Hot News
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Sponsored Black Friday starts now - Grab 10% off your health insurance plan
If you’re an expat living in Thailand, you’ve likely experienced the complexity of navigating healthcare abroad. With Black Friday rolling in, it’s the perfect time to secure a health insurance plan that provides peace of mind and a safety net...
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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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Rising tide of concern over lifting ban on elephant exports
by Pratch Rujivanarom Animal rights activists, along with a strong voice of disapproval on social media, are complaining about the Commerce Ministry’s plan to legalise the export of live domesticated elephants. Somsak Soonthornnawaphat, head of Thai operations for the organisation World Animal Protection, strongly disapproves of the plan, citing the likelihood of the elephants suffering distress and even agony on…
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Deja vu: Dirty, smelly, blackwater flows into the Andaman Sea, again
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket Phuket’s Governor has given an urgent order to solve the problem of wastewater flowing into Bang Tao Beach yesterday after the issue went viral in social media. If you suddenly having a sense of deja vu and are SURE you’ve read this before, that’s because the issue has been brought up hundreds of time in the past…
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Maya Bay’s closure could be further extended – Dr Thon
Maya Bay, closed to the public since last June to allow its beach and coral to recover, will remain shut to visitors for at least another two years as its ecology needs more time to heal. “The director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Tanya Netithammakul will have the final say on whether to reopen the…
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Thailand to re-open the export of elephants after a 10 year ban
After more than ten years with a ban on the export of Thai elephants, Thailand’s Foreign Trade Department is now poised to ease restrictions paving the way for the export of the protected species for ‘non-commercial purposes’. The director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, Mr. Adul Chotenisakorn, says the Ministry of Commerce issued a new regulation on April 10 to…
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Prawit defends the PM’s brother being appointed to the new Senate
PHOTO: Thai Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan When the media are sceptical, get your wing man to back you up. The deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan has defended the appointment of retired General Preecha Chan-o-cha, the younger brother of PM Prayut, as a senator in the new parliament’s upper house. He said Gen Preecha is qualified as he was a member of…
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Democrats poised to take on the Election Commission over party-list seats
Join the queue. The Democrat party is joining two other political parties in objecting to the Election Commission’s party-list formula used to allocate seats to parties following the March 24 election. They’ve vowed to take legal action over the matter, along with heu Thai and Future Forward All three have now vowed to explore all possible legal channels to deal…
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First batch of practitioners qualify to prescribe medical cannabis
Thailand is now certifying the first batch of 175 professionals who will be qualified to prescribe marijuana-based medication. Medical Services have released the names of the first 175 practitioners who successfully completed the two day course. According to The Nation, 192 attended the training, but only 175 had passed it. The successful professionals will become the first to qualify for handing…
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Forming the next Thai government – Bhumjaithai and Democrats will decide
The result of who becomes the next government won’t come down to Palang Pracharat, Pheu Thai or even Future Forward. The horse-trading, that has been ongoing since the first results emerged after the March 24 election, has come down to some very simple maths. The ‘swinging’ Bhumjaithai Party. Their votes will sweep either Pheu Thai or the Junta-in-civilian-clothing, Palang Pracharat,…
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