Hot News
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Sponsored Retiring in Thailand: Why and how health insurance is crucial for your golden years
Thailand offers an ideal setting for retirees with its tropical climate, warm hospitality, and affordable living. But enjoying your golden years to the fullest means planning for health coverage. Here’s a complete guide on why health insurance is essential for...
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Four Thai marine species announced as ‘reserved animals’
PHOTOS: DMCR / Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat Bryde’s whale, Omura’s whale, whale sharks and leather back turtles have been added to the list of ‘reserved wild animals’. The new Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act was announced yesterday. Animal species which included Bryde’s whale, Omura’s whale, whale shark and leather back turtle are now a registered ‘reserved animal’, before they are…
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Democrats walk away from coalition as bickering continues over ministerial portfolios
It was off, then on again. Now it appears that it’s off, but that could change as today continues. The Pro-army Palang Pracharat’s efforts to build a coalition to form a majority government in the new Thai lower house have reached a new stumbling block amid bickering over ministerial portfolios,. Just two days ago the Bhumjaithai and Democrat parties seemed…
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Chiang Mai and Hua Hin in Top 10 Asian retirement locations
Hua Hin and Chiang Mai are two of the best retirement destinations in Asia, according to the US News and World Report. Phuket and Bangkok, usually included in lists of Asian retirement locations, didn’t make it onto this list. ThaiVisa reports that they were included in the site’s 10 best places to retire in Asia. The report considers the cost of…
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Roll the drums Phuket. Prepare the balloons. Chalong Underpass opens Friday.
But it’s not Friday yet and there have been plenty of other delays. Chalong Circle’s 350 metre underpass should be open on Friday according to local highway officials. The roadworks have profoundly changed business and movement of locals in the southern part of the island for nearly four years. Many businesses were forced to move, others went broke, some residents…
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Bryde’s whale found dead off Petchaburi coast
PHOTOS: Troy Beer/Thai Whales An autopsy is being conducted on a dead Bryde’s whales found off the Petchaburi coast in the Gulf of Thailand. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) report that they were notified of the dead Bryde’s whale being found off the Petchaburi coast yesterday. The female Bryde’s whale is about 10 metres long. It had…
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Thailand travel tax. Good idea but…
by Don Ross – ttrweekly.com “The changes to the law came into effect on May 20. Now, the panic button has been pressed. A workable package and collection process needs to be hammered out and fast.” Thailand is looking to introduce a tourist tax, either on arrival or departure, that will be, according to officials, used to fund accident insurance and…
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120 party-goers arrested in drugs raid on illegal pub
PHOTOS: The Nation A Bangkok pub has been raided early this morning. Police and drug suppression officials found that alcohol wasn’t the only thing being offered to the crowd. Customers were mostly dressed in school uniform for the themed party at the Space Pub. Patrons panicked as the drugs squad entered the premises on Pradit Manutham Road in Bang Khen…
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Travel’s dynamic changes – A personal perspective
by Andrew J Wood – President SKÅL International Bangkok With the dramatic announcement of the sale of retail travel giant Thomas Cook following the loss of £1.5 billion brings the blight of the travel agent community into the news once more. Last week Wall Street bank Citigroup advised investors to sell shares in the travel company. Confidence that travel agents…
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Tourism body confident that tourist number will reach 40 million in 2019
Predictions are, despite a few bumps along the way, that the number of tourists coming to Thailand in 2019 will still reach 40 million. The University of the Thai Chambers of Commerce’s Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting is still positives following campaigns promoting tourism in local cities and the extension of the waiver of the visa-on-arrival fee. The Director…
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Patong municipality reports untreated wastewater from Kalim hotel to police – VIDEO
VIDEO: Bong Marquez The video of the untreated wastewater bursting on Kalim beach on Sunday afternoon has caused an official report made to Patong police. A Facebook user “Bong Marquez” posted a video of the black water gurgling up through the sands at Kalim Beach and into the Patong Bay on Sunday. The video has had 230,000 views. Patong’s…
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Democrats and Bhumjaithai offered deputy PM and cabinet positions
PHOTO: Apichit Jinakul Close, but not quite. Palang Pracharath Party paid a visit to Democrat party leaders yesterday with presents of cabinet portfolios that they are offering the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties if they were to join the pro-Army coalition. The Bhumjaithai Party says they’ve already pledged allegiance to Palang Pracharat, but with four key caveats. Sources say the Palang…
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Port fire damage exceeds 100 million baht
by Pratch Rujivanarom Thailand Port Authority director Kamolsak Phromprayoon says that losses from the huge fire and chemical spill at Laem Chabang Seaport on Saturday are estimated to be more than 100 million baht, while environmental campaigners are urging authorities to demand compensation from the people responsible for carrying the undisclosed hazardous chemicals. On Saturday morning toxic chemical cargo onboard…
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Tourist Police raid the C Ekkamai condo to arrest people running rooms as ‘hotel’ – Bangkok
PHOTO: Thai Tourist Police Bureau page on Facebook Follow up to a story last week where residents of a condo tower in Bangkok were complaining that many of the rooms were being run as a quasi-hotel. The Thai Tourist Police Bureau sent 40 officialst to the luxury Bangkok condominium. The raid was actually last Thursday, three days after the story…
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Thailand’s pro-army party hopes to seal deal with Democrats and Bhumjaithai today
PHOTO: The Nation Palang Pracharat, the political party supporting Thailand’s Junta, is hoping it can complete negotiations and make a deal today to which would see it with enough parliamentary seats to keep Prayut Chan-o-cha in power as prime minister. This analysis from a lawmaker who is a board member of the Palang Pracharat party in a Reuters article. The…
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Tough times ahead for next Thai government after hard fought weekend votes
It took most of two days for the new parliament to elect a House Speaker and two deputies. All votes, after much prevarication, won by slender margins. The Palang Pracharat Party is emerging as the party with the numbers but there are tough times ahead for any government as the votes have not been falling uniformly and the ‘swing’ parties…
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The magic disappearing murky and muddy waters of Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach
PHOTOS: Pattaya Message Officials from Chon Buri Municipality says there is no source of wastewater found after inspections along the canals. The video of the untreated sewage and wastewater gushing into the Gulf of Thailand has accumulated 1.5 million views already. Read more and see the video HERE. The ‘stop gap’ solution was a real STOP GAP solution as they rammed…
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Former PM Chuan elected speaker of lower house
If the first item on the new parliament’s agenda is any indication, it’s going to be a very dynamic lower house. Things didn’t go smoothly on the first day. Ex-PM Chuan Leekpai, a Democrat candidate proposed by the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party, secured 258 votes to 235 for Pheu Thai nominee Sompong Amornvivat. One MP abstained. Some Pheu Thai PMs…
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Tourist arrivals up, but Chinese down. April 2019 tourist numbers.
