated community
A knife-wielding hoodlum caused chaos at the SansaNook water park in Samut Prakan, just south of Bangkok, by sinking a blade into a huge artificial pool resulting in a flood to a nearby gated community. Water park staff alerted owner Nathapong Pathaveesathian to the vandalism on Sunday just before 7pm after residents complained their homes were being flooded. Nathapong arrived…
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Thailand to welcome one millionth tourist this year by end of May
Thailand expects its one millionth foreign tourist this year to arrive by the end of May, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The kingdom has seen a sharp increase in tourists since the Test & Go programme and other entry requirements were scrapped at the start this month. However, the current influx of tourists still has nothing on pre-pandemic…
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6 million baht worth of gold stolen in Northern Thailand
Police are on the lookout for an armed robber who fled the crime scene with nearly 6 million baht worth of gold from a Big C Supermarket in Tak, Northern Thailand, on Sunday. The robber burst into the popular superstore, withdrew a handgun, demanded cash and several trays of gold jewelry, before making his escape on a white Yamaha motorbike…
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Government says relaxed travel restrictions have led to tourism surge on Phuket, Samui
The Thai government is patting itself on the back for the decision to ease entry restrictions, which officials say has boosted tourism in places like Phuket and Koh Samui. “All this is due to the government’s move to ease travel restrictions during the country’s high season between March and May.” So says government spokesman, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, pointing out that up…
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Tourism officials aiming for 80 million domestic trips in first half of 2022
With Covid infections going down, the hopes of tourism officials are going up, according to a Bangkok Post report. Thapanee Kiatphaibool from the Tourism Authority of Thailand is feeling optimistic about domestic travel this year. She says the TAT expects around 80 million domestic trips to be undertaken in the first half of 2022. “The TAT aims to tally 40…
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In Thailand, Covid numbers plummet, but restrictions remain
Thailand registered 5,238 new Covid infections and 40 new Covid-related deaths over the last 24 hours, another day of drops in numbers since the Omicron variant hit its peak on April 1 with 28,379 infections in a 24 hour period. Yesterday there were 6,094 new infections and 51 deaths. But the number of deaths from Covid-19 has been stubbornly consistently…
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TripAdvisor’s 2022 Best of the Best Awards includes 2 Thai hotels
Online travel company, TripAdvisor, has released its list of the 25 best hotels in the world for 2022 and it includes 2 Thai properties. The “Traveller’s Choice 2022 – Best of the Best Awards” ranks the Pimalai Resort and Spa, on Koh Lanta, in Krabi province, at number 12 and Sukhumvit Park – Marriott Executive Apartments in Bangkok at number…
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Dengue hasn’t gone away – Dengue fever in Thailand 2022, and how to avoid it
Covid-19, and the controls taken to limit its spread, have clearly disrupted essential health services and other disease control programs worldwide – school closures, lockdowns, curfews and social restrictions, hoping to limit the spread of Covid-19. But those enforced changes have also resulted in the transmission of other infectious diseases, including dengue fever. Despite dropping off the radar in the…
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Thai Golf website has 36% jump in views since borders reopen
As the Tourism Authority of Thailand starts to ramp up its overseas campaigns to encourage international travellers to fly to Thailand, one sector, Golf, is already seeing a jump in activity. Since the recent announcement of the relaxing of Thailand Pass entry regulations, many international golf vacationers have shown a keen interest in playing a few rounds in the Land…
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Visakha Bucha Day 2022. Today is the substitute public holiday.
Today is the substitute public holiday to mark Visakha Bucha Day, the most significant and sacred day in the Buddhist calendar. Sunday was the actual day, according to the Buddhist calendar, but as it fell on a weekend, today is the actual public holiday. On either days, Buddhist Thais will visit their local temples and participate in rituals and ceremonies.…
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Have your rain poncho ready until Tuesday in Thailand!
Get your 20 baht 7-11 rain poncho ready for the next 2 days! Thailand is expecting heavy rain showers to cover most of the country through until Tuesday. This news comes after monsoonal troughs have already spread through Phuket and the Andaman coast. Now, winds and precipitation are expected to pick up in the northern, north-eastern, central and eastern regions…
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Thailand’s PM Prayut invites US to invest in supply chains
As part of his visit to the US, Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has attended the 2nd ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington last week. Now, he is inviting the US to invest or set up supply chains in Thailand to fill gaps created by the Russia-Ukraine crisis. And not the least the ongoing disruption of China’s part in the supply chain…
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Phuket tourism hopes for cash flow from the long weekend
The Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket office, is hoping for cash to flow over this 4 day weekend (Friday was a public service holiday for Ploughing Day and tomorrow is the substitute holiday for today’s Visaka Bucha Day). TAT Phuket’s director, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, said yesterday that the average hotel room occupancy rate is 44.5%, and it’s expected to jump to…
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Romanian tourist dies after falling from Koh Samui waterfall
A young tourist has tragically perished in Koh Samui yesterday. The woman, 23 year old Romanian national Nane-Iosana Bodea, fell from Koh Samui’s Na Muang waterfall near the centre of the island, and hit her head on a rock. She reportedly had large wounds on the back of her head. There are numerous signs and internet articles warning people about…
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14 year old and older brother arrested in eastern Thailand over human trafficking
A 14 year old boy and his 29 year old brother have been arrested in the Isaan province of Sa Kaew for human trafficking. They offered transportation services for illegal Thai workers in Cambodian casinos who wanted to visit families in Thailand. The Thai army rangers and authorities from the Special Unit Infantryman Department investigated areas along the Thai-Cambodia border…
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South Korea to add 230 international flights to meet demand
As South Korea’s Covid-19 situation improves and several restrictions have been eased, the country also plans to add 230 international flights next month, to meet a jump in travel demands. South Korea has been known as a Covid hotspot earlier this year after being one of the World Health Organisation’s ‘postcard’ countries for controlling the virus in mid 2020. But…
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Tourists pack Pattaya’s Koh Larn, hotels 100% occupied
Hotels on Koh Larn, and island off Pattaya, are 100% occupied today, according to a hotel operator there. The operator says that tourists who couldn’t find rooms had to return to the mainland after enjoying their day of fun. Thousands of tourists are crowding the island, marking the first night of the 4 day long weekend (public service holiday today…
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Islands in Krabi to temporarily close for restoration
Following last week’s announcement that Krabi’s Maya Bay will close from August to September, other national park tourist attractions in the province also plan to temporarily close for restoration. The Mu Ko Lanta National Park has announced in a legal notice that several islands under its control will close from May 16 to October 14. The islands to close are…
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Government hospitals in Thailand allowed to prescribe cannabis oil for free
Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Health announced that 3 types of cannabis oil have been added to Thailand’s National List of Essential Medicines, or NLEM. Now that cannabis is listed as an “essential medicine”, government hospitals may freely prescribe cannabis extract oil to patients in selected circumstances, according to Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, or the GPO. The first type of…
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Birds seized by police during drug raids auctioned off
Yesterday, birds seized by police during drug busts were auctioned off at an event held at Rajamangala University of Technology’s campus in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The stars of the show were 6 South American blue-and-yellow macaws which sold for over 500,000 baht collectively. The event marked the first ever official bird auction in Thailand. A total of…
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