The Thai sports and tourism ministry reports that Thailand saw a 3.31% rise in total tourist arrivals in April compared to a year earlier, after a 0.69% decline in March. 3.2 million tourists in April spent about 164 billion baht ($5.15 billion), which is up 3.9% from the month of April in 2018. But visitors from China, Thailand’s biggest feeder…
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“Nothing but rude Indians, Chinese and Arabs” – Pattaya locals go feral online
“Where are all the nice ones – like Americans – who spend cash and behave well!?” PHOTO: Sophon Cable Sophon Cable TV on Facebook has quoted the head of the Eastern Seaboard Hotel Association, Sanpetch Supphabowonsathian, saying advance bookings for this high season in Pattaya showed a 5-10% increase on last year. But as the local hotel association were upbeat over…
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100 baht tourist tax to cover basic insurance and repatriation
Every foreign tourist arriving or departing Thailand will be charged 100 baht for basic insurance which would cover money for emergencies and repatriation of their body if they meet with misadventure. As reported yesterday, the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports proposes that every foreign tourist visiting Thailand should be charged a levy to cover basic insurance and life insurance.…
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Thanathorn is able to attend this afternoon’s opening of Parliament
PHOTO: Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, heading to the opening of Parliament today? Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has been told he can attend the opening of parliament today by His Majesty the King in the conference hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the 41 year old leader of Future Forward is yet to confirm his attendance…
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5G: Welcome to instant internet
5G will change everything. What 2, 3 and 4G have improved on, 5G will revolutionise and open up even more online possibilities. The internet-of-things will become the virtual internet of everything! 5G’s lightning speed will operate in almost real time – so fast it will actually be almost 200 faster than a human’s usual reaction time. But most of us…
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Ministry looks at tourist levy to fund infrastructure
A tourist levy is being considered amongst a raft of changes to improve the amenity of local tourist attractions. The Tourism and Sports Ministry is floating the initiative after the National Tourism Policy Act was enacted and published in the Royal Gazette this week, according to the Bangkok Post. The Ministry is now in talks with universities and insurance companies to research…
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Thanathorn forced to sit out Parliament opening today amid media share controversy
“This is not the time to lose hope. It’s the time to stand against injustice.” – Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit The Constitutional Court has agreed to hear the Election Commission’s plea to disqualify Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from the House of Representatives over his alleged shareholding in media company V-Luck. The judges voted 9-0 to hear the case, and suspended the…
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Koh Lan stinks! Environmentalist calls for limit on tourism.
“The atmosphere at the island’s Ta Waen Beach resembles that of a disaster refugee camp.” An environmental health expert is calling for the number of visitors to Koh Lan in Chon Buri to be cut to less than 5,000 a day to tackle the overwhelming garbage problem. Ko Lan is 10 kilometres off the coast of Pattaya. Sonthi Kotchawat, in…
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Chiang Mai Song Thaew drivers see red over Grab
Chiang Mai’s Grab vs traditional public transport continues. The issue has simmered for two years with occasional outbreaks of violence and an ongoing war of words on social media. Thai PBS reports that the spat has become a major problem again between the public Red Song Thaews and Grab Cars in the northern city. On the one hand members of…
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Thai businesses locked out of potential $237.2 million medical cannabis market
by Daragh Anglim Thailand is emerging as a frontrunner in the nascent Asian cannabis market. With 175 clinicians now qualified to prescribe cannabis-based medicines in the country, Thailand is at the cusp of a major breakthrough in realising the commercial and societal benefits of medical cannabis. The Asian Cannabis Report published in May by leading market analysts and advisors Prohibition Partners,…
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Coalition talks. And then there were…. THREE
PHOTO: Facebook page of Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul With HM The King opening parliament on May 24, it is hoped that the political horse-trading may be over when the new lower house sits for the first time. The two parties that hold the key to a workable majority coalition are the Democrats and Bhumjaithai. They have been prevaricating for more…
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Skål International heads to Phuket, June 2020
by Paul Poole Tourism industry professionals from all over the world are expected to descend on Phuket between June 25-27, 2020, for the 49th edition of Skål Asia Congress. With more than 15,000 members in almost 90 different countries, Skål International is the world’s largest organisation of tourism professionals. Through countless local, national and international events, Skål International promotes global tourism…
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Banyan Tree Samui goes ‘retro’ with the new Tuk-Tuk Bar
Banyan Tree Samui resort has opened what might be the quirkiest if not the cutest bar in Thailand, a cocktail caravan remodelled from a classic 1960s tuk-tuk. The MP4 Midget is virtually unseen on the streets of Thailand these days. But once upon a time, the “frogs”, as they were commonly nicknamed, were everywhere. Thousands of these 12 HP 350cc…
